The Aspiring Self

Huddol Lifecast Episode 45

Mindfulness; the practice of being aware of your awareness. Seems simple enough. It is, and it isn’t, which makes talking about it so very complicated. Words are no match for the immensity of this moment.

Our minds are clouded with endless judgments and interpretations which, when glued together, we call our “selves”. As we become constrained by the beliefs we box ourselves in with, we become increasingly distracted by the game of hide and go seek we play with our performative selves. The present moment is endlessly elusive when we are lost in the flurry of past and future thinking and the stage - show that is “me”. This is the beginning of conflict, strain, and stress, living out of touch with the here and now.

Talking with Mindfulness Teacher David Frank Gomes about how we befriend the present moment and embrace the immensity of who we truly are.

Join David for a FREE 5-week Mindfulness for Stress Reduction experience:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/mindfulness-for-stress-reduction-tickets-114687036012

Learn and grow with David on Huddol: https://www.huddol.com/@dfg

Huddol Lifecast Episode 44

The pandemic is a lesson in change. The inextricable truth is that our lives are mutable and endlessly becoming. Change is the groundwork for opportunity. It also means facing adversity and the tension between what was and what is. We can choose to resist change, or we can embrace it.

In conversation with Life Coach Kate Snow about the lessons she learned from a life of radical transition; from the so-called perfect home, perfect partner and perfect life to a deep experience of loss and starting over. What are the qualities that define those who rise up and meet the moment and those that wither in the face of big or small changes? Kate speaks honestly about the inner qualities that nurture flexibility and adaptability during periods of transition.

Learn and grow with Kate on Huddol:

https://www.huddol.com/@Kate_Katherine

Huddol Lifecast Episode 43

What are the real necessities of life? How do we understand what is superfluous in our lives that may be distracting us from the fullness of our being?

When life strips back the peripherals, we are confronted with ourselves without distractions. COVID has literally invited millions of people simultaneously to ask themselves some profound questions about what they want and expect from their lives.

Personal Well-Being Coach and Huddol Pro Eric Russell talks about finding the inner resolve to look at our lives without distraction and identification with things that are transient. As we look inward, we discover a deep well of intelligence that we can draw on to live a life of true abundance and endless growth.

Learn and grow with Eric on Huddol: https://www.huddol.com/@EricOwenRussell

Huddol Lifecast Episode 42

In an effort to live an authentic life, it is essential to observe and understand what it is about the life we are leading that makes it inauthentic to begin with.

There is a false paradigm of gender and sexuality that is built around a framework of binaries - We are either born a man or a woman. We are thrust into this world where we are forced to conform to these ideas even before we have a firm grasp on what they mean. The moment we notice that we don’t conform, we may feel the only alternative is to throw ourselves into a world of make-believe, living out our gender expression through what others deem acceptable.

In this latest Huddol Lifecast, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Pro & Educator, Anthony Francis Lombardi invites us to break down the walls that confine our ideas of gender and sexuality. Anthony encourages us to bravely embrace the transition from a life of inauthentic obligation to one of authentic freedom – to be fully who we are as we move through the world.

Learn and grow with Anthony on Huddol:

https://www.huddol.com/@AnthonyFrancis

Huddol Lifecast Episode 41

The pandemic has created new layers of strain for parents. Growing situational and future worries are amplifying emotional challenges they may be experiencing in relation to their children.

We can curse the pandemic or see it as an opportunity to shift how we communicate and relate to our children. When the going gets tough, mindful parents can get oriented to a new paradigm of being present and available to their children and themselves.

Listen as Huddol Pro and Counselling Therapist Lesley King inspires parents to activate in new ways, transforming the adversity of a world beating pandemic into an opportunity to connect more deeply with their children.

Connect with Lesley on Huddol: https://www.huddol.com/@LesleyKing

Huddol Lifecast Episode 40

We learn from a very young age a way of being in the world that creates what we believe to be the conditions through which we find love and acceptance. These conditions continue to influence and shape us well into adulthood. With time, contexts change. Yet, many of the coping styles we developed in childhood persist – some adaptive, some maladaptive. Moving into adulthood, we may find ourselves feeling out of sync with what we want because we’re living out old and unhelpful patterns.

In this latest Huddol Lifecast, we talk with Natacha Ciezkowki about how we begin to understand these patterns that govern our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Natacha describes how the enneagram, a tool for self discovery, helps us map the various aspects of our self in order to unlock unrealized potential.

Connect with Natacha on Huddol: https://www.huddol.com/@NatachaCiezCoach

Huddol Lifecast Episode 39

What are universal principles that drive personal growth and help us to feel empowered? What are the things that stay constant despite uncertainty and change?

Huddol Pro, Personal Development Coach and Mindfulness Teacher David Frank Gomes talks about those values and tools that keep us anchored. David unpacks the ways in which we can befriend suffering and enlarge our view of ourselves and the world that we occupy.

Listen as David talks about how we become transformed by staying grounded in that which will always be.

Connect with David on Huddol: https://www.huddol.com/@Dfg

Huddol Lifecast Episode 37

Can we move forward together? What to do when your relationship feels broken

Relationships are like a bike. If one or two of the tires are deflated the bike simply cannot move forward. When we feel stressed out in a relationship, very often, we blame or want to fix the the the other person we are involved with. If you recognize yourself making statements such as: “He or she makes me or causes me to feel bad”, you may be setting yourself up for unresolved feelings and a stalled relationship. The people in our lives are not responsible to take care of how we feel. Listen as Huddol Pro and Personal Coach Danusia Lapinski explores a world where we start to re-own our feelings and recreate in ourselves the conditions for relationship success.

Connect with Danusia on Huddol: https://www.huddol.com/@Danusia

Huddol Lifecast Episode 36

Macaulay Culkin taught us the virtues of being home alone. The reality is that a lot of people would tell you they feel totally uncomfortable when they’re alone. Why? Why are we constantly trying to find ways to distract ourselves from our thoughts and feelings? How come no one teaches us to simply be with ourselves given that we spend a lifetime in our own company?

Huddol Pro and Mental Health Therapist Ilana Blumenkranz talks about the fear of being alone and how we maladaptively respond to that fear. Ilana suggests that the fear and anxiety that may be provoked in our alone state may actually be an opportunity to connect more deeply to ourselves and to the world around us.

Connect with Ilana on Huddol: https://www.huddol.com/@IlanaBlume

Huddol Lifecast Episode 35

The pandemic is taking a toll on people. Mental health professionals agree that the impact will outlive the virus itself. With this much change and emotional trauma, Covid-19 will leave mental scars that will need population-wide tending to.

How does trauma manifest in our experience, through our thoughts, feelings and behaviour? Huddol Pro and Psychotherapist Juanita Wilson walks us through the common features of trauma, how they manifest, and what we can do to cultivate present moment awareness to develop the resilience to cope with even the biggest of life changes.

Connect with Juanita on Huddol: https://www.huddol.com/@JuanitaWilson