In this special closing episode of Season Three of the Practical Spirituality Podcast, hosts Gareth and Kim reflect on the journey shared across 24 heartfelt episodes. As the season comes to a close, they pause to revisit the moments and themes that left a lasting impact on each of them.

Gareth shares how recognizing life patterns was a powerful turning point, while Kim reflects on how certain episodes continue to serve as gentle reminders in her own growth. These conversations, layered with honesty and insight, have met listeners in different ways at different times—revealing how spiritual wisdom unfolds uniquely for each person.

Our hosts highlight the evolving nature of these teachings, noting how returning to past episodes can spark new understanding as awareness deepens. They also invite listeners to reflect on the episodes that resonated most personally and to share the insights they’ve carried forward.

While the podcast takes a short break before Season Four, the journey continues in their online community at garethmichael.com. Whether joining for free or exploring more deeply through membership, listeners are encouraged to connect, share experiences, and help shape future podcast content. The season may be ending, but the conversation is far from over—and Gareth and Kim look forward to growing together with their community in the months ahead.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality Podcast, Gareth and Kim explore the hidden harm behind the constant push for positivity in the spiritual and self-help worlds. They discuss how forced positivity can become a defense mechanism, blocking authentic connection and emotional healing.

Our hosts assess how covering up uncomfortable emotions with positive thinking doesn't make them go away; it simply buries them, where they resurface later in unexpected and often harmful ways. Through personal stories they highlight how toxic positivity shows up in everyday moments, and how this reveals a deeper cultural discomfort with emotional honesty and vulnerability.

Gareth and Kim assess tools for building emotional intelligence: removing judgment from emotions, validating all feelings, practicing active listening, and expanding emotional vocabulary. By getting more comfortable with the full emotional spectrum, even difficult emotions can become valuable guides rather than threats.

This episode invites listeners to stop gaslighting their own experiences and begin forming a more genuine relationship with themselves. With compassion and practical guidance, Gareth and Kim show how true growth comes from acknowledging every part of the emotional journey—not just the pleasant parts.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality Podcast, Gareth and Kim explore the human tendency to avoid and run away from emotional discomfort, offering an honest and compassionate look at how avoidance shapes personal growth. Kim openly shares her experience of being a "professional runner," setting the tone for a conversation that encourages understanding of the ways people try to escape from difficult emotions.

The hosts explain how avoidance patterns evolve over time, often taking the form of behaviours like substance use or overworking, and later becoming more subtle, sometimes even masked as spiritual practices or self-improvement. They emphasize that avoidance is a natural part of the human experience, and that true healing happens in its own time. As Gareth notes, "You can't heal the parts of you that you're meant to heal until you're meant to heal them," highlighting the importance of timing and intuition over forcing change.

Our hosts offer practical guidance, enocraging us to meet ourselves with compassion, and understanding that the goal isn't to eliminate running, but to form a healthier relationship with the parts of ourselves we tend to flee from. This conversation invites listeners to approach their growth journey with patience, honesty, and self-kindness.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality Podcast, Gareth and Kim explore the emotional struggle many people face—the pendulum swing between caring too much and shutting down completely. They reflect on how this imbalance can lead to emotional exhaustion, isolation, and burnout.

Kim shares her personal experience with over-caring and the frustration of trying to stop herself from feeling so deeply. Gareth offers insight into how even well-meaning care can sometimes act as a distraction from facing one’s own healing. Together, they explore how cultural expectations often place unrealistic pressure on people to care endlessly, leading to guilt and resentment when boundaries are finally set.

Our hosts offer practical tools for finding a healthy balance—emphasizing that this is not about becoming less caring, but about learning to care in a way that doesn’t deplete our own wellbeing.

For anyone who has ever felt drained by their own empathy, this episode provides honest reflection, gentle guidance, and a reminder that caring for others starts with caring for ourselves.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality Podcast, Gareth and Kim explore the heavy weight of regret and how it can stay with us for years, replaying thoughts of what might have been. They offer a new perspective—what if regret isn’t punishment, but a form of redirection.

Through thoughtful reflection and personal stories, they unpack why regret lingers long after events have passed. That feeling of “if only” or “what if” often points to unresolved lessons or personal growth still waiting to happen. Rather than seeing regret as something to avoid, Gareth and Kim suggest it can be a guide toward healing and transformation.

They explore how these thought loops can help break old patterns and behaviors that no longer serve us. Taking responsibility, they explain, isn’t about blame—it’s about recognizing that if something still feels unsettled, there may be wisdom in revisiting it. While we can’t change the past, our hosts encourage listeners to find peace by accepting it—and becoming more present and authentic in the process.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality Podcast, Gareth and Kim introduce the concept of “reparenting ourselves,” an approach that may feel unfamiliar yet serves as a cornerstone of emotional healing and spiritual growth. They explain how unresolved childhood wounds can remain “frozen”, influencing our adult behavior, relationships, and emotional patterns until our inner children are recognized and healed.

The hosts discuss the signs that show when our inner child needs attention, such as persistent self-criticism, fear of abandonment, emotional outbursts, and excessive people-pleasing—behaviors often rooted in coping strategies learned early in life. These patterns frequently lead to external blame, diverting attention from the deeper, internal issues creating the issue. Gareth and Kim show how reframing such triggers opens opportunities to address one’s own unhealed wounds.

Our hosts guide us on how we can gradually reshape our relationships both with ourselves and others. While stressing that these wounds were not self-created, they show how healing them is ultimately a personal responsibility—an empowering step toward breaking old cycles and finding the internal nourishment we so often seek externally.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality Podcast, Gareth and Kim examine why we care so much about other people’s opinions. They delve into the psychological roots of this tendency, explaining how humans are wired from infancy to seek external validation for survival, creating neural pathways that can persist throughout adulthood. They assess how these patterns have intensified in the digital age, and the impact of social media.

Our hosts share personal stories of grappling with comparison, perfectionism, and the pressure to maintain seemingly “perfect” facades. They highlight how relying too heavily on others’ judgments can result in anxiety and self-doubt. They also discuss practical strategies for moving beyond this cycle, emphasizing self-validation, establishing boundaries, and expressing oneself authentically.

Rather than advocating for a complete dismissal of external feedback, they encourage listeners to develop a healthier relationship with others’ views, allowing them to inform but not define personal identity. For anyone who has felt the need to “people-please”, this episode offers support, guidance, and practical insights for cultivating greater peace and authenticity.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality Podcast, Gareth and Kim challenge the popular belief that love can solve all relationship problems. They discuss how, despite genuine affection, relationships can still reach a breaking point when underlying issues—like toxicity, poor communication, or conflicting values—go unaddressed.

Drawing on personal experiences, Gareth and Kim highlight how societal expectations often persuade people to endure unhealthy situations. The conversation takes a revealing turn when they examine how fear sometimes disguises itself as love, causing individuals to remain in damaging relationships out of concern for finances, loneliness, or the difficulty of starting over.

The hosts underscore the vital role of self-love in fostering healthy connections, providing oneself with enough self love to maintain protective boundaries and avoid accepting toxic behavior. This perspective shifts the notion of love from self-sacrifice to a balanced exchange that respects both partners.

Whether listeners are grappling with a current relationship or recovering from a past one, this episode provides compassionate advice, support and practical strategies for navigating the limits of love.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality, Gareth and Kim explore why communication often breaks down, even when people believe they are speaking clearly. They explain how everyone operates from their own unique “map of the world,” shaped by personal experiences, backgrounds, and cultural influences. As a result, two people raised in the same household can still develop entirely different communication styles.

They discuss how most people were never taught the art of true communication. They highlight the importance of self-awareness in conversation, noting that unresolved internal issues can surface when individuals use dialogue to avoid self-reflection. The episode challenges the tendency to focus on who is “right” or “wrong,” arguing that such binary thinking destroys the curiosity and vulnerability necessary for genuine connection.

The hosts offer practical strategies for improving communication, including maintaining genuine curiosity, being fully present, asking clarifying questions, and recognizing when emotional reactions signal the need to pause. They also acknowledge that not everyone is ready for deeper connection and emphasize the value of seeking professional support, such as therapy or coaching, when needed.

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In this episode of the Practical Spirituality, Gareth and Kim examine the universal experience of feeling invisible, exploring why people often feel unheard or unseen by others. They discuss various scenarios—from the middle child overshadowed by siblings to the partner in a long-term relationship who no longer feels appreciated—revealing how these situations can deeply affect self-confidence and self-worth.

Our hosts explain that repeated experiences of this feeling can lead individuals to withdraw and stop sharing their perspectives, unintentionally reinforcing their own sense of being unseen. They highlight the paradox of seeking external validation: the more desperately someone looks for visibility, the less likely they are to find it. Instead, they emphasize the power of “seeing yourself first,” encouraging listeners to focus inward and develop self-validation before seeking recognition from others.

Throughout the episode, Gareth and Kim offer compassionate insights for transforming the pain of feeling invisible into an opportunity for spiritual growth. They discuss how building a relationship with oneself—independent of external approval—can pave the way toward peace and acceptance.

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