Return to Wholeness

**This will be our final interview before I go on Maternity Leave**

 

Be sure to tune in to hear about what you can expect from RTW while I'm bonding with my baby and not releasing any new episodes.

 

This week's interview with Mara Branscombe is so powerful as we delve deeply into what it means to live a ritualistic life.

 

Here's what we discuss:

 

• Mara's experience of fragmentation that began with her "settling down" from her nomadic lifestyle to continue the family legacy of becoming a teacher and how she bravely went after her passions and dreams
• The origins of Mara's ritual practice
• Ritual as a daily practice vs something we engage in only during special occasions
• How ritual can be used in our own initiation and allow us to integrate and reflect, bringing us into deeper self awareness
• What might be possible if more and more human beings were engaging in regular ritual
• The power of interacting with the changing seasons and all 5 elements in ritual practice
• Soul care vs self care
• Mara's book that is coming out at the end of May which is now available to presale Ritual as Remedy Embodied Practices for Soul Care - such a generous offering and also lets us in on a bit of her process in writing a book

 

You can learn more about Mara and pre-order her book here:

www.marabranscombe.com

Let's face it, we all feel a little bit weird from time to time. Usually the parts of ourselves that we feel are weird are the parts we desperately try to hide or entirely fragment.

 

Yet what if within your weirdness there was untapped potential, gifts and talents?

 

This is exactly what today's guest, Jessica Hans-Smolin, believes. She believes that our weirdness isn't something to hide but instead is something that can be used to guide us towards the fullest expression of who we are.

 

Join us for this weird and wild conversation where we talk about:

 

• Jessica's 2 experiences with fragmentation, one when she was a child and also again when she became a mother
• Cultivating resilience to support us in bringing our gifts into the world so that we can stay connected to the joy our gifts and talents bring us when they come under scrutiny, jealousy or projection
• The etymology of the word 'weird' and how we can begin to reclaim our weirdness and use it in pursuit of becoming the fullest expression of who we are
• Weirdness as creative, even sexual energy and expression
• Why it feels dangerous for us to be "weird" or our full selves
• How owning our "weird" allows us to free ourselves along with previous and future generations

 

Learn more about Jessica, download her free gift and check out the resources she's provided below:

 

The gift meditation https://mailchi.mp/043ee495b29a/reclaim-your-weird-rebirth-your-gift

 

Follow me: 

@freeyouressencejess on insta

 

Contact: 

[email protected]

 

Other shares:

Anita Kopacz book Shallow Waters 

 

And folks can follow Daphne, the client who I shared about on insta @followingfootprintsinnature

I can't wait for you to meet Erin Claire Jones! She is someone who has taught me so much about the powerful, helpful tool of Human Design.

 

Whether you're a Human Design aficionado, novice or are completely clueless about what it is, I think you'll enjoy this conversation as Erin offers a unique and empowering take.

 

She is also offering 10% a Human Design Blueprint with code WHOLENESS.

 

Here's what we discuss:

 

• Erin's journey to find balance between her need for rest and spaciousness and her desire to grow a business as a Human Design Projector
• Topline overview of Human Design- the strategies, types and authorities
• Experimenting with your type and how you can work best with it 
• Reckoning with how we've been operating out of alignment with our strategy (example a projector trying to be a generator)
• How to stay out of comparison mode with other types
• How Human Design can be used as a way to understand our differences as human beings
• In depth conversation around what Erin calls one of the most important aspects of HD, your authority

 

Learn more about Erin and her work here:

 

Here's the link to get your Blueprint, a personalized guide to your unique design: https://humandesignblueprint.com/buy-a-blueprint-book/

 

The code WHOLENESS will get them 10% off your Blueprint :)

 

Here's a link to look up your design: https://humandesignblueprint.com/

 

Here's a link to book an individual session: erinclairejones.com/individual

 

Here's my instagram: instagram.com/erinclairejones

 

Here's a link to join my next free intro webinar: https://howdoyouchoose1.splashthat.com

Happy 1 Year Anniversary of Return to Wholeness! I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this year of co-creating this podcast than to bring our first guest and my friend, Kat Lee.

 

This conversation is reflective of the ways that both of us have evolved and grown, continuing to call back our own fragmented parts, over this past year.

 

Here's what we discuss:

• Kat's journey with creating inner safety and how that has improved her relationships and opened her about to new, playful experiences in her life
• The difference between nervous system regulated safety and comfort or complacency
• The role of self-trust in feeling safe and how we begin to build trust with ourselves
• How trauma can inform how you are or not showing up in your business and relationships (with an interesting exploration around "laziness")
• Kat flips my question on me and asks me to share about what I've been calling back over this year 
• Sitting the wisdom of our feminine before responding - whether that's to certain cultural narratives or internally/externally placed expectations
• How to shift from wanting to control other people's thoughts and opinions to having curiosity 
• The difference between understanding and agreement - sneak peek into our conversation on Kat's podcast which will be coming out at the end of April while

 

Learn more about Kat and her work here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empoweredcuriosity/

Website: https://www.empoweredcuriosity.com/

Podcast: https://www.empoweredcuriosity.com/blog

 

Sign up for the RTW Playlist here: https://mailchi.mp/0faf62a7a25a/b8stn2v3w4

 

 

 

This episode with Bergen Hyde, The Dark Night Doula, is so powerful as we explore in-depth the journey of maiden to mother through the lens of our ever-changing bodies.   Here's what we discuss:

• Bergen's journey into motherhood that she felt was lacking in true initiation and how that impacted her experience through birth and actually becoming a mom
• How she's learned to naturally navigate "Dark Night of the Soul" experiences in her life 
• The spectrum of martyr to warrior that many women find themselves in as they try to please society
• How women begin to disassociate from their bodies as they age or go through other transformational phases like motherhood
• How when women are focused on their appearance and staying young they end of ignoring their own maturation process
• Our bodies as a portal into what really matters
• Our cultures inability to be with death and grief and how that shows up in our resistance to aging and changing
• Bergen's powerful ritual that allowed her recognize herself again and begin to redefine what it means to be a woman on her own terms

  Learn more about Bergen and her work here:

https://www.wombandcompany.com/

https://www.instagram.com/womb_circle/

 

Sign up for the RTW Playlist here: https://mailchi.mp/0faf62a7a25a/b8stn2v3w4

This episode with Bergen Hyde, The Dark Night Doula, is so powerful as we explore in depth the journey of maiden to mother through the lens of our ever-changing bodies.

 

Here's what we discuss:

 

• Bergen's journey into motherhood that she felt was lacking in true initiation and how that impacted her experience through birth and actually becoming a mom
• How she's learned to naturally navigate "Dark Night of the Soul" experiences in her life 
• The spectrum of martyr to warrior that many women find themselves in as they try to please society
• How women begin to disassociate from their bodies as they age or go through other transformational phases like motherhood
• How when women are focused on their appearance and staying young they end of ignoring their own maturation process
• Our bodies as a portal into what really matters
• Our cultures inability to be with death and grief and how that shows up in our resistance to aging and changing
• Bergen's powerful ritual that allowed her recognize herself again and begin to redefine what it means to be a woman on her own terms

 

Learn more about Bergen and her work here:

https://www.wombandcompany.com/

https://www.instagram.com/womb_circle/

 

Sign up for the RTW Playlist here: https://mailchi.mp/0faf62a7a25a/b8stn2v3w4

Meet Monica Rodgers. She is a tireless advocate for the full actualization of women, inspiring women everywhere that saying “YES to the MESS” is the missing link to self-love and personal awakening.

This episode is so powerful as we explore what it means to move beyond external measures of value and worth into rooted sufficiency within ourselves.

Here's what we cover:

• The root of fragmentation being a choice between being loved and abandoning ourselves
• What Monica refers to as the unbecoming process, where we unlearn who we were expected to be
• The conditioned shadow side of the feminine to be pretty, pleasing and polite
• The trance of unworthiness and beginning to access our own sufficiency as women
• Wanting what we want sometimes looking like wanting less
• How revelation does not happen inside of our comfort zone
• The guilt we might feel when we've been doing our own work and seeing the results in our thriving lives
• Not doing someone else's life project for them
• What's really underneath jealousy
• How to create conscious and healthy sisterhood
• Becoming the cherished mother in your own life

Learn more about Monica and her work here:

http://www.jointherevelation.com and podcast.jointherevelation.com

Sign up for the RTW Playlist here: https://mailchi.mp/0faf62a7a25a/b8stn2v3w4

Today I'm in conversation with Loren Cellentani, recovering perfectionist, host of the top rated podcast, Witchy Wellness Radio and a Holistic Health Coach.

 

Loren has a history of navigating and overcoming chronic anxiety and she generously offered her perspective and tools to the Return to Wholeness listeners.

 

Here's what we discuss:

 

• Loren's history with chronic anxiety attacks that stemmed from living a life of "shoulds"
• How comfort might be a sign that we are fragmenting ourselves
• How making small changes to everyday routines can help build resilience as we take risks in our lives
• Anxiety as a super power that is showing us where we're stepping into the unknown and therefore our growth
• Loren's practice for flowing with anxiety 
• The role of surrender in supporting ourselves through anxious times
• Willingness being the first step in getting out of victimhood

 

Learn more about Loren and her work here:

www.lorencellentani.com

www.anxioustoaligned.com

www.instagram.com/lorencellentani

 

Sign up for the RTW Playlist here: https://mailchi.mp/0faf62a7a25a/b8stn2v3w4

 

 

 

It's almost a cliche at this point to talk about how polarized our society has become in the past decade. Many, it seems, would prefer that we remain bifurcated - especially those who profit and benefit from it.   Yet there is a growing number of individuals who've decided enough is enough with us vs them, unjust labeling and censorship of those who differ.  

In this episode, I humbly offer my voice to this conversation because I truly believe that this level of polarization is leading us only towards our mutually assured destruction.

 

Here's what I discuss in this raw and vulnerable solo episode:

• Why it's important to me to add my voice and no longer buying into the false belief of hopelessness
• An exploration of my evangelical upbringing and how that contributed to my own us vs them mentality
• The human drive to default to "us vs them" and the role our nervous systems play in upholding this mindset
• The role of social media and how hyper-connected we are in furthering our disconnection and misunderstanding of the "other"
• Why it's imperative that we opt out of "us vs them" mentality and challenge ourselves to see people in their full humanity
• The spiritual implications of "us vs them" mentality
• How uniformity is not a prerequisite for making meaningful change
• Some specific practices I am implementing to support myself and others in opting out of "us vs them" mentality and returning to wholeness within ourselves, relationships and collectively

 

Link to the book I referenced: https://www.amazon.com/How-Have-Impossible-Conversations-Practical/dp/0738285323/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1642709486&sr=8-1

My girl, Julie Ohlemacher, is hopping on to share some big happenings in her life which I'm absolutely thrilled about for her. Though this does mean that her regular appearances on Return to Wholeness will less frequent, we trust that both of our paths are leading us directly where we're intended to go.

 

In this episode, Jules and I decided to let you get a sneak peek into some of our private conversations that we've been having over the past year as we navigate entrepreneurship, trusting our process and allowing the chips to fall as they may.

 

Here's what we discuss:

• The big and exciting evolution that is happening in Julie's life
• How holding tight to one path can cut us off from possibilities and perhaps our true desires
• Getting honest with ourselves about if our desires are being influenced by societal status symbols or other "gold standards"
• This or better mindset when it comes to manifestation - or what Holly prefers to call is - co-creation
• The role humility plays in manifestation and admitting that we might not always know what's best
• Abundance being a state of being vs a material reality
• How to get clear about our desires but also hold them loosely
• Allowing ourselves to be surprised and delighted by the what life brings us

 

Connect with me here: https://www.instagram.com/holly.toronto/

Return to Wholeness Playlist: https://mailchi.mp/0faf62a7a25a/b8stn2v3w4

 

Connect with Jules here: https://www.instagram.com/julie.ohlemacher/