STOPTIME: Live in the Moment.

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

If you’ve ever felt yanked from one moment into the next, this guided reentry is your reset. We slow down the space between chapters so you can release the residue of what just happened and choose, on purpose, how you want to enter what comes next. Through gentle breathwork, grounding cues, and clear language, we create a small but powerful pause—one that returns scattered attention back to the body and helps the nervous system trade urgency for presence.

We start by settling where we are: softening shoulders and jaw, feeling the support beneath us, and letting each exhale lengthen. From there, we acknowledge where we’ve been without judgment—whether it was a hard meeting, a busy day, or emotions only you could feel. Using imagery like dust lifting from a windowsill as sunlight moves in, we let go of what we don’t need while trusting that the insights worth keeping will stay. This isn’t escapism; it’s integration.

Once we’ve found our center, we pair breath with simple mantras: Inhale, I come home. Exhale, I let go. Inhale, I gather. Exhale, I release. The rhythm anchors attention and invites clarity. Then we ask the pivotal question: How do I want to enter what comes next? Maybe the answer is steadiness, curiosity, softer edges, or clearer boundaries. We imagine crossing a threshold carrying only what serves and leaving the rest with kindness, reclaiming choice in a world that rarely pauses.

Walk away feeling present, connected, and ready for whatever’s next. If this practice helps you create calmer transitions, share it with someone who rushes between moments, subscribe for more mindful resets, and leave a review to tell us what energy you’re bringing forward.

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

Heavy week, full schedule, and that quiet tug of guilt for needing a break? Let’s trade performance for presence. We slow down together with gentle breath cues, simple body awareness, and a compassionate question that cuts through noise: what do I need right now? No fixing, no penance—just a soft return to yourself that steadies your nervous system and brings your energy back online.

We start by loosening the body’s armor—dropping the shoulders, unclenching the jaw, softening the belly—so the mind can hear what the heart is saying. From there, we reframe guilt as a signal of strong values rather than proof of failure. If old stories are running the show—be useful, don’t rest, keep everyone happy—we offer fresh permissions: I am allowed to be human. I am allowed to listen to my body. I am allowed to begin again. These mantras land with the breath, creating room for clarity.

A simple visualization anchors the reset: imagine your energy as a shaken snow globe. Thoughts and feelings swirl, then, with slow breathing, they settle. You don’t have to make up for anything or fix everything; the body knows how to rebalance when given space. To close, we choose one nourishing action—water, a walk, silence, a boundary, or a steady breath—and let that be enough. Hand to heart or belly, we seal the practice with a quiet truth: I always have myself to come back to.

If this practice brought you ease, subscribe for more guided resets, share it with a friend who needs gentleness today, and leave a quick review to help others find these moments of calm.

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

Gratitude can get twisted when it’s layered with pressure, obligation, or performance. Many of us were raised to *“be grateful”—*as if appreciation could be forced, graded, or used to override whatever we’re actually feeling. That’s where gratitude turns toxic: when it becomes a script instead of a truth.

In this short real-time reflection, recorded while waiting for a client, we take a gentle but honest look at the difference between authentic gratitude and the kind that’s fueled by guilt, shame, or conditions. We explore how “I should be grateful” often masks self-judgment, how resentment ties gratitude to unmet expectations, and why the phrase “I’ll be grateful when…” keeps us stuck.

Instead of bypassing pain, we talk about letting gratitude sit beside sadness, longing, disappointment, and imperfect circumstances—without pretending anything is fine. Gratitude doesn’t erase your humanity; it expands your capacity to be with it.

Together we reframe gratitude as an inside job—not a performance and not an obligation. You’ll hear real, tender moments of appreciating the ability to feel, even when life doesn’t match the wish. And we explore how to notice attachments, release conditions, and protect yourself from the kind of gratitude that silences needs or erases boundaries.

This reflection is a reminder:
 You’re allowed to feel what you feel.
 You’re allowed to be kind to yourself in the process.
 And gratitude, when you choose it, can support your clarity rather than demand perfection.

If you’ve ever felt pressured to “be grateful” while your heart was somewhere else, this is your permission slip to let go of toxic gratitude and embrace something truer, gentler, and more human.

If this resonates, share it with someone who may need relief from the obligation to feel a certain way—and subscribe for more conversations that honor the whole human experience.

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

Slow down, soften, and come home to your body with this gentle, guided  body scan meditation. Designed to help you unwind tension, reset your nervous system, and reconnect with your physical presence, this practice is perfect for any moment when you need grounding or calm.

We move from the feet to the crown of the head, releasing stress layer by layer, creating spaciousness, ease, and a sense of deep arrival. Use it in the morning to set the tone for your day, during transitions to realign, or at night to help settle your mind before sleep.

In this episode, you’ll experience:

• A soothing full-body relaxation sequence
• Breath-led grounding to settle the nervous system
• Gentle awareness prompts for each area of the body
• A spacious closing to integrate calm and clarity

If you’re craving a reset, a pause, or simply a moment of peace—this body scan is your invitation back to yourself.

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

What happens when your talent starts steering your life before you’re old enough to drive it? We sit down with actor and singer Nick Barasch to trace the tender, sometimes turbulent path from child performer to self-possessed adult artist—and the surprising practices that made space for joy along the way.

Nick opens up about the thrill and pressure of growing up on stage, the moment he chose agency over autopilot, and how therapy reframed his relationship with perfectionism and approval. We dig into Thema Bryant’s Homecoming, the art of telling yourself the truth, and why meditation and simple rituals help him return to his body when the industry’s noise gets loud. He shares the difference between structure imposed by schedules and structure you design for yourself—projects, community, and habits that won’t vanish between gigs.

You’ll also hear the unexpected magic of TV life in Vancouver, how variety refreshed his craft after eight-show weeks, and the friends who helped him loosen the screws on self-critique. We explore fear, inner critics, and the practical work of giving those voices a new job. Nick’s core values come through clearly: integrity, kindness, justice, and curiosity. He talks candidly about solitude versus isolation, building a life that’s bigger than work, and a future that might include Santa Fe, more service, and a steady practice of gratitude.

If you’ve ever chased perfection, felt pulled by others’ expectations, or wondered how to build a rhythm you can keep when the curtain falls, this conversation is your permission slip. Press play, then tell us what ritual brings you back to yourself. If the show resonated, follow, rate, and share with a friend who could use a gentler definition of success.

If you are enjoying the show please subscribe, share and review! Word of mouth is incredibly impactful and your support is much appreciated!

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

Step into the art of dreaming — not just with your mind, but with your energy.
 In this guided manifestation meditation, you’ll be invited to imagine and create a vision board — either physically or within your mind’s eye — that reflects your deepest desires and limitless potential.

This is your space to expand, to feel into possibility, and to align with the energy of what you most want to call in.

🎧 Relax. Visualize. Create.
Your next chapter begins here.

If you are enjoying the show please subscribe, share and review! Word of mouth is incredibly impactful and your support is much appreciated!

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

When the curtain comes down and the structure of a show disappears, what rhythm do you choose for yourself?

In this preview with Broadway actor Nick Barasch (Hadestown, She Loves Me, Big River), we explore how to create a personal foundation—your own rhythm or recipe—that sustains you when external schedules fade. Instead of relying on rigid routines, Nick shares how self-led projects, small rituals, and mindful recovery can turn free time into stability.

We talk candidly about the toll of a physical role and the surprising journey of becoming a dancer under Warren Carlyle’s guidance. Nick reflects on the exhaustion that follows a long run and the lessons he’ll carry forward: train for the demands of the part, take recovery seriously, and protect energy with boundaries. From solo hikes upstate to classes taken purely out of curiosity, he reveals how creative agency can transform downtime into a steady anchor.

This is a conversation about authorship—choosing work you love, building momentum without waiting for permission, and crafting a life that stays intact when the industry pulls you in new directions.

✨ Creative takeaways:

• Choose one project you control from start to finish.
• Create one daily ritual that grounds your nervous system.
• Foster one weekly touchpoint with community.

Think of it as writing from your own recipe. The stage may define the show, but you define the life around it.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a quick review to help others find these conversations. Your support helps us bring more honest, useful stories to your feed.

If you are enjoying the show please subscribe, share and review! Word of mouth is incredibly impactful and your support is much appreciated!

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

A short parable set in the Himalayan foothills shows how envy fades when we see the quiet trade-offs behind freedom and stability. Through the story of the old tree and the passing clouds, we explore how consistency can be strength, flexibility can be wisdom, and peace arises when we honor our own unique role in life.

In this episode:
• Parable of the old tree and passing clouds
• The contrast between freedom and constancy
• Recognizing the trade-offs behind envy
• Consistency as an anchor in times of change
• Valuing unique roles and strengths
• Acceptance of differences without judgment
• A practical reflection on purpose and identity

✨ A gentle reminder that we can find harmony not by wishing to be different, but by embracing the beauty of who we already are.

If you are enjoying the show please subscribe, share and review! Word of mouth is incredibly impactful and your support is much appreciated!

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

When fear shows up, it’s easy to see it as something to push past or avoid. But what if fear isn’t a wall—it’s a bridge? A bridge that can carry you from rut to rhythm, from stagnation to movement, from habit to possibility.

In this short, powerful excerpt from my upcoming book I Get To: The Power of Energetic Choice, I share a personal ritual, a metaphor rooted in music and movement, and a framework for understanding the inner blocks that keep us stuck.

✨ You’ll hear about:

• How fear can act as a bridge to flow rather than a barrier
• The power of “finding your groove”
• L.I.S.A.™ — Limiting Beliefs, Interpretations, Saboteurs, and Assumptions — the invisible forces that hold us back
• How naming your blocks gives you the power to cross the bridge toward possibility

If you’ve ever felt frozen on the edge of something new, this episode is for you.

#EnergeticChoice #FearAndFlow #Mindfulness #CreativeLiving #PersonalGrowth #Podcast #LisaHopkins #IGETTO #InnerWork #Possibility

If you are enjoying the show please subscribe, share and review! Word of mouth is incredibly impactful and your support is much appreciated!

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg

Let us know what you enjoy about the show!

What are you putting up with that quietly exhausts you? In this episode, we unpack how toleration creeps in, why we blame ourselves, and how to finally release what no longer fits—without guilt or shame.

If you are enjoying the show please subscribe, share and review! Word of mouth is incredibly impactful and your support is much appreciated!

Support the show

🌟✨📚 **Buy 'The Places Where There Are Spaces: Cultivating A Life of Creative Possibilities'** 📚✨🌟 
Dive into a world where spontaneity leads to creativity and discover personal essays that inspire with journal space to reflect. Click the link below to grab your copy today and embark on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected joys! 🌈👇 
🔗 Purchase Your Copy Here: https://a.co/d/2UlsmYC

🌟 **Interested in finding out more about working with Lisa Hopkins? Want to share your feedback or be considered as a guest on the show?** 
🔗 Visit Wide Open Stages https://www.wideopenstages.com

📸 **Follow Lisa on Instagram:** @wideopenstages https://www.instagram.com/wideopenstages/

💖 **SUPPORT THE SHOW:** [Buy Me a Coffee] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/STOPTIME

🎵 **STOPTIME Theme Music by Philip David Stern** 
🔗 [Listen on Spotify]
https://open.spotify.com/artist/57A87Um5vok0uEtM8vWpKM?si=JOx7r1iVSbqAHezG4PjiPg