The Open Soul Podcast

Jealousy is a sneaky bitch but it can also be a powerful teacher.

In this episode, I share how learning to look underneath my jealousy helped me recognize where I was operating from scarcity, break inherited patterns, and turn envy into inspiration.

Because someone else having something beautiful doesn't mean there is less beauty available to you.

Inspiration credit to my dear friend Bee McKinley @beealexisms

The Value of Authenticity: Digging for the Gold Inside Yourself

Featuring Jess Morales — Life Coach & Motivational Speaker.

What does it actually mean to be authentic and how do we know when we’re living as ourselves versus simply living the life we’ve learned to live?

In this episode, I sit down with Jess for a conversation about authenticity, accountability, purpose, hope, and the lifelong process of getting to know yourself.

We talk about the difference between success and fulfillment, finding purpose within the life you already have, taking accountability without turning it into self-punishment, and learning to trust yourself as you grow and change.

We also get into the messier parts— the survival seasons, the coping mechanisms, the moments when you realize you might not know as much as you thought you did, and the freedom that can come from being okay with that.

Because authenticity isn't about arriving at one final, perfected version of yourself.

Be willing to keep digging and discover the gold that's been within you all along.

Have you ever felt like you’re just waiting to get through the hard part of life so you can finally start living again?

I’ve spent a lot of my life doing exactly that, trying to get out of survival mode, waiting for things to get easier, and thinking there would eventually be some point where the hard stuff just… stopped. In this episode, we’re getting into grief, the language we use around what we’re going through, spirituality, our capacity to hold different perspectives, and what it means to stay open to life without losing yourself in everything happening around you.

I’m talking about what changed when I stopped waiting for that moment and started looking at acceptance differently.

If you enjoy these conversations, please subscribe to support The Open Soul and help us continue growing this little community together.

Enjoy,
— E

What does kindness look like when we protect it rather than defend it?

An open heart still needs boundaries.

In this episode, I’m talking about the difference between kindness and self-abandonment and how overgiving, people-pleasing, and ignoring our own limits can eventually turn even the kindest parts of us into resentment.

We don’t have to become hard just because we’ve been taken advantage of.

We can learn discernment, honor our boundaries, and remain rooted in who we are.

In this episode I sat down with 4 women who have walked through their own unraveling, women who have faced themselves, questioned who they were, and rebuilt from the ground up.

This isn’t a polished conversation.
It’s not advice.
It’s not a highlight reel.

It’s real.

We talk about what it actually means to come home to yourself—
the parts that break you, the parts you outgrow, and the parts you’re still figuring out.

In this episode, we explore:

• what it means to lose yourself and find your way back
• the pressure to become someone you’re not
• healing, not as a destination, but as an ongoing process
• the complexity of womanhood, identity, and growth
• what changes when you finally start choosing yourself

A space for real conversations, real people, and the truth of becoming.

Take what resonates. Leave what doesn’t.
And when you’re ready—
let’s open our hearts and open our minds and lets dive in.

SPECIAL GUESTS

Brittney McKinley AKA BEE

Founder of Contained Stems

Floral Wellness Designer

Trauma-Informed Breathwork Coach

Host of Dangerous Discussions in Bed with Bee,

Author of Details of a Dangerous Woman.

Socials

@beealexisms

@containedstems

Website

https://containedstems.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnSxcss0kFyHmk4IZx7nsG2fB45SIt6upOU41tNdFrpwDWIC3giz0DtIFjMaE_aem_Xx4CWLbnXbMq4CG78hLNGw

Tria Bustalino

Board certified Health Nurse Coach & Wellness Coordinator

Founder of Rooted In

&

Founder of Space Holders Co.

Socials

@tria.bustalino
rootedin.coaching

@spaceholders.co⁠

https://linktr.ee/tria.bustalino?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnpKOxg-4PrJEIwpMMzqwGVGZ7B-HbZ07AagswZI03UVzWlBY7fk-A7FXjOAI_aem_xwr9s-IcyfCRLGafUmAwhg

Kelsey Fallon

Founder of Glow House of Senses,

Doctor of Physical Therapy specializing in Women’s Pelvic Health

Trauma-informed yoga & meditation teacher,

Reiki practitioner, and intuitive somatic mentor.

Socials

@⁠glowhouseofsenses⁠

@kelsey__fallon

Website

https://www.glowhouseofsenses.com/

Brittany Morales

Founder of Wild Woman Provisions &

Founder of The Beauty Ritual

Socials

@the.beauty.ritual_

@wildwomanprovisions

Youtube

https://youtube.com/@thebeautyritual1?si=3HvgjjVGqmEDEwMB

Website

https://wwpbm.my.canva.site/wild-woman-provisions?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnbOeyTIkNhHpo20CO32k_CBykfXQFBEr20NBbUDuPST7VRFQvrIwM_-afDw0_aem_jVxQzZmDA5p3pWoDpUNXjQ

Episode Summary: There’s been a pattern in my life where people questioned me so much… that I started questioning myself.

Not just once, but in different seasons, different decisions, different versions of me.

And what I didn’t realize at the time was how much that was pulling me away from what I already knew felt right.

This episode is me walking through one of those moments — and what it actually felt like to move from doubt, to live through the consequences of that, and to come back to myself in a deeper way.

Not from a place of having it all figured out, but from being right in the middle of it.

We talk about what happens when outside voices get louder than your own, how doubt can shape your decisions without you even realizing it, and what it takes to stand on yourself without needing to be understood.

You don’t have to be understood to know where you stand.

Key Topics

• being questioned into self-doubt
• navigating major life transitions
• coming back to your own authority
• standing on your decisions without needing validation

Takeaways

• other people’s questions can become your doubt if you’re not grounded in yourself
• self-trust is built through lived experience, not just knowing
• you don’t have to be understood to know where you stand

🎧 Where Doubt Took Me: moving through it in real time

Keywords:
self-trust, life transitions, personal authority, alignment, self-doubt

Content Note

This episode contains open discussion about grief, death, and suicide.
Listener discretion is advised.

If these topics feel heavy for you, please take care while listening.

If You or Someone You Know Needs Support

If you are struggling or experiencing thoughts of suicide, you are not alone.
In the United States, you can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free and confidential support 24/7.

Episode Summary
What does death have to do with teaching us about life?

In this episode of The Open Soul Podcast, I sit down with motivational speaker and life coach Jess Morales for a deeply reflective conversation about God, grief, trust, and what it means to truly be alive.

Together, we explore the difference between fear-based religion and faith rooted in love, the role personal experience plays in shaping spirituality, and how learning to trust ourselves becomes the foundation for trusting anything beyond us.

Our conversation moves through themes of loss, death, discernment, and inner authority—asking what it looks like to listen to the quiet voice within when the world is loud with opinions.

Through personal stories of grief and transformation, Jess and I reflect on how experiences with death can shift our understanding of life, deepen our appreciation for being here, and remind us that sometimes the most powerful spiritual lessons come through the hardest moments.

Sometimes it is loss that reminds us what it means to be alive.

Key Takeaways 

• Personal loss often becomes the doorway to deeper self-understanding.
• Faith rooted in love creates a different relationship with God than faith rooted in fear.
• Trust is foundational to spirituality—trust in ourselves often precedes trust in God.
• Grief is complex and deeply personal, shaped by the unique relationships we hold.
• Self-trust is an essential part of personal and spiritual growth.
• Compassion and honesty must exist together in meaningful relationships.
• Death is not only an ending—it can deepen our understanding of life.
• Learning to listen to our inner voice helps us navigate a noisy and opinion-filled world.
• Healthy relationships require balance between empathy and emotional boundaries.
• Personal growth often means redefining ideas like selfishness, responsibility, and care.

Additional Notes & Resources

Book Mentioned in This Episode

Jess shares how a book helped shape the beginning of her personal journey:

The Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard

Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-motivation-manifesto-brendon-burchard/1137597732

Goodreads Quotes
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/42461694-the-motivation-manifesto-9-declarations-to-claim-your-personal-power

ThriftBooks
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-motivation-manifesto_brendon-burchard/9050823/item/5903664/

https://www.instagram.com/tre.coachjess?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

https://substack.com/@trecoachjess

Erica of Earth - @itsericaofearth

https://www.instagram.com/itsericaofearth/?hl=en

Thank you for being human with us.

In this episode, I’m reflecting on something I realized about myself over the past year.

For a long time, I thought I was just being selfless.

But what I eventually realized was that I didn’t understand what selflessness was actually costing me.

When you don’t see yourself clearly, it’s easy to cross your own boundaries without realizing it.

You say yes too often.
You carry things that were never yours.
You give before you’ve even taken a breath for yourself.

Eventually, the cost shows up.

Exhaustion.
Resentment.
Burnout.

In this conversation, I’m exploring the balance between selfishness and selflessness, and why understanding that balance is essential if we want to live honestly with ourselves.

In this episode, I talk about:

– How we cross our own boundaries without realizing it
– Why selflessness without awareness can lead to burnout
– What it looks like to start seeing yourself clearly
– Why balance between selfishness and selflessness matters

The lesson wasn’t to become selfish.

The lesson was balance.

Because sometimes the hardest thing to see in life… is yourself.

This episode is a real-time reflection on stillness.

Not the aesthetic version.
Not the peaceful, candle-lit version.

The uncomfortable version.

In this space, I’m learning:

• How often I try to control outcomes
• How quickly I want to run when things feel uncertain
• What strength actually looks like when I don’t escape
• Why stillness is not the absence of movement
• How doubt surfaces when you stop distracting yourself

Stillness, for me, has felt painful.

But I’m realizing it isn’t stagnation.
It’s the decision to stay and face what keeps coming up.

Everything we try to outrun eventually catches up to us.

This episode is about choosing to stop running.

If you’re in a season where you feel restless, uncertain, or tempted to escape, this conversation is for you.

Thank you for being human with me.

In this episode of The Open Soul Podcast we've talked a lot about questioning.

Questioning your relationships.
Your standards.
Your faith.
Your identity.
Your life.

But no one really talks about what happens after.

What happens when you get the answers you weren’t prepared for?
What happens when clarity requires change?

This episode is about integration.

It’s about:

– Becoming the villain in someone else’s story.
– Letting go of relationships that were draining you.
– Raising your standards and living by them.
– Calling in new community and becoming ready to receive it.
– Sitting in discomfort instead of escaping.
– Accepting that growth is messy, not aesthetic.

Once you know, you can’t unknow.

The real question becomes:

What are you going to do about it?