SOUL SCHOOL with Audrey

Show Notes:

Sometimes, dread shows up as a signal of overwhelm; other times, it’s the feeling before a big breakthrough. In this episode, we talk about these two types of dread and how to recognize the difference. Through personal insights and somatic practices, we’ll explore how listening to our body’s wisdom can guide us through fear and into expansion. Whether it’s releasing overwhelm or stepping into something great, we’ll learn to embrace dread as an ally in our personal growth journey.

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding the two types of dread: overwhelm vs. expansion

• Somatic practices for listening to your body’s wisdom

• Turning discomfort into a tool for growth and self-discovery

I’d love to hear from you!

Connect with me on Instagram @audreysuttonmills

or visit my website at www.audreysuttonmills.com to check out my upcoming events, retreats, and programs.

Whether you’re curious about self-love coaching or want to join Soul School, I’m here to support you in loving yourself and creating a life you love!

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Show Notes:

In this episode, we dive into the power of slowing down as we enter the winter season. Just as nature pulls inward to replenish, we too are called to cocoon and embrace rest. We’ll explore why sacred rest isn’t just a pause but a vital part of transformation. Through grounding reflection and soulful questions, we’ll connect with what we truly need right now, honoring rest as an act of self-love. Join us as we explore the wisdom found in stillness and discover what it means to cultivate intention from a place of quiet and presence.

Key Takeaways:

• Why rest is essential, especially in the winter season

• Reflection prompts to deepen self-awareness

• Using rest as a foundation for growth and intentional living

I’d love to hear from you!

Connect with me on Instagram @audreysuttonmills

or visit my website at www.audreysuttonmills.com to check out my upcoming events, retreats, and programs.

Whether you’re curious about self-love coaching or want to join Soul School, I’m here to support you in loving yourself and creating a life you love!

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Show Notes: Mindful Pause Podcast – New Moon in Scorpio & Samhain Magic

Episode Summary:

In this episode, we dive into the potent energy of the Scorpio New Moon and the mystical season of Samhain. As we shift from autumn to winter, the veil is thin, inviting us to pause, look within, and connect to our shadows. This is a sacred time to honor the journey we’ve been on, release what no longer serves us, and plant intentions for the year ahead. Join Audrey for a grounding practice and reflective questions to deepen your connection to your inner self during this powerful in-between season.

What You’ll Learn:

• The significance of the Scorpio New Moon as an invitation to go inward and reflect

• The essence of Samhain as a sacred in-between, marking the transition to winter and the Celtic New Year

• Why this is the perfect time to connect to your inner spirit, examine your shadows, and plant seeds for the future

• A grounding practice to align with this season’s energy

• Reflective questions to help you release old stories and set intentions for your next chapter

Reflective Questions:

• What beliefs, habits, or stories am I ready to release?

• What parts of me are ready to be seen and transformed?

• What intentions am I ready to plant, nurture, and grow?

Tune In to Embrace the Magic of This Season

Take a mindful pause, join us in this reflective practice, and step into the quiet power of the Scorpio New Moon and Samhain. Embrace the mystery, trust the transformation within, and connect deeply to your inner truth.

Listen to the full episode now!

connect with me:

www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Episode Title: “Uncovering Your Dharma: Stepping into Your Soul’s Purpose”

Welcome to this week’s episode of Mindful Pause! Today, we’re diving into a big, beautiful topic—Dharma, your soul’s purpose. ✨

In this episode, I talk about how your dharma is so much more than your job or role in life—it’s about how you show up in the world, using your unique gifts and qualities. But here’s the truth: it’s not about waiting for perfection. It’s about showing up as you are, and letting the path unfold one step at a time.

We’ll explore:

• What dharma really means and how it connects to your soul’s calling

• How to quiet the mind’s perfectionism, judgment, and doubt to truly listen to your heart and intuition

• My personal story of how I embraced my path as a self-love coach, even when the ‘perfect time’ never seemed to come

• The practice of showing up instead of waiting for everything to be perfect

I also share a few journal prompts to help you reflect and connect with your own soul’s purpose:

What lights up my soul right now?
How can I let go of perfection and trust my intuition more?
What is one small, aligned step I can take toward my dharma today?

✨ If you’re ready to go deeper into your dharma, join me for Soul School, my 5-week program starting October 23rd, where we’ll explore how to unearth your gifts, heal patterns, and fully step into your purpose.

Catch the full episode now, and let’s walk this path together. 💖

Links:

• Join Soul School: www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Episode Title: Trusting Yourself & Trusting the Path

Episode Number: 205

Show Notes:

In this episode of MindfulPause, we’re diving into one of the most challenging yet transformative practices: trusting yourself and trusting the path, especially when life feels uncertain. 💫

How do we lean into trust when our mind craves control? How do we let go of the need to know every detail and embrace the unknown with grace?

Audrey shares actionable insights and soul-nourishing tools to help you:

• Release control and create space for creative possibilities ✨

• Actively accept where you are, without getting caught in the past or future 🌿

• Plant the seed of intention and focus your attention on what matters most 💖

• Cultivate trust in both yourself and the journey ahead 🌸

Key Takeaways:

• Your mind creates stress when it tries to control the future, but letting go opens up a world of possibilities.

• Trusting the unknown is not about being passive—it’s about actively accepting where you are and opening up to new opportunities.

• A grounded meditation practice and setting clear heart-centered intentions are powerful tools for building trust.

Reflection Questions:

• What is this moment trying to teach you?

• How can you soften into what you’re resisting?

• What creative possibilities might unfold if you released control today?

Mantra for the Week:

“I am exactly where I need to be. I’m growing where I’m planted.” 🌱

Ready to dive deeper? 🌿

Join Audrey in Soul School, starting October 23rd, where we explore leaning into uncertainty, letting go of control, and trusting yourself on a deeper level. Week 4 is all about embracing the unknown and building confidence in your path. 💖

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Learn more about Soul School and sign up here: www.audreysuttonmills.com

Stay Connected with Audrey:

• Instagram: @audreysuttonmills

• Website: www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Episode Title: Trust the Pause: How to Break Patterns and Choose Again Description: In this episode, Audrey shares a personal story about navigating the challenges of parenting and the powerful lesson she learned about trust—trusting her kids, and ultimately herself. She dives into the realization that when we try to control others, we might actually be revealing a deeper fear: a lack of trust in their ability to make good choices. Audrey explores how this relates to breaking patterns in our own lives and how we can shift from control to trust using her “Notice, Pause, Choose Again” method. If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a pattern of control or doubt, this episode will inspire you to ask, “Where did I learn this from? Is this who I want to be?” Audrey walks you through how to shift your thoughts, behaviors, and actions to create more freedom and trust, both for yourself and those you love. What You’ll Learn: • How to recognize when control is rooted in fear or mistrust • The importance of letting go and trusting others to make their own choices • How to break old patterns using the “Notice, Pause, Choose Again” method • Tips for shifting your mindset from control to trust, especially in relationships Mentioned in this Episode: • JOIN ME for Soul School my 5-week virutal program designed to help you break free from old patterns, find your true self, and live a more empowered, joyful life. Learn the tools you need to step into your most authentic self. Join SoulSchool HERE: www.audreysuttonmills.com https://buy.stripe.com/8wM00Scxl7c8448bIK

Take Action: Start today by asking yourself, “Where did I learn this pattern?” and “Is this who I want to be?” Begin the shift by noticing your thoughts, pausing to reflect, and choosing again from a place of trust and love. xx Audrey

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Show Notes for Mindful Pause Podcast Episode 203: Moving from Overwhelm to Clarity and Calm In this episode of the Mindful Pause Podcast, Audrey shares insights on how to shift from overwhelm to a state of clarity and calm. She opens up about her own experience of feeling overwhelmed as she prepares for her upcoming Tuscany yoga retreat, launches a new website, and kicks off her five-week course, Soul School. Audrey dives deep into the impact of stress on the mind and body and how, through intentional practices, we can return to a place of inner peace. Key points from this episode include: • The power of intention and attention: Audrey explains how setting a clear intention and focusing attention can help us stay grounded, avoid overwhelm, and take one step at a time toward our goals. • The importance of letting go of control: Audrey shares her personal struggles with overwhelm, emphasizing how relinquishing control and trusting our inner wisdom can lead to a more peaceful and productive mindset. • An introduction to a guided meditation to help release overwhelm, align with your inner wisdom, and find clarity. Audrey leads listeners through a practice designed to calm the mind, tune into the heart, and get clear on what matters most. Listeners are invited to join Audrey’s upcoming Soul School, starting October 23rd, where she will teach five powerful tools for creating more clarity, fulfillment, and inner peace. Tune in for the full guided meditation and discover how to reclaim your power by shifting from a busy mind to a calm, centered presence. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast to stay updated on future episodes! Key Takeaways: • Overwhelm often stems from the mind’s tendency to ruminate on the past or worry about the future. • By setting an intention and aligning your attention with what’s most important, you can move from chaos to calm. • Join Audrey in a guided meditation to anchor into the present, let go of anxiety, and reconnect with your inner wisdom. Upcoming Events: • Soul School: A five-week virtual course starting October 23rd, focused on life-changing tools for greater peace, clarity, and self-love. Register via the link in Audrey’s bio. www.audreysuttonmsill.com

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Triggers as Teachers: Healing Through Shadow Work Episode Description: In this episode, I’m getting real and personal about my own journey with triggers, rage, and the deeper fears that surface when we’re on the edge of growth. I’ll take you back to my experience during Reiki training, where everyday moments with my kids had me spiraling into unfamiliar, intense rage. I’ll share how I found the courage to sit with those feelings, unearthing the fear underneath, and how I moved through it using shadow work. We’ll dive into how our triggers are our greatest teachers, showing us exactly where we need healing. I’ll talk about how, in my case, fear of failure showed up just when I was stepping into something bigger—writing my book and doing the deep inner work that brings lasting transformation. This episode isn’t just my story—it’s an invitation to see your triggers in a new light, to do the deep work of healing, and to embrace the uncomfortable emotions that lead to freedom. If you’re ready to stop running from those patterns and start healing, this is for you. What You’ll Learn: • How our relationships, especially with kids, mirror the parts of ourselves that need healing. • The real emotions underneath anger and rage, and how to uncover what’s beneath the surface. • The importance of sitting with difficult emotions rather than numbing or escaping. • What shadow work is and how it can help you become whole. • Personal stories of how I worked through fear and rage, and found deeper healing. • An invitation to join SoulSchool, a five-week program that will guide you through this exact kind of inner work. Links & Resources: • 💖 Learn more about SoulSchool: https://mailchi.mp/audreysuttonmills.com/soulschool2024 • 📲 Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreysuttonmills/ Join SoulSchool: Are you ready to do the deep work of healing and stepping into your fullest potential? SoulSchool is my five-week program where we explore tools like shadow work, inner child healing, and self-love practices that help you break free from old patterns and limiting beliefs. We start on October 23rd, and I’d love for you to be a part of this journey with me. 💫 details HERE

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Podcast Episode: “Tuning Out Self-Doubt: A 2-Minute Shift from Mind to Heart” Episode Summary: In this episode, I guide you through a powerful, yet simple, exercise called Change the Channel. It’s a short, heart-centered meditation designed to help you shift from the voice of your inner critic to the wisdom of your heart. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, indecisive, or stuck in a cycle of negative self-talk, this 2-minute practice will help you realign with your true self and find clarity in the moment. If you’re caught up in thoughts of self-doubt or fear, Change the Channel will help you tune into your intuition, calm your inner critic, and access the love, support, and guidance that’s always available within. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: • How to recognize when you’re stuck in the noise of the inner critic • The power of tuning into the wisdom of your heart • How to practice the Change the Channel exercise anytime you need clarity or peace • The importance of listening to your true self instead of getting lost in self-doubt Why It Matters: Life can be overwhelming, especially when our mind spirals into fear or negativity. This practice offers a quick way to pause, breathe, and come back to the heart’s wisdom so you can move forward with confidence and self-love. Takeaways: • Your inner critic’s voice can be loud, but it doesn’t have to lead. • The heart’s voice is always supportive, loving, and true. • You have the power to shift your focus and change your internal narrative. Episode Links: • Join Soul School: My 5-week journey to help you heal, grow, and connect with your true self starts on October 23rd. Sign up here! • For more tools like this, check out my latest offerings and free resources on my website: www.audreysuttonmills.com Connect with Me: • Follow me on Instagram: @audreysuttonmills • Listen to past episodes of MindfulPause for more guided meditations and personal growth tools.

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Hi there,

Can you believe it? We’ve made it to the 200th episode of the Mindful Pause podcast!

💗 My heart is overflowing with gratitude. As we wrap up Season 2 for the summer, I wanted to leave you with a powerful meditation to help you connect with your heart and intuition.

Life can be so hectic, right?

It's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of Life and ignore that quiet nudge from within.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed or confused, only to realize later that your heart was trying to tell you something all along?

This episode is all about tuning into that inner voice.

In this special meditation, we’ll drop into the heart, the seat of our consciousness, to uncover the truth within us. By gently closing your eyes and breathing slowly and deeply, you'll place your awareness on your heart.

The Sanskrit word for heart, "hrydaya," embodies the essence of receiving, moving, and giving – essential qualities that connect us deeply to ourselves and to others.

This heart-centered practice will guide you home to yourself, helping you set a clear, compassionate, and present mindset each day, and connect you to your divine intuition and inner wisdom.

CLICK HERE to listen to the meditation and start your journey of heart-centered living.

While I take a little break from emails to finish the final draft of my book,

stay tuned for exciting updates!

· The Self Love Retreat in July is Sold out, but I’m working on a workshop for late summer

· This October, I’ll be launching the Soul School course (It’s been almost 4 years!)

· and starting every other Tuesday at 7:30 PM, I’ll be teaching a new class at Haute Yoga in Queen Anne, Seattle, along with my Sunday Soul Flow at Get Hot Yoga at 8am.

· I’m working on retreats for 2025 (Bali will be one of them…and either Thailand, Italy or Santorini, LMK if any of these places speak to you to cast your vote)

Thank you for being part of my journey. I hope I’ve made an impact in yours, however small.

Have a wonderful summer, and remember to pause, breathe and listen to your heart and your divine wisdom within you.

Namaste,

Audrey

www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Do you ever find yourself lost in worry at 3 AM, your mind racing through all the what-ifs?

In a busy world, it’s easy to get caught up on an endless mental treadmill, always chasing the future and missing out on the magic happening right now.

It's so easy to get swept up in the chaos of technology—apps, texts, emails—not to mention every day LIFE responsibilities pulling at u…and forget to live in the moment.

Just the other night, I had a heart-to-heart with a friend over dinner about this very struggle.

She said something that really hit home: "Worrying is worshiping what you don't want."

Isn't that powerful?

It perfectly sums up how we often let future anxieties steal our present joy.

Here are a few quick tips to bring more presence into your life:

Take a Breather: When things get too much, just take a few deep breaths to ground yourself.
Mindful Observing: Watch your thoughts without judgment and gently bring your focus back to the present.
Gratitude Practice: Regularly remind yourself of what you're grateful for in this moment.

Tune in to Episode 187 here and join me on this journey towards a more vibrant and present life.

With love and presence,

Audrey

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Ever find yourself saying, “Don’t do that,” “Stop,” “Be careful” a million times a day? 🙋‍♀️ Me too. I recently realized in a 5-minute art session with my kids, I gave 60 commands trying to control their every move. 😅

Why do we feel the need to control everything? The real magic happens in the mess. 🎨✨

What if we let go of our need to control, and instead, embraced the chaos? 🌟 Imagine the creativity and freedom we could unlock, not just for our kids, but for ourselves!

Join me in this week’s Mindful Pause podcast as we explore letting go of control and finding freedom in the present moment. 🧘‍♀️💫

NAMASTE,

Audrey

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Do you ever find yourself lost in worry at 3 AM, your mind racing through all the what-ifs?

In a busy world, it’s easy to get caught up on an endless mental treadmill, always chasing the future and missing out on the magic happening right now.

It's so easy to get swept up in the chaos of technology—apps, texts, emails—not to mention every day LIFE responsibilities pulling at u…and forget to live in the moment.

Just the other night, I had a heart-to-heart with a friend over dinner about this very struggle.

She said something that really hit home: "Worrying is worshiping what you don't want."

Isn't that powerful?

It perfectly sums up how we often let future anxieties steal our present joy.

Today, we dive deep into this topic. I share some personal stories, including a life-changing moment from my time in Bali, and offer some down-to-earth tips to help you stay anchored in the now.

Here are a few quick tips to bring more presence into your life:

Take a Breather: When things get too much, just take a few deep breaths to ground yourself.
Mindful Observing: Watch your thoughts without judgment and gently bring your focus back to the present.
Gratitude Practice: Regularly remind yourself of what you're grateful for in this moment.

With love and presence,

Audrey

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Hi there,

This week, I taught self-love tools to my kids' Montessori class. Watching those little ones reminded me of the pure light and playfulness that still lives within each of us.

As adults, we often get caught up in responsibilities, challenges, and the pressure to be perfect and have it all together.

We’ve forgotten what “success” really means.

But deep down, that joyful, curious, and carefree child we once were is still there, waiting to be seen and heard.

In today’s podcast we’ll reconnect to your inner child and let your inner light shine.

Here are a few simple tips to honor your inner child this week:

Lighten Up: Take a break from your screen and notice the magic around you. Be present and enjoy the little things.
Be Kind to Yourself: Speak to yourself with love and kindness, just as you would to a child.
Follow Your Joy: Spend time doing activities that bring you joy and light you up.
Play and Be Curious: Allow yourself to be playful and curious. Try something new and have fun without an agenda.

Being a mom has really opened my eyes to how special children are. We too can be gentle, nurturing and loving to ourselves.

Here's to nurturing your inner light and joy,

Namaste,

Audrey

P.S. Listen to the full episode and let me know how you reconnect with your inner child!

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hi there soul friend!

today, I am celebrating and doing a big ole’ happy dance!

I found my editor for my first book!

After finishing my book draft in January, I’ve been paralyzed by fear of failure and disappointment for three months, and haven’t done anything with it.

Last month during my yoga retreat in Bali, I had a major breakthrough and haven’t felt this free in over three years! I’ve been working on befriending my fears to move through my problems towards possibly.

So, last week, I did this meditation that I share in EP 194 of the MINDFUL PAUSE PODCAST, and then used chat GPT (I call her Lucy), to help me get unstuck. Within seconds after giving some parameters for a back of book blurb and my first chapter, Lucy created a succinct 150 word blurb. This gave me the inspiration to send this to some editors on reedsy.com and…

VOILA! Within an hour, all of those 3 months of fear transmuted into momentum.

Fear can feel so BIG, unknown and uncomfortable (and also at times comfortable, because it’s what we know).

But we have a choice – lean into fear or let it rule us?

When we lean into fear, listen to it, and move through it with love and courage, we unlock a freedom and creativity that expands our lives in unimaginable ways.

The potential of our dreams becomes bigger than the problems from fear.

In this week's podcast episode, we're exploring the nature of fear and how befriending it leads to true courage and creation.

we reflect on:

What do you truly want?

How is fear blocking this desire (patterns, habits, beliefs?)

Inviting fear in and understand why it's so afraid

What steps do you need to take to move forward?

Remember, you are brave.

You are supported. You are worthy.

You are enough. And you matter.

Much love,

Audrey

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Introduction: In today's episode, I dive into a personal story that many parents can relate to—a moment of losing my temper with my child. I’ll share the triggers that led to my outburst, the lessons I learned from my meditation practice, and how embracing our dark feelings can lead to personal growth and deeper connections with our loved ones. Plus, we'll explore reflection questions to help you integrate your own feelings of rage, grief, or sadness.

Personal Story:

This morning, I yelled at my daughter, Hunter. It wasn't a proud mom moment.
She was playing her harmonica loudly while picking up her toys as I had asked.
After multiple attempts to get her attention, I lost my cool and yelled her name louder than I intended.
I felt a surge of anger, feeling disrespected and unheard.

Reflections on the Incident:

Children don’t intentionally disrespect us; Hunter was simply lost in her play.
I realized that my reaction was more about my internal triggers than her actions.
These triggers are teachers, highlighting areas for growth and self-compassion.

Exploring Our Triggers:

Rage and other dark feelings can bubble up and lead to resentment and aggression.
By acknowledging and integrating these feelings, we can become more expansive and expressive versions of ourselves.

Meditation Reflections: During our meditation in this episode, we’ll explore the following questions:

Invite the dark feeling in: Whether it’s rage, grief, sadness, or helplessness, welcome it.
Physical sensations: How does this feeling manifest in your body physically, emotionally, and energetically?
Expression: What does this feeling need to express? Why is it so angry or upset?
Self-support: What actions can you take to support yourself?
Affirmation: Silently affirm, "I love you RAGE. Thank you for showing me what needs attention and helping me to accept and love all of myself. When I do, I am a more expansive me."

Learnings from Meditation:

Hunter’s behavior wasn’t disrespectful; she was trying to make a chore fun.
My own feelings of being unheard and disrespected are valid but need to be managed constructively.
This experience teaches me the importance of patience, gentle transitions, and being more open and playful.

Conclusion:

By embracing our rage and other dark emotions, we can learn to be gentler, more patient, and more playful.
How might these changes improve our relationships and our own sense of freedom and joy?

Call to Action:

Reflect on your own experiences of rage or other intense emotions. What are they teaching you?
Use the reflection questions from today’s meditation to guide your personal growth.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of self-discovery and emotional growth. Remember, every emotion has something valuable to teach us. Until next time, embrace all parts of yourself with love and patience.

Reflection Questions for Listeners:

Invite the dark feeling of rage (or other emotions such as grief, sadness, helplessness) in.
How does it feel in your body? Physically, emotionally, energetically?
What does it need to express? Why is the feeling so angry or upset?
What can you do to support yourself?
Silently affirm to the feeling, “I love you RAGE. Thank you for showing me what needs attention and helping me to accept and love all of myself. When I do, I am a more expansive me.”

By exploring these questions, you can start to integrate and understand your emotions better, leading to a more balanced and fulfilled life.

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Hey there,

I was on a call with my coach a week before I left for my Bali retreat and feeling frazzled of what to focus on – my new website? marketing? Bali?

"I want to feel f*ck!ng POTENT!" I blurted out

For the past 2.5 years, I've been drowning in overwhelm and busyness, feeling like a diluted version of myself—lifeless, and frankly, dead inside.

My coach posed a question that hit me like a bolt of lightning:

"What does potency look like for you this week before you leave for your Bali retreat?"

In that moment, as I placed my hand on my heart and sank into stillness, I realized I'd been chasing after the future, instead of focusing on the present moment to feel how I wanted to feel right now.

It wasn't working. 🛑

My heart whispered back, "Pour into the gold that's already there."

It was a gentle reminder that I don't need to chase after clients or external validation or whatever in the future I think will bring what I want now.

My true gold lies in the students journeying with me to Bali. ⭐️

So, I made a commitment to pour into them wholeheartedly—and not to forget to pour into myself too.

I poured myself into them, and for the first time in 3 years, I opened up vulnerably about my struggles, my yearning to show up authentically and wholeheartedly like I did before the pandemic.

And you know what happened? MAGIC ✨

By sharing vulnerably (not perfectly), we connected - Others felt the same.

We cried, we shared, we released and we healed together.

To me, this is potency—feeling alive, connected and most importantly, FREE.

For the first time in a long time, I felt free – to be me. To share authentically, rather than trying to be perfect.

Damn, this is so liberating to remove the pressure we put on ourselves!

So, what makes you feel potent? What does FREEDOM feel like for you?

If you're ready to tap into your inner fire and cultivate a life that's vibrant and alive, tune in to this week's Mindful Pause Podcast.

And stay tuned! In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing more of my personal story about breaking free to feel more meaning, vibrancy and freedom.

….plus a sneak peek at a special offering I'm bursting to share w

xx Audrey

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how are you doing? like...really? If you're feeling less than sparkly, I hope this love notes helps you remember your True Self and your gifts that only you have. I’ve been on a 3-year quest to reconnect with my True Self - that innate expansive place inside each of us that is infinite possibilities, unbounded creativity and a portal to the Divine. It can feel unattainable, especially in our busy world telling us we’re not enough, but your true self is simply your true nature—the witness of life's flow and an integral part of that flow. Personally, I’ve felt disconnected with my authentic voice and gifts, and just in the last 6 months have really started to shed the EGO (or what I call the Itty-bitty-Shitty-Committee) with the help of other teachers and finally blasted of my armor in Bali! 💣 (p.s. we ARE going back to Bali next year!!!) I have never felt so FREE! The ego is self-centered, seeks external validation and keeps us stuck in a limited perspective and scarcity. Our spiritual journey is all about bridging the gap between the ego and the true self. The closer we are to our true selves, the less inner work we have to do. I hope today's episode of the Mindful Pause Podcast, helps you return home to your True Self and helps you remember ALL that you are! Some highlights from our reflection:

Consider how much you focus on the "I" self (the expansive, abundant perspective) versus the "me" self (the narrow, self-centered view). How does spending this energy serve you (or not).
What brings you a sense of belonging within yourself and to the world around you.
Explore what dream is tugging at your heart—what do you truly want to create and embody? And why?

Here's your invitation for thie week: Find stillness at least once a day. Whether it's through meditation or simply pausing to breathe, allow yourself that space to reconnect with your true self. Notice when the ego takes the reins and gently guide yourself back to center—your True Self. In the silence and space, you’ll meet yourself there. ❤️ Lots of love friend, Audrey p.s. stay tuned! YOU ASKED FOR IT! I'll be announcing a local day SELF LOVE RETREAT at the end of July. 💫 p.p.s. I'm planning 2025 retreats...where do you want to go? (Italian beach, Portugal, Maldives, Santorini?? - shoot me an email and your preferred month to cast your vote for 2025 retreats) 🌴

audrey@audreysuttonmills.com

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🌟 Cultivate Happiness in 3 easy steps 🌟

Hey there! We all crave happiness, right? Whether it's snagging our dream job, amassing more of everything (money, stuff, experiences), or finding that soulmate, it all boils down to one universal quest - happiness.

In today's Mindful Pause Podcast, we're diving deep into the art of being happy. Often, our joy gets blocked because we're fixated on the wrong thing – our EGO takes the wheel, focusing on the destination rather than relishing the journey.

But what if true happiness isn't about what we want, but about giving from the heart to help us expand our perspective?

Ready to infuse more joy into your life?

Here are three simple ways from this episode to get started:

🌿 Gratitude is the portal to joy and pulls you out of the scarcity mindset and into the beauty of the present moment.

🌺 Notice when self-centered thoughts arise and consciously shift your focus from "me" to "we” to expand your perspective.

🌟 Every act of kindness lights up your souls and shifts you from narrow mindset to abundance. Instead of asking "what can I get," ask, "How can I give today?" and see how you feel?

Happiness isn't a destination; it's a way of being.

Tune in to the Mindful Pause Podcast and share how these insights are bringing more happiness into your life! 💖

Sending you heaps of love and good vibes! 🌈✨

Namaste, Audrey Self-love coach

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Hey there soul friend,

I just got back from our incredible Bali retreat, my heart is bursting with gratitude of witnessing the beauty of Bali and everyone’s transformations! The experience was beyond words, and I'm thrilled to announce we'll be returning next year – the magic is simply irresistible!

Returning from such soul-nourishing experiences, it's common to feel the brightness fade as we re-enter our daily routines.

How do we hold onto that light?

How do we nurture it in the hustle and bustle of everyday life?

One powerful way is to connect with your intuition – that sacred space within you that always speaks the truth. It’s your inner wisdom and a connection to the Divine.

Have you ever felt those gentle nudges from within, urging you to pay attention? Those are the whispers of your intuition – guiding you towards alignment and growth with love and grace.

In today’s episode of the Mindful Pause Podcast, we delve into the magic of tuning into your spiritual intuition and ways to connect.

I share insights on "microscopic truths," those delicate signals from your body indicating something needs attention. Whether it's a flutter in your belly or a heaviness in your chest, these whispers invite you to pause, listen, and trust your inner guidance.

The more we honor and nurture our intuition, the more we cultivate ease and trust within ourselves and our journey.

Here are some gentle reminders to nurture your intuition:

Embrace Stillness: Carve out moments of quiet to commune with the whispers of your heart, creating space amidst the noise of the mind.
Trust Your Inner Wisdom: Believe in the innate wisdom within you – often, the first instinct is the truest.
Share Your Truth: Pay attention to the subtle truths in your body and share them with trusted loved ones with vulnerability and love.

Thanks for listening to the full episode here to embark on this journey of self-discovery and intuition!

As you navigate your week, I invite you to pause from the chatter of your mind and pay attention to the whispers of your intuition, trusting that you are always guided, always supported, and always loved.

With abundant love,

Audrey Self-Love Coach

audrey@audreysuttonmills.com

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Hi there ,

Have you ever found yourself in the judgment trap, feeling inadequate and unworthy?

Judgement isn’t just about criticizing others, but it also picks apart our flaws and magnifies our mistakes. It whispers cruel “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts,” leaving us feeling unworthy and unlovable.

Often the judgments we make on others are reflections of our own insecurities and judgements about ourselves.

The sad part about listening to judgement is that when we judge others, we close ourselves off from the beauty of their potential and the richness of their experiences.

We miss out on the opportunity to truly connect and understand one another.

But perhaps even more damaging is the judgment we inflict upon ourselves.

This week, your invitation is to consciously recognize the harmful voice of the Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee—the voice that tells us we’re not good enough, smart enough, or worthy enough, and instead of buying into its negative narrative, choose to practice Ahimsa.

Ahimsa is the Sanskrit terms that means nonviolence towards ourselves and others.

But Ahimsa is not just about refraining from physical harm but also about abstaining from harmful thoughts and beliefs.

When we embrace Ahimsa, we break free from the cycle of self-inflicted suffering and open ourselves up to a life of compassion and grace.

Each time you notice, pause and choose to not harm yourself through judgment that creates separation from others and ourselves, you move closer towards your True Self.

Listen HERE to the full episode EP 189. Thanks for sharing it with friends who could use a little soul nourishment too.

Sending you all the good vibes and virtual hugs,

Audrey 🌸

p.s. if you want to dive in deeper toward self-love, I’m here for you. Let’s book a discovery call.

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Hey there,

I have a vulnerable share. I’ve struggled with perfectionism these past few years, and it’s been so paralyzing that it’s silenced my voice and my gifts as a teacher and coach.

In the online coaching world, the pressure to be flawless, to have all the answers and to be the expert has been overwhelming. Perfectionism has caused to show up inauthentically (hello imposter syndrome!) …or show up as a flat version of my personality… or worse - not show up at all!... only to be met with shame for not doing and being more.

Perfectionism is like a sneaky thief, robbing us of our joy and confidence.

But over these years of doing the self-love work on myself, I can tell you this: imperfection is where the magic happens. It’s the portal to our True Self.

In Japanese culture, there's a concept called "wabi-sabi" – it's all about embracing imperfection as the essence of beauty in life. Think of it like the cracks in a piece of pottery making it even more beautiful and unique.

For me, my sensitivity has always been a flaw and weakness, but not I can see that my sensitivity IS my gift – it’s literally how I connect with my community and how I heal others.

So when that Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee starts to rear its head, remember this: Notice, Pause, Choose:

Notice: Recognize that criticizing voice.
Pause: Take a deep breath and come back to the present moment.
Choose: opt for a thought that lifts you up and reminds you of your worth.

And remember, your imperfections are your superpowers.

Also, I’ve been using this mantra for myself and I’ve felt it’s power. I hope it helps you return to yours too!

"I embrace all of me and I am needed in this world."

I hope today’s soul note helps you break free from trying to please others or feel like an imposter and remember your gifts that only you have and gives you the courage to step into them and share them with the world!

Much love,

Audrey

p.s. if you need personalize coaching, I’m here to help you deepen your self-love and connect to your intuition to create the life you love.

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Do you ever have those days where self-doubt just seems to sneak in and rain on your parade? Yup, me too.

In my book on how to quiet our Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee, I share about The Four Horsemen: Comparison, Self-Doubt, Perfectionism, and Judgment that slays our self-worth.

Personally, I've gone through a lot of transition over the past 3 years and have struggled a lot with the Four Horsemen that slays our self-worth.

Each week this month, I share how we can befriend each of these horsemen and ways to choose to align with our True abundant Self.

After having my second child during the pandemic, plus moving an hour away from the city and giving up my thriving Seattle yoga classes, not getting to travel for my yoga retreats, and also shifting my career and launching my Soul School coaching program, I was in a big liminal season of letting go of who I once knew to move into the unknown of who I yearned to be.

But those 3 years rocked my identity and confidence in myself.

The world seemed so fast and overwhelming.

Because I had taken a hiatus from coaching and teaching for a few years, I lost my sense of who I was and trust in myself, and I constantly doubted myself and my gifts.

But slowly, I’m coming home to myself and to my inner knowing…it’s through the practice of slowing down, meditating to practice being present and using these little mindfulness tools that I teach each week.

If you too struggle with self-doubt, here are 3 easy ways to help silence the itty-bitty-shitty-committee and reclaim your confidence:

Negative Mantra Breakthrough: When self-doubt creeps in, try this negative mantra: "I don't do self-sabotage." It halts the negative spiraling and is like a gentle reminder to yourself that you're stronger than those doubts.
Appreciation: Take a moment to reflect on your past achievements. Go back 1 year, then 5 years and 10 years. Let those memories of your unique gifts wrap around you like a warm hug, reminding you of your worth and strength.
Positive Affirmation Boost: Each time you feel unsure, repeat the mantra: "When I align with my true nature, I am infinite possibilities." Let this mantra remind you that you are enough and guide you towards embracing your inner power and potential.

If you're curious to learn more, check out my latest podcast episode: "Slaying Self-Doubt."

Have you listened to my podcast yet? It’s like a cozy chat with a soulful friend, packed with mindfulness tips and affirmations to help us both find some inner calm and joy.

Remember, you're stronger than you think, and you're never alone on this path to self-discovery. I’m right there with you holding your hand and heart for deeper Self-love.

And if you want to dive in deeper, I’m here to personally help you with my Self-love coaching.

In gratitude, Audrey

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🌟 Embrace Your True Self: Letting Go of Comparison 🌟

Ever find yourself caught in the comparison game?

It's like a sneaky whisper that tells us we're not measuring up.

But guess what?

Comparison robs us of our joy! It pulls us away from our true selves, leaving us feeling insecure and unworthy. 🚫

To help you break free from that comparison trap:

🛑 Pause and Notice: When comparison starts creeping in, notice it and take a deep breath to pause from getting looped into it’s story. Breathe and create space from the narrative to help ground yourself in the present moment and reconnect with what truly matters to you.

🎯 Focus on What You Can Control: Shift your attention to your own actions and choices. What steps can you take to align yourself with your goals and values? When you’re in consciousness, you’re in choice.

🧘‍♀️ Mantra of the Week: "I stay focused on what I can control - this breath, this thought, this action, this moment." Let it be a gentle reminder whenever comparison threatens to steal your confidence and joy.

🌈 Shift Your Imagination: Instead of dwelling on what you lack, focus on what’s working and your gifts and accomplishments. What we focus on grows…so what are you choosing?

When you can embrace your uniqueness and step into your courage through self-love, you’re unstoppable. 💖

Sending you lots of love! ✨

Audrey

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Hey soul friend,

How often do we let our inner critic spin us into old dramas? 🙋🏻‍♀️

We get triggered by something or someone, and suddenly we're knee-deep in an old drama, replaying the same story over and over again.

During my recent trip to Florida, a friend shared a powerful insight: the inner work is about being with our experiences without being consumed by them.

This is the essence of mindfulness. The more we can hold space for our experiences without letting them take over, the more freedom we find.

In today's meditation on the MINDFUL PAUSE PODCAST EP 185, I guide you through an exercise to be with something that's triggering—whether it's anger, sadness, or even joy—without letting it consume you.

When we can BE with the emotion without becoming emotional, we can be with anger without becoming angry, with sadness without sinking into despair, and with joy without clinging to it.

Here are some takeaways from episode 184:

✨ Emotions typically only last about 90 seconds. It's the stories we tell ourselves that revive the narrative and make them linger.

✨ Step back as the witness. Create space between you and the emotion. You'll find the charge starts to fade.

✨ Choose presence over the drama. Take a moment to quiet the mind and return to this moment.

Remember, when you’re in consciousness, you are in choice.

You have the power to decide whether you'll get swept away by the story or stand firm in the present moment.

So, as you go about your day, whenever you feel yourself getting lost in the drama, remember: you can be with the experience without becoming it.

Take a moment to quiet the mind, create space, and return to this moment. Because right here, right now, is exactly where you're meant to be.

Join me on the Mindful Pause Podcast for an easy meditation to reclaim your peace. 💫

Sending you lots of inner peace and presence today.

Namaste,

Audrey

p.s. looking for more personalized coaching? let’s connect and I’ll help you heal, know and love yourself using my self-love techniques and intuitive guidance.

audrey@audreysuttonmills.com

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Hi there soul friend!

Growing up, I was often labeled as "too emotional" or "too sensitive," which led me to believe that my sensitivity was my flaw. But through my spiritual journey, I've had a revelation – my sensitivity is my superpower! It's what led me to discover my true calling as a self-love coach, guiding others on their paths to self-discovery and healing.

Wabi Sabi is a beautiful Japanese concept that celebrates imperfection and impermanence. It's all about finding beauty in life's irregularities, rather than striving for unattainable perfection.

What if instead of striving for perfection, we embraced our "flaws" and mistakes as valuable lessons on our unique journey?

What if they were actually portals to our greatest gifts?

In today’s MINDFUL PAUSE PODCAST episode, 184 I'll be guiding you through a meditation and journaling session to reflect on your perceived inadequacies and see them as your greatest gifts, guiding you toward becoming who you're truly meant to be.

🌿 Reflection Questions:

What are your perceived “imperfections” or flaws and how are they a portal to your Divine gifts?
What are your “mistakes” or “challenges” you’ve gone through teaching you about yourself?

I hope today’s intention of Wabi Sabi helps you go easy on yourself and embrace both the dark and light parts of your beautiful wholeness!

With love and light,

Audrey 💫

want to dive deeper? Let's connect and I can help guide you home to your True Self through self-love practices and intuitive coaching

www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Hey there,

If you're feeling a little frazzled and ungrounded, I hope today's podcast and love letter for your Soul helps you stay centered to yourself and what truly matters.

Last week was a whirlwind of foggy chaos:

Two sick kiddos at home meant sleepless nights and the added pressure to "get it all done" in less time. 🤯
Picture this: I strut into a yoga class, only to realize in the lobby that I'm rocking just my bra (not my sports bra). Talk about a fashion faux pas!
And to top it off, the next day, I hit the gym with my leggings on backward.

GET. IT. TOGETHER, AUDREY!

After feeling overwhelmed and unproductive, I decided to pause and ground myself with a quick meditation.

And you know what? It worked like a charm.

In just 5 minutes, I felt lighter, more centered and even managed to laugh at my mishaps. It's amazing what a little mindfulness can do!

Here are a few mindfulness tips from today's episdoe to help you find your center right now:

Be present – Take a moment to connect with your physical body - notice your physical contact with thechair beneath you, the ground beneath your feet, the air on your face.
Pause and deepen your breath – Let your breath anchor you to this moment rather than getting lost in your mind's endless to-do list.
Connect to your heart and ask yourself:
- What is truly essential for me right now?
- What can I let go of today?
- How can I nourish my soul today?
- What small ritual can I incorporate into my daily routine to stay grounded and centered?

I hope these simple mindfulness tools help you find your footing when you're feeling untethered.

And the best part?

They only take a minute or two!

Now, I'd love to hear from you: What are you doing this week to prioritize self-care and stay grounded?

And if you're craving deeper self-love and guidance to create a life you truly adore, don't hesitate to reach out for personal coaching. I'm here to support you every step of the way.

Namaste,

Audrey

www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Hey there, beautiful soul!

Just returned from a quick Florida vacation, and let me tell you, it was like a sip of pure sunshine for my spirit.

There's something rejuvinating about reconnecting with friends who knew you long before diapers and bedtime stories took over to remind you of who you were.

When I got back home, a friend texted me: "I forgot how funny you are!" I excitedly showed it to my hubby, exclaiming, "See? I've still got it!"

These past three years of motherhood? Phew, they've been quite the rollercoaster ride!

Amidst the chaos of diapers and sleepless nights, I found myself stumbling through the darkness, feeling like a shell of myself, trying to remember the vibrant maiden goddess I once was.

Slowly but surely, though, I've been piecing her back together, infusing her vibrancy and wildness into this new chapter of motherhood with nurturing tenderness, wisdom and grace.

I can say, I’m feeling more and more at home in my whole self.

If you're feeling a bit lost in the shuffle, I hope today's podcast is a gentle reminder: there's a goddess or god within you, just waiting to be rediscovered and celebrated.

Also, if you’re local to Washington, join me for a goddess gathering on March 23rd for soulful yoga, journaling, sacred circle and bubbly to celebrate and reclaim your

inner spark and own your brilliance like the goddess/god you are.

Lots of love,

Aurey 🌟

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Hey there,

Feeling the lunar vibes this week? I sure was!

The full moon had me in a bit of a funk for about 24 hours! Everything seemed to be a trigger, from kid tantrums to everyday transitions. I was moody and edgy, definitely not the best version of myself.

But, here's the kicker: I stumbled upon a game-changer – a one-minute daily self-love check-in.

It's been my go-to for reining in my mood swings and staying grounded in what truly nourishes my mind, body and soul.

Curious to join the 1-minute self-love check-in? Have a listen to this week's episdoe

Here are a few of my questions for a daily checking…share with me what’s yours?

Am I being good to myself – in my thoughts and behaviors?
Have I moved my body in loving ways today?
Have I drink enough water?
Have I eaten something healthy and nourishing?
How can I be kinder to myself? Right now
how can I be kinder to someone else today?
How can I have a little more fun today and bring more joy to my day
What am I grateful for?

Let's make self-love a daily ritual – one minute at a time!

Audrey

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Today is a simple mantra: “one tweak each week”

Last week, I started working out again (after not really moving my body much for GULP, 4 YEARS!). I had 2 babies and a pandemic and a move/remodel. But my baby is almost 3 years old, and there’s no excuses, plus I feel like crap!

So I signed up for Orange Theory Fitness and made a commitment to myself to work out for 5 days. Last week was my first week, but I ate like crap - we’re talking 5 indulgent meals a day at about 3000 calories. So, although I was working out like an athlete, I was eating like a lumberjack!

I told my husband that I’m disappointed in myself and was wondering if I was self-sabotaging my progress. He was so great and wrapped his arm around me and said, “You did great. Now just eat better. One tweak a week!”

And it stuck!

Friend, maybe you can relate to this and are needing a little encouragement.

Our Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee can keep us down by comparing us to other people’s progress and judging our accomplishments, so I hope this week’s intention of:

One Tweak a week

Is helpful to you to encourage you to keep going. You’re making progress and doing great!

Lots of love,

Audrey

Want to dive in deeper? Download your free ENVISION+RECEIVE workbook and meditation HERE to create a mini-retreat to gain clarity of what you want and how you want to feel this year. And join me!!! 👇🏼 🌴beautiful BALI RETREAT in April for ultimate healing, magic + transformation ❤️GODDESS GATHERING workshop March 23rd (Maple Valley in person) 🎁 Need more calm? SLEEP MEDITATIONS ($27)

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS ($27)

MINDFUL MAMA MEDITATIONS ($47)

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Today’s episode is about completion.

HUH? What does this have to do with self-love or mindfulness?

When we don’t complete our tasks, it chips at our self worth. If we have a running list of all the things we need to do, this ever growing list can feel overwhelming, anxiety inducing and stressful.

Completion of our tasks builds self worth, confidence and relieves stress.

Journal:

What projects or tasks have I left unfinished? (this could be as simple as finishing reading a book, or sending out an email to a larger project or dream)
What outstanding debts do I have?
Who do I owe money to?
Who do I owe an apology to?
Who do I owe words of appreciation to?
What dreams have I put on hold?

How does not completing these things make me feel?

How would it feel to complete these tasks and projects?

Now the work begins: It doesn’t matter the order - just start completing each task fully! Usually simple and easy is best.

Make a plan and start checking them off. When you do, write down next to each task how completing this made you feel.

Share with me too!

namaste,

Audrey

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS ($27)

MINDFUL MAMA MEDITATIONS ($47)

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This week, many people are celebrating Valentine’s Day. But what about self-love and celebrating yourself? In today’s meditation, we’ll invite the mantra: AHEM PREMA, which in Sanskrit translates into “I am love”

I hope today’s meditation helps you feel more at ease within yourself and a warmth that you are enough and you matter

Sending you lots of love

Audrey

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS ($27)

MINDFUL MAMA MEDITATIONS ($47)

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I just finished my book! Well, my 2nd draft of this book (that I started 11 years ago!?, and just recently picked it back up).

Life is always speaking to us…are we listening?

In today’s intention and reflection, I’ll guide you to look back at your challenges and see what Life was trying to teach you.

What are you experiencing NOW that you can learn from?

I finished my book with my own reflection of my challenges:

my divorce taught me to learn to love myself so I could find love again
burnout and the uncertainty of a major career change taught me to really know myself and find my purpose to serve others and teach them how to know and love themselves
the death of my dad taught me to appreciate the impermanence of life and taught me how to truly live
my dark season of motherhood is teaching me how to mother myself (in a new way, in this new role) through tenderness, slowing down and being gentle.

Sometimes our challenges can feel like:

a dark hole you’re trying to claw your way out of
Or a tunnel your persevering to get through

But more often, these dark times are the cocoon you’re meant to be in for a great transformation.

I hope today’s episode is helpful.

Let me know and connect with me!

You matter,

Audrey

Want to dive in deeper into knowing and loving yourself? Download your free ENVISION+RECEIVE workbook and meditation HERE to create a mini-retreat to gain clarity of what you want and how you want to feel this year. And join me!!! 👇🏼 🌴beautiful BALI RETREAT in April for ultimate healing, magic + transformation ❤️GODDESS GATHERING workshop March 23rd (Maple Valley in person) 🎁 Need more calm? SLEEP MEDITATIONS ($27)

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS ($27)

MINDFUL MAMA MEDITATIONS ($47)

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This week’s podcast is about giving yourself permission to experience more abundance and luxury AND to do something that feels luxurious each day.

Jake and I finally celebrated my birthday night out in a luxurious hotel nearby. We went to dinner and sat by the hotel fire and connected. It was a Monday and we arrived to the hotel at 5pm and left at 9:30am for work, but that one night felt very luxurious. Maybe it’s because we haven’t had a night away from the kids in 4 years or maybe it’s because I’m a mom of a 2 and 5 year old, and “luxury” these days is removing my toe nail polish that’s been hanging on with little specks of what used to be the color.

What made this night special were the thoughtful details….The single rose and glass of wine at check in, cookies at the bar with a candle, truffles in my room with a note.

Details matter.

Sometimes we think we need a big chunk of time - a weekend, a retreat or spa day to feel luxury or taken care of, when we can and deserve to treat ourselves daily.

Notice how you feel about luxury? Perhaps giving to yourself may feel uncomfortable or privileged, but remember, YOU are your MOST beloved treasure, so why not treat yourself as such NOW not when you have more time, or more money or (whatever you think you need to give to yourself).

In this season of your life, what little things bring you joy and make your life more special?

It may be fresh flowers,

a walk around the block without any distractions,

painting your nails,

having a good glass of wine…

Please share with me: what can you do this week to feel more luxury and abundance?

You deserve to treat yourself and feel special, because you ARE special.

When we lean into believing in abundance, more abundance follows.

Namaste,

Audrey

Join me in beautiful BALI this April to receive more clarity, magic and connection to your intuition and gifts. DETAILS FOR BALI HERE

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Last week I had the opportunity to be a guest speaker at a weekend long writers retreat, and you know what I learned?

We are not alone in our fears and we have the same universal desires to feel seen, connected, signifiant.

What’s the ONE thing that gets in the way?

Our Itty-Bitty-shitty-Committee!

I’m writing about it in my book. I speak and teach alot about quieting it? WHY?

Because if we listen to it, it will sabotage our dreams, demolish our self worth and just keep us stuck in scarcity and fear.

In this week’s MINDFUL PAUSE PODCAST episode, I lead you through a quick version of last week’s hour long meditation to help you cut the cord to your limiting beliefs, negative narrative and anything else that may be keeping you stuck, so you can truly connect to your True Self - that place of love, creativity, joy and truth.

Sending you lots of love friend!

Audrey

P.s. join me next Saturday in person for my SELF LOVE WORKSHOP 4-6pm. It’s allll about this ☝🏼SIGN UP HERE

And if you want to dive deeper into really knowing and loving yourself, join me in beautiful BALI this April to receive more clarity, magic and connection to your intuition and gifts. DETAILS FOR BALI HERE

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Setting a new year’s goal, resolution or an intention can get complicated. Our mind wants to figure it all out, work backwards to make our goal happen.

In today’s meditation, you just need to ask your heart ONE question to gain crystal clear, potent clarity.

💫 What do I want? 💫

Resist the need to ask Why, When or How questions right now.

These tend to be answered from our mind to try to figure out a solution or plan.

Just ask:

What do I want most?

And

How do I want to feel?

Let yourself get quiet and listen to the whisper of your heart.

Listen for the potent answer.

This is your soul speaking your Truth.

All will unfold beautifully.

Share with me what you want and how you want to feel.

I love hearing from you!

Audrey

Want to dive in deeper? Download your free ENVISION+RECEIVE workbook and meditation HERE to create a mini-retreat to gain clarity of what you want and how you want to feel this year. And join me!!! 👇🏼 💫 virtually on JAN 7th for SATYA SOUL SPEAK workshop where we’ll move + envision + receive all that you are. 🌴beautiful BALI RETREAT in April for ultimate healing, magic + transformation (price increases $250 at end of month) ❤️SACRED SELF LOVE workshop JAN 27th @ 4-6pm (Maple Valley in person) 🎁 Need more calm? SLEEP MEDITATIONS ($27)

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS ($27)

MINDFUL MAMA MEDITATIONS ($47)

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Happy New Year friend!

Join me in a New Year mini-retreat to create a soft place to land so you can tune into your heart and gain clarity of what you want to create, experience and feel in the most loving ways.

CLICK HERE for your workbook to start your 1-hour workshop of reflection + envisioning + receiving your gifts that only you have.

When you quiet your mind, you can hear the whisper of your heart that speaks the truth of what you yearn for and what you need to nourish yourself and your dreams.

It’s not through goal setting, striving or pushing yourself to do more, but by softening into this sacred stillness to listen and know this infinite wisdom within you, remembering that you are enough and you matter.

You are special and have unique gifts that only you have.

I’m so excited for you to embark on this journey of knowing and loving yourself.

Download your free ENVISION+RECEIVE workbook and meditation HERE to create a mini-retreat to gain clarity of what you want and how you want to feel this year.

Lots of love,

Audrey

And join me!!! 👇🏼 💫 virtually on JAN 7th for SATYA SOUL SPEAK workshop where we’ll move + envision + receive all that you are. 🌴beautiful BALI RETREAT in April for ultimate healing, magic + transformation (price increases $250 at end of month) ❤️SACRED SELF LOVE workshop JAN 27th @ 4-6pm (Maple Valley in person) 🎁 Need more calm? SLEEP MEDITATIONS ($27)

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS ($27)

MINDFUL MAMA MEDITATIONS ($47)

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Today’s my birthday! On my birthday (or the end of the year) I love to create a soft place to land and reflect on what I’ve learned and who I’m becoming.

Set aside 10 minutes to listen to TODAY’S MEDITATION to reflect and appreciate who you are and journal:

· What do you want to release/clear?

· What are the lessons you’ve learned?

· What are you most proud of?

· What inspires you about yourself?

· What do you want more of moving forward? (experiences, creations, feelings?)

· What are you appreciating?

lots of love

Audrey

Want to dive in deeper? Download your free ENVISION+RECEIVE workbook and meditation HERE to create a mini-retreat to gain clarity of what you want and how you want to feel this year.

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS ($27)

MINDFUL MAMA MEDITATIONS ($47)

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A few weeks ago, we took a drive up to Mount Rainier with the kids and on our way up, Hunter, my 5-year old exclaimed, “WOW look at the snow sparkling!”

The bright white walls of snow piled on the side of the highway indeed were glistening in the sunshine like tiny crystals sparkling.

I wouldn’t have noticed it, but children are so present they notice every detail of Life.

What if we could sprinkle a little bit of that childlike wonder and presence throughout our day?

So often we miss the little moments of sparkle because we’re lost in our mind.

When we recycle past stories, rehash limiting beliefs, or spin worries of the future, we create our own suffering and remain stuck in the struggle.

When we’re present, we can notice the sparkle, the magic and joy around us.

Today take moments to pause and notice the sparkle…

Remind yourself of:

· what’s good in your life

· What have you overcome

· Who are you becoming

· What you’re grateful for today and what’s to come

And BONUS… think of 3 people who have added some sparkle to your life when you needed it this year and give them some sparkle by sharing with them how they’ve helped lift you up or brightened your day.

Also, I love hearing from you, so please share with me your sparkle and what you’re grateful for.

Hope you are having a very merry Christmas and happy holidays

Audrey

Want to dive in deeper?

Download your free ENVISION+RECEIVE workbook and meditation HERE to create a mini-retreat to gain clarity of what you want and how you want to feel this year.

And join me!!! 👇🏼

💫 virtually on 1/7/24 for SATYA SOUL SPEAK workshop where we’ll move + envision + receive all that you are.

🌴beautiful BALI RETREAT in April for ultimate healing, magic + transformation (price increases $250 at end of month)

❤️SACRED SELF LOVE workshop 1/27/24 @ 4-6pm (Maple Valley in person)

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The Holidays can be a special time but it can also bring a lot of uneasy emotions such as sadness and grief while missing a loved one. This meditation will help you be with all of your emotions and invite your loved one to be with you during this sacred experience to feel their love and presence. This meditation was vulnerable and you’ll hear me tear up right there with you at the end. You are not alone in your grief.

Through this daily practice of connecting with my dad (who was MY person), I can tell you that this is the biggest way I’ve been able to get through my grief.

I can’t say I’m “healed” (we’re always in process of messy healing when we lose our person, right?), but it’s helped me still feel close to him even though he’s not physically here with me. I feel his guidance every day and am grateful for this practice of getting quiet and tuning into a sacredness that’s available to us all.

When I was in Bali this year for my yoga retreat, I felt my dad’s presence everywhere – in the beauty of Bali, in the signs that I received and in my heart with a warm feeling he was enjoying each moment. It felt so divine with all of the synchronicities!

There was so much healing and magic in Bali, truly there aren’t words to describe it 🌈

Although we can’t all go on a spiritual vacation, we can take moments to create sacred space to feel and invite our loved ones to be with us by:

· asking questions and talking to them

· listening for their wisdom in those quiet moments

· and looking for signs they are still with us in spirit protecting us, loving us and guiding us.

Thank you for being here, rating + reviewing this podcast and sharing it with those you love!

Lots of love,

Audrey

🌈 p.s. join me for the utmost healing, beauty and spiritual connection with yourself in

beautiful BALI yoga retreat (April 2024)

or TUSCANY yoga retreat (September 2024)

All details at: http://www.audreysuttonmills.com

💫 Join me for a virtual event Jan 7th @4-6PM pst

SOUL SPEAK: yoga + meditation + journaling

attune to your heart’s deepest desire + Dharma

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Five easy Ways to be more intentional this Holiday so you can be more present, peaceful and enjoy this special time.

Resist burnout at the beginning of the year and create a soft place to land at the end of the year, with these 5 easy ways:

Ask what is really essential?
What can I say NO to?
Who is most important to me and how can I schedule quality time with them first before all of the invitations come in?
What do I need to fill my cup? (often it’s free, quiet time, quality time with yourself - what is it and where can you schedule this in daily and weekly?)
Commit to moments of pause throughout the day to breathe, appreciate and BE (with those you love, what you love and the beauty of life in front of you).

Thank you for being here, rating + reviewing this podcast and sharing it with those you love!

Lots of love,

Audrey

🌈 p.s. join me for the utmost healing, beauty and spiritual connection with yourself in

beautiful BALI yoga retreat (April 2024)

or TUSCANY yoga retreat (September 2024)

All details at: http://www.audreysuttonmills.com

💫 Join me for a virtual event Jan 7th @4-6PM pst

SOUL SPEAK: yoga + meditation + journaling

attune to your heart’s deepest desire + Dharma

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The Holidays can be a time of excitment and full of love, but it can also feel really overhelming like we have to hustle and get everything done, end the year with a bang and shop, wrap, cook, enterain.

Fill up your cup and nurture your heart in today’s episode on Self-care...not what you think Self-care should look like or what it used to look like, but caring for your body, mind and spirit in this season, right now.

Get comfy, breathe deeply and tune in to your heart for nourishment.

Sending you lots of love and care this week,

namaste

Audrey

p.s. join me in beautiful BALI or Tuscany yoga retreat in 2024. All details at: http://www.audreysuttonmills.com

Join me for a virtual event SOUL SPEAK: soulful yoga + meditation + journaling to attune to your heart’s deepest desire and let your Soul speak your sankalpa and Dharma

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Sometimes we’re in a period of waiting….

Waiting for our romantic partner

Waiting for the right job offer

Waiting to start a family

Waiting to heal

Waiting can be hard. We want to rush through it.

The inner work is to stay.

In today’s meditation, we’ll sit in the waiting to find ourselves.

Audrey

p.s. I hope you can join me in beautiful BALI or Tuscany yoga retreat in 2024. All details at: http://www.audreysuttonmills.com

Join me for a virtual event SOUL SPEAK: soulful yoga + meditation + journaling to attune to your heart’s deepest desire and let your Soul speak your sankalpa and Dharma

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The holidays are HERE and we can easily get triggered by relatives who say things that make us feel uncomfortable, activate past conditioning and old beliefs, or people who make us feel guilty for not doing what they want or being who they want you to be.

Let go of any expectations, control and any judgment with this 1 affirmation in today’s episode.

Affirming: “I am helpless over other people’s emotions and actions” frees you from the story of your Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee to return to your inner peace.

Listen to today’s meditation to help you let go of a triggering situation to find your freedom.

Please let me know if you like this affirmation and how it’s helping you in letting go of triggered emotions and be free.

Audrey

p.s. join me in beautiful BALI or Tuscany yoga retreat in 2024. All details at: http://www.audreysuttonmills.com

Join me for a virtual event SOUL SPEAK: soulful yoga + meditation + journaling to attune to your heart’s deepest desire and let your Soul speak your sankalpa and Dharma

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/satya-soul-speak-yoga-intention-setting-event-tickets-758008031427?aff=oddtdtcreator

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I was on a retreat shadowing my mentor and teacher, Jana Wilson who teaches how to love our inner child.

As adults, we’re typically interacting with each other from our wounded child - that part of us who hasn’t learned to be with and manage our emotions to be the healthy, mature adult. So, when we get triggered, our wounded child acts out. We might act out in anger or rage, when beneath that is a little child who feels helpless over others or feels sorrow and grief. It’s easier to be angry than to feel helpless.

Underneath our wounded emotions of anger, resentment, shame, fear or jealousy are 5 core emotions from our core inner child.

In today’s podcast, we’ll explore these 5 core emotions to help you uncover the real emotion that you’re feeling, so you can lovingly BE with yourself.

Moving forward, you can use this technique to help you listen to your emotions of your inner child and give yourself a big hug and remember it’s going to be okay because you have YOU.

When you become the healthy, loving, mature adult you needed as a child, you heal old patterns and wounds and love your whole self.

Lots of love friend,

Audrey

p.s. join me in beautiful BALI or Tuscany yoga retreat in 2024. All details at: http://www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Feeling disconnected from who you want to be?

Maybe it's the change of seasons.

Maybe it's that life is so fast, like we're on a treadmill we can't get off of making us feel ungrounded.

Or maybe it's we've been looking outside ourselves for the validation, the love, the acceptance we're seeking.

In today's episode, I'll guide you back to feeling connected with yourself in a short meditation to help you remember you have all of the answeres within you.

sending you lots of love,

Audrey

p.s. join me in beautiful BALI or Tuscany yoga retreat in 2024. All details at: http://www.audreysuttonmills.com

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I hope today’s meditation helps you release the chatter of your mind and let your mind rest in the loving stillness of your heart.

Also, if you’re called to go deeper, join me in beautiful Bali for magic, healing and connection in April 2024 or Tuscany to indulge, renew and deeply connect to yourself and your life’s vision.

Details for my New Year's virtual workshop and retreats are on my website audreysuttonmills.com. I hope to see you soon.

Audrey

Details for TUSCANY and BALI Retreats:

Tuscany https://soul-school.mykajabi.com/tuscany2024

Bali https://soul-school.mykajabi.com/baliretreat2024

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I remember in 2018, I was 6-weeks pregnant, totally sick and queasy, and in less than 4 weeks I was going to host a week long retreat for 28 women in Tuscany.

I hunched over the stove painfully grilling a cheese sandwich (because that’s all I could eat at that time), then slowly shuffled my feet to the couch where I lay horizontally with my eyes closed, nibbling my grilled cheese sandwich like a squirrel.

My dad watched this sad scene and insisted that he go to Italy to help me. Stubbornly, I told him I can handle it, but he knew better.

He bought his plane ticket that night.

I could never have done the retreat without him and in fact he made the retreat that much more special and became everyone’s resident “yoga dad.”

He died later that year, two weeks before my daughter was born.

Yesterday was his 5-year anniversary of his passing, and it’s kind of strange (and also beautiful) timing that I’m also opening registration next week on the Hunter moon (the name of our daughter and the actual day he died 5 years ago).

I know he would like me going back to Italy, his favorite place, and especially back to Villa Benedetta where that was our last vacation together.

Maybe you’re wondering why I’m sharing all this?

My dad always taught me to celebrate life, but when you lose someone you love, grief can feel so overwhelming. Through conscious work of silence, meditation, self-reflection, talking to him, going to Bali for deep healing and magic, now the feelings of JOY, connection and love are more present than grief and sorry. That doesn’t mean I don’t miss him. I do, every day. But I feel deeply connected to his spirit and his love for me and love for life.

Connection is most important to me. The pandemic shut my thriving yoga business for 3 years, and to be honest, I’m still picking up the pieces, seeking that deep connection again.

Maybe you are too?

Getting to return to this magnificent villa overlooking sprawling vineyards holds a special place in my heart - not only for its serene beauty of the luxurious architecture, quaint town and vineyards, but because of the beautiful memories of my dad interacting with our yoga friends and the lasting friendships and connection we made in this special place (and honestly, always make on my retreats).

Registration for Tuscany opens next Saturday, and if you’re on the waitlist, you’ll get a special email next week.

I’d love for you to join me either in Tuscany Sept 29-Oct 5, 2024 or in beautiful Bali April 22-28, 2024 for healing, renewal and connection to your inner truth.

DETAILS FOR BOTH RETREATS:

Tuscany 2024 https://soul-school.mykajabi.com/tuscany2024

Bali 2024https://soul-school.mykajabi.com/baliretreat2024

Audrey

If you’re experiencing grief, I hope TODAY’S MINDFUL PAUSE episode helps you be with yourself in a loving way, allowing yourself stillness to feel your emotions and hear that wisdom that shows up to thaw what is frozen to flow again.

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Life can cover up our light.

Isn’t it a blessing to have someone

help us excavate our light and

help us remember our spark?

In today's meditation, we'll reflect on that person(s) and call in future people who love us and support us, including ourselves. In addition, we'll give ourselves permission to remember our gifts and light, that only YOU have and bring to this world.

namaste,

Audrey

p.s. If you would like to join me in BALI or Tuscany in 2024 for yoga and soul-filling retreats, SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER FOR EVENTS + UPDATES (Tuscany retreat registration opens 10/28/23)

https://audreysuttonmills.com

CONNECT ON IG:

https://www.instagram.com/audreysuttonmills/

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Especially in today's world that is so busy with our roles and responsibilities as well as all the different devices pinging us and grabbing for our attention, we often feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and unable to focus.

Mindfulness is being conscious to the present moment, so that we can intentionally respond and act from our highest self, instead of unconsciously reacting from our lower self and old familiar patterns.

Mindfulness is moving with intention in our thoughts, our words or actions.

Today's meditation we'll explore meditation to stretch the gap between your thoughts and you. Meditation is simply the practice of being present, so we can live more presently off our mats.

I hope today's meditation helps you be more present and grounded.

If you wouldn't mind rating, reviewing and sharing this podcast, it would mean the world to me!

namaste,

Audrey

https://audreysuttonmills.com

CONNECT ON IG:

https://www.instagram.com/audreysuttonmills/

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Life is so beautiful when we look for it

The challenge is we don’t see this flow and beauty because we’re busy with our roles, responsibilities and immediate tasks.

We’re distracted in our mind with our thoughts. We create disconnect in our life.

what life is asking us to do is to remember that we are an essential movement in this beautiful harmonious dance of life.

I'll guide you through a meditation to help you find your stillness and connect back to the pulse and vibrancy of LIFE.

Audrey

https://audreysuttonmills.com

CONNECT ON IG:

https://www.instagram.com/audreysuttonmills/

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|FNAME|, are you (or have you ever been) in a relationship where you want a lovingly connection, but are stuck keeping score, tallying up resentments and bypassing real feelings? Today's podcast episode we explore cultivating a ‘spiritual partnership’ which is "a partnership between equals for their spiritual growth,” according to Gary Zukav. This means each person takes ownership and responsibility to turn the mirror inward and do the inner work on themselves first to evolve into their Higher Self, and then they lovingly support each other, growing together. A lot of relationships have it backwards - we expect our partner to fulfill us and make us feel special. When they don’t comply, we project our hurt feelings onto them by hurting them with blame and shame, Hopefully today’s mindfulness tool and meditation will help you: ❤️ get clear on what you want ❤️ how to communicate your needs (with love) ❤️ and how to cultivate a mature, loving Soul Partnership (in 3 steps) LMK if this is helpful to your relationship (and your spiritual evolution, honestly) or if there is a 💡 AHA moment. Otherwise I just think there's crickets 🦗 Thanks for being here! xx Audrey

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Hi there!

I hope you had a wonderful summer and are feeling rested and renewed. I know I am!

It’s so good to be back with you! This season, I’m sharing excerpts from my book: How to quiet the Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee coming out in 2024. This is vulnerable for me to share, but I truly hope each week’s intention, lesson or meditation helps you on your journey to know and love yourself.

** If this is helpful and speak to your heart, please do me a favor and let me know – a quick DM on instagram, email me on audreysuttonmills.com and you can help me so much by rating, review and share this podcast.

Today’s podcast is about quieting our inner critic, that negative voice that pulls us down an emotional elevator into believing in scarcity that we’re not good enough and we don’t have enough.

You’re in alignment with your Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee whenever you feel inferior or superior to someone or something.

Today we’ll explore 3 ways to quiet the inner critic:

Notice when you start to buy into it’s limiting beliefs and negative dialogue. When you’re in consciousness, you’re in choice and can choose a new way of talking to yourself.
Question the IBSC. Ask– is this really true about me? Or is this a learned behavior or a conditioned pattern?
Create a negative mantra to halt spiraling into limiting beliefs and patterns.

This week’s invitation is to be mindful of how you talk to yourself, and use the mindfulness tools to notice your inner dialogue, question it and use the negative mantra to choose a new belief to serve you.

Each time you recognize a familiar destructive pattern and choose instead to be kinder towards yourself, you rewire any limiting beliefs and shift your patterns.

I hope this has been helpful and I can’t wait to hear how these doable tools are helping you know and love yourself.

Remember, friend ,you are enough and you matter!

namaste

Audrey

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Hi friends, today is a special treat to have my friend and mentor, Jana Wilson! She is a meditation teacher, hypnotherapist and author of Wise Little One, a prescriptive memoir sharing her emotional, heart wrenching and oh so inspiring healing story of learning to listen and love her inner child.

I hope you receive nuggets for your spiritual evolution and healing today.

Also, RUN and buy this buy this book

Happy Summer friends – see you back in September!

Audrey

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This week, when you dip into scarcity thinking, invite the mantra "the love I give comes back to me."

When you change your energy, you change your life.

Thank you so much for being here each week, sharing and rating this podcast!

I'm so grateful for you!

Audrey

p.s. Join me next year in Bali (April) and Tuscany (September) 2024! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

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Often times the things we know are good for us are the hardest things to do.

This week’s intention is to give yourself small moments of care each day to help you connect with what matters most.

You deserve to feel good. You are deserving of all that good.

Share with me on instagram how you are caring for yourself this week.

Thank you so much for being here each week, sharing and rating this podcast!

I'm so grateful for you!

Audrey

p.s. Join me next year in Bali (April) and Tuscany (September) 2024! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

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Since the pandemic, many of my clients have a harder time focusing and ask me for coaching of how to be more present.

Our face paced online world has many benefits and affords us with immediate (or very quick) gratification, but it harms our ability to concentrate

We end up skimming for highlights, instead of taking time to digest the knowledge.

are we 2Xing Life?

This week’s intention is to slow down and move the way Mother Earth moves and let the little joys seep in, let yourself linger in wonder and awe and give yourself more time for Life’s natural rhythm to move through you.

I wonder if we can do this, how much richer would life be?

If this hit home in your heart, please connect with me and add a comment below

Thank you so much for being here each week, sharing and rating this podcast!

I'm so grateful for you!

Audrey

p.s. Join me next year in Bali (April) and Tuscany (September) 2024! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

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Imagine a beautiful lake. Our mind is like this lake. Our thoughts ripple across the water. But as the wind dies down, the water becomes still, so still it reflects the moon and the stars. The lake and sky become one.

Similarly, meditation helps to quiet our mind and calm our emotions, so we can see with more clarity Life’s reflections. When we are centered, we can see with clear eyes, not only our limiting patterns but our unlimited potential as well.

From a place of clarity, you see the reflection of life’s truth and your own truth within.

Let’s find clarity now in this week's MEDITAITON

Audrey

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Life can become so busy, keeping us overwhelmed with tasks and responsibilities, we miss life’s lessons.

Life whispers messages to guide us on our path to who we’re supposed to be. Can we get quiet enough to listen to its guidance, to see the signs and to hear it’s wisdom?

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION to help hear what life is telling you now.

This week: allow for moments of stillness to get quiet and hear Life’s wisdom and guidance.

Thank you always for being here, rating and reviewing this podcast!

Audrey

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What if Life’s real invitation is not:

to experience joy only WHEN something good happens to us

-or-

be grateful AFTER we get what we want,

BUT -

to find joy and gratitude, now,

despite our challenges and current circumstance?

By shifting our perspective of our experience

we change how we experience it.

Listen to this weeke's meditaiton to shift your perspective

Thank you for being here, rating and reviewin this podcast!

Audrey

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Usually when we’re happy, it’s because we received what we wanted.

We’re grateful AFTER something has happened to us.

But doing it this way (with cause then effect) is fleeting because it keeps us chasing the next thing that promises to bring us the elevated feeling we want to feel.

What would happen if instead of waiting

to feel joy when something good happens to us,

we consciously choose to feel joy now

despite what we’re experiencing?

Instead of cause and effect,

we choose to affect the cause.

This isn’t about an affirmation of an attitude of gratitude.

It’s really about doing the hard mindful work to really embody gratitude and all of the other high emotions you want to feel now - no matter what.

Doing the active inner work helps us shift our perspective and energy.

When we change our energy, we change our life

On this week’s MINDFUL PAUSE PODCAST,

let’s change our perspective of the experience, to change our experience of it.

LISTEN HERE.

I hope the last 4 weeks of exploring SAT CHIT ANANDA helps you realize this is not an unattainable concept, but one where we can learn the knowledge, put it into action, and through consistent practice of being conscious, living in our truth and choose joy now, we begin to embody this wisdom.

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Paolo Coelho said “the simple things are also the most extraordinary things. Only the wise can see them.”

Children have an innate sense of wonder and curiosity. But as adults, we lost our curiosity and would rather be right and know. Wonder opens our eyes to the magic within and around us.

It invites a sense of interest, awe and reverence for the mundane as well as the miraculous.

It’s been shown that being in wonder helps us feel more content, calm, connected and joyful.

Let’s explore wonder in today's meditation.

This week: can you invite more wonder to remember you are part of something greater. The everyday moments of wonder and awe help grow your appreciation for this beautiful journey called life.

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Currently I’m training for a 10K. I’ve never done a race, let alone run 2 miles straight in my life. When I’m starting to feel empowered, my dark shadow, fat kid Freddy coerces me to go to the pantry to eat chips or swing through the drive through to “treat” myself.

This self-sabotage is the device of my ego trying to lure me back to feeling those old familiar feelings of insecurity and shame – so it can feel safe again.

BUT, Each time we make a new choice that’s in alignment with our higher self, we break the old patterns of our limited self and forge a new path towards transformation.

We’re diving into the concept of SAT CHIT ANANDA this month.

Sat (existence/truth); chit (consciousness) and Ananda (bliss).

Today we’ll explore Chit or consciousness.

Growth happens when we open and go beyond our self.

READY TO GO BEYOND YOUR LIMITIED SELF?

Listen to this week’s meditation on THE MINDFUL PAUSE PODCAST as we explore deeper into SAT CHIT ANANDA

namaste,

audrey

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Isn’t it interesting that one person only sees problems and pitfalls because of their challenges, while another sees potential and possibilities, despite their challenges?

The power of perspective helps us see the truth.

This week in the MINDFUL PAUSE PODCAST, we explore “SAT” which means truth in Sanskrit.

This is the first part of SAT CHIT ANANDA and it’s our invitation to see the truth of our inner world so we can experience the beautiful truths of our outer world.

Truth is not always pleasant.

But when we can see the truth, as it is, not how we need it to be, we stay present to the moment.

Grace finds us there.

Thank you for listening, sharing and reviewing this podcast! I'm so grateful you're here!

Audrey

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This month, on the mindful pause podcast each week we’ll explore the concept of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA (existence, conscoiusness, bliss) and how to live this intention each day.

Through consciousness (CHIT) , we can see the truth (SAT) as it is. We see the situation (not how we want it to bem but as it really is), we see the other person as they are (not how we think they should be or need them to be) and we see ourselves free from judgment through the lens of love.

By being present and seeing clearly, we can live in appreciation more and elevate our emotions to experience ANANDA, more bliss and joy.

When we move from the Unconscious to the conscious, we alchemize our limitations into limitless potential.

Namaste,

Audrey

p.s. Join me for my virtual workshop HELD on 5/20 ~ yoga + meditation + inner child healing

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A mantra is Sanskrit word for “man” meaning “mind” and “tra” meaning “release.”

Mantras are typically sounds or a phrase in Sanskrit or another language to help aid in your concentration.

One of my favorite mantras is SO HUM, which translates into I AM.

I hope today's mantra meditation helps connect you to your diving worth and inner wisdom.

namaste,

AUDREY

Join me online on May 20th from 10am-12pm for HELD virtual yoga workshop + inner child connection HERE

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After having my second child I had postpartum anxiety.

Perhaps it was the combination of remodeling a new home, moving, dealing with a highly emotional toddler all during the pandemic. Either way, any decision made me feel overwhelmed, flooded and paralyzed.

For the rest of 2022, I took care of myself, by simplifying my tasks (only doing the most necessary and important) and I prioritized my mental health by meditating 20 minutes every day.

By going inward, I returned home to myself – to a place of clarity, ease and joy.

I hope this meditation helps you feel more grounded in yourself.

namaste,

AUDREY

Join me online on May 20th from 10am-12pm for HELD virtual yoga workshop + inner child connection HERE

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Eckhart Tolle said, “When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.”

In a world that is moves so quickly keeping us busy and distracted and often overwhelmed, it’s easy to get pulled into Life’s tasks and responsibilities.

While it’s our mind’s job to do and think, when out of balance, Life’s sense of urgency to do more creates disconnection within ourselves and feelings of overwhelm.

Only when we can find stillness within us, that we can see clearly from a place of calm and clarity. Otherwise we keep spinning.

❤️ Let’s do that together in this meditation

namaste,

AUDREY

Join me online on May 20th from 10am-12pm for HELD virtual yoga workshop + inner child connection HERE

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Life isn't gonna go as planned.

In fact, we should plan on our plans being interrupted.

We think these interruptions and inconveniences of life shouldn't happen because they interrupt our timeline.

But life doesn't work on our own our own schedule; and honestly, that’s not Life’s job.

Life is here to impart the truth, for our own evolution and growth.

What we are experience is exactly what we're meant to experience because that's what we're currently experiencing.

Perhaps a sick child is a sign for us to slow down – to be here and care for our child as well as ourselves.

The Internet going out or an opportunity we were hoping for didn’t work out are all showing us something about ourselves.

Life is pointing to the direction it wants you to take.

What is Life showing you and teaching you now?

namaste,

AUDREY

Join me online on May 20th from 10am-12pm for HELD virtual yoga workshop + inner child connection HERE

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Ruminating is like going on a first date but talking about your ex the whole time.

When we are stuck in rumination and the past, we are resisting the future we desire.

When we’re in consciousness, we’re in choice.

In this week’s podcast, we’ll meditate on noticing where we are unconsciously rehashing an old story and instead consciously break free.

Thank you so much for being here, listening, reading, reviewing and sharing!!

xo,

Audrey

p.s. Join me May 20th for HELD virtual yoga workshop + inner child connection HERE

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Perhaps you’re in a liminal space, a time of transition, where you’re leaving what you once knew entering a space that is uncertain and unknown to become the future self you are meant to be.

These times of transition can be scary, but when we can trust in ourselves and the universe to support us, we can let go of our need for certainty, and release our control of how life should be so we can stay open to the creative possibilities that await us.

Today’s meditation will help you stay centered so you can lean into the unknown and transmute fear to faith.

The Saranagati Mantra mantra Om Namah Shivaya will help you surrender control, release fear and connect to your Higher self within you and around you.

I hope this meditation helps you trust you are exactly where you’re supposed to be and trust the path will unfold in a more beautiful and creative way you could ever have planned.

Thank you for being here! Rating, reviewing and sharing this podcast!

❤️ for more meditations and online courses and events, please visit: www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Hi there!

In today's sweet meditation, you'll give yourself permission to appreciate your gifts and talents that only you have.

I hope you carry this intenttion with you to appreciate and celebrate yourself as much as possible this week!

Progress is messy, not linear. You are moving forward and awakening to all that you are.

When we wish for a kind and compassionate word, we must start with ourselves.

Sending you lots of love and celebration!

Audrey

for more meditations and online courses and events, please visit: www.audreysuttonmills.com

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If you’re a people pleaser like me, saying no can be a terrifying thing.

When we’re feel⁠ing overwhelmed⁠, depleted⁠, exhausted⁠ and uninspired⁠, it's a sign to set a boundary.

The first boundary to start with is to say no.

Saying “no,” in a kind way, is the most honest and loving thing you can do for the other person and for yourself, so you can show up more fully when you do say “yes” to something.

I hope today’s meditation brings more clarity to your needs.

What can you lovingly say NO to, so you can say YES to yourself?

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In Today’s episode, we’ll invite the intention of creating sacred time to fill up your cup and connect to your inner wisdom.

Ask your heart how are you feeling today?

Give yourself permission to feel any of the answers that arise

What can I do today to honor myself?

How you treat yourself reflects how you love yourself.

I hope you carry today’s simply and yet potent intention of checking in with your heart each day and honoring your needs.

This is the self-care and love your deserve.

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This week's mantra is: I seek out the light, so I can remember my own light within me

When we can surround ourselves with relationships that see and celebrate our light, and do the things that fill us up, we can recognize and remember our own light within us.

I hope this meditation helps center you so you can appreciate your light, that is always there.

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When we’re feeling stuck, we’re often resisting what we’re actually experiencing and what we desire.

Through our meditation to actively accept this moment and what we’re experiencing, we get unstuck and consciously move forward to flow with life again.

Namaste,

Audrey

P.S. join me at the end of this month for the self-love lab! Details at www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Intention is both the big vision for what we want in our life, as well as a roadmap to help guide our daily action, thoughts and values to be more present in each moment.

Come back to this meditation each day to help set the tone for how you want to feel and connect you to what matters most.

I’m so glad you’re here,

Namaste,

Audrey

P.S. join me at the end of this month for the self-love lab! Details at www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Today's meditation is all about feeling more vibrant in our relationships, our work and in our selves. I hope you can bring this intention with you each day to cultivate and feel more vibrancy in the extraordinary and ordinary moments in life.

Audrey

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Hi there! Welcome to the newly rebranded MINDFUL PAUSE podcast where you'll receive each week 5-10 minute guided meditations, mantras and intentions to help you feel more ease, joy and connection to what matters most.

I'm so happy you're here!

Audrey

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In this month's SOUL CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP, we explore being with our triggers and our activated emotions in order to learn their lessons and gifts.

Through consciousness, you always have the power of choice.

thank you for listening and being here.

I truly hope this meditation helps soften your heart and expand your awareness to heal, grow and experience more peace.

Sending you lots of love,

Audrey

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What's been coming up in my coaching and personal life is the topic of feeling disconnected in our relationships.

The pandemic and quarantine has put a big ole magnifying glass on our most intimate relationships and partner’s personality traits (ehem, flaws).

This week's INTENTION is to give Small acts of appreciation to strengthen your relationships.

It's hard work to not rehash the storyline.
It’s uncomfortable to have tough conversations
and do the courageous work of turning inward,
but the reward on the other side is so worth it.

I’ll show you how to be with your triggers,
so they can be your greatest teachers
in next month’s SOUL CIRCLE

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The last three weeks we’ve explored the technique I teach in my soul school program called name it, claim it, tame it to become more aware of your inner critic and how it sabotages you, then claiming ownership of that voice of your thoughts and beliefs and patterns and finally taming it by choosing a new path, a new way of speaking to yourself, a new belief, a new mantra that connects you back home to yourself and to your true self.

whatever you're not changing, you are choosing .

You are not a victim.

Life doesn't happen to you. It happens for you

Every relationship is a teacher. Every situation offers a lesson and opportunity to learn and grow.

You have the power within you to choose how you want to feel each day and consciously choose to bring that feeling, thought or belief with your throughout the rest of your day.

If you need more support, you can watch my YouTube video or go back to the podcast episode #122 of How to embody how you want to feel each day by creating a sacred

Until next week, remember whatever you're not changing, you are choosing.

I’m so grateful you’re part of this soul school community! Thank you in advance for rating, subscribing and sharing this podcast so others can find this content.

If you’re interesting in going deeper into this work, sign up for the waitlist for my Soul School program on my website, youtube channel or instagram.

Remember you are enough and you matter.

You have all of the answers within you to heal, choose again and know yourself.

Audrey

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Your invitation this week is to choose which voice you listen to: your itty-bitty-shitty-committee or your true self.

By naming how you feel and bearing witness to the inner saboteur, you can turn the mirror inward, claim ownership of your choices and finally tame it through small, mindful actions.

Through your softness and stillness, you melt the hard edges of blame and judgment and return to love and to your truth.

A miracle is simply a shift in your perspective

After listening to this episode, please share with me you I AM mantra on instagram.

When you empower yourself, you empower others!

If you’re interesting in going deeper into this work, sign up for the waitlist for my Soul School program on my website and follow me on my youtube channel and instagram.

Remember you are enough and you matter.

Audrey

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The Ego loves to point the finger, blame others, throw a pity-party and keep you stuck in victimhood and scarcity.

You’re in a continual struggle of tug-of-war with others, with yourself and with Life when you align with the Ego and itty-bitty-shitty-committee.

Today’s intention is to focus on step 2, which is claiming your responsibility of your thoughts and actions.

Once you’re aware of your inner critic and emotions and have named them, now your work is to choose how you want to respond to them.

Owning your beliefs, your reactions and how you show up for life will empower you, not hinder you.

By letting go of the rope and releasing resentment and judgment of others, this sets you free to creative possibilities that awaits you.

Email me or share with me on instagram a time this week where you noticed, paused and chose a new thought or action that served you.

If you’re interesting in going deeper into this work, sign up for the waitlist for my Soul School program on my website, youtube channel or instagram.

I’m so grateful you’re part of this soul school community!

Thank you in advance for rating, subscribing and sharing this podcast so others can find this content.

Remember you are enough and you matter. All of the answers lie within you!

Audrey

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This week’s intention is to bring more awareness to your thoughts and belief patterns through a technique I teach in my soul school course often used in therapy called name it, tame it, claim it.

By identifying your challenges, emotions or faults, then claiming ownership and taking responsibility for them, you can tame them by learning to live with, overcome or transform them.

I believe you have a light within you but it gets covered up by life, by past events and conditioning.

We continue to relive our past through our conditioned thoughts and beliefs.

In today's episode, the intention is to break your habits and really create change by consciously digging yourself out from your imprisoned mind and habits.

Awareness is your shovel.

Share below how you are shifting your perspective and how you are becoming more awake.

I’m here for support you and so happy you’re here!

If you’re interesting in going deeper into this work, sign up for the waitlist for my Soul School program on my website, youtube channel or instagram.

Audrey

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Enjoy this 19 min meditation. The first 6 minutes are talking about how appreciation and gratitude shifts your perspective to pull you out from the nitty-gritty of daily life, heavy emotions, resentment or comparison and elevate your energy to a higher vibration so you can align with what you want to attract and desire in your life and experience more freedom, expansiveness and JOY.

Please share with me in the comments what came up for you and what you are learning about yourself on my website, youtube channel or instagram.

Thank you for being here, SHARING and REVIEWING this podcast

Namaste,

Audrey

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When you’re feeling stuck, it’s time to get out of the mind and connect to the stillness and softness of your heart and soul that always speaks the truth.

When you’re busy physically and mentally, what gets left behind is YOU!

Today’s intention is to get clear on how you want to feel and the invitation is for you to create a small ritual to fill up your cup so you can embody that feeling every day.

In addition to your ritual, I invite you to obsess over how you want to feel as much as you can throughout the day.

Often times, we obsess over what we DON’T want instead of focusing on what we DO want.

In today's conversation, I'll guide you how to embody how you want to feel every day.

Please share with me in the comments what came up for you and what you are learning about yourself on my website, youtube channel or instagram.

Thank you for being here, SHARING and REVIEWING this podcast

Audrey

audreysuttonmills.com

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One of the questions that always come up with my clients is how do I find my purpose?

This is a huge question. It’s THE question of why we are put on this earth.

We are all born with a seed.

It’s our job to give that seed attention, to nurture it and grow it.

Purpose is a daunting word. It holds a lot of pressure and weight.

To be clear, it’s never about the “thing.” It’s about the “feeling” you will feel when you receive it.

So, today’s conversation I’ll show you how to get out of your mind and tune into your heart through 5 ways.

OOOOOH I’m so excited to see what you are calling in and how the answers will bring you more clarity, gratitude and JOY!

PLEASE share with me here what you’re wanting to feel, receive and create!

I am 100% here to support you on your path to knowing and loving yourself.

Please share with me in the comments what came up for you and what you are learning about yourself on my website, youtube channel or instagram.

Thank you for being here, SHARING and REVIEWING this podcast

Audrey

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This practice of Ahimsa "non harming" applies to not harming others, as well as stopping our own cycle of suffering that we inflict on ourselves.

Practicing ahimsa in your words, thoughts and actions is the mindful work to liberate yourself and be free.

Please share how this week's intention of Ahimsa is helpful to you

Thank you for being here, rating and reviewing this podcast!

Audrey

http://audreysuttonmills.com

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Today’s podcast is about the lessons I learned from potty training my toddler.

Our children (and our closest relationships) are direct portals to our wounds. The people closes to us know how to easily trigger us and activate our deepest insecurities.

They are also the pathway to our deepest healing and open us up to our higher wisdom, an innate knowing and consciousness.

Whether you have kids or not, I hope today’s 8 lessons help with your relationships and Life in general!

Look forward to connecting with you. Thank you for rating and reviewing this podcast!

Audrey

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Do you ever feel an undercurrent of anxiety like the fear that the other shoe will drop?

This visualization exercise will help clear your anxious mind, be free from the mental chatter and bring you back to presence.

Please share with me in the comments what came up for you and what you are learning about yourself on my website, youtube channel or instagram.

Thank you for being here, SHARING and REVIEWING this podcast

Namaste,

Audrey

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I need your help.

I want to learn more about you, what you need and how best to show up for you now.

If you could do me a HUGE favor and take a moment to answer an 8 question SURVEY , I would greatly appreciate it!

Stories are healing.

When we share our stories,

we remember we're not alone and

experience deeper healing and connection

I would love to know your story.

and I want to see you.

By knowing you better, I can serve everyone better.

Thank you for being here!

Audrey

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Welcome to your 10 minute relaxation meditation. This is perfect for listening to just before bed or during the day to help you relax during a break.

Please let me know if you would like to hear more meditations here on Soul School. I'm here for you

You can find more free meditations at www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Where in your life are you putting too much pressure on yourself?

Take a moment to feel what that feels like in your body.

Are you feeling stressed, anxious, tight, restless?

If you allowed yourself more curiosity rather than demanding perfection, what would be available to you?

After this podcast take a moment to reflect. It may be a color, word, phrase or an image that shows up. Let it linger and receive it.

I hope today's intention helps bring a more carefree side to your perspective to allow you to enjoy life and release the burden of being perfect.

Share with me on instagram: @blissfulaudrey what your soul needs next. I love hearing you!

www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Behind any goal is the foundation of desiring more joy, freedom and gratitude.

Instead of being hard on yourself for not following the schedule or staying on track, what if you focused on cultivated those elevated feelings NOW and staying in those higher emotional states as much as possible?

If you allowed yourself to experience more joy, gratitude and appreciate now, what would be available to you? How would your perspective expand? what could you create?

Doors close tonight on SOUL SCHOOL. Sign up and create the life you desire!

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In this episode, I share with you a personal story of how we manifested our dream home and how you can call in what you desire just by getting clear on your intention and elevating your emotional state to match what you desire.

Share with me what's the ONE thing you want to create this year?

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In this episode I share an embarrassing and raw story that just happened last night about my overbearing shadows and what I'm learning from them.

I hope through my personal story, you can see you're not alone, we don't have to be perfect and you can use it for your own healing.

Because of this, my eyes and heart can open to witness my limitations and because of them, I can experience healing, deeper growth

We don't have to be perfect...Just be awake. Consciousness helps shift your perspective to evolve and expand despite your limitations.

You have the power to alchemize self-limiting emotions like anger, control and guilt and turn them into higher energy states of compassion and empathy, kindness, inspiration, joy, love, and freedom.

I’m not proud of myself, but I share this story to show you we’re all human. I’m far from perfect, but I’m committed to evolving.

The one situation is almost everything I teach in my soul school course that opens next week. It’s a decade worth of learning and knowledge to help you with Life so you can expand and be the person you want to be and create the life you desire. I hope you can join me. Sign up on my waitlist.

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My birthday was on Dec 31st and Jake and I cuddled on the couch, in my Costco fuzzy polka-dot PJ pants sipping on alcohol-free champagne. Like most of 2020, it wasn’t the New Years Eve or birthday celebration I would’ve have planned for myself, but it was still a great day.

We ended the night by sharing 10 things that we're grateful for from 2020.

HMPH! what’s there to be grateful for? 2020 was a rough year and took so much away from us!

For the first time in my history, on a global scale, every single person was forced to excavate their dark fears and face their triggers and challenges. As a society in general, we don’t deal well with uncertainty.

One of the best things that 2020 has given us, though, is an opportunity to get clear on what's most important to you.

Although my entire yoga business went down the toilet (buh-bye traveling for yoga retreats or seeing people in person in my yoga classes), I’m proud of myself for pivoting, evolving, learning new skills and creating a new type of business where I can share my gifts at a much deeper level of service. I created six courses this year, helped over a hundred people move through fears to their biggest break throughs.

I was about to move on to my next gratitude,when Jake put a hand on my heart, looked me in the eyes and said, “Take a moment, pause, and really listen to yourself. Receive it!”

What an important lesson!

So often, we reach a goal, give ourselves a quick pat on the back and move on to the next goal. Especially on January 1st, we are eager to GO-GO-GO and list off 25 New Year’s Resolutions and then we feel overwhelmed and feel like a failure.

I get it! We’ve been SO ready for a new year…since last June.

What if…

you slowed down to take a moment to just recognize and appreciate:

how far you've come this year?
What you've overcome?
what you're appreciating about yourself

I know, it’s strange – telling yourself that you’re proud of yourself. You’re an adult, not a toddler learning to feed themselves.

It’s important to be proud of yourself. and Honestly, you probably don’t say it enough. I don’t.

Gratitude goes a long way. It cultivates more joy. It brings you back to the present moment.

Gratitude propels you into the future of what you want to attract and call into your life.

Gratitude is the portal for creating the life you desire and deserve.

…and isn’t this what we really want when we’re setting a goal? To feel more joy in our life!

You can start manifesting more joy, right now, through gratitude.

What is bringing you joy today?

How can you embody that as much as possible throughout the year?

If you’re ready to manifest that, join me for your virtual yoga retreat, ELEVATE + EMBODY, where you’ll receive a 60-min yoga class + 4 videos + 21 page beautiful printable workbook to journal what you want manifest in 2021. It's just $27 and you can start anytime.

Wanna dive in deeper, enrollment for my signature program, Soul school opens January 15th, 2021. This is an intimate group of just 10 women to fully support you in making your biggest life transformations so you can embody the person you are meant to be and create the life you desire. sign up FOR THE WAITLIST.

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Christmas is a strange time to me. I really love the idea of community and gathering together, but find too often I easily get caught up in the consumerism frenzy over creating memories.

In today's episode I share my personal struggle with my husband about expectations, disappointments and how to stay open to learn the lesson so we can heal and communicate through a place of healthy self respect, boundaries and love.

MANTRA: when you're triggered by someone, can you look deeper at you expectations of this person? What is underneath that layer of disappointment and what is it teaching you?

Our relationships are mirrors to heal parts of ourselves.

What are you learning about yourself?

Also, sign up for my newsletter to stay in the know. I have my new goddess mama birth course launching in January and Self Love Lab, my 4 week online program begins in February to help you live your life with more confidence, joy and clarity.

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For many of us, 2020 has been one big fat disappointment, filled with loss, cancelations, and grief. But if we take this mantra and use it wisely, it will serve us.

I’m sure you’ve seen this from many teachers, “what you place your attention on expands.” This has been on my mind recently as I personally prepare for the new year and get ready for my virtual intention setting workshop on December 20th.

Take a moment to think about where you’re spending your energy? You thoughts? Your actions? Your worries?

Professionally, my business has gone in the toilet. If you personally know me or have taken my yoga classes, or events, you know, I’m no longer teaching in person. This has been a big blow to me because I love our community and really thrive connecting in person. It’s also been a big hit financially. All of my events and yoga retreats have been canceled except 2.

But If I only focused on that, I would be in big trouble. I would see this as a sign to quit, instead of pausing, getting still to hear the whisper of my soul of where to go next.

What you focus on expands.

Thankfully, one of my life goals is to have freedom and flexibility of time and place while still making an impact and connecting. I’ve been designing this life since the end of 2018 starting with creating this podcast and then launching Soul School earlier this year.

What if you could shift your perspective to see 2020 not as one big fat cancelation or loss, but as opportunities to pivot? To find clarity of what’s most important? What needs to be cleared out and composted?

A course in miracles: a miracle is a shift in perspective.

Another smaller example of this happened last month. I’ve tried to hike to colchuck lake twice – once when I was pregnant with hunter and again when she was a baby.

I’ve gained an extra 10 pounds from the quarantine, and never really got myself back in shape, and then I got pregnant. I’ve been hard on myself and disappointed that I didn’t get in healthier shape prior to this pregnancy. So, I haven’t moved my body or got to explore like I’ve wanted.

I’ve only hiked once this year, and it was a big one – I finally made it all the way to colchuck lake. It took me 8.5 hours to hike 8 miles with 17 pee breaks in the woods, and I had to finish the last hour in the dark by myself, hobbling. Kind of sounds miserable, but I felt so empowered after.

The hike was very slow and painful.

What you place your energy on expands. If I only placed it on how bad of shape I’m in or that I only got to hike once, this would expand my negative thinking.

I posted a photo of our hike to my instagram, and it reminds me that we can do hard things. We already have.

Even though 2020 brought much disappointment and loss, there’s still so much to be grateful for.

Instead of placing your attention on what hasn’t or isn’t working, place it on an areas in your life you want to expand.

what are you appreciating?

What have you learned? Why is this important?

Where do you want to put your energy to match up with how you want to feel and what you desire?

You only have so much time and energy. Use it wisely. Use it to expand yourself rather than deplete yourself. you’re worth it.

If you want to dive deeper, join me on December 20th for a virtual workshop or soulful yoga, meditation and deeper inquiry to design your 2021 desired dreams and how you want to feel. This will be powerful and potent time for you to release what’s not serving you and call in and manifest your intentions for the new year. If you’re unable to make it, you’ll be able to receive a recording after. The investment is just $35. Reserve your spot at audreysuttonmills.com

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I took a whole day to self-reflect and journal for my intentions and desired dreams for 2021, and it was powerful.

This year has been a wild ride, filled with a lot of disappointment, loss, and pivoting. It’s probably unearthed a lot of emotions that you’ve had to work with too.

Today’s episode is about elevating your emotional state to obtain your desired dreams.

If you want a certain outcome, your emotional state must match that desired energy. They have to be at the same vibrational energy.

you'll learn how to have to have a clear intention + elevated emotional state so you can reach your desired outcome and how you want to feel.

When you have a clear intention along with an elevated emotional state, you’re in better alignment with receiving your higher desired outcome and feeling.

In preparation for my upcoming virtual workshop on Setting Your Intention based on your desired feelings for 2021, I invite you to contemplate these questions:

What do you want to feel?

What do you want to achieve/receive?

What state do you need to be in to match that vibration?

What you’re thinking and how you are emotionally will guide your actions and beliefs. To manifest your desired outcome, your energy needs to be at the same level as your desired outcome.

How do you get there?

Carve out some sacred time to get quiet and tune in. Especially right now, with the holidays and end of the year, life can be really busy. When you’re busy and stressed, these are not in alignment with higher vibrational energy of clarity, joy, presence, abundance and gratitude.

The more you have quiet time, the better you get to know your mind and patterns, befriend yourself and attune to your soft powerful wisdom within.

You have all the answers within you.

Get clear on what you want. Reflect on your energy. Is it at the same vibrational energy of what you desire? If not, craft a list of small and large action items to get there. Not just goals or tasks, but ways for you to get quiet, feel at ease and experience more joy.

Joy is our birthright. Tap into those things that bring you more softness and clarity.

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Have you ever been so far into procrastination that the task at hand feels overwhelming and unattainable?

Especially during the year, our political, environmental and societal climates have been unsettling and scary and have consumed our attention. We’ve experienced a lot of anxiety and uncertainty which makes it hard to stay inspired. We may be working from home, and it’s hard to stay motivated when the fridge and bed are a few steps away from your workspace. We have a lot more on our plates. Life gets in the way of being consistent with our habits we want to build and goals we want to accomplish.

Instead of focusing on that story of how far behind you are and how much you have to do, you can reframe it by taking it one step at a time.

Take your goal in small baby steps and do it consistently. Little by little

Instead of doing what you normally do to avoided discomfort, and letting the task pile up or waiting for motivation, harness inspiration by taking intentional action now, and do it consistently.

This can be applied for any habit you want to cultivate or complete any task, whether it's paying your bills, and not letting the bills stack up until the last minute, staying on top of your finances and doing your budget weekly or monthly instead of at the end of the year, feeling more energized, so you commit to a habit of going to bed 15 minutes early or drinking an extra glass of water each day.

This perspective of taking it in a small, easy and doable steps can be used for big goals like starting a business, creating a course, getting a degree, or changing careers.

Take your goal one easy step at a time.

So this week's mantra is take it one step at a time, one very doable step at a time, and do it consistently.

I’d love to hear what your goal is that you want to create. Let me know how this has helped motivate and inspire you on my blog or on instagram

Ready to set your intention and goals for the new year? Join me for a special virtual 90-minute workshop, Sunday December 20th for SACRED SOUL INTENTION, soulful slow yoga, guided meditation and inward inquiry to set your 2021 intentions and gain clarity about your aspirations and vision for the upcoming year. RSVP for just $35 at: audreysuttonmills.com/events

If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and rate it, take a screen shot and share it on instagram tag me @blissfulaudrey. By doing this, you can help others find me and help me continue to serve you! Thanks for being here!

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I hosted my yoga retreat in Napa a few weeks ago, and one of the guests asked us what our low and high for the weekend was. I thought this was a great question to ask each day or week, so I’m inviting you to ask it for yourself this week too to help shift your perspective to gratitude and appreciation.

Although most of my yoga business, in person teaching and all of my yoga events and workshops have been canceled this year, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for having such great people at all of my events, and especially grateful for being able to host this retreat. I’ve always had wonderful people on my retreats, and each one is a unique and special experience, and it’s honestly because of the people.

What can you do for yourself to feel connected again?

And if you love the question of what’s you low and high point, ask yourself that tonight to help put things into perspective.

2020 may be one of the lowest of low years, but you can still find your high. And that high can still be pretty darn good.

Share with me what’s yours? I’d truly love to know!

Also, if you’re feeling a calling to go inward and set your intention for the new year, please join me for a special virtual 90-minute workshop, SACRED SOUL INTENTION Sunday December 20th for a 90-minute virtual workshop of soulful slow yoga, guided meditation and inward inquiry to set your 2021 intentions and gain clarity about your aspirations and vision for the upcoming year. We’ll come together the day before Winter Solstice, the darkest time of the year, to turn inward and reflect what needs to die and be released in order to birth our dreams, transform in to who you want to be and embody how you want to feel. This is a potent time for your evolution. Ready to join me? The workshop is just $35. RSVP on my website: audreysuttonmills.com/events

See you next week on Soul School with Audrey. Remember you are enough and you matter!

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If you’ve been yearning to hibernate and go inward and maybe even feeling a little more hopeful, the next 6 weeks through Winter Solstice is a potent time for deep self-reflection, inner inquiry and an opportunity for transformation.

There are many events that have been fostering a sense of hope and transformation. First, the new moon in Scorpio was this past Saturday November 14th as well as Diwali and Kali Puja, two major festivals in India. It’s also interesting that this was very close to the election in America.

Diwali symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance" lasting for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month to the second day of the light half of the next lunar month.

While the rest of India worships Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, beauty and abundance during Diwali, eastern India worships the Goddess Kali, the Goddess of death. Although this may sound a little alarming and gloomy, Kali represents mystery, the Goddess Mother, rebirth, female empowerment and the duality of our human nature.

Talking about death may sound morbid, but think about mother earth and nature. It is in death, that there is life. Deciduous trees give birth to new plants and organisms. There is always a natural cycle and flow to Life.

Death is essential for growth and transformation. We must release limiting beliefs, destructive habits and old stories in order to transform and evolve.

Although Lakshmi represent abundance and light, Kali, the goddess of death helps us accept our darkness and duality. We must accept both our light and dark qualities in order to stand in our wholeness.

In the darkness is where things grow.

By embracing our darkness, our duality, we can discover our light.

The next 5 weeks are the darkest time of the year through December 21st, winter solstice, the darkest day of the year with the fewest hours of daylight. After the winter solstice, days start becoming longer and nights shorter as spring approaches.

I invite you to take the rest of this year to go inward and reflect on what you want to release in order to transform.

What needs to die for you to birth your desired dreams?

What stories needs to shed in order to transform?

Share with me your intention for this month and what you are shedding here on the blog or on instagram.

Also, if you would like to go deeper, please join me for a special virtual 90-minute workshop, SACRED SOUL INTENTION Sunday December 20th, a 90-minute virtual workshop of soulful slow yoga, guided meditation and inward inquiry to set your 2021 intentions and gain clarity about your aspirations and vision for the upcoming year. We’ll come together the day before Winter Solstice, the darkest time of the year, to turn inward and reflect what needs to die and be released in order to birth our dreams, transform in to who you want to be and embody how you want to feel. This is a potent time for your evolution. Are you ready to join me? RSVP on my website: audreysuttonmills.com/events

Thank you for being here.

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A Few weeks ago, I shared with you how my itty-bitty-shitty-committee was keeping me imprisoned in comparison and scarcity. That’s what happens when your mind is busy and distracted. Your vision is fuzzy and you lack clarity. Y’all know I love Oprah, and I always remind myself what she says, “stay in your own lane.”

When I was in that comparison frenzy, I lost track of who I was, my talents, what I’m capable of and why I’m doing this. I looked outside myself and felt empty inside. I wasn’t doing enough, I could never be enough. I’m a fucking loser. I know, my inner saboteur is a biyatch, and takes me to low places.

I was in such scarcity mode, that anything that taught me how I could do better, be better, make more money, have more influence was had my attention.

I almost signed up for a $2,000 course from a woman I don’t really follow on how to make $10,000 a month to market my business online and get more clients. I hate sharing this with you – it’s really vulnerable for me and makes me feel like a chump. But this is where I was at. There was so much FOMO, I felt lost and desperate and I hated myself for questioning, doubting and second guessing myself.

What’s interesting is that I had pulled the same angel card three days in a row. It read: LISTEN. Be in a receptive state to hear our guidance.

It was only on the third day, that card sunk in. I had been focusing on the wrong thing. I was stressed, confused, busy and distracted, and lost sight of who I was and what I truly wanted. Yes, more clients and money are a great outcomes, but being confident in who I am and excited in what I get to teach and share always creates a solid community of trust. And that’s what I seek!

Interestingly enough, it was a Sunday and the last day to sign up for this online course. I pulled that LISTEN card and meditated. I heard my dad’s voice, “stop the comparison and the hustle. You don’t have to harvest all the time. Life isn’t meant to be stressed and bogged down. Live with joy. Joy is your birthright.”

I truly believe we are exactly where we are supposed to be, experiencing exactly what we’re supposed to be experiencing. Our only task is to remain present and open to receive it.

The angel card was reminding me that I wasn’t present. I was distracted. I didn’t need to harvest, hustle, or learn about click funnels. I needed to be in a receptive state. I needed to go inward. I needed to realign with what brings me joy.

The moment I decided this $2k program was not right for me at this time, honestly, it was a miracle how things expanded so quickly. That morning, I had my first call with the book year program (a group of 25 women writing our books and supporting each other monthly). In our first call, I surprised myself and broke down crying, while sharing the story of my book. For the first time this year, I felt completed held and supported by 25 strangers.

The next day we had our first call with my Self Love Lab group, my online course to teach you tools to cultivate more self-love. I loved connecting with each woman to support them in shifting their limiting beliefs to serve them in positive ways. They felt held and supported, and I knew in my bones this is where I’m supposed to be.

By pausing, listening and being in a receptive state, I realized I didn’t have to do more. I needed to go deeper.

I’m on the right track with my courses. They’re helping people tremendously care and love themselves. And I need to give to myself for the next 6 months to fill up my own cup, share my story and soul tools in my book and nurture myself and baby.

This finally felt right. No pushing. No stress. No striving. Just listening. Staying open and receptive.

My invitation to you this week for our Mantra Monday is to LISTEN and be in a receptive state, so you can hear the truth and the path.

The universe is conspiring to give you all you ask. If you knew exactly what magic it has in store for you, you wouldn’t mind waiting. Trust, have faith, stay open and get ready to receive.

Self Love Lab online course with the live group coaching calls, the program is now available to purchase on my website audreysuttonmills.com Also stay tuned for my yearly signature course SOUL SCHOOL starting next year!

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My died just 2 years ago, only two weeks before my daughter, Hunter was born.

He always reminded me of my own power and said, “you get to write your story.”

Having him pass away so young was not part of my story that I would’ve written.

Experiencing a miscarriage, cancer scare, 42 weeks of 28 blood draws and the passing of my favorite person all in 2 years, I’ve realized we don’t have control of all of the details or the outcome.

It was bittersweet to experience Life and Death simultaneously. Holding gratitude and sorrow, delight and anger, fullness and hopelessness in both hands and heart.

Through these years, I’ve learned we don’t actually get to write all of our story, but it helps when we trust Life’s plans, surrender to its timing and baring of its gifts.

Never easy, but always worth it.

My dad’s favorite name was Hunter. He divinely died on the Hunter moon.

There were so many simple and spiritual moments around his death and Hunter’s birth:

On the morning I found out he died, google maps rerouted us 4 times off I-5, out of rush hour traffic onto a 2-lane country road overlooking vineyards and a beautiful sunrise. On my worst day, I felt a moment of peace. Never being on that road before, I asked where we were, and my mom said this was your dad’s favorite way to drive to your home. Magic.

I remember after 2-weeks of non-stop crying, chest aching, eyes crimson and swollen, we said our final goodbye on a Friday afternoon, and I held his cold hand and cried all over him. The next day my water broke (2 weeks early), as if my dad was holding me, urging me to stop suffering, giving us a gift of new life. Magic.

The Eagle who swooped in front of my window while I was writing about him and dropped a feather to the ground. This happened twice! The dragonflies who always show up when I think about him. More Magic.

Maybe they’re just coincidences. I’d rather believe they are divine signs, little moments of magic reminding us to stay awake to Life.

I believe there is magic, even in dark times. We just have to be present to it.

What are some signs that are showing up for you?

Before we had Hunter, I did fertility testing, because I’m considered geriatric pregnancy (wrong, just wrong!) and the doctor said I would be lucky to have just one child.

What a pleasant surprise to be pregnant again, this time with a baby boy!

My heart breaks knowing my dad won’t be able to be with another grandchild. When sorrow begins to drag me down, I remember to stay open and look for the gifts in the situation. Trust my journey.

Our baby is due April 1st, 2021 . . . my parent’s anniversary.

Life whispers to you and gives you gifts of support.

You just have to stay awake to hear it and be patient enough to let Life unfold it’s divine plan for you.

I guess my dad was right. You do get to write your story. Or at least how you show up in your story.

Love you dad. Thank you for continuing to be my biggest teacher.

I’m seeing and receiving all of the little signs and the magic of Life. Are you?

Wishing you lots of little signs of Joy this week.

Stay open and let Life’s divine magic unfold for you in it’s own divine timing. Trust that everything you’re experiencing is exactly where you’re meant to be.

You know I always love hearing from you! Can you do me a favor? If this podcast resonated with you, take a screenshot and share on Instagram and tag me. Also, if you haven’t already, please leave a review and subscribe so others can find me too.

If you weren’t able to sign up the Self Love Lab online course with the live group coaching calls, the program is now available to purchase on my website audreysuttonmills.com Also stay tuned for my yearly signature course SOUL SCHOOL starting next year!

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You guys, this is a very vulnerable share, and I almost wasn’t going to share, but hey you know me. I share my scars, openly in hopes they can help you heal your wounds.

For the past couple of months, my itty-bitty-shitty-committee has kept me stuck in a comparison spiral. Thank goodness I’ve spent a decade learning the tools to pull myself out of it, but it’s definitely been exhausting work to continually pull myself out of the darkness only to drop back in again. I guess this is our human work.

If you’ve been stuck in comparison and judgment too, you’re not alone. We’re holding a lot. So much has changed. And is still changing. When things are uncertain, our inner critic gets loud.

Everything I worked so hard to build over these last 8 years: my yoga business, soul workshops and international yoga retreats are gone. I think one of my talents is that I’m really good one-on-one. In person connection is my jam, but with COVID that no longer is an option for me.

Because of my pregnancy in 2018, I decided to begin to move to the online space, so I create my SOUL SCHOOL podcast. All of 2019 I worked hard to create and produce SOUL SCHOOL my signature online course that was schedule to launch in April 2020, coincidently, right at the beginning of quarantine. We had 51 students, which blew away my business goals. More importantly, on a heart-level, SOUL SCHOOL was indispensable to my clients (and myself) to navigate through rocky times together. I was on cloud 9! I felt in alignment with living my purpose and felt magnetic to the people I was helping.

By summer though, it seemed like every service and coaching professional was also now online. Great news for the collective as a whole to have more access to coaches, teachers, instructors. But for me and my small business, I felt like a tiny speck in the grand ocean, a small fish unseen and drowning amongst the bigger fish. Watching others thrive while my online presence was at a standstill crushed my spirit and my inner saboteur began to second-guess, doubt, judge, compare and question if I was meant to teach in this space at all.

My negative dialogue kept me in a cycle of insecurities that I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t doing enough and I’ll never be enough. Really, I should just quit. And I almost did.

Here’s the truth. It is perfectly normal to shift between confidence and doubt. We all have an itty-bitty shitty committee. You’re not alone. Even Oprah has one, y’all! You’ll never escape your inner sabateur or get rid of it. The difference is the people we admire have the tools to pull themselves out of the comparison rut quicker and come back to their truth faster.

Today on the podcast I’ll share 4 steps that I use with my clients and myself to help pull you out of a comparison rut and realign your energy to be magnetic to what you desire:

#1. Notice the driftwood and say thank you

It is totally normal to ebb and flow between states of abundance and scarcity, trust and insecurity, flow and resistance. If you’re in a place of lack right now, pause and notice what you want and who you look up to who has it. Esther Hicks, law of attraction teacher explains that “driftwood” is the life and things others have that you desire. Instead of letting it dragging you down in comparison and judgment, say thank you to the Universe for bringing “driftwood,” these things and people, into your view as inspiration for what you desire and how you want to feel. They are clues you’re on the right path and you can have it too.

#2. List 3 things that are working in your life to shift you into a state of abundance and gratitude.

Why is this important? Sometimes we’re so far down that comparison spiral, it’s hard to get out of it. We retell ourselves the same belittling story. But here’s the thing: gratitude and resentment can’t coexist. Take some time and appreciate what is working in your life: your career, your health, your mental health, how you’re taking care of yourself, what you’re learning, your relationships, how you’re growing. Be specific. Really, take some time. it doesn’t have to be grand. What is working for you? Receive it.

#3. Find inspiration from those who have what you desire

Instead of comparison, get curious about their habits and mindset to inspire your next actions. What is this person you admire doing to attract what you dream of? What is their mindset? What are their habits? What are they not doing? Each time you begin to compare, pause and ask what can I learn from this person?

Also, do it in a fun and joyful way that doesn’t lead you to feel heavy or bogged down. We take on too much pressure and stress. Honestly, I believe Life with a capital L truly wants us to live with Joy as much as possible. Remember, progress is messy, never linear. Don’t view this driftwood as competition or something that’s unattainable, but as mentors to help guide you to what you desire and how you want to feel.

#4. Align with your desired feeling to be magnetic to what you desire.

So how to do you attract the life and things you desire? It all starts internally. Is your internal state matching your desired external state? Be honest.

If you want more money, for example, but you keep telling yourself you’re broke, you’re constantly worrying about bills, you’re jealous of other people’s lifestyle - guess what? you’re the opposite energy with what you desire – you’re in a total lack mode. How can you attract abundance when your thoughts, beliefs and actions are in scarcity. Feeling envious and resentful are not bad emotions. They’re just emotions. What you do with them is what matters. Do they weigh you down or do they lift you up and inspire you to take action?

Instead of focusing on what you don’t want, notice the driftwood to shift your mindset to a more abundant state to attract what you desire. Start by saying thank you for bringing in these people to show me what is possible, then list off 3 things you’re grateful for and finally what is one thing you can do now that will create a habit or skill to help bring you into more of an abundant state?

These 4 steps work for anything in your life that is deficient. If you want to find love, but your inner dialogue is that you’re unlovable, there are no good men out there, dating is too difficult, your work starts here with yourself and strengthening your relationship with yourself. If you want a promotion or a better career, but your destructive belief is that you’re not worthy of it, find inspiration from colleagues who did what you aspire to do. Notice if you keep staying, “One day I’ll”… instead shift this to make a plan.

Positive momentum attracts positive momentum.

Notice your internal conversations, your limited beliefs and destructive patterns, without getting caught up in the commentary. Are they in alignment with what you want? If not, notice the driftwood and say thank you Universe for these signs that I can have it too. Then align your energy with what you desire.

In my case, hanging out with Critical Collin and Jealous Jan kept me stuck in comparison and self-judgment. To shift this state, I said thank you for gifting me successful friends who can help mentor and inspire me.

Then I thought of 3 things that are working in my business. I’ve shared with you in episode 93 “4 ways to help when you want to quit” that I keep a virtual gratitude folder, so I went back to the texts, emails and DMs from clients saying how much my words and programs have changed their lives - women who are now happily married and in loving relationships because they learned to be in a better relationship with themselves, women who felt supported by me through tough times like miscarriages and career transitions, clients who learned soul tools from my online courses that radically changed their inner dialogue to help love and believe in themselves. Reading my clients words of appreciation immediately silences the IBSC.

What I know for sure, is that I’m supposed to be here for you, teaching you tools to quiet your itty-bitty-shitty-committee and return you to love. No more second guessing. No more comparison.

Finally, I asked myself a deeper question: What do I really want to feel and why am I really doing this? Of course, more followers and recognition would be a great bonus. I think a universal need is that we all want to feel significant. My aspiration is that I want to feel that what I teach and do makes a difference.

When I left my company where I made $300-400K a year to teach yoga, my motto was I teach to serve, not to been seen. I’ve always been doing what I do to serve you. Once I remembered this, everything else, the path and the plan fell into place, and I returned to being in alignment with my values, which brought me right into an abundant state of trust.

There doesn’t need to be gimmicks, striving or strategies. I trust when I just live this truth that is so strong in me, I will be magnetic to the people who need what I have to offer.

The same goes for you friend.

I’m not sure where you’re at in your life or business, but I hope these 4 tools help you on a personal and business level to align back to who you are at your core and share from your place of truth. Comparison can get the better of us sometimes. It can do some nasty things to us, get in our head, stand in our way of our dreams, turn us into something we’re not and make us feel like crap. Unfortunately, it never goes away. But with these tools, you’ll be able to pull yourself out of that comparison pit faster to come back to your truth.

So this Monday’s invitation is to explore what you desire, notice the driftwood this week and say thank you Universe for showing me I can have it too. If your energy is out of alignment with what you desire, your work is to shift your thoughts, inner dialogue and behavior to align with how you want to feel and what you desire.

If you’re having trouble, reach out to me. I’m here for you!

To recap the 4 steps to pull you out of a comparison rut and realign you to be magnetic to what you desire:

Notice the driftwood and say thank you
Acknowledge 3 things that are working in your life to shift into abundance
Take inspiration and learn from those who have what you desire
Align with your desired feeling to be magnetic to what you desire.

Imagine if you invested the same amount of energy you use to doubt yourself to believe in yourself, who you are and what you’re capable of!

Also, I have a lot of freebies on my website: audreysuttonmills.com and my 52-week self love journal is one of my favorite things I’ve created for you. Weekly journal to reflect on what’s working in your week, and something tangible you can look back on to see how far you’ve grown. Download it for free now.

Thank you for being here. If this helps you in any way, please rate and subscribe so others can find this podcast. Take a screen shot that you’re listening to this episode and share on instagram @blissfulaudrey what your dreams and desires are. I love hearing from you. What’s your driftwood? What are your dreams and desires? What are you struggling with? You’ve got this!

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I posted an instagram post a month ago of 2 photos in my bikini 5 years apart and wrote that I cringed looking at the photos and seeing how far I’ve let myself go, along with the main message of loving yourself.

There were a lot of comments, but I received a negative DM from a woman who wrote: “you should be ashamed of your last post. you’re the problem for women. You’re degrading yourself and fishing for compliments.”

It takes me a while to thoughtful process things and I want to share my response to her here with you because if I offended you in any way from my post, hopefully this will shed some light here:

She’s right. As women, in general, we do have a problem with belittling ourselves.

Have you ever overheard or been in a group of women having lunch, and one woman starts with “Oh, I’ve gained so much weight.” And then another chimes in, “you’ve gained weight? I’ve gained more weight than you have. I look awful” And then it becomes a competition of who is the fattest and saddest.

Sadly, I’ve been there but it’s not healthy for us to degrade ourselves, because what that does is it gives others permission to do the same. If I think you look good, but you’re judging yourself, then geez, what do I look like? And there goes our itty-bitty-shitty-committee running a rant of how we’re not good enough.

Ladies, we need to stop the group competition for who can criticize themselves the most, because, honestly, it’s lame and you’re so much stronger and better than that.

In a world where we’re taught that thinner is better and being younger is more desirable, it’s hard for us to push through that noise and be stronger than societies expectations. My intention for my post was to inspire women to love themselves, not degrade themselves.

My intention for this post was to let everyone know that it’s okay and completely normal to have any and all feelings.

Feelings come and go, but it’s how we choose to respond to them that matters.

In the past I would’ve been hooked by my inner critic who would obsess about the weight gain. Now, I can look at the photos of how my body has changed, and even though I can still cringe and feel disappointment, I can also then give myself grace.

Because giving ourself grace can be very powerful in shifting how we treat ourselves.

Giving myself grace looks like, instead of looping a negative body story, I can realize that in the past 5 years, I’ve experienced a lot of change: I moved across the country, had to create a life and new career in a new city, got married, had a miscarriage, 2 D&C operations, had a cancer scare where I got my blood drawn every other week for 10 months, then had the darkest moment in my life with my dad passing, where I didn’t know if I wanted to live anymore, and two weeks later, gave birth to our beautiful daughter, and to top it off, we’re all dealing with this pandemic and the grief over loved ones, our health, our businesses, our dreams, our freedom and what we used to count on as stable outlets. Change can trigger a sense of loss. When we’re feeling grief, this is a time for grace and compassion, not judgement and criticism.

So I’ve done the work to be okay with whatever feeling arises, get quiet to be with myself to drop beneath the noise to touch my truth.

And that’s the intention of that post: Be with your feelings, know that anything you feel is okay and normal. And then give yourself a ton of grace and lots of kindness.

As we shift into a new season, things are still shaky and uncertain. We’ve found a new normal, but still can’t see the end outcome, so we’re exhausted fatigued.

Being gentle with yourself right now is a non-negotiable.

Many of us did gain weight, or didn’t live up to our promises of working out every day or journaling every day during quarantine or maybe you didn’t finish the goals you wanted. Grace. Lots of grace my friend! You have a lot on your plate so don’t let the itty-bitty-shitty-committee drag you into a shame spiral. Breathe, be with yourself and extend yourself kindness.

As we transition into fall, where personally, for me it’s a time to cozy up and go inward, I invite you to cozy up to yourself and go inward to generously listen to yourself so you can be with yourself and honor yourself through kindness, humor and compassion to touch your innate warmth, love and strength.

I want to hear from you – what do you think about this discussion? What way do you belittle yourself and what ways can you give yourself grace right now? Also, please post only positive comments that are helpful to us all. We don’t need to judge this woman or any other woman for that matter. We’re all showing up where we are, doing the best we can. Let’s rise up to meet each other and lift each other up.

At the beginning of this pandemic, I said we’re in this together, and we still are. We’ve risen through uncertainty and are still here, and now it’s time to be kinder towards ourselves so we can be kinder towards each other. Together.

If you want to join me, I’ve created the #selfkindnessproject which starts on sept 21st, a free 4-day challenge with self-inquiry prompts and easy mindfulness tools to be kinder and more loving to yourself. This challenge kicks off my self love lab which starts oct 5th. Hope you can join me for any or all of it. Link is in my bio if you’re interested. www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Welcome to episode 100! I truly couldn’t do this without you and I’m so glad you’re here!

To celebrate episode 100 Today on the Soul School podcasts, I talk with Donte Quinine, a Tedx speaker, life coach and yoga leader about spirituality and racial injustice.

As a yoga instructor and spiritual teacher, his intention is to help people awaken to their own spirit and potential that he believes exists within everyone.

I know you’re going to love hearing his eloquent words as much as I do as he shares that, yes, we are spiritual beings having a human experience, but not each human is having the same human experience because of the color of their skin.

Donte shares how we all can show up better for the Black community and anyone who has been oppressed through the following ways:

Let go of judgment of what’s right or wrong or what we know to be true, and instead being curious to inquire, explore and seek the truth.
Ask ourselves deeper questions so we can receive deeper answers.
Be honest. Tell the whole truth, not just the partial truth that is safe and feels good.
Look within to see where you are responsible.

His hope is that we no longer have to have difficult conversations around race inequality, because there is no longer a conversation necessary around injustice… His hope is that these are all events in our history books and we can truly meet equally, spirit to spirit.

Donte invites you to get quiet, get curious, be honest and ask deeper questions about what triggers you to receive deeper answers. Welcome to Soul School.

Connect with Donte Quinine at: http://www.dontequinine.com

Thank you for sharing this podcast and rating it! Connect with me:

https://www.facebook.com/audreysutton78

https://www.instagram.com/blissfulaudrey/

http://audreysuttonmills.com

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What would someone who loved themselves do?

Welcome to Mantra Monday where in 5 minutes or less, I offer you an intention or a quote to start your week off right.

Today’s inspiration comes from a student in my soul school online course, which p.s. starts up again in January 2021.

Week 4 of Soul School is about curating self-love, and one of the tools is to celebrate yourself.

I was surprised to learn many of the students in Soul School were unsure of how to celebrate themselves and had difficulty doing this.

When we had our group call about what ways do you give yourself self-love, a soul school student said he asks himself “what would someone who truly loved themselves do or say to themselves?”

I thought this was really profound.

Yeah, we can learn tactics for building self-love, which I’m all about, but sometimes we get stuck of how to actually put these tools into practice. It’s tough to rewire our brain patterns.

I love this question that my student offered, because it relates to everything we do in life and how we relate to ourselves.

So, although we may understand components of self-love, like it’s important to forgive yourself, be compassionate to yourself or kind to yourself, but we get stuck on HOW do you actually do it consistently?

This week’s mantra is “what would someone who truly loved themselves do?”

If you’re feeling down, and want to B-line to the pantry, ask “what would someone who loved themselves do?” EH-HEM, I’m pretty much talking to myself and fat-kid freddy here. Someone who truly loved themselves wouldn’t numb. They would instead be with their feelings and fuel their body.

If you notice your itty-bitty-shitty-committee is super loud, belittling and criticizing you, ask “what would someone who loved themselves say to themselves?” This can shift the words you say silently to yourself so that you give yourself the support you need.

If you’ve been recycling a past story, ask “what would someone who loved themselves do?” This will help you bring awareness that rumination isn’t healthy, hey - this story is in the past, and to love yourself means to be present and move forward, friend!

Remember back in the day when kids would wear the WWJD bracelets? What would Jesus do? It’s like that. Each time you come into conflict with yourself, just ask WWSWLTD (what would someone who loved themselves do) – okay, way too long, but you know what I mean!

Let me know on my blog how this week’s mantra Monday is helping you curate more self-love! Thanks so much listening and reviewing this podcast. I’m so happy you’re here!

If you want to dive in a little deeper, join me in October for the SELF LOVE LAB – a pilot program to help you curate self-love. Sign up on my website audreysuttonmills.com to be the first to know!

Remember you are enough and you matter!

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Lately I’ve been deeply ingrained in comparison and judgment. I hate admitting this. I hate even more feeling this way.

My itty-bitty-shitty-committee has been hijacking my thoughts. I share this with you though, so you know you’re not alone. No one is perfect. In our flaws and imperfections, we can connect and heal together.

As a new mom, I’m teaching myself that my toddler’s emotions are totally normal. my natural instinct when hunter is whiny or throws a tantrum is first embarrassment, then I want to distract her and fix it so we can go back to being smiley and happy again. But I know, this will just make her feel she is flawed or bad for having these emotions that bring her mom shame.

The thing is, my daughter is perfectly normal to have any and ALL emotions. We ALL are perfectly normal to have any emotion.

Listen, we don’t have control of which emotion shows up. They will come and go.

It’s what we do with those emotions that matter. The work that you and I do have control of is whether we choose to dwell on the story of those negative emotions. While we don’t have control of which emotion show up, we do have control of how we handle it.

In my soul school signature online course, module 2 is about shadow work. Shadows are a dark part of our personality that we often want to hide because it brings us shame.

One tool to be with and learn from our shadows is to give the shadow a personal name – the sillier the name, the better.

So, for example, this week I’ve been feeling very jealous. Ugh I hate admitting that. It’s probably one of the worst traits I can think of. I don’t feel jealousy often, but a few times a year, Jealous Jan pops her head out and makes me feel like crap.

Instead of being in my head, ping ponging why I’m jealous, why I shouldn’t be jealous and berating myself for feeling this way, giving the shadow a name makes introspection a little more playful and easier to deal with.

I can call forth Jealous Jan and ask why she’s feeling this way, and what I can do to support her.

Doing this work is so important as an adult. Last week we talked about reparenting yourself. Shadow work can be a reparenting tool too.

Just like I want to be supportive to my daughter who will someday have moments where she is jealous, bitter and resentful, instead of judging her, ignoring the emotion or trying to replace it with something more comfortable, I want to be there for her, to hear her out, and to work with her.

Giving your negative feeling or trait helps ease the self-inquiry process and helps you stay open to learning about yourself so you can let go of judgment and be there for yourself to learn the lesson.

Only when we can be with our uncomfortable feelings, then we can learn from them what they are trying to show us.

Ok Getting back to jealous Jan – when I tuned into her, she said she is feeling unimportant, she’s doing a lot but doesn’t feel like it’s paying off, no one is listening, she’s feeling ashamed for comparing her success to her friend’s success, she’s feeling lost and unsuccessful.

Obviously jealous Jan is me and those are my feelings.

There’s something softer and sillier when you name the trait – it kind of takes the drama out of the emotion so you can create space from it, let go of the story behind it and see the emotion for what it is, just another emotion showing you something about yourself.

We’ve been talking about inner child works these past few weeks on the podcast, and doing a combination of inner child and shadow work is really powerful. I visualize myself as a little child saying these words, and immediately I became softer towards myself.

I realized it’s okay to be jealous. I don’t need to dwell in the negativity that is associated with jealousy. I don’t need to feel shame. I can be happy for those women I admire.

Life is showing you something you want. Esther Hicks talks about the law of attraction and calls it driftwood, when you see something you want in someone else’s life. When you see the driftwood, say thank you to the universe because it’s a sign that you can have this too!

In the interview with Orpah and comedian, Kevin Hart, he tells her that there will never be another Eddie Murphy, but he learned from these comedians he looked up to and that helped him become the success he is today. It’s the driftwood!

Similarly, this dark shadow of jealousy is a teacher showing me that I can learn from those people I admire, and also take time to celebrate how far I’ve come. That I can see the driftwood, admire and learn from others, and trust it as a sign my time is coming too. Jealous Jan also taught me that when I’m in resentment, that usually means I need to slow down and nurture and listen to myself a little more and stay in my own lane (meaning stop comparing and focus on what my talents are and how I can use them).

This may be really weird to look at parts of your personality that you deem negative or you’re ashamed of, but naming that part of your personality helps create some mental space from judgement and can bring you back into your truth of learning the lesson that that emotion is trying to show you, rather than getting caught in the story.

We have myriad parts of our personality that we try to hide or ignore. As humans, it’s our natural instinct to try show up perfectly, and hide what we deem unacceptable.

Personally, I have angry angie, jealous jan, insecure sally, fat kid freddy, negative Nancy, lazy Lou Lou. Gosh so many!! When you think about being angry, jealous, insecure, negative, indulgent and lazy, YIKES those are highly negative parts of your personality that bring shame and hard to look at. But when you can name them, it creates space from it so you can see them, learn from them and heal yourself.

You no longer need to perform, perfect or please. You no longer need to feel broken. You can love yourself as whole and real.

So, the intention this week is to work with any heavy emotions or dark shadow traits you deem unacceptable or shameful and bring a little more play into it by naming it and listening to what this emotion is teaching you.

Invite your dark shadows in and see what they want you to know.

Ok friend, was this too weird or was it interesting? These are some tools I share in soul school signature online course and hopefully they help you too! Thanks for sharing and reviewing this podcast! It means the world to me you’re here.

Also, if you want to dive in deeper, I’m hosting a pilot program called the Self-love lab which begins October 5th. Sign up for details on my website www.audreysuttonmills.com

Until next week, remember you are enough and you matter!

#audreysuttonmills, #soulschool, #shadowwork, #healing #mindfulness #reparenting #self love #healinginnerchild #spirituality

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How to reparent yourself

I get a lot of questions about reparenting. What is it? How to do it? In my soul school online course, our first week is all about connecting to your inner child and reparenting yourself.

According to the @holisticpsychologist, “Re-parenting is the act of giving yourself what you didn’t receive as a child.”

If the word parent triggers you, think about it really just means to re-nurture yourself. How are you going to give yourself the care you needed as a child?

So why reparent yourself?

You have generational behavior patterns that you have learned through your parents or caregivers and through their parents.

Our parents parented the best they could with the resources they had, from their unresolved needs, unmet expectations, and frustrated dreams.

They learned their belief system, their fears, their behavior patterns through their parents or caregivers.

and typically, we parent how we were parented. So those learned patterns get passed down.

So, if they were spanked or abused, you may have been spanked. If they grew up with favoritism, you may have experienced that in your upbringing. If you grew up in a house of anger, you may be quick to blame, hold on to resentment or fly off the handle. If you saw your caregivers tip toe around each other, you may have learned co-dependent behavior.

The good news about this is through awareness, you can create your change.

Triggers are teachers. If there is some area in your life that you’re unhappy about – your relationships, how you treat or talk to yourself, addiction, anxiety, if you’re living your life for others, unsure of yourself, feeling like you’re too much or not enough – all of these are teachers.

These wounds and patterns can be linked back to childhood wounds.

You have learned beliefs and patterns that you bring into your relationships with each other and yourself. Nothing is new.

As children we’re very good at being in tune with our environment and very good at protecting ourselves to feel safe.

Even if you had a good childhood, you learned ways of how to act by watching your caregivers, parents, siblings, cousins and their behaviors, beliefs and expectations.

The way we treat ourselves and how we show up in relationships is what we saw or experienced as a child. If we didn’t feel safe, seen, heard or important as a child, then we will try to get that now as an adult in our relationships.

Trauma doesn’t need to be abusive or extreme or black or white. Even if you had a wonderful childhood, you still have learned certain behavior, beliefs and have childhood wounds.

We repeat what is not repaired. As an adult, we’re trying to heal that wound from childhood.

It’s our responsibility to heal ourselves so we don’t have to pass that burden to others.

Dr. Shefali Tsabari says, “The nature of unconsciousness is such that, until it’s metabolized, it will seep through generation after generation. Only through awareness can the cycle of pain that swirls in family’s end.”

Reparenting simply means to nurture yourself.

This week I invite you to sit with any uncomfortable emotions or patterns in your adult life and see how they are linked to child hood. Ask: Where did you learn that belief? Who did you learn that behavior from? And then ask your inner child how can you support him or her to feel safe and loved?

Rather than getting caught up in the story or being triggered more, I invite you to focus on your healing. You can listen to episode 96 for a guided meditation of connecting to your inner child to hear that quiet whisper answers you need to love and nurture yourself.

LMK if you liked this topic. I love hearing from you and staying connected.

Also, I’m super excited to announce my pilot program called the SELF LOVE LAB, where I’ll offer group coaching in October. Details are on my website audreysuttonmills.com. I’d love for you to be part of it!

Thank you for taking a moment to review this podcast and share it so others can heal their inner child. Remember, you are enough and you matter!

www.AudreySuttonMills.com

#audreysuttonmills, #soulschool, #innerchild, #healing #mindfulness #reparenting #self love #healinginnerchild #spirituality

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In episode 94, I shared how connecting to your inner child is a potent way to build your self-love muscle and that self-forgiveness through inner child bonding can be really healing.

Today I’ll guide you through a short meditation to connect to your inner child. You can do this daily and create a daily ritual of loving yourself and nurturing yourself. Before we begin, you will need a comfortable place to sit and relax and a childhood photo of you when you were age 7 or younger.

Inner child work can be really triggering and emotional. In this meditation, allow yourself to be kind to yourself, so if you are highly triggered by an event or a person in your childhood, take some time to step away so you don’t feel too much pain, get overwhelmed or shut down. Imagine you’re just dipping your toe in the water, instead of jumping right in. You can revisit it when there is space and those boiling emotions can be at a simmer and soften allowing for healing.

When you’re triggered, feel angry, deep grief or resentment, it’s okay to be angry or upset, but I invite you to focus on your own healing rather than getting caught up in the story or blaming another person.

Whether you had a tough childhood or a positive one, there will still be wounds in you that you as an adult can heal, because that little child still exists within you.

Okay let’s begin. If feeling anxious, put your feet on the floor, rub your hands gently or rub your hands on your thighs. If you’re feeling calm, and want to connect, place hands on heart or softly on top of each other or on resting on your lap.

Please look at the Photo of your yourself when you were a child. With eyes closed or looking at your child photo, connect to that sweet, pure, innocent and good child that still exists within you.

Take 3 deep breaths.

GET QUIET + BREATHE
ASK: how are you feeling?
Label the feeling or emotion
LISTEN: What do you need me to know to support you? What do you need me to do for myself to take care of you? Let go of your mind trying to control the story.
At the end of your meditation, look at your photo and silently or out loud, say “You are safe, enough and loved.

Self-love is a verb. It’s the nurturing of your spirit.

It’s listening to yourself, your internal GPS and generously listening.

It’s this quiet listening that builds trust, confidence and love

You have the power to love and heal yourself. No one can do it for you.

I hope this mediation to connect with your inner child begins to shift your mindset towards being kinder, and gentler and nurturing to yourself.

If you would like to explore inner child bonding deeper, please join me in a virtual workshop on august 9th from 4-6pm pst, ror deep stretch yin yoga and inner child bonding , and stay tuned for a special pilot program I’ll be announcing in a few weeks – details are on my website audreysuttonmills.com.

Thank you for taking a moment to review this podcast and share it so others can heal their inner child. Remember, you are enough and you matter!

www.AudreySuttonMills.com

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When I was a child, I was a parent pleaser.

When I became an adult, I became a people pleaser.

As a new mom and a recovering people pleaser, my initial instinct is to try to make it all better, make my daughter’s pain go away, or distract her with some toy so she forgets her big emotions and can return to being happy.

A few weeks ago, I was at a friend’s house and my daughter, Hunter, was really enjoying playing with her friend’s hot pink Barbie Convertible Car (I mean, who wouldn’t!?) and threw the wildest tantrum when I told her it was time to go home. I became flushed with embarrassment as my child screamed at the top of her lungs, threw her arms around and kicked.

Every cell in my body wanted to scoop her up, give an embarrassing quick wave goodbye, distract her with some candy or a toy – anything that would make her happy and stuff her in the car so we could get home as fast as possible. Let’s erase and forget this ever existed.

Honestly, the people pleaser in me just wanted to make all of her uncomfortable emotions disappear.

But her uncomfortable emotions were a reflection of me being uncomfortable with her feeling uncomfortable.

Still with me?

Kids are honest. They show their genuine emotions as they feel them, and then they let them go after they’ve expressed them.

Adults don’t. We shove these uncomfortable emotions down hoping they’ll go away, but they just fester and erupt at an inopportune time later.

It was probably less than 10 minutes of a breakdown, but it felt like an hour! Instead of running away or distracting from her emotions, I held empathetic space for my daughter and sports casted her feelings, “I know, it sucks to not be able to stay and play with this car. You don’t want to leave. You’re feeling upset and frustrated. Dang! But it’s time to go home now.”

By being her anchor and being empathetic, her emotion lessened. Because I was able to be with her in those uncomfortable times, she could be with herself during her uncomfortable times.

My natural people pleasing instinct is to be the hero and to fix everything so she returns to being happy as soon as possible. I like that role, but it does her no good if I do that.

Basically, I would be teaching her that these uncomfortable emotions are bad and need to be fixed, that she is flawed and that I don’t trust that she’s capable of dealing with Life’s normal circumstances, disappointments and big emotions.

If I try to please her and fix the situation for her, I’ll rob her of invaluable Life skills to know she is brave enough to be with uncomfortable emotions, that not all situations work out and that’s okay, that she is worthy and normal to feel all of her feelings and by doing so she can trust her resilience to ride Life’s waves of various emotions.

Tantrums are not bad, or embarrassing, or even need to be squashed. Tantrums are simply an expression of emotions that need to be released.

Being okay with not being okay is healthy and mature. All of your feelings are normal. Feel them.

This advice rings true for a 1.5 year old as it does for me at 41 years old.

Just as I’m parenting her, I’m also re-parenting myself. Reparent yourself to give yourself the advice, nurturing support you needed as a child.

I’m unlearning to fix and please, not only for her, but for myself.

That same people pleaser mentality is also how I used to deal with myself and negative feelings.

In the past, if I experienced a disappointment, a heartbreak or negative emotion, I would normally aestheticize with food, numb that feeling with booze or distract myself with something else so I didn’t have to be with it.

This strategy has never worked, for me.

So, I’m working on just being present to the Ebb and Flow of big emotions, trusting that by being with the feeling, it will be seen and pass, just like any other emotion.

You don’t have to fix the feeling. Just have to be with the emotion, as it is.

You don’t have to fix yourself You’re not broken.

By feeling your feelings, you return to your wholeness.

If you’re constantly fixing, numbing and ignoring in order to be happy, you will always be chasing this destination. Happiness is fleeting – just like any other emotion.

By honoring Life’s waves of ups and downs, being with yourself and feeling your feelings fully, you’ll be able to find happiness in the process, build worthiness in your new skills, and trust your resilience that you are brave, mature and kind.

LMK if you’re a people pleaser too and if these technique of feeling your feelings and letting go of trying to fix are helpful.

Want to dive in deeper? Join me on Sunday 8/9 from 4-6pm pst for a virtual workshop centered around connecting and nurturing your inner child along with relaxing deep yin yoga and journaling.

Also Mark your calendars because my signature online program, Soul School is back and starts date of October 5th. This course is special to my heart and is a decade of my learning to help you embody your truth: you are enough and you matter. I hope you can join me. SIGN UP HERE TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN DOORS OPEN FOR REGISTRATION

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One of the topics I teach in my Soul School online course is about connecting to your inner child. Inner child bonding is so healing and very sweet.

The way we would talk to a child is so much different than we talk to our adult self. We’re harsh, judgmental and critical, but you would never be like that to a sweet young child.

If you’re new to inner child connection, there is a sweet, pure, innocent and good child within you still.

Connecting to your inner child immediately brings up a gentleness towards yourself.

We all could use more gentleness towards ourselves.

As Adults, we can be pretty hard on ourselves. We tent to hold on to heavy emotions - judgment, resentment, second-guessing, guilt and shame.

It’s like paying interest on a debt you don’t owe. You don’t have to hold on to these emotions. You can let go and be free.

By connecting to the sweet little girl or boy in you, it’s easier to be kinder and softer to yourself.

I have a timer on my phone where each day I connect with little Audrey. It doesn’t have to be long or weird.

I close my eyes and check in with her to see how she’s doing and what she needs. It usually takes less than a minute.

What’s interesting about inner child bonding is that the answers from her are often different than the answers from my Adult mind.

When my mind says I need to push harder and do more, my inner child says please rest and play.

When my mind says you’re not enough, my inner child says I see you and you’re loved.

When my mind dwells on a past mistake, my inner child shrugs it off and says You learned something, keep going.

Lately, I’ve also been adding self-forgiveness to my journaling and inner child meditations. This allows space for more self-compassion and celebration, and opens the door to give yourself permission to be kinder and gentler with yourself and the process of life’s disappointments.

Sometime self-love can be seen as weak, lazy or indulgent. Give yourself permission to take care and nurture yourself. You are important.

Creating a practice of self-forgiveness is one way you can begin to deepen your compassion towards yourself and expand your self-love.

Just like you would be quick to forgive a child, we need that same empathy as adults.

Your inner child just wants you to see them, to generously listen to them and to be gentle and kind to yourself.

Share on the blog or on insta: What are you forgiving and releasing?

Want to dive in deeper? Join me on Sunday 8/9 from 4-6pm pst for a virtual workshop centered around connecting and nurturing your inner child along with relaxing deep yin yoga and journaling.

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Everyone is holding a lot. I’ve been saying this for 5 months. Times are heavy and hard.

One moment you may feel inspired, and then another moment depleted and exhausted. If you’re a sensitive empath like me, you may be feeling the weight of the world and the weight of your responsibilities and fears.

In these hard times, the itty-bitty-shitty-committee can be really loud. Maybe so loud, you’re ready to throw up your hands and quit.

If your itty-bitty-shitty-committee has been nagging you lately and you’re going through a hard time, the one thing that helps pull me out of a funk is to focus on the good stuff. Not just the positive affirmation/ ooey-gooey stuff that is lofty and esoteric, but the good, REAL, tangible stuff.

Okay Audrey, then what good stuff do you focus on then?

Well, that good stuff that’s unique only to you in that moment. Only YOU know it. Only you know the value of it.

In these hard times, it’s the good stuff that quiets the inner critic and keeps you going and leads to breakthrough, both big and small.

In today’s episode, I’ll share four ways to focus on the good so you don’t quit:

Allow yourself to feel your feelings

If you don’t allow yourself to feel your feelings, they will never leave you. We all want to be seen. Your feelings want to be seen. Don’t rely on others to do it. SEE YOURSELF first. Be with yourself. Don’t abandon yourself. This is self-love.

You are loved more than you know

In hard times, we feel alone. Seek out those people who support you. I have 3 friends I go to when my inner critic is shouting and I need grounding and clarity. When you feel untethered, rely on a trusted ally to help center you back to how much you’re needed and loved in the world.

You’re capable of amazing and hard things

Start a journal of all of your accomplishments – not just a journal about when you achieved a goal, but also those wins like having an uncomfortable conversation, starting something new or overcoming a fear.

My husband is an engineer and extremely organized, so he has all of our photos categorized by year and date. This online photo system is like a virtual journal for me to look back at the years of photos documenting our life experiences. It’s a great way to go back in time to see all of your memories, and they help me remember how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown.

When you’re feeling stuck, it’s important to look back to see your evolution. You can do hard things. You’ve done them before. You will get through this.

You are valued and are here to take up space

Keep a gratitude jar or Gratitude folder. It may sound a little cheesy, but it works!

I’ve personally shared with you over these past few weeks about feeling down – like so down, to the point of questioning my purpose. My itty-bitty-shitty-committee has been so loud I’ve been on the verge of giving up. Even sharing this makes me cringe. It makes me feel weak, but I know through my raw and realness, this helps us connect, so you know you’re not alone either.

We tend to dwell in those dark places of the inner critic, instead of seeing all of the light that surrounds us.

That’s why I keep a gratitude folder in my email box that I reference A LOT to help pull me out of those dark holes.

In these times of self-doubt, I revisit testimonials of students in my Soul School program who have said it changed their life, or I re-read your reviews of this podcast or I go back to my gratitude email folder and re-read your personal emails of how my words have resonated with you and helped you with what you’re currently experiencing. Your words matter to me, and you make a difference in my life.

Like you, I’m human, and we forget so easily. Our mind is quick to fill up with negative thoughts and get distracted and busy and keeps us from what is real and good.

Keep a folder to remind you that you are valued and are here for a reason. Take up space sister!

Also, if you like these ideas, check out my 52-week self-love journal on my website to help you connect with yourself each week – it’s free.

I hope these 4 ways help you combat your itty-bitty-shitty-committee when you get down in those dark places.

Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Don’t quit.

You’re about to breakthrough. It’s happening. Keep going!

Sending you lots of love.

Thank you for being here, sharing and rating this podcast!

Want to dive in deeper? Join me on Sunday 8/9 from 4-6pm pst for a virtual workshop centered around connecting and nurturing your inner child along with relaxing deep yin yoga and journaling.

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Last week the mantra Monday’s intention was to be aware of when you self-sabotage.

This week’s intention is to learn from resistance.

Why do we resist what we know will help us?

For example, you know eating healthy and moving your body is good for you, physically, mentally and emotionally, but you’re in resistance to something that will benefit you.

In my soul school online course, a few of the women shared that they loved each week’s coursework, but they were resistant to watching the next week’s course and doing the work. They know how it was benefitting their lives, they were feeling more confident, positive and loving towards themselves, so why after a few weeks, were they resistant to something that made them feel good about themselves?

We all resist what we know is good for us, because change is hard.

That comfortable path is well worn and easy, even if we don’t want to be on that path.

Progress is messy and uncomfortable.

It’s going to take effort and time to create a new path. That’s why we’re in resistance.

We fight it because our Nervous system is dysregulated and overwhelmed. We’re not used to being balanced. We’re used to feeling stress, overwhelmed, busy. A stressed system is what it’s used to, that’s why change is so hard.

So, when we feel overwhelmed in our body, mind and spirit, this turns into resistance to change and transformation.

But what if resistance is a clue that you’re on the brink of a breakthrough?

Like you’ve been climbing through a forest and you’re about to quit. It’s hard and challenging, but what if there was a sign that said, “hey you, just around the corner you’re gonna see the most amazing view!”

Would you keep going?

Resistance is that sign, momma!

This week’s mantra is: “I’m in resistance because I’m about to transform.”

When you start to feel overwhelmed and are in resistance:

place your hands on your body that feel tight or need loving energy.
Take 3 deep belly breaths to help you drop out of your mind and into your body.
Identify resistance in your thoughts and agitation in your body.
HONOR YOUR BODY through POWER OF CHOICE. Our triggers and old reactions don’t go away.

But the more you practice, you will build your awareness muscle and will begin to regulate your nervous system.

The more you practice sitting at the edge of resistance, being with it instead of running away from it and learning from it and listening for the next steps, the more confident and trusting you will get in your ability to move through it.

LMK how this has helped you on my blog and instagram. Also, thank you always for sharing and reviewing his podcast!

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EP 91 Stop sabotaging yourself

It's hard to change, especially when that habit or belief system has been ingrained in you for years, decades, or a lifetime.

Today’s mantra Monday and intention for this week is to bring awareness to your habits to stop self-sabotage.

Only you know how you’re sabotaging yourself. It could be second guessing yourself, questioning your actions or skills, not believing in your abilities, comparing yourself to others, doing things you know you shouldn’t do, or doing things you know you should do.

Self-sabotage is knowing what you want and how to get there, but doing the opposite, undermining the thing you desire.

Personally, for example:

I know that Yoga is good for me, but I don't do it. During quarantine I've done yoga three times in three months, which is crazy, because I always complain how I don’t have enough time to get to the teachers I love. And now, all the teachers around the world who I love are accessible online.

I also know that eating healthy will get me to how I want to feel in my body - healthier, fitter, stronger, more confident, but more often than not fat kid Freddy takes over and sabotages my eating habits.

The biggest self-sabotage that I’m currently experiencing is in my business. I want to create a business and brand that is successful and meaningful, and I know that consistency of content is key to building that. But I sabotage this dream by finding other things to do instead of what I need to do, and I’m also very critical of myself, which causes doubt, fog and inertia. Perfectionism stops me from creating. And then, I feel like a failure for not creating. It’s a bad cycle.

I'm not sure why we sabotage the very thing or feeling we desire.

A few things I'm learning as a parent is that a child will subconsciously reenact their bad behavior as a cry for help to heal old wounds and patterns that are out of their control. For example, a toddler may hit because she doesn’t have the emotional intelligence or maturity to stop herself or express her big emotions of fear, overwhelm or stimulation in a healthy way. Or maybe she’s had a negative experience with a caregiver, so she will recreate that bad behavior reenacting it with that person as a call for help to heal her emotion and that pattern, asking that person to step in and stop her, because she can’t stop herself. Once it’s done in a healthy and loving way, usually that negative pattern is broken.

Similarly our emotional brain is used to patterns so we reenact negative behaviors because they are comfortable as a subconscious cry for help.

Sometimes the known is easier and more comfortable than the unknown, even if that known is not what we want. So we easily revert back to ways that are easy and comfortable and sabotage what we desire. That path is well worn.

Unlike a child who doesn’t have the emotionally developed brain that can rationalize and make sense of her big emotions and behaviors, our brain can make sense of our actions and emotions, and through awareness, we can begin to understand ourselves deeply and consciously choose again.

Take a moment and think about one way you've been sabotaging yourself, your dreams, and how you want to feel. It could be anything - big or small.

Of course it’s easy for me to tell you, “hey, just stop being that way,” but for our emotional brain, it’s very hard to break our habits that are comfortable, even if we don't like these habits.

Change starts with awareness.

Commit this week to being more mindful of when your subconscious brain takes over and hijacks the very thing you desire.

In that moment, notice it, then label it and choose again. You have the power of choice.

Release any fears and habits that block you from receiving the love and support you desire.

I’m gonna do this with you, because I want to feel productive and in flow, but I sabotage my productivity by getting distracted, feeling uninspired, losing focus and being highly critical of myself. So, this week, I will notice when I feel overwhelmed, put pressure on myself to be perfect, and compare myself to others. Instead of doing what I normally do, which is going into the fridge to numb my emotions and distract me from the present moment, I will pause, notice, and label how I’m feeling and what I’m doing and choose again.

By bringing awareness to how I’m feeling, I can take care and honor myself. I may choose to take a break, nap, journal, move my body, or shift my mindset to be more compassionate so I can create without criticism.

You have the power of choice.

Notice when you start to sabotage
Label your emotions or actions to bring it into consciousness.
Then choose again.

Be present in that moment, CHOOSE, then let go and move on to the next moment.

It’s not easy to look at ways you harm yourself. Through this daily mindfulness practice of watching your habits, labeling your big emotions and actions and consciously choosing from a place of love, you will build your self worth and curate a practice of self love.

Small steps create big change.

I believe in you and will be right there with you doing the work too.

If this tool is helpful to you, I appreciate you reviewing this episode and sharing it with anyone who would benefit.

As always, I’m grateful to you for taking the time to listen to this podcast and being part of our soul school family. You are enough and you matter!

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How to deal with your racist family and friends

I was asked by a good friend to do a podcast episode on the topic of how not to get triggered by our racist friends and family. We can all agree that we are a very divided country – we’ve been for a long time. And it doesn’t help that many people cling so tightly to their beliefs, don’t take responsibility and blame others which create a bigger chasm between us.

You may think of me as a calm yoga teacher, but I’m a very sensitive and emotional person. I cry a lot and can fly off the handle easily, especially when I deal with people I deem ignorant or mean.

I think that’s why discussing politics, religion, race, sex or anything that is highly emotionally charged can be so confrontational, causing feuds at family gatherings.

Right now, we are going through some major historical events:

this global pandemic: those who are worried about health and those who are worried about businesses,

racial protests and riots – those who support black lives and those who support macy’s.

the fight for the rights of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) people -- some may totally be on board with equality and others not so much.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but how do we NOT get triggered by those opinions that differ from ours?

I hate to break it to you, but you’ll never get rid of triggers, nor will you be able to stop the other person from triggering you.

Today on the podcast I’ll share with you 5 ways that help me deal with people who trigger the F out of me and see their different beliefs as portals to my own growth.

Triggers are teachers.

In episode 80 I talk all about triggers. Triggers are all around us. We can’t avoid being activated by someone or something.

You know you’ve aligned with your ego when you feel inferior or superior to someone else. You’re stuck in comparison or judgement.

Rather than pointing the finger and being upset with that person, what are you learning about yourself and about them?

Our relationships are direct portals to our wounds,

and

awareness of our triggers can be portals to our growth.

If we can view our triggers as our greatest teachers, we can then heal our inner world to affect our outer world.

Ironically, we are most often highly triggered by those we care about or are closest to.

The challenging work is to watch and witness your thoughts. Most of our thoughts are recycled from our conditioned thinking.

We are triggered when the reality is not how we think it should be.

When I feel resentment, offended, hurt, or any kind of hot emotion, it’s an opportunity to turn inward, not lash outward.

Sit with the sensation so that the boiling emotion comes to a simmer.

Trying to avoid the sensation just creates more suffering.

In fact, reality has no emotional charge. The present moment is what it is.

An event.

A feeling.

Some words.

An action.

It’s us humans that create the emotional charge behind reality. Something about that thing activates something within.

Taking responsibility for how you show up and changing your beliefs by watching your thought patterns lead to freedom.

Anything that causes you to be in an emotional state is your spiritual teacher.

Invite them in.

Detach from the outcome:

How do you detach from the outcome when you’re triggered, hurt and outraged at a friend’s beliefs and actions? It’s hard.

This is the work, my friend.

Detaching doesn’t mean you avoid the conversation or become numb or check out.

One of my favorite quotes is “When you’re upset, don’t eat.” Wait. No. That’s for another episode.

My favorite quote by Bryron Katie that I live by, especially when I’m triggered is, "There's your business, Other people's business and God's Business"

Most of the time I’m in someone else’s business that’s out of my control.

We spend too much energy replaying someone else’s actions and trying to influence someone else’s life, when in reality it’s their life and their choice of how they want to show up. We have no control over them.

Detach from the idea of converting anyone. You will never change anyone by forcing your own opinion and criticisms on them.

These battles about race, politics, humanity, and equality or any other disagreement are like a game of tug-of-war, where our Egos hold so tightly to what we believe to be true.

The more you pull and think you’re right, the harder the other person pulls to prove their right.

But…If you let go, you win.

The Ego wants to be right. Our heart wants to be understood.

Intentionally listening

Ok so if you get that triggers can be teachers and you’re working on letting go, how do you make peace with the other person who is upsetting you?

LISTEN. Intentionally listen.

Rather than mentally formulating your next objection before the other person has finished their sentence, listen with the intention to hear their view. I know this is hard, especially when steam is fuming out of your ears and your heart is seething with rage. Come back to step 1. Triggers are your teachers. Right now, your teacher is guiding you to generously listen.

Instead of speaking AT your friend, speak to what she said so you can have a constructive conversation and learn from both ways vs locking down and having a blowup fight.

Just like you have particular beliefs that you’ve learned, she has too.

When you can detach from trying to change your friend or family, and can listen to understand their viewpoint and learn their background behind their beliefs, you will learn something about them you never knew.

I saw this on @southasians4blacklives and loved this point: Instead of calling them out, call them in

Our Ego wants to be right, by trying to convert them, or point out their flaws and prove why they’re wrong or how they’re a bad person. This only makes the other person defend who they are even harder.

No one wants to feel judged, wrong or unimportant.

Once you take the tug out of the tug-of-war, they feel seen, understood and significant.

Everyone wants that.

When they feel seen and heard, they’ll be more open to listening to you too. Their wall to defend themselves has come down a bit, and so has yours.

Sometimes they won’t be open or they’re just rude to the core, and, you know what, that’s a different choice (like a long term) choice you may need to make about your relationship and the boundaries you extend to that person.

But if they’re in your life to stay, like your good friend or a family member, and if you think they’re a good person and you would like to keep them in your life, why not make it pleasant as possible and stay open to learn from each other.

So instead of calling them out, call them in. Rather than pointing out their shortcomings, share with them your personal experiences, your own blind spots and what you have learned that they may not know.

By focusing on you and inviting them in to see your vulnerability and transformation, this may help them be less defensive and more open to learning about their own blind spots.

Hopefully by staying open and communicating from your heart space of loving on them, instead of your Ego that wants to perfect and prove, they also become teachers and share what they learn with others.

See this is as practice

In Sanskrit Svadyaya means “self-study.”

The real yoga starts when you leave your mat and get into the world.

Each step forward is really just a step deeper into yourself.

Every relationship is a mirror to teach us something about yourself.

Instead of preaching,

controlling or forcing your opinion,

see these moments of fury as opportunities to stay open,

intentionally listen

so you can learn about the other person

(and about yourself)

and fine tune your communication skills

By sharing from your heart,

rather from the Ego,

your light will inspire them to do the same.

And if it doesn’t,

then you will have changed

for the better because of it

This is the real Yoga.

to stay present to the simmer

pause in stillness,

listen with intention to hear both sides,

study yourself so you can know yourself

and speak from your heart

and

be the change you wish to see in the world.

I love hearing from you on my blog + instagram! How has this helped you?

If it has helped, I appreciate you sharing this with your friends.

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I thought this was perfect timing to have Andrea on the show because we are all experiencing collective trauma with this pandemic, which can trigger past feelings and experiences of loss and grief.

Andrea Wetterau is a licensed therapist and certified yoga teacher in Seattle, WA, specializing in treating eating disorders, trauma, and perinatal mental health.

On the podcast today, she shares her traumatic birth story and postpartum where she thought she would die from 3 different times of hemorrhaging.

Andrea explains Trauma does not just have to be something big, like a death, or having an illness or experiencing a disaster.

Trauma is anything that creates a negative response in your body and mind. It happens when we feel we don’t have control or agency in our lives.

Andrea shares that trauma is like a linen closet. Each piece of beautifully folded linen represents a memory. When you experience trauma, you ball up that piece of linen and shove it in the closet, but every time you open it, it falls on you. Using EMDR therapy, you basically take out that wadded linen/your trauma memory, open it, let it breathe and then fold it so it fits back into your closet. Trauma doesn’t go away, but can be processed and healed.

Through EMDR therapy, awareness and giving yourself a ton of compassion, you too can heal. I hope you find a bit of comfort in today’s podcast.

Please let me know in the show notes, and as always thank you for sharing with anyone who could benefit and reviewing this podcast.

You can connect with Andrea at https://www.wetterauwellness.com

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The other day I was multi-tasking because that’s the job description of being a new mom. You will do everything, be everything, and do it all leaving you frazzled and looking haggard in the process. Pay: nothing.

On this day, though, I was multitasking like a champ. Hunter was on the custom ladder Jake made for her watching me chop vegetables and stir the mushrooms simmering no the stovetop. I was like an octopus, one hand stirring the pot, then another arm to the oven to check the vegetables, then another arm would reach out to hunter and feed her. All of this while I was facetiming with my mother-in-law. I deserved the multitasking star.

I took a break to change Hunter’s wet diaper to return to a smoky kitchen. When I checked the oven, I found I had left my ovenmit to roast along with the vegetables. The mit was black and seriously smoking.

My multitasking could’ve caused a real disaster. No star for me

As humans, we’re smart. Our brain can handle multiple functions.

Right now, you’re listening to this podcast, maybe you’re driving, and thinking about what you want for dinner, reminding yourself to not leave the ovenmit in the oven like a moron, you switch lanes, wonder whether to turn this podcast off and change it to Oprah’s Masterclass – I mean, who doesn’t love Oprah, a friend texts you in which you respond with both hands on the phone and your knee on the wheel, actually this is a pretty good podcast – you’ll stick through the next few minutes, you decide to make it easy on yourself and not burn the house down and get take-out, all while you’re breathing and your heart is beating.

We’re wired to muti-task. But although you can multitask, and maybe you’re really good at getting multiple tasks done at once, you cannot multi-focus, which means you’re probably not doing a really good job at any of those tasks.

You can do multiple things at once, but you can only focus on one thing at once.

As a new mom, I often feel like that ovenmit – my hair is on fire, but I still am going through the motions of life like it’s not.

It’s only when we can slow down, and be fully present to what’s in front of us that we can enjoy the presence of life around us. Otherwise we’re too busy, too distracted, too tired, too whatever you’re feeling to see the magic of the moment.

…To experience the person in front of us …to truly hear them without our own thoughts getting in the way …to be present to the task at hand with full enjoyment, creativity and no disctractions.

That task is no longer a task to complete quickly, but something you can enjoy.

I know what you’re thinking…Audrey, that Zen Buddhist Dalia Lama stuff sounds really nice on paper. Namaste. But this is real life. I got stuff to do!

I get it. We all do. You’re not alone

But it’s more important now, more than ever to slow down and tune in because everything is pining for your attention. Everything – the ping on your phone begs for your response, your children want quality time with you, your job demands tasks to be returned, errands that need to be run, bills you need to pay, garbage that stinks up the kitchen and the worries in your head of not getting it all done in time.

You don’t have to be all, do all for all. Actually it’s pretty impossible. You won’t do it all well.

Instead of wanting more, I invite you to want less and be more focused on the very most important things.

Focus helps guide you to what is most important and helps you stay on your purpose.

If you don’t define what is most important to you, someone else will. People will grab for your attention. Tasks will BEG for you to complete them.

Then you get to the end of your day, and wonder what the heck did I accomplish today? Have you been there? I mean, you did stuff. You were in motion, but you didn’t move the ball forward. You were in action, but didn’t accomplish anything today.

I don’t want you to feel this way at the end of your life.

So, do this with me. Think about all of the things you are holding now. Well, maybe not holding, but juggling, and maybe even dropping. I know, it’s a lot sister!

Are these the most important things that will make the biggest difference in your life or the lives you love?

Take 3 deep breaths. What is the most important thing right now? What is the biggest regret you’ll have?

Now, this could be a big life goal or a change in direction that could seem scary. We major in minor things and get distracted and busy with the small stuff and it keeps us from accomplishing the BIG stuff.

What showed up for you may not be something big at all. It may be something small but really meaningful, like “figure out what IS most important. Or rest now. Or go to yoga. Or go to yoga with Audrey.”

You can use this easy exercise anytime you feel untethered to help bring you back to center and what’s most important to you.

Keep asking, what is important right now? Until you get down to the small doable action that serves your bigger purpose.

Was this an ah-ha for you as it was for me? Let me know on the blog or insta.

Thanks for tuning in friend, rating and sharing this podcast. I love you! see you next week!

Head over to my website www.audreysuttonmills.com for downloadable freebies for deeper connection and self-love and don’t forget to sign up for my free webinar and how to quiet your itty-bitty-shitty-committee which is on April, 20, 2020 and this is also the launch of SOUL SCHOOL, my 7-week transformation online course, you’ll learn easy and tangible tools to cultivate deeper self-love so you can release limited beliefs, quiet your inner critic, celebrate yourself and become the person you want to be.

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I hosted a workshop recently and most of the women had a goal on their to do list, like starting a meditation practice or journaling, but had a hard time starting or sticking to their goal.

We’ve all been there. You set a goal to meditate, you’re going strong for the first week and then your efforts start to peter off. Life is busy! You needed your sleep. A few days later, you haven’t meditated and you’ve broken your promise to yourself. So you travel down that shame spiral beating yourself up for being worthless and undisciplined.

Oh, is that just me?

Or you’ve had a goal on your to-do list for months, or years. You know it’s good for you, like journaling your feelings so they don’t get bottled up and explode on the starbucks barista next time he screws up your double mocha frappaccino with 2 pumps. You wanna do journal, but you never start. So what’s the hold up?

I don’t have a friendly relationship with discipline. I never have. It definitely stems from childhood, but this is for another episode. Discipline feels like punishment.

As I reparent myself and learn about my bad habits and where they come from, I am realizing I need a need to go to couple’s therapy with my relationship with discipline.

Discipline equals freedom.

Just like we all want to be happy, we all want good and healthy habits, because we know that habits lead to lasting healthy changes.

Unfortunately, most of us are not in control of our habits. Forty-fifty percent of our habits are unconscious, meaning we do them without consciously thinking of them.

The question is, do you like that habit? Is it making you a better you?

I recently read James Clear book, Atomic Habits, and this is now on my Top 10 books to read. He gives so many great nuggets of wisdom to build healthy and lasting habits. I’m gonna share 3 that have changed my life.

Habit building is hard because you’re literally rewiring your brain. If I’m Tom, then discipline is my Jerry, and if I can befriend discipline, you can too. Here’s how:

Create easy wins.
Design your environment to build lasting repetition.
Tack the new habit on to an old habit you’re already doing.

If you’re like me, sometimes the need to be perfect, or over-thinking, or over-planning, or over-researching keeps you stuck in follow through with your goals. Although doing these things can feel like you’re doing something, it just creates MOTION not ACTION. Take it from the queen of procrastination – I can research something to death!

Action creates momentum. Repeat action creates lasting habits that are automatic and feel like second nature. You can stack new habits from there.

Discipline is where it all starts.

Discipline isn’t punishment. It’s freedom and it does feel good.

How do you feel about discipline? Holler at me on the blog or insta. Hopefully this has shifted your perspective of it and inspired you to go for a habit you’ve been wanting to start. You can do this.

If you want more self love and empowerment in your life, head to my website www.audreysuttonmills.com for downloadable freebies like my 52-week self love journal and my free webinar or how to quiet your itty-bitty-shitty-committee on April 20th, which is also the day SOUL SCHOOL registration opens, my 7-week transformational course that helps you live your most expansive life and become the person you want to be through tools for deeper self-love so you embody your truth: You are enough and You Matter!

As always, thank you for being here and spending your valuable time with me. I appreciate you.

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Usually when I’m upset with someone, it’s because I have expectations of how they “should” be.

But is that real pure love?

Is that reality?

Or is it just my perspective of reality?

During our valentines weekend, Jake went skiing Saturday and Monday, so Sunday was our day for quality family time and for this momma to get a break.

I ended up doing a mix of taking care of the baby and we didn’t get quality time together.

I was upset, felt used, and unloved because it didn’t go the way I wanted.

He thought the day went well.

Are we on freaking different planets?! How could we experience the same day but have the opposite perspectives of how the day went?

He thought taking care of the baby for 2 hours while I did errands and got a rushed 20-minute workout was enough and going for a walk in the park together constituted quality family time. I just wanted was to lock myself in the bedroom and read my book – by myself and go wine tasting and eat pizza in the afternoon as a family.

These are very different scenarios. I was resentful, bitter and upset the whole day.

When the day was pretty much over, I was still fuming. My one day off to spend together was wasted. I took a shower and some deep breaths and invited my bitterness in.

When I viewed these negative emotions as a teacher, it led me to realize I had expectations of him and the day. I was blaming him the whole day, but it was my fault for feeling disappointed and upset because I never communicated my expectations of what I wanted our day to be like.

Those triggers taught me I needed to own my responsibility for my expectations of him and to communicate my feelings and what I wanted. It wasn’t fair to him to make the unreasonable expectation that he should know what I want and read my mind.

I was the one who ruined my day. I had turned it into a story.

Anyone else been there too making something into everything?

I had created turmoil in my world by placing my own expectations on reality.

Our Ego loves to point the finger, but that doesn’t created healing.

Once I lovingly communicated my feelings and took responsibility for having unreasonable expectations and judgements, Jake openly heard me and we had a great rest of the evening.

It’s very empowering when you see how your thoughts become your story and know you can choose how you want to show up in the world.

The reality is: You have no control over others. You have no control of the outcome. You have no control over anything outside yourself. You only have control of yourself. Taking responsibility shifts the blame from someone else to taking responsibility for your thoughts and beliefs.

Taking responsibility for your own internal state is empowering and leads to freedom and ease in life and your relationships

Meditation is a great tool, that if practiced consistently can help you watch your crazy thoughts and how you actually create turmoil in your world by placing your own expectations on reality, instead of seeing reality for exactly as it is.

So, my invitation for you this week: when you’re in resentment, offended or hurt by someone, see it as an opportunity to turn inward, not lash outward, to view how your expectations of how that person should be is really just a story you’re telling yourself and is not coming from a place of love.

Your expectations of reality are the cause of your suffering of what is really occurring.

You have the power to create your reality by shifting your expectations of it.

Always loving hearing from you on IG or the blog: www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Hey there sweet friend. How are you doing? If I could be with you, I’d open up my best bottle of cab and sit down with you on my couch and have some real talk.

So, c’mon over and let’s be together. I hope you and your loved ones are safe. I’m sending you love.

I’ve been waking up every morning at 3am, thinking about you and how I serve you now.

I like to think of myself more as a messenger, rather than teacher.

I’m called to whole-heartedly share my experiences and what I learn from others in the hope that you can relate to the lesson to heal parts of your life.

Maybe it’s because when I was lost, I was searching for an honest voice to bring me home. I hope I can be that for you, friend.

Collectively, we are suffering and experiencing a crisis through this pandemic. We feel alone, fearful, worried.

My dad always said, “never let a crisis go to waste.”

Each of us have gone through rough times. No one is free from suffering.

I’ve experienced some crap too:

Left a marriage and a prosperous life in Silicon Valley I had worked so hard to get and spent half a decade figuring out who I wanted to be
had a miscarriage and a cancer scare in 2017
my dad passed away in 2018, just two-weeks before my daughter was born (still working through that grief)

When I’m in turmoil and I can’t figure out why God just made me a shitburger, I come back to this poem, The Guest House by Rumi:

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

In the poem, The Guest House, Rumi shows us that the entirety of human experience is valuable. None of it is to be discounted as unnecessary or even avoidable.

Life can be messy.

Although we would rather only experience positive situations and have good feelings, it’s important to welcome all circumstances and feelings, even sadness, anger, shame, guilt and loneliness into our house.

Each guest has something to offer.

Each feeling and experience is a portal to new awareness.

Accepting each state is accepting the entirety of your being, so you can heal your broken parts and bring you back to wholeness.

When you can stay open to the lesson each guest has to offer, you can learn from each guest, as they each bring a gift to heal, expand, grow and evolve your soul.

Currently, we, like most of the world are experiencing shelter-in-place, which makes this lonely time of not being able to socialize even more taxing. Unlike 9/11 or the 2008 financial crisis, we could at least be out in the sunshine living our normal life, eating our favorite bowl of parpadelle pasta Bolognese, sipping on our favorite Brunello, at our favorite restaurant with our favorite people, enjoying our customary life of hugging and laughing with our friends without sitting 6ft away wearing a medical mask.

Solitary confinement – this is what some countries do to prisoners! We are imprisoned to our home. GULP!

No one wants to be experiencing this. But THIS is what we’re experiencing. This is the guest that’s in our house now.

Reflecting on Rumi’s poem, each guest brings a gift. What is the gift in our circumstance?

We complain about being too busy and not having enough time to do self-care, take a bath, journal, start a meditation practice or a new hobby, spring clean our pantry, read a book (an actual book and feel the pages on your fingers), finish the scrapbook you started last year, write a letter or call loved ones who have been on your to-do list for months (eh-hem, years).

Although unwanted, perhaps this experience is showing up at the right time to give you your sacred retreat for quiet time, personal care and inner reflection.

I mean, we pay for these types of experiences, albeit it we’re not in a tropical thatched roof bungalow overlooking the ocean and palm trees with sun kissed skin and sandy straw beach hair (God, Audrey, why’d you have to go there!).

We do pay for or desire a retreat experience where we can unplug from our devices and the minutia of our busy lives, be alone so we can get quiet, rest and take care of ourselves.

I’m viewing this time as the Universe not punishing us, but as extra time for healing and reflection asking you:

how do you want to show up?

How do you want to transform during this shelter time?

We can’t control the virus, but we can control ourselves and how we want to show up now.

Along with our negative guests teaching us lessons, I’ve also received hundreds of other guests that have arrived these past few weeks to lift me up and support me through comments on my blog and social media, texts, emails and words of wisdom to teach me that we are not alone.

I love seeing you on IG in my yoga classes every day, youtube and connecting with you online! You are not alone in our struggles.

We are deeply seeking connection. Although connection looks differently, we are connected!

I have been waking up every day at 4am, crazily jotting down ways to serve you. I would love to hear from you, please of what you need now. Even if I can’t create it, I’d love to be that messenger to help lead you to someone who can.

To help support you during this time, please head to my new website: www.audreysuttonmills.com for freebies and resources to help you during these times:

free yoga on my youtube channel and every day on IG live at noon PST through April 1st
a guide to start a meditation practice + guided meditation
3 ways to curate calm podcast episode
52-week self-love journal
intention card
sign up for my 10-day self-love challenge happening April 1st.

Also, my ALWAYS ENOUGH course to help you rise from scarcity to hope, discounted for just $6 and 100% goes to making masks to protect our medical warriors who protect us.

I’m sure I’ll be adding more during this time together.

Thank you for your support and love! I am blessed.

I’m learning that when I give from my deepest self, I learn more about myself. That learning is the gift. And when you can learn more about yourself, that gift is also my gift. So, the giving, really, is the gift.

Please let me know what you need, what you’re struggling with and how I can create tools for you to support you now. I love you

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Mindfulness is being connected to the present moment, to the joy and the magic of life that surrounds you. Meditation is the daily practice of staying present, nurturing your heart and letting go of the story so you can see and feel what is in front of you.

How to Meditate in 5 Easy Steps:

Rise
Pee
Meditate for 1 minute

(Sit up tall and erect. Set your timer for 60 seconds: 1 min to Zen) Add on time when you have a consistent habit)

Breathe and witness your thoughts
Detach from the outcome and judgement. Engage in the next moment or thought without an agenda

The practice of meditation is just a practice. It’s a daily habit to watch your mind and make a conscious choice to come back to your breath, to the sensations in your body, to the present moment. This practice is really just practice for off of your cushion, so when you get distracted, feel untethered or become heated from a story in your head, you can come back to your breath, to your body and to this present moment, remembering this moment is exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Happy Meditating,

Audrey

www.audreysuttonmills.com

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What the heck is mindfulness? It’s talked about elusively in yoga classes and in articles, but what exactly is it and why is it important?

We are distracted and busy, now more than ever - outside and inside our minds. Everything is pining for our attention. Things are chaotic right now – lord knows we can use a little calm in this chaos.

I was first introduced to mindfulness in a yoga class a decade ago. It was me and a bunch of 80-year old white haired dudes. It was a gentle yoga class at 11am on a Friday. We never stood up on our mats. I hated it. The teacher led a guided meditation in savasana where we counted 1-2-3-4-5 and so forth until a thought popped in your head. When a thought appeared, you started back at 1. I couldn’t get past 2.

I never realized I had so many thoughts!

The roommate in my head never shut up – she was neve rending broken record telling me what to do, what I should be doing, what I did wrong, worrying about something in the future, ruminating about something in the past, adding items to my grocery list, wondering why he didn’t call me back, pondering what I should eat after yoga class. It was mayhem in my mind!

I mean, honestly, if my mind were an actual person, I’d punch her in the face. That’s how annoying she is.

That night I had the best sleep of my life. That one yoga class sparked a wonderment and curiosity of how to quiet my mind and seek this elusive mindfulness-thing.

Often times we are the opposite of mindful. You’re in resistance when you are trying to control someone or something. Resistance is either aversion to what you’re currently experiencing or attachment to an outcome. Trying to control and resistance to what is creates more suffering.

Mindfulness is being connected to the present moment, to the joy and the magic of life that surrounds you. That may have sounded a little Dalai Lama, Namaste woo-woo, but don’t knock it till you try it.

Mindfulness can be thought of a “state,” a “trait” or a “practice.”

Meditation is the daily practice of staying present, nurturing your heart and letting go of the story so you can see and feel what is in front of you.

You do the practice on your cushion, so you can live and be your practice off it – to be present, feel fully, and be free from storyline in your daily life.

Meditation sounds good. We know it’s good for us, and maybe we have good intentions to meditate, so why is it so hard to do?

In today’s episode, I hope to de-bunk any anxiety around meditation so you can actually start doing it. I give you 5 easy steps to creating a meditation practice in just 1 minute each day. That’s super easy right?

How to meditate: R.P.M:

Rise
Pee
meditate for 1 minute

(Sit up tall and erect. Set your timer for 60 seconds: 1 min to Zen) Add on time when you have a consistent habit of meditating each morning.

So what do you do for those 60 seconds that can seem like forever?

Breathe and witness – be fully present to what’s in front of you.
Detach from the outcome (there’s no bad meditation), release judgement (of how you’re doing. It’s just a practice of watching where your mind likes to take you) and let go of adding a storyline (extra commentary)
Engage in the next moment or thought without an agenda

Meditation is like paper training a puppy. The puppy wanders and you gently bring the puppy back to the paper. Your mind will follow a thought, and you gently bring your mind back to your breath and observe with space what is in front of you.

Joy is not the absence of suffering, the absence of challenges, or the absence of anything else. Living with joy means that we develop a sense of inner well-being that allows us to embrace whatever the present moment offers.

Mindfulness instills in us a genuine sense of curiosity and wonder, even toward the mundane and challenging details of our existence.

Have the life you want by being present to the life you have.

Head over to my website: audreysuttonmills.com for your free guided meditation and a print out of these 5 easy steps of cultivating a meditation practice. Thank you for being a part of our community. If this has helped you, please take a moment to do a review and share this episode with your friends or online.

Also, my signature online course, Soul School, which launches April 20th with a free webinar and a discount just for you. Soul School helps you come home to your Truth: you are enough and you matter and guides you to live your most inspired life and be the person you want to be. Sign up on my website www.audreysuttonmills.com to be the first to know!

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“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” - Corrie Ten Boom**

We live in a crazy time right now. I know I’ve said this a several times this year. Have you guys been to Costco lately!? I went to 3 stores looking for toilet paper yesterday. Shelves were empty. Lines everywhere. Streets and shops bare. People looked fearful and were rude, quickly pushing their way through the stores.

We are country rampant with fear and uncertainty, rapidly following Italy, Iran and China’s rates of infection.

The COVID-19 virus is scary because it’s spreading so fast and there’s no cure. This pandemic is affecting all aspect of our lives. Just yesterday, the state of Washington closed all restaurants and bars. People are getting laid off, or are asked to stay home for several weeks with no pay. Schools are closed. Events canceled. The FED reduced interest rates to zero. All of this creates a finacial ripple effect for each person and business.

I know, you’re already bombarded with COVID-19 updates from everywhere you look and I don’t mean to be Debbie Downer! Our spiritual work though, is to be conscious, to awaken and to lean into what we fear and see it through a conscious lens instead of turning away, hiding or numbing.

This episode is inspired by my friends @courtneyjburg, @marybethlarue and @simplyrealhealth who always provide soulful insight and help ground me. Check on their recent IG posts on how to create more calm, how to create actions of what you do have control of, and 28 ways for self-care, all of which we could use right now.

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing 3 ways to help you stay grounded and curate calm during times of unease and uncertainty. Showing up for yourself is one way to spread much needed love during this time of increased fear:

Focus on what you DO have control of

Whenever I feel anxious and untethered to my center, there is a quote by Byron Katie that always helps ground me: "There's your business, Other people's business and God's Business"

When I realize what I don't have control of, this quote helps release worrying or anxiety (even for a little bit).

So often we focus on what’s out of our control.

We talk about other people’s choices or criticize someone’s actions. We spend our energy trying to influence someone else’s life, when in reality it’s their life and their choice of how they want to show up.

We worry about what is uncontrollable and is in God’s hands, like a natural disaster, or the weather or this outbreak.

We have no control of the outcome of this pandemic, but we spend so much energy worrying and being fearful of what is not in our control. You can’t worry or control other people’s or God’s business.

What you can focus on is what you do have control over. Especially in chaotic times, this is the only thing that will empower you and tether you back to your place of center.

So ask yourself 2 questions:

How do you want to feel now? Empower yourself by taking action to feel that.
What’s not serving you? Release what is creating angst.

It may be time to delete some social apps or watch less news, so you stay sane. Or make space to rest and renew. You can’t control the outcome, but you can control your thoughts, words, actions and energy. Attuning to this emboldens and liberates you to be the person you want to be and feel how you want to feel.

Create sacred time to connect

To me, self-love is a verb. It’s an action of fostering support for yourself, checking in and asking how are you doing, what do you need and connecting to your heart to honor how to best support your well-being.

Self-love is the nurturing of your spirit.

Get quiet and tune in to your heart that is your internal GPS whispering where to go and what to do next. Although we’re regulated to stay indoors and practice social distancing, sacred time may look like: getting out in nature (provided its safe), getting fresh air, journaling, meditation, living room yoga, spending quality time with loved ones, trying out a new recipe, learning a new hobby, finally sit down to write that book you’ve been wanting to write for years.

What does Self-care and Self-love look like for you?

Take care of yourself, so you can take care of each other

Practice Saucha, the first of the Niyamas of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga. Saucha is cleanliness of your body, and also cleanliness of your environment, mind and spirit.

We’re all fanatically cleaning our hands until they feel like alligator scales, and by the looks of the grocery store shelves, we’re Lysoling everything in our home. So, you may be practicing cleanliness of your body and home, and you can also practice saucha by de-cluttering your mind, cleaning it of worry and anxiety.

Yes, we have a pandemic to fear. But recycling the what-ifs and replaying a scenario in your head don’t serve you.

On a spiritual level too, practicing saucha is extending cleanliness and clarity to others through kind thoughts towards each other instead of hostile judgment and guarded haste.

Walls can be built and borders can be closed to keep people out, but this pandemic is showing us that we, as a world, are closely connected.

We are a country that is more and more divided, but it’s up to you have you show up. Empathy goes a long way!

We are all in this together. Take care of yourself, so you can take care of each other.

Peace begins with you. I’m thinking of you and sending you love and support. You can do this!

I hope today’s episode was helpful to help weather this storm. If it was, I would appreciate you reviewing this podcast and sharing it on IG!

To support you, I’m also hosting FREE online yoga and meditation videos on IG @blissfulaudrey every day for the next 2 weeks. And, I’m working hard to get my mini-course to help with anxiety and raise you up out of scarcity mindset and will be offering this mini-course for only $6 because I want you to have the tools to help you create calm and ground you at uncertain times like these.

Also, my signature online course, Soul School, which launches April 20th with a free webinar and a discount just for you, helps you come home to your Truth: you are enough and you matter and guides you to live your most inspired life and be the person you want to be.

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You know those friends who you don’t speak to for months or even years, and then when you see them again, you pick right back off like no time has passed? Well, this is my relationship with Scott Feinberg! He is my soul brotha from a different motha. I know you’ll fall in love with him just as much as I have.

Everyone holds trauma. Our pain is universal. Healing is not linear.

Today on the podcast, he shares how you can transform limitations of your conditioned beliefs into empowering ways of being through his 8 principles to heal your trauma and build resilience:

Your essence can’t be harmed
The vow to see
Know you’re coded for resilience
Discernment: commit to choose
Reverse graffiti
We are each the gatekeeper in our own minds
Thank you in advance
You don’t have to become who you already are.

Scott believes everyone is coded for resilience. You have the power to (un)become and remove what doesn’t serve you. You can transform your suffering into your offering.

I loved every part of our deep soul inspiring conversation today but my big take away is: You don’t have to become who you already are.

Grab your notebooks and pen, take some time with this conversation, because you’ll want to be fully present and jot down notes. It’s a good one!

Connect with Scott @ emotionalhealingretreats.com, kulayogashala.com, instagram: @mysticmuse108

How do you build resilience? Please comment on the blog and instagram. www.audreysuttonmills.com

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I hosted a Soul School workshop last week in Seattle. The topic is my favorite thing to teach: how to quiet your #ittybittyshittycommittee.

Our inner critic loves to blame others and it never takes responsibility. One way you know youre in alignment with your ego is when you feel inferior or superior to someone else. You’re stuck in comparison or judgement.

What came up a lot during our workshop is how those who are closest to us trigger our inner critic the most, specifically how our parents trigger us.

Of course, as women are sharing how their parents are so annoying or don’t get it or trigger the crap out them, there was a mom and daughter in the room – but they were so awesome to show up together!

I know I can’t see you, but I mean, raise your hand if you have someone in your life that seems to deliberately trigger you? like your parent who know just what to say to shame you into feeling like you’re a bad child again? Or your partner who brings out resentment? Or your child who brings out the demon in you? Or that co-worker who knows just how to get under your skin?

Our relationships are direct portals to our wounds.

If we can view our triggers as our greatest teachers, we can then heal our inner world to affect our outer world.

Ironically, we are triggered by those we care about the most and are closest to. Although we love them, we have developed patterns of our thoughts and reactions.

One woman shared how her mom triggers her and asked: “How can I get her to stop triggering me?”

The real question to ponder is: “How can YOU take ownership of WHY YOU are feeling so triggered?

Her mom loves her and is probably not intentionally trying to cause harm, although it may feel like she is some times. Most likely they trigger each other.

Together, they have developed a pattern, where just one look, or an eye roll or one word triggers the other person into their reactive patterns of recycled thoughts and conditioned beliefs.

Breaking the reactive pattern starts with you. You have to be the one to bring consciousness to these unconscious patterns.

We all have those relationships in our life that can bring out the worst in us. We have developed conditioned patterns of reacting when triggered. It gets us nowhere.

The work is to watch and witness your thoughts. Most of our thoughts are recycled from our conditioned thinking.

We are triggered when the reality is not how we want it to be.

Your triggers are your greatest teachers. Invite them in.

When I feel in resentment, offended or hurt by someone or any kind of hot emotion, it’s an opportunity to turn inward, not lash outward.

Although we would love a carefree happy journey – doesn’t that sound lovely? the reality of life is you’re going to experience disappointment, heartbreak, you’ll have friction with others, and you’ll have set backs and challenges. This is life.

To try to avoid it just creates more suffering.

Anything that causes you to be in an emotional state is your spiritual teacher.

Become responsible of the way you think. Question your beliefs. Is this true? Is this really true? Or is this my perspective of what I believe to be true? What is real? Usually reality has no emotional charge.

We humans are what creates the emotional charge behind reality.

Taking responsibility for how you show up and changing your beliefs by watching your thought patterns lead to freedom.

Your external world is a reflection of your internal world.

Change your thoughts, change the result.

Change your actions, you inspire others to change.

And even if people around you don’t change, you change. And the beauty of that, is they don’t trigger you as much, because your internal world is at peace with what is.

Change always begins with you. You have the power to allow yourself to be triggered. You can let yourself be affected by your triggers and be upset and angry, or you can allow your triggers to be your teachers to show you where to heal old wounds and patterns, how to bring what is unconscious conscious and how you want to show up in the world from a place of openness, empathy and love.

Head over to the blog or IG for more soulful conversations: www.audreysuttonmills.com

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Okay, guys, I gotta warn you. If you have sensitive ears and easily get offended, this may not be the conversation for you. There are pretty much all cuss words, discussion of sex and vagina issues and the use of yoni eggs. Today’s conversation with intimacy alchemist, Cara Kovacs, is very colorful – like bright NEON colors, but so raw, real and enlightening!

So you maybe wondering why I have Cara on the podcast today? She is a third generation healer and an intimacy alchemist empowering people to have better sex lives, heal from old patterns and wounds, and cultivate radical self-love.

At the young age of 14 she knew she would be a sex and relationship therapist. Last year, she was named by Wanderlust as one of “35 People Under 35 To Watch In Wellness” as she combines modern science with ancient healing and spiritual philosophy to help bring people to truth through love.

Today on the podcast, we go deep into healing old wounds by looking at your story around body shaming and self-loathing and empower yourself by re-writing your story to create more self-love and intimacy:

Look at where you’re disconnected
Look at your stories and your history
Rewrite the narrative in a positive way that fits your needs to create radical self-love

Intimacy is a spiritual practice and requires trust, surrender, and clearing the narrative connection so you can reconnect to your deep inner wisdom of your body, feel empowered and celebrate your own unique magic.

Your body is normal. You are normal.

True self-love requires vulnerability, self-awareness, acceptance, and patience to examine your life lessons and make constant and conscious choices for your highest good BECAUSE you love yourself.

When you live from that place, you are unstoppable.

Check out Cara at https://www.carakovacs.com, at her events in person and online, hear her on her podcast and through personal coaching.

Head over to the blog to share your intimacy secrets: www.AudreySuttonMills.com

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When I die I want my legacy and what I’m known for is that I helped people, like you, quiet your itty-bitty-shitty-committee and courageously become who you want to be so you can live your most fulfilled life and love yourself unconditionally through your journey.

So, I’m going to guide you through an exercise that was given to me by my friend Scott Feinberg, that blew my socks off and honestly has been super helpful to quiet my inner critic and rewire my brain patterns.

We all have the itty-bitty-shitty-committee, and we’ve probably followed it was too often or at least entertained it’s stories far more than tuning into our True Self and heart.

When it shows up, we do all sorts of things to muzzle it, ignore it and try to get rid of it. But what you resist persists. That negative voice of doubt and scarcity get louder the more you try to silence it.

Imagine if you actually listened to your inner critic during every decision. You never questioned it. You always followed it’s advice: So, when it said, “You can’t do that” you didn’t. When it said you’re underserving of your dream, of love, of respect, success, you believed it.

Think about all of the ways the inner critic sabotages the very things you desire: “You can’t, you shouldn’t do this, you should’ve done that, you’re too old, you’re too young, you’re not smart, you don’t have the money, the time, resources, or support, you don’t deserve love, you’re unworthy, who are you to think you are, it’s already been done, you’re not enough.”

Envision the end of your life. What would have, or not have? What are the opportunities you missed because you were fearful of failure? What are the outcomes you didn’t receive because you were afraid of success? What about your relationships? How do you feel? who are you? what would you regret?

You followed that voice, every step. What do you have to show for it?

And guess what your inner critic says to you then? “You should’ve taken those risks. You should’ve lived your dreams. You’re not enough.”

This is a mind blowing experiment because it shows us how destructive listening and following the inner critic can be to our dreams and our self-worth. But, we listen to the inner critic far too often now. It’s undercurrent is fear. The Inner critic is the scardy cat frenemy, who wants to protect you, but it’s terrified. It’s fearful of failure. It’s fearful of success – what if it goes well, then what? So, it keeps you stuck.

Fear and excitement are different sides of the same coin. Physiologically, when you experience either, your breath may quicken or get short, your heartbeat gets faster, you may feel queasy or uneasy, your palms may sweat. Physically, they may feel the same, but it’s your perspective and your lens of how you view the experience that differs.

Fear paralyzes you. Excitement creates momentum.

So, what if we did the opposite of what we normally do? Instead of trying to push down and ignore the inner critic, you lean in. You listen to your scared overprotective friend. You hold space for it like it’s a scared child and try to understand where the fear is coming from. You don’t have to follow it’s advice, but you listen to it and give your inner critic a big hug.

Fear is your internal GPS guiding you to your biggest dreams and who you want to be.

So, the next time your inner critic starts to shout and be heard, pause, hold space for you listen to it’s fears. The more you resist, it persists. The inner critic usually makes blanket negative vague statements, which are super scary and undercuts you.

This time though, hold space to understand why your inner critic is so afraid and visualize if you didn’t take it’s advice and pursued your dream, what’s the worst outcome that could happen? It usually isn’t as bad as we make it in our head. Then, visualize the best outcome - you got everything you desired and dreamed of by pursuing your dream. Much more expansive and inspiring isn’t it!

Then envision, if you actually listened to all of the advice and followed the inner critic how empty and unfulfilled your life would be at the end. What’s the worst that could happen if you followed every fear-based advice? This outcome is much worse than either of the outcomes of following your dreams. And guess what, your inner critic would still be second guessing you, should-ing on you and telling you that you didn’t do enough.

So, why not go for it?

It’s going to take time to rewire your brain and your belief patterns from fear to excitement. You’ve been going down the same path. It’s worn and easy. It’s scary to carve out a new path. It will take work, effort, patience, tenacity, and resilience. You’re going to want to go back to that worn down path of least resistance, even if it’s uncomfortable.

Each time you become aware of your inner critic, be present to your fear, and make a choice to move from courage instead of fear, you lay down a new path to the life you desire and the person you want to become. This is the self-love and worthiness you deserve.

You have all of the answers within you. You are enough and you matter.

I would love to hear from you! Please visit www.AudreySuttonMills.com or my instagram (@blissfulaudrey) to connect!

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Meet Goldie Graham, yoga instructor, working momma and romantic. She and her husband, Brogan of November Project, have a special relationship where they have designed their partnership based on respect, mutual values and a lot of movement and play.

She shares how they grew stronger after their miscarriage and how knowing each other’s love languages, honoring what makes each other happy and making your own rules allows for meaningful connection and open communication.

Goldie offers us some golden nuggets to making your partnership enjoyable:

Your relationship is not always going to be golden, but it should be easy and fun most of the time.
Don’t worry about the things you can’t control. Don’t talk negatively about your partner. Don’t compare your relationship to others
Most importantly pick each other up and celebrate each other often!

I hope you enjoy these golden nuggets with Goldie Graham on today’s episode of Soul School

Some golden nuggets to creating your best relationship:

Never talk bad about your partner to family and friends – respect
Celebrate each other and look up to each other a lot!
Confrontation is good if done in a loving way
Have open, loving communication
Share similar morals and ethics
Listen to what makes your partner happy and honor that
Inspire each other
Live a full life together and individually
Ask for help and have a plan of what makes you happy
find connection and intimacy with your partner and have meaningful conversation at the appropriate time
don’t compare your relationship to others
Plan your intimacy and your date nights
Kiss a lot
Have a tune up a few times a year to check in with your relationship and a therapist
Know each other and make up your own rules

You can find Goldie at: www.GoldieYoga.com

Head over to the blog to add your Golden Nuggets to building a lasting relationship: www.AudreySuttonMills.com

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What does self-love look like? To me, in a nutshell self-love is about tuning into your heart and listening to it, honoring it and letting it be your inner compass.

So often we do the opposite. we listen to our itty-bitty-shitty-committee instead of our heart and Soul, and let fear and our Ego run the show.

In today’s episode, I’ll give you tools to quiet the inner critic and connect to your true Self. In addition, I’ll guide you through a habit for building your self-love muscle and give you a free journal for a dose of weekly self-love.

We all know the itty-bitty-shitty-committee. It’s our inner critic, our Ego that loves to criticize, judge and blame you. It keeps you stuck in a place of scarcity:

There is never enough. You don’t have enough. You are not good enough.

It often shows up through comparison, judgment, isolation (you’re the only one feeling this way) and negative self-talk.

You know you’re in alignment with your inner critic when you feel inferior or superior to someone or something.

In Dare to Lead Brene Brown shares the 4P’s of being in alignment with our Ego: We protect, pretend, prove or perform.

Just like we have the inner critic, we also have our True Self. Often our inner critic shouts and our True Self whispers. It’s important to get quiet enough to hear that whisper.

My friend Courtney Burg shares in Episode 75 that we all have a light within us. It’s always been there, but life covered it up. Imagine a light bulb that has been covered with newspaper so you can’t see the light shine through. That’s what life and our inner critic does to us.

Our work is to uncover that light.

That light is your True Self - the real you, your authentic self - your soul. Your True Self loves you unconditionally and doesn’t judge you. Your soul is present, graceful, compassionate, joyful, carefree, playful, passionate, energized, open, loving and knows it is part of something greater.

Your True Self has limitless potential and a powerful connection to the divine.

Abundance comes from the highest vibrational energy level of love, security, openness, and faith. Abundance is realizing that you are enough – that you are whole, present, deserving, grateful and lovable.

I’m sure you’ve had moments where you have felt connected to that place of abundance.

How can we cultivate more abundance and connection to ourselves?

It starts with loving ourselves. So, let’s get to the main topic of today’s podcast: SELF LOVE. It’s a trendy topic on social media and Pinterest, but do we really practice it and embody real self-love often enough?

The dictionary’s DEFINITION OF SELF LOVE is: (noun) regard for one's own well-being and happiness

I have to disagree. I don’t think self-love is JUST a noun. It’s a verb. It’s an action of fostering support of yourself, checking in and asking how are you doing, what do you need and attuning to your heart and honoring how to best support your well-being.

Self-love is the nurturing of your spirit.

My favorite quote from Byron Katie is “It’s not your job to like me…it’s MINE.”

So how do we turn down the volume of our inner critic and turn up the volume of our true self so we can experience more self-love instead of self-loathing, judgment and comparison?

At the beginning of this podcast, I promised I would show you tools to quiet your itty-bitty-shitty-committee and connect to your True Self. In my SOUL SCHOOL COURSE that launches in April 2020, I guide you to connect to your True Self through the 5 C’s

commitment (make small promises to yourself, and KEEP THEM to build self-worth and trust)
curiosity (rather than having to be right or a know it all, allow for curiosity instead. This lends to creativity instead of being right)
creativity (recreation is re-creation. Instead of comparison and judgment, allow for creativity and find your happy place that brings you back to your soul)
celebration (allow and receive it. Life is meant to be enjoyed.)
compassion (give yourself grace)

When you align with your inner critic and notice you’re proving, protecting, performing or perfecting, take a step back and try one of these 5 ways to connect back to yourself. Let me know how it goes for you too on instagram or my blog!

I also promised you some tools and a way to build your self-love muscle. One big way TO CREATE MORE SELF LOVE is through rituals, which are special, sacred acts you do for yourself that connect you deeper to what’s important to you.

I invite you to carve out time to create sacred rituals that connect to your heart and to yourself.

When you can get quiet and turn down the volume of the noise in your mind, you can tune into your heart, how you’re feeling, what you need and who you are.

Sacred rituals help ground you and connect you to your internal GPS to lead the way to how you want to feel and who you want to be.

Through rituals and attunement to your needs, your feelings and honoring exactly where you are, you become more at home with yourself, and know you are enough and this moment is enough. To me this is self-love.

I love Brene, and one of my favorite quotes is, “Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.”

Love is a noun, but it’s not the ultimate destination. Love is also a verb, a constant fostering of the connection to yourself. Give yourself the gift to build that self-love muscle through sacred rituals and quiet time.

I get it, you’re busy. It’s hard to carve out time for yourself. But if not now, when? You deserve at least 5 minutes a day to connect to yourself without distraction. Once you start, you won’t want to stop because it’ll feel so good to be with yourself, know yourself, and meet yourself exactly where you are now so you can listen to and honor yourself.

We all deserve to be seen, feel safe, be heard and be celebrated.

To help you on your self-love journey, I created the 52 week self-love journal, a free way to build your self-love muscle each week through journal prompts and create a sacred ritual to connect to your Soul. Each week, get quiet and reflect on how you’re feeling, what you need and receive some inspiration and celebration.

At the end of the 52 weeks of the self-love journal, you can reflect on your growth, your experiences, your lessons and how you have celebrated YOU!

Good news, you can start any time!

I hope through the 5 C’s of connecting to yourself and through the self-love journal or other rituals of your choice, you become aware of your itty-bitty-shitty committee and release your Ego’s judgment, criticism and scarcity mindset and connect to your True Self, your heart and Soul that knows you have gifts to share with this world, and wants you to love yourself unconditionally.

You deserve this sacred time to love and celebrate yourself.

Thanks for tuning in to SOUL SCHOOL with Audrey podcast. I always appreciate you listening, sharing and reviewing this podcast. Until next week, remember You are enough. You matter.

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Meet Courtney Burg who experienced her breakthrough transformation during rehab, basically on her honeymoon. Since then, she has transformed her pain into purpose sharing her writing and wisdom with the world.

Today we discuss how to set healthy boundaries so you can heal old wounds and release conditioned cycles, how to consciously parent and reparent yourself and how to get in tune with yourself so you can love yourself and know you are enough.

Courtney reminds us that we all have a light within us that has always been there, but it gets dimmed and covered by life. It’s our job to unveil that light and share it with the world.

We are all alike. Our pain is universal. Our healing is universal. “It’s going to be messy before it gets beautiful”

I learned so much about rewiring our brains and creating habits for more self love and consciousness. I know you’ll be inspired too. Please head to my blog and follow me on instagram where I’ll share more nuggets of Courtney’s wisdom. And as always, thank you for being here, subscribing and reviewing this podcast. Welcome to soul school

www.audreysuttonmills.com

https://www.mombojombo.org/

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I’m gonna tell you a story about myself that I’m really ashamed of. I’m afraid you’ll judge me and look down on me. I already beat myself up enough about it and I came to the realization that it’s important to share our scars and be vulnerable so we can heal together.

We’ve all allowed our emotions to run away with us, sometimes so much, it causes shame and regret.

In the moment, it’s human nature to not want to feel negative emotions, pain or shame, so we do all sorts of things to try to get rid of these feelings that we don’t want to experience.

I invite you to invite them in and be grateful for these heavy emotions and feelings. They are your own special gurus, showing up exactly at the right time to teach you what you need to ground you back to your Soul.

So, here’s my story, but I warn you, I’m super embarrassed and ashamed of it. It’s beyond stupid and extremely petty, and just thinking about it makes me feel like a schmuck.

But this is real life stuff that we stress over. Often the matter that occupies our minds are trivial, negative and makes no rational sense.

On that night where my mind was going in a million directions, I had to invite my jealousy and shame to learn from them.

I came across an old friend on instagram and she had 60,000+ followers. Instead of feeling happy for her, I immediately felt hot with jealousy and comparison. How did she go from having a few hundred followers to having 60,000 followers in 6 months? Yup, I warned ya, very petty.

After a range of emotions: jealousy, insecurity, judgement, comparison and guilt, then shame showed up at the end of my turbulent cycle in my mind to really stick it to me and make me feel like crap. Instead of being happy for her, I was upset. By. The. Number. Of. Followers?!…how small and unimportant! I was embarrassed for even feeling this way and wasting so much mental energy on a lame topic.

Shame beats us up and kicks our ass like no other. I felt shame for being so insecure and jealous. I felt like a loser for being upset about something so insignificant. I felt like a bad friend. A bad person. Comparing myself to her made me feel disappointed in myself. I felt like an ungrateful failure. I should know better than to feel so begrudging. More shame.

The truth is, her content is really good! She’s sharing knowledge about boundaries and parenting and she’s changing people’s lives for the better. In fact, you’ll get to meet Courtney Burg next week on the podcast. She’s amazing! (We even talk about my jealousy).

I tried to rationalize my feelings. I was proud of her and happy for her for success, so why was I so jealous at the same time? I didn’t want to feel this way.

We used to be really good friends and would talk about inspirational books we read or the latest Super Soul Sunday episode and how we wanted to be Oprah and influence the world.

She was doing it. I was not.

At least this was the story in my head.

Obviously, you’re here reading this, and I’m so grateful you’re with me this far. But that’s the silly thing about our mind. It can run wild and crazy with destructive, irrational thoughts. Have you been there too?

The harder I tried to push away the feelings, the louder they got.

I ping ponged this story and beat myself up until I looked at the clock and it was 3:45am! I had to be up in a few hours and had been on a hamster wheel replaying this story for 3 hours letting these toxic thoughts steel my sleep. I got sick the next morning.

So, how do we quiet the chatter when we’re in the middle of a boiling pot of emotions?

I had to get still. Even meditation didn’t help. The emotions were too intense. I channeled my dad who was my biggest advocate and gave the best guidance. I asked for an intervention in my chaotic mind.

When I finally connected to my breath and slowed down my heart, I heard his voice, “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. We all have gifts. Come from abundance and you’ll receive abundance.”

It was the perfect advice.

You have no control over your thoughts and emotions. They will come and go.

Instead of pushing them away, allow yourself to experience ALL emotions and thoughts. It’s how you react to them that matters. The good news is, this is under your control.

As a new mom, I think about how I’m going to talk to Hunter when she’s jealous of someone or when she feels bad about herself. Just like I would teach her, I’m also learning to treat myself with love, kindness and grace.

The way we would want to be treated, is also how we need to treat our emotions. Not something to be ashamed of, but see them with love, kindness and grace.

Here’s a simple way to sit with your emotions without letting them get the best of you. It’s simple, but not easy. It is a practice that has to be done constantly whenever you’re triggered. When you fall off (and you will because you’re human) and your emotions run away with you, come back to grace. You can always start again. That’s the practice.

AWARENESS: Be aware of the emotion without getting caught in the drama. Come into the present moment by being present with your feelings. Refrain from Rumination. Put your hand on your heart and label the emotion you’re feeling. Usually your trigger is something to do with what you want or don’t want. Witness what you’re resisting.
BREATHE: Breathe deeply for 5 intentional breaths and feel your heart.
BE WITH THE EMOTION: Witness the sensation and hold space around it. Instead of letting the story boil with hot sensation, be in the simmer of the feelings. After a while of deep breathing, that sensation will soften. Even just sitting with it for a few seconds is a big win. Pema Chodron, author of Living Beautifully tells us to repeat, “This is my experience right now, and it’s okay.” Then go through into the next moment without any agenda.

I’m not proud of this story. It’s petty and embarrassing and I’m really ashamed of myself. But I share it with you to show you my scars, so we can heal together. All of our emotions are valid.

The work is to love your whole self and learn tools to become your highest self. When you fall out of alignment with your higher self, come back to grace instead of judgment.

You’re not supposed to be perfect. You are perfectly flawed and fabulous. You don’t have to become something you’re not. Just become more of yourself.

It’s all about coming back to this moment. In this moment you can change.

Welcome your emotions. All of your emotions, not just the ones you like. They are your personal gurus to help ground you back to your truth. You are enough. You matter. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Let's talk more about it on instagram and my blog!

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It’s the new year, a new decade, and I bet you have some major goals. Well, Jacki Carr, is the perfect goal coach to help you reach your loftiest goals. She is the Goddess of goal setting, master connector and all around amazing human!

Jacki wears a lot of hats: she’s a public speaker and a wife, mom and entrepreneur, a space holder, a vision holder, a goal holder, cheerleader, and a truth teller. Plus she’s incredibly funny. She is the co-founder of Rock Your Bliss and founder of GoalSpeak, her online public speaking program.

Jacki helps women through her programs:

Goal Coaching helping women entrepreneurs
Legacy design: you why, vision and goals
Cycles of Success
Goals Hikes to build community
7 weeks to Bliss – cultivating and crafting your bliss
podcast Rock your Bliss
Core Values
GoalSPEAK: we talk on the inspiration of her new program GoalSPEAK.

A big nugget I got from our conversation is that you are the CEO of your life. You decide how you want to show up. Literally, Jacki to ok a CEO day to get create her vision and set goals – Genius!

She shares with us how to define your core values and your why, so you can live them instead of living someone else’s values and encourages us to show up with full presence and full potency to create your Legacy with your thoughts, words and actions now. In this moment.

Today on the podcast we talk about Legacy Design, imposter syndrome, how to show up fully and create the life you want to live, conscious calendaring, and how to be in flow state of operating from courage and possibility instead of fear and self-doubt.

She is hilarious, inspiring, and so dang truthful. I hope you enjoy our conversation and find inspiration for yourself. Please share your thoughts and your goals on the blog and on instagram, and as always, thanks so much for being here, sharing your reviews and subscribing. Let’s dive in!

You can find Jacki at www.jackicarr.com

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Here we are, a new year, with new resolutions. Did you know that Research shows about 60 percent of us make New Year's resolutions but only about 8 percent are successful in achieving them. That’s horrible results.

I’ve been there too many times. I set a goal, and about 3 weeks into it, I’ve failed. Because I failed to keep my promise to myself, then I feel like a failure. It’s not a healthy way to start the new year.

I’m not a goal coach, and goals are important! They’re the roadmap to how to get to where you want to be. If you love goal setting, you have to listen to next week’s episode with the ultimate goal coach, Jacki Carr of GoalSPEAK. She will help you get motivated, lay out a clear plan and stay motivated and excited to reach and achieve your biggest goals.

Maybe it’s the hippie empath in me, but I’ve found that tuning into my feelings, rather than resolutions, speak more to my heart, help lead me to my goals and tether me to how I want to live my life every day.

We’re coming into a new decade. A very powerful decade. 2020 baby!

It’s time to really come home to yourself and step into the person you want to be.

This is not another year to set goals and break your promise to yourself. This is a time to set your intention of how you want to feel, live that feeling each day and let that feeling be your GPS guiding you to your goals and dreams.

Usually we set a goal not because of the end result, but because of how it makes us feel.

Focusing on intention and feeling rather than a just getting to the goal usually is stronger and successful because it’s deeply ingrained in your motivation. For example, the goal of losing weight to get into your skinny jeans is not as powerful if you don’t tap into the feeling behind the goal. I had been wanting to give up caffeine for years. I tried and always failed about a week into it. Being healthy wasn’t a big motivator for me. The WHY wasn’t strong enough. But after going through a miscarriage, a partial molar pregnancy and a cancer scare with two D&Cs and a recovery time of 11 months, the moment we found out we were cleared to start trying again for a baby was the day I quit caffeine cold turkey. How did I go from 2 cups of coffee a day to nada? My WHY was strong. I wanted to have a baby! The feeling of being healthy so that I could get pregnant was a huge motivator to help me reach one of my biggest goals of becoming a mother.

When you can get really clear on your WHY, the intention, the feeling behind your goal, then you can faithfully take steps to get there and know that that goal is in alignment with really where you want to be. And the right steps will present themselves when you’re in alignment with your True Self - not the goals that sounds good on paper, but the goals or next actions that really light you up and fuel your spirit.

You know that saying “our thoughts drive our behavior?” Well I believe our feelings drive our behavior. Let me explain. Our feelings are tied to our beliefs. Marie Forleo says our beliefs are something we hold true, even if they’re not. Beliefs are very powerful! Feelings are the undercurrent of our beliefs. Then our beliefs drive our thoughts which drive our actions.

It all starts with a feeling. Sometimes it can be hard to change a belief about ourselves, because we’ve spent decades reinforcing it with our thoughts. Begin to change your beliefs and patterns by focusing on a feeling – the why.

So the question is, How do you want to feel this upcoming year?

Today, I’ll guide you through 5 questions to tap into how you want to feel and let this intention of feeling this way through 2020 be your guide to how you can live this feeling every day.

I invite you to get quiet and join me in on a guided meditation/ and journaling exercise. Grab a pen and your favorite journal and let’s get started. {Guided meditation + place hand on heart}

Here are 5 steps to come home to yourself and how you want to feel this year.

The first 3 steps are borrowed from my favorite coach, Marie Forleo from her decade in review challenge. There is a link in the show notes to her 2 videos. Typically, I review the past year and set goals for the upcoming year.

The last steps are from my signature program Soul School launching in April, providing you tools and techniques to help ground you back to your Soul and who you are meant to be. It’s about diving in deep, doing the work and coming home to yourself and how you want to feel every day. It’s about looking about your beliefs, how they hold you back and restructuring your beliefs so you become your biggest advocate and best friend.

Change your beliefs. Change your life.

Today is not about setting goals. It’s about getting clear of how you want to feel and creating a vow and promise to yourself with ways to get there – every day.

There’s a powerful quote, “People overestimate what can be done in one year, and underestimate what can be done in ten.”

Looking back on the past decade:

What are you most proud of and why?
What are your biggest lessons?

The challenging times are where you learn the biggest TRUTHS about yourself. I bet when you write down your lessons, you will have so many empowering nuggets of wisdom and advice to yourself. You are wiser than you give yourself credit!

3. What are you willing to release?

goals or projects you’ve had on your To Do list for far too long
resentments and emotional baggage
habits or beliefs that don’t serve you

4. How do you want to feel? Create your 1-3 Soul Feelings
Brainstorm: this is how we feel when we are deeply connected to ourselves. This is not how you think you should feel. get quiet from your mind and tune into your heart. How do YOU want to feel? this is totally just for you and will only make sense to you. You may have felt glimpses of this feeling or this may be an aspirational feeling you desire to feel or maybe you see another person who embodies this feeling. If you can imagine it or see this feeling in others, then it exists in you too. Take a big pause, breathe deeply, and place your hands on your heart: how do I want to feel? you may even say: I want to feel the opposite of what I’m feeling right now. write down as many feelings as possible. How does your heart want to feel? How do you want to feel?

Pick 1-3 Soul Feelings and create your VOW: I want to feel: 1, 2, 3…

5. Brainstorm you SOUL ANCHORS: What do you need to do to stay connected to those feelings?

So, now that you know how you want to feel and a bunch of ways to get you there, each day ask yourself, what do I need now to be in alignment with how I want to feel? Get quiet and tune into your heart and let your Soul speak and lead the way to the activities and thoughts that support you. It’s this sacred practice of coming home to yourself every day that will bridge the gap of how you currently feel and get you to how you want to feel. These small daily wins help you feel good and feeling good keeps you motivated and hopeful.

When you are full, inspired and believe in yourself, you are more likely to be in alignment with achieving your biggest and loftiest goals.

Goals that are based from a deep feeling are grounded in your truth. Having a strong why is what gets you to accomplish your biggest dreams. Feeling a certain way leads you to change patterns and believe in yourself. Rather than focus on an outcome, be present to how you want to feel each day. When you feel good, it’s easier to keep promises to yourself. Your Feelings create change that is lasting.

Living your soul feelings will help you create pockets of daily moments you can come home to yourself, and weaving these little moments each day lead to a fulfilled and joyful life.

There are so many great ways to start your new year: Goal Setting, Vision Boards, Year in Review, visualizations etc. I hope you find this way of declaring your Soul Feelings and attuning to them each day, just one path to connecting to your Truth: that you are enough and you matter.

You have gifts to share with this world, my friend. So, together, this year is your year. Let’s unearth your gifts, shed limited beliefs and help you step into how you want to feel. When you feel good, alive, empowered, loved, enough you can conquer anything!

I am so honored to be your friend and guide you to believe and love yourself, know you are deserving and help step into the person you want to be.

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I sat at my dad’s tombstone balling my eyes out like a baby (cue super ugly cry). Outloud, I poured out my fears, insecurities and doubts to him.

I miss him.

My dad was my best friend.

He was my greatest teacher and my biggest cheerleader. He was the one I went to for advice. He passed away almost a year ago, just 2 weeks before my baby was born.

It’s been hard to raise a baby … and myself.

A few weeks ago, I went to see Marie Forleo and Amy Purdy at her live book launch, and Marie said, “Not everything is fixable, but everything is figureoutable.”

Death is something out of our control and is not fixable.

But Life IS figureoutable.

As I poured out my insecurities and fears outloud to him, I heard his voice clearly, “I may not be with you, but you have the answers within you. I am here.”

Even though he’s not here in flesh, I heard his wisdom clearly:

Stay in your lane

Stop worrying about others or comparing yourself to other peoples’ successes. Be happy for them. You have your own gifts to share. Focus on that.

Service > popularity

Let go of trying to be popular and liked. Be yourself and speak from your heart. Focus on providing quality content that comes from your heart, and you’ll always be proud of yourself for showing up authentically.

Inspire yourself

When you feel stuck, inspire yourself - learn something new, read, move your body, breathe. There is inspiration out there if you look. Feel inspired by doing the things that inspire you.

Be gentle and enjoy

You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be in your journey. You may not be able to see the finish line now. Pick up your head, look around. Look at the path you’ve created and smile. Enjoy THIS moment.

Although he is gone, I still hear his whispers of wisdom that guides me.

This was on my mind, so I thought I would share this special moment. Hopefully some of his words resonates with you too and helps you today wherever you’re at on your journey.

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Last week, I shared that I was feeling low, stuck and uninspired. Our #ittybittyshittycommittee brainwashes us with repetitive dialogue that is often negative and vague. Listening to it just perpetuates fear.

Although it’s healthy to feel heavy feelings, it’s unhealthy to dwell in those feelings, looping you into a story that shapes your beliefs and actions (or in my case my inaction).

I was paralized with debilitating comparison, doubt and anxiety. I’m talking jealousy, bitterness, self-sabotage - low level stuff!

I’m completely stretching out of my comfort zone to create my SOUL SCHOOL online course. I’m pouring my heart and soul into this program and, honestly, I’m fearful no one will want it and I’ll be a failure.

By getting quiet, I realized the ONE thing I could do to pull myself out of the dark hole of feeling the overwhelming anxiety was to take ACTION.

...any action.

If we don’t take some form of action, we stay stuck in victimhood. The Fear beats us down, until we believe it. The inner critic wins.

Digging deeper into my heart, I know with every bone and cell in my body that this program will change lives, guide people to create their legacy and help shape them into the person they are meant to me. This is what I’m meant to do is to serve and be that messenger to guide people their answers within them.

THAT! That’s a way better motivator than being afraid to look stupid.

So, I took action.

Fear loses.

Through action, we create momentum to move away from our doubts, fears, and judgement.

Action propels you into positive energy that carries you to the next step … and the next step … far, far away from fear.

How do you move through FEAR?

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What were you doing when you were 14 years-old? At 14, Mimi Ausland was already living her purpose of making an impact on homeless animals with her company freekibble.com which helped feed over 14 Million homeless animals.

Now at 23, she had the courage to leave college her sophomore year, move to Santa Monica to follow her passion of helping save our oceans and environment by founding FreeTheOcean.com, a click-to-give website to create a free, fun and easy way to make a daily and tangible difference in in our oceans with the 19 billion pounds of plastic pollution.

“The greatest threat to our planet is someone else will save it.”

Mimi believes that small actions lead to a big impact

Combining her childhood love of trivia with her value of giving back, every time you play their daily trivia question on FreeTheOcean.com, you’re helping fund the removal of a piece of plastic from the ocean and coastlines and you’ll learn something new and have fun while doing it!

In just one month of starting her company, FreeTheOcean.com has removed 580,000 pieces of plastic!

I hope today’s conversation inspires you to tap into your childhood passions and have the tenacity to know you can do anything you desire – one small action leads to a big impact.

https://www.freetheocean.com

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Perfection is boring. . . not to mention EXHAUSTING!

Embrace your flaws.

We may have failures, but we ARE NOT failures.

You are FLAWesome!

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With divine timing it’s the Autumn Equinox, where there is equal light and dark hours and the new moon creating a potent time to go inward and look at both light and dark areas of life, shed layers of habits and limited beliefs that aren’t serving you and cultivate new beliefs and visions that do.

This exercise is a dynamic time to hold your dark and light aspects equally in one hand so you can learn from both.

Normally, we do our goal setting in January, but with the change of seasons, it’s a good time to check in and see what you’re currently delighting in and what you’re struggling with.

Please listen to the previous episode before starting this meditation EP 66 to clear away any mind chatter so you can tune into the whisper of your heart and soul, the internal GPS that guides you to your truth. Let yourself free flow write without any commentary.

You have all of the answers within you.

Download the FREE Manifestation Journal Exercise PDF HERE

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This exercise is a dynamic time to hold your dark and light aspects equally in one hand so you can learn from both.

Normally, we do our goal setting in January, but with the change of seasons, it’s a good time to check in and see what you’re currently delighting in and what you’re struggling with.

Please listen to the guided meditation EP 67 to clear away any mind chatter so you can tune into the whisper of your heart and soul, the internal GPS that guides you to your truth. Let yourself free flow write without any commentary.

You have all of the answers within you.

Download the FREE Manifestation Journal Exercise PDF at www.YourBlissfulSoul.com

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How often have you said something that blurted out of your mouth that you didn’t mean to say, or said something hurtful as a knee jerk reaction because you were hurt, or gossiped when you’re not a gossiper, or said something judgmental only to feel shameful that you said it.

With so many outlets to voice yourself these days, and sometimes anonymously voice your opinions, we can say and do things from an unconscious place.

I talk a lot about mindfulness on this podcast, but isn’t everything that we’re striving for deeper connection to others and to ourselves, honest conversations, meaningful relationships, and more purpose in our lives all require mindfulness?

This week’s Mantra Monday is an easy acronym to help bring more mindfulness into every you say and do. The acronym is to THINK before you say or act. Ask yourself these questions:

T is it thoughtful?

H is it helpful?

I is it inspiring?

N is it necessary?

K is it kind?

T is it thoughtful? Is it truthful? Are you coming from an honest and loving place?

H is it helpful? What is the intention behind your words and actions? Is it for the other person’s benefit or just for you?

I is it inspiring? Not everything you say or do will be inspiring, but you lead by example. Are you living your values of who you want to be?

N is it necessary? I’ve caught myself saying things that really are extra, unnecessary, and can convolute the conversation. I do this a lot with my husband. Sometimes I include way too many details that are unnecessary, and then I see his eyes glaze over and I know I’ve lost him. I’m working on being more clear and concise so that people will listen and know exactly what I’m talking about. Sometimes we say things that just aren’t very necessary.

K is it kind? When I was pregnant, my husband, Jake and I had the conversation of how we wanted to raise our daughter and the values we wanted to instill in our family life. Being kind was top on our list. Above anything else. Kindness will take you a long way in life. authentic kindness makes people feel seen and heard.

When practicing the acronym THINK this week, you may not get to all 5 of the questions each time you say or do something, but even being more mindful of one of them will help guide your conversations and your actions to be more in line with your conscious and higher self.

I’d love to hear from you. Please share with me how do you bring more mindfulness into your daily life?

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EP 64: Be The Light

My friend, Cameasha is one of the people who always exude a positive light. Her light is real, not just a mask of positivity or affirmations. It’s in her DNA, her beliefs and values to always be the light. It’s her mantra that she lives every day.

So, I’m adopting it this week and I invite you to too.

We live in a world that’s so divided. We’re busy and stressed. We’re unconsciously reacting. You can’t depend on other people to be the light. YOU HAVE to be the light.

What does being the light look like? Gandhi said “Be the Change you wish to see in the world.” It all starts with you.

What if you worked on improving yourself without expectations of others? Often times, we change ourselves, but don’t let go of expectations of others and get frustrated that nothing is changing. Like “we changed, now you change too. I’m positive, but it didn’t work on this person. I’m doing the work, now you be conscious too.”

That’s not being the light. That’s being manipulative.

You don’t know what other people are going through. They may not have the conscious tools like you do to be more mindful and kind. What you say and do may make all the difference in another person’s day, without you even knowing it.

You’re going to put effort in your day, so why not put effort in being the light, especially in those dark circumstances. Also, Life becomes really nice when you don’t let others affect you. it’s nicer to be in an abundant state and know you have control of yourself, and not others. You don’t take on their shit.

Being the light is subtle. When you work on your own awakening, without needing to control external things like the result or a person, your perspective expands and your heart softens. You can see that really being the light is being in a pure state of love without putting your crap onto someone else or taking on their crap. You can be compassionate, encouraging, forgiving, kind without the blame, shame or keeping score.

There is something magical that just works when you let go of your expectations of changing yourself to change others. You’re in the flow. You are the change you wish to see in the world. You are the light.

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Falesha A. Johnson is a woman of many hats. She was a 2x all American at the University of Washington, and has used her track and field collegiate and professional experience to create Felite Performance, a fitness company, that focuses on training youth and adult athletes.

When she’s not training, she’s a full-time fundraiser for UW and a public speaker striving to build confidence and leadership skills.

It was so great to talk to her because we both had a revelation – the same advice we would give to our younger self is the same advice we give to ourselves today: I can. I will. I am deserving.

You deserve to be here too.

So, how do you find your purpose, get over fear and lead with authenticity? Find out on today's episode!

Some words of wisdom from Falesha:

You can only build your confidence when you allow yourself to be exactly who you are
You belong here and are deserving
Say YES to opportunities to grow.
There’s something to learn from failure.
Pay it forward and make a difference.
Find your purpose by aligning with your values
Slow things down, spend more energy on what brings you joy & run towards fear
Find the good in things
You can only build your confidence when you allow yourself to be exactly who you are

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If it’s not gonna matter in 5 years, don’t spend more than 5 minutes upset by it

We have 50,000-70,000 thoughts a day. Typically, they’re somewhere else other than in the present moment.

How often do you ruminate and turn over a story?

How much time and energy and your spending holding onto a story, a grudge, resentment, anger, guilt, shame, or worrying about something, turning over an outcome that already happened or may not even happen, or recycling that story about that person who wronged you, or didn’t love you or didn’t do what you would’ve done.

Instead where could you redirect that energy that would more useful to you? even if it’s just creating some space to allow for creativity or peace. Or maybe some positive thoughts to build more self-love and create balance in your life?

I know, this mindfulness stuff is hard work. It’s effort. You’re already spending your effort somewhere, so is that effort beneficial to you?

This week’s mantra Monday is: If it’s not gonna matter in 5 years, don’t spend more than 5 minutes upset by it.

Let me know how this has changed your perspective. I know this has totally shifted mine!

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Our mind’s job is to stay busy. To protect. To analyze. To make sense of things

But when our mind runs wild, it can take us into places that aren’t good for us.

Byron Katie says, there's “Your Business, Other People’s Business and God’s Business.”

Our Ego loves to be right, so it compares us to others. We judge others, we worry about others – their opinions, their actions. How they wronged us, how this person should do something different than what we want, worrying over someone and their choices. We have no control over other people. These stories of others play over and over in our head exhausting our energy. It’s Wasted time of energy. Makes us small.

When I tell someone “I just want you to be happy, you should do this, I wish He was like this, I care about you that why I tell you should do X,” this is me getting into someone else’s business.

Gossiping about someone is an obvious way we are getting into someone else’s business. It’s low level energy and does absolutely nothing for our soul. In fact, it depletes it with judgement, negativity and smallness. But even sharing information about someone else’s life is a way, our minds keep us busy. I used to talk about other people because I didn’t think I had much to share about myself and it made me feel important that I knew what was going on with other people’s lives. It’s not productive or important. I have no control over it.

We worry about things that are in God’s hands – call it source, the universe – things like the weather, catastrophes, life and death. Things we have no control over. We spend our energy on these things and they actually can sway our feelings and moods. Think about it: the weather is rainy, so it ruins your day. YOUR day? Or you get angry over a catastrophe and let your mind ruminate over it for days. Or the injustice of something that is completely out of your control.

While it’s good to feel your feelings, worrying about anything that you don’t have direct control over is futile. It causes conflict in your mind. It keeps you stuck in business that is exhausting.

The only thing we have control over is ourselves. Our thoughts, actions, words. When you focus your energy on what YOU do have control over, life shifts and your perspective changes.

You no longer need to feel in resistance to what’s going on in life. you can feel, accept and let go. You no longer need to feel like a victim, because you know you have the power of your thoughts, choice and actions. You no longer need to hold on to resentments and judgement. You can be free to let people be who they are, and you focus on you.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty liberating! I’ve let other people, my grudges, opinions, the weather, outside circumstances control me, because I’ve been trying to control it.

The Invitation this week is to notice when your mind drifts to putting in energy somewhere that you don’t have any control. Check in with yourself and see if this is a good place for your energy. Is it the most productive and healthy place to spend your thought?

Redirect it to only things you have control over. This will help refocus your mind from mindless chatter, what ifs, worry, fear and comparison. It will help you step into your authentic power of what you DO have control over. This is ultimate power, this is ultimate love, this ultimate living in the present moment.

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As a mom, I feel the tug of comparison all around me: comparing my baby’s progress to others, judging how I am as a mom and worrying if I’m doing things right, feeling judged by other moms, and sometime even judging those moms.

Judgement keeps us separate from each other and from ourselves.

It’s not just motherhood though – it’s every aspect of our life that our ego wants to compare and judge. Whether it’s in your career and business life, your role as a partner or parent, or just plain being HUMAN, our ego compares + competes + judges.

The #ittybittyshittycommittee can shout so loud and compare you to others dragging you down into a scarcity mindset.

Comparison shows up when you’re not being present to the good that’s in front of you.

It’s only through mindfulness of your inner critic that you return to your truth.

That “voice” doesn’t matter.

It’s just chatter that’s keeping you stuck in a loop that’s not good for you.

You are doing enough. You are enough.

Forget comparison and start celebrating – all that is working in your life – all that is good – all that you are.

Head over to the SHOW NOTES to leave a comment :)

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EP 59: Let go of your Kung-Fu Grip

Expectation is the root of all heartache – William Shakespeare

Want something so badly, you force It and squeeze it to death. Have you been there? I have too. In our relationships, in our expectations of others, in the outcome, and our desires. We squeeze it to death.

So how do you let go of your kung fu grip and detach from something you really want?

Our dreams, our identities, our ambitions, our relationships are often cocoons that lead us to the next. The cocoon has served its purpose. We get so understandably attached and get in conflict when it breaks or falls away, that we don’t see what it opens us to.

It’s a practice to Surrender control.

Set your intention. The key ingredient is to detach. Let go control. And most important have fun with it. Be at ease with it. When you can soften your grip and see what flows to you with an open mind, you will find that sweet balance between effort and ease and get in the flow with the universe rather than against it.

This may sound easy for something you don’t really want or need, but what if it’s something you want badly? Like a relationship? With THAT person? You and I’ve been there before. We meet someone. It’s instant fireworks. You start planning your wedding and names for your children. But then he starts to pull away. The feeling someone is falling out of like with you suckkkkks! Instead of shrugging your shoulders and saying “man, that’s a bummer. If not this relationship, then it’s opening doors for something better.” Your ego is saying “NO, this HAS to work out. we are meant for each other,” and starts to do all sorts of things to control the situation and the person. You may even convince him to stay – for a little while longer, but eventually fate will win.

Or you try to control an outcome. You outline what you want, when you want it and how exactly you want it to be delivered to you. But, you see, the universe has plans for you. it still may be that plan, but may be a different timing. Or not. Controlling keeps you from experiencing that moment as it is and keeps you separate from joy. Even if you received some of what you wanted, you may be disappointed when it doesn’t work out exactly as you wanted. You will miss the gifts the universe is giving to you.

The ego feels good when it feels like it’s in control. The things is, we aren’t in control of outcomes or people. Although it may feel good to have a projected outcome and feel in control, it doesn’t feel good trying to paste things together when they’re meant to fall apart. Or forcing something to happen, and missing the joy in the process.

The only thing you have control over is yourself – your thoughts, your emotions and your actions and words.

We’re always holding on to something – holding on to a relationship, controlling a person or an outcome, or even holding on to a certain belief or retelling a story that limits you.

Whatever it is you’re holding so tightly to, what would happen if you released it? If you were truly free from the attachment of how and when you wanted it to work out for you? it’s hard work. It takes practice to let go and stay open. It takes vulnerability. It requires you to befriend uncertainty and that you have Faith that you are experiencing what you are supposed to be experiencing right now.

By letting go, you would be free to experience what was meant for you. Not who or what you were holding onto, but what and who are really supposed to be in your life. instead of resisting the flow of Life, you will be with the flow of the Universe.

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What would happen if you said NO for 2-days?

I got so many responses from the last Mantra Monday! Apparently, we are all nice people and people pleasers!

Hopefully saying no to the things that don’t light you up, are not crucial and no to the people who drain you has helped put perspective on how important you and your time are.

It’s not a selfish thing to say no. I used to think that too. In fact, it’s pretty selfless because when you do say yes, you show up fully present to that person or that situation with your cup full.

I felt so good with last week’s mantra Monday on carefully guarding my time and prioritizing it, that I went a step further. Inspired by Tim Ferris, I said NO for 2 whole days! It’s harder than it sounds!

Obviously, if you have a boss and are working, you can’t say no – at least to everything. Of course, you’ll have to say yes to some things, but just make sure it’s really important – like crucial tasks that you must do or meetings you have to attend.

Think about it, how often do you take meeting when you don’t really need to be there, or stay on a call too long, or hang out with your neighbor when she depletes you, or say yes to a task and then resent yourself for saying yes to it in the first place. Because you said YES to other people and other tasks, they are now constricting your time, forcing you to feel stressed and be busy multitasking, or even worse, you now have to forgo the most important things in your life.

So, I said no. NO, especially to the things I did not want to do or at least the things that did not need to happen in those 2 days. That was easy.

The hard part was saying no to the things I really wanted to do, like hang with friends. Why did I do this? Because frankly, I have no discipline. Typically, I play first, then work second. You know that research experiment where they give a child 1 cookie and tell them that if they wait for 10 minutes, they can have another cookie? If you don’t know this experiment, please Youtube it, because it’s the funniest thing ever – watching kids sit on their hands and roll their eyes trying not to eat the cookie. The point behind the experiment is that it can foresee who is going to be successful through their willpower and discipline. I have no willpower – remember, my alter-ego, fat kid Freddy? Hence, the play first, work second.

So, this was actually really hard but really good for me to do. But, in those 2 days of saying no, I got so much done. And guess what? None of my friends noticed or were upset by it (hello my people pleaser syndrome). I just pushed it off to a time the following week that worked for me. And it also worked for them. Win-win. No resentment or added stress.

The most important gift I received from saying NO was SPACE. There was so much space! Space to get what I really needed to get done, space for me to say yes to people and events that I may have needed to say no to because my schedule was full, space for me to do my self-care on my pelvic floor, my neck, space to do some yoga everyday, space to be present to Hunter and my husband, space for me to journal, space … space. For possibilities.

We say we have no time, but we may be poor at managing it. When you can say no, you receive space. Space to do whatever you want! You can choose. This is the best part!

I haven’t felt space for a long time. and it’s totally my fault.

So wanna try it with me? 2-days seems like an eternity, but it’s great to get you in the practice of saying no. you don’t need to answer every call, or text or check your email now. You also don’t have to be mean about it. You can say “Hmm, that sounds like so much fun, but I can’t today, how about next week? Or I would love to hop in that meeting tomorrow, but I’m pretty busy this week, can you send me an email so we can get your issues answered as soon as possible for you? SPACE!

It’s amazing how much space you’ll have just by saying no. it’s just 2 days. In that space take time for yourself. Check off those things that have been on your list for months (or years!), really have self-care (not some rushed version of it), and spend time doing the things you love with the people you love. That’s what life is really all about isn’t it? We have a finite time here on earth. Spend it where it feeds your soul as much as possible.

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Our most valuable asset is time. we often don’t guard it like the precious commodity it is. We give it away freely, and then say we don’t have enough time, or we’re just too busy to get the things that are most important to us done.

I’m super guilty of this. I’m a total people pleaser, and I’m an optimist thinking I can really get it all done in the time I have.

When I say yes to something, I’m also saying no to many other things. Things I may really enjoy better. Things I may need to do that are important for my business. Things that may deepen my relationships. Things that may be good for my body and spirit.

Are the things we say yes to more important than the things we unconsciously say no to? That’s what we’re exploring today.

In today’s mantra Monday, my invitation is to take a moment to look at your week. Are ALL of the things you said yes to important – are they crucial for your personal growth, your health and wellbeing, are they important because they’re strengthening your relationships that are most important to you, are they moving the ball forward in your business?

When I did this exercise, I found over 2 dozen things I was doing this week that were not important. When I looked at what I could’ve been doing (or should’ve been doing) instead, it really put things into perspective.

Just yesterday, for example, I cut a podcast, but really needed to get more done off my list because I had a babysitter – that’s golden time! Instead, I chose to go to 3 different stores looking for pots for my plants. Something I did not plan on doing, but took several hours – precious hours! I washed my car, paid some bills, took out the trash, checked instagram 3 times, email 6 times, hopped on an impromptu meeting call that could have waited, and looked online for shoes for an upcoming wedding. These are not important tasks. I will get to them eventually, but yesterday I had a babysitter and need to work and do self-care.

We all have a CHOICE – I made a choice to do this over that, it really made me sad – and upset! Things I missed out were: a workout, (something I have promised myself to move my body every day), I didn’t do my pelvic floor exercises (which as y’all know, this is important on so many levels for myself and my romantic relationship with Jake and I), I didn’t make dinner for myself so I ate a slice of pizza on the road and felt guilty about it after, I didn’t write my blog or finish 2 other podcasts (which was on my things to do list), I didn’t reach out to potential guests for the podcast (also on my to do list) and I didn’t get a nap (which was really needed) because I taught late last night.

Basically, I spent my time elsewhere, and I gipped myself. I didn’t give myself the things that I really needed and wanted for my business, my health, my relationships and honestly, my self-worth.

When I look at this through the lens of choice, it makes me sad as well as upset with myself for prioritizing my time and giving it away so easily to things that don’t matter as much as other things that are critical to my wellbeing, relationships and business.

So, I reviewed my week and what and who I have said yes to. I had to do some rearranging and say no, make some cancelations, shorten up meetings and prioritize what is important.

So, this week’s mantra is: If it’s not a hell yeah, then it’s a hell no. not a maybe, or a wish that you can get it all done. Bring your choices to your consciousness and understand where you are spending your time. Ask yourself what are you sacrificing when you say YES to this person or this meeting, or call, or event, or task? What are you giving up? Is this more important?

We go so quickly through our day, multitasking and being busy, and then feel exhausted and wondering where the time went.

Time is your most precious energy. Protect it. Guard it. Remember everything is a choice. When you say yes to one thing, you are saying no to another. So consciously take control of your power and your life by only saying yes to what lights you up, yes to the people who energize you not to the people who deplete you or timewasters, yes to the things that move the ball forward for you. Try it this week – I’ll be right alongside you, and let me know on my blog or instagram how this one thing has impacted you.

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I adore this woman and I know you will too! I had to have Mary Beth LaRue on the show today because she exudes courage, honesty and authenticity and frankly, she just has a special way of connecting to people and making them feel like they’re home

Mary Beth shares her journey of intimately knowing uncertainty and courageously showing up to motherhood and to love daily.

Motherhood is a courageous endeavor, but motherhood through foster care and adoption takes the ultimate resilience and heart. The fear you may lose your baby at any time forces you to RELISH. IN. EVERY. SINGLE. MOMENT. Gratitude takes on a whole new meaning.

As much as we try to control the outcome, the one constant we can count on in LIFE is CHANGE.

By embracing IMPERMANENCE, Mary Beth shares how she has received the ultimate gift of PRESENCE.

Through her courageous journey to motherhood, she reminds us to be present now. MB, thank you for our soulful conversation today. We are lucky to have you as an inspirational light that helps guide us back to gratitude and love.

Connect with Mary Beth LaRue and ROCK YOUR BLISS

Jon me at the SHOW NOTES as I always love our conversations!

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Did you know you have 50,000-70,000 thoughts a day? Usually there the same thoughts you had yesterday, and often they are negative.

So, today, we are just going to hit PAUSE...BREATHE... & REPEAT to help de-clutter any of the chatter in your mind.

Hope this helps bring some clarity and peace to your day.

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Meet Linda Tate, who teaches conscious wealth management. What the heck is that? I didn’t know either, so that’s why I had to have her on the show to learn how our mindset affects our wealth and reflects our worth.

She has always been passionate about the Wellness world and believes that Wellbeing is not just about food, fitness and mindfulness, but also includes your consciousness about money and your relationship to it.

Linda left a dream job as VP at Morgan Stanley to transition into Holistic nutrition and wellness earning her yoga training at Sivananda Ashram, becoming a Plant based chef and an Integrative health coach studying under Tony Robbins. She also is a co-host on Rise to Thrive podcast, but her main passion is helping people create consciousness about holistic wealth management.

Today on Soul School with Audrey, Linda shares how you can:

Become aware of your subconscious limited beliefs about money and your worth
Rewrite the story about expansion of wealth and the possibilities around money
Take practical steps to create a Conscious portfolio and manage your finance so it’s in alignment with your life values

For many of us, money can be an uncomfortable topic to talk about. There’s a lot of scarcity, shame and judgment around this topic. Hopefully today, our conversation helps you expand your thinking about the possibilities around wealth, your worth and the mindfulness of money.

How has this topic changed your thinking? Let me know on my blog or on instagram!

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I’m so excited to have my friend, teacher and mentor, Jana Wilson on the show today. Jana first introduced me to shadow work and inner child connection many years ago. She is an Old Soul and a master healer who has learned from all of the great teachers: Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford, Esther hicks, Mary Ann Williamson, Dr. David Simon, Dr Brian Weiss – I’m sure you’ve heard of these guys. She has her Certification in Primordial Sound Meditation, the Law of Attraction, she is a Heartmath certified coach and trained in regression therapy. Jana is an incredible coach and healer who helps people see their light within in order to know and value themselves.

Today, Jana shares her tumultuous childhood of her abusive parents - at the young age of 8 her mom held a gun to her head, and how she rose above the turmoil transforming to serve and heal others by healing and loving herself.

She shares her powerful story of how she healed her childhood wounds by healing her core beliefs and manifested her dream life. And boy, does she have a beautiful life and family now. Through healing her inner child, Jana proves that it’s never too late to have a happy childhood. Jana shares how you too can heal your core beliefs that are holding you back and return to your innate goodness within. I loved talking with Jana and I hope she comes back on the show. I hope you enjoy our conversation too!

Learn more about Jana Wilson at: https://www.emotionalhealingretreat.com

Go to the SHOW NOTES and visit me on instagram - I love hearing from you!

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I want to share what happened last week when I asked my dear friend for her feedback about this podcast. She gave me some great, honest advice. She said she could tell I’m reading from a script, and she wants to hear ME, my personality. I thanked her and then quickly had to get off the phone because Hunter was having a meltdown in the car – so I was really abrupt.

I believe our relationships are here to help awaken our consciousness, learn lessons about ourselves, expand and grow into our fullest selves. If we are unconscious, then we may miss the lesson. If we are open and aware, we will deepen our relationship with ourselves as well as our connection to each other.

So, one of the things I have been working on my whole life is being open to criticism. I am a very sensitive soul, and I used to get my feelings hurt with any kind of criticism. Instead of seeing criticism as feedback, I totally saw it as failure. Often this would completely stop me from moving forward, or I would quit all together.

Similarly, one of the things my friend is working on is being okay to share and speak her voice, that giving her opinion, when asked is totally great to share. When you bottle up your emotions, they come out in unexpected ways. Healthy communication is a great skill to have, but it takes practice.

Because I had to get off the phone so quickly, I think it triggered a doubt in her that maybe she shouldn’t have shared her opinion or that I was offended. She called me later that week, but I didn’t return her call because I was busy. Our minds can wander into so many stories, that aren’t true. When she called me a second time, I knew that maybe something was triggered and that I needed to call her back to reassure her that her feedback was appreciated and that I wasn’t mad.

It was so subtle, that if I wasn’t conscious I would probably miss it and she may have been feeling guilty or upset with herself for sharing. If we both weren’t working on ourselves, I may have taken her criticism personally or she may have continued to turn some false story about how I’m not calling her back because I’m mad at her. That’s the power of our mind. It can play tricks on us.

Only through consciousness can we create our change. That’s the great thing about working on yourself, is that we are in relationship together to grow. At the end of the day we are both the same souls who want the same thing and have the same fears. We both don’t want to be rejected. We are both learning the same lesson to let go of feeling offended and not take situations personally.

So for mantra Monday, my invitation is Don’t take it personally. This is way easier to say than to do. We get triggered by something and our mind takes us down various scenarios and what-ifs. It’s like wearing pink sunglasses and thinking everything in the world is pink, but all we need to do is remove our rose-colored glasses to see clearly.

A lot of the time it has nothing to do with you. If you can show up open without any preconceived notions, how would you should up differently? How would this open your mind if you can remove your rose-colored glasses. What is there? What isn’t there? Would you be more relaxed and show up authentically if you could drop your defenses and judgements?

I have been working on this for decades of trying to let go of things personally, dropping the stories and what-ifs and accepting it’s really impossible to know exactly how the other person is feeling, and that it probably has nothing to do with me. I hope this helps you too this week to relax, let go of worry and just BE YOU!

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Meet Tedx speaker, Megan Gallagher, who has turned her anxiety into purpose now as a mental health advocate for young adults. She’s an author, blogger and a speaker and she’s just 23 years old.

Did you know, one in three teens will feel chronic anxiety? This is an alarming statistic! Today on the Soul School podcast, Megan and I talk about how she turned her pain into her passion to serve others who have anxiety. Megan shares about her experience with panic attacks and gives advice of how you can support your loved ones who may suffer from anxiety and advice to anyone who has anxiety.

I learned so much about how anxiety is affecting our youth. I hope our conversation today can help inspire someone in your life to know they are valued, loved and powerful.

Head over to the show notes for a quick review of Megan’s steps to help with anxiety as well as advice for parents. As always, thank you for listening, sharing and reviewing this podcast!

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OH MY GOSH! We did it! Can you believe it – 50 podcast episodes. Of course, being my 50th episode, we gotta talk about GRATITUDE! Because I couldn’t do this without you! I am so grateful you are part of my tribe, and thank you for sharing this podcast and listening. I’m grateful to be part of your life each week and I really hope I make a small difference in your life and brighten your week. Thank you for letting me in your world.

Ok let’s talk gratitude, because being grateful feels so good! It means things are good in your life. Being grateful probably isn’t going to happen every single moment, every single day. Let’s be honest – you’re human. You’re going to be disappointed, feel pain, be angry, become jealous, feel down – these are normal human emotions.

So how do you experience more gratitude?

I don’t believe in positivity Band-Aids. Positive affirmations are great, you know “Have an attitude of gratitude,” but they only go so far.

We’ve all been down in the dumps, and just saying affirmations without believing them doesn’t work. You can’t put a positivity Band-Aid on your feelings without first diving through the wound.

Instead of an affirmation, you can shift your energy when you are stuck in a negative place by focusing on being in the moment and what you are grateful for right now.

Resentment and Gratitude Cannot Co-Exist.

When I’m grateful I am not thinking about all of the things in my life that aren’t working. When I’m in resentment, there’s no way I am thinking positivity and abundance. They don’t go together. It’s your choice which one you are tuned into.

What is resentment? Resentment can be something big like being angry, holding a grudge or being really upset or having something really bad happen. It could also be something small like wishing for something different, being bored, or disappointed when things don’t work out as you planned or wished for, or just feeling blah.

Whether you’re in a dark hole or just experiencing a lull, I find I am most out of alignment with gratitude when I am somewhere other than the present moment.

Unless you’re the Dalai Lama, you’re probably not present all the time. Being mindful is a constant practice. When I’m in resentment, I’m usually turning over a drama from the past. The more you can stay engaged in life, in the present moment, here and now, the more you will notice the big and small things you are grateful for. To me, this is how I return to gratitude.

Instead of saying an affirmation over and over, I try to be present and engage in life to witness all that is good around me. The more I am aware and notice, the more things I see and experience that I am grateful for.

Here are some ways I return to gratitude:

Create a Gratitude journal and write in it as much as possible – at least once a week. Then each month, have some “ME” time and review. Write down everything – even that it was a sunny day and you saw butterflies or I listened to this podcast.
Share 3 things you are grateful for that happened that day. Remember the small things, even like “I’m grateful for going to bed,”or “I’m grateful this awful day is over.”
Write down 1 challenge you’re grateful for and what you learned. No one likes to go through challenges or deal with problems, but through discomfort and uncertainty you stretch yourself and learn that you are more resilient than you thought. In that moment, it’s not so fun, but I love looking back at these to see how strong I was. It’s a reminder that we can get through whatever we are currently dealing with.
Keep a Gratitude jar filled with experiences or people you are grateful for, a feeling and inspirational quotes. You can pull from this each day or when you’re feeling down to lift you up.
I keep all of my emails in a gratitude email folder, literally titled “I matter,” so when I am in a negative place wondering if anything I do matters, I can go back to this folder and read how I have made an impact and connected with you and our community. It seriously helps me shift my attitude! So, keep it coming. I love hearing from you!

I hope sharing these rituals and ways I keep gratitude present in my life helps you start a gratitude practice. It’s not about positivity Band-Aids and affirmations, but truly being present to what is good in your life now that keeps gratitude at the forefront of your mind. When you notice them more, then you will receive more to be grateful for.

I am grateful for you for listening to this podcast and enriching my life. I could not do this without you.

What ways and rituals do you bring gratitude in your life? Please share with me on instagram and here on my blog so anytime you get off centered, you can come back to this sweet list for inspiration!

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This podcast is broken into two parts because shadow work is a very deep, complicated and huge part of awakening to our true nature. We will dive into specific examples of what dark and light shadows are, how you can detect a shadow and ways to integrate them back to your whole self. I share my personal relationship with my husband where our lowest selves and darkest shadows called each other to learn our greatest lessons.

Shadows are parts of our personality we hide, so we put on masks to show we are perfect. Society has groomed us to search outside ourselves for validation, keeping us in a cycle of striving for something in the future to make us happy or being stuck ruminating in the past. We are taught to never be satisfied, to believe this moment is not enough, and you are not enough. We strive to be special so we hide parts of our selves we deem unlikable or not acceptable behind masks. We feel broken and search outside ourselves for validation and love, when what we are searching for is already within us. Being authentic is special enough. It’s only through awakening and consciousness can we live in the moment, accept what is, learn to be okay with the ordinary in order to see the extraordinary in the ordinary that we can return to our whole, true authentic self and love.There is so much to share about shadow work. Today you will learn:

what a shadow is
how to discover your shadows
how they can harm you
how to learn the gift from your shadows
how to break free from any bad cycles and conditions
how to integrate your hidden parts of your personality back into your whole self.

When you mindfully come from a place of love rather than hate, and courage instead of fear, abundance instead of scarcity, you can be more compassionate and gentle with yourself and with others. Embrace your imperfections, vulnerability, authenticity, and the entire world within, and you will be free to create the whole, joyful and abundant life of your dreams. Your work is not to be perfect, but to be free. To be authentic. To be whole. To be loved. To be awake.

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I listened to an incredible episode on Super Soul Conversations, the podcast with Oprah and Elizabeth Gilbert. Elizabeth spoke about her best friend’s death from cancer and how she fell in love with her best friend and was with her until the very last moment. I cried like a baby all the way home while listening to this podcast.

There were so many AH HA moments in that interview, but one lesson that stuck out was Elizabeth said we need to give ourselves mercy first. I have never used that word. I always thought it was only a word that priests and clergy men carrying smoky incense could only use. The word “Mercy” just brings me back to mass “May God have mercy on your soul.” It sounds too Holy to use in regular speech.

Oprah asked if you must first accept what is, then give yourself mercy. Elizabeth said that first you must have mercy before acceptance, because sometimes you cannot accept what is in the moment, so first you have to give yourself mercy that you are not in the right place or can’t accept what is in that moment.

It blew my mind. Mercy. We don’t give ourselves it enough, or even at all. You can call it mercy, or give yourself grace, compassion, patience, love or as my dad would say “cut yourself some husk.” I still don’t know what that means.

What’s really crazy is that typically we show more compassion and mercy to those we love than of ourselves. We give mercy freely to others, but not to ourselves. We are the hardest on ourselves.

Through mercy, we no longer need to punish ourselves. We are all human. We will fail and make mistakes, say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, date the wrong person, hurt someone, be judgmental, make the wrong decision, hold onto resentments far too long, we will feel guilt and shame and anger and myriad range of emotions and actions that divorce us from who we want to be. Sometimes we cannot accept what is and we are far from being in the present moment. This is a time for GRACE. Or as Elizabeth says, Mercy. Give yourself mercy. Give yourself compassion. Give yourself understanding. Give yourself patience. Give yourself love.

This is what it’s all about right? Our life is not to be small where we confine ourselves in a limited place and create unfair rules to live by, punishing ourselves and others if things don’t fall in line with our expectations. Our creator made us to live the fullest life, to experience it all. But we can only do that if we give ourselves grace and show ourselves mercy.

So, that’s my invitation to you this week. How can you show yourself as much mercy, grace, forgiveness and love this week? As always, I love connecting with you!

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My mother-in-law visited us this week. Before I tell you this story, please know I love my mother-in-law. She is such a nice, sweet person. Jill, if you’re listening, I love you.

Even though I love my mother-in-law and we get a long really well, we are each individual humans raised differently and will have different opinions. It’s probably not a good idea to talk politics, religion or about parenting choices and motherhood. But I can’t help myself- I’m an open book.

Lately, I have been saying (a lot) that I feel broken. To give you some back story, I was in a lot of pain and I couldn’t move my neck, so this conversation didn’t start in a positive way because I physically was already feeling pretty bad. I did a yoga class on Friday and when I woke up Saturday my neck hurt so bad. I spent the day complaining and being a baby. Jill asked me to explain what I meant by “feeling broken.” I explained I feel broken because when I try to move my body the way I used to do before giving birth, something gets injured or I’m in worse pain. Things I used to be able to do easily before giving birth, now is a struggle. Who gets injured from doing a yoga class once a week!? I’m a yoga instructor – I should be able to do this. So I’m frustrated and I’m in daily pain sitting or getting up from sitting because I have a fractured tailbone and my vagina has PTSD and has to get pelvic floor therapy each week because it has scar tissue to name a few. I definitely did not say this in my loving voice.

She raised her eyebrows and slowly looked away in a look of disagreement and said, “well, when you “dwell” on your medical condition it gets worse.” This immediately triggered me. Yes, I can go to the negative very quickly. I have a loud inner critic and it often goes to the worst-case scenario. So, when she said this, it hurts my feelings. But before I could process that my feelings were hurt and respond from a conscious place, I unconsciously defended my position with “I’m not dwelling, I’m learning, Jill.” I have this really bad habit of saying someone’s name when being condescending and a know-it-all. Note to self: must work on this. Okay, part of this is true. I have been dwelling and saying “I feel broken” a little too much. But this also triggered me because I don’t believe in being positive to cover up or deny yourself the exploration of your negative emotions. Positive affirmations only go so far. You have to feel your feelings in order to process them and move passed them.

The conversation started to get a little heated. Thankfully I was smart enough to quickly excuse myself to bed before I said anything I would regret. I stewed in bed and tossed and turned and had a restless night’s sleep. In the morning, I took some time for myself to journal and put my feelings to paper. This helps me bring light to frustrated feelings and emotions so I can respond a little more compassionately to others and myself. After journaling, my defensiveness softened and I could see her point that dwelling in the negative wasn’t a good thing because it kept me from seeing the positive things in my life. Repeating this negative mantra also kept me from healing because I focused on all of the parts of my body that are “broken.” And continual complaining just keeps me stuck in victimhood, and doesn’t move me forward into my own power of taking responsibility for my feelings and healing process.

I love our Soul School community because together we connect, share, learn, grown and heal. It’s not about the destination about being perfect or knowing all of the answers, but the constant pursuit of knowledge to live our most fulfilled life that matters most. I share this story because it helped me bring perspective of where I was spending my energy, what I was channeling through my thougths, and what was I truly manifesting.

Each week, during Mantra Monday, this is an invitation or an intention. I always join you in this invitation, but for me this is a big one, because I want to feel good in my body and it’s been 7 months since giving birth to my daughter.

The invitation this week is to ask yourself: which voice are you listening to?

…The inner critic or your True Self?

…The voice that believes in scarcity or abundance?

…The voice that keeps you stuck in fear or moves you toward faith?

…The voice that is resentful or the voice of love?

…the voice that keeps you in victimhood or attune to your power?

I truly believe we are powerful beings. You manifest your mindset. Although I don’t like uncomfortable conversations, this made me open my eyes to see I was dwelling in negativity and listening to the pessimist voice. Your thoughts are powerful. Your thoughts become things, become your feelings, your beliefs and our actions.

Oh, and that next morning, Jill and I both apologized and have a closer relationship because of it.

So, when you dip below the line this week, ask yourself which voice are you listening to and is this voice serving you and getting you closer to who you want to be?

You manifest your mindset.

Thanks for listening always and be an open heart to hear my struggles. I hope together we grow and expand into our fullest and highest selves. Let me know how this has helped you, and always, thank you for sharing!

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This podcast is broken into two parts because shadow work is a very deep, complicated and huge part of awakening to our true nature. Shadows are parts of our personality we hide, so we put on masks to show we are perfect. Society has groomed us to search outside ourselves for validation, keeping us in a cycle of striving for something in the future to make us happy or being stuck ruminating in the past. We are taught to never be satisfied, to believe this moment is not enough, and you are not enough. We strive to be special so we hide parts of our selves we deem unlikable or not acceptable behind masks. We feel broken and search outside ourselves for validation and love, when what we are searching for is already within us. Being authentic is special enough. It’s only through awakening and consciousness can we live in the moment, accept what is, learn to be okay with the ordinary in order to see the extraordinary in the ordinary that we can return to our whole, true authentic self and love.There is so much to share about shadow work. Today you will learn:

what a shadow is
how to discover your shadows
how they can harm you
how to learn the gift from your shadows
how to break free from any bad cycles and conditions
how to integrate your hidden parts of your personality back into your whole self.

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A few weeks ago, I had the honor of speaking on a panel with 11 other incredible women at a business event sponsored by SAP Concur in honor of national small business week. We spoke about how to build and support your small business and yourself.

There was a point when I was on stage and I had a holy sh!t moment ... like pinch me!!...am I really here speaking in front of 170 people? This has been a dream of mine, but I am a VERY shy and introverted person, and honestly never thought it would happen for me UNTIL I did something BIG…like write a book…got more followers… was on a ted talk or something – basically I thought it wouldn’t happen until I became something other than who I am right now.

Guess what, you don’t have to do something really big to start following your dreams. You don’t have to become something other than who you are now. There’s NOTHING TO WAIT FOR. Everything you need is right here. It’s YOU who people want to hear from. It’s YOUR gifts that are unlike any other.

But our #ittybittyshittycommittee is a funny thing. It convinces us of what we need to do or be something else in order to reach our dreams. It terminates our momentum before we even take a step.

What is holding you back??

Take a messy step into the unknown and take action towards your dream. It can happen! Can you believe it’s already June?? Don’t let your 2019 goals to become your 2020 goals.

Small actions combined with consistent actions lead you a step closer to your goals and dreams. Then you can quiet your inner critic because you feel more confident, knowledgeable and are closer to your dreams.

One small step. That’s it. What’s your step you are committing to today, tomorrow and for the rest of this week?

What is your dream? PLEASE share it with me on instagram and my blog. I love hearing from you. I’m in full support of you!

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EP 44: Your Self Care Plan

Balance is not a destination. It is a verb. It is in flux and action. ⠀

I am always balancing. As a mom, I contemplate what actual self-care looks and feels like. Before motherhood, it was pedis and naps. Now, naps feel like a luxury.⠀

I know I am taking care of myself when I am feel in connection with myself and to others and I feel vibrant and engaged with life…. it doesn’t happen as often as I would like — this part of that whole balancing thing. ⠀

It’s asking for help (something I am AWFUL at!?)

Saying NO to things that don’t light me up.

Saying YES to people who do.

I am working on getting clear on my priorities and #values because this mama can stray into procrastination and overwhelm real fast.

I give myself a LOT of grace and love.

I teach at company retreats and public speaking events about mindfulness and the first part of giving yourself care is:

Know what self-care looks and feel like for you. Start with what is important to you. Get clear on how you FEEL when you are connected to yourself and that pulse of feeling alive and engaged in life. WHAT gets you in connection.
Once you know your priorities, it all comes back to being mindful so you know when you’re on track or off track.
Know your triggers and plan for roadblocks and bumps. Share this with others so they can support you too (example: I can’t find a radio station I like, I get really annoyed and short with people, I’m scrolling online on facebook marketplace or on instagram, or when I keep going back to my pantry to look for something to snack on.) These triggers tell me something is off internally, and I’m searching for something outside myself. These red flags show me that I need to stop, get quiet and be present to what I need to give to myself in that moment.

Getting clear on your values and your priorities help you care for yourself more and only do the things that light you up and be with the people who fuel you.

Balance is not a destination. It is a verb. We need to shift the conversation from trying to stay in balance to that of your priorities. Life is always throwing us off balance. Ebbing and flowing is part of the natural course of life. We shouldn’t feel upset if we are off balance – it is a temporary state.

Knowing your priorities of what is most important to you will always keep you stay in line and connected to yourself.

You will ebb and flow from your center, but you have the awareness and power to bring you back to your soul and home. Awareness creates change. You have the power to heal yourself. You have all of the answers within you to know how to love and care for yourself.

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EP 43: Collaboration not Competition. Celebration over Comparison

Last week I spoke at an event sponsored by SAP Concur in honor of #nationalsmallbusinessweek. I had the opportunity to be on a panel with 11 incredible women having real talk about how to build and support your #smallbusiness and yourself, how to stay in balance with your priorities and how to stay connected to yourself and each other.

So many times during the night I looked at my fellow lady leaders and thought “I am the luckiest person to be part of this positively strong women tribe!”

Being a woman is a funny thing. When we were younger, there was so much competition and comparison with each other. We put each other down, were mean to others, we judged other and criticized them. We kept ourselves in small and lonely places by separating ourselves from other girls.

Why did we waste so much energy on this? It just created more separation and cliques. I’m sure this stems from our own judgment of ourselves.

I am so grateful that THESE powerful ladies brought me into their family, and accept, support and love me. I doubt we would have run in the same circles in high school. I was far from being popular or athletic.

But I’m glad we could come together now as women, mature women. It just shows how powerful it is that we can collaborate and celebrate each other. No competition. No comparison. Just celebration.

I am so thankful to these goddesses for continually inspiring me to be my highest self and to remind us that we are all the same souls, seeking connection and love.

This week, my invitation to you is how can you stay in celebration of others? How can you support others? How can you stay in that abundance mindset?

Notice when you dip below the line and start to compare yourself to someone else or when you judge them – because really you are just judging yourself. Notice when you start to listen to your itty-bitty-shitty-committee and dip into that place of scarcity and not enoughness, of lack of time, money, love, resources – whatever it is that makes you feel like a victim.

As soon as you are aware of this scarcity mindset, you immediately connect back to your power to create change in your beliefs and actions.

Please let me know how this is helping you this week! We gotta support each other girlfriend! I know when I am in support of people, the universe supports me right back. Abundance not scarcity. That’s the mantra this week. Holler at me on instagram and on my blog. And to see these ladies, head over to my blog

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EP 42: Stop Procrastinating and Manifest Your Dreams with L’areal Lipkins

I hope to share topics that lift you up and inspire you to live your fullest life. Today, I am excited to have L’areal Lipkins on the podcast because she is just the right person to help you conquer your goals and manifest your dreams.

I all too well know that feeling where I set some lofty goal and then fail to meet it. It is soul crushing and deflates my self-worth. Do you know that gut wrenching feeling too when you make a promise to yourself that you don’t keep?

L’areal is the owner of Vision Boards over Brunch and author of, A Woman With Vision: How to Fulfill the Goals and Dreams God Has Given You, helping people get clear of their core WHY behind their goals, and will show you how to easily accomplish your goals in order to live your fullest life.

Everyone has dreams. Goal setting is easy and can be fun, but the EXECUTION is so dang hard. She shows you how to overcome procrastination by being mindful of the goals you keep recycling and your excuses.

If your goals are bigger than your belief system, you will never accomplish them. She shows you how to replace negative self-talk with a positive mindset and take actions to align with what you desire.

Ya’ll ready to hear L’areal’s tips of how to give yourself permission to outgrow yourself in order to manifest your dreams? Well, friend, grab a pen and journal --- here we go!

https://www.lareallipkins.com

A Woman With Vision: How to Fulfill the Goals and Dreams God Has Given You

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EP 41: MM: Just because some things are broken, doesn’t mean all things are broken

Okay, I’m gonna preface this by saying I know this will totally sound like I am not listening to my own teachings. I have been a bit below the line lately and have been in a slight scarcity mindset.

My podcast is not about having it all together or even claiming to know all of the answers. My intention for this podcast is to be raw and real, and sometimes that looks like showing up exactly as I am, flawed and insecure. I don’t think we truly seek perfection. I think we are really inspired by authenticity. So, I hope our conversations are more like we are having a glass of wine and chatting it up with soul-filled yummy info, rather than a teacher/student type vibe.

So, here goes: I have been feeling old and broken. Not important. A has been. UGH just saying it out loud makes me cringe. I promise you my thoughts aren’t as bad as it just sounds out loud. Or maybe they are? Having a baby with new roles and responsibilities and changing identities and now having to really manage the little time I have to be with you has triggered my itty-bitty-shitty-committee in major ways. Maybe you can relate?

Any change in our life, whether wanted or unwanted, triggers insecurities.

Because I am not teaching as many yoga classes, I have been feeling, well, kind of broken. Lost. Unimportant. My inner critic has been loud since having a baby tricking me into believing thoughts like:

“You’re not doing enough. You don’t have enough time to accomplish your goals. You’re too old. You’re not teaching enough. You will be forgotten.”

Some of this is true. Since having a baby and not teaching as many yoga classes, other yogis have replaced my classes and those classes are thriving (without me). Very painful for my Ego. I’ve seen similar workshops that I used to teach now on the market taught by other yogis. I feel replaced and forgotten. My Ego quickly gets fired up by this, but when I tune into my True Self, I know this is just part of change.

Things must die in order for rebirth to happen. Nature is a great example of this.

So, my point is that although you may feel broken, not all things are broken.

When I can realistically and honestly look at all of the abundance that surrounds me, then I can wake up to the opportunities and the things I am grateful for. Instead of being stuck in a dark hole and only seeing what isn’t working, I can shift my perspective and open to the opportunities of change. Only when I am open I can receive the gifts from the Universe. If I am still in the dark hole, I will never see it or appreciate these gifts.

For example, just this past week, I was asked to be a lululemon ambassador – again! This will be my 3rd time as an ambassador. In the fitness world, it’s a big deal, especially when a store asks you to come on a second time. This rarely happens! There are so many great influencers and fitness and yoga instructors, so it makes sense that every 2 years a new one is chosen to represent the city and store.

At a time where I am experiencing a lot of transition, not only in my personal life with the loss of my dad and birth or my daughter, but also in my career life with reducing teaching yoga classes and trying to have more influence online through creating my Soul School program and hosting my podcast… all of this change can be scary.

This was a major gift to me as a reminder that life and our roles ebb and flow. We must flow with life in order to truly experience it fully. Otherwise we would just see everything as broken.

When I asked lululemon why they picked me, they said that one of their values in the company is GROWTH. It’s not about how many yoga classes I am teaching, but about how I am continually growing as a human to expand my impact in our community. I cried – like bawled like a child cry.

Even though I may feel broken, not all things are broken.

I am truly grateful that this company believes in me when my belief in myself was shaky. It is a reminder to get out of our own way and still see the good through the uncertainty. There are a ton of incredibly talented yoga teachers in our community, and I am thankful they chose me: a mom, who is lovingly trying to keep her shit together, shower daily and change the world.

So, right now friend, think of how you are supported. Expand your thinking and see the creative ways the Universe is opening up doors for you. Pull yourself out of that dark hole and see what is blooming. Just because you may feel broken, please don’t see all things as broken. You are loved, adored, and supported. Open your eyes. Celebrate yourself. And most importantly give yourself grace.

I would love to hear from you on my blog, Instagram or Facebook

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EP 40: Finding Balance, Creating Space and Following the Calling of Your Heart with the Balanced Black Girl, Les Alfred

Today we get real with Lestraundra “Les” Alfred who launched Balanced Black Girl in 2018 as an extension of her popular fitness blog, The Balanced Berry.

She vulnerably shares how she overcame her biggest challenge and turning point of letting go of the career she worked so hard to create and find the courage to step faithfully toward the unknown of what was calling her.

Balanced Black Girl was born on the belief that wellness isn’t one size fits all. Her calling to fill a necessary gap in the fitness world and create a safe space for women of color to have candid conversations about wellness, self-care, and self-love has paid off. Through her Balanced Black Girl podcast and live community events, Les fosters a powerful community that is all inclusive of all shapes, sizes and colors.

I hope our soulful conversation today inspires you to step in to your courage and not be fearful of change, that pivoting in your career is okay and to always listen to the calling of your heart.

Follow Les at: https://www.balancedblackgirl.com

Thank you for listening, sharing and reviewing this podcast! I am so grateful for you!

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Ep 40: Relationships: When to Break Up or Stay?

You know that scene in Sex & the City, where Carrie is talking about her relationship with Burger and Samantha tells her the test of whether you want to be in a relationship or not is like THIS :) or like THIS :( ?

It sounds like a pretty simple barometer of how to tell if you should be IN a relationship or get OUT of a relationship, but I think we over complicate things. I know, I get you. love can be complicated and matters of the heart shouldn’t be taken lightly. Moreover, it’s not realistic to believe that love is going to always be a celebration, or easy and bring constant happiness.

But when you can step back from your monkey mind and that messy clutter of your thoughts, you know if the relationship is making you smile or if it’s not. And I think if you truly got quiet and tuned into your feelings, you will know the answers. I share this thought in episode 36 and 38 where you have all of the answers within you and your feelings are your internal GPS system guiding you to those answers. If you tune in, youre gut feeling will show you if you should stay or run for the hills.

This doesn’t relate to just relationships. It can be used in all aspects of life.

What is keeping you up at night?

There is definitely a difference if you’re waking up at 3am totally excited and inspired for a project or you wake up at 3am feeling anxious, stressed and worried.

I had 3 friends this week ask me about their relationships, sharing with me what their concerns are about their significant other and a lot of their complaints (he doesn’t listen, he’s aloof and not calling me back, I don’t think he’s that into me, he is not empathetic to my feelings or trying to understand where I’m coming from). I know we usually share our complaints with our closest friends more than we share our celebrations, but when you are piling up complaints, this is a sign to take a closer look at your relationship (or job, or project or situation or whatever is keeping you up at 3am) and see if it’s making you smile or frown.

You are not in the business of piling up red flags. You are in the business of finding joy and engaging fully in all that life has to offer you. So, what is your energy? Are you like THIS :) or like THIS :(.

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Feelings are your internal GPS. They are like little intuitive signs that are trying to give you direction. Sometime it’s a stop sign, or a turn sign showing you to change your direction, or sometimes it’s a big ole’ red flag. We get over emotional when we get caught up in our feelings and create stories around them. I’m not talking about that today. You know the difference when you’re an emotional wreck over something or someone versus you have a gut feeling, an intuition or a subtle knowing. This is coming from you heart and these feelings are you internal GPS guiding you to the answers.

These feelings will knock at your door until you answer them. Sometimes it’s a subtle knock. Sometimes they will have to break the door down and smack you over the head if you ignore them. You will learn the lesson one way or another. They are a quiet whisper to help guide you to what is missing and what needs your attention.

My invitation to you this week is to get quiet and tune in. When your mind shouts so loud with chatter, it is difficult to hear the whisper of your heart and soul that is trying to give you the answers, so you must turn down the volume of your thoughts and tune into your heart. Your heart and feelings will guide you if you listen. In Episode 36, I talk about You have all the answers within you. You don’t need to ask other people or ruminate over a situation or person. That just creates more clutter in your mind.

When you get quiet and still in order to hear what your feelings are trying to tell you, the answers will appear. Meditate, get out in nature, journal, take a bath or a walk – be with yourself for a period of time. Trust yourself and atune to what is calling you in your body, mind and spirit. Tuning into yourself and your intuition will build trust with yourself that you have all of the answers within.

Will you do me a favor and let me know if you would like me to expand talking about any of the subjects that we talk about on Mantra Mondays? My sole purpose is to serve you and help lovingly guide you to the topics you wish to hear. So, send me an email, a DM, a text, a smoke signal. I am listening.

I always love to connect with you on my blog, instragram or Facebook. Thank you for sharing, reviewing and rating this podcast. I love this soulful community!

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Ep 36: You have all the answers within you.

I say this at the end of all of my yoga classes. You have all of the answers within you. But then why do we ask other people for their answers and opinions? Why don’t we ask ourselves for the answer first? Why do we question ourselves? You know what I mean: Girl, what do you think of him? Should I go out with him again? Should I buy this shirt? Does this outfit make me look fat? Should I talk to her about this? Where do you want to go for dinner? I don’t know, where do YOU want to go? You know what you want, so why do you ask other people? You want to go to that new trendy restaurant that just opened and have a big bowl of pasta Bolognese and a good glass of cabernet, so why not say what you want?

The answers are within you if you tune in. They were there all along.

Why do you ask other people for the answers or permission to the answers you already know are inside you?

This is my invitation to you this week: to watch when you ask for other people’s opinions before looking within. I don’t know why we do it. We all have our own reasons. It could be that you truly value that person’s opinion and respect them. That’s great, but why not start with yourself first and begin to value your opinion. It may be that you question yourself and doubt your answers. It may be that you’re afraid to really show up and tell people who you are, what you like and your choices. The work here is to let your mind get quiet and not ping pong between the what ifs and the chatter of the mind, and let yourself become still (go for a walk, meditate, lay down, get out in nature) and see where the answers show up.

The work for you this week is to begin to make friends with your heart and intuition. You may ask other people for the answers because you haven’t developed a trusting and loving relationship with your own intuition yet. There is always that quiet whisper of your heart and soul that guides you to your truth, but your mind shouts so loud that you cannot hear it. So that’s why we ask our friends, “I have a weird feeling he’s cheating on me – what do you think?” I don’t know if I like her, should I go out with her again? I shouldn’t eat that slice of cake, but you think it’s okay right? I’m not happy, do you think I should find another job?”

Each time you feel the need to ask someone else for their opinion, first stop and ask what do you want? What do you want? Where is this gut feeling coming from? If you can tune in to yourself, most of the time you know the answer. We may not want to face and deal with those answers. There is a gut feeling, an inkling, but we ignore it and want a second or third opinion, perhaps hoping we are wrong. You know the truth, but you may not want to face it. This is where courage comes in. Instead of asking others, hoping your gut feeling is wrong, tune in and look at WHY you are avoiding your feelings, the red flags, the gut intuition that are trying to point you to the answers.

This isn’t an exercise just for negative feelings. You may feel really excited about someone or an opportunity, but still ask, should I go for it? When you tune into why are you asking someone permission to feel good or excited about an opportunity, you may find that you’re asking for a second opinion because you are fearful or scared or you don’t believe you are worthy. Maybe your subconscious is used to sabotaging abundance. Maybe you don’t trust that this goodness is really here for you.

I don’t know what the reason is. It will be personal to you. I do know that there is a lot of information you can learn about yourself by turning inward and looking to your own answers than from someone else.

So why not practice this week and see what shows up for you? I would love to hear from you on my blog and thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing this podcast with those who may benefit from it. It means so much to me that together we are building a community of conscious, caring humans.

I hope this process will help you start tuning in to your own intuition and begin a relationship of trust with yourself. It’s okay to talk to your friends about concerns and get advice. I do it all the time. It may be conversational and enjoyable. But you know way better than they do what you should do. You are powerful and strong. Trust yourself to make the right choices. It’s like building a muscle – you gotta use it all the time. Build that faith that you know what to do. All you have to do is tune into your own heart. Stop asking for permission for answers from others when the answers are waiting inside you.

I always love to connect with you on my blog, instragram or Facebook. Thank you for sharing, reviewing and rating this podcast. I love this soulful community!

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EP 35: Conscious Connection, Vaginas and the Pursuit of Humanness with Stef Osofsky

Stef Osofsky is a spiritual coach, blogger who travels all over the world and host of the pursuit of humanness podcast. She offers intuitive guidance for courageous, authentic living + creating. I think we all want that!

We cover so much in today’s podcast from how to create conscious connection in relationships, to shame around a woman’s cycle to yoni steaming.

But really at the heart of conversation is how you can fully engage in life and attune to the wisdom of your humanness. This is a hard concept for most of us to grasp, because we have our preferences of what feelings we want to feel and those we prefer to avoid, so we avoid or deflect instead of lean in and feel.

To Stef, spirituality as being a human gives you room to be flawed, to feel all things light and dark and the permission to explore that very wide spectrum of what it is to be human. The pursuit of humanness is showing up for everything and all of it in between and fully engaging in life

Stef provides a step-by-step method of leaning into both dark and light feelings to equally hold them in your hand without judgement or preference. This is the pursuit of humanness, when we can be all things, feel all emotions without deeming it good or bad. It is the ultimate detachment and also fullest engagement with life.

Stef teaches us that you can use this 3-step guide in all aspects of your life including having more conscious connection in relating to others and cultivating relationships that are informed by self-awareness of what you need, want and what we have the capacity for. Really conscious relating means having healthy relationships to have both receiving and giving, feel safe and secure in your relationship, and empowered in sexuality and sensual identity.

Today on the podcast you will learn steps to consciousness and how to let go of your preferences:

Have awareness to notice that you have a preference or avoidance
Be aware of your capacity without putting any self-applied pressure on yourself to experience and feel what it is you are currently experiencing as it is. Extend compassion and grace to be in the unfolding as it’s occurring. We are so wise in our bodies and spirit. Everything that we have learned is supporting us as we are surviving. Instead of going to “I need to be doing something about this.” Have compassion that I don’t need to be doing anything other than what I’m doing now.
Notice your capacity to “both/and” and attune to your resources within (what within me is working). Allow yourself to feel a variety of emotions. It doesn’t have to be good or bad, angry or happy. You have experience both AND you don’t have to do anything to fix. Can you hold both the dark and light and allow ourselves in whatever capacity we have to be with that AND also know we have the resources within that are naturally wise.

https://stefosofsky.com

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Ep 34: How much emotion is too emotional?

I was on a panel of speakers a month ago for international women’s day hosted by lululemon, called Movement for Change. A woman in the audience was teary eyed and asked our panel of ladies, “how do you not show emotions because being emotional a sign of weakness?” This brave young soul got up and asked her question to the whole audience although she was shy about asking, told me later in a separate conversation after the event that she was called to ask it. I told her emotions are great! Sharing your scars, rather than your open wounds, allows you to be vulnerable and through your openness will invite others to be more vulnerable as well. Then you can connect heart to heart rather than mask to mask. In this way you both can connect and inspire each other to begin having real and deeper conversations. But sharing ALL your emotions and baggage, like word vomit, just to share it, with anyone, may be too much. Only share when the person has your back and cares for you.

So, it got me thinking. Being “emotional,” although often labeled as a female thing, is actually a human thing. No one is free from emotions. Okay, maybe except those rare psychopaths. There are people who may consciously or unconsciously choose to not partake in emotions, but we all have feelings – some more sensitive than others. Our emotions and feelings are not a sign of weakness. Society has placed unfair stereotypes of what strength looks like for a man and a woman, and it’s our job to unpack the meanings of them and see if they limit us or liberate us. The stereotypical definition of strength for men is that they are supposed to be strong not weak, not supposed talk about problems but fix them and showing emotion is a sign of weakness. Women are supposed to be natural nurturers, fit and youthful, happy and quiet.

All of these rules limit who we are and how we are supposed to show up in this world.

When we can divorce ourselves from these stereotypes and societal rules, we can then comprehend we have both feminine and masculine qualities and that men and women are more similar than we are different.

Showing emotions, having deep conversations, talking through our problems, crying – these are all traits of courage. Being vulnerable is a courageous thing because not a lot of people do it. Most people hide from an uncomfortable conversation, or shove their emotions under the rug or put on a mask to portray something they’re not – does this sound courageous to you?

So my invitation to you is to check in with what stereotypes you have bought into and are these really serving you? Are they holding you back? So, take some time this week to redefine what courage means to you – what does that look like in terms of certain qualities like being vulnerable, showing emotions and how can you show up to embody them?

I always love to connect with you on my blog, instragram or Facebook. Thank you for sharing, reviewing and rating this podcast. I love this soulful community!

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Ep 33: Crush Your Goals Through Easy Wins with Mitch Harb

Meet Mitch Harb, host of The Easy Wins podcast. He is a fitness and nutrition coach who helps people live their healthiest and best life through small, easy and consistent ways. If you’re looking to lose the weight, eat better, start a business, go after your dream, he shares his easy and very doable methods to accomplish your goals and change your habits.

Studies show 97% of all people who start a strict exercise and diet program and actually lose weight will gain everything back within 18 months. And in 2/3rds of those cases, they’ll gain back even more. That doesn’t even count the people who have trouble getting started in the first place. In what world is a 97% failure rate a good thing? I know how this feels … i have been there!

Today, on SOUL SCHOOL WITH AUDREY PODCAST, Mitch shows us that you don’t need crash diets, or starve yourself, or do any drastic lifestyle changes, suffer, or create self-torture. All you have to do is to know your WHY, have discipline with your small, easy wins, be consistent and find your tribe. Creating consistent easy wins every day enables you to have the health, positivity and life that you desire.

I really learned a lot from today’s conversation and I hope you do too! The lessons of creating easy wins doesn’t just work in creating a healthy lifestyle through diet and fitness, but it can work in all aspects of your life – in your relationships, career, goals and living your fullest life.

I always love to connect with you on my blog, instagram or Facebook. Thank you for sharing, reviewing and rating this podcast. I love this soulful community!

For more about Mitch click HERE

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Ep 32: How would you spend your time if you were the BEST at what you do?

I’m in b-school with Marie Forleo and she asked us this question: How would you act if you were the best in the world at what you did? Would you be doing what you are doing? Would you waste your precious time scrolling on instagram or facebook so much? Would you be online shopping or binge watching Youtube videos instead of getting work or whatever is important to you done? This is such a great question to ask yourself in all areas of your life, not just in your professional arena. We waste so much of our time on things that don’t matter. Tony Robbins calls it majoring in minor things.

We also say yes to situations and people who drain us or don’t serve us. How often have you said yes to something and then immediately regretted it but still went ahead because you want to keep your word? If you were the best at what you did, you would protect your energy and time. I bet Oprah only says yes and agrees to things she is excited about and in alignment with.

For me, having a baby makes me really honor my time because I may only have 30 minutes to work or record a podcast while baby is napping. Most of the time it’s all about her. But even I get caught up scrolling on instagram or my latest guilty pleasure has been looking at facebook marketplace for used baby stuff and sakura bloom wraps – what a waste of my precious time. It’s so sad too! And I wonder why I complain I have no time to get a newsletter out this week. I majored in minor things!

So think about it: if you were the best in the world at what you do for a living how would you spend your time? I know I wouldn’t be on instagram, online shopping or binge watching Netflix. I would be highly prioritizing my time in order to be very productive on the things that mattered most to my business. If you were paid to be a professional athlete, how would you choose to eat and move your body? You would probably really honor and respect your body and fuel it with healthy options instead of feeding into your undisciplined habits. You would mindfully and intensely work out instead of casually walking on the treadmill scrolling through email. If you were the best mom, how would you treat yourself? You would probably show yourself a lot of compassion and take care of yourself because that’s how you stay balanced so you can be fully present to your family. This question can be used in all areas of your life.

Obviously, you may not want to eat completely clean healthy foods all the time like a pro-athlete, but asking this kind of a question and having this intention helps bring you closer to who you want to be and helps to prioritize how you spend your time, so you can be in alignment with your best and highest self.

I always love to connect with you on my blog, instragram or Facebook. Thank you for sharing, reviewing and rating this podcast. I love this soulful community!

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EP 31: Demystifying Ayurveda with Angela Glaz

Today on the SOUL SCHOOL podcast, Angela Glaz teaches us about Ayurveda, which in Sanskrit means “The Science of Life” and it’s considered the oldest healing science that originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is often called the “Mother of All Healing.”

If you’re new to Ayurveda and are thinking what the heck is this, you are in the right place today, because Angela demystifies this ancient Eastern concept to help us recognize our issues and imbalances, shows you how you can balance your doshas physically, mentally and emotionally and how you can take your health into your own hands through your intake of food, lifestyle, movement and mindfulness.

We talk a lot about mindfulness here on the SOUL SCHOOL podcast, and it’s no surprise that here we are again where mindfulness is the key to create your change. It’s also the key to your power. We only scratch the surface about Ayurveda, but if you want to go deeper to learn individually about yourself and how you can best support your body, mind and spirit through balancing your doshas, you can join Angela at her Online Holistic Classes where she shares monthly recipes, tips, information and live Q&A all just for $18 a month.

I hope this episode opens your eyes to your own empowerment of healing yourself and finding balance.

p.s. I always love to connect with you on my blog, instragram or Facebook. Thank you for sharing, reviewing and rating this podcast. I love this soulful community!

For more about Angela, please visit her website: http://ekayogaandayurveda.com

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Ep 30: Life is a continual journey not a destination

I was talking with a friend the other day and she said she was frustrated with doing this self-help work. It is exhausting. She wondered if it’s easier just to be ignorant. I get it, It’s hard this whole consciousness thing. You have to be aware of your fears, go inward, look at your shadows, work on yourself. It is work.

Change is hard because it’s different than what you’re used to. I like to think of our evolution like a bridge. On one side is unconsciousness and across the bridge is consciousness, where there is a small place with a smaller population of people who are awake and living in alignment with their true self. You can see across the bridge, but the bridge takes time to get there. You will not arrive quickly. You probably will have some set backs. But if you keep going, you will have comebacks!

It’s not about the destination, it’s about how you joyfully get there.

Everything is here for your quest inward – the journey for the evolution of your soul. You are here for a reason. You have a greater purpose, personal legacy, and destiny to fulfill. When you discover and live in alignment with your True Self, you will find all of the answers within your blissful soul and live the joyful and abundant life of your dreams. You can check out if you want to, but you’ll be right back to where you were in a place unfulfilled reliving the same bad habits that hurt you and make you feel bad.

The journey back to your whole, True Self is a lifelong quest. It is the continued calling to turn inward, ask questions that are difficult, and seek answers where they are hidden so you can daringly greet life with courage, passion and love.

Your life is an ongoing work-in-progress to disconnect from the ego and fully connect with your True Self - your heart, your home, your Soul. Life provides you with a mirror to choose how you wish to see yourself and this world, choosing to live mindfully with conscious awareness in this present moment. It is the daily practice of staying open to the abundance of life. It is your powerful choice.

When you return to your whole self, rather than trying to be perfect, you are free to explore and express your highest vision of your True Self. Your precious life is a continual journey of self-discovery, self-love, and the evolution of your soul. So. this is my invitation to you this week. Stop trying to get “there.” See how joyfully you can arrive, staying open to all of the gifts and lessons along the way.

I always love to connect with you on my blog, instragram or Facebook. Thank you for sharing, reviewing and rating this podcast. I love this soulful community!

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Meet Christian Piuma, our first male Soul School guest, who vulnerably shares his transformation from living a stressful Silicon Valley corporate life to finding his purpose as a transformational coach working with high performers who are frustrated with their careers. While checking off the boxes of success as a high performer, he became the victim of the life he thought he wanted. Those same goals were the ones that imprisoned him and made him feel unfulfilled and lost, turning to numb his pain with substances and relationships that were not good for him.

Today he shares how he left his corporate job and manifested the life of his dreams of having freedom of time and place in order to be lit up by God’s creation living and experiencing the mountains and beaches. In his words, he was suffering in San Francisco and now splits his time joyfully in Jackson hole and at his California beach home. He has trained extensively with Tony Robbins as well as with Esther Hicks and Tim Ferris to transform his life and find his truth.

Stay tuned because he shares valuable tips of how to get out of the corporate rut and find your true north to live a fulfilled and passionate life. He shares that on the other side of the uncertainty is the breakthrough.

This is Christian’s story of his breakthrough. We talked for almost two hours and I had to cut it down to half. There is so much good information in this episode. Get out your notebook and pen, you don’t want to miss these great nuggets of wisdom of how you too can live your most passionate life by getting clear on what you want and following your North star.

https://www.christianpiuma.com

SOUL SCHOOL with Audrey: Recent Episodes

Audrey Sutton Mills