Starting With Gratitude

It’s ya girl, your host, Jocelyn, y como siempre (and as always), I am so grateful you are here. Welcome to my Starting with Gratitude podcast! 

This is a safe space, intended to host heart-centered, meaningful conversations exploring all topics of the human and spiritual experience. This space also intends to reflect healthy, honest communication.

Some episodes are between you and I. Other episodes I converse with a special guest. Every episode starts with gratitude and the conversation flows from there.

As a community, we’re here to feel grateful, practice conscious awareness, and journey through expansion - together.

New episodes drop every Tuesday and are available on all podcast platforms, as well as YouTube. I would love for you to join our beautiful, growing community by subscribing and sharing. When you enjoy an episode, please take a moment to share a rating and review. 

I pray these episodes have you walking away feeling more confident, comfortable, and clear-minded, as well as clear-hearted - and, of course, grateful. 

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "If my 28-year-old Self were to give a gift to my 29-year-old Self, I feel like that gift would be an open heart. I feel like that gift would be readiness. I feel like that gift would be a calm, regulated nervous system and a strong spiritual foundation." - Jocelyn

When I turned 28, I published an episode expressing my gratitude for my 27-year-old Self. It only felt right to now publish an episode expressing gratitude to my 28-year-old Self. This episode is the very last episode I publish as my 28-year-old Self. *insert grateful tear here

As I've reflected on my 28th year... at first it felt like an incredibly uneventful year but then as I continued to reflect, I realized that 28 was my year of calm. Deeply rooted calm, regardless of my external circumstances. And perhaps, that may be why it at first felt uneventful... because I was calm through it all.

The version of me that is 28 really feels like a version that is a devotee. A devotee devoted to continuing to deepen her relationship with the Divine and strengthen her spiritual foundation. A devotee that was focused and determined and inspired to fully integrate and embody all the healing and awakening that was experienced in 27.

I was calm as a spiritual practice. I was relaxing as a spiritual practice. And one of the lessons I learned is that relaxing is powerful. When I say relaxing, I am referring to relaxing as a form of surrender, as a form of faith.

28 was beautiful, even in its seeming uneventfulness. I am grateful. Thank you for listening to my reflections! And thank you, 28. 

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Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "Being in the feeling is imagining something so vividly that my body feels it." - Jamila Reddy

A conversation that encourages feeling and inspires willingness, Jamila Reddy shares with us this season of her life where she is experiencing the beauty of answered prayers and the season that came before, which was full of grief but ultimately contributed to her being where she easefully stands today. With the power of creative visualization and intentional feeling, Jamila has manifested a life of her dreams and we expand on the wholeness, as well as the magic, of this journey.

Jamila Reddy is a Lifestyle Designer and Transformational Coach who is passionate about living a life that lights her up and guiding others to live a life that lights them up, too. Jamila encourages everyone to tap into their innate creative powers and is a testimony herself that in doing so - expansion, bliss, joy, and miracles happen.

Radically transforming your life and awakening to your unlimited potential may sound intimidating but in this conversation, we gain clarity on how this is accessible for all of us, all while honoring the inescapable inevitabilities of the human experience.

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Topics we touch on in this conversation include (but are not limited to):

• generational wealth
• the importance of home
• welcoming change
• the power of imagination
• experiencing grief and loss
• coparenting
• allowing your Self to play
• feeling worthy
• gratitude for curiosity

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "If we don't have our heart open, our blessings don't come." - Réyel Byrd

From the deep desire to expand and experience higher potentials to reprogramming the subconscious to opening your heart and beyond, this conversation with Afro-Indigenous Medicine Woman and Spiritual Teacher, Réyel Byrd, walks you through the spiritual, the awakening, the healing journey. Whether you are in the depths of the journey or just recently have begun dipping your toes in its infinite pool, this expansive conversation will surely resonate with you and will deepen your conscious awareness.

We begin by touching on the current season of the collective and intuitively transition through some of the core experiences that come with choosing the Spirit-led and heart-centered path, such as: questioning the Self and life, seeking liberation, learning how to take accountability, doing inner-child work, purifying your Self from illusions, experiencing sacred solitude, and trusting the unknown.

If you enjoy deep conversations about the human and spiritual experiences, then this conversation is especially for you! Learn more about Réyel and her offerings/services here.

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Topics we touch on in this conversation include (but are not limited to):

• practicing true self-love
• tuning into your heart
• dark night of the Soul
• disassociating
• understanding the ego
• trusting your Higher Self
• healing your throat chakra
• apologizing to your Self
• the veil and the subconscious
• allowing your Self to feel anger
• the power of words

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "If you have to suppress a truth in order to keep the peace in a relationship or in an environment… then is the peace really present? Where is the peace in that?" - Jocelyn

This is basically a conversation about why expressing the truth is awesome - even when the truth you're expressing feels uncomfortable. Not long ago I had a moment where I felt called to express an uncomfortable truth to someone and, after a short time suppressing it, I expressed it. And I felt so grateful! I am so grateful to grow comfortable and confident expressing the truth. I am so grateful for all the moments I witness my Self choosing differently, choosing to express the truth out of love and breaking the unhealthy pattern of suppressing the truth out of fear (like I have many times in the past).

If you're someone who struggles expressing the truth out of fear, this conversation is especially for you.

🤎Get a FREE one year supply of Vitamin D + 5 AG1 Travel Packs here
 
Topics we touch on in this conversation include (but are not limited to):

• the fears of expressing the truth
• the relationships meant for you
• why expressing the truth is important
• getting clear on our values and desires
• the detriments of suppressing the truth
• "keeping the peace"
• the truth as an expression of love

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "If I stuck to my original goals, I wouldn't be where I'm at. I'm in a completely different field that I would've never imagined ten, twenty years ago." - Andy Nguyen

From real estate to streetwear to the food industry (and multiple other seemingly random ventures in-between), successful Serial Entrepreneur and Co-Founder, Andy Nguyen, has experienced an unpredictable yet divinely orchestrated entrepreneurial journey. A success that has come with many highs and lows, Andy has grown confident in allowing himself to change, trusting his gut, and pursuing big ideas as soon as the inspiration strikes (even if that big idea calls for a major pivot).

With over twenty concepts built in just the last eight years in over sixty locations worldwide, Andy has (partly) learned that it's okay if and when plans change. He welcomes the evolutionary nature of life and has come to realize that, ultimately, his dreams always come true in ways beyond his scope of imagination.

Some of the businesses Andy has Co-Founded include Afters Ice Cream, Dough & Arrow, Matte Black Coffee, Bored & Hungry, and Trill Burgers (which was named the best burger in America by Good Morning America). Food Network called Andy "the mash-up king in the food industry." You can follow him on Instagram here.

This is an inspiring conversation that ultimately encourages you to be your true Self, follow your passions, and trust the divine unfoldment of your life! Failures contribute to your growth. Mistakes offer valuable lessons. And change is inevitable.

🤎Get a FREE one year supply of Vitamin D + 5 FREE AG1 Travel Packs here
 
Topics we touch on in this conversation include (but are not limited to):

• changing seasons of life
• the beginnings of entrepreneurship
• who you're surrounded by matters
• passion contributing to success
• big failures
• growing confident in pursuing ideas
• growing pains of massive success
• stepping back to move forward
• faith in Self & in a higher power
• fatherhood

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "Had I known that we all grieve differently and that you don’t really move on from grief, especially not when it’s a grief of a dear loved one, I feel like that would’ve lifted a lot of weight off my already weighted shoulders." - Jocelyn

Grief is an inescapable part of the human experience. There is no escaping the experience of grief. That said, I feel it is important that we talk about it.

I wasn't planning on publishing an episode on grief at this time but the unexpected death of our cat moved me to have this heart-to-heart conversation with you, as I know I'm not alone in feeling grief at this time. Over the past couple of years, we've experienced both individual and collective grief (of many sorts), so I pray this conversation bring you comfort in some way.

I am grateful I've accepted grief as a part of life because the acceptance assisted my healing. After the loss of my father, I realized that that grief wasn't ever going to go away and the sooner I accepted that, the sooner I was able to move forward with my grief, rather than spending time efforting (and struggling) to move on from it.

In this conversation, I'm sharing my personal reflections on grief, some of what I have learned, and more. Thank you for listening.

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Topics we touch on in this conversation include (but are not limited to):

• responding to grief in different ways
• experiencing shock from grief
• the tendency to blame the Self/others
• feeling responsible to have solutions and answers
• being "good" "after" grief
• the many feelings of grief
• lessons from grief
• grieving "the wrong way"
• the kinds of grief
• the causes of grief
• showing up for someone who is grieving

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "The faster you move, the more mistakes that you make." - Brian "Z" Zisook

Although staying true to your values and honoring your intentions may, at times, call for taking the longer route, it's worth it. It also contributes to you experiencing your true success! Brian "Z" Zisook Co-Founded two incredibly genuine (and successful) companies that internally and externally reflect being "for the people" and it's in large part because he and his team remained in alignment with their mission and vision.

As we hear from Brian's story, though, sometimes as you're in alignment with your vision, you have to be willing to take risks, make sacrifices and adjustments as needed. Having a business partner that compliments you definitely helps. Brian's business partner for both DJBooth and Audiomack, David Macli, is the visionary, while Brian is the logistic. This complimentary duo makes for a successful entrepreneurial journey that we expand on in this conversation.

Aside from business, we also expand on Brian's personal life as a son, as a father, as a husband and how all of those roles and aspects of his life contribute to his overall success. Unexpectedly being a caregiver for his mother at a young age, being mindful of his marriage, and birthing a daughter all shaped the caring, genuine personality that is Brian Zisook.

This is a beautiful professional and personal conversation that is sure to inspire every creative, entrepreneur, and human navigating this simple, complex life.

Visit Audiomack, an artist-first music streaming platform, here
Visit DJBooth, a source for hip-hop, rap & R&B,  here

🤎Get a FREE one year supply of Vitamin D + 5 FREE AG1 Travel Packs here
 
Topics we touch on in this conversation include (but are not limited to):

• hard work paying off
• upholding your values and intentions
• making adjustments as needed
• the biggest risk and sacrifice in business
• the importance of allowing your Self to slow down
• what makes a great business partner
• abundance mindset
• fear of growth
• fatherhood and brotherhood
• how becoming a father changes you
• how caregiving your parent changes you
• outgrowing friendships
• being grateful for the little, big things

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "Anything that you suppress will eventually feel like a burden, whether it’s an idea or an emotion or an experience or a thought." - Jocelyn

In our last one-on-one conversation (episode 71), I touched on being someone who has a lot of ideas and being someone who is grateful to have a lot of ideas. Ever since I can remember, I have always had a lot of ideas but it wasn't until a few years ago that I actually started seeing my abundance of ideas as a blessing and not as a burden.

After years of pursuing my ideas and bringing them to life, I realized many reasons why having a lot of ideas is a blessing and I realized many reasons why having a lot of ideas can feel like a burden. And the truth is... our ideas are not the burden, we are.

I feel called to have this conversation with you because I know there are many brilliant minds and hearts out there with lots of ideas but also lots of overwhelm, doubt, and confusion. How can you start to see your ideas as blessings, not burdens? What do you do when you have a lot of ideas? Where do you start? Which idea do you pursue first? What happens when you do start pursuing and bringing your ideas to life?

There's a lot we can discuss in regards to this but this episode is a great place for us to start the conversation.

🤎Get a FREE one year supply of Vitamin D + 5 AG1 Travel Packs here
 
Topics we touch on in this conversation include (but are not limited to):

• why having a lot of ideas is a blessing
• how to shift your perspective on your ideas
• why ideas can feel like burdens
• the number one thing to do when you have a lot of ideas
• which idea to pursue first
• the blueprint of bringing ideas to life
• affirmations for you and your ideas

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website

🎙 "How can we expect to enter the Temple of God when we can't even take care of the Temple that God gave us?" - Tone Levels

I'd like to preface this description by saying that the substance and depth of this conversation is a pure reflection of the substance and depth my Self and my guest have explored within our Self. These beautiful, open, awakening conversations are expressed between two people when each of those two people have these kinds of conversations with their Self.

Tone Levels, also known on socials as The Blood That Heals, is a Sacred Masculine that has come a long way "from operating fully as matter. He was in the streets, jail consecutively, letting his emotions control him, and his perception on life. Not realizing that his perception, his mind, the way that he thinks shapes his reality and his life." (in his own words)

In this profound conversation (that I feel everybody needs to listen to), we expand on where he is ascending from, what he confronted in him Self, and so much of what he has expanded his conscious awareness about, such as: the importance of eating natural, whole foods, being Spirit and consciousness, honoring his body temple, divine masculinity and femininity, the power of cultivating sexual energy, how to forgive him Self, the journey being the destination, and ultimately, that in him overcoming him Self, he can overcome any and everything beyond him.

This is truly such a special episode. Tap in with an open mind and heart!

If you'd like to support Tone Levels and follow his journey, click here to explore his music, online shop, consultations, semen retention/ejaculation control course, and beyond.

🤎Get a FREE one year supply of Vitamin D + 5 AG1 Travel Packs here
 
Topics we touch on in this conversation include (but are not limited to):

• your Self is your greatest obstacle
• practicing mind over matter
• not simply identifying as human
• how food impacts your energy
• being uncomfortable so you can grow
• taking accountability for your journey
• overcoming shame and guilt
• falling in love with someones potential
• attachment to expectation
• semen retention & ejaculation control
• being a man with a purpose
• finding your purpose
• defining God

Support the show

Thank you for bringing this podcast into your present moment and thank you for consciously listening! Your presence is sincerely valued and appreciated. If you you enjoy this podcast, please share a rating and a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📧 Subscribe To The Weekly Gratitude Newsletter
👁️ Watch all episodes on YouTube
😊 Follow the podcast on Instagram @StartingwithGratitude
🌻 Follow ya girl, your host on Instagram @withJocelyn
✍🏽 Embark on my 30-Day Gratitude Journaling Journey here
☀️ Visit the website