In this episode, I’m exploring why positive thinking can be such a powerful practice, not because difficult things don’t happen, but because the way we respond to them shapes our experience.

I share stories from my own life that taught me how looking for the positive can help soften fear, anger, and overwhelm without pretending everything is perfect.

We also talk about habitual thinking, the subconscious mind, and why awareness matters when negativity starts to take over.

I’ll share a simple affirmation practice, along with the idea of staying out of the “murky river” when the energy around you feels heavy.

Highlights:

(03:10) - Why positive thinking is not the same as pretending everything is fine

(06:48) - How finding the light in difficult situations can protect your peace

(10:18) - The lesson I learned when something was taken away and new choice appeared

(12:52) - Why expecting the worst can quietly steal your peace in the present

(20:00) - How other people’s energy can pull you into the “murky river”

(22:08) - A simple affirmation practice to help shift habitual negative thinking

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

In this episode, I’m reflecting on the people who have walked ahead of us and, through their wisdom and experience, help light the way.

From mentors and teachers to family members and unexpected guides, sometimes another person’s perspective helps us see what we simply couldn’t see on our own.

I share some of the guiding lights from my own life, including the people who taught me to think differently, trust my abilities, ask better questions, and stay open to learning.

Because asking for help isn’t a weakness. Sometimes it’s the very thing that helps us take the next step.

Highlights:

(02:02) - Why the people who have walked the path before us can become guiding lights

(06:46) - The mentor who taught me to think outside the box

(12:10) - What happens when someone places no limits on your ability

(15:10) - The advice that taught me sometimes you have to lose to win

(18:23) - Why asking for help has nothing to do with your capability

(24:52) - The real gift of learning from somebody else’s experience

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

In this episode, I’m talking about what happens when we become disconnected from ourselves and spend too much time stuck in our heads.

I share how I understand energy, anxiety and presence, and why coming back into the body can help create more calm, focus and clarity.

We’ll also explore mindfulness, the five senses, nature and simple ways to feel more grounded in everyday life.

From noticing what you can see, hear, smell, taste and touch to getting outside and reconnecting with the earth, this is about slowing things down, becoming more present and gently shifting out of that frantic inner space.

Highlights:

(01:30) - Why I believe anxiety can feel like having far too much energy trapped in your head

(07:27) - What mindfulness actually does when your imagination is running away with you

(15:01) - The more power you give fear, the less power you feel you have in yourself

(17:00) - Meet Sweetheart, the crow who somehow became my tiny lesson in presence

(21:51) - Five simple senses that can help bring you back into the here and now

(25:00) - Go for the walk, feel the earth, notice what is around you, and reconnect

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

In this episode, I’m exploring the energy of tending and what a neglected corner of my garden taught me about attention, care and presence.

Once I started nurturing that little patch of ground, I realized how easily the same idea applies to relationships, health, habits and the parts of life we assume will simply keep going without us.

I’ll talk about what happens when we stop tending to the people and things that matter, why difficult seasons often need more care rather than less, and how bringing our attention back can strengthen connection, confidence and love.

Sometimes the smallest act of care is what keeps something meaningful alive.

Highlights:

(01:30) - The neglected patch of garden that unexpectedly taught me a much bigger lesson

(06:59) - Why relationships can quietly drift when we stop tending to each other

(13:29) - What a garden in drought taught me about caring through difficult seasons

(20:14) - The 89-year-old woman who taught me something unforgettable about how love grows

(24:18) - Why not everything needs more effort, sometimes tending means knowing when to let go

(27:22) - The energy you put into caring often gives far more back than you expect

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

In this episode, I’m talking about the difference between going toward something and pulling away from it, especially when life feels full of pressure, deadlines and things you’ve never had to do before.

I share what I noticed in myself while dealing with a very full plate, and why keeping problems in our heads can make them feel bigger than they really are.

We’ll explore how action, focus and structure can bring us back into reality, why pressure is not always the enemy, and how taking even one step toward the thing you’ve been avoiding can build resilience, confidence and a real sense of accomplishment.

Highlights:

(01:30) - The moment I realized I was making everything feel bigger by pulling away from it

(07:34) - Going toward the problem versus avoiding it, and why only one of those creates movement

(15:11) - Why most things look far less terrifying once you actually bring them into focus

(22:59) - Deadlines might be annoying, but sometimes they’re exactly what gets us moving

(25:36) - My pink highlighter trick for turning a to-do list into proof that I’m getting things done

(30:47) - Stop playing small in your head and start moving toward the thing that needs your attention

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

I woke up with that lovely, wiggly feeling of anticipation, and it got me thinking.

In a world where almost everything can arrive tomorrow, have we lost some of the joy that comes from actually waiting for something? That excitement, curiosity, and sense of possibility are energies worth noticing.

In this episode, I explore how energy moves through our thoughts, feelings, relationships, and habits.

I talk about the patterns that keep us stuck, why our emotions are valuable messengers, and how greater self-honesty can help us create change. And yes, my year-and-a-half search for a car makes an appearance too.

Highlights:

(02:06) - Why anticipation feels so good, and what we might be losing in an instant-everything world

(07:28) - How your brain suddenly starts spotting the very thing you’ve decided you want

(12:45) - Why changing your perspective can completely shift conflict in relationships

(17:08) - The hidden patterns and beliefs that can keep your energy going round in circles

(22:09) - Your emotions aren’t the enemy, they’re trying to tell you something

(27:34) - The self-honesty question that can reveal where your energy is really stuck

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

I’m exploring what self-mastery really means, and why it has nothing to do with being harsh, perfect, or controlling every part of yourself.

Through the image of the Strength card in tarot, I look at how love, awareness, and discipline can help us guide our instincts instead of being ruled by them.

I also talk about the inner troll that criticizes, judges, and makes us shrink. Self-mastery begins when we stop handing it our power and start encouraging ourselves with patience and respect.

This is a gentle invitation to refine your choices, build quiet confidence, and become more of who you already are.

Highlights:

(01:35) - What a master builder can teach us about self-mastery

(03:19) - The Strength card and learning to guide your inner lion

(07:32) - Why discipline can be an act of self-love

(10:06) - How the inner troll grows when we keep listening

(17:21) - A simple practice to make your inner critic shrink

(23:07) - Training the mind like a charioteer guiding powerful horses

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

In this episode, I’m exploring what it truly means to be spiritual, where religion fits into that conversation, and why connection sits at the heart of it all.

I share my own perspective on spirituality as an energy of love, hope, gratitude, and belonging that helps us move beyond fear, judgment, and separation.

I also talk about prayer, the fourfold system of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, and the role inspiration can play in our lives.

This episode is an invitation to step out of the mind, open the heart, and become more receptive to the support, ideas, and wisdom already around you.

Highlights:

(01:30) - Spirituality as connection rather than separation

(04:31) - What studying major religions taught me about belief

(07:32) - Why spirituality is felt in the heart, not solved in the mind

(10:20) - How gratitude changes your energy and perspective

(15:36) - Understanding the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies

(22:38) - Opening to support, love, and a deeper sense of connection

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

Why has our mental health taken such a nosedive since Covid? To understand wellbeing, we first have to understand stress, because the two go hand in hand. In this episode I break down what is really happening in our minds and bodies when life feels like too much, and how we find our balance again.

I'll explain the fight or flight response (with a little help from the story of me, the slowest jogger on earth, suddenly running like I had wings on my feet), the three types of stress, and the stress bucket we all carry, filling 50 to 200 times a day. Then the good news: how to empty it. Nature, mindfulness, rest. Because if a composer didn't write rests into the music, it would be chaos, so why don't we value the rests in ourselves?

Highlights:

(00:59) - Covid, and how we lost our balance

(04:28) - The slowest jogger on earth (a story about adrenaline)

(07:26) - The three types of stress

(10:01) - The stress bucket: 50 to 200 times a day

(19:29) - I can, I am: erasing the apostrophe on I can't

(23:07) - The composer's rests, and why you don't have to be productive 24/7

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker

What is awareness, really? It's the true reason people come knocking at my door, whether for hypnotherapy, life coaching or counselling, and it's the key to breaking the patterns that keep us stuck, anxious and repeating ourselves. In this episode I explore what awareness actually means, and how to expand it.

I want you to imagine that every person comes into being with a single lit candle, walking through dark woods. That candle is your awareness, and the beautiful thing is, you're carrying a candelabra. As we light more candles, consciousness expands: we see more, fear less, judge less. I'll share why everybody sitting in the great circle of life is right from where they're sitting, and why the wise person learns to pick up their chair and look through another's eyes.

Highlights:

(00:59) - Why people really come knocking at my door

(03:09) - A single candle in the dark woods

(04:56) - You're carrying a candelabra, let's light more candles

(07:01) - The circle of perspectives, and the shape called life

(09:17) - A wise person picks up their chair

(20:50) - One light turns on, and the whole world lights up

Connect with Cindy here:

Music composed for this podcast by: Samson Baker