The Soul Stori Podcast's final episode of 2023! Join host Rachael Barillari and returning guest Alex Williams as they reflect on the major, up-leveling lessons of 2023, as well as how to head into 2024 with intention, purpose, and love as an action through the love languages.

Episode highlights include:

- Alex shares her top lesson: "Everything that has happened to me has happened for me."

- Shifting from a victim mentality to taking responsibility for one's narrative.

- Overcoming shame and lack of self-compassion. Check out Soul Stori's free self-compassion guide here!

- The importance of reframing and embracing personal stories.

- Alex's belief in being in control of one's destiny and happiness.

- Overview of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. Learn yours by taking this quiz!

- The power of reframing and intentional language in relationships.

- The impact of childhood dynamics on love languages.

Click to read the book: The Five Love Languages

On today's episode, I'm joined by special educator Emily Felter, who shares stories, strategies, and best practices for teaching self-regulation skills to our little ones while also holding space for ourselves as educators. What I love most about this episode is how Emily keeps it real, sharing both the beauty and immense challenges that come with being a teacher today.

We don't hold back while we explore the guilt that comes with prioritizing self-care, the need for top-down systemic change in how resources are allocated in American public schools, and so, so much more.

Here at Soul Stori, we believe the world becomes a more compassionate place with each heart-forward story that is shared. If you have a story of compassion in action, resilience, self-acceptance, or unapologetically being who you are, especially if you're an educator, we want to hear from you.

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @soul_stori and send us a short voice note or DM summarizing the story or idea that you want to share.

Free resources for practicing self-compassion can be found at: https://www.soulstori.com/downloadable-content

On today's episode, Rachael is joined by Jr Rong (Melody) Huang to dive deep into her story of body image and how redefining standards of beauty can lead to freedom, self-compassion, and genuine self-love.

Please be advised that the themes, content, and experiences shared in this episode around body image and eating habits may be extremely activating or triggering. Please feel welcome to skip this episode if that is ever the case for you.

Here at Soul Stori, we believe the world becomes a more compassionate place with each heart-forward story shared. If you have a story of compassion in action, resilience, self-acceptance, or unapologetically being who you are, we want to hear from you.

Connect with us on Instagram @soul_stori and send us a voice note summarizing the story you want to share.

Find more storytelling and heart-centered living resources at www.soulstori.com

In today's episode, Licensed Applied Behavior Analyst Michelle Gaudette shares her story of empowering parents through compassion and supporting young people through self-regulation techniques that last a lifetime.

Write with us! For more info on:

Click here to check outThe Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey.

On today's episode, Rachael speaks with professional drummer Murray S. Piper about his process of creating a thriving career straight from the heart. We discuss the process of identifying what lights you up, the experience of deciding the direction that is most authentic to you, and moving through the emotions of fear, doubt, and overwhelm to create the dream career on the other side.

This episode is a masterclass on the mind-body connection and emotional intelligence in action that is perfect for both adults craving to step into more aligned career paths as well as young people who have a gift they are considering sharing more widely with the world in the form of a future career.

Learn more about Murray and his company Passionate Drumming and Music Lessons here and check him out on Instagram @mpiper_drummer

Head to soulstori.com for free EQ resources for both at home or in the classroom.

We are living in an unprecedented time of rapid change and evolution. It's time our schools caught up. While not dismissing the importance of IQ and academics, as we enter the next paradigm of teaching and learning, teaching emotional intelligence to our children is no longer something that can seen as an add-on or put on the "back burner" to prioritize test scores and other traditional measures of achievement.

So, as educators, school leaders, parents, and more, you may be asking - where do we even start? I argue that as with any change we want to see in the world, it has to begin with the self, with embodying the EQ skills we hope to see prioritized systematically in the years to come.

In this episode, I share more about my stance on where education policy needs to shift, as well as The Quick Coherence® Technique, an incredible HeartMath® technique for the development of greater heart-brain coherence. See their Quick Coherence Technique® for Ages 12-18 here.

Explore Soul Stori's free resources at https://www.soulstori.com/downloadable-content

On today's episode, Jacqueline is here to share her journey as a parent of three neurodiverse children, including two who are twice exceptional (gifted with learning or social/emotional challenges). We discuss the importance of self-advocacy for both parents and children navigating today's school system, practical tools for parenting 2e kids, and how building community is an essential form of self-care.

Are you a parent of a neurodiverse/2e child looking for support? Connect with Jacqueline by emailing [email protected]

And, check out soulstori.com for a host of free resources for both you and your kiddos/students!

Alex brought so much fire and wisdom to this recording that it had to extend beyond 20 minutes!

In this episode:

Journal prompt from the episode: When you introduce yourself to others, do you immediately name your occupation? Instead, Alex urges us to consider, What more do you offer other people and the world at large? Hear Alex's response at the start of this episode.

Want to dive into more of "the work" yourself? Download my free self-compassion workbook here at SoulStori.com or check out The Compassion Formula: Where Head Meets Heart for Greater Well-Being now available on Amazon!

What does self-compassion truly look like? Why does it sometimes feel so challenging to cultivate? And, how can we intentionally bring more of it into our lives on a daily basis? On today's episode, my sister and I dive deep into our personal stories of self-compassion, exploring where we adopted habits of self-abandonment, and how we are making real-life commitments to mind-body practices aimed at bringing more peace, self-trust, and genuine self-compassion into our lives.

For more resources on self-compassion, check out my free downloadable guide or chapter 6 in my book The Compassion Formula: Where Head Meets Heart for Greater Well-Being.

This week I'm back with the wise and wonderful Alyssa Fenix to discuss the intersectionality of neurodiversity and LGBTQ+ work, the importance of recognizing the complexity and interconnection of identities, the subjective nature of language and its impact on emotionally intelligent communication, and the challenges in creating inclusive spaces due to oversimplification and performative approaches. PLUS hear several of my favorite practical takeaways to date.

A huge THANK YOU to my listeners who wrote in to share what's made your hearts happy this past week! It was such a joy to read them on air at the start of this episode and celebrate with you.

For more on Alyssa's work please visit https://www.fenixoutspoken.com/

For free downloadable guides for several of the practical takeaways discussed in this episode, head over to my website https://www.soulstori.com/downloadable-content and for MORE exercises I invite you to check out my book The Compassion Formula.