Inner Peace to Go

When your days feel like drudgery, how do you begin to create a life you love? How do you find the confidence and faith to make big changes?

Organizational psychologist, coach and artist Clarissa Castillo-Ramsey has answers. Not only has she done this in her own life, she now helps clients paint their own path to a life that feels fulfilling, delicious and joyful.

In this conversation, we discuss:
• The importance of making decisions about your future
• How to feel more empowered by reviewing your wins regularly
• The significance of taking baby steps, because action breeds clarity
• Strategies for dealing with the dreaded-but-ever-present inner critic, including making a "hype file," verbally canceling your critic and moving your body
• Psychologist and researcher Carol Dweck's work on fixed mindset and growth mindset
• And so much more!

Connect with Clarissa on Instagram @ccr_sunshine or through her Facebook group and be sure to check out her podcast, Painting Your Path.

Please let me know what you think of this episode -- or anything else on your mind! DM me on Instagram @YouKnowSandy, visit innerpeacetogo.com or check out my BRAND SPANKIN' NEW website at sandycohen.net.

Get your free Stress Busters ebook here!

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

Some of the most popular New Year's resolutions have to do with losing weight and getting fit, yet research shows that most of us have likely abandoned our resolutions by now, six weeks into the new year.

But what if we could love our bodies no matter what they look like?

Actually, we can. 

I'm sharing my own experience with body hate and body love and expert recommendations for how we can feel better in our own bodies.

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

Let's start of the month with some Rumi!

I got a beautiful new oracle card deck, Rumi Oracle by Alana Fairchild, and I've been so taken with its inspiring messages, so I wanted to share them with you!

I'll pick a new card for us each month.

Love to hear your thoughts on this card,  "A New Gown." Message me on IG @YouKnowSandy or drop me an email at [email protected].

This is the deck I'm reading from.

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

About 80% of people abandon their New Year's resolutions by February, but that doesn't have to be you!

I've got six science-backed and life-tested tips for you to help you nail your New Year's resolutions this year -- and to actually HAVE FUN and FEEL GOOD doing it.

These are the tips I'll be incorporating as I take on my BIG GOAL for 2023: to complete my book proposal.

Please let me know if you find these tips helpful! DM me on IG @YouKnowSandy or drop me an email here.

And you are invited to join the Self-Help Circle book club!! It's free and so much fun. We meet once a month on Zoom. We're reading Michelle Obama's new book for January. Join here.

Thank you for listening!!

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

I decided to do a gratitude challenge during the month of November to notice something different each day that I was grateful for and share it online.

In this episode, I share what the experience was like. (Spoiler alert: It was great. Totally recommend.)

Studies show that keeping a gratitude journal for a period of time has lasting benefits, even once the journaling practice is done, so I'm expecting lasting benefits!

Let me know if you try your own gratitude challenge and how it goes! DM me on Instagram @YouKnowSandy or email me here.

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

Grateful people enjoy better mental and physical health and a stronger immune system.

Free to practice and available to all, gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to boost well-being and inner peace.

In this final episode of season 1, my friend Branimir Kvartuc and I discuss the science of gratitude and why being thankful is so good for us.

Here's my Shondaland.com article about the benefits of gratitude.

And please know how grateful I am to YOU for listening to this podcast. I deeply treasure this chance to connect with you about the subjects I find most interesting and challenging as we all grow into greater inner peace.

Thank you, thank you. Please stay in touch! I'm on Instagram @YouKnowSandy or you can email me at [email protected].

Talk to you in 2023!! Wishing you boundless peace and joy this holiday season and always!! 

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

Limiting your news consumption leads to greater inner peace.

Most of the news we're exposed to is bad news -- nobody reports on the plane that lands safely -- and seeing all these terrible happenings triggers a stress response, which tells our nervous system we're in danger, even if we're safely at home on the couch.

I have worked in the news business for more than two decades, and I got happier when I consumed less news. I don't look at any news until I log in for work and don't read news on weekends at all.

I think it's important to be informed, but it's equally important to be the gatekeeper of our minds and not expose ourselves to a constant stream of bad news.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Email me at [email protected] or DM me on IG @youknowsandy.

Have a peaceful week!

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

We know our thoughts influence how we feel, but what exactly ARE thoughts? What impacts them and how can we choose thoughts that make us feel supported and capable rather than criticized and inept?

I'm sharing wisdom from psychiatrist Mark Levine, meditation teacher Tuere Sala and what psychology tells us about cognitive distortions.

When we better understand the nature of our thoughts and learn to observe our thoughts, we're well positioned to change our thoughts and focus on ones that make us feel good.

Please let me know what you think of this episode! DM me @YouKnowSandy.

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

Inspired by my conversation with meditation teacher and student Masako Kozawa in episode 38, and by the latest book discussed in the Self-Help Circle book club, I am offering a short meditation in this episode.

This meditation comes from "Abundance: The Inner Path to Wealth," by Deepak Chopra. You can find it on page 232-233.

Please let me know if you'd like to hear more meditations on this podcast! DM me @YouKnowSandy or email me at innerpeacetogo.com.

And if you'd like to join the free book club, send me a note here.

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.

Anyone on a quest for more inner peace has no doubt heard about the benefits of meditation. But even though the practice is simple -- just sit and breathe -- it can be so hard to do. Our thoughts race. We feel restless. Sometimes looking inside our minds can be uncomfortable and even scary.

Masako Kozawa, a photographer and writer who describes herself as "a teacher and student of meditation," has been there. She came to meditation at one of her lowest points in life, desperate for anything to make her feel better.

For her, the practice has been an unprecedented game changer, reshaping the way she feels about herself, her thoughts and her life.

If you've ever wondered if meditation is worth the effort, Masako's story will convince you!

Masako's podcast is all about the life-changing effects of meditation. Check out "Why Not Meditate?" anywhere you get your podcasts. And connect with Masako on Instagram @masakozawa_photography.

The excellent app we mention in this episode is Insight Timer. The poem I mention is Derek Walcott's Love After Love.

Have a peaceful week!

What do you need to feel more peaceful? Let me know! I'm on Instagram @thesandycohen and at innerpeacetogo.com.

And want to see me in your inbox on the regular? Get my (Not) Everything Sucks newsletter! Sign up here.