Figuring Sh!t Out

This week, we explore the tender space between solitude and connection, moving deeper into the theme of unapologetic self-expression (especially for those of us who learned to hide in self-protection.)

For those of us who have long identified as "introverts," I ask you a very important question: are you ACTUALLY an introvert? Or do you just have social anxiety and are you scared to be seen?

On today's episode, we explore the spectrum of introversion / extroversion as it relates to the safety to be seen and explore the truth behind these labels, social anxiety, and the self-preserving patterns that make us believe we're safer unseen and how to gently unravel them and find aligned community.

We root into this theme of community and belonging - something so many of us strive to find in a chronically online, disconnected world - and how to find it when you're in the process of finding yourself.

I take you through my own story of social anxiety, self-preservation, outgrowing friendships as a result of coming of age, coming into rediscovering platonic love in a new way, and explore how self-connection can expand into communion with others.

If you take away one thing from this dialogue, let it be this:

WHEN YOU LET YOURSELF BE SEEN, YOU LET YOURSELF BE LOVED! & YOU DESERVE TO BE BOTH SEEN + LOVED.

(but how???? well, just sit back, relax, and listen <3)

This episode is a part 2 to episode 102 (Unapologetic, Unconditional Beingness) (no need to listen in order!)

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• Journey's like the 10 day Creative Awakening & Inner Child Healing Journey and 5 Day Somatic Expression Perfectionism Journey
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Many of us have come to know our true selves and what alignment feels like to *some* extend, but how do you ~stay~ aligned, even when life isn't? Even when your environment.. isn't?

This episode is all about staying rooted in love, alignment, and authenticity - no matter what’s happening around you. We explore the continuum of contrast, the wound of rejection, and the habit of people-pleasing that pulls us out of ourselves and keep us small - especially when faced with people who project, misunderstand, or drain our energy..

Because here’s the truth: the world does not have to comply for you to feel good. You do not have to change anyone or anything to be at peace. Alignment is because of *you*, not your circumstances.

In this episode, you'll learn how to take radical responsibility for your alignment, understand your conditioning, and release control-oriented patterns that keep you small.

We talk inner child healing, shadow work, and the truth about introversion (& social anxiety) as self-preservation - and how to bring your full, radiant self into every room. (BECAUSE THE WORLD NEEDS MORE OF YOU BEING YOU <3)

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Inside you'll have access to:

• Journey's like the 10 day Creative Awakening & Inner Child Healing Journey and 5 Day Somatic Expression Perfectionism Journey
• Weekly live sessions (Artist’s Hours + Shadow-Workshops) (Also recorded)
• A growing library of meditations, practices, and resources (& Monthly Themes)
• A private community space for connection, expression, and collaboration
• 25% off future retreats / Free NYC events

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IG: @byvanessafontana

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MAILING LIST

FSO Episodes Referenced:

Episode 43: Speak your Truth & Protect Your Peace: The Energy of Alignment & Influence

Shadow-Work Series, Part 1

CHAPTERS:

0:00-4:00: how to stay aligned, relentlessly love, + be YOU

5:30: the continuum of contrast & choosing love over fear 

7:00: addressing the wound of rejection + the habit of people pleasing / molding ourselves / control-oriented behaviors

8:00: step 1: radical responsibility

9:30: becoming aware of your conditioning 

11:00: when you ask for more, you will be met with opportunities to choose MORE. relationships & opportunities are our mirrors 

14:00: inner child healing, shadow-work, the WHY behind when we start hiding 

18:00: when empathy & emotional attunement becomes maladaptive

22:00: introversion as a self-preservation tactic / why you're actually drained by socializing

30:00: you are here for a reason. you’ve done half the work - how do you take the work / alignment with you? 

27:00: alignment is because of YOU, not your circumstance. why we feel a fresh perspective when we travel / go somewhere but have trouble integrating. the love you see in anything is a reflection of you

34:00: you don't have to cut people off to protect your peace 

37:00: if you love someone take them off the pedastal of expectation: it's not fair to them, it's not fair to you.

36:00: the shift that changes everything.

40:00: believe so radically 

44:00: unconditional love  

On this episode, we’re breaking down the real mechanics of manifestation and demystifying the heavily marketed *woo-woo* behind it.

(....Coming from a girl who loves and firmly embraces the woo-woo.)

Spirituality and science are finally beginning to speak the same language, and on this episode, we’re translating both. 

This is a deep-dive into the inner physics of creation: how emotion shapes matter, how the heart bends time, and how the future already lives inside of you.

We dive into the fundamental power within all of us to access emotional alchemy - dissipating past pain and creating a more expansive future and we do this by covering it alllll - the neuroscience, the energetics, and the emotional regulation behind true transformation.

Pens & Papers out today folks because Class! Is! In! Session!

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Want more? Join METAMORPHOSIS - a creative nervous-system led sanctuary for women designed to help you move through fear, trust your voice, and express what's inside of you - in COMMUNITY.

HEAR WHAT MEMBERS ARE SAYING ABOUT METAMORPHOSIS & learn more here.

Inside you'll have access to:

• Journey's like the 10 day Creative Awakening & Inner Child Healing Journey and 5 Day Somatic Expression Perfectionism Journey
• Weekly live sessions (Artist’s Hours + Shadow-Workshops) (Also recorded)
• A growing library of meditations, practices, and resources (& Monthly Themes)
• A private community space for connection, expression, and collaboration
• 25% off future retreats / Free NYC events

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COSTA RICA 2026

FSO Episodes Referenced:

MARATHON EPISODE 

Shadow-Work Episodes: 

Inner Child Healing

Self-Expression & Creativity 

Further RESOURCES Mentioned: 

HeartMath Institute

Free Heart Coherence Meditation

About Vipassana

Insight timer - Free Meditation App 

DavidJi 40 Days of Transformation (Paid Version) 

CHAPTERS:

0:00-3:00: Time is Non-Linear

3:00-7:00: Manifestation is not what you think it is: skepticism & discernment is necessary

7:00-12:00: CLASS IN SESSION! The Mechanics of Energy & The Basic States of Creation

12:00-15:00: Concepts of Time

15:00-18:00: Felt Sensation

18:00-22:00: Energetic Pathway of the Heart, Heart Math, Heart Coherence

22:00-30:00: How I accidentally quantum Leaped

30:00-35:00: The Most Important Emotion

35:00-37:00: What this REALLY all means. Simplifying it all.

37:00-49:00: Practices for Collapsing Time

Season 4 opens with an invitation: to break subconscious contracts, to honor the duality of being and becoming, and to claim the inevitability of who you already are, embracing the fullness of your dreams with bravery and commitment.

This episode walks you through the arc of survival, fear, and limitation - into freedom, expression, and truth. It maps the narrative arc of survival into self-expression, exploring the psychology of subconscious contracts and the practice of choosing your own inevitability over fear. 

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Want more? Join METAMORPHOSIS - a creative nervous-system led sanctuary for women designed to help you move through fear, trust your voice, and express what's inside of you - in COMMUNITY.

HEAR WHAT MEMBERS ARE SAYING ABOUT METAMORPHOSIS & learn more here.

Inside you'll have access to:

• Journey's like the 10 day Creative Awakening & Inner Child Healing Journey and 5 Day Somatic Expression Perfectionism Journey
• Weekly live sessions (Artist’s Hours + Shadow-Workshops) (Also recorded)
• A growing library of meditations, practices, and resources (& Monthly Themes)
• A private community space for connection, expression, and collaboration
• 25% off future retreats / Free NYC events

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IG: @byvanessafontana

TIKTOK: @butterflyfountain

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 - Figuring Sh!t Out - SEASON 4 

2:00: the narrative arc - when the road less traveled becomes.. the road you're on 

9:00: you are inevitable

14:00 the profound responsibility of taking responsibility for your own life 

18:00: your subconscious contracts + failure pre-emption

20:00: ways that I break my own subconscious contracts

22:00: the myth of working "hard": let it be easy

23:00: the loyalty we pay to our fear vs our dreams & the contract of unworthiness

25:00: PRACTICAL TIPS TO TURN survival into self-expression 

30:00 the responsibility of being inevitable

gentle reminders for when you're overthinking, overwhelmed, and over-doing it.

the art of let oneself be (without guilt) is a love letter to the magic that appears when you let go and it is done with the intention of:

taking the BEING very seriously and the DOING very unseriously.

this is the last episode of season three and the last page of the road less traveled chapter.

so much more to come.

see you very soon for episode 100.

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Chapters:

0:00-5:00: the art of intentional living and the radical act of beingness

5:00-7:18: the inevitable highs and lows, inhales and exhales, and sitting in between

7:18-12:30: potential portals to beingness

12:30-14:00: this is your sign to live more fully, freely, and joyfully

14:00-18:00: embodying

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every day is dress rehearsal for the life you want to live and the person you want to be.

if you're trying, you're trying too hard.

let this episode remind you of the truth of who you are -

stop trying.

start being.

let go of the story & start LIVING your truth.

and start now.

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Personal Instagram: @vanessaafontana

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IF YOU LOVE FSO, RATE THE PODCAST ON YOUR PREFERRED STREAMING PLATFORM, LEAVE A COMMENT, SHARE THIS EPISODE &

STAY CONNECTED:

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for partnerships or inquiries, please contact:

[email protected]

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Chapters:

0:00-4:00: You're Not Special, but You Are Powerful

4:00-8:00: Coming Clean

8:00-10:00: your worth starts right now

10:00-12:00: What you want reveals who You Are

12:00-14:00: what is driving you? Fear or love?

14:00-16:00: what if I don't believe it?

16:00-18:00: the distinct polarities

18:00-20:00: don't stare at fear. don't linger.

20:00-21:00: the trap of "trying" and how it keeps us stuck without realizing it

21:00-23:00: life is a process of creation, not discovery.

23:00: let go of the story & start LIVING your truth

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"What aspects of myself do I wish to experience now in the face of this calamity? What aspects of being do I choose to call forth? For all life exists as a tool of your own creation, and all of its events merely present themselves as opposites for you to decide to be who ou are. There are no victims. Only creators" - Neil Walsch, Conversations with God

Thought-Daughtering my way through every major challenge and transition in my life and remembering:

Everything is an opportunity to deepen your most high truth - especially, your biggest challenges. Layers within them, are blessings.

CHAPTERS:

0:00-7:00: life update & backstory: where am I... living?

7:00-19:00: challenges & hardship are opportunities to go deeper into who we really are

19:00-25:00: we are pure creative potential

25:00-29:00: you are not a victim!!!

29:00-31:00: the misconception of the higher self

31:00-35:00: how lucky are we to have a last time?

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Personal Instagram: @vanessaafontana

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IF YOU LOVE FSO, RATE THE PODCAST ON YOUR PREFERRED STREAMING PLATFORM, LEAVE A COMMENT, SHARE THIS EPISODE &

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life is happening FOR you, not to you.

your access to freedom is right here and now - in the chance and opportunity to trust when your faith is shaken.

on this week's episode, i give you background into how this mindset is keeping me steady and strong after finding out i may have to leave my home of three years on a week's notice (stay tuned to find out what happens next week! figuring sh!t out in real time! haha! it's so not funny! but i have to laugh! because what else! is there! to do!! haha!!)

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Chapters:

0:00-4:30: If You're Forcing: Stop. 

4:30- 13:00: Backstory of Being (potentially) Displaced in NYC: 

13:00: Resisting vs Surrendering, The RatRace & Hamster Wheel

15:00: There is nothing that could take you from your path. it will emerge 

19:00: tests of trust come through uncertainty 

23:00: the process is the point

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is an ode to reclaiming your creativity and individuality after being flooded and energetically dulled from phone addiction, a noisy world of aesthetics and trends, and overstimulation.

In it, I give you a six-step ritual to reclaim spaciousness inside of your own head, to hear your own voice, and to unravel the subtle signal of yourself beneath all of the noise.

In a world that demands so much of our attention, where every desire is boxed into a trend or an aesthetic to curate onto a Pinterest board, where we are drowned by stimuli the moment we step into the deep-end of unlocking our phones - individuality and autonomy is no longer a birthright, but a skill. 

And in a culture of immediacy and urgency, choosing to listen, have patience, and prioritize play is a radical act.

This is not performance.

This is learning how to breathe again.

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I LOVE YOU!!

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Mentioned in the episode:

Artist's Way Community Sign-Up

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TikTok I referenced on Dopamine Recovery

Read the piece I wrote for this episode <3

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for partnerships or inquiries, please contact:

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CHAPTERS:

0:00-2:00: Coming Home to Yourself. Even "Good Noise" Is still Noise

2:00-10:00: What Inspired this Episode: My Experience with Energetic Density

10:00-13:00: Energetic Hygiene: All it Takes

13:00-14:00 The Art of Hearing Your Own Voice

14:00-17:00: The Unraveling, Creativity Cave, Sensory Reclamation, Boredom As A Portal

17:00-19:00: We Have to remember this was always Ours

19:00-21:00: How Trends, Labels, and Aesthetics Keep us in a Box

21:00-27:00: The Artist's Way is the Spiritual Path

27:00-34:00: Dopamine & Scrolling

34:00-39:00: Oh My Darling, It was Never That Serious.

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What if your expression: your voice, your vision, your rebellion was the most direct line to the divine? What if Art was your prayer?

In this conversation with my dear friend Etai, we explore the thin veil between art and spirituality and the daily devotion of creativity and leading life with an open heart.

We discuss in depth - The Artist's Way, fear, rejection, finding the right audience, living with an open heart, and returning to wholeness through expression.

Etai has built an online community of over 400,000 who use his yoga videos to get closer to themselves and their truths. He's built this platform in the last year through a brave spirit of pure authenticity as he finds himself calling other parts of the globe his home and sharing his truth. May his words, voice, and presence inspire your path forward and let you live in your calling. 

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Etai's IG

Etai's Links

Etai's first FSO episode

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Personal Instagram: @vanessaafontana

TikTok: butterflyfountain

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for partnerships or inquiries, please contact:

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CHAPTERS:

00:00-07:40: Discovering Oneself

07:40-10:20: One Year of Solo Travel & Spiritual Unfolding Showing Up Online

10:20-14:00: The Sacred Contrast: Collectivism vs. Free Expression

14:00-17:00: Showing Up Online, Yoga as a Muse, Building a Digital Devotional

17:00-20:00: Living with an Open Heart & True Authentic Freedom

20:00-25:00: The Artists Way + Inseparability between Art & Spirituality

25:30-35:00: The Company We Keep

35:00-40:55 – Yoga as Muse & Art as Offering

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