“I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.” —Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

 Guest Introduction:  

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Evelien van Es.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

I am delighted you are here today -thanks for hanging out with me. – Let’s get right to it.

Evelien is based in The Netherlands. She studied Business Communication at the Academy for Journalism, and after graduating she also obtained her doctoral degree at the Free University of Amsterdam, majoring in Culture, Organization & Management. Evelien is a single mother of two beautiful teenage girls. Besides her strong interest in people and connecting with others, she loves being outdoors, preferably walking by the sea, doing sports such as running and skiing in wintertime.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

2:10 Yeah, actually, I love that. Because if you if you reflect on the seasons of life, I think you could do that in different ways. And for me, the seasons of life, of course, you have literally the seasons within a year, but also the different seasons and stages that you have in life. And for me, it is about experiencing life, it is about trying out ways of being. And by doing that, learning about ourselves at a deeper level.

4:19 Be Relentlessly Yourself is a book where I share a lot of stories about what life really is all about. And that starts with you, it starts to really getting to the core of your being to be able to translate that into what your purpose in life is all about.

4:45 And Be Relentlessly Yourself also is a message about daring to show up and to take up your space by being you beyond personality and beyond ego.

9:42 Absolutely, absolutely. How awesome is that? And it's just stepping up and doing it and of course there are always people that you know resonate with your message more than others do. But it doesn't mean that your message or what you have to offer, for example, your podcast, that it's not worthwhile.

11:27 And, you know, staying stuck in that fear only prevents you from living your purpose and being able to serve and really help others. We don't want to waste our time doing that.

24:56 And I think that is also something that is such a huge gift, about being an entrepreneur, there is no one you can hide behind. And there's nothing you can hide behind, you're out there naked. And it's you that needs to, you know, find your way.

35:19 It's by slowing down and really be that observer and understand yourself because by doing that, you will find out that life is way more magic than you can probably imagine right now.

You can find Evelien van Es at:  Website Facebook Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Evelien van Es you might also enjoy these other episodes that are part of a self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out.

Finding Your Inner Peace with Lydia Knoor

Rediscover Your Brilliance with Jamie Martin

A Self-love Mindset with Martine Felton 

Self-care and Showing up in our Lives with Gina Bell

Living Life on Purpose with Stephanie Lora Bearce

Living Your Core Values with Paige Mitchell

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or

head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Leaving a rating and review helps to improve rankings in iTunes, it shows engagement which may

attract sponsors and is essential for the podcast to be discovered by new listeners + it would mean the world to me.

Here's How to Leave a Review in iTunes From Your Phone 

1. Launch the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap the Search icon (on the bottom right) and search for “Exploring the Seasons of Life.”

3. Tap the album art.

3. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews.

5. At the bottom of the page tap on “Write a Review”.

6. If you’re not already signed into iTunes, you will be asked to enter your iTunes password to login.

7. You’ll then have the option to rate us on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the best. Tap the Stars to leave a rating.

8. Enter a review title and submit a brief honest review.

9. Tap Send. 

Thanks again, Until next time live inspired!

“The spiritual life is about becoming more at home in your own skin.” ~ Parker Palmer, Founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal

 Guest Introduction: 

 Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Lydia Knoor.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

This interview is part of a self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out.

Lydia combines her passion for health and wellness to inspire women to lean inward and connect with themselves on a soul level, so they can experience life in an authentic and fulfilling way. She believes a body, mind, soul approach is the healthiest way to live and will set you up for a thriving existence.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome to the podcast, Lydia.

1:46  I love love love this question, because seasons are so symbolic. So, my answer to you is going to be all about symbolism, and how I feel that seasons represent the transitions that helps us understand the transitions that we go through and how they impact our mindset and our actions throughout our life.

5:08 I'm going to start by telling you that joy for me, comes in the form of finding inner peace. So, for me, there was a missing piece in my life and that missing piece was inner peace. And when I found that I found true happiness, I found my joy. 

12:45 The very first night after my husband died, I remember waking up in the middle of the night to a white light, literally a swirling white light, it was coming at me and retreating and coming at me and retreating. And there was no question in my mind that that was his energy. 

17:20  I do two types of writing, but I want to talk to you about morning pages first, for sure. Morning pages are something that I learned about through an author called Julia Cameron, she's written a couple of books. One is the Artist’s Way and I happened to read another book of hers called, It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again. But in both, she speaks about morning pages. 

27:29 Sometimes it's giving yourself permission to live a life that feels good for you.

29:19 So whether that's love for a child or a partner or for the work you do, there's always more room in your heart. And so, what I would say to women, is you have so much room in your heart, and you know you do because you feel it for your children and for your partner for all of these other you know, I call them external things in your life. They're not they're a part of you, but you know, you have room to give yourself some love too.

 You can find Lydia Knorr at:  Website Facebook Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Lydia Knorr you might also enjoy these other episodes of a self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out.

Self-care and Showing up in our Lives with Gina Bell

Living Life on Purpose with Stephanie Lora Bearce

Rediscover Your Brilliance with Jamie Martin

A Self-love Mindset with Martine Felton

Living Your Core Values with Paige Mitchell

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Leaving a rating and review helps to improve rankings in iTunes, it shows engagement which may attract sponsors and is essential for the podcast to be discovered by new listeners + it would mean the world to me.

Here's How to Leave a Review in iTunes From Your Phone 

1. Launch the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap the Search icon (on the bottom right) and search for “Exploring the Seasons of Life.”

3. Tap the album art.

3. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews.

5. At the bottom of the page tap on “Write a Review”.

6. If you’re not already signed into iTunes, you will be asked to enter your iTunes password to login.

7. You’ll then have the option to rate us on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the best. Tap the Stars to leave a rating.

8. Enter a review title and submit a brief honest review.

9. Tap Send. 

Thanks again, Until next time live inspired!

“What you tell yourself on a daily basis is more powerful than you know.” ~ Jen Sincero

Guest Introduction:   I want to start the conversation today by saying thank you to all the amazing women that are part of a self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out.

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Paige Mitchell .

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

Paige specializes in helping individuals who feel stuck within their current career and are READY to transition to a job that is more aligned with their values and purpose. With her Masters in Counseling and 10 years’ experience in the mental health field, she is committed to working with clients on reframing their mindset, exploring their strengths, and getting clear on their vision and setting tangible goals.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Paige, welcome to the podcast. 

2:20 I think it's about just being really present within these milestones, just letting it be. I think, also, for me personally, like not really knowing what to expect, has actually helped me get out of my comfort zone. 

7:10 Yeah, yeah, I think I think it does get tricky, right. And, I think what's beautiful about like, coaching in general, is having the client define it for themselves. 

9:22 So I think if you have that sense of, okay, something is wrong, something doesn't feel right to me. Something is not aligned, depending how you describe it. I mean, the first step is to acknowledge it, identify it, a lot of people are really in denial. 

12:30 I also acknowledge that a lot of people hate journaling. So the caveat there is, if you do not like to have a notebook and a pen and paper, can you write it out on a Google document? Can you voice record yourself? Can you make a video like a vlogging? 

27:14 Yeah, that's a great question. So, once you've identified, you know, your top three or top four core values, think about values as this is a compass. This is how I want to live my life. It's not a checklist, it's not a goal. 

27:46 I think a good way for you after you identified what they are, then I would encourage you to journal sorry, for those that don't like to journal, but it's really helpful to again, get your thoughts out on paper, I would journal. 

33:18 I learned that activity from when I worked at the eating disorder hospital for five years, and so working one on one with the patients and in groups, and we would do value activities like that, to get them really thinking of, you know, what else is there to live for?

 You can find Paige Mitchell at:  Website Facebook  If you enjoyed this conversation with Paige Mitchell you might also enjoy these other episodes.

Self-care and Showing up in our Lives with Gina Bell

Living Life on Purpose with Stephanie Lora Bearce

Rediscover Your Brilliance with Jamie Martin

A Self-love Mindset with Martine Felton 

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or

head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Leaving a rating and review helps to improve rankings in iTunes, it shows engagement which may

attract sponsors and is essential for the podcast to be discovered by new listeners + it would mean the world to me.

 

Here's How to Leave a Review in iTunes From Your Phone 

1. Launch the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap the Search icon (on the bottom right) and search for “Exploring the Seasons of Life.”

3. Tap the album art.

3. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews.

5. At the bottom of the page tap on “Write a Review”.

6. If you’re not already signed into iTunes, you will be asked to enter your iTunes password to login.

7. You’ll then have the option to rate us on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the best. Tap the Stars to leave a rating.

8. Enter a review title and submit a brief honest review.

9. Tap Send.

Thanks again, Until next time live inspired!

“The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others.” ~Sonya Friedman 

 Guest Introduction: 

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Martine Felton.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

This is the fourth interview in a self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out.

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I am delighted you are here and thanks for hanging out with me. I can’t wait to share today’s guest as we unearth our superpowers from within.

Author, intuitive life coach, and medium, Martine Felton has always had a love for writing. Since she was a teenager, Martine has drawn inspiration from the world around her to write short stories, poetry, and journal. Now, Martine has turned her love for encouraging others to overcome their limiting beliefs, embody self-love, and walk in their purpose into her fiction and non-fiction works.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Martine, welcome to the podcast. 

2:02 Just like a book has chapters, we have our seasons of life that we go through that are focused on particular things that we going through in our lives, it could be a season of a spiritual awakening. 

3:57 I've always been a writer, as you know. And at first I wanted to document my spiritual journey, my awakening - when I started realizing that I had spiritual gifts and psychic abilities - but then I realized that I'm still going through that right now. 

6:07 I do remember the first toxic relationship that I was conscious of, that I'm conscious of right now and I feel like I got into that relationship because I was away from home. I was living in another state outside of my home state. And I didn't have anybody else. 

10:03 I journal almost every day, my intention is to journal every day. But you know, life happens. So sometimes it's maybe about four or five times a week as opposed to seven days a week. I personally like to do it in a meditative state because I am so spiritual. I like to meditate first, for about 20 minutes or so and then I grab my journal and my pen, and I call in my guides and my angels and ask them. Are there any messages for me? And I just start writing. 

15:30 To me, it's how you hold space for yourself. You know, it's how you make the decisions that you make for yourself. It's being able to say no, without feeling guilty, you know, and all of those, just being able to take decisive action for your personal your physical, your spiritual growth. 

23:40 People can feel your vibe and your energy. 

33:05 She's on her own journey. Just because she's my daughter doesn't mean that she's going to experience the same things the same way I did.

You can find Martine Felton at:

 Website Facebook Instagram

 If you enjoyed this conversation with Martine Felton you might also enjoy these other episodes.

Self-care and Showing up in our Lives with Gina Bell

Living Life on Purpose with Stephanie Lora Bearce

Rediscover Your Brilliance with Jamie Martin

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or

head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Leaving a rating and review helps to improve rankings in iTunes, it shows engagement which may

attract sponsors and is essential for the podcast to be discovered by new listeners + it would mean the world to me.

Here's How to Leave a Review in iTunes From Your Phone 

1. Launch the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap the Search icon (on the bottom right) and search for “Exploring the Seasons of Life.”

3. Tap the album art.

3. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews.

5. At the bottom of the page tap on “Write a Review”.

6. If you’re not already signed into iTunes, you will be asked to enter your iTunes password to login.

7. You’ll then have the option to rate us on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the best. Tap the Stars to leave a rating.

8. Enter a review title and submit a brief honest review.

9. Tap Send.

Thanks again, Until next time live inspired!

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – E.E. Cummings

 Guest Introduction: 

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Jamie Martin.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

This is the third interview in a self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out.

I am so happy you are here and I can’t wait to share today’s guest as we unearth our superpowers from within.

Jamie Martin is a Life and Leadership Coach who helps women who have been going and going and going for so long that they feel like they've lost themselves. Working with Jamie, her clients end up giving themselves permission to put themselves first, creating a plan and going after their dreams.

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Jamie, welcome to the podcast. 

1:31 It really means being in the season you're in, right, really owning who you are, where you're at, and enjoying that for what it is instead of looking for the next season. So, a great example of that is being single and being comfortable with being single, you can still date you can still you know, potentially meet the man of your dreams or the woman of your dreams. But enjoying that moment. And being able to say this is this season, I will never get again. I will never have this opportunity again to live in this experience.

6:00 It's about still taking the actions towards what you are dreaming about what you want in life but letting go of how that actually transpires. 

10:10 Definitely, definitely. And we don't open ourselves up to the other possibilities of what could show up in our world. 

16:06 But I also learned that my passion for other things is contagious. And that I can bring light to something, and I can bring a flourishing that allows that passion to actually be beautiful for somebody else. So, it's really about looking at those uglier qualities that we think we have of ourselves and seeing, hey, this actually is beautiful. 

27:35 I would say the biggest step is pause. Just keep pausing. So, you're having a conversation, before you answer, pause, you're in a meeting, you're about to walk into the meeting, pause, get into yourself, just long enough, that you are able to see where you're sitting physically, mentally, emotionally, right before entering the next moment. And it's such a small thing, split second. But just giving yourself that moment, allows you to create more awareness about who you are, and who you are showing up as without doing anything else.

 You can find Jamie Martin at:

 Website Facebook Instagram

 If you enjoyed this conversation with Jamie Martin you might also enjoy these other episodes.

Self-care and Showing up in our Lives with Gina Bell

Living Life on Purpose with Stephanie Lora Bearce

Creativity and Asking the Question “What if?” with Heather Kraft 

Aromatherapy Involves a Holistic Approach with Virginia Joy

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or

head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Leaving a rating and review helps to improve rankings in iTunes, it shows engagement which may

attract sponsors and is essential for the podcast to be discovered by new listeners + it would mean the world to me.

Here's How to Leave a Review in iTunes From Your Phone 

1. Launch the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap the Search icon (on the bottom right) and search for “Exploring the Seasons of Life.”

3. Tap the album art.

3. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews.

5. At the bottom of the page tap on “Write a Review”.

6. If you’re not already signed into iTunes, you will be asked to enter your iTunes password to login.

7. You’ll then have the option to rate us on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the best. Tap the Stars to leave a rating.

8. Enter a review title and submit a brief honest review.

9. Tap Send.

Thanks again, Until next time live inspired!

“The outer conditions of a person’s life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs.” ~James Allen

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Stephanie Lora Bearce.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

This is the second interview in a self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out where we talk about Journaling, Self-Awareness, Mindfulness, Forgiveness, Limiting beliefs, Creativity, Boundaries and Joy. We will use these topics as a springboard into a deeper self-care discussion.

I am super excited to dig deep with my guests and start building our self-care foundation brick by brick.

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I am delighted you are here and thanks for hanging out with me. I can’t wait to share today’s guest.

Stephanie Lora Bearce is The Anxiety & Empowerment Coach for entrepreneurs looking to make a big impact on the world. She left her “secure” Education career in 2018 for the adventure and freedom of entrepreneurship, and never looked back. Her mission is to help other entrepreneurs overcome anxiety and fear and step into their power to scale their business beyond their wildest dreams.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Stephanie, welcome to the podcast. 

4:20  All of these double standards and ways that it's just really kept us as women from being able to feel free to embrace our fullest potential. 

4:58  So your Inner Bad Bitch is that part of you that that's your inner truth, it's who you truly are connecting to that part of yourself that is unapologetic, free, excited about life, you know, pursues the relationships that feel good to her, she sets boundaries, which is so important. 

7:14 I think that people when they think about personal growth and things, they imagine that it has to be this like giant realization, one after another and huge earth-shattering movements and things but like, really, the magic with growth and with transforming your life happens in the small moments and the baby steps that you take, just how do I move the needle forward? 1% for myself today, and that's how you build that foundation. 

8:51 And becoming a curious observer is literally like bird watching your own life; quietly taking a step back. And just witnessing without that judgment and shame and self-pressure, that's all it is. 

15:52  And, you know, the sexy side of self-care is those like pampering days, and all of that, but there's a not so sexy side of self-care, which is, you know, doing the dishes, and making sure that you're paying your bills, and all those things that we don't necessarily want to do, but help us live a more on purpose and in the moment life, because when we avoid that, like not so sexy side of things, it actually takes us out of the present.

You can find Stephanie Lora Bearce at: Website Facebook Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Stephanie Lora Bearce you might also enjoy these other episodes.

Spiritual Business Coach and the Founder of The Soul Clean Company, Jessie Chiang

Self-care and Showing up in our Lives with Gina Bell

Gut and Hormone Nutritionist, Sheradyn Dekker

Creativity and Asking the Question “What if?” with Heather Kraft 

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Leaving a rating and review helps to improve rankings in iTunes, it shows engagement which may attract sponsors and is essential for the podcast to be discovered by new listeners + it would mean the world to me.  Here's How to Leave a Review in iTunes From Your Phone 

1. Launch the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap the Search icon (on the bottom right) and search for “Exploring the Seasons of Life.”

3. Tap the album art.

3. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews.

5. At the bottom of the page tap on “Write a Review”.

6. If you’re not already signed into iTunes, you will be asked to enter your iTunes password to login.

7. You’ll then have the option to rate us on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the best. Tap the Stars to leave a rating.

8. Enter a review title and submit a brief honest review.

9. Tap Send. 

Thanks again, Until next time live inspired!

"Perhaps it is our imperfections that make us so perfect for one another." ~ Jane Austen

 Guest Introduction:  

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Gina Bell.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

This is the first interview in a self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out where we talk about Journaling, Self-Awareness, Mindfulness, Forgiveness, Limiting beliefs, Creativity, Boundaries and Joy. We will use these topics as a springboard into a deeper self-care discussion.

I am super excited to dig deep with my guests and start building our self-care foundation brick by brick.

My intention is that women gain the self-confidence to express their best selves in all aspects of their lives - from the inside out.

Gina Bell is an empowerment guide, author, speaker, workshop host, and creator of The Tears & Tulle Movement. She is the author of a women’s empowerment picture book called Tears & Tulle. Gina uses art, metaphors, and rainbow tulle to help people all over the world remember their color. She loves eating batter straight from the mixing bowl on an old wooden spoon, playing board games with her family, and stealing her husband's comfy socks. She is busy these days writing Tears & Taffeta, the story of a boy and his ever-growing, multicolored cape. Gina lives outside of Chicago with her wonderful husband and is the mother of six amazing kids!

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I am delighted you are here and thanks for hanging out with me. Let’s get right to this amazing interview.

Gina, welcome to the podcast.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

3:59  I think my biggest thought, like my deepest thought, with your question, is working on defining what the seasons mean to me and sort of respecting and loving those seasons that don't seem as bright or colorful as the others. 

5:05 I was on a photo shoot in Orlando, Florida. I was on an abandoned overpass; I was in my bare feet. And someone had just gifted me this giant rainbow tulle fabric skirt. That was as big as I am. I had paired it with a black tank top, and I was standing out there on this overpass and I thought this really represents the dark and the color, the muddy, mucky parts of life and the beautiful colorful parts. 

19:25 I know that how busy life can be and I think that the best example we can set for our children and our grandchildren and whoever it might be in our lives or you know an aunt or a mom or whoever we're setting an example for even if it's we had one Tears and Tulle participant that said: “even if it's for the younger self that's looking back at you in the mirror” like even if it's for that person like standing in our own color shows others, their inner color shows them that they can take a look for a moment at that earlier color that connects them to their magic and vulnerability and creativity. 

20:32 My first one would be, anytime I speak on stage, or any time that I'm conducting workshops, I ask people what their Tears and Tulle moment is. 

26:20 One of the most important things we can do as women is stand in our messes together. And I think that it helps us to love ourselves more when we feel like we're not so alone. Gosh, that was a long answer. But that's how I'm feeling.

 You can find Gina Bell at: Website Facebook Connect  If you enjoyed this conversation with Gina Bell might also enjoy these other episodes:

You are Already Good Enough with Dr. Linda Buchanan

Find Your Voice and Feel Your Best with Sally Bolinger

Time is Your Life with Becca Rich

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Leaving a rating and review helps to improve rankings in iTunes, it shows engagement which may attract sponsors and is essential for the podcast to be discovered by new listeners + it would mean the world to me.

 Here's How to Leave a Review in iTunes From Your Phone 

1. Launch the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap the Search icon (on the bottom right) and search for “Exploring the Seasons of Life.”

3. Tap the album art.

3. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews.

5. At the bottom of the page tap on “Write a Review”.

6. If you’re not already signed into iTunes, you will be asked to enter your iTunes password to log in.

7. You’ll then have the option to rate us on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 being the best. Tap the Stars to leave a rating.

8. Enter a review title and submit a brief honest review.

9. Tap Send.

 Thanks again, Until next time live inspired!

“A busy, vibrant, goal-oriented woman is so much more attractive than a woman who waits around for a man to validate her existence.” ~ Mandy Hale

Guest Introduction:  

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Karenna Alexander.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

I am super excited to announce, June will begin the new self-care series called Life in Full Bloom: Living From the Inside Out where we talk about Journaling, Self-Awareness, Mindfulness, Forgiveness, Limiting beliefs, Creativity, Boundaries and Joy. We will use these topics as a springboard into a deeper self-care conversation and I hope you will be joining us!

Today, it’s time to roll out the red carpet for our special guest, Karenna Alexander. 

Karenna Alexander is a dating coach whose specialty is helping women weed out time-wasters and find Mr. Right. She just released her first book A Women's Guide to Understanding Men: Dating Secrets Most Women Don't Know. She is based on the East Coast.

Welcome to the podcast Karenna.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

5:45 It's funny how when I switched into this career, I didn't think I was going to use my writing as much, but come to come to find out, I'm really connecting with readers through my writing, but it's through dating now, instead of criminal trials and legal trials.

6:41 I have this phrase, I say, men and women are equal, and we're equal in the boardroom, but not in the bedroom.

14:12 When I say courtship, it might not necessarily resonate exactly, they might just think, the 1950s but essentially what I mean are dating strategies, where you essentially are hard to get; you let him chase you. You let him make the move.

15:34 We all know guys drive for hours to go to football games with their friends, go to casinos with their friends, go to ski shares with their friends, go to football games, I might have said football games already. But it's just guys will do the drive for their friends. So, if they think you're special, they will do it for you. And they do.

17:52 And I do have some tips in my book for online dating. Because one of the big complaints is, oh, it's such a waste of time. And yeah, maybe it is in a way. It is like kneading wheat, going through a haystack looking for a needle, right? But when you find that needle Are you thrilled, and that's happened to a lot of my clients, they're on it for years, and then they find them, and then they're like, I'm so glad I stayed on what if I'd gotten off a year ago, I wouldn't have met the guy that is making me so happy right now. 

32:28 The first thing that popped in my head, and it sounds almost corny, but just believe in yourself.

You can find Karenna Alexander at: Facebook Website Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Karenna Alexander might also enjoy these other episodes:

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Creativity and Asking the Question “What if?” with Heather Kraft

Manifest True Love with Tracey-Anne Greenhow

 Connection and Building Friendships with Christy Pennison

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 Thanks again, Until next time live inspired!

“A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.” ~ Charlotte Brontë

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Kelly Murray.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.  

Kelly Murray is a certified adult sleep coach and award-winning pediatric sleep consultant. She helps uber busy professionals, just like you, get the one thing that is holding you back from achieving ultimate world domination: consistent, lush, deep, sleep. 

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome to the podcast Kelly. 

4:55 Once I figured that out and addressed it my life completely changed. I was better rested. I had a ton more patience; I was enjoying motherhood again. And I saw the biggest change in my son, he was hitting his developmental milestones more quickly, and was just such a happier child, although he was really happy to begin with. So, I decided after that to become certified as a sleep consultant to help other moms in a similar situation. 

7:31 We want to have a sleep sanctuary to sleep in and so many people do all those things, but they're still not seeing results. And to me, that's like a check engine light that's on your car. It's telling you that there's something off with your body physically. 

9:33 I think there's always a mind-body component to anyone's insomnia. If they're experiencing chronic sleep issues. You know, it's normal to have a sleepless night here and there. If you're under abnormal stress, you know, say you have a tight deadline at work or you're waiting for some test results. Of course, that's going to impact your sleep. Because whenever we're stressed, our bodies produce cortisol, which is the alert hormone. And so the more cortisol you have in your system, the more alert you're going to be. And that's going to impact your sleep. So stress definitely plays a key role and insomnia. 

15:33 So the first thing starts with your morning routine, I always recommend that my clients get out of their house and get outside for two to 10 minutes within an hour of waking up. Because what that does is it sends a signal to your brain that it's daytime. 

19:13 And then after you take your bath or shower you do your hygiene. Then do something relaxing that you really enjoy. You know, such as reading a book or listening to a podcast or a book on tape, doing maybe some stretching, praying, meditating, and just find some time to like really unwind before you get into bed. And then don't get into bed until you're you feel like sleep is knocking you on the shoulder. Because you should feel like you're ready to fall asleep before you jump in your bed.

You can find Kelly Murray at: Website Facebook Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Kelly Murray might also enjoy these other episodes in the Stress Awareness series for April.

4 Tips to Handling Stress in a Healthy Way with Alisha Crothers

Spiritual Business Coach and the Founder of The Soul Clean Company, Jessie Chiang

Gut and Hormone Nutritionist, Sheradyn Dekker

Anxiety Coach and Imposter Syndrome Educator, Heather Rider

Women’s Brain Health and Neuro-Nutrition with Tonya Keane

Make sure to visit our website, CynthiaMacMillan.com, where you can subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify so you’ll never miss a show. While you’re at it, if you found value in this show we’d appreciate a rating on iTunes – or if you’d simply tell a friend about the show, that would help us out too. 

Until next time live inspired!

“If you can’t do a poem, you can do a line. And if you can’t do a line, you can do an image — and that pathway that leads you along, in fragments, becomes astonishingly valuable.” ~ Eavan Boland

Guest Introduction:  

This is Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast episode 58. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and today’s guest is Tonya Keane.  

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. Each week, join Cindy MacMillan as she interviews coaches, spiritual explorers and celebrants from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well.  

Tonya Keane is a Nutritionist, Professional Chef and Functional Medicine Practitioner based in Ireland who specializes in Women’s brain health, with a big interest in the menopausal brain.

Tonya suffered severe neurological dysfunction at one time in her life, and so began the journey to reclaim her brain and out of this she founded The Women’s Brain Project a neuro-nutrition approach to preventing Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Tonya, welcome to the podcast.

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

2:38 I think it's a real season, or a time to reflect, to look after yourself for once, to nurture yourself so that you can enter into the winter season, you know, with a lot of strength and a lot of stamina. People kind of look at winter as oh my God, that's a hard time but you know, I think as a season, we need to look at it like -- what can we do to make that winter really good? 

7:16 I do think that women's brain health to some degree has been forgotten about, we tend to focus on, you know, from the neck down, we look after our bodies, you know, we go for breast checks, we go for a cervical smear test, but what are we doing about the brain? You know, where are we getting tested? Where are we getting checked as preventative medicine, we, as women tend to forget from the neck up that we have this brain that needs looking after it needs love, and care, and nurturing.

11:53 So what is the plan, and I sat there, and I sat there, and I was like, there's got to be a plan, you know, I've got to put something on paper, I've got to take some sort of control over this. And I wrote down nutrition.

15:15 So basically, neuro-nutrition is about nutrition for your brain. So, our brains require anything up to 45, different macro and micronutrients. And they can be very different from actually what the body requires. 

33:53 I would say, enjoy it. Don't race ahead. Just you know, enjoy each and every moment of it. No need to push on. No need to rush into summer or into autumn because, you know, they're your favorites. There are wonderful things to be found in spring and winter, as well.

You can find Tonya Keane at:

Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Tonya Keane might also enjoy these other episodes:

You are Already Good Enough with Dr. Linda Buchanan

Leave the Frustrations of the Diet Culture Behind with Samantha Hohenshil

Creativity and Asking the Question “What if?” with Heather Kraft

Make sure to visit our website, CynthiaMacMillan.com, where you can subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify so you’ll never miss a show. While you’re at it, if you found value in this show we’d appreciate a rating on iTunes – or if you’d simply tell a friend about the show, that would help us out too. 

Until next time live inspired!