In this profoundly uplifting episode of our podcast, we have the privilege of sharing Emily's remarkable journey. At 31 years old, residing in Georgia, Emily's path took an unexpected turn when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Throughout her challenging battle, Emily's unwavering faith in God, her resilience, and her encounters with an unexpected online community became transformative forces in her life.

Emily's dreams of becoming a geoscientist and airline pilot were put on hold when she received her diagnosis. However, amidst the uncertainty and fear, she discovered a sense of peace in her love for Dungeons and Dragons, finding joy and escape within its imaginative realm. Seeking encouragement and connection, Emily turned to social media, hoping to find solace in the lived experiences of others facing similar challenges.

What Emily encountered surpassed her expectations. Instead of merely finding a couple of new online friends, she stumbled upon an entire community—a collective of compassionate individuals who greeted her with love, kindness, and unwavering support. Through virtual connections, Emily discovered the power of shared experiences and the strength that emerges when individuals come together to uplift one another.

Emily's openness and outspoken nature have allowed her to navigate her disease and treatments with unwavering courage. She fearlessly shares her story, shedding light on the difficulties she faces, the moments of despair, and the triumphs along the way. Her unwavering faith in God has served as a guiding light, providing solace and hope during the darkest times.

This episode delves into the transformative power of community, exploring how falling into the arms of strangers can change one's perspective and offer genuine support. Emily's story of healing encompasses the realization that vulnerability opens doors to profound connections and empathy. She serves as an inspiration to listeners, encouraging them to seek solace in unexpected places, embrace the kindness of others, and allow themselves to be supported during life's most challenging moments.

Join us on this deeply heartfelt episode as we witness Emily's journey—a testament to the strength of the human spirit, the importance of community, and the will to live.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about cancer and cancer treatment. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

If you would like to follow Emily's journey a little closer, please check out her tiktok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@lightofshadows

Visit our website:

https://thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

Just like 1 in 700 babies, Vickie was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Sadly, being different from the masses often forces you to grow a thicker skin, to learn to endure bullying, ridicule, and the constant mocking of those believing that their conformity with society's standards gives them the permission to hurt others.

It took Vicky a very long time to accept herself for who she truly is and to see her facial differences, her uniqueness, and her own beauty as something she could actually love and share with the world. Silence may encourage bullies. It most certainly does not get them to stop. However, using your voice and sharing your truth can break silence, spark conversation, and teach bullies to do better.

Vickie has become a very outspoken advocate for people with facial differences. Her story matters because it breaks down our world's irrational beauty "standards". Nobody in this world is "normal". Nobody is "perfect". Accepting that fundamental truth allows you to view others, their appearance, their lives, and their stories with genuine kindness and respect.

Listen to Vickie's powerful story about people being so much more than what meets the eye.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about facial differences, bullying, and emotional violence. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

If you would like to learn more about Vickie and her journey, please check out the following link:

https://www.dragonflyparadigm.com

Visit our website:

https://thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

Charlie experienced a rough childhood, one that was lined with physical abuse, neglect, and a general lack of love and affection. Instead of teddy bears, lego sets, and the warmth of family, Charlie ended up finding refuge in the most unlikely of places: in violent horror movies, a genre he began to explore at the age of five.

Charlie will tell us how he picked up the shards of his broken childhood to build something gruesome, yet beautiful that still affects a big chunk of his life to this day. But horror movies are not his only passion. Charlie wants to touch lives and change the world from the depths of chartered and unchartered waters. As a documentary filmmaker, he focuses on ocean life and hopes to leave his own footprint in a world that has always been a bit darker than it should have been.

On top of everything else, Charlie will also tell us about his adult ADHD diagnosis and how it has affected the way he lives.

Listen to Charlie's captivating story about igniting a light inside of you that is powerful enough to lead you away from your own inner darkness.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about childhood neglect and abuse, violence, physical harm, and mental illness. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

If you would like to learn more about Charlie and his life, please check out the following links:

https://www.conjuringoddities.com

https://www.tiktok.com/@rollforramen

Visit our website:

https://thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

Baylen creates beautiful art, he is eloquent, speaks gently, and seems like the kind of guy you would probably enjoy having a cup of coffee with while having a carefree conversation about life. Just an altogether wonderful person. That's who Baylen is TODAY.

What you may not see is what it took for him to get to the state of peace and self reflection he is now in. Baylen is in recovery from a heroin addiction that almost cost him his life - not once but three times.

While his three overdoses were painful and scary experiences, what actually lead to him turning his life around was the time he had to spend in solitary confinement during one of his prison sentences. Being alone and forced to face yourself was rough but it was also where he discovered the beauty and power of creating instead of destroying. Baylen started to draw and his art quickly became a lighthouse for him, navigating him away from the lift of drugs, crime, and self destruction he thought he had been condemned to live.

Baylen's story is as painful as it is powerful. It's a story about discovering inner peace in the most unlikely places.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about drug abuse, drug use, drug addiction, drug overdose, depression, mental illness, and armed robbery. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

If you would like to learn more about Baylen and his art, please check out the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/baylenparadaartist

https://www.baylenspeace.com

You can also send an email to reach out to Baylen directly:

[email protected]

Visit our website:

https://thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

Jenn's life has been marked by hardship but also by the spirit of family and togetherness. When the doctor diagnosed her with LEMS (Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome), an ultra rare disease with death as the ultimate outcome, he did not even look her in the eyes. The earth shattering words that would forever alter the rest of her precious life were more or less just thrown in front of her to deal with. And the came with a time stamp. 

Can you imagine watching every grain of sand fall through your own life's sand clock and knowing that this will be the final bit of time left for you with nobody to flip the clock over once more? 

On top of her the disease progressing and running havoc within her body, Jenn's husband's own mental health struggles left the family homeless. Jenn was forced to pull the weight for everyone once more to keep her family together. 

This is a powerful story about the limits of time, the resilience of family, and the unstoppable desire to live happily in spite of it all.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about trauma, terminal illness, homelessness, suicide, death, and depression. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

If you have the financial resources to help Jenn and her family in this difficult time, please check out Jenn's linktree below:

https://linktr.ee/jeggert

To get in touch with Jenn, please visit her TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@momnme2020

Visit our website:

https://thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

Do you know where you belong and where you are at home? This sounds like such a simple question but for my guest, Jenny, the search for a place to consider home was a painful journey. Born in Indonesia to a family of Chinese immigrants, Jenny always felt ostracized and far from a place of true belonging. Indonesia's culture had very little space for 'people like her' and in her own family, harsh requirements for her to perform and achieve left no room for the love and acceptance Jenny so desperately desired.

Being alone and isolated throughout her childhood, Jenny found her personal sanctuary in a local library and in the stories of others. The impossible suddenly didn't seem so unattainable anymore and the inspiration within the books she read eventually became a roadmap to her own happiness.

Jenny will tell us how she built her own path to walk and dance on, in order to finally realize that home, belonging, and happiness had been within her all along.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about childhood trauma, corporal punishment, violence, loneliness, and depression. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

To connect with Jenny and find out more about her work as a coach with a focus on happiness habits and morning routines, please check out the following links:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/jennyleeinfinite

IG: @sunnyjennylee

Here's the link to Jenny's calendar so you can meet her for a free one-on-one coaching session on how you can start your joyful morning routine tomorrow: https://calendly.com/beevibe88/discovery-call-live-coaching

Jenny's Morning Party Vibes Playlist on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/29swQtdB4F0R4AnUTisKLh?si=mdF-LYxdR8G9lu5s0AqtTQ&dd=1

Visit our website:

www.thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

Overcoming difficult things is one of Jetty's special superpowers. Not only has she managed to survive bulimia, severe childhood trauma, depression, and Lyme disease, she also successfully completed two Ironman competitions and was able to completely redefine herself in order to finally give herself permission to be loved.

Growing up in the Netherlands, Jetty felt invisible throughout her entire childhood and adolesence in what she describes as a cold home. To find warmth and comfort, she turned to food and ended up developing an eating disorder. But Jetty had much more than bulimia to overcome. Her eating disorder was a mere result of a lifelong lack of self confidence and self love. Finding true happiness meant first and foremost that she had to travel to her inner core and to learn to love every bit of herself in the process.

Listen to Jetty's story about the deep desire to finally matter, be loved, and be seen.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about bulimia, binging and purging, eating disorders, mental illness, childhood trauma, depression, and body image issues. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

To learn more about Jetty, please check out the following links:

Jetty's Website: https://trujetty.com

Jetty's Instagram: https://instagram.com/trujetty

Visit our website:

www.thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

Have you ever wondered what it must be like to be sick every sigle day? To wake up knowing that being well means something completely different to you because you are chronically ill? Susie will tell us about her 'illness collection' and how it affects her life . Does she love her body even though it appears to fail her almost every day? What is it like to live when the likelihood of death follows you constantly, like a whisper in the air? How do you navigate through medical appointments, the longing for a somewhat healthier you, and the negative positivity unintentionally expressed by so many trying to help?

Susie joins us to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of chronic illness in this blunt and deeply inspiring episode.

As a special treat, we will even get to listen to Susie's powerful song 'It's lonely here'. Buckle up, thoughtvolutionists. Listening to this episode may cause giggles, tears, joy, and sadness all at once. 

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about chronic illness, disease, mental health, and death. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

To learn more about Susie, her book, her music, and her life with chronic illness, please check out the following links:

https://www.lesshealthstress.com

https://linktr.ee/SusieSchwartz

Visit our website:

www.thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

How do you rediscover your hunger for life when you have been starving yourself for 25 years? Scarlett's struggle with anorexia and the binge-purge eating disorder called bulimia almost cost her her life. After early weight struggles, and a feeling of complete isolation, the eating disorder caused her to starve herself from 20 stone (280 lbs) to under 5 stone (under 70 lbs), walking only inches away from death. 

Despite her body being broken, her teeth destroyed, and her self worth shattered, Scarlett did not give up. 

After she finally managed to recover - not for her own sake but for the sake of her 7 kids and her loving husband - Scarlett was finally able to discover what true self love and happiness can look and feel like. She even used the newfound love for her own body to become a mature lingerie model for a short amount of time and learning that the judgements others may hold over her body could no longer touch or affect her. 

Today, Scarlett dedicates her life to helping others as they battle their own eating disorders.

Listen to this captivating story about de-shaming people suffering from eating disorders.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about anorexia, bulimia, binging and purging, eating disorders, mental illness, self harm, and body image issues. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

To learn more about Scarlett and her work as an eating disorders recovery coach, please check out:

https://scarlettoconnor.coach

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090001192996

Visit our website:

www.thoughtvolutionpodcast.com

Sandra has had a lot of trauma to work through and she actually managed, as she says, to completely heal herself from the wounds caused by childhood molestation, sexual assault, bullying, and rape. Her life motto is to never say you cannot do it and she follows that principle to this day.

Listen to Sandra tell us how she managed to climb out of that bottomless pit of pain to fully reclaim her life and rediscover her own self worth and happiness.

The German native and 2 time gold medalist and European champion in interpretative dance has made Newfoundland her new home. She finds peace and serenity in walking the beautiful hiking trails and soaking up nature whenever she can.

Sandra's story is inspiring on so many levels. She takes us with her on a journey that initially makes us wander through a long valley of darkness to finally find that sweet light that not only illuminates the path ahead but also guides us out of the unlit.

Her story is one about healing yourself like only you can.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversations about childhood molestation, sexual assault, sexual abuse, bullying, rape, suicide, and mental illness. If any of these subjects are a trigger to you, please prioritize your mental health and skip this episode.

To learn more about Sandra and her work as an intuitive trauma healer, please check out:

www.riseaboveyourstory.com

www.youtube.com/@sandracooze

Visit our website:

www.thoughtvolutionpodcast.com