Do you listen to your gut feelings? I am trying to learn to listen to mine.  Oxana Ormonova, who is an Intuitive Coach, Clairvoyant, and Spiritual Healer and has worked for 20 years as a Hospitalist Physician, shares her experiences and guidance on how to be in compassion and not sympathy, trust our intuition, identify our purpose, live with joy, and create the life we want to live. Connect with Oxana at https://www.divinewellnessmd.com. Connect with me on Instagram @melanieisathree and let me know if this episode resonates.

Today's Tool for Transformation is mindfulness through being in nature. Even if it's winter where you are, consider going outside and practice being in the moment. 

Thanks so much for being here.

Is there someone in your life who changed your life or made it better in some way? In this week's short episode, we discuss one key concept: telling people what they mean to us. This simple act will change your life. 

Today's Tool for Transformation is the song "Thank You" by Led Zeppelin. I encourage you to listen to it today and think about someone you love. 

Resources for Today's episode: 

Gratitude letters research:  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7701091_Positive_Psychology_Progress_Empirical_Validation_of_Interventions

Gratitude letters exercise: https://pharm.ucsf.edu/sites/pharm.ucsf.edu/files/residencies/media-browser/gratitude_practice_letter_2.pdf

Are you resilient? I bet you are. 

There is a lot of discussion about resilience these days. What does it really mean? It turns out that resilience is complicated. Is resilience always a good thing? I went into this episode thinking one thing, and after researching this topic I have a different perspective. 

One thing I did learn is that resilience can be learned and cultivated. 

Is resilience the goal? What about meaning, joy, happiness? I touch on all of these topics in this podcast episode. 

I would love to know what you think. Connect with me on Instagram @melanieisathree. And if you are ready to start living the life of your dreams, you will find my Five Step Guide here https://melaniewelch.ca/dream-life.

Resources for today's episode:

Brief Resilience Scale: https://gozen.com/wp-content/uploads/BRS.pdf

Steven M. Southwick, George A. Bonanno, Ann S. Masten, Catherine Panter-Brick & Rachel Yehuda (2014) Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: interdisciplinary perspectives, European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5:1,  DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v5.25338, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3402/ejpt.v5.25338?src=recsys

https://hbr.org/2017/08/the-dark-side-of-resilience

Tool for transformation: 

Find the silver lining: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/finding_silver_linings?_ga=2.248192775.1019528538.1668731116-1107695839.1663441603

https://eerlab.berkeley.edu/pdf/papers/2010_Troy_Seeing_the_Silver_Lining.pdf

Have you had thoughts about making a change and living a life more true to your big dreams? Veronica Hanson did just that. She and her family are traveling, living, and learning all over the world. They have adopted minimalism, and now focus on experiences instead of possessions. 

Connect with Veronica at veronicahanson.com or on Instagram @nomadveronica. 

Resources referenced during this episode included: 

Bronnie Ware: https://bronnieware.com/blog/regrets-of-the-dying/ 

Documentary by the Minimalists: https://www.theminimalists.com

Do you hold yourself back from sharing your opinions, and your authentic self because of fear of others' judgement? I have always worried so much about how others perceived me, to the point where I realized I was living my life for others. In this podcast I share a variety of ideas and resources that have helped me on my path to cultivating authenticity. I also share this week's Tool for Transformation. I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Connect with me on Instagram @melanieisathree, and I would be so appreciative if you would rate, review and subscribe to the podcast.

Resources referenced in this episode:

Bahns and Crandall work on “Like-minded others”:https://www.wellesley.edu/news/2016/february/node/83586

One option to complete a self check on Fear of Negative Evaluation: https://foundrybc.ca/quiz/social-anxiety-self-check/

Brené Brown on belonging:  https://brenebrown.com/book/braving-the-wilderness/

Savitsky et al on overestimating harsh judgement: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.81.1.44

Brené Brown square squad :https://brenebrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DTL-Read-Along-Workbook_092221.pdf

Luvvie Ajayi Jones: https://luvvie.org/

https://marthabeck.com/the-way-of-integrity/

Have you ever had an experience with a loved one who has passed? My daughter Raya joins me for this special Halloween episode to discuss the research she has done on After Death Experiences. We share some of our own stories as well. Have a safe and spooky Halloween!

The resources Raya used were:

https://www.adcrf.org/

https://near-death.com/study-of-evidential-after-death-communications/

https://www.lifeafterlife.com/blog/after-death-communication-adc-experiences-adcs

How is perfectionism impacting your life?  I used to think it was a compliment if I was called a perfectionist. Now I realize it was a way to keep me separate from my life, thinking it was preventing me from hurting. Instead it was keeping me from connecting fully with others. Listen to the end for today's Tool for transformation, some lyrics from the song Surrender, By Christina Perri.

Dr. Cindy Landy is an award winning physician, breastfeeding expert, educator and leader. In this episode we discuss how she is building a new life by dreaming big, and then making it happen, one step at a time. We explore how she realized how caught up her identify was in being a doctor, and how she began to change that.  It wouldn't be a conversation with Cindy without a Barenaked Ladies lyric, today we explored a lyric from their song, What a Good Boy: "Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same, When temptation calls, We just look away." This conversation with Cindy has left me inspired and asking myself, "What have I been waiting to do that I can do now?" I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Don't forget to subscribe, and rate and review the podcast.

Learning to be kinder to myself has completely transformed what I see as possible for my life, as well as making my quality of life so much better. Self-compassion (a triad self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness) is an evidence-based skill set that can be learned (see self-compassion.org for more information). In this episode, I share 5 steps to start to implement self-compassion.

Weight and weight loss take up much too large a proportion of my daily thoughts, yet it's a topic I find it hard to talk about. On this episode, I share my story, and what a large role my weight has played in my life and in my sense of self worth. I am learning to accept and love myself, and while it has been a difficult road to get here, I see so much possibility in finally shedding the belief that I have to work just a bit harder than everyone else to prove my worth because of my body being the way it is. I share my initial thoughts on a topic I am just starting to explore : intuitive eating.