“The only way to stop feeling like an impostor is to stop thinking like an impostor.”  ~ Valerie Young

Guest Introduction:

I want to start the conversation today by saying thank you to all the amazing women that I have had on the show.

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 Heather Rider.

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 the interview.

Heather Rider is an anxiety coach and Imposter Syndrome educator who personally overcame high-functioning anxiety and Imposter Syndrome while working in a demanding Tech job. She works with clients from all over the world who want to take a nontraditional, holistic approach to healing anxiety.

 Heather, Welcome to the podcast. I am so happy to have you today and to talk about anxiety and imposter syndrome.

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation: 

3:23 When I had imposter syndrome, I found myself in a job, completely overwhelmed by what I was doing. I had been out of technology for 10 years; I had been staying home intermittently with my girls and I had actually been living in another city for a while before I moved back to Austin. And so I moved back to Austin to get back into technology.

7:43 It holds people back because especially at work, because if somebody is feeling like, Who am I? Do I belong here? That means that they won't speak up in meetings, right? They won't share their ideas. They won't pursue new projects, because they think, well, who am I to do that? I don't know what I'm doing. And they're gonna figure out that I don't know what I'm doing. People won't seek out career advancements in their companies. So, I mean, it really, really limits people, which is why I had mentioned that I quickly realized that it was holding me back.

12:35 Imposter syndrome is very common among high-achieving people.

13:07 People who are highly accomplished, they tend to be perfectionist a lot of the time. And so what's underneath the imposter syndrome is perfectionism. It's limiting beliefs, right? It's like subconscious programming, about who we think we are and self-judgment statements.

24:50 One thing I would say regardless of whether it's stress or anxiety, a tip is looking at your life and seeing what you can do less of; people do too much. And that's part of why they're stressed out, right? They're taking on too many things.

 You can find Heather Rider at: Website Facebook YouTube  If you enjoyed this conversation with Heather Rider might also enjoy these other episodes:

You are Already Good Enough with Dr. Linda Buchanan

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

Time is Your Life with Becca Rich

Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

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!

“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” ~ Diane Mariechild

Guest Introduction: 

This is Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast episode 56. I’m Cindy MacMillan and today’s guest is Sheradyn Dekker. 

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.  

Gut & Hormone Nutritionist, Sheradyn Dekker has a Sport Science Degree, Masters in Nutrition and Postgraduate studies in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition.

Having spent years battling chronic IBS, bloating, missing periods, adult acne & food intolerances, she now educates women 1:1 and in her group program (The Gut Hormone Solution) on how to address the underlying cause of these symptoms.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Sheradyn, Thank you for being a guest today.

There have been so many articles and studies lately about our gut that I really wanted to interview you as a Gut & Hormone Nutritionist. In the Wall Street Journal just a couple of weeks ago they said “The microbiome, or the collection of microbes that live on and inside the human body, plays a crucial role in physical and mental health. Not only does it protect against pathogens, it also trains the immune system, instructs the metabolism and helps program the brain, among other things.” So I really want us to touch on that today.

2:52 So a bit of my background was when I was chronically sick for six years, which is why I now do what I do. And that real hard season of my life, I was really stressed. I had a lot of constipation and a lot of bloating issues, a lot of stomach pain, I struggled with a lot of stress and anxiety. I had a lot of hormonal imbalances. I didn't have periods for six years.

6:44 And the only solution was the birth control pill. And I just thought, that's not good enough. Like that's, that's not a solution for a 20-year-old who's got missing periods and got severe gut pain, like there's got to be something more. So then when I did Functional Diagnostic nutrition, we actually started looking at stool testing, what was going on with the gut, what was going on with the hormones that comprehensive urine testing. And from that point, I finally for the first time, I started to get some answers.

15:48 Yes, so one of the biggest things I always tell my clients for stress reduction around food, because this is a big one, is that if we're not taking the time to eat, and chew and absorb our food properly, you're causing this internal stress within your gut, because your gut needs to know that, hey, right now, we're sitting, okay, we're sitting, we're eating, we're digesting, you can't eat on the go and expect your body to be able to digest as well.

 Resources Mentioned:  

Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome  by Will Bulsiewicz MD

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. 

You can find Sheradyn Dekker at: Website Facebook Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Sheradyn Dekker 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 joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I loved this conversation with Sheradyn about how the gut is the cornerstone to EVERY other interaction in our body. I have included 3 podcast episodes in the show notes from ‎Empowered Hormones with Sheradyn Dekker.

Episode 3 - Why IBS is a BS Diagnosis

https://omny.fm/shows/empowered-hormones-with-sheradyn-dekker/why-ibs-is-a-bs-diagnosis-and-how-to-get-a-real-di

Episode 9 -Stool Testing & Root Cause

https://omny.fm/shows/empowered-hormones-with-sheradyn-dekker/ibs-bloating-part-3-root-cause-stool-testing-wit-1

Episode 12 Bloating & prebiotics:

https://omny.fm/shows/empowered-hormones-with-sheradyn-dekker/bday-special-ibs-bloating-my-personal-struggle-wit

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!

"From beginning to end, the rituals of our lives shape each hour, day, and year. . . If you understand them, you may enrich them. In this way the habits of a lifetime become sacred." ~ Robert Fulghum

Guest Introduction:   

You’re listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast and this is episode 55. I’m Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Jessie Chiang.

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.  

Jessie Chiang is a Spiritual Business Coach, known for her inspiring stories and her connection to the Angelic realm, is a certified Empowerment Coach and graduated with a BA in Psychology. She specializes in coaching highly sensitive entrepreneurs to use their innate gifts, align to their soul mission and achieve results fast with intuition and energy work. Jessie is also the Founder of the Soul Clean Co., an online business that sells energetic cleansing bath and body products. When not on Zoom coaching her clients, she loves going outdoors with her son and her high school sweetheart in sunny Southern California where she calls home.  

 Jessie, Welcome to the podcast.

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation: 

1:53 I really think that my business is very highly integrated with my personal life anyway. So with the seasons of life, I feel that we go through this ebb and flow all the time, as always is going inward and outward. There's always the Yin and Yang, there's the time when you stay at home and you know, you're more into thinking about things ruminating about things. And then there are times when you really launch your ideas as you go out and network. So it's recognizing that kind of ebb and flow. 

6:45 That’s a great question because I get that a lot. So, here's a few things that help you to find, which is your intuition, which is your ego, your intuition is usually very positive, it is usually a very positive message where it says you're beautiful or go for a walk, you know, something that's more happy, peaceful. And then your ego is a lot, usually more negative. 

13:37 Well, there are also many ways to find whether we're in alignment, you will feel like when you're in alignment with your business, it almost like you're in the flow with the river of your mission, you'll start to see that you are connected with the right people at the right time, the right type of clients will come to you. You don't feel like you have to hustle a lot.

You can find Jessie Chiang at: Website Facebook Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Jessie Chiang 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 joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

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!

“You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.”

~ Brene Brown

Guest Introduction:  

You’re listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast and this is a Bonus episode for Stress Awareness Month. I’m Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Alisha Crothers.

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.  

Alisha is a wife, mother of three, and health and wellness entrepreneur with a focus in the connection between gut health and mental health.  

She has a passion for teaching about the connection between health and happiness, specifically our ability to optimize our lives and live up to our full potential through optimizing  the way our body and mind work together. Alisha strives to free people from their own limiting beliefs and empower them to take control of their life.  

Welcome to the podcast Alisha.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation: 

3:52 There was just this long period of time, where it wasn't really about me. And when it's not about you, you don't notice a lot of what's going on in your body or your habits or really anything, I was very unaware of what was going on with me as a whole as a person.

8:02 One of the first things that I want to say about that, I just kind of came to as we were talking here is that I realized that I've come to a point where when I'm feeling stressed, I try and take a step back and think for a second. Is this really that stressful? Or could I reframe this in my mind and maybe call it excitement; because your body reacts to excitement and stress the same way.

10:55 And I never thought about how that affected me. But every single thing that you take into your body is going to affect the way you deal with stress. So, I personally took TV out of my daily life.

15:55 My opinion is that people really really need to understand that everything is connected and that they can make one decision that is going to influence their ability to make another good decision which will influence their ability to make another good decision.

You can find Alisha Crothers at: Instagram Facebook  If you enjoyed this conversation with Alisha Crothers might also enjoy these other episodes:

You are Already Good Enough with Dr. Linda Buchanan

Millie Grenough, Founder of the Oasis in the Overwhelm

Find Your Voice and Feel Your Best with Sally Bolinger

Time is Your Life with Becca Rich

Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I loved everything about this conversation with Alisha and especially her tips to handle stress in a healthy way. 

I've been working behind the scenes to make 2021 a year of growth and ease by stepping outside of my comfort zone.

I partnered with a company that is all about targeting mental wellness through the body’s three brains - The Gut-Brain-Heart Axis. I would love for you to come along on this journey with me as I dig deep into learning about the Gut-Brain-Heart Axis.

In my journey so far I am brighter and focused, like the fog has lifted. "Brain fog" can make you feel like you're sleepwalking through life and with hypothyroidism it's a very real thing.  I felt tired, had difficulty focusing, forgetful, and had a hazy thought process.

I highly recommend you go to CynthiaMacMillan.com to check out the show notes where I will link to the Mental Health Wellness assessment and a  $10.00 off coupon to help start reducing your stress, regaining focus and becoming more resilient in your daily life!

 Yes, I want the Mental Health Wellness Assessment.

 Contact me at [email protected] to help you get started.

 Until next time live inspired!

Affiliate Disclosure: This website contains affiliate links. This means if you click on the links, including in the show notes, and purchase the item, I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

“The answer to ‘I have no idea how I am going to get through this’ is: you allow yourself to sob, to heave, to feel as if your heart has a boulder crashing through it.” ~ Geneen Roth, Women Food And God: An Unexpected Path To Almost Everything

Guest Introduction:

You’re listening to  Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast and this is episode 54. I’m Cindy MacMillan and today’s guest is Samantha Hohenshil. 

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. 

Samantha Hohenshil is a Non-Diet Nutritional Therapist and Master Mindset Coach empowering women to break free from the diet mentality and heal their relationships with food and their bodies. 

After spending nearly two decades stuck in the restrict/binge diet cycle, Samantha has dedicated her life to debunking many popular Diet Culture and weight loss myths, while simultaneously promoting body positivity, gentle plant-based nutrition, and holistic lifestyle habits. 

Her refreshing non-diet philosophy (which is rooted in evolutionary science, behavioral psychology, and the principles of Health at Every Size®) approaches health and wellness through sustainable acts of self-care, rather than extreme acts of self-control. 

Welcome to the podcast Samantha.

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

2:08 I love the whole premise of your podcast because I think that it's really important that we recognize that life does go through seasons and go through changes, right? I talked about this with my clients all the time, the seasons of your body and the changes of your body. We have to understand that as we go through life, and we learn new things, and we have new experiences; it's about being fluid and able to kind of roll with the punches and be your best self throughout each stage in life. So yeah, I'm really excited to dig into this with you. 

4:48 You mentioned, Twiggy, we get a lot of pressures from society and the modeling world the fashion world especially, which is ever-evolving but always seems to, you know, showcase one particular body type over another. The influences are so huge, and they do typically happen at a very, very young age.

5:17 Intuitive eating is a way of reconnecting with your body's innate hunger and fullness cues and eating based on intuition versus intellect. 

6:55 Intuitive eating is about reconnecting with those signals honoring not only your hunger and fullness but your preferences around taste, texture, types of foods you're eating, you know, we forget a lot of times that food is meant to be enjoyed. And eating is supposed to be a pleasurable experience. The damage of dieting and the repetitiveness of all of the drama that happens with dieting kind of takes that joy away. 

11:17 Someone who is constantly self-loathing, constantly comparing constantly, you know, picking at little things about themselves, their body image is going to be terrible compared to someone who is celebrating the things about themselves, they really love and they really appreciate.

35:04 So I talk about all this in my program and for your listeners, I'm going to be offering a very special promotion. If you DM me on social media or email me the word SEASONS, I will give you the first content module of my program completely for free. So you'll get to learn all about diet culture and how it's negatively affecting you. And you'll also get a 30-minute conversation with me to kind of implement those changes as well. All for free. So feel free to reach out, I'd love to talk to you,

35:57 If I could tell my 18-year-old self that I would be here, I would just be like, you know what, sign up for the ride, get ready for the ride. Because this season for me, it's such about regrowth and rebirth. You know, the whole reason that I've just launched this brand-new program is that I lost my job due to COVID last year, my corporate job.

You can find Samantha Hohenshil at: Website Facebook  If you enjoyed this conversation with Samantha Hohenshil might also enjoy these other episodes:

You are Already Good Enough with Dr. Linda Buchanan

Time is Your Life with Becca Rich

Connection and Building Friendships with Christy Pennison

Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

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!

“You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say you did not know.” ~ William Wilberforce

Guest Introduction:

This is Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast episode 53. I’m Cindy MacMillan and today’s guest is Sariah Hastings.  

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.  

Welcome back to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. Thank you for listening today and you are in for a heartfelt conversation.

 Sariah Hastings is a survivor of human trafficking in the United States. After twenty years of entrapment in “The Game” running from the constant threat of a dangerous world, Christ snatched her from death’s door and carried her to freedom.

She has been free from prostitution and abuse for almost ten years. Hastings has since earned an Associate degree in Bible and Theology, is a published author of “No More Games,” works in the medical field, and help women who are trapped in human trafficking get freed from it.

Welcome to the podcast Sariah.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Our conversation today is going to be about your journey with Human Trafficking.

I am going to start off with a definition of What Is Human Trafficking from the Department of Homeland Security.

“Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide – including right here in the United States. It can happen in any community and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. Traffickers might use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to lure victims into trafficking situations.”

After 20 years - Is that how you define human trafficking?

2:56 I think the biggest part of the definition that they don't put in there is women, children and men who have low self-esteem, people who are struggling with depression, or struggling with their weight or struggling with how they look, whatever they may be, their low self-esteem is the major key factor in human trafficking. 

13:53 There's a scripture that says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” What would you speak over your child? You can either speak life into them, or you could speak death into them. If you're constantly speaking negative over them. Oh, you're stupid. Oh, you're not able to do this. Oh, you're dumb. Why didn't you think about this? Why didn't you do that? When you start speaking, like so negative than they, they didn't think that they are that person and then they become an adult. That's a very negative person.

19:06 My story is completely different from the next survivor. We all have our own stories, we all have our, our own traumatic experiences, you know, for me, you can't pay me enough to get in the bathtub. Because of the trauma that happened to me.

32:38 If I needed clothes, I would have to ask them you know, you know, Daddy, can I get those? Always daddy always starts with Daddy, Daddy can I get?

37:40 Every state is a hot spot. But the prime places would be like California is a prime place. You know, you have all of California you could be down in southern California to central California all the way up to the Sacramento area. So, it's all of California, you have Vegas, as a hotspot. You have Houston, Dallas, is a hotspot Atlanta is a hotspot. You have Tennessee, North Carolina, New York, Boston, New Jersey, Philadelphia are all hotspots.

Resources Mentioned:  

No More Games

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

You can find Sariah Hastings at: Facebook Instagram  If you enjoyed this conversation with Sariah Hastings you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Paris, Self-love and Mindset with Sharri Harmel

Connection and Building Friendships with Christy Pennison

Reimagining the Possible with Cancer Coach, Marisa Harris

Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

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!

“Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart truly desires must come to you.” ~ Shakti Gawain

Guest Introduction:  

You’re listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast and this is episode 52. I’m Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Trisha Schmalhofer.

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.  

My guest this episode is a return guest; she was in fact my very first guest on the podcast and that episode was released a little over a year ago on February 8, 2020.

Trisha Schmalhofer is a Whisperer of the Body, Alchemist of the Soul, and Channel for Divine Wisdom. She believes the best possible way to heal on all levels and assist you in finding your true path is by blending Science and Spirit with modern and ancient techniques. She is an Integrative Therapist, Amazon #1 Bestselling Author, Retreat & Workshop Teacher, and Inspirational Speaker.

Trisha, welcome back to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

2:08 Yes, the seasons of life. I love that name because that is what it's like we are riding cycles, riding waves of cycles of potentiality and influence and in 2020 there were quite a few waves of change that affected us as individuals, as communities, as a country, and as a planet.

5:22 We have a lot of metaphysical stuff because a lot of us are spiritual people. We are badasses, alchemists, and mystics, that's what BAM stands for. Hope I can say that on your show. But that's in all areas of life. I mean, it could be police officers, it could be people that do adventure stuff, you know, out camping and bicycling it also is people that do spiritual readings. We have therapists, we have coaches, we have yoga teachers, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong teachers.

30:52 But meditation and finding your intuitive center, it's different places on different people. Sometimes it's in the gut, sometimes it's a little lower in like the lower abdomen. Sometimes it's in the heart, it could be somewhere else on your body, and it could move around as you grow and change. 

31:28 The second tip is to actually have a list of yes or no questions that once you get to that space, the tip before that would be exploring what yes is like in your body. In your energy. Maybe you see something? Maybe you feel something? And what's No, and just start exploring with that.

34:49 My business is MedHealers and it's about finding your own medicine because we all need different medicines, right? And it's medhealers.com and the Bam community website is bamcommunity11.com and yeah, I really encourage people to go to bamcommunity11.com.

You can find Trisha Schmalhofer at: Website Facebook  If you enjoyed this conversation with Trisha Schmalhofer might also enjoy these other episodes:

You are Already Good Enough with Dr. Linda Buchanan

Millie Grenough, Founder of the Oasis in the Overwhelm

Find Your Voice and Feel Your Best with Sally Bolinger

Time is Your Life with Becca Rich

Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

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!

You’re listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast and this is episode 51.

I’m your host Cindy MacMillan. I am a Certified Integrative Coach, a Certified Spiritual Divorce Coach, as well as a From Grief to Gratitude Certified Coach. In other words…

I have a passion for understanding what makes people tick, I love meaningful conversations and I support busy women just like you process grief (in all its forms).

I have 2 quotes that feel really good to me today as I record. 

The first one is: “People are disturbed not by a thing, but by their perception of a thing.” ~ Epictetus

And the second one is: “When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself.” ~ Glennon Doyle  

Oh wow that one just put cold chill bumps on me. 

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.  

Here’s a glimpse of my conversation: 

It’s hard to believe that this is episode 51 and my first time going solo. I believe it was in episode 37 that Sharri Harmel encouraged me to do a solo show; so here I am.  …Today I am going to talk about the podcast and a slight pivot in the content and why I am making this change. We are going into Spring soon. Can you feel it? I can.

Spring is a time of setting new intentions and for planting new seeds in your life. I’m ready to make a fresh start.

In 2021, I am going to focus more on health and wellness and specifically mental wellness. What does that look like to me? I am still going to interview coaches and folks who are on a spiritual journey, but I am also going to delve deeper into mental wellness; seriously 2020 was a difficult year and mental wellness is the key to overall health and happiness.

I had a light bulb moment – it’s my journey with Hashimoto's, including the weight gain, fatigue, feeling blah and the - I can’t remember anything - brain fog PLUS the topics I naturally love to talk about (it all revolved around mental wellness) so I decided those topics needed more emphasis; a lot more emphasis on the podcast.

I will be talking about my mental wellness journey from time to time on the podcast and how I am taking care of my gut, brain and heart. In fact, I will add a link to a couple of products that I am taking right now to combat the foggy brain that I mentioned earlier.

Also, in the show notes, I will add a link to a complimentary $10.00 coupon.

If you want to feel good and function at your best, get help—or at least welcome it when it’s offered.

I invite you to take the Mental Health Wellness quiz and see where you are.

It all starts with that first step. Contact Cindy to help you get started. Come along on this journey with me!

Thanks for listening to my first solo episode.

You can find Cindy MacMillan at: Website Facebook  If you enjoyed this conversation with Cindy MacMillan you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Find Your Voice and Feel Your Best with Sally Bolinger

When We Shut Down on Grief We Shut Down on Life With Jasmin Jenkins

Connection and Building Friendships with Christy Pennison

You’ve been listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life.

If you haven’t already, please give us a quick review and rating on iTunes, and don’t forget you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

You can reach me via the website CynthiaMacMillan.com or to ask a question simply e-mail me at  [email protected].

Affiliate Disclosure: This website contains affiliate links, which means Cindy may receive a percentage of some products or services you purchase using the links in the show notes.

“Each of us has a unique part to play in the healing of the world.” ~ Marianne Williamson

Guest Introduction:

You’re listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast and this is episode 50. I’m Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Debbie Leoni.

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.  

Debbie Leoni, owner of Being Fearless Coaching, is an author, trainer and coach. She lives her passion daily by teaching and coaching others to shift their fear into fearlessness. Debbie has been trained by world leaders such as Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson, and she is dedicated to supporting her clients towards letting go of mediocrity and stepping into the highest version of themselves.

Debbie welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

2:45 Many years ago, when I was in a low point in my life, I knew I needed and wanted something different. I started reading books, particularly the first book that really was a catalyst was Debbie Ford's book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers. I read that and it just so resonated with me.

5:27 One day it dawned on me that what's in the way of me being where I want to be. It's fear-based, it's thoughts, it's fear, it's in the head, it's all made up.

8:22 I have a son who is now 34 years old. But when he was 12 years old, he started using, you know, he's an addict. He did every drug in the world. There were many nights that I lie awake, wondering if he was alive. It was horrible, traumatic, fearful. What parent wouldn't be? I was so afraid that he was going to die. I was living in my fear, fear-based beliefs, and what else can I do and it so much that I mean, I went into depression and high anxiety and I knew I had to do something different.

11:28 Well, the first step is to be looking too many parents are not willing to look, they don't want to go there because of fear of or they, you know, they have this mindset, oh, not my kid, my kids fine.

15:53 So I teach women to nurture themselves - at least - as much as they nurture everyone else.

You can find Debbie Leoni at: Website LinkedIn  If you enjoyed this conversation with Debbie Leoni you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Paris, Self-love and Mindset with Sharri Harmel

Connection and Building Friendships with Christy Pennison

Reimagining the Possible with Cancer Coach, Marisa Harris

Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

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!

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Guest Introduction:

You’re listening to the Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast and this is episode 49. I’m Cindy MacMillan and today’s guest is Dr. Linda Buchanan. 

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. 

Welcome back to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.  

Dr. Linda Buchanan is a psychologist who has practiced psychotherapy for over 30 years.  Additionally, she's been practicing as a wife for 37 years and mother of two boys for over 23 years. She says she is practicing because there's always room for growth. Dr. Buchanan published her first book in 2019 and has published three self-help workbooks in 2020 (her pandemic projects).

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

2:50 So there's been a lot of space, to think about what I want to do with myself going forward and some of that is to be determined. But one part that I have found I really enjoy is writing and I have a couple of blogs, one for therapists and one for just the general population. I've written a book and have found that to be really rewarding and gardening. You know, it's just kind of exciting to be in a time of life where everything's not determined.

5:45 Many, many factors, I do think that some of it goes all the way back to childhood where I would try to be the peacemaker. And so when there are two sides - to anything - to any argument between people, or even when we're torn on the inside, a lot of times the wisdom is somewhere in between

6:33 So my attempts at helping were laced with anxiety because sometimes I would be the one that …they would end up getting mad at me because they thought I was taking the other person's side when I was just trying to pull people together.

7:27 That is when I became fascinated with the reasons why we don't change, which I kind of began to conceptualize through the lens of ambivalence. And ambivalence is just when you have two different feelings about the same thing at the same time, which is normal and healthy. It's because we have complicated brains. And we can, you know, look at things from different angles, but we can also get stuck in it.

10:52 So I asked people to really pay attention to the nature of their thoughts and the tone of their thoughts, believe it or not, we do speak to ourselves with certain tones. It can be kind, or it can be a critical tone, and then and then see if that can shift to a more effective way of talking to ourselves and be in a relationship with ourselves.

22:21 So for instance, it's better to know where the bear lives than where the daffodils grow. If you're walking in the woods, and you see a bear, it's going to light up your brain. And you're going to remember everything about that situation. But if you're walking in the woods, and you see some pretty flowers, you may or may not even remember where they were.

 The best way to get in touch with me is through my website. And it's www.lindapaulkbuchanan.com/ and there's a contact form, you can email me through my website. I've got all kinds of free things under the free resources tab. And then I've got other products that I sell my books and my workbooks, and just lots of free webinars. So I sure hope you'll check it out.

Resources Mentioned:  

The Gap and The Gain Hardcover by Dan Sullivan (Author), Benjamin Dr. Hardy (Author)

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

You can find Dr. Linda Buchanan at: Website Facebook  If you enjoyed this conversation with Heather Kraft you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Find Your Voice and Feel Your Best with Sally Bolinger

Anyone can Create with Karina Hines

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

Thanks for joining us this week on Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

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!