The Mana Rise Podcast

Welcome to Season 2 of The Mana Rise Podcast. 💜

I’m 52, and while there are still plenty of things I haven’t figured out, there’s also so much I’ve come to understand about myself.

And perhaps that’s the beautiful thing about getting older.

Life doesn’t necessarily become simpler, but we can become more aware, more grounded and more comfortable in who we are.

In this first episode, I’m reflecting on the expectations we place on ourselves, the growth we sometimes forget to acknowledge, and the freedom of knowing we can be proud of how far we’ve come while still being curious about what’s ahead.

Because personal growth isn’t about reaching a place where everything is sorted. It’s about how we meet ourselves and life along the way.

There’s also a little mindful journaling opportunity to reflect on who you’ve become and what you’d love more of in the years ahead.

Here’s to another season of honest conversations, shared experiences and all the beautiful, messy, unexpected parts of being human.

Live truthfully. Feel deeply. Return often. Live wide open.

With love,Sharon 💜

Mana Rise — Healing • Retreats • Connection

Living Wide Open: Coming Home

For the final episode of Season One, we’re bringing it all home.

We’ve talked about rest, grief, joy, people pleasing, receiving, sovereignty, trusting ourselves and finding our way back to who we really are beneath all the noise.

And maybe that’s what living wide open really is.

Not having everything figured out. Not getting it right all the time. But learning to live truthfully, feel deeply, trust what we know within ourselves and keep coming home to who we are.

Thank you for being here with me for this first season of The Mana Rise Podcast. I hope somewhere within these conversations, you’ve found something that helped you come home to yourself too. ❤️

Live truthfully. Feel deeply. Return often. Live wide open.

There comes a point where you realise you can’t spend your whole life trying to manage everybody else’s version of you.

In this episode, I’m talking about what it means to live more truthfully — to trust what feels right, listen to the wisdom of your body, feel deeply without needing to fix everything, and allow yourself to be fully who you are.

We explore authenticity, the people and spaces that feel safe, and what can happen when you stop overthinking how you’re being received and start coming back to yourself.

Because there is something incredibly freeing about no longer needing to perform, prove or pretend.

Maybe the invitation this week is simply to notice:

Where in your life are you being completely yourself… and where might you still be holding a little of yourself back?

Live truthfully. Feel deeply. Return often. Live wide open.

Ritual doesn’t have to be elaborate or deeply spiritual. Sometimes it’s simply about bringing intention to the ordinary moments of our lives.

In this episode, I explore the difference between ritual and routine, why these small intentional moments can be so powerful, and how ritual can help us slow down, reconnect and come back to ourselves.

I also share a simple ritual you can try for yourself — no rules, no perfection, just a moment that belongs to you.

What if receiving requires just as much courage as giving?

So many of us have become incredibly good at giving — our time, our energy, our love, our care. But when it comes to receiving, we can feel uncomfortable, guilty or as though we somehow need to earn it first.

In this episode of The Mana Rise Podcast, I explore the courage it takes to soften, open and allow ourselves to receive.

Because receiving isn’t selfish. It doesn’t make you needy, weak or less capable.

Sometimes, receiving is simply allowing yourself to be supported, loved and held without immediately wondering what you need to give back.

We’ll also finish with a gentle meditation to help you practise opening to receiving — without forcing, fixing or needing anything to happen.

Maybe you don’t always have to be the one holding everything.

Maybe, sometimes, you get to be held too. 🤍

What does it really mean to belong to yourself?

In this episode of The Mana Rise Podcast, we explore personal sovereignty — trusting your own inner knowing, making choices that feel true to you, and letting go of the need for permission, approval or validation from everyone around you.

This isn’t about becoming harder, more independent or shutting people out. It’s about knowing who you are beneath the expectations, roles and noise of the outside world.

A gentle invitation to listen inward, trust yourself a little more deeply, and remember that you are allowed to choose the life that feels true for you.

You don’t need anyone else’s permission to be who you are. 🤍

Live truthfully. Feel deeply. Return often. Live wide open.

Grief changes us. It leaves its mark on who we are, how we love, and how we move through the world.

In this deeply personal episode, I share some of my own experiences with loss and grief, alongside the moments that have touched me profoundly this week — sitting beside people in their final moments of life, supporting those left behind, and a beautiful conversation about a near-death experience and an overwhelming presence of pure love.

I also dedicate this episode to my dear friend Narelle, who recently lost her beautiful Dad.

This isn’t an episode about having answers or trying to make grief easier than it is. It’s about making space for the love, sadness, memories, questions and even the mystery that can exist alongside loss.

If you are grieving someone you love, I hope this episode feels like gentle company.

You don’t have to rush your grief.

You don’t have to make sense of it.

And you don’t have to stop loving someone simply because they are no longer physically here. 🤍

Episode 5 — The Wisdom of Your Nervous System

What if your body isn’t working against you… but communicating with you?

In this episode of The Mana Rise Podcast, we explore the wisdom of the nervous system — the subtle ways our bodies respond to stress, overwhelm, safety and rest.

We talk about learning to notice what’s happening within us without judgement, understanding our responses with greater compassion, and creating small moments of safety that allow us to soften.

Because sometimes the body knows what we need long before the mind catches up.

You don’t need to fix yourself.

Perhaps you simply need to learn how to listen. 🤍

When did life become so serious?

Somewhere amongst the responsibilities, the routines, the caring for everyone else and simply getting through everything that needs to be done… joy can quietly slip into the background.

In this episode of The Mana Rise Podcast, we’re talking about finding our way back to it.

Not waiting for the holiday, the perfect moment or for life to suddenly become easier.

But noticing the little things that make us smile.Being silly again.Doing things simply because they feel good.Laughing more.Playing more.And remembering that joy doesn’t need to be earned. 💖

Maybe finding joy again isn’t about changing your whole life.

Maybe it’s simply about giving yourself permission to feel more alive within the life you already have.

Have you ever said yes when your heart was quietly asking you to say no?

In this episode of The Mana Rise Podcast, we explore the hidden cost of people pleasing and how easily we can lose ourselves while trying to keep everyone else happy.

We’ll gently unpack where people pleasing may begin, why it is often a survival strategy rather than a personality trait, and how to begin choosing honesty, boundaries and self-respect without losing your kindness.

This episode also includes a calming guided visualisation, affirmations and three journal prompts to help you reconnect with your own needs and inner voice.

You can love others deeply without leaving yourself behind.

It’s time to come home to you.