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Medicare Basics • Medicare Part A (hospital insurance): Covers short-term, medically necessary skilled nursing facility (SNF) care if you meet specific requirements. Many people assume Medicare will cover a stay in a SNF indefinitely, but coverage is limited and tied strictly to skilled medical needs. • Medicare does not cover long-term or custodial care. • Maximum 100 days per benefit period: o New benefit period: starts when out of any hospital or SNF for 60 consecutive days & then have a new 3+ days hospital stay (resetting the 100-day SNF allotment and the deductible). • Coinsurance pay: Patient pays increasing coinsurance after day 20. • Understanding rules is key to avoiding unexpected bills: for older adults, people with disabilities, and family caregivers What Is Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Care? • Short-term, medically necessary care provided in a licensed facility following a hospital stay. • Offers a higher level of care than custodial nursing homes or assisted living communities. • Care must be provided by, or under supervision of, licensed medical professionals such as registered nurses (RNs) or physical therapists. Common reasons someone might need SNF care include: • Recovery after surgery • Rehabilitation following a stroke or serious illness • Wound care or IV therapy • Physical, occupational, or speech therapy • Monitoring and treatment of complex medical conditions • SNF care is designed to help individuals recover and regain function so they can safely return home or to a lower level of care. Medicare Part A may help pay for SNF on short-term basis if: • Qualifying inpatient hospital stay: Inpatient for at least 3 consecutive days, not counting the day of discharge. Time spent in the hospital under “observation status” does not count toward this requirement. • Admission to the SNF shortly after hospital discharge (usually must begin within 30 days of leaving the hospital). • Medical need for skilled care. The care must be medically necessary and require skilled services, such as daily nursing care or rehabilitation therapy that can only be provided by trained professionals. • Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility. Services Medicare A cover in a SNF (generally) includes: • A semi-private room • Meals • Skilled nursing services • Physical, occupational, and speech therapy • Medical supplies and equipment used during care • Qualifying medications related to the SNF stay • Ambulance transportation to the nearest provider of necessary services if other modes of transportation would pose a health risk Medicare A does Not Cover SNF Care when: • Long-term or custodial care, such as help with bathing, dressing, or eating when no skilled medical care is required • Stays not following a qualifying 3-day inpatient hospital admission • Facilities that are not Medicare-certified • Continued SNF care once no longer needs skilled services Cost of SNF Care Cost Under Medicare: • Medicare-covered SNF care is limited to up to 100 days per benefit period, and costs depend on how long a person stays. • Days 1 to 20: Medicare Part A pays the full approved cost. • Days 21 to 100: Part A covers part of the cost. o Patient pays a coinsurance: $217/day in 2026. • Days 100+: Patient pays all the costs of their SNF care. • Medigap (Medicare Supplement) some plans may cover some or all the daily coinsurance for days 21 to 100. Why Understanding SNF Coverage Matters: • Confusion can lead to financial strain and difficult decisions during an already stressful time. • Many people assume Medicare will cover a stay in a skilled nursing facility indefinitely, when in reality, coverage is limited and tied strictly to skilled medical needs.
Ever feel like you're too weird to belong with the "normal" people, but also too normal to fit in with the spiritual crowd? That uncomfortable in-between space where you're constantly editing yourself, hiding parts of who you really are? That's the witch wound at work.This Aquarius solar eclipse is here to shake things loose. Everything you've been burying is about to come up and out, whether you're ready or not.In this episode, we're talking about how the witch wound shows up as the "I don't need people anyway" mask, why your weirdness is actually how you find your people, and what it means when your inner world demands attention and all your usual coping mechanisms stop working.If you've been performing independence instead of living authenticity, if you've convinced yourself you're fine alone when what you really are is scared of rejection, this one's for you.Your quirks aren't something to hide. They're the signal that tells the right people "oh, she's like me, I can be myself here too."Listen now and subscribe if you're ready to stop hiding who you actually are.
Join Taylor as she and Claire discuss a powerful topic - healing the Spirit Wound. They cover what the Spirit wound is and how it affects us on an individual + collective level, Spiritual triggers, strengthening our fear muscle, the Inner Child aspect of the Spirit wound and SO much more on this week's episode of Magic Hour. If you're afraid of Spirit, the dark, unseen entities, or your own spiritual power this is the episode for you! Taylor's newest offering is a three-part Healing the Spirit Wound Workshop - In the first offering of this kind, Taylor deconstructs our fear of spirit, teaches powerful tools to relate to fear more effectively, and helps you unlock your own spiritual and mediumistic gifts. The dates are March 3, 4, and 11 at 5:30pm PST + replays are available Code 333 gives you $33 off at https://angelsandamethyst.com/product/healing-the-spirit-wound/ Things mentioned in this episode On the Edge Of The Etheric - Arthur Finley book Episode 111 with Dr. Michael Lennox https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/magic-hour-with-taylor-paige/id1738285800?i=1000657895047 Psychic Dreamer by Dr. Michael Lennox https://a.co/d/dDxYDbj Episode 301 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/magic-hour-with-taylor-paige/id1738285800?i=1000745107540 Connect with Taylor Paige Instagram @angels_and_amethyst Website https://www.angelsandamethyst.com Follow @MagicHourPod on instagram and YouTube for more Magic Hour content. If you have any questions about, intuition, spirituality, angels, or anything and everything magical, please email contact@magichourpod.com. We will answer listener questions once a month in our solo episodes Don't forget to leave us a 5 sparkling star review, they help more people find the pod and remember their magic. Please screenshot and email your 5 star reviews to contact@magichourpod.com and we will send you a free downloadable angelic meditation, and enter you to win an angel reading with Taylor Paige! The next Angel Reading giveaway will happen when we hit 222 5 star reviews on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Join the waitlist for a reading with Taylor here: https://angelsandamethyst.com/offerings/ Find Taylor's 3 part workshop series on Angelic Connection, Attracting a Soulmate Connection, and Healing the Witch wound here: https://angelsandamethyst.com/workshops/ Code 333 gives $33 off, plus, each student can email Taylor one question on the subject material per lesson. Join Taylor's email list at https://www.angelsandamethyst.com to know when her monthly gatherings of Earth Angel Club are open for registration. Earth angel club is a monthly meeting of like-minded and magical people across the world. EAC includes an astrological and energetic overview, a guided meditation attuned to the current zodiac season, and for the highest ticket tier, a mini email angel reading. Each EAC member also has the option to skip the waitlist and sit with Taylor sooner for a reading. Are you an aligned business owner that would like to advertise to our beautiful community of magical people? Please email contact@magichourpod.com ****** Editing by Ashley Riley Music by Justin Fleuriel and Mandie Cheung. For more of their music check out @goodnightsband on instagram. #magichour #witchypodcast #intuition #spirituality #angelicmessages #higherself #intuitiveguidance #spiritguides #astrologer #astrologytips #birthchart #zodiac
This is part 3 of a 5 part series, "Shame: The Weapon and The Wound—Winning The War Over It", brought to us by Dr. Victor-LaMonte Lane.
The update.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In honor of 2 years of the "You Can Call Me Bossy Podcast " I Welcome you all back to the first official episode of the podcast! In this episode, I got into a personal journey as I navigated and handled my own "bossy wound" in real time. From setting boundaries to seeking support, my journey is a raw and honest exploration of growth and self awareness. Join me once again as I unravel the complexities of the "bossy wound" and discover actionable takeaways for our own lives. Key Takeaways: Exploration of the shadow self and shame associated with certain traits Learn about Navigating Boundaries and Integrity Emphasizing the importance of not letting the bossy wound hold back personal and professional growth Key Timestamps [1:00] – Suppressing shadow self impacts life and purpose. [7:23] – Seeking independence by embracing triggering feedback positively. [13:01] – Raising awareness and being accountable. [17:12] – Embracing and working through societal criticisms positively. If you enjoyed this episode and are excited for more, please be sure to SUBSCRIBE and write a review to help build momentum and support the show (5-stars would be AWESOME!) _____________________________________________ JOIN US IN - THE CLUB - An annual membership where high-achieving women come together to unapologetically OWN THEIR “BOSSY” in order to rise to the top, make massive impact, and not burn out while doing it.Join TODAY to get access to all past workshop replays and past group coaching calls - always incredible takeaways and AHA moments from reviewing these sessions! Grab your spot in THE CLUB today by CLICKING HERE! _____________________________________________ LET'S FREAKING GO!FREE RESOURCE: JOURNAL PROMPT VAULTWant to work on connecting with your subconscious mind to work through blocks, limiting beliefs and stories that aren't working for you? Download my free GET OUT OF YOUR OWN DAMN WAY PROMPT VAULT - over 50 prompts to help you connect with your subconscious and build awareness around what needs to get cleared! CLICK HERE to download now! LET'S CONNECT: Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok Grab a signed copy of my bestselling book STAND IN YOUR POWER HEREWatch my TEDx Talk “The Wisdom of Your Ancestors Should Be Ignored” HERE
DO WE HAVE TO CHANGE OUR NAME??? alex & kev spend way too fucking long gagging over American Life & The Moment collapses + dilf fuckenings + halftime show reviewings + IM DRINKING A FXKXING SOY LATTE... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
COVID changed everything — and for many PTs, it left emotional wounds that haven't healed. Kristin Walls and Lisa Kohler join us to unpack “moral injury” — how it's different from burnout, how it showed up in outpatient and acute care settings, and why it matters for the future of physical therapy.They preview their CSM talk, highlight new research on provider wellness, and share initiatives like the Wellness Committee and a national survey on professional sustainability.In this episode:Defining moral injury for PTsCSM talk preview: The Invisible WoundEthics vs. morals in clinical practicePost-traumatic growth and how to achieve itWhy PT needs moral communities — now more than everLinks:Kristin & Lisa's CSM Talk: Thursday Feb 12 @ 8amLAMP Leadership Series (TED-style talks)Wellness Committee (OPTA)PT Pintcast on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ptpintcastWebsite: https://ptpintcast.com
Work with me, free 7 days & call with me: https://www.skool.com/inspired-life-method-9441/If you're successful on the outside but feel unworthy, anxious, or emotionally stuck… this is why.Emotional intelligence coach Nerida Bint breaks down how to reparent yourself and finally change the patterns you keep repeating.In this episode, you'll learn:What it means to “inherit your parents' emotional home” (and how it runs your adult life)Why high-achievers can be the most wounded (perfectionism, overworking, control)The real reason you “marry your unfinished business” in relationshipsA practical thought audit: Love vs Fear (and what your dominant loop reveals)Bottom-up healing tools: body scan, grounding, movement, nervous system regulationThe Gottman “Four Horsemen” (and why contempt is a relationship killer) When you reparent yourself, you stop outsourcing your worth to partners, work, or validation—and you learn to meet the parts of you that were never fully met growing up. This conversation covers inner child work, emotional regulation, shame loops, rejection wounds, and why “being fine” can still be a mask.Nerida's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neridabint/
One Big Question Podcast I "Wound Hygiene in Modern Wound Care"
The USDA reports that during a routine inspection in Florida, a horse arriving from Argentina was found with an open wound containing New World Screwworm larvae, and President Trump says the U.S. will cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18% after India agreed to stop purchasing Russian crude oil.
One Big Question Podcast I "Wound Hygiene in Modern Wound Care"
What happens when our words are no longer our own?In this solo episode, Eileen explores the growing presence of AI in our creative and spiritual spaces, and how it intersects with the witch wound, the ancestral fear of being seen, heard, and cast out for speaking truth.This is a raw, reflective conversation about voice, power, creativity, exhaustion, and what it means to stay human in a world obsessed with optimization. Not a manifesto. Not a hot take. An invitation to wonder.Eileen also shares details about her upcoming free Witch Wound Masterclass on February 18th, where she will guide participants through understanding and healing this ancient wound.Sign up for the Witch Wound Masterclass: What It Is & How to Heal It Take the Which Witch Are You QuizOrder Awaken to the Magic WithinConnect with Eileen on Instagram Follow Eileen on Insight Timer Send Eileen an email If this episode stirred something in you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs this reminder.Your voice matters. Your humanity matters.
What a whopper I have for you today! This one is especially poignant if you have Saturn in Aries because your (OUR) return is coming babe. February 13th, Saturn officially re enters Aries after 29 years absentia. In today's episode we explore the Kronos wound, adultism - the resentment adults feel towards the young- and generally how to avoid becoming a crotchety old person and instead someone at peace with time! Shared @ end: did you take my dare? Share in the comments how it went! Or as always feel free to email me at JENAOCEAN@GMAIL.comI'm off Instagram right now talk to re-establish my relationship with the ap through some time apart. In the MEANTIME: - you're invited to my show, When the Rain Stops Falling tickets linked there!- my episode of Naked and Afraid comes out March 1st! Preview is linked here Like this? Make sure you're Following the show! Next week I have a special guest on for V Day! You won't want to miss. Clue: Word Witch
Do you squirm when someone compliments you? Deflect when they offer to help? Find yourself saying "I got it" when you're drowning? Welcome to the allergy to being adored.In this deeply transformative episode, we explore why so many of us crave love, support, and tenderness but throw up walls the moment it arrives. Spoiler: hyperindependence isn't strength. It's loneliness with better PR.In this episode: The Empress card and the sacred art of receiving without guilt Venus in Pisces through March 2026: your cosmic permission slip to soften Why compliments make you want to crawl out of your skin The witch wound that convinced you needing help makes you weak How to melt into being loved this Valentine's Day and beyondThis isn't just about romance. It's about the exhaustion of constant self-reliance. The guilt around wanting to be pampered. The defensiveness that rises when someone truly sees you and offers something beautiful. The fear that if you let yourself receive, you'll owe something, be too much, or reveal the tender parts you've been protecting.The Empress knows that receiving isn't selfish. It's how she sustains the lush landscape everyone benefits from. Venus in Pisces is inviting you to dissolve the boundaries, surrender the armor, and practice receiving without keeping score.If you're the person who always gives while secretly resenting it, this is your wake-up call.The Sisters Enchanted has been changing lives for 10 years. Your power comes from your inner world, not your outer one. You ARE the power source. Let's plug you back in.Stay magic, Enchanted Sister. ✨
Free Video Tutorial for ScreenwritingIn this episode of The Storyteller's Mission, Zena explores a foundational principle of character development: why a character's wound isn't their flaw — the lie they believe is. This episode is especially for writers, storytellers, and worldview-driven creatives working with trauma, redemption, and transformation arcs.In great storytelling, a character's problem isn't just what happened to them. It's the lie they believe because of it. And that distinction — between wound and lie — often determines whether a story actually moves forward or stays emotionally stuck.In this episode, we explore:Why wounds hurt, but lies imprisonHow false beliefs shape character behavior, identity, and plotWhy acknowledging trauma is not the same thing as redemptionWhat great stories like Good Will Hunting, Frozen, Jane Eyre, and The Lord of the Rings get right about character transformationHow confronting the lie — not just naming the wound — creates real narrative changeThis is essential viewing for:Fiction writersScreenwritersStorytellersFaith-adjacent creativesWriters working with trauma, flaws, and redemption arcsIf you want to write characters who don't just suffer — but transform — this episode will help you clarify the difference between what happened and what it meant.
Youtube video linked below!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5f582RzFMsLinks & Socials here:https://linktr.ee/haleygutz
Send us a textAttachment and relational trauma can be hard to name because it often doesn't come from one dramatic event—it forms through patterns over time: inconsistency, emotional absence, unpredictable caregiving, chronic criticism, or rupture without repair. In this episode, we explore attachment as nervous-system education through relationship, and why closeness can become a trigger for protection (anxiety, control, people-pleasing, withdrawal, shutdown). You'll learn a simple polyvagal-informed lens for understanding relational responses, plus practical starting points for repair and regulation. We close with a short grounding practice designed to support boundaries while staying connected.In this episode, you'll learnWhat attachment is (beyond “neediness”) and why it's biological as well as psychologicalHow rupture and repair shape nervous-system safetyWhat relational trauma is and how it forms over timeWhy closeness can trigger fight/flight or shutdown (polyvagal-informed, plain language)Common relational patterns (non-diagnostic): fawning, withdrawal, over-apologising, control, fear of abandonmentWhat helps: naming states, repair language, predictability, and safe connectionA gentle grounding practice that supports boundaries and connectionCheck the website for the free resources offered for both those affected by trauma and those supporting them.What's next: Developmental Trauma: A Brief Map (Building on Earlier Episodes) Support the show
AAP maintains routine vaccine recs despite CDC changes; FDA warns of serious injury with wound and burn products; subcutaneous Alzheimer disease treatment under review; Cardamyst nasal spray available; and the FDA places clinical hold on 2 gene therapies.
What if your anxiety isn't anxiety at all, but your inner fire trying to wake up?In this episode, we explore the powerful energetic intersection of Imbolc, the Leo Full Moon, and the witch wound, and how these forces illuminate our relationship with visibility, power, and feminine fire.Imbolc marks the return of the light, the sacred midpoint between winter and spring, when energy begins to stir beneath the surface. Paired with a Leo Full Moon, this moment invites deep reflection on where we've learned to dim our light, hide our creativity, or fear being seen.We talk about the witch wound as both an ancestral and personal experience, shaped by centuries of fear around feminine power, visibility, and fire. This episode explores how hiding your inner fire can manifest as anxiety, burnout, resentment, or restlessness, and how learning to tend your fire becomes an act of healing.You'll hear reflections on:Imbolc meaning and seasonal energyLeo Full Moon themes of visibility and courageThe witch wound and fear of being seenFire as transformation, creativity, and life forceBrigid, hearth tending, and sacred flameThe Strength tarot card and embodied powerHow to reclaim your inner fire without burning outThis episode is an invitation to stop fearing your power and start tending it with care, intention, and trust.Whether you are new to witchcraft, exploring secular witchery, healing ancestral wounds, or feeling called to step into greater visibility, this conversation offers grounding, insight, and permission to shine.
OneTable is a non-profit organization with two goals: make Shabbat a regular part of young people's Jewish lives, and combat the epidemic of loneliness among that same demographic. Hosts can receive a small stipend for every guest who attends their Friday night dinner, and the broader Jewish community benefits from higher levels of Shabbat engagement. But despite hundreds of thousands of young Jews being interested, OneTable laid off a quarter of its staff in December 2025, struggling to find financial support while realizing their repeat users were often accepting money for hosting dinners with friends that they would have hosted regardless. And on an even deeper level: is there even a viable business model for a one-note non-profit like this? Our rabbinic podcasters discuss. After that, they look at how the Art Gallery of Ontario came under fire when they decided not to acquire work by acclaimed photographer Nan Goldin because of alleged antisemitic comments, and finish off with some Textual Healing. Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here )
What if the deepest wound you carry isn't about what happened to you—but about whether you ever felt truly held by life itself? In this powerful and intimate conversation, JJ is joined by a longtime soul sister, healer, and registered nurse who shares a deeply transformative experience that healed a lifelong sense of abandonment—not just from people, but from God, Source, and existence itself. After more than 25 years of personal growth, spiritual practice, and emotional work, she realized there was still an existential fracture beneath it all: a quiet belief that life was not fully safe, that love could be given endlessly but not fully received, and that stepping into her full calling might come at a devastating cost. What unfolded during a sacred, carefully held journey became a profound reclamation of safety, trust, and belonging—at the nervous-system and soul level. This episode is not about escapism or quick fixes. It's about: · How early experiences can fracture our sense of safety with life itself · Why control often masks a fear of annihilation or abandonment · What true surrender actually feels like in the body · Healing the relationship with Source beyond religion or belief systems · Learning to receive love after a lifetime of giving · Releasing the fear that being fully seen could destroy you · Embodiment, integration, and lasting nervous-system change JJ also speaks to the importance of integrity, preparation, emotional readiness, and sacred containment—emphasizing that this kind of work is not for everyone, not always, and never casual. At its core, this is a conversation about remembering who you are, restoring trust in life, and discovering that you were never alone—not for a single breath. If you've ever felt: · Like you don't fully belong here · Afraid to take up space or be fully visible · Deeply loving but unable to receive · Spiritually devoted yet quietly disconnected · Called to something more but scared of the cost This episode may speak directly to your heart. This is not an escape from life.It's an invitation into the truth of who you really are. http://Karinrose.love
What if the deepest wound you carry isn't about what happened to you—but about whether you ever felt truly held by life itself? In this powerful and intimate conversation, JJ is joined by a longtime soul sister, healer, and registered nurse who shares a deeply transformative experience that healed a lifelong sense of abandonment—not just from people, but from God, Source, and existence itself. After more than 25 years of personal growth, spiritual practice, and emotional work, she realized there was still an existential fracture beneath it all: a quiet belief that life was not fully safe, that love could be given endlessly but not fully received, and that stepping into her full calling might come at a devastating cost. What unfolded during a sacred, carefully held journey became a profound reclamation of safety, trust, and belonging—at the nervous-system and soul level. This episode is not about escapism or quick fixes. It's about: · How early experiences can fracture our sense of safety with life itself · Why control often masks a fear of annihilation or abandonment · What true surrender actually feels like in the body · Healing the relationship with Source beyond religion or belief systems · Learning to receive love after a lifetime of giving · Releasing the fear that being fully seen could destroy you · Embodiment, integration, and lasting nervous-system change JJ also speaks to the importance of integrity, preparation, emotional readiness, and sacred containment—emphasizing that this kind of work is not for everyone, not always, and never casual. At its core, this is a conversation about remembering who you are, restoring trust in life, and discovering that you were never alone—not for a single breath. If you've ever felt: · Like you don't fully belong here · Afraid to take up space or be fully visible · Deeply loving but unable to receive · Spiritually devoted yet quietly disconnected · Called to something more but scared of the cost This episode may speak directly to your heart. This is not an escape from life.It's an invitation into the truth of who you really are. http://Karinrose.love
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
The testimony in Paul Caneiro's quadruple murder trial has turned graphic. A Colts Neck detective told jurors that when eight-year-old Sophia Caneiro's body was removed from the burned mansion, he noticed she had stab wounds—including one to her left eye. Sophia's father Keith, mother Jennifer, and 11-year-old brother Jesse were also found dead inside the home on November 20, 2018. Paul Caneiro, Keith's older brother, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say Paul shot Keith multiple times outside the mansion, then went inside and stabbed Jennifer and both children before setting the house on fire. Hours earlier, Paul allegedly set fire to his own Ocean Township home while his wife and daughters slept inside—a move prosecutors say was designed to make it look like the entire Caneiro family was being targeted. The motive, according to prosecutors: Keith had discovered Paul was stealing from their shared businesses and was preparing to cut him off from a $225,000 salary. Jurors heard the final phone calls between the brothers, including Keith demanding login credentials for a trust account. Paul's defense attorney says he's innocent and claims investigators never looked into a third Caneiro brother. Paul has been in jail without bail since his arrest the day after the murders—more than seven years ago.#CaneirioTrial #PaulCaneiro #KeithCaneiro #SophiaCaneiro #ColtsNeckMurders #MansionMurders #JenniferCaneiro #MonmouthCounty #TrueCrimePodcast #HiddenKillersJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
What if the deepest wound you carry isn't about what happened to you—but about whether you ever felt truly held by life itself? In this powerful and intimate conversation, JJ is joined by a longtime soul sister, healer, and registered nurse who shares a deeply transformative experience that healed a lifelong sense of abandonment—not just from people, but from God, Source, and existence itself. After more than 25 years of personal growth, spiritual practice, and emotional work, she realized there was still an existential fracture beneath it all: a quiet belief that life was not fully safe, that love could be given endlessly but not fully received, and that stepping into her full calling might come at a devastating cost. What unfolded during a sacred, carefully held journey became a profound reclamation of safety, trust, and belonging—at the nervous-system and soul level. This episode is not about escapism or quick fixes. It's about: · How early experiences can fracture our sense of safety with life itself · Why control often masks a fear of annihilation or abandonment · What true surrender actually feels like in the body · Healing the relationship with Source beyond religion or belief systems · Learning to receive love after a lifetime of giving · Releasing the fear that being fully seen could destroy you · Embodiment, integration, and lasting nervous-system change JJ also speaks to the importance of integrity, preparation, emotional readiness, and sacred containment—emphasizing that this kind of work is not for everyone, not always, and never casual. At its core, this is a conversation about remembering who you are, restoring trust in life, and discovering that you were never alone—not for a single breath. If you've ever felt: · Like you don't fully belong here · Afraid to take up space or be fully visible · Deeply loving but unable to receive · Spiritually devoted yet quietly disconnected · Called to something more but scared of the cost This episode may speak directly to your heart. This is not an escape from life.It's an invitation into the truth of who you really are. http://Karinrose.love
What if the deepest wound you carry isn't about what happened to you—but about whether you ever felt truly held by life itself? In this powerful and intimate conversation, JJ is joined by a longtime soul sister, healer, and registered nurse who shares a deeply transformative experience that healed a lifelong sense of abandonment—not just from people, but from God, Source, and existence itself. After more than 25 years of personal growth, spiritual practice, and emotional work, she realized there was still an existential fracture beneath it all: a quiet belief that life was not fully safe, that love could be given endlessly but not fully received, and that stepping into her full calling might come at a devastating cost. What unfolded during a sacred, carefully held journey became a profound reclamation of safety, trust, and belonging—at the nervous-system and soul level. This episode is not about escapism or quick fixes. It's about: · How early experiences can fracture our sense of safety with life itself · Why control often masks a fear of annihilation or abandonment · What true surrender actually feels like in the body · Healing the relationship with Source beyond religion or belief systems · Learning to receive love after a lifetime of giving · Releasing the fear that being fully seen could destroy you · Embodiment, integration, and lasting nervous-system change JJ also speaks to the importance of integrity, preparation, emotional readiness, and sacred containment—emphasizing that this kind of work is not for everyone, not always, and never casual. At its core, this is a conversation about remembering who you are, restoring trust in life, and discovering that you were never alone—not for a single breath. If you've ever felt: · Like you don't fully belong here · Afraid to take up space or be fully visible · Deeply loving but unable to receive · Spiritually devoted yet quietly disconnected · Called to something more but scared of the cost This episode may speak directly to your heart. This is not an escape from life.It's an invitation into the truth of who you really are. http://Karinrose.love
What if the deepest wound you carry isn't about what happened to you—but about whether you ever felt truly held by life itself? In this powerful and intimate conversation, JJ is joined by a longtime soul sister, healer, and registered nurse who shares a deeply transformative experience that healed a lifelong sense of abandonment—not just from people, but from God, Source, and existence itself. After more than 25 years of personal growth, spiritual practice, and emotional work, she realized there was still an existential fracture beneath it all: a quiet belief that life was not fully safe, that love could be given endlessly but not fully received, and that stepping into her full calling might come at a devastating cost. What unfolded during a sacred, carefully held journey became a profound reclamation of safety, trust, and belonging—at the nervous-system and soul level. This episode is not about escapism or quick fixes. It's about: · How early experiences can fracture our sense of safety with life itself · Why control often masks a fear of annihilation or abandonment · What true surrender actually feels like in the body · Healing the relationship with Source beyond religion or belief systems · Learning to receive love after a lifetime of giving · Releasing the fear that being fully seen could destroy you · Embodiment, integration, and lasting nervous-system change JJ also speaks to the importance of integrity, preparation, emotional readiness, and sacred containment—emphasizing that this kind of work is not for everyone, not always, and never casual. At its core, this is a conversation about remembering who you are, restoring trust in life, and discovering that you were never alone—not for a single breath. If you've ever felt: · Like you don't fully belong here · Afraid to take up space or be fully visible · Deeply loving but unable to receive · Spiritually devoted yet quietly disconnected · Called to something more but scared of the cost This episode may speak directly to your heart. This is not an escape from life.It's an invitation into the truth of who you really are. http://Karinrose.love
AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on a Russian strike on Odesa.
In this episode of Unfck Your* Relationships*, I break down what an abandonment wound actually is, why most women aren't truly healing it, and how it keeps running the show in relationships, even when you're self-aware, educated, and have “done the work.” An abandonment wound isn't about being needy or dramatic. It's a nervous system injury formed through inconsistency, emotional unpredictability, and love that came and went. And more often than not, the deepest wound isn't that people leave, it's that you learned to leave yourself to keep connection. I unpack why triggers feel so intense, why panic isn't about the present moment, and how self-abandonment shows up as over-giving, over-explaining, and staying in relationships that hurt because being alone feels worse. This episode is about shifting from managing your wound to actually healing it, by building self-connection, emotional safety, and a nervous system that no longer needs chaos to feel love. WORK WITH MICHELLE: Join THE CONNECTED WOMAN, a course for the woman who wants to go from anxious & self-abandoning in relationships to secure, confident and unf*ckwithable: https://michellepanning.com/the-connected-woman Sign up for THE EXPERIENCE, an exclusive 12-month mentorship experience where you go all in on YOU (aka, you get direct access to me as a mentor, access to every offer I run over your year, and MORE): https://michellepanning.com/the-experience CONNECT WITH MICHELLE: Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/michellepanning Website: http://www.michellepanning.com
A vascular surgeon with no criminal record. A Chicago penthouse. A firearm that police say matches shell casings from a double homicide 300 miles away. And eight years of alleged obsession that ended with Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer dead while their children slept down the hall.Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke—who headed the Bureau's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program—identifies Dr. Michael McKee as a potential "wound collector." These are people who don't move on from perceived injuries. They catalog grievances, assign blame, and carry resentment for years until it explodes. Dreeke breaks down how wound collectors think, how high-functioning professionals mask dangerous resentment, what finally triggers them to act, and how they convince themselves they're the victim. Understanding this psychology might help someone recognize the signs before the next tragedy.Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer analyzes the forensic evidence. Surveillance footage captured McKee's vehicle arriving before the killings and leaving after. A hooded figure walked through an alley at 3:52 AM. A preliminary NIBIN ballistics match ties a firearm from McKee's penthouse to the crime scene. But the investigation raises questions: how did someone allegedly enter the Tepe home with no forced entry? And why would a surgeon—someone whose entire career is built on precision—allegedly keep the murder weapon in his own apartment for eleven days?Coffindaffer examines the behavioral red flags that emerged months before, including a malpractice process server who tried nine times to locate McKee at addresses that didn't exist. She explains what investigators are holding back, what the defense will exploit, and why waiving extradition might be calculated. McKee maintains his innocence and plans to plead not guilty to two counts of premeditated aggravated murder.#TeepeMurders #MichaelMcKee #WoundCollector #RobinDreeke #JenniferCoffindaffer #TrueCrimeToday #FBI #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #NIBINJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Eight years. That's how long Dr. Michael McKee allegedly waited after his divorce from Monique Tepe before he drove 300 miles from Illinois to Ohio and shot her and her husband Spencer dead in their home. Most people move on after a failed marriage. They heal. They rebuild. But according to FBI behavioral expert Robin Dreeke, McKee may be what's called a "wound collector"—someone who doesn't let go of perceived injuries, who catalogs grievances and carries resentment for years until it explodes.Dreeke spent 32 years at the FBI, including heading the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. He breaks down how wound collectors think, how they justify, and why high-functioning professionals like surgeons can mask dangerous resentment behind successful careers. We examine what triggers someone to finally act after years of stewing, how they flip the narrative to convince themselves they're the victim, and what watching an ex-spouse's happiness does to someone who never let go.But the forensic evidence raises its own questions. Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer analyzes the investigation—surveillance footage of McKee's vehicle arriving before the killings and leaving after, a preliminary NIBIN ballistics match, and a hooded figure walking through an alley at 3:52 AM. Police recovered the alleged murder weapon from McKee's Chicago penthouse eleven days after the crime. Why would a surgeon—someone whose career is built on precision—allegedly keep the gun in his own apartment?Coffindaffer examines the no-forced-entry mystery, the behavioral red flags that emerged months before the murders including a malpractice process server who tried nine times to locate McKee at addresses that didn't exist, and why waiving extradition might be the first move in a calculated legal strategy. McKee maintains his innocence and plans to plead not guilty to two counts of premeditated aggravated murder.#McKeeTepe #MichaelMcKee #WoundCollector #RobinDreeke #JenniferCoffindaffer #FBI #SpencerTepe #MoniqueTepe #NIBIN #WeekInReviewJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Two FBI experts. One case that demands both behavioral and forensic analysis. We're breaking down Dr. Michael McKee live—examining the psychology of an alleged eight-year obsession and the evidence trail that led police to charge him with premeditated aggravated murder.Robin Dreeke spent 32 years at the FBI, including heading the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. He identifies McKee as a potential "wound collector"—someone who doesn't let go of perceived injuries, who catalogs grievances and carries them for years until they explode. Dreeke explains what separates someone who moves on from a failed marriage versus someone who allegedly stews for eight years then drives 300 miles to kill his ex-wife and her husband while their children sleep down the hall. We examine how high-functioning surgeons can mask dangerous resentment, what triggers wound collectors to finally act, and how they flip the narrative to see themselves as victims.Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer analyzes the forensic case. Surveillance footage shows McKee's vehicle arriving before the killings and leaving after. A preliminary NIBIN ballistics match connects a firearm from his Chicago penthouse to shell casings at the scene. Police recovered the alleged murder weapon eleven days after the crime. But why would a surgeon—someone whose career demands precision—allegedly keep the gun? Coffindaffer examines the no-forced-entry mystery, the behavioral red flags months before including a malpractice process server who couldn't locate McKee at nine different addresses, and what investigators are likely holding back.McKee had no criminal record. No documented threats. Nothing on paper that flagged him as dangerous. He maintains his innocence. Understanding wound collectors and analyzing the evidence might help someone recognize the signs before the next tragedy.#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #WoundCollector #RobinDreeke #JenniferCoffindaffer #HiddenKillersLive #FBI #NIBIN #LiveBreakdownJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
What turns a failed seven-month marriage into an alleged eight-year obsession ending in double homicide?Michael McKee, a 39-year-old vascular surgeon, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer. Family members say Monique lived with McKee for only seven months before escaping what they describe as emotional abuse and repeated death threats. She divorced him in 2017, remarried in 2020, built a new life with two children. Prosecutors allege McKee drove six hours from Illinois, entered their home without forced entry, shot both victims at 3:52 AM, and drove back.In Part 1 of our three-part expert interview series, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott provides clinical analysis of the alleged perpetrator psychology. With over thirty years working in forensic settings and domestic violence programs — and as author of "The Minds of Mass Killers" — Shavaun brings deep expertise to these questions.We examine the "wound collector" profile identified by FBI profiler Joe Navarro. We explore how high-functioning individuals allegedly compartmentalize obsession. We analyze what allegedly triggers action after years of apparent fixation. And we dig into the internal narrative that may have allegedly justified this alleged eight-year grudge.Expert insight into the psychology of violence.#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #TepeMurders #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimeToday #WoundCollector #ForensicPsychology #DomesticViolence #ExpertAnalysisJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Seven months of living together. Eight years of alleged obsession. Two lives allegedly taken.Michael McKee was married to Monique Tepe for two years on paper, but family members say they only lived together for about seven months before she fled what they describe as emotional torture and death threats. She rebuilt her life, remarried dentist Spencer Tepe, had children, and appeared to thrive. Prosecutors allege McKee watched from a distance for eight years — then allegedly drove six hours to Columbus, entered their home without forced entry, and shot them both to death while their kids slept.Former FBI profiler Joe Navarro calls this type a "wound collector" — someone who nurtures grievances for years, unable to forgive or move on. Criminal behavioral analyst Laura Richards describes it as "stalking in slow motion." In this episode, we apply these frameworks to the McKee case and explore what the research says about obsessive ex-partners who turn lethal.This one is heavy. But it matters. Because recognizing these patterns saves lives.McKee is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and awaits extradition to Ohio.#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #TepeMurders #WoundCollector #TrueCrime #DomesticViolence #CoerciveControl #HiddenKillers #OhioJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Explore the powerful connection between Aquarius energy and healing the witch wound in this deep dive into authenticity, individuality, and collective healing.In this episode, we discuss: ✨ Aquarius season astrology & fixed sign energy
This lecture discusses key ideas from the medieval Christian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, 1st part of the 2nd part, question 28 "The Effects Of Love", and examines his discussions in article 5, which centers on a question raised not only by literary tropes but also by the Song of Songs. Does the passion of love in some way wound or harm the lover? Thomas notes that love produces a "melting" or receptiveness in the lover, which if the object of love is present can lead to enjoyment, but if not can lead to strong desire and to the sadness of languor. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 3500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae - amzn.to/2ITcKYQ
In this final episode of our Parent Wound & Your Attachment Style series, we're talking about what inner child healing really is and why insight alone isn't enough to create secure attachment. If you've done the self-work, listened to the podcasts, and still feel stuck in the same relationship patterns, this episode will help you understand what's actually missing. True healing happens when we teach the nervous system that it's safe now, and today I'm walking you through how inner child work, mother wounds, father wounds, and secure attachment all connect.Inside the episode:What inner child healing truly involves - nervous system rewiring, emotional regulation, re-parenting yourself, and building earned secure attachmentHow mother wounds and father wounds show up in adulthood, shaping your relationship with emotions, self-worth, feedback, and loveThe three requirements for becoming securely attached, including creating safety in your body, developing self-trust through re-parenting, and choosing emotionally available relationshipsThis episode is about moving out of survival mode and into safety, not just in your thoughts, but in your body. When you heal your inner child at a nervous system level, your patterns begin to change, your standards rise, and secure relationships stop feeling unfamiliar and start feeling natural.Ready for deeper support? Work with Dr. Morgan
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
This is the case that broke the system wide open. Ellen Greenberg — a 27-year-old first-grade teacher — was found dead in her Philadelphia apartment with 23 stab wounds, 10 of them to the back of her neck, a knife buried four inches into her chest. The official ruling? Suicide.For 15 years, her parents fought every institution in Pennsylvania. They were told their daughter did this to herself. Courts called the investigation "deeply flawed" but couldn't grant relief. The original medical examiner recanted. A new review found 20 additional bruises and 3 more stab wounds never documented. The city still said suicide.Now federal prosecutors have entered the case — and they're not investigating how Ellen died. They're investigating whether the people who handled her case committed crimes. Sources say the U.S. Attorney's Office has issued subpoenas to the Philadelphia Police Department, the Medical Examiner's Office, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office — the office Governor Josh Shapiro ran when his team closed this case citing laptop searches found on devices that had been removed from the crime scene by Ellen's fiancé's uncle.The chain of custody was broken. The crime scene was cleaned in 24 hours. The doorman never accompanied anyone upstairs. And now, finally, someone with subpoena power wants to know why nobody in Pennsylvania seemed interested in finding the truth.#EllenGreenberg #JoshShapiro #FederalInvestigation #TrueCrime #JusticeForEllen #Philadelphia #Corruption #CoverUp #MedicalExaminer #TrueCrime2025Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Back from the holiday break..the whole gangs here as Tahoe has an issue with wearing outside clothes in the bedroom, a dad says youre out the will if you marry without a prenuptial agreement,speaking to your friend about their cheating habits vs speaking to your parents about their parenting skills, does your relationship with the coparent alter how involved you are in your childs life, and how long should your spouse grieve before having relations. ENJOY!
What if the most transformative thing you can do for your writing craft and author business is to face what you fear? How can you can find gold in your Shadow in the year ahead? In this episode, I share chapters from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words. In the intro, curated book boxes from Bridgerton's Julia Quinn; Google's agentic shopping, and powering Apple's Siri; ChatGPT Ads; and Claude CoWork. Balancing Certainty and Uncertainty [MoonShots with Tony Robbins]; and three trends for authors with me and Orna Ross [Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast]; plus, Bones of the Deep, Business for Authors, and Indie Author Lab. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, and memoir as J.F. Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. What is the Shadow? The ‘creative wound' and the Shadow in writing The Shadow in traditional publishing The Shadow in self-publishing or being an indie author The Shadow in work The Shadow in money You can find Writing the Shadow in all formats on all stores, as well as special edition, workbook and bundles at www.TheCreativePenn.com/shadowbook Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words The following chapters are excerpted from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words by Joanna Penn. Introduction. What is the Shadow? “How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole.” —C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul We all have a Shadow side and it is the work of a lifetime to recognise what lies within and spin that base material into gold. Think of it as a seedling in a little pot that you're given when you're young. It's a bit misshapen and weird, not something you would display in your living room, so you place it in a dark corner of the basement. You don't look at it for years. You almost forget about it. Then one day you notice tendrils of something wild poking up through the floorboards. They're ugly and don't fit with your Scandi-minimalist interior design. You chop the tendrils away and pour weedkiller on what's left, trying to hide the fact that they were ever there. But the creeping stems keep coming. At some point, you know you have to go down there and face the wild thing your seedling has become. When you eventually pluck up enough courage to go down into the basement, you discover that the plant has wound its roots deep into the foundations of your home. Its vines weave in and out of the cracks in the walls, and it has beautiful flowers and strange fruit. It holds your world together. Perhaps you don't need to destroy the wild tendrils. Perhaps you can let them wind up into the light and allow their rich beauty to weave through your home. It will change the look you have so carefully cultivated, but maybe that's just what the place needs. The Shadow in psychology Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychologist and the founder of analytical psychology. He described the Shadow as an unconscious aspect of the human personality, those parts of us that don't match up to what is expected of us by family and society, or to our own ideals. The Shadow is not necessarily evil or illegal or immoral, although of course it can be. It's also not necessarily caused by trauma, abuse, or any other severely damaging event, although again, it can be. It depends on the individual. What is in your Shadow is based on your life and your experiences, as well as your culture and society, so it will be different for everyone. Psychologist Connie Zweig, in The Inner Work of Age, explains, “The Shadow is that part of us that lies beneath or behind the light of awareness. It contains our rejected, unacceptable traits and feelings. It contains our hidden gifts and talents that have remained unexpressed or unlived. As Jung put it, the essence of the Shadow is pure gold.” To further illustrate the concept, Robert Bly, in A Little Book on the Human Shadow,uses the following metaphor: “When we are young, we carry behind us an invisible bag, into which we stuff any feelings, thoughts, or behaviours that bring disapproval or loss of love—anger, tears, neediness, laziness. By the time we go to school, our bags are already a mile long. In high school, our peer groups pressure us to stuff the bags with even more—individuality, sexuality, spontaneity, different opinions. We spend our life until we're twenty deciding which parts of ourselves to put into the bag and we spend the rest of our lives trying to get them out again.” As authors, we can use what's in the ‘bag' to enrich our writing — but only if we can access it. My intention with this book is to help you venture into your Shadow and bring some of what's hidden into the light and into your words. I'll reveal aspects of my Shadow in these pages but ultimately, this book is about you. Your Shadow is unique. There may be elements we share, but much will be different. Each chapter has questions for you to consider that may help you explore at least the edges of your Shadow, but it's not easy. As Jung said, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.” But take heart, Creative. You don't need courage when things are easy. You need it when you know what you face will be difficult, but you do it anyway. We are authors. We know how to do hard things. We turn ideas into books. We manifest thoughts into ink on paper. We change lives with our writing. First, our own, then other people's. It's worth the effort to delve into Shadow, so I hope you will join me on the journey. The creative wound and the Shadow in writing “Whatever pain you can't get rid of, make it your creative offering.” —Susan Cain, Bittersweet The more we long for something, the more extreme our desire, the more likely it is to have a Shadow side. For those of us who love books, the author life may well be a long-held dream and thus, it is filled with Shadow. Books have long been objects of desire, power, and authority. They hold a mythic status in our lives. We escaped into stories as children; we studied books at school and college; we read them now for escape and entertainment, education and inspiration. We collect beautiful books to put on our shelves. We go to them for solace and answers to the deepest questions of life. Writers are similarly held in high esteem. They shape culture, win literary prizes, give important speeches, and are quoted in the mainstream media. Their books are on the shelves in libraries and bookstores. Writers are revered, held up as rare, talented creatures made separate from us by their brilliance and insight. For bibliophile children, books were everything and to write one was a cherished dream. To become an author? Well, that would mean we might be someone special, someone worthy. Perhaps when you were young, you thought the dream of being a writer was possible — then you told someone about it. That's probably when you heard the first criticism of such a ridiculous idea, the first laughter, the first dismissal. So you abandoned the dream, pushed the idea of being a writer into the Shadow, and got on with your life. Or if it wasn't then, it came later, when you actually put pen to paper and someone — a parent, teacher, partner, or friend, perhaps even a literary agent or publisher, someone whose opinion you valued — told you it was worthless. Here are some things you might have heard: Writing is a hobby. Get a real job. You're not good enough. You don't have any writing talent. You don't have enough education. You don't know what you're doing. Your writing is derivative / unoriginal / boring / useless / doesn't make sense. The genre you write in is dead / worthless / unacceptable / morally wrong / frivolous / useless. Who do you think you are? No one would want to read what you write. You can't even use proper grammar, so how could you write a whole book? You're wasting your time. You'll never make it as a writer. You shouldn't write those things (or even think about those things). Why don't you write something nice? Insert other derogatory comment here! Mark Pierce describes the effect of this experience in his book The Creative Wound, which “occurs when an event, or someone's actions or words, pierce you, causing a kind of rift in your soul. A comment—even offhand and unintentional—is enough to cause one.” He goes on to say that such words can inflict “damage to the core of who we are as creators. It is an attack on our artistic identity, resulting in us believing that whatever we make is somehow tainted or invalid, because shame has convinced us there is something intrinsically tainted or invalid about ourselves.” As adults, we might brush off such wounds, belittling them as unimportant in the grand scheme of things. We might even find ourselves saying the same words to other people. After all, it's easier to criticise than to create. But if you picture your younger self, bright eyed as you lose yourself in your favourite book, perhaps you might catch a glimpse of what you longed for before your dreams were dashed on the rocks of other people's reality. As Mark Pierce goes on to say, “A Creative Wound has the power to delay our pursuits—sometimes for years—and it can even derail our lives completely… Anything that makes us feel ashamed of ourselves or our work can render us incapable of the self-expression we yearn for.” This is certainly what happened to me, and it took decades to unwind. Your creative wounds will differ to mine but perhaps my experience will help you explore your own. To be clear, your Shadow may not reside in elements of horror as mine do, but hopefully you can use my example to consider where your creative wounds might lie. “You shouldn't write things like that.” It happened at secondary school around 1986 or 1987, so I would have been around eleven or twelve years old. English was one of my favourite subjects and the room we had our lessons in looked out onto a vibrant garden. I loved going to that class because it was all about books, and they were always my favourite things. One day, we were asked to write a story. I can't remember the specifics of what the teacher asked us to write, but I fictionalised a recurring nightmare. I stood in a dark room. On one side, my mum and my brother, Rod, were tied up next to a cauldron of boiling oil, ready to be thrown in. On the other side, my dad and my little sister, Lucy, were threatened with decapitation by men with machetes. I had to choose who would die. I always woke up, my heart pounding, before I had to choose. Looking back now, it clearly represented an internal conflict about having to pick sides between the two halves of my family. Not an unexpected issue from a child of divorce. Perhaps these days, I might have been sent to the school counsellor, but it was the eighties and I don't think we even had such a thing. Even so, the meaning of the story isn't the point. It was the reaction to it that left scars. “You shouldn't write things like that,” my teacher said, and I still remember her look of disappointment, even disgust. Certainly judgment. She said my writing was too dark. It wasn't a proper story. It wasn't appropriate for the class. As if horrible things never happened in stories — or in life. As if literature could not include dark tales. As if the only acceptable writing was the kind she approved of. We were taught The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie that year, which says a lot about the type of writing considered appropriate. Or perhaps the issue stemmed from the school motto, “So hateth she derknesse,” from Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women: “For fear of night, so she hates the darkness.” I had won a scholarship to a private girls' school, and their mission was to turn us all into proper young ladies. Horror was never on the curriculum. Perhaps if my teacher had encouraged me to write my darkness back then, my nightmares would have dissolved on the page. Perhaps if we had studied Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or H.P. Lovecraft stories, or Bram Stoker's Dracula, I could have embraced the darker side of literature earlier in my life. My need to push darker thoughts into my Shadow was compounded by my (wonderful) mum's best intentions. We were brought up on the principles of The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and she tried to shield me and my brother from anything harmful or horrible. We weren't allowed to watch TV much, and even the British school drama Grange Hill was deemed inappropriate. So much of what I've achieved is because my mum instilled in me a “can do” attitude that anything is possible. I'm so grateful to her for that. (I love you, Mum!) But all that happy positivity, my desire to please her, to be a good girl, to make my teachers proud, and to be acceptable to society, meant that I pushed my darker thoughts into Shadow. They were inappropriate. They were taboo. They must be repressed, kept secret, and I must be outwardly happy and positive at all times. You cannot hold back the darkness “The night is dark and full of terrors.” —George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords It turned out that horror was on the curriculum, much of it in the form of educational films we watched during lessons. In English Literature, we watched Romeo drink poison and Juliet stab herself in Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. In Religious Studies, we watched Jesus beaten, tortured, and crucified in The Greatest Story Ever Told, and learned of the variety of gruesome ways that Christian saints were martyred. In Classical Civilisation, we watched gladiators slaughter each other in Spartacus. In Sex Education at the peak of the AIDS crisis in the mid-'80s, we were told of the many ways we could get infected and die. In History, we studied the Holocaust with images of skeletal bodies thrown into mass graves, medical experiments on humans, and grainy videos of marching soldiers giving the Nazi salute. One of my first overseas school field trips was to the World War I battlegrounds of Flanders Fields in Belgium, where we studied the inhuman conditions of the trenches, walked through mass graves, and read war poetry by candlelight. As John McCrae wrote: We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Did the teachers not realise how deeply a sensitive teenager might feel the darkness of that place? Or have I always been unusual in that places of blood echo deep inside me? And the horrors kept coming. We lived in Bristol, England back then and I learned at school how the city had been part of the slave trade, its wealth built on the backs of people stolen from their homes, sold, and worked to death in the colonies. I had been at school for a year in Malawi, Africa and imagined the Black people I knew drowning, being beaten, and dying on those ships. In my teenage years, the news was filled with ethnic cleansing, mass rape, and massacres during the Balkan wars, and images of bodies hacked apart during the Rwandan genocide. Evil committed by humans against other humans was not a historical aberration. I'm lucky and I certainly acknowledge my privilege. Nothing terrible or horrifying has happened to me — but bad things certainly happen to others. I wasn't bullied or abused. I wasn't raped or beaten or tortured. But you don't have to go through things to be afraid of them, and for your imagination to conjure the possibility of them. My mum doesn't read my fiction now as it gives her nightmares (Sorry, Mum!). I know she worries that somehow she's responsible for my darkness, but I've had a safe and (mostly) happy life, for which I'm truly grateful. But the world is not an entirely safe and happy place, and for a sensitive child with a vivid imagination, the world is dark and scary. It can be brutal and violent, and bad things happen, even to good people. No parent can shield their child from the reality of the world. They can only help them do their best to live in it, develop resilience, and find ways to deal with whatever comes. Story has always been a way that humans have used to learn how to live and deal with difficult times. The best authors, the ones that readers adore and can't get enough of, write their darkness into story to channel their experience, and help others who fear the same. In an interview on writing the Shadow on The Creative Penn Podcast, Michaelbrent Collings shared how he incorporated a personally devastating experience into his writing: “My wife and I lost a child years back, and that became the root of one of my most terrifying books, Apparition. It's not terrifying because it's the greatest book of all time, but just the concept that there's this thing out there… like a demon, and it consumes the blood and fear of the children, and then it withdraws and consumes the madness of the parents… I wrote that in large measure as a way of working through what I was experiencing.” I've learned much from Michaelbrent. I've read many of his (excellent) books and he's been on my podcast multiple times talking about his depression and mental health issues, as well as difficulties in his author career. Writing darkness is not in Michaelbrent's Shadow and only he can say what lies there for him. But from his example, and from that of other authors, I too learned how to write my Shadow into my books. Twenty-three years after that English lesson, in November 2009, I did NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, and wrote five thousand words of what eventually became Stone of Fire, my first novel. In the initial chapter, I burned a nun alive on the ghats of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges River. I had watched the bodies burn by night on pyres from a boat bobbing in the current a few years before, and the image was still crystal clear in my mind. The only way to deal with how it made me feel about death was to write about it — and since then, I've never stopped writing. Returning to the nightmare from my school days, I've never had to choose between the two halves of my family, but the threat of losing them remains a theme in my fiction. In my ARKANE thriller series, Morgan Sierra will do anything to save her sister and her niece. Their safety drives her to continue to fight against evil. Our deepest fears emerge in our writing, and that's the safest place for them. I wish I'd been taught how to turn my nightmares into words back at school, but at least now I've learned to write my Shadow onto the page. I wish the same for you. The Shadow in traditional publishing If becoming an author is your dream, then publishing a book is deeply entwined with that. But as Mark Pierce says in The Creative Wound, “We feel pain the most where it matters the most… Desire highlights whatever we consider to be truly significant.” There is a lot of desire around publishing for those of us who love books! It can give you: Validation that your writing is good enough Status and credibility Acceptance by an industry held in esteem The potential of financial reward and critical acclaim Support from a team of professionals who know how to make fantastic books A sense of belonging to an elite community Pride in achieving a long-held goal, resulting in a confidence boost and self-esteem Although not guaranteed, traditional publishing can give you all these things and more, but as with everything, there is a potential Shadow side. Denying it risks the potential of being disillusioned, disappointed, and even damaged. But remember, forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. Preparation can help you avoid potential issues and help you feel less alone if you encounter them. The myth of success… and the reality of experience There is a pervasive myth of success in the traditional publishing industry, perpetuated by media reporting on brand name and breakout authors, those few outliers whose experience is almost impossible to replicate. Because of such examples, many new traditionally published authors think that their first book will hit the top of the bestseller charts or win an award, as well as make them a million dollars — or at least a big chunk of cash. They will be able to leave their job, write in a beautiful house overlooking the ocean, and swan around the world attending conferences, while writing more bestselling books. It will be a charmed life. But that is not the reality. Perhaps it never was. Even so, the life of a traditionally published author represents a mythic career with the truth hidden behind a veil of obscurity. In April 2023, The Bookseller in the UK reported that “more than half of authors (54%) responding to a survey on their experiences of publishing their debut book have said the process negatively affected their mental health. Though views were mixed, just 22%… described a positive experience overall… Among the majority who said they had a negative experience of debut publication, anxiety, stress, depression and ‘lowered' self-esteem were cited, with lack of support, guidance or clear and professional communication from their publisher among the factors that contributed.” Many authors who have negative experiences around publishing will push them into the Shadow with denial or self-blame, preferring to keep the dream alive. They won't talk about things in public as this may negatively affect their careers, but private discussions are often held in the corners of writing conferences or social media groups online. Some of the issues are as follows: Repeated rejection by agents and publishers may lead to the author thinking they are not good enough as a writer, which can lead to feeling unworthy as a person. If an author gets a deal, the amount of advance and the name and status of the publisher compared to others create a hierarchy that impacts self-esteem. A deal for a book may be much lower than an author might have been expecting, with low or no advance, and the resulting experience with the publisher beneath expectations. The launch process may be disappointing, and the book may appear without fanfare, with few sales and no bestseller chart position. In The Bookseller report, one author described her launch day as “a total wasteland… You have expectations about what publication day will be like, but in reality, nothing really happens.” The book may receive negative reviews by critics or readers or more publicly on social media, which can make an author feel attacked. The book might not sell as well as expected, and the author may feel like it's their fault. Commercial success can sometimes feel tied to self-worth and an author can't help but compare their sales to others, with resulting embarrassment or shame. The communication from the publisher may be less than expected. One author in The Bookseller report said, “I was shocked by the lack of clarity and shared information and the cynicism that underlies the superficial charm of this industry.” There is often more of a focus on debut authors in publishing houses, so those who have been writing and publishing in the midlist for years can feel ignored and undervalued. In The Bookseller report, 48 percent of authors reported “their publisher supported them for less than a year,” with one saying, “I got no support and felt like a commodity, like the team had moved on completely to the next book.” If an author is not successful enough, the next deal may be lower than the last, less effort is made with marketing, and they may be let go. In The Bookseller report, “six authors—debut and otherwise—cited being dropped by their publisher, some with no explanation.” Even if everything goes well and an author is considered successful by others, they may experience imposter syndrome, feeling like a fraud when speaking at conferences or doing book signings. And the list goes on … All these things can lead to feelings of shame, inadequacy, and embarrassment; loss of status in the eyes of peers; and a sense of failure if a publishing career is not successful enough. The author feels like it's their fault, like they weren't good enough — although, of course, the reality is that the conditions were not right at the time. A failure of a book is not a failure of the person, but it can certainly feel like it! When you acknowledge the Shadow, it loses its power Despite all the potential negatives of traditional publishing, if you know what could happen, you can mitigate them. You can prepare yourself for various scenarios and protect yourself from potential fall-out. It's clear from The Bookseller report that too many authors have unrealistic expectations of the industry. But publishers are businesses, not charities. It's not their job to make you feel good as an author. It's their job to sell books and pay you. The best thing they can do is to continue to be a viable business so they can keep putting books on the shelves and keep paying authors, staff, and company shareholders. When you license your creative work to a publisher, you're giving up control of your intellectual property in exchange for money and status. Bring your fears and issues out of the Shadow, acknowledge them, and deal with them early, so they do not get pushed down and re-emerge later in blame and bitterness. Educate yourself on the business of publishing. Be clear on what you want to achieve with any deal. Empower yourself as an author, take responsibility for your career, and you will have a much better experience. The Shadow in self-publishing or being an indie author Self-publishing, or being an independent (indie) author, can be a fantastic, pro-active choice for getting your book into the world. Holding your first book in your hand and saying “I made this” is pretty exciting, and even after more than forty books, I still get excited about seeing ideas in my head turn into a physical product in the world. Self-publishing can give an author: Creative control over what to write, editorial and cover design choices, when and how often to publish, and how to market Empowerment over your author career and the ability to make choices that impact success without asking for permission Ownership and control of intellectual property assets, resulting in increased opportunity around licensing and new markets Independence and the potential for recurring income for the long term Autonomy and flexibility around timelines, publishing options, and the ability to easily pivot into new genres and business models Validation based on positive reader reviews and money earned Personal growth and learning through the acquisition of new skills, resulting in a boost in confidence and self-esteem A sense of belonging to an active and vibrant community of indie authors around the world Being an indie author can give you all this and more, but once again, there is a Shadow side and preparation can help you navigate potential issues. The myth of success… and the reality of experience As with traditional publishing, the indie author world has perpetuated a myth of success in the example of the breakout indie author like E.L. James with Fifty Shades of Grey, Hugh Howey with Wool, or Andy Weir with The Martian. The emphasis on financial success is also fuelled online by authors who share screenshots showing six-figure months or seven-figure years, without sharing marketing costs and other outgoings, or the amount of time spent on the business. Yes, these can inspire some, but it can also make others feel inadequate and potentially lead to bad choices about how to publish and market based on comparison. The indie author world is full of just as much ego and a desire for status and money as traditional publishing. This is not a surprise! Most authors, regardless of publishing choices, are a mix of massive ego and chronic self-doubt. We are human, so the same issues will re-occur. A different publishing method doesn't cure all ills. Some of the issues are as follows: You learn everything you need to know about writing and editing, only to find that you need to learn a whole new set of skills in order to self-publish and market your book. This can take a lot of time and effort you did not expect, and things change all the time so you have to keep learning. Being in control of every aspect of the publishing process, from writing to cover design to marketing, can be overwhelming, leading to indecision, perfectionism, stress, and even burnout as you try to do all the things. You try to find people to help, but building your team is a challenge, and working with others has its own difficulties. People say negative things about self-publishing that may arouse feelings of embarrassment or shame. These might be little niggles, but they needle you, nonetheless. You wonder whether you made the right choice. You struggle with self-doubt and if you go to an event with traditional published authors, you compare yourself to them and feel like an imposter. Are you good enough to be an author if a traditional publisher hasn't chosen you? Is it just vanity to self-publish? Are your books unworthy? Even though you worked with a professional editor, you still get one-star reviews and you hate criticism from readers. You wonder whether you're wasting your time. You might be ripped off by an author services company who promise the world, only to leave you with a pile of printed books in your garage and no way to sell them. When you finally publish your book, it languishes at the bottom of the charts while other authors hit the top of the list over and over, raking in the cash while you are left out of pocket. You don't admit to over-spending on marketing as it makes you ashamed. You resist book marketing and make critical comments about writers who embrace it. You believe that quality rises to the top and if a book is good enough, people will buy it anyway. This can lead to disappointment and disillusionment when you launch your book and it doesn't sell many copies because nobody knows about it. You try to do what everyone advises, but you still can't make decent money as an author. You're jealous of other authors' success and put it down to them ‘selling out' or writing things you can't or ‘using AI' or ‘using a ghostwriter' or having a specific business model you consider impossible to replicate. And the list goes on… When you acknowledge the Shadow, it loses its power Being in control of your books and your author career is a double-edged sword. Traditionally published authors can criticise their publishers or agents or the marketing team or the bookstores or the media, but indie authors have to take responsibility for it all. Sure, we can blame ‘the algorithms' or social media platforms, or criticise other authors for having more experience or more money to invest in marketing, or attribute their success to writing in a more popular genre — but we also know there are always people who do well regardless of the challenges. Once more, we're back to acknowledging and integrating the Shadow side of our choices. We are flawed humans. There will always be good times and bad, and difficulties to offset the high points. This too shall pass, as the old saying goes. I know that being an indie author has plenty of Shadow. I've been doing this since 2008 and despite the hard times, I'm still here. I'm still writing. I'm still publishing. This life is not for everyone, but it's my choice. You must make yours. The Shadow in work You work hard. You make a living. Nothing wrong with that attitude, right? It's what we're taught from an early age and, like so much of life, it's not a problem until it goes to extremes. Not achieving what you want to? Work harder. Can't get ahead? Work harder. Not making a good enough living? Work harder. People who don't work hard are lazy. They don't deserve handouts or benefits. People who don't work hard aren't useful, so they are not valued members of our culture and community. But what about the old or the sick, the mentally ill, or those with disabilities? What about children? What about the unemployed? The under-employed? What about those who are — or will be — displaced by technology, those called “the useless class” by historian Yuval Noah Harari in his book Homo Deus? What if we become one of these in the future? Who am I if I cannot work? The Shadow side of my attitude to work became clear when I caught COVID in the summer of 2021. I was the sickest I'd ever been. I spent two weeks in bed unable to even think properly, and six weeks after that, I was barely able to work more than an hour a day before lying in the dark and waiting for my energy to return. I was limited in what I could do for another six months after that. At times, I wondered if I would ever get better. Jonathan kept urging me to be patient and rest. But I don't know how to rest. I know how to work and how to sleep. I can do ‘active rest,' which usually involves walking a long way or traveling somewhere interesting, but those require a stronger mind and body than I had during those months. It struck me that even if I recovered from the virus, I had glimpsed my future self. One day, I will be weak in body and mind. If I'm lucky, that will be many years away and hopefully for a short time before I die — but it will happen. I am an animal. I will die. My body and mind will pass on and I will be no more. Before then I will be weak. Before then, I will be useless. Before then, I will be a burden. I will not be able to work… But who am I if I cannot work? What is the point of me? I can't answer these questions right now, because although I recognise them as part of my Shadow, I've not progressed far enough to have dealt with them entirely. My months of COVID gave me some much-needed empathy for those who cannot work, even if they want to. We need to reframe what work is as a society, and value humans for different things, especially as technology changes what work even means. That starts with each of us. “Illness, affliction of body and soul, can be life-altering. It has the potential to reveal the most fundamental conflict of the human condition: the tension between our infinite, glorious dreams and desires and our limited, vulnerable, decaying physicality.” —Connie Zweig, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul The Shadow in money In the Greek myth, King Midas was a wealthy ruler who loved gold above all else. His palace was adorned with golden sculptures and furniture, and he took immense pleasure in his riches. Yet, despite his vast wealth, he yearned for more. After doing a favour for Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, Midas was granted a single wish. Intoxicated by greed, he wished that everything he touched would turn to gold — and it was so. At first, it was a lot of fun. Midas turned everything else in his palace to gold, even the trees and stones of his estate. After a morning of turning things to gold, he fancied a spot of lunch. But when he tried to eat, the food and drink turned to gold in his mouth. He became thirsty and hungry — and increasingly desperate. As he sat in despair on his golden throne, his beloved young daughter ran to comfort him. For a moment, he forgot his wish — and as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, she turned into a golden statue, frozen in precious metal. King Midas cried out to the gods to forgive him, to reverse the wish. He renounced his greed and gave away all his wealth, and his daughter was returned to life. The moral of the story: Wealth and greed are bad. In Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is described as a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner.” He's wealthy but does not share, considering Christmas spending to be frivolous and giving to charity to be worthless. He's saved by a confrontation with his lonely future and becomes a generous man and benefactor of the poor. Wealth is good if you share it with others. The gospel of Matthew, chapter 25: 14-30, tells the parable of the bags of gold, in which a rich man goes on a journey and entrusts his servants with varying amounts of gold. On his return, the servants who multiplied the gold through their efforts and investments are rewarded, while the one who merely returned the gold with no interest is punished: “For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Making money is good, making more money is even better. If you can't make any money, you don't deserve to have any. Within the same gospel, in Matthew 19:24, Jesus encounters a wealthy man and tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor, which the man is unable to do. Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Wealth is bad. Give it all away and you'll go to heaven. With all these contradictory messages, no wonder we're so conflicted about money! How do you think and feel about money? While money is mostly tied to our work, it's far more than just a transactional object for most people. It's loaded with complex symbolism and judgment handed down by family, religion, and culture. You are likely to find elements of Shadow by examining your attitudes around money. Consider which of the following statements resonate with you or write your own. Money stresses me out. I don't want to talk about it or think about it. Some people hoard money, so there is inequality. Rich people are bad and we should take away their wealth and give it to the poor. I can never make enough money to pay the bills, or to give my family what I want to provide. Money doesn't grow on trees. It's wasteful to spend money as you might need it later, so I'm frugal and don't spend money unless absolutely necessary. It is better and more ethical to be poor than to be rich. I want more money. I read books and watch TV shows about rich people because I want to live like that. Sometimes I spend too much on things for a glimpse of what that might be like. I buy lottery tickets and dream of winning all that money. I'm jealous of people who have money. I want more of it and I resent those who have it. I'm no good with money. I don't like to look at my bank statement or credit card statement. I live off my overdraft and I'm in debt. I will never earn enough to get out of debt and start saving, so I don't think too much about it. I don't know enough about money. Talking about it makes me feel stupid, so I just ignore it. People like me aren't educated about money. I need to make more money. If I can make lots of money, then people will look up to me. If I make lots of money, I will be secure, nothing can touch me, I will be safe. I never want to be poor. I would be ashamed to be poor. I will never go on benefits. My net worth is my self worth. Money is good. We have the best standard of living in history because of the increase in wealth over time. Even the richest kings of the past didn't have what many middle-class people have today in terms of access to food, water, technology, healthcare, education, and more. The richest people give the most money to the poor through taxation and charity, as well as through building companies that employ people and invent new things. The very richest give away much of their fortunes. They provide far more benefit to the world than the poor. I love money. Money loves me. Money comes easily and quickly to me. I attract money in multiple streams of income. It flows to me in so many ways. I spend money. I invest money. I give money. I'm happy and grateful for all that I receive. The Shadow around money for authors in particular Many writers and other creatives have issues around money and wealth. How often have you heard the following, and which do you agree with? You can't make money with your writing. You'll be a poor author in a garret, a starving artist. You can't write ‘good quality' books and make money. If you make money writing, you're a hack, you're selling out. You are less worthy than someone who writes only for the Muse. Your books are commercial, not artistic. If you spend money on marketing, then your books are clearly not good enough to sell on their own. My agent / publisher / accountant / partner deals with the money side. I like to focus on the creative side of things. My money story Note: This is not financial or investment advice. Please talk to a professional about your situation. I've had money issues over the years — haven't we all! But I have been through a (long) process to bring money out of my Shadow and into the light. There will always be more to discover, but hopefully my money story will help you, or at least give you an opportunity to reflect. Like most people, I didn't grow up with a lot of money. My parents started out as teachers, but later my mum — who I lived with, along with my brother — became a change management consultant, moving to the USA and earning a lot more. I'm grateful that she moved into business because her example changed the way I saw money and provided some valuable lessons. (1) You can change your circumstances by learning more and then applying that to leverage opportunity into a new job or career Mum taught English at a school in Bristol when we moved back from Malawi, Africa, in the mid '80s but I remember how stressful it was for her, and how little money she made. She wanted a better future for us all, so she took a year out to do a master's degree in management. In the same way, when I wanted to change careers and leave consulting to become an author, I spent time and money learning about the writing craft and the business of publishing. I still invest a considerable chunk on continuous learning, as this industry changes all the time. (2) You might have to downsize in order to leap forward The year my mum did her degree, we lived in the attic of another family's house; we ate a lot of one-pot casserole and our treat was having a Yorkie bar on the walk back from the museum. We wore hand-me-down clothes, and I remember one day at school when another girl said I was wearing her dress. I denied it, of course, but there in back of the dress was her name tag. I still remember her name and I can still feel that flush of shame and embarrassment. I was determined to never feel like that again. But what I didn't realize at the time was that I was also learning the power of downsizing. Mum got her degree and then a new job in management in Bristol. She bought a house, and we settled for a few years. I had lots of different jobs as a teenager. My favourite was working in the delicatessen because we got a free lunch made from delicious produce. After I finished A-levels, I went to the University of Oxford, and my mum and brother moved to the USA for further opportunities. I've downsized multiple times over the years, taking a step back in order to take a step forward. The biggest was in 2010 when I decided to leave consulting. Jonathan and I sold our three-bedroom house and investments in Brisbane, Australia, and rented a one-bedroom flat in London, so we could be debt-free and live on less while I built up a new career. It was a decade before we bought another house. (3) Comparison can be deadly: there will always be people with more money than you Oxford was an education in many ways and relevant to this chapter is how much I didn't know about things people with money took for granted. I learned about formal hall and wine pairings, and how to make a perfect gin and tonic. I ate smoked salmon for the first time. I learned how to fit in with people who had a lot more money than I did, and I definitely wanted to have money of my own to play with. (4) Income is not wealth You can earn lots but have nothing to show for it after years of working. I learned this in my first few years of IT consulting after university. I earned a great salary and then went contracting, earning even more money at a daily rate. I had a wonderful time. I traveled, ate and drank and generally made merry, but I always had to go back to the day job when the money ran out. I couldn't work out how I could ever stop this cycle. Then I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, a book I still recommend, especially if you're from a family that values academic over financial education. I learned how to escape the rat race by building and/or accumulating assets that pay even when you're not working. It was a revelation! The ‘poor dad' in the book is a university professor. He knows so much about so many things, but he ends up poor as he did not educate himself about money. The ‘rich dad' has little formal education, but he knows about money and wealth because he learned about it, as we can do at any stage in our lives. (5) Not all investments suit every person, so find the right one for you Once I discovered the world of investing, I read all the books and did courses and in-person events. I joined communities and I up-skilled big time. Of course, I made mistakes and learned lots along the way. I tried property investing and renovated a couple of houses for rental (with more practical partners and skilled contractors). But while I could see that property investing might work for some people, I did not care enough about the details to make it work for me, and it was certainly not passive income. I tried other things. My first husband was a boat skipper and scuba diving instructor, so we started a charter. With the variable costs of fuel, the vagaries of New Zealand weather — and our divorce — it didn't last long! From all these experiments, I learned I wanted to run a business, but it needed to be online and not based on a physical location, physical premises, or other people. That was 2006, around the time that blogging started taking off and it became possible to make a living online. I could see the potential and a year later, the iPhone and the Amazon Kindle launched, which became the basis of my business as an author. (6) Boring, automatic saving and investing works best Between 2007 and 2011, I contracted in Australia, where they have compulsory superannuation contributions, meaning you have to save and invest a percentage of your salary or self-employed income. I'd never done that before, because I didn't understand it. I'd ploughed all my excess income into property or the business instead. But in Australia I didn't notice the money going out because it was automatic. I chose a particular fund and it auto-invested every month. The pot grew pretty fast since I didn't touch it, and years later, it's still growing. I discovered the power of compound interest and time in the market, both of which are super boring. This type of investing is not a get rich quick scheme. It's a slow process of automatically putting money into boring investments and doing that month in, month out, year in, year out, automatically for decades while you get on with your life. I still do this. I earn money as an author entrepreneur and I put a percentage of that into boring investments automatically every month. I also have a small amount which is for fun and higher risk investments, but mostly I'm a conservative, risk-averse investor planning ahead for the future. This is not financial advice, so I'm not giving any specifics. I have a list of recommended money books at www.TheCreativePenn.com/moneybooks if you want to learn more. Learning from the Shadow When I look back, my Shadow side around money eventually drove me to learn more and resulted in a better outcome (so far!). I was ashamed of being poor when I had to wear hand-me-down clothes at school. That drove a fear of not having any money, which partially explains my workaholism. I was embarrassed at Oxford because I didn't know how to behave in certain settings, and I wanted to be like the rich people I saw there. I spent too much money in my early years as a consultant because I wanted to experience a “rich” life and didn't understand saving and investing would lead to better things in the future. I invested too much in the wrong things because I didn't know myself well enough and I was trying to get rich quick so I could leave my job and ‘be happy.' But eventually, I discovered that I could grow my net worth with boring, long-term investments while doing a job I loved as an author entrepreneur. My only regret is that I didn't discover this earlier and put a percentage of my income into investments as soon as I started work. It took several decades to get started, but at least I did (eventually) start. My money story isn't over yet, and I keep learning new things, but hopefully my experience will help you reflect on your own and avoid the issue if it's still in Shadow. These chapters are excerpted from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words by Joanna Penn The post Writing The Shadow: The Creative Wound, Publishing, And Money, With Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.
Columbus police confirmed this week that the Tepe murders were a targeted domestic violence attack. Dr. Michael McKee, a vascular surgeon with no criminal history, allegedly killed his ex-wife Monique and her husband Spencer eight years after their divorce was finalized.No documented threats. No protection orders. Nothing on paper. Just a man who, according to behavioral experts, may have spent nearly a decade collecting wounds and assigning blame — waiting for the moment to act.Robin Dreeke is a former FBI Special Agent who ran the Bureau's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. He's an expert on identifying dangerous personalities before they become dangerous. Today he joins us to analyze the McKee case through a behavioral lens.We cover: What defines a "wound collector" versus someone who simply holds a grudge. How professional success can mask violent resentment. The psychology of blame — how wound collectors convince themselves they're the victim. What role the June 2025 court activity might have played as a trigger. Why watching an ex-spouse's public happiness can accelerate the spiral. McKee's courtroom demeanor — what confidence and apparent satisfaction might indicate. And whether there are behavioral red flags that could have been spotted earlier.McKee maintains his innocence and plans to plead not guilty to two counts of premeditated aggravated murder — death penalty eligible in Ohio.Two children are now orphans. Understanding why this happened won't change that. But it might save someone else.#TrueCrimeToday #WoundCollector #MichaelMcKee #TeepeMurders #RobinDreeke #FBIAnalysis #BehavioralPsychology #SpencerTepe #MoniqueTepe #TrueCrimeNewsJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Monique Tepe left her first husband after seven months of marriage. She didn't fight. She didn't make a scene. She just got out. She rebuilt her life, married Spencer Tepe, had two children, and thought the nightmare was behind her.Eight years later, according to police, Dr. Michael McKee allegedly drove hundreds of miles in the middle of the night and killed both Monique and Spencer in their Columbus home. Their children were asleep down the hall.Why would someone wait eight years to act? How does a successful vascular surgeon with no criminal record become an alleged killer?Robin Dreeke, former FBI Special Agent and head of the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, says McKee fits the profile of a "wound collector" — someone who never forgives, never forgets, and carries perceived injuries like open wounds for years until something triggers them to act.In this interview, Robin explains: The difference between hurt and obsession. How wound collectors justify violence by making themselves the victim. Why professional success can mask dangerous resentment. What role social media and watching an ex's happiness plays in the spiral. What might have triggered McKee after eight years of silence. And whether there are warning signs that can be spotted before it's too late.McKee maintains his innocence and plans to plead not guilty to two counts of premeditated aggravated murder.This conversation won't bring Spencer and Monique back. But it might help someone recognize the danger before the next wound collector acts.#HiddenKillers #WoundCollector #MichaelMcKee #TeepeMurders #RobinDreeke #FBIBehavioral #TrueCrimePodcast #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #PsychologyOfKillersJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Join us live as former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke breaks down the psychology behind the Tepe murders and explains what makes a "wound collector" tick.Dr. Michael McKee allegedly waited eight years after his divorce from Monique Tepe to act. Eight years of silence. No criminal record. No documented threats. Just a successful career as a vascular surgeon — and, according to investigators, a grievance he never let go.Robin Dreeke ran the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. He's spent decades studying how people think, how they deceive, and how dangerous personalities hide in plain sight until they don't.Tonight we're asking the hard questions: What is a wound collector and how do they differ from someone who simply holds a grudge? How does a high-functioning professional mask this kind of resentment? What triggers someone to finally act after years of dormancy? How do wound collectors flip the script and convince themselves they're the victim? And can these people be identified before they become dangerous?Drop your questions in the chat — we'll get to as many as we can.McKee maintains his innocence and plans to plead not guilty to two counts of premeditated aggravated murder. Spencer and Monique Tepe leave behind two young children.Understanding the psychology won't undo what happened. But it might help someone watching tonight recognize the signs in their own life.#HiddenKillersLive #WoundCollector #RobinDreeke #TeepeMurders #MichaelMcKee #FBIExpert #LiveStream #TrueCrimeLive #BehavioralAnalysis #DomesticViolenceJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
A Classic RISK! episode from our early years that first ran in October of 2013, when Stephanie Douglass, Shannon Cason, Lily Be and Jim Padar were at our very first show in that toddlin' town.
What is the witch wound and what exactly is it's impact on planet earth right now? Almost anyone that is an empath, a healer, a teacher, a coach, etc., most likely has this wound It is ancestral and very much a past life wounding that will follow you until you can heal it - embrace it - love and forgive and move beyond! If you struggle with money, shutting down your intuition, health issues of all kinds, especially below the heart chakra and also any kind of throat disease....it is very likely this is a wound you get to look at to find lasting change and results to living your best health and wealth and wisdom! Tune in today for this short definition and future events I am offering to help heal this! FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MAGDALENA GRACE HERE or TO SIGN UP FOR HER UPCOMING SOUL LIBERATION WORK & HEALTH AND WEALTH AND RELATIONSHIP FOCUSED RETREATS BOOK A RUNES READING & MORE! www.MagdalenaGrace.com JOIN HER ONLINE WITCHY WOMB-AN'S CIRCLE FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH www.MagdalenaGrace.com BOOK A FREE CONSULT - EMAIL HER AT Info@MagdalenaGrace.com JOIN OUR HEALTHY N WEALTHY N WISE ONLINE ACADEMY www.microdosingforhealth.com BUY ME A COFFEE OR DONATE FOR SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR HEALING CLIENTS IN NEED https://venmo.com/u/lotusthrone MORE ALCHEMY OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR BEST HEALTH, WEALTH AND RELATIONSHIPS www.SanDiegoKambo.com www.LotusThroneSanctuary.com
In today's episode, I'm opening up a brand-new series that I felt deeply called to create, Healing the Roots of Attachment. We're starting with the mother wound and how early caregiving experiences shape your attachment style, your nervous system, and the way you show up in romantic relationships. If you've ever noticed yourself spiraling in dating, pulling away when things get close, or repeating painful relationship cycles, this conversation will help you understand why and more importantly, remind you that these patterns are not permanent. This episode is about awareness, compassion, and reconnecting to the part of you that deserves safety, attunement, and secure love.Inside the EpisodeHow the mother wound forms and how emotional attunement, comfort, delight, and repair shape your internal working model of loveThe connection between the mother wound and anxious, avoidant, and disorganized attachment styles in adult relationshipsWhy self-soothing, self-compassion, and emotional regulation are learned and how these patterns can be rewired through healing and supportThis episode is Part 1 of a 3-part series. In the next episode, we'll explore the Father wound and how it influences attraction, safety, and self-worth. In Part 3, we'll bring it all together with inner child healing and the path to becoming securely attached.
My guest today is Dr. Lindsay Gibson, author of Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents and Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents.You probably saw Dr. Gibson everywhere in 2025...even on Oprah...but LET THE RECORD SHOW: you heard her here first!This interview originally aired in March 2023, and I'm bringing it back because her work continues to resonate deeply with adults with ADHD.In this episode, we explore why so many ADHD adults grew up feeling physically cared for—but emotionally alone. This is not a parent-shaming conversation. It's about clarity, compassion, and naming invisible dynamics so you can stop blaming yourself for struggles that were never yours to fix.What You'll LearnWhy emotional loneliness is a defining experience for many adult childrenWhat “emotional immaturity” actually looks like in parentsHow people-pleasing, caretaking, and guilt develop as survival strategiesWhy setting boundaries often triggers backlash—and how to respondHow guilt can be a sign of emotional coercion, not wrongdoingWhat it means to emotionally disengage and reclaim space for yourselfIf you've ever felt like you're the problem in your family, struggled with guilt around boundaries, or exhausted yourself managing other people's emotions—this episode is for you.Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents — Dr. Lindsay GibsonRecovering from Emotionally Immature Parents — Dr. Lindsay Gibsondrlindsaygibson.comWatch this episode on YouTubeWant help with your ADHD? Join FOCUSED!Have questions for Kristen? Call 1.833.281.2343Hang out with Kristen on Instagram and TikTokSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Guest: Ronald White. Returning to duty, Chamberlain led a frontal assault at Petersburg in 1864, where he suffered a catastrophic wound through the hips that surgeons deemed fatal. Believing he was dying, he wrote a farewell letter to Fanny, yet miraculously survived due to his brother Tom's help and sheer will. Later, at the Battle of Five Forks, he defended General Warren against General Sheridan's dismissal. At the war's end, Chamberlain was selected to receive the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. In a controversial but defining gesture, he ordered a marching salute to honor the courage of the defeated Southern soldiers.1863 GETTYSBURG
Mens Room Question: On a scale of 1-10, What's The Worst Pain You've Experienced?