Welcome back to The Secrets of Being. In this episode, I’m joined by Coach Cynthia Gregory for a rich and heart-centered conversation about creativity, storytelling, and what happens when we allow inspiration to guide us instead of trying to control the process. Cynthia shares the origins of her Love Notes Anthology book series, which began during a silent retreat through a powerful spiritual experience that made it clear this project was meant to be shared with the world.

We talk about the dedication from Love Notes from the Soul, Second Edition, written for cultural creatives who have often been told they are too much, too expressive, or too expansive for a world not yet ready to receive them. Cynthia explains how carefully chosen words can carry medicine, resonance, and permission for others to live and create authentically. Reading that dedication aloud becomes a moment of reflection on what it means to share our journey of love, insight, and transformation.

Our conversation moves into the therapeutic power of writing and how storytelling helps us process grief, growth, and identity. I share how writing about my late partner became part of my healing journey, while Cynthia brings in her research on the psychology of creativity and the neurological benefits of expressive writing. She describes her role as a “story doula,” guiding writers through the editing and curation process while honoring each voice and the collective impact of the anthology.

We also explore surrender and intuition in the creative process. Cynthia reflects on trusting spiritual guidance, synchronicities, and inner knowing to complete her book and sustain momentum in future projects. We talk about meditation, universal inspiration, and how creativity flows more freely when we release control and allow wisdom beyond our conscious mind to lead.

This episode is a reminder that storytelling is a fundamental human need. Our stories connect us, heal us, and help us make sense of our lives. If you’ve ever felt called to write, share your truth, or trust the quiet voice within you, this conversation will encourage you to listen more deeply and take the next step forward.

With Love,
Dawn

P.S. You can connect with Cynthia here: https://www.coachcynthiagregory.com/

On this episode of The Secrets of Being Podcast, I’m honored to welcome Dr. Chloe Carmichael, a clinical psychologist, media contributor, and best-selling author of Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety and Can I Say That? Why Freedom of Speech Matters and How to Use it Fearlessly. From the beginning, I knew this conversation could go in so many directions because it touches on two things I care deeply about, which are speaking your truth and learning how to work with anxiety instead of feeling ruled by it.

I open with a Dr. Seuss quote that feels just as relevant for adults as it does for children, because we are living in a time where so many people feel divided, afraid to speak, or unsure how to disagree without losing connection. Dr. Chloe shares how her book Can I Say That? came from her own experiences of self-censorship, beginning in college and continuing through her doctoral training and career. She explains how often she felt pressured to smile and nod, even when something did not feel fully scientific or fully honest, because speaking up could cost her opportunities, professional relationships, or public approval.

Then COVID became the turning point. Dr. Chloe shares how a decision involving her young son and masking brought her to a moment where she felt she could not stay silent anymore. She speaks candidly about backlash, the clarity that came from finally having real conversations, and the emotional relief that followed. We talk about how speaking up can sharpen your thinking, strengthen your social support, and help you discover who your real people are.

One of the most valuable parts of this episode is our discussion about how to disagree agreeably, especially in families, relationships, workplaces, and communities. Dr. Chloe explains reflective listening and why slowing down the conversation can lower agitation and increase understanding. She also speaks to people pleasing and the hidden stress of performing agreement just to keep the peace. This episode is a reminder that a real safe space is one that can withstand respectful conflict, not one where everyone stays silent.

We also go deeper into the mind-body side of what happens when we do not speak our truth. Dr. Chloe explains how naming emotions can decrease amygdala activity, reduce fear responses, and help the nervous system regulate. We talk about how bottling things up increases stress and can lead to anxiety, passive aggression, or emotional overwhelm. From there, we connect the conversation to her book Nervous Energy and the idea that anxiety has a healthy function. Dr. Chloe shares that anxiety is designed to stimulate preparation behaviors, and that the goal is not always to calm down first, but to take clear, practical steps that address what is creating the anxiety.

This episode offers tools, language, and a deeper understanding of how truth-telling, emotional awareness, and nervous system regulation work together. If you have ever felt afraid to speak up, unsure how to handle conflict, or exhausted from holding everything in, this conversation will meet you with both compassion and strategy.

With love,
Dawn

P.s. You can connect with Dr. Chloe here: https://www.drchloe.com/

On this episode of The Secrets of Being Podcast, I’m so honored to welcome Dr. Cornelia Kawann, an electrical engineer, energy expert, and author of Change Your Energy, Change Your Life and her newly released Abundance Journal. Cornelia joins me from Switzerland, reminding us that even across continents, our energy connects us in powerful ways.

I open the conversation with a quote by Nikola Tesla about energy, frequency, and vibration, and Cornelia shares how her background in electrical engineering shaped her understanding of energy long before she stepped into the world of personal development. She reflects on how a serious illness became a turning point in her life, pushing her to question traditional approaches and search for solutions beyond what she was being offered. That search led her into quantum physics, quantum entanglement, and a completely new way of understanding healing, thoughts, and personal energy.

We talk about how everything carries a frequency, including our bodies, our thoughts, and even our beliefs. Cornelia explains quantum entanglement in a way that makes science accessible and grounding, showing how connection is not just spiritual language but something proven through physics. She shares how working with energy and frequency helped her heal and how similar principles can be applied to anyone willing to explore their energetic patterns.

Cornelia also shares the inspiration behind her Abundance Journal and why abundance today goes far beyond money. We talk about managing energy instead of time, identifying blind spots, journaling with intention, and learning to recognize what we are already receiving in our lives. She shares personal stories of how this work led to unexpected opportunities, deeper connections, and experiences that aligned naturally through patience and trust.

Throughout the conversation, we explore joy, gratitude, divine timing, and why energy truly is your business card. Cornelia reminds us that people may not remember what we say, but they always remember how we made them feel. This episode is an invitation to become more aware of your energy, shift how you relate to abundance, and reconnect with the invisible forces that shape our lives every day.

With Love,
Dawn

P.S. You can connect with Cornelia here: https://www.corneliakawann.com/

On this episode of The Secrets of Being Podcast, I’m thrilled to welcome Darshana Avila, a speaker, transformational guide, somatic healer, and sexologist who supports women in living from pleasure, power, and truth. 

Darshana shares how her path began in the “supposed to” version of life. She did all the things that looked right on the outside, but she realized that outward success was not creating inner peace. That gap between appearance and truth became the doorway into her spiritual seeking, her relationship healing, and her commitment to embodied transformation.

We talk about what it means to heal through the body, and why somatic work can help release trauma patterns that live in the nervous system. Darshana explains that while many people come to her for intimacy and relationship struggles, the real work is whole life transformation. She brings language to what so many of us feel but cannot always name, including self abandonment, people pleasing, and the ways we disconnect from ourselves just to feel safe or accepted.

One of my favorite parts of this conversation is when Darshana speaks about peace. She shares that after decades of growth and practice, she is in a chapter of her life where serenity feels like the real success. She reminds us that peace is not flashy, but it is powerful, and nothing feels as good as being centered within yourself. We also talk about presence, and how constantly waiting for the next milestone pulls us out of our lives and away from what is already here.

Darshana breaks down how people pleasing begins as a survival strategy, and how many of us keep using those old strategies long after we have outgrown them. She explains how this can lead to burnout, resentment, and emotional dis-ease, and why healing means learning to listen to yourself again. We talk about nervous system regulation, capacity, boundaries, and how caring for others becomes healthier when you are also caring for yourself.

This episode is a reminder that there is not one right way to live, love, or be in relationship. It is a call to reclaim your authenticity, reconnect with your body, and build a life that feels good on the inside, not just impressive on the outside. If you’ve been craving more peace, more self-trust, and more truth in how you show up, this conversation will meet you right where you are.

With love,
Dawn

P.S. You can connect with Darshana here: https://darshanaavila.com/

On this powerful episode of The Secrets of Being, I’m honored to sit with Terry Healey—a keynote speaker, author, and survivor of sarcoma cancer who has spent the last 40 years inspiring others with his story of courage, transformation, and faith.

At 21, Terry was a junior at UC Berkeley with his whole life ahead of him. Then a small bump behind his nostril turned into a diagnosis that would change his life forever. A ten-hour surgery altered his appearance, but not his spirit. He shares the moment he saw himself for the first time post-op and thought he looked like “The Elephant Man”—yet still found gratitude in the fact that he could see, breathe, and live. That perspective, he says, saved him.

We talk about resilience. About what it means to feel fractured by adversity and how confidence is built back—slowly, through reflection and small wins. Terry reminds us that growth starts with permission to feel. To grieve. To cry. To be honest about where we are.

He shares how his book At Face Value started as a journal—just for himself—and became a powerful tool for connection. A lifeline for others going through similar journeys. Terry’s REBAR acronym—Reflect, Build, Act, Renew—is such a grounding practice for anyone navigating grief, identity shifts, or trauma recovery.

His gratitude practice, his family’s faith, and his belief in surrounding himself with positivity shaped his healing. We touch on the importance of listening more, being aware of our surroundings, and staying open—because miracles often show up in quiet moments when we’re paying attention.

This episode is a heartfelt reminder that scars are proof of strength. That adversity doesn’t take your worth away—it reveals it. That healing isn’t always pretty, but it’s always possible.

With love,
Dawn

P.S. You can connect with Terry here: https://terryhealey.com/

On this deeply meaningful episode of The Secrets of Being Podcast, I’m honored to sit with Jennifer R. Levin, PhD—a workplace trauma strategist, licensed therapist, author, and host of Untethered: Healing the Pain from a Sudden Death. This conversation felt especially important because we’re talking about the kind of loss that changes everything in an instant—the losses you never see coming and never get to say goodbye to.

Jennifer shares how her work with sudden and traumatic loss wasn’t something she set out to do, but something that found her through repeated patterns she began noticing in the people she served. Again and again, she saw the same wish surface: “I wish someone had prepared me.” That insight became the foundation for Traumatic Grief Solutions and the work she now does with individuals, families, and workplaces—both before and after sudden or unexpected loss.

We talk about the difference between anticipatory grief and sudden loss, and how profoundly different the body and nervous system respond when there is no warning. Jennifer explains how sudden loss creates shock, disorientation, and a deep sense of unsafety, and why stabilization and structure are essential in the earliest days of grief. We explore how healing doesn’t mean fixating on how someone died, but learning how to grieve who they were and what they meant to us.

Jennifer walks us through her approach to assessment, grounding, and helping people feel safe again—sometimes for the first time since their world shattered. She also shares the practices that help her stay grounded in this work, reminding us that those who hold space for grief must also tend to themselves.

We spend time talking about post-traumatic growth—the idea that while trauma changes us, it doesn’t have to define us. That it’s possible to move through something devastating and still grow into a deeper, more connected version of ourselves. I share how my own relationship with fear shifted after my dad transitioned, including how I made the decision to stop letting fear limit how I live.

Jennifer reflects on her time as the executive director of a volunteer hospice, where everything was offered freely, and how that experience taught her the true power of connection, presence, and simply being with someone in their hardest moments. We talk about faith, continued bonds, and what Jennifer beautifully calls “presence within absence”—the ways our loved ones remain with us even after they’re gone.

We also touch on the healing support of animals, rituals, and love itself. Jennifer credits her dogs with being steady companions through grief, and we both come back to the same truth: love is why we’re here, and love is what we carry with us through every lifetime.

This episode is for anyone navigating sudden loss, supporting someone through grief, or wondering how to feel safe in a world that no longer feels familiar. Jennifer’s wisdom, compassion, and lived experience offer both comfort and clarity, reminding us that healing doesn’t mean forgetting—it means learning how to live again.

With love,
Dawn

P.s. You can connect with Jennifer here: https://therapyheals.com/

On this episode of The Secrets of Being, I’m joined by Nicole Harvick—quantum energy healer, forgiveness expert, and radiant force of self-love. Nicole opens up about a life-altering discovery in 2013, when her daughter—just a sixth grader—stumbled upon proof of Nicole’s husband’s infidelity. In the middle of heartbreak and shock, Nicole began her journey inward. Reiki. Sound healing. Energy work. She tried everything. But it wasn’t until her mother, on her deathbed, confessed the pain of never healing from her own betrayal that Nicole found the one thing missing from her path: forgiveness.

What followed was a complete energetic transformation. Through the Hawaiian practice of ho’oponopono—I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you—Nicole found peace. She tells us how forgiveness isn’t about the other person. It’s a radical act of self-love. As she began to forgive herself, her body felt lighter. Her mind clearer. Her joy, real.

Nicole reminds us that we carry so much—especially as women. And yet, when we release judgment, step into breathwork, walk barefoot in the grass, and reconnect with our childlike joy, the healing begins. This episode is a beautiful reminder that the wisdom we call “woo woo” is actually ancient truth. That everything has consciousness. And that when we forgive, we become free.

With love,
Dawn

P.S. You can connect with Nicole at: https://nicoleharvick.com/ 

Welcome back to The Secrets of Being! On this episode, I’m joined by Dr. David Clarke—a physician whose groundbreaking work bridges the gap between emotional trauma and physical illness.

Dr. Clarke opens up about his own awakening in medicine. After seven years of formal medical training, he still wasn’t equipped to understand what was truly causing some of his patients’ suffering—until one case changed everything. When a woman came to him with severe gastrointestinal issues that no medication could cure, he eventually learned that her symptoms were linked to childhood sexual abuse. With the help of a psychiatrist, she recovered in just three months—without any additional procedures or prescriptions. That experience transformed how Dr. Clarke practiced medicine forever.

He shares how stress, trauma, and repressed emotions can create physical symptoms that mimic disease—a concept known as neuroplastic pain. From back pain to stomach issues, Dr. Clarke reveals how the mind unloads unresolved pain into the body when it’s not processed consciously. He teaches patients to recognize emotional triggers, write unsent letters to those who’ve hurt them, and bring awareness to hidden stressors from both the past and present.

We also talk about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and how childhood trauma can silently shape the body’s responses decades later. Dr. Clarke compares it to lava simmering beneath the surface—always there, waiting to erupt unless it’s addressed with compassion and care.

What’s most profound about his approach is how simple it is: listening, talking, and validating patients’ emotional experiences can lead to physical healing. Less than one percent of doctors incorporate this mind-body model into their practice, but Dr. Clarke’s work is paving the way for a future where emotional and physical health are treated as one.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever been told “the tests are normal” but still feels unwell. It’s a reminder that healing begins when we give our pain permission to speak.

With love,
Dawn

P.S. You can connect with Dr. Clarke here: https://www.symptomatic.me/

On this episode of The Secrets of Being, I’m joined by Andrew Kap, author of the popular book Just Feel Good and a passionate advocate for making manifestation simple, joyful, and real. Andrew doesn’t just teach the law of attraction—he lives it. After losing his business and relationship within the same week, he realized he couldn’t keep living in survival mode. That moment of rock bottom became the turning point.

Andrew opens up about how he used just 10 minutes a day to shift his vibration. Within three months, everything began to change. His relationship improved. His mindset transformed. And what once felt impossible started to feel inevitable. The key? Emotion. Consistency. And choosing to feel good—on purpose.

We talk about scripting, journaling, and the power of writing the life you want before you live it. Andrew shares how energy works, how alignment matters more than perfection, and why clarity and fun are two of the most underrated tools in manifesting anything.

We explore how small moments—like a high school song or a single prayer—can change the trajectory of a life. He reminds us not to panic when plans fall through. Sometimes, not getting that $90,000 job is the best thing that could happen, because the $200,000 one is on its way.
This episode is an invitation to be present, to be playful, and to become the most skilled version of yourself. Because the universe isn’t just listening—it’s always responding.

With love,
Dawn

P.S. You can connect with Andrew at andrewkap.com

On this episode of The Secrets of Being, I’m joined by the radiant Rachel Kaplan—an author, recovery support specialist, and mental health advocate whose story is rooted in honesty, healing, and hope.

Rachel takes us back to her teenage years, where her struggles with mental health began. By 16, she already knew she wanted to become a therapist. But life had its own lessons in store. During grad school, everything seemed to fall apart—and yet, that’s where her deeper journey began.

She shares what inspired her to write How to Find Happiness in a Crazy World, and how she uses social media, especially X (formerly Twitter), to uplift others through her own lived experience. Rachel reminds us that alignment isn’t about pleasing everyone—it’s about finding the right community, the people who see you.

We explore the complexity of healing—from medication to mindfulness to learning how to hold space for tough emotions like anger. Rachel works with individuals facing long-term mental wellness challenges and reminds us that love sometimes looks like patience, and sometimes like tough love.

We also talk about embracing discomfort, investing in joy, and showing up fully even when life gets messy. Rachel is a living example that our past doesn't define us—but what we choose to do with it can.

This conversation is for anyone navigating mental health challenges, feeling isolated in their journey, or searching for meaning in the midst of it all. It’s a reminder that healing is never wasted, and every step counts.

With love,

Dawn

P.S. You can connect with Rachel here: https://x.com/rachelkaplan4