In this episode, I’m joined by writer, teacher, and author Stephanie Elizondo Griest for a rich conversation about art, risk, devotion, survival, and what it means to choose creativity again and again.

Stephanie shares the long arc that led to her book Art Above Everything, including the questions that shaped it: What do women artists sacrifice for their work? Has it been worth it? And how do we keep choosing art in a world that often makes that choice feel impossible?

We talk about artist residencies, the women dancers of India who devote their lives to their craft, the difference between creativity and art, and the courage it takes to follow what your soul is asking for. We also talk about healing, cancer, community, intuition, and why art matters so deeply—especially now.

This conversation moved me on a personal level, and I think it will move you too.

We also talk about the upcoming retreat Stephanie is co-leading with Betsy Bertram this fall: Creative Embodiment: Writing and yoga, Women’s Retreat —a retreat that will weave together writing, yoga, meditation, healing, and community in the mountains of western North Carolina.

If you’ve ever wondered what it means to put art first—or how to keep making room for creativity in a hard world—this episode is for you.

Episode overview

Alisha welcomes Lyn Koonce to the podcast for a wide-ranging, grounded conversation about creativity, music, and the brave act of self-expression. Lyn explains her interactive methodology Circle Sound—a process blending rhythm, movement, improvisation, and group music-making to foster connection, trust, and collaboration. Along the way, they unpack why creative vulnerability can feel so intense, what to do when you’re blocked, and how voice work can reconnect us to power, presence, and authenticity.

What you’ll hear in this episode

Creativity as your core: Lyn’s belief that creativity is who we are underneath the noise

The “mile wide vs. mile deep” pattern—and how depth helps you (and others) find yourselves

The real challenge for lifelong creatives: practice, discipline, and staying with it

Body doubling: why creating near other people can make you more consistent (and less lonely)

What Circle Sound is and why it works—especially for people who don’t identify as creative

How vulnerability shows up in groups (nerves, self-judgment, “I’m not good enough”)

Why a “mistake-free zone” and challenge-by-choice changes everything

Creative blocks as numbing + avoidance (and how movement helps you restart)

Alisha’s painting practice: layers, risk, and letting the work reveal itself

Using your voice as creative healing: the throat chakra, diaphragm, and embodied power

A deep truth underneath performance anxiety: worthiness, love, and approval

The difference between performing for approval vs. performing from authenticity

Moments / ideas you may want to quote

“Creativity is who we are at our core.”

“Blocked looks like numbing.”

“An object in motion stays in motion.”

“Sometimes you have to kill your babies.” (the art of detachment and the real through-line)

Resources mentioned

Circle Sound (Lyn’s methodology for embodied, music-based group creativity + team connection)

Body doubling (a productivity/support strategy often helpful for ADHD/attention differences)

Alisha references abstract artist Amy Gordon as inspiration for daily practice and showing up to the canvas

Connect with Lyn Koonce

Lyn shares that you can contact her for Circle Sound sessions (organizations/teams) or voice lessons through her website and email.

Website: Lynkooncemusic.com

Email: [email protected]

If this episode hit home…

If you’ve been telling yourself you’re “not creative,” consider this your reminder: the creativity isn’t gone—it’s just covered up. Start small. Move your body. Make one sound. Put down one layer. Let the next step reveal itself.

Subscribe to Awakening Wisdom and share this episode with a friend who needs permission to play again.

In this episode

I interview my best friend Betsy Bertram about creativity as a way of living—what she calls the art of life. Betsy shares how creativity can live inside everyday moments (even when life is busy), and why creative practice is one of the clearest pathways we have to intuition, healing, and freedom.

We talk about how our culture makes it easy to consume creativity and harder to create, and why co-creation—cooking together, making something with your hands, gathering in community—can feel like medicine.

Topics we explore

Creativity as “bringing intention” and doing things in a unique way

Why creativity expands when we release perfectionism and outcome-obsession

Temporary art: meals, mandalas, sketches, and why impermanence is liberating

Creative practice as a doorway to intuition (and why Betsy can’t really separate the two)

The difference between consuming art vs. co-creating

How time scarcity becomes a creativity block—and practical ways Betsy works with it

Portable creativity tools: keeping a journal + pens + knitting nearby

The story of Betsy’s dad’s “no rules” journaling practice—and what it teaches about freedom

What kids understand about creativity that adults often forget

Why community makes creativity feel safer and more alive

Quick-fire favorites

Betsy shares some of her favorite creative tools + books:

Favorite tools: blank journal, colorful pens (for mandalas), portable creative supplies

Favorite creativity books:

The Book of Alchemy (Suleika Jaouad)

The Creative Act (Rick Rubin)

Big Magic (Elizabeth Gilbert)

Mentioned

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Morning pages + art journaling

Mandala practice as a simple, accessible creativity ritual

Yoga as a creative, embodied practice

Betsy’s upcoming retreat

Betsy is co-leading an October retreat on embodied creativity with author and creative writing professor Stephanie Elizondo Griest(Art Above Everything). It includes yoga, writing, nourishing meals, and a beautiful mountain setting near Asheville during peak leaf season.

Retreat link: https://www.betsybertram.com/workshops-1/2026/10/15/creative-embodiment-at-writing-yoga-retreatStephanie’s book: Art Above Everything (add link if you want)

Creativity as a Balm: Why Process Matters More Than Talent

Over the past year, I’ve been shedding a lot—roles, identities, expectations, even the way I thought I would show up in the world. What has remained steady, healing, and essential has been my creative practice.

In this audio essay, I share why creativity became a lifeline for me during a season of illness, loss, and profound change—and why I believe creativity isn’t about talent, productivity, or making “good” art. It’s about process. It’s about listening. It’s about making space for your intuition to speak.

We explore:

* Why natural talent is a myth (and how believing it blocks us)

* How creativity helps quiet the noise and reconnect us to ourselves

* Why play, repetition, and “beginner energy” matter more than outcomes

* How creative practice becomes a doorway to intuition and inner wisdom

* What it means to fall in love with process—not perfection

I also share why I continue to teach The Artist’s Way—a 13-week creative and spiritual practice I’ve been returning to for over 15 years—and why doing this work in community changes everything.

✨ Enrollment note:Registration for my Winter/Spring 2026 Artist’s Way group closes Thursday at midnight (Pacific Time). We begin next week, and we already have a beautiful, thoughtful group of women gathering. If you’ve been feeling the nudge, this may be your moment.

That said—this episode is for you whether or not you ever take the class. My hope is that it reminds you that creativity belongs to you. It always has.

Relevant Details

* Artist’s Way Winter/Spring Session

* 13 weeks | Live on Zoom

* Weekly meetings: Wednesdays, 12–1pm ET

* Private Telegram community for connection & accountability

* Begins next week

🎧 Listen, take what resonates, and let yourself play.

🎙️ Awakening Wisdom – Episode 2

Standing at the Threshold – Part 1: When Cancer Became My Teacher

In this deeply personal episode, I open up about the threshold I’ve been standing in since April 2024—navigating a breast cancer diagnosis, undergoing a 17-day prolonged water fast, healing from surgery, and learning to radically slow down, listen in, and trust myself above all else.

This is not just a story about illness. It’s a story about waking up to what matters. About choosing a different pace. About learning to be a human being, not just a human doing.

I share:

* How I was diagnosed and why it came as such a shock

* Why I chose to do a water fast and what it taught me

* My experience with energetic healing and ancestral connection

* The grief of a five-year relationship ending

* And the messy, sacred work of standing in between what was and what’s next

This episode is part one of Standing at the Threshold, a mini-series exploring liminal space—the not-quite-then, not-yet-there. If you're in a season of transition, illness, grief, or reorientation, this one's for you.

Mentions & Resources:

* Radical Remission by Kelly A. Turner

* Water fasting with Dr. Katie Deming

* Energy healing with Don Javier

* My art practice: The Painted Way

* Learn more about my coaching + retreats: Yoke & Abundance

If something in today’s episode spoke to you:Please subscribe, leave a review, or share this episode with someone who’s standing in their own threshold. Your support helps this podcast reach the people who need it most.

Episode 1 of the Awakening Wisdom PodcastHow stepping away led me back to myself—and why this podcast is returning with a new rhythm and deeper truth.

After recording 183 episodes of the Wise Woman Podcast over four transformative years, I reached a breaking point.

In this first episode of Awakening Wisdom, I share the honest, behind-the-scenes story of what led me to step away from podcasting, the deep burnout I experienced after launching my book Little Failures, and the surprising path that opened up when I stopped trying to do it all.

I talk about rediscovering myself through painting, how creativity became my lifeline, and the unexpected way my art began to financially support me during a major career pivot. I also share about my current breast cancer diagnosis, the ways it's slowed me down, and the clarity it's brought to what truly matters.

This is the beginning of a new chapter—one that prioritizes sustainability, depth, and intuitive timing. The podcast is back, but in a new form: mini-series drops released weekly, created when there’s something true and alive to share.

If you’ve ever felt burned out, craved more alignment, or wondered what happens when you follow the energy instead of the hustle—this episode is for you.Mentions:

* The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

* My art brand: The Painted Way

* My book: Little Failures

If you loved this episode:Please subscribe, leave a review, or share with a friend who needs this message. Your support helps this work reach more people who are waking up to their inner wisdom.

Hi, I'm Alisha Wielfaert an artist life coach, creativity Guide and Spiritual seeker. A few years ago I hosted the Yoke and Abundance Wise Women Podcast, 183 episodes over four years. It was beautiful and deep and meaningful. And also a lot. Eventually I got tired. I paused because I needed rest.

But lately I've been feeling the pull to speak again, not just to share what's on my heart, but to connect in the unique way that only podcasting allows.    Because over the last few years I've walked through a lot illness, healing grief. Awakening creativity. And alongside that, my relationship with creativity, intuition, business and spirituality has deepened in ways I never expected.

   This time though, I'm doing it differently.  Awakening Wisdom is a podcast about creativity, personal development, and collective healing. You'll hear honest conversations. Intuitive insights and stories from the Path Mine and those of other women walking their own beautiful, imperfect journeys.

 Episodes will be released in miniseries style, three to 10 episodes at a time centered around a theme. Think of it like a creative letter from my heart to yours, hopefully arriving just when you need it most.

 This is a show for anyone who's ever felt the whisper of it or knowing for those ready to trust themselves more deeply, to create with intention and to live a little more awake.

 If that sounds like you, I hope you'll subscribe and join me here in this sacred space. The first series is coming soon.