These stories are intense, but just like I always say on the podcast, they are so important. These truths are the fabric of our lives, the events that shape us, and the happenings that change us.

https://www.patreon.com/thegardeniaproject

In this podcast we hear the voices of 17 people (plus my own) telling their stories of the pandemic world they live in. What are they doing? What are they thinking or feeling? What are they binge watching, eating, working on, what thing have they found that they do that has surprised them? Do you hear yourself in these voices?

I believe that we are stronger and kinder… together. As humans we were meant to be connected. One way right now to feel our collective strength is to listen to one another. May these stories deepen your compassion for others. Maybe they will also make you laugh like they did for Charlie and I. A little levity can also go a long way. (:

Portraits from the people speaking are on the blog post and can be found here: 

https://www.jendeanphoto.com/blog1/voicesofquarantine

Podcasts aren’t free to create. I pay my producer, Stephanie Cohn, for each episode and I am so grateful for her creativity! (I never take a paycheck.) Please considering supporting this podcast with just a few dollars a month by going here:

https://www.patreon.com/thegardeniaproject

Huge thanks to our sponsor: 

Kate Bathras Coaching 

https://www.katebathrascoaching.com/

So full disclosure here. I have participated in Rockstar Camp. I did the eight week program in learning how to use your voice and then got on stage in Portland Maine in May of 2019 to sing Firework by Katy Perry! (Go me!) It was an absolutely transformative experience which shifted who I am and how I live in the world. I loved the experience (though I was scared to do it!) and learned so much.

Months afterward I asked Megan to talk to me more on the podcast. I wanted to know her back story. How did she become a coach and a leader? How did she come up with the idea for Rockstar Camp? What were her motivations and what was the path that brought her here. I know that there is always interesting stories to hear when we ask about them. Her story is fascinating and insightful and a real inspiration for those who may still be wondering what they are going to do when they grow up. Sometimes the answers to what we want to do seem clear and then they aren’t. Then they seem clear again. Then they aren’t again. Life is funny that way. Cheers to discipline and perseverance and being scrappy! All of which Megan Jo talks about in this show.

Head over to The Gardenia Project page of the website to see her portraits from the photo session! https://www.jendeanphoto.com/the-gardenia-project

Podcasts aren’t free to create. (: I pay my producer every month cause she is fabulous!! (I never take a paycheck.) Please considering supporting this podcast with just a few dollars a month by going here:

https://www.patreon.com/thegardeniaproject

Huge thanks to our sponsors: 

Kate Bathras Coaching 

https://www.katebathrascoaching.com/

If you want to find out more about Rockstar Camp go here:

https://www.meganjowilson.com/rockstar-camp-enrol

Often when I talk to women about their stories it is only now in the looking back that we are able to see the lessons that we learned. This story is one of those. A time of deep learning, that when it was happening felt unbearable. Mary just had no idea how she could make it through all the grief she was sitting with at that fateful period of time in 2005. She speaks now with a voice of clarity and wisdom from all that she learned back then. The ways that it shaped her life moving forward and how she got to now - in a whole new life she would never have imagined then. 

Thank you to the sponsors of this episode:

Kate Bathras of Kate Bathras Coaching

and

Jennifer Elizabeth Moors of Modern Medicine Lady 

In this podcast we listen to multiple voices from women (including my own) telling their stories of vulnerability or power about their hair, how a hair cut changed their life, what other people thought about it, changes that came over time or abruptly, that impacted their life and how they felt about themselves.

My kid, I think, said it best and most succinctly when I asked her if it should be a big deal when a woman decides to cut off all her hair she said, “Well if it feels like a big deal to them then definitely support that, but if they are like ‘this is no biggie’ then you shouldn’t make a huge deal out of it.” Simple and so wise. Too bad our society often doesn’t follow her advice.

Listen in to hear the multi layered feelings we have around our hair. Check out the blog post with portraits of the women here: 

https://www.jendeanphoto.com/blog1/howhaircutsshapeus

Please considering supporting this podcast with just a few dollars a month:

https://www.patreon.com/thegardeniaproject

Huge thanks to our sponsors: 

Kate Bathras Coaching 

https://www.katebathrascoaching.com/

Jennifer Elizabeth Moore of Empathic Mastery

https://www.modernmedicinelady.com/

But as nice as that sounds it isn’t actually the easiest or most comfortable thing to do. Especially when you take a road trip and sit down next to people that you know do not share your point of view. What does it mean to take in what another person says when you know it will oppose your own beliefs? Especially when we are talking about belief systems. How do you learn from it? What does that listening change for you?

Listen to Chanel and then maybe do your own research. It is a challenge, I believe, more of us could take on.

Thank you to our sponsor Jennifer Elizabeth Moore, Modern Medicine Lady. She is the authority on all things Empathic and how to deal with being one!

Jennifer has a new book about to be released that you will want to grab a copy of! Learn more at her website!

https://www.modernmedicinelady.com/

Jessica is an amazingly loving happy person who also has Trichotillomania, which is a hair pulling disorder. She has battled it since she was 10 years old. Her anxiety and a belief that she would never be 'enough' was pervasive growing up and as she got older it led her to drinking to self medicate. Then there was a fateful night when her whole life was forever changed. She was drugged at a bar and kidnapped. She survived this horrible experience, but it left it's mark deeply on someone who already dealt with anxiety daily. Trying to come out from under the PTSD that she now had was an even bigger battle.

Jessica tells us a remarkable story about how she came to finally began to take her confidence and her life back through EMDR work, what the voices in your head tell you versus the truth that you have to keep telling yourself, and how every day she still works hard to believe the real truths about herself.

Want to learn more about EMDR check out the website: https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/

Our fabulous fairy god mother sponsor is Jennifer Elizabeth Moore. Ready to train with her for EFT tapping here in Maine!? Head over to her website and learn more:

http://eftinstruction.com/

In Feb of 2017 Elizabeth told her story on this podcast. She was episode number 2. If you haven't had the chance to listen to it then just pause this and go check it out, it is so powerful!  Also you keep listening to this you will hear a spoiler for that episode...you have been warned! You can read the summary of that episode and see more portraits of Elizabeth over on The Gardenia Project page of my website here: https://www.jendeanphoto.com/blog1/rewriting-your-story

I asked Elizabeth to do a follow up podcast and she said yes, because my story feels so different now then when I told it 2 years ago. 

What she didn't quite understand then was that fear was still crippling her life and holding her back

So today we will hear what happens when we re-write our story. Elizabeth tells us about how she learned that she has the choice of choosing love over fear.  

Our stories can be healing if we allow ourselves to see that transformation can happen when we choose to rewrite our own stories and learn from them instead of continuing to let them hold us back. Not an easy task, but something that can change our life for the better!

This podcast is a labor of love and we aren't in the black quite yet. So we thank our sponsor Jen Moore of Modern Medicine Lady and Empathicmastery.com for her support. If you wanted to gift us your support financially we would be grateful. You can do that over on patreon.com/thegardeniaproject

In this episode Leigh, creator and owner of The Holy Donut in Portland, Maine tells us so many things about life in this podcast. Like what it’s like to put your heart and soul into your business idea. What happens when you put your head down and work your butt off for a dream? What it’s like when that dream unexpectedly takes off a light speed. How the universe can hear you. What does it mean to listen to your soul when it comes to eating? What real parental support (even when you are a grown up) looks like. How hard it is to raise a kid as a single mom. And what’s it is like to lose someone who had given you so much love and support. 

This episode was brought to you by Jennifer Elizabeth Moore, Modern Medicine Lady. If you are a sensitive being in this overwhelming world she can help! Head over to her website www.empathicsafety.com to check out her free offering. You will be glad you did!

This is a re-release, a second telling of this story. When I first released this episode I didn’t have a producer and it ended up being quite long which I think kept some people from listening to it. So I wanted to have my collaborator, Stephanie Cohn listen and produce this episode for me. She did a wonderful job and I love the results that we created together.

This story from a dear friend of mine may be hard for any of you that have lost a child. As Kim shares the story of the loss of her baby Garrick, I want to make sure that you have that warning before listening since it is such a delicate subject matter for those of you that have experienced this loss. However, her story is one full of love and laughter. She talks about the things she learned from her son, Garrick. How he taught her to see all the beauty in life and be grateful for it every day. How the love from friends and family really does carry you through. 

Kim still grieves every year and yet manages to be a light for so many. She chooses to see the love all around her despite deep loss. She talks about moving on and the fears that came when she had another child. This in depth look at life after the death of a child is a tribute to how fragile life is and how strong we can be. 

A huge thank you to Jennifer Elizabeth Moore of Modern Medicine Lady for being our sponsor for this episode. Check out her amazing website full of help for empathic women!

If you want to check out the portraits of Kim you can see them here: 

https://www.jendeanphoto.com/blog1/ep112lovecarriesyourthrough