“To be hopeful means to be uncertain about the future, to be tender toward possibilities, to be dedicated to change all the way down to the bottom of your heart.”  ~ Rebecca Solnit

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 Allison Finley.

Today we are chatting about energy, mindset and living in alignment.

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. 

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Allison thanks so much for joining me on the podcast. I have been looking forward to this all week. 

3:33 So what came to my mind immediately is the word present. And this is something that I've been working with for years, right? Like that's such a spiritual principle, like the present moment, that's the only thing that exists, we need to be here now. And that's such a, lovely concept, but to really, really do that is what enjoying and embracing the seasons of life means to me, because for me, it's really if we look at our lives, and we look back on our lives, in every single season, there was really beautiful things, there were struggles, there was pain, there was joy.

6:00 If we can live by that principle, how full does our life feel, you know, when you just let go of the pressure, and you're just like, Okay, I'm not waiting for anything to be happy. Just being in life and being here right now.

10:0 And God said, let me show you the truth of who I am. Everything you think you know about spirituality about God, about source, universe, whatever you want to call him, I'm going to need you to lay that down and be open to some new ideas to some new truths, and be open to new ways of healing. And I just knew in my soul that I had to trust my journey at that moment.

16:43 If someone's in a situation where they're really, really fearing something, I think a huge tip is to remember that you are not the fear. Fear is an energy, emotions are energy, thoughts are energy. We are not emotions, or thoughts or beliefs, or this body, right? Like our core essence, is this soul that we are and we're in a physical form, having a physical experience. So, remembering that fear is part of the human experience, it's safe to feel it.

22:43 Like, we don't push the fear away, because that's trying to bypass it, you welcome it in, but we leave it in its rightful place. We go, okay, you're trying to help us, you're trying to serve us. We love you and appreciate you. But you don't get to drive in this moment. Because this is where our souls going.

38:39 Well, first of all, I always receive a word for the year. So, my word for 2021 was liberation. And spirit gave me two words for this year. And I think it's because it's like the year of the two right 2022. And my two words for this year are mastery and surprise. I love that you just asked the surprise question.

41:47 The best place you can find me is to go to my website. It's allisonfinley.com and on there you can see all of my offers.

You can find Allison Finley at:  Website Instagram Energetic Sovereignty If you LOVED this conversation with Allison Finley you’ll also love the conversations we had with:

Debbie Shadid Interviews Cindy on Self-care and Giving Yourself Permission

A Life that Feels Integrated with Ronna Detrick

Lean Into the Seasons with Barbara Friesen

Let’s get Vulnerable with Kayleen Johnson

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.

“True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.” ~ Brené Brown

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome back to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I'm your host Cindy MacMillan.

This podcast is for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. Each week I interview coaches and spiritual explorers about beginnings, endings + 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.

As always, I am honored that we’re spending time together today and I am delighted to introduce my guest.

Elizabeth Savage is a leader in embodied mindfulness. Through the lens of yoga, body work, and coaching, she empowers people to heal, live fully, and embrace the power of freedom.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Hi, Elizabeth. Thanks so much for joining me today.  

1:12 It makes me think of a phrase I used often at the end of my yoga classes in reference to polishing our heart. That in a sense, our heart has a light, and the more time we spend kind of resting into the sensations of our body, the more polished and bright our heart becomes. 

2:13 And it wasn't until I really stepped into the world of yoga, that I embraced and understood that it's the process of exploration that really brings everything together. 

9:38 When a body is alive and vital, the nervous system communicates and so it's not about the thoughts but more about the sensations and then feeling the sensations and acknowledging them honoring them, which if you think about it, this is one of the things I love to do in my yoga practice is bring my clients bring my practitioners back to the sensations in their body. 

11:42 And it's just to be in gratitude, I believe that gratitude might just be the most precious medicine we can give ourselves. You know, it's like love, very, very much the same, to be fully aware, is to be embodied mindfully. 

14:35 Education is a wonderful thing but it shouldn't be used to stop us from being the brightest self that we can be. Just because you don't have that certification. 

27:50 And then I realized I wasn't doing my job. I wasn't living from my heart. And I took a breath, I turned around, and I had an honest, authentic conversation with my client about what she was going through with her practice in that moment. And that's when I came back to what it is, I truly do. And for me, that's self-care, always being true to myself, honoring my body, honoring the sense of truth within me and with the people around me. And when I'm living in that space, I'm just living, I'm not working. 

34:33 And then another great retreat is my annual women's retreats called Finding Your Wild and it's in Asheville, North Carolina and that's going to be October 14 through the 16th at a beautiful location called Prama Institute. Other than that, I'm here in the Tampa Bay area.

You can find Elizabeth Savage at:  Website Instagram Facebook If you LOVED this conversation with Elizabeth Savage you’ll also love the conversations we had with:

Debbie Shadid Interviews Cindy on Self-care and Giving Yourself Permission

Do the Small Things First with Jen Fiore

Honoring my Today with Telma Sanchez

Your Clutter is a Teacher with Star Hansen

A Life that Feels Integrated with Ronna Detrick

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.

“The fears we don’t face become our limits.” –Amy Elizabeth

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome. I'm Cindy MacMillan, and this is Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

I am thrilled that you’re tuning in, because today we are talking about mindset and dreaming big. 

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.

Before I introduce my guest - would you do me a quick favor? I don’t say this nearly enough but if you want to support the show, the number one thing you can do is share it on your social media and tag me. That will help me get the word out and I'd be forever grateful.

Jessie DaSilva is a mindset coach and business consultant who helps entrepreneurs start and scale businesses, helps CEOs create supportive business cultures that attract top talent and increase profits, and helps unhappy employees find their dream jobs at dream companies for dream pay.

So, please help me welcome my guest, Jessie DaSilva.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Jessie thanks so much for coming on the show. I'm so, so honored you're here.  

2:36 Because nobody goes out into a career or a business like a beautiful green pasture and you're just going to graze the rest of your life there. Most people have between 5 to 10 different careers in their lifetime. And I think exploring the seasons of life means being open to making those changes and letting it evolve with you. 

4:22 So this is like really close to my heart. Because what I find when people come to talk to me, and when I coach them, I always want to know I always ask them, what is the big dream for your life? And I will say like if everything went exactly according to plan, which of course never happens, but that's okay. That's not the question. What does your dream life look like?

6:45  Your dream should scare other people is that that's how you know that you're dreaming big enough. It's like a way to combat all that life experience that's kind of beaten you down and told you that you have to be realistic, and you have to expect the worst. Really, I want to combat that. I want to give people permission to dream again.

21:13 So I want all employees to know that they never need to stay in a toxic job, because I've stayed in way too many. I've stayed in so many. And it took a toll on my mental health, it took a toll on my ability to dream, it took a toll on what I believed I was capable of it took a toll on how I viewed myself my self-worth. And so, I want all employees to know that they can always find a better job that actually honors them, and respects them with pay, and with benefits and with the right culture.

23:39 So when I say your dream should scare you, what are your big dreams. It's really, we have to combat all of the experiences that we had between childhood and now that have told us we have to turn off this like big vision for our life. We have to play it safe; we have to think about what's realistic, not what's possible.

35:21 Sure, yeah. So, I'll talk about it. Because in both terms, because networking is really important, whether you have a business or whether you're looking for a job or a career, looking to make a change in your career. But either way, networking is not a natural skill. That's the first thing I'm going to say; a lot of people think like, oh, I'm just bad at this.

43:36 When you've got a team of people, either, who like you, and they're keeping their ears open for job opportunities, or business opportunities for you, you have a much better chance of actually connecting with something that's aligned with what you want. The other thing is that this saves you time.

51:06  What would I thank her for? Hmm, I guess I would thank her, I would thank her for being the rebel that she was. She was a rebel in such a small way. Like she was mostly like a goody goody two shoes and did what most people wanted very people pleaser, but she had a rebellious streak. And she wasn't afraid to just like do what she wanted now and then. And I think that and following her instincts.

You can find Jessie DaSilva at:

 Website Instagram Facebook If you LOVED this conversation with Jessie DaSilva you’ll also love the conversations we had with:

Debbie Shadid Interviews Cindy on Self-care and Giving Yourself Permission

Honoring my Today with Telma Sanchez

Your Clutter is a Teacher with Star Hansen

A Life that Feels Integrated with Ronna Detrick

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.

“What you see reflects your thinking, and your thinking but reflects the choice of what you want to see.” ~ A Course In Miracles

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 Jen Fiore.

Today we are chatting about a gluten-free lifestyle, healing and mindset.

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. 

Jen Fiore is an author and a wellness coach who specializes in mindset, gluten-free lifestyle, and the importance of our spiritual connection. She is a wife and mother of three adult children. Her books include a children’s book, Heaven Cent and All the Parts of Me; One Woman’s Detour into Fear and Trip Back to Love.  Her memoir chronicles her life of love and pain and her ultimate healing. 

All right. Let's get into the show with the lovely Jen Fiore.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome,  Jen.

4:44 I was very fortunate that I didn't have to seek out love. I had a very loving family. I found a spouse who was very loving. I had children, who were very good children. I mean, and we love them dearly. So, love wasn't a challenge, but self-love really became a challenge for me.

6:14 I was baffled why I felt so horrible, baffled as to why I couldn't rise up  from this. And that moment where I couldn't even look myself in the mirror was my turning point. I just said, you've got to get yourself together for yourself, for your family. And to know what it is that limiting you.

9:25 Because we are both and the spirituality of who we are connected to everything actually matters in how we think of ourselves. You know, it becomes a very unloving thought, when you look in the mirror and you see only your flaws or only your ailments or only your pain, or only the things that have happened to you.

15:08 I'm just finishing up this downloadable program for people to do a self-led study. And one of the portions on the modules is your eagerness, and eagerness, meaning you're willing to do something you have to in your own journey, right? Self-love journey, you can go to as many places, as many doctors, as many energy healers but at the end of the day, it's our accountability. So how eager and willing to make those changes.

20:34 My first tip would be if you're trying to adapt a different eating style, just know, it's what you need for your health, is truly to be kind, because you're doing this for a better-quality life.

33:55 I do. I really think that is very important for each of us in our own individual journeys, because we all have something we're trying to make a change in our lives or step into a better life, is that your life was meant to be happy. You're literally supposed to be happy and joyous in this life experience.

34:32 We all deserve to have a life of joy.

You can find Jen Fiore at:  Website Instagram Facebook If you LOVED this conversation with Jen Fiore you’ll also love the conversations we had with:

Debbie Shadid Interviews Cindy on Self-care and Giving Yourself Permission

Your Clutter is a Teacher with Star Hansen

A Life that Feels Integrated with Ronna Detrick

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.

“I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.” ~ Rumi

Guest Introduction:

Welcome. I'm Cindy MacMillan, and this is Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

Today we are talking about what to expect in the Year of the Tiger. 

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.

Before I introduce my guest - would you do me a quick favor? I don’t say this nearly enough but if you want to support the show, the number one thing you can do is share it on your social media and tag me. That will help me get the word out and I'd be forever grateful.

All right, friend. Sit back, relax and enjoy my conversation with Jillian Rothschild-Scholar.

Jillian Rothschild-Scholar is a classically trained Feng Shui expert, and her foundational training is in the ancient wisdom of the over-400-year-old Wu Chang Feng Shui Mastery lineage.

Jillian has been working in a private Feng Shui consultancy since 2010. She uses the wisdom of ancient, time-tested methods, systems, and applications, while offering practical solutions for modern lifestyles. One of her strengths is that she simplifies the intricate details so clients can take immediate action to enhance the physical, emotional, and/or spiritual aspects of their lives.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Jillian thanks so much for coming on the show. I'm so, so honored you're here.  

You are a return guest; I interviewed you in September 2021. That episode was titled What is Feng Shui with Jillian Rothschild-Scholar. We had so much fun that we decided to do it again. Today is really about the Chinese New Year that will occur on Tuesday the 1st of February 2022. The Year of the Tiger. 

2:14 There are something like 40 calendars all over the world that people use. We have a Gregorian calendar, there's different calendars for different faiths. And, in Chinese, there's two different calendars, there's a lunar calendar and a solar calendar. So, when we talk about the Chinese New Year, it can sometimes be represented on the lunar calendar.

3:19 Because the solar calendar only vacillates between a few hours every year is very specific and accurate. And that's what we use for forecasting. So, when I'm talking about the Chinese New Year and I'm talking about the things that I'm predicting, I'm using the solar calendar.

3:39 Using the solar calendar; the Year of the Tiger starts February 4, 2022, at 4:52 in the morning. 

4:16 There's a lot of special things about The Year of the Tiger. First of all, the Tiger is represented by an element that is combined with it. So when we talk about The Year of the Tiger we also give it an element that goes with it. It could be a year of the fire Tiger, it could be a wood Tiger, it could be a metal Tiger. This year, it's a water Tiger. So, when we talk about the elements in Chinese metaphysics, we're always talking about what represents it. And so, we talk a lot about imagery.

8:40 In my opinion, we can say 2022 is going to be big with spirituality.

14:09 If your chart does not need wood element, or your chart does not need water element, that it's important to focus on other aspects of your chart and other elements. So that you can take action. I mean, energy favors action. So instead of being at the effect of the energy, you can take action on something else, and then balance that just to your action.

14:55 This year is also super interesting because all the 12 and This year carry energy, right. So we have a year energy and each month carries energy so does every day and every hour. And every month this year is like a little preview for the coming 12 years, because the energy of March, this year is the same energy is 2023. The energy of April this year is the same energy as 2024, the energy of May, the month of May, this month is the energy of 2025, and so on, it goes on for the whole of the 12 months.

23:06 I can promote the book of a couple of my teachers. One person who is a wonderful scholar, his name is Dr. Stephen Skinner. I don't even know if he uses Doctor. His name is Stephen Skinner, he's a scholar and all his books are really, really interesting. And they're very detailed and they're usually advanced. If somebody is a little newer, and they want a gentler introduction, my teacher, her name is Denise Liotta Dennis.

27:12 A number of years ago, I started connecting with a gentleman named Mark Silver, who is a Sufi teacher. I'm a nice Jewish girl from Ohio, who does Feng Shui. And then I ran into this guy who's who was raised Jewish and is now a Sufi teacher.

29:33 I love that question. You ask the best questions. I would thank myself for persevering.

You can find Jillian Rothschild-Scholar at:  Website Instagram Facebook BaZi Calculator Chinese New Year Essential Guide for 2022  If you LOVED this conversation with Jillian Rothschild-Scholar you’ll also love the conversations we had with:

Debbie Shadid Interviews Cindy on Self-care and Giving Yourself Permission

Your Clutter is a Teacher with Star Hansen

A Life that Feels Integrated with Ronna Detrick

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.

“What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open.” ~ Muriel Rukeyser

 Guest Introduction:

Hey, there, friend. Welcome back to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life; a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan. 

I hope you are having a wonderful week; today we are talking about how the stories we've been told AND the ones we tell ourselves often keep us playing small. 

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.

As always, I am honored that we’re spending time together today and I am delighted to introduce my guest.

Ronna Detrick is a coach and writer - compelled by and committed to the power of women's stories - past, present, and future. She also has decades of experience in corporate leadership, gave a TedX talk and is a Certified Spiritual Director.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Ronna, Thanks so much for joining me today.

2:04 This season of life, for me feels just so expansive, and curious. And with so much more possibility than I think that I expected, and in ways that are very non- traditional.

10:30 I was taking original languages, I was learning both Hebrew and Greek. And in the Hebrew class, there were only seven or eight of us in there. And so six of the students were men, the professor was male. And then there were me and one other woman that were in the class. And we would come in every day to class with the translation that we had done the night before, all of us translating exactly the same Old Testament texts we were working with the book of Ruth, interestingly, and what I noticed after I don't know a few weeks, was that the translation that the other woman and I brought in were was always different than the men's.

16:43 I think we are so hungry for this, give us stories that offer us strength, and capacity and courage, not shame and silence and suffering, we've had enough of that. So I'm trying to tell the stories in ways that invite our strength and our power and our beauty and our wisdom. And it's all right there for us.

26:21 Well, let me go back to Eve again. What we've been told about her is that she was a bad girl. Don't do that. Right. She's an example. And most of the stories of women in Scripture, sadly, have been used as examples of what not to do, as opposed to examples that we need of what does it look like to live an empowered life? So the way I tell each story is much different. I honor the fact that she trusted her own wisdom. I encourage women to name what they desire, which is what Eve does, and to pursue it to follow it.

39:55 The biggest surprise I've had is my move to North Carolina. And I think if I were to drop a bit deeper in that what I've been surprised by is what it feels like to receive generosity. Honestly, I've had to wrack my brain, as to when the last time was that I was a recipient of such generosity as my sister and her family are demonstrating, and what it means for me to accept it.

You can find Ronna Detrick at:  Website Instagram Monday Letters

 If you LOVED this conversation with Ronna Detrick you’ll also love the conversations I had with:

Debbie Shadid Interviews Cindy on Self-care and Giving Yourself Permission

Balance and the Benefits of Gratitude with Lisa Zawrotny

Lean Into the Seasons with Barbara Friesen

Honoring my Today with Telma Sanchez

Grief and Secondary Losses with Nesreen Ahmed

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. 

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver

Guest Introduction: 

Hey, there, friend. Welcome back to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life; a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan. 

I hope you are having a wonderful week; today we are talking about self-care and coaching.  

Do you ever feel like you are waiting on a permission slip to live the life you want? If you answered yes, then you are in the right spot. 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. 

Debbie Shadid is an Action-Driven Business Coach who helps other women grow their own successful life coaching businesses. For many women coaching, they didn't realize how much "business stuff" was involved and are feeling incredibly overwhelmed with how much there is to do. Debbie's passion is taking her 23 years of experience and teaching others how to simplify their business and make more money.  

All right, friend. Sit back, relax and enjoy my conversation with my business coach, Debbie Shadid.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Debbie, welcome to the podcast.  

2:25 Debbie: I don't know how old all the listeners are. But I know for me, when I got to a certain age, and for me, I think it was probably 50 I'm 57 for anybody listening. And I think that when I got to that age, I felt free to explore. I felt like I had freedom that I was kind of more fearless. I was not afraid of failure. I didn't care really so much what anyone thought. How does that resonate with you?

3:51 Cindy: After doing this podcast, for 90 something episodes, I really define Exploring the Seasons of Life as being present where we are, loving where we are, even in those really, really messy bits that we go through. I wrote this in my journal yesterday: When you trust your life and include prayer it is easy to understand the mysterious. There are periods of fears, insecurities and excuses but it’s time to say goodbye to those garbage days and forgive ourselves. I don't know where that came from. But I wrote that down and I'm like, Exploring the Seasons of Life is trusting in our life.

6:43 Cindy: The driving force behind all my interests begin with my mother's death when I was seven years old. Whether that's coaching, whether that's mental health, whether that spirituality, whether that's death and dying, self-love, our inner exploration, whether that's forgiveness, that is kind of like, the backdrop for all the things that interest me.

8:57 Debbie: Since I've worked with you on your business, this word grief comes up and I know when you and I first started was working together. I said you know there could be a misunderstanding about the word grief. So many people identify grief with death. And you have such a broader definition of grief and so much of the work that you do talks about grief, I would love for you to share about that because it resonated so much with me, but it's something that people need to understand better.

9:32 Cindy: Grief work is personal and it’s messy and it’s hard and it’s courageous and I believe every emotion needs a seat at the table. There are no rules for grief, you get to define what grief looks like and how you respond to that.

23:10 Cindy: It's peeling back those layers of an onion, one layer at a time, just really getting deeper into what's really going on. And sometimes it can be something very simple. My husband's not taking out the garbage. And other times, it could be self-care, it could be self-love, it could be worthiness.

55:42 Cindy: Before we finish, I wanted to tell you, I always write an intention before the podcast, or prayer or meditation. I want to read to you what I wrote. I give great thanks that Debbie and I are co-creating a podcast episode that is fun, a little different and that highlights more of who I am. I give great thanks that our conversation is going to be transformational and that I show up real. I show up exactly who I am...a woman who loves connecting with other women, who loves holding space for another woman to take radical responsibility for her life...to witness what starts as a whisper in her heart turn into a roar.

You can find Debbie Shadid at:  Website Instagram Podcast  If you LOVED this conversation with Debbie Shadid you’ll also love the conversations I had with: Balance and the Benefits of Gratitude with Lisa Zawrotny Lean Into the Seasons with Barbara Friesen Honoring my Today with Telma Sanchez Grief and Secondary Losses with Nesreen Ahmed

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. 

“Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art.” ~ Joanna Macy

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome. I'm Cindy MacMillan, and this is Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

Today we are talking about balance and the benefits of gratitude. 

Do you ever feel like you are waiting on a permission slip to live the life you want? If you answered yes, then you are in the right spot. 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.

Before I introduce my guest - would you do me a quick favor? I don’t say this nearly enough but if you want to support the show, the number one thing you can do is share it on your social media and tag me. That will help me get the word out and I'd be forever grateful.

All right, friend. Sit back, relax and enjoy my conversation with Lisa Zawrotny.

Lisa Zawrotny is the founder of Positively Productive Systems, host of the Positively Living Podcast, and a Productivity + Organizing Coach certified in time and stress management.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Lisa thanks so much for coming on the show. I'm so, so honored you're here.  

1:54 I love that phrase, because exploring to me means curiosity. And I've talked about this many times with my clients, and even on my podcast that when we are curious, we leave the judgment at the door. 

7:36 I think one of the biggest things and I've been interviewed about this, specifically, being a sandwich caregiver is that you are, you're dealing with parents, you know, or a parent or parents, who were your strength, who were your guide who took care of you. And now the roles are reversed. And those are things in life that we can't prepare for and managing those and working our way through those. Oh, my goodness, it’s a challenge. 

9:54 I will often use the phrase, you know, work life balance because people recognize it. But then once we start a conversation about it, we talk rather about harmony within our lives and all the things that we love. 

14:51 And because, by the way, just from a productivity side, New Year's resolutions are a true struggle for people after a month. There's only 25% of those who have resolution set still hanging on. And ultimately, overall, only 8% of those who set resolutions actually keep them.

21:28 And I think that's so important that you mentioned that number one that we think we know something right and gratitude, things like gratitude, self-care, these have become buzzwords. And so, it is my mission, to address these words and say, do we really know what that is? And not only that, but what it is for us and what it can mean for us? 

26:02 Okay, so the place that I start everyone with, is awareness.

You can find Lisa Zawrotny at:  Website Instagram  If you LOVED this conversation with Lisa Zawrotny you’ll also love the conversations I had with:

Finding Your Inner Peace with Lydia Knoor

Let’s get Vulnerable with Kayleen Johnson

The Power of Your Emotions with Manisha Tare

What is Feng Shui with Jillian Rothschild-Scholar

Living Your Core Values with Paige Mitchell

5 Tips to Better Sleep with Kelly Murray

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. 

“To love deeply is one of life’s most profound gifts, and the loss of a loved one is one of life’s most profound tragedies. That they can happen simultaneously, and that we somehow manage to, one day, find even a morsel of joy in our hearts again, is profoundly and wonderfully mysterious.” ~ Joanne Cacciatore

Guest Introduction:

Hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of the podcast. I am so glad that you are here. 

Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I'm your host Cindy MacMillan I help midlife women navigate the seasons of their life and stop waiting for permission to live the life they want.

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 to introduce my guest.

Victoria Volk of The Unleashed Heart is a creative and strategic intuitive guide who connects hurting hearts with their authentic, soulful selves to release suffering and thrive. Victoria is a self-published author, Adv. Cert. Grief Recovery Specialist®, Creator & Podcast Host of Grieving Voices, Usui and Karuna Reiki Master, YouMap® Cert. Coach and End-of-Life Doula. She aims to use her strengths and skills through a variety of offerings to help those struggling with loss go from surviving to thriving.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Hi, Victoria. Thanks so much for joining me today.

2:31 I would have addressed my grief much sooner than I did but, you know, I guess that's the journey of life, we all walk a path, that is where choices present themselves. And we can either choose to continue to look for resources and things that may help us or be open, I think, more importantly, to being guided to those things.

4:55 Grief according to the Grief Recovery Institute. We define it as the loss of hopes, dreams and expectations, anything that you wish would have been different or would be different, better, or more. And it's a change in or an end of a familiar pattern of behavior.

11:44 That's actually a very important aspect of being a Grief Recovery Specialist is you can't really help others, unless you've worked through your own stuff. Because you can only truly sit with each other, or sit with other people and their pain, really traumatic, deep, hurtful things that people have experienced, that I've worked with or heard their stories. You can't sit with people if you yourself, haven't worked through your own stuff.

14:55 And you know, you can have a car accident, you can end up losing your physical health or mobility, just disease, chronic illness can be debilitating. And there's a lot of grief that comes with that. So, I mean, if we really think about the stuff that happens to people, and that really challenges the human spirit, there's a lot of loss that falls under that.

17:24 I wholeheartedly believe that it is possible to live a life of fulfillment and alignment, if we can really address what it is that is impacting our lives in a way that we don't necessarily recognize on the surface.

30:16 Exactly. And the interesting thing is, grief impacts every single one of those, you know, and so that's why grief can be so debilitating for people, it can feel like a tsunami has just come through their life, everything in their environment and their physical self and body and spiritual, all of that.

37:38 Oh, it's honestly, it's been the awareness around how quickly we can neglect ourselves. And in challenging times is when we need to double down. Again, I'll say that it's like the third time I've said that. But that has been the greatest lesson for me.

You can find Victoria Volk at:

 Website Facebook Instagram  If you LOVED this conversation with Victoria Volk you’ll also love the conversations I had with:

Grief and Secondary Losses with Nesreen Ahmed

Conversation with End-of-Life Doula, Hannah Fowler

Redefining Death with Jessica Wertz

Lean Into the Seasons with Barbara Friesen

Finding Your Inner Peace with Lydia Knoor

Let’s get Vulnerable with Kayleen Johnson

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. 

“Every great loss demands that we choose life again. We need to grieve in order to do this. The pain we have not grieved over will always stand between us and life… Grieving allows us to heal, to remember with love rather than pain. It is a sorting process. One by one you let go of the things that are gone and you mourn for them. One by one you take hold of the things that have become a part of who you are and build again.” — Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

Guest Introduction:

Hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of the podcast. I am so glad that you are here. 

Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I'm your host Cindy MacMillan I help midlife women navigate the seasons of their life and stop waiting for permission to live the life they want.

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 to introduce my guest.

Barbara Friesen is a retired nurse with degrees in counselling and leadership coaching  and she has several healing designations including Reiki Mastery and Tao Healing Hands but her most  important credential is as a person who has experienced profound grief and loss , someone who has learned to transform her grief and sadness to courage and hope. She can now reach out to others who are in despair and offer them hope and a path forward from profound loss.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

 Hi, Barbara. Thanks so much for joining me today.

1:45 I think the seasons of life are part of being human. And we are all going to go through many seasons in our lives. We're going to go through the full cycle of many seasons in our lives. And I think we need to lean into the seasons. They're all important. 

3:07 I started doing these cold swims about a year ago. Many of my friends think that I'm a little a little crazy to do this because I live in Vancouver BC it's cold here in the winter. And one of the things about cold swims that I learned from the master of cold swims a fella by the name of Wim Hof. 

6:22 As a nurse, I worked in mental health for many years and worked with people that have severe mental illnesses, and sort of cut my teeth on, you know, counseling skills, doing that work. I also, I trained as an executive coach, I had a master's degree in leadership, and I started working with people later in my career, helping leaders become better leaders. 

10:33 Yeah, it's a really good question. I think self-care. For me started with, I have to learn to heal myself before I can help anyone else. And that's a really important piece, especially if you're going to reach out to other people, for people who've, you know, been shattered by the loss of someone close to them. 

12:21  I also suggest that people have at least one person in their life that they can talk to about their grief, they can talk to about the person they've lost. Someone who really hears them, someone who understands them, and someone who doesn't try and fix it. But is just there; as a witness, I hear you, I see you, I feel your pain and I'm here with you. 

16:42  It's very common for people to get stuck. I certainly was. And I think we can do much, much better than just survive. At that point, we really need to learn how to get the wheels of our vehicle out of the ruts of grief, because the longer we're in it, the more entrenched these wheels, get in the ruts. And the harder it is to get out. 

22:56 Yes, I think rituals are very important. And it's one of the ways that I try to help people to honor their loved one is develop rituals. And oftentimes, when we've lost someone, one of the barriers to healing is that we feel guilty. I could have done more, I wish I'd done this, instead of that.

You can find Barbara Friesen at:

 Website Facebook  If you LOVED this conversation with Barbara Friesen you’ll also love the conversations we had with:

Finding Your Inner Peace with Lydia Knoor

Let’s get Vulnerable with Kayleen Johnson

The Power of Your Emotions with Manisha Tare

Grief and Secondary Losses with Nesreen Ahmed

Conversation with End-of-Life Doula, Hannah Fowler

Redefining Death with Jessica Wertz

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.