“There is a voice inside that does not use words. Listen.” ~ Rumi

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan.

I have conversations with coaches, spiritual explorers and thought leaders from all walks of life about beginnings, endings, and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

In this episode, I’m thrilled to dive into the work of Judith Maxey, whose exploration into alternative and traditional healing practices began while pursuing a Master’s degree in Applied Anthropology, exploring the cultural roots of healing.  

Judith is the owner of Almus Energy Medicine, has been practicing energy medicine for over 15 years.  She is an experienced and certified Usui/Holy Fire® and Karuna Reiki® master teacher, mentor, shamanic practitioner, meditation guide and essential oil specialist. In 2023, she also became a certified End-of-Life Doula.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome Judith. I’ve really been looking forward to this conversation.

Judith: “There's always an underlying level of grief. Right now, I feel, in part because of the pandemic we just simply did not acknowledge the grieving that might have happened. That should have happened because we have a very, in my opinion, narrow perspective on what grief is.”

Judith: “I'm a doTERRA wellness advocate, so I use mostly doTERRA oils. I believe in their quality, but I use a Snow Lotus aromatherapy oil that was created by a Five Element Acupuncturist, and it's called Sedate Metal and so from the Chinese medicine perspective. It's about metal and it's very good in fall for the lungs where we hold grief and it is a blend of Copaiba balsam, Atlas cedarwood, Amyris, and Geranium.  And I would never even attempt to blend it the way that Peter Holmes does. It's just an amazing blend. I keep it in my office.”

Judith: “I'm so happy that there are end-of-life doulas  for the person who is passing and also for everyone involved  and that's what I found was really there was so much learning  in my end of life doula training  about that about the  interactions between the caregivers and what was happening for everyone how to be  aware of the cues and  Like everything else, Cindy,  again, I feel like I say a certain few things throughout the conversation, but it's about being present.”

Judith: “And then I started, in the same community as my Reiki teacher, I'll give her a shout out, Colleen Benelli, Licensed Reiki Teacher, The International Center for Reiki Training. She was also involved in The LightSong Community of 21st Century Shamanism and Energy Medicine. So, I started doing core shamanism training as well.”

Judith: “You are meant to use us and, and we're meant to work together. And so, I started bringing in essential oils, the plants to my work.  And I just feel like the combination of the shamanic practices that, I'd say in general, allow you to work with larger energies than yourself, Reiki, and the miracle, the magic of the plants, you know, getting to work with those three in a session with someone is a powerhouse. It's so supportive.

Judith: “I would suggest, your ceremony be specific to you and what you're comfortable with. And most importantly, what you will actually do.  You know, we can look at a lot of different ceremonies, but what calls to you? Do you want to gather in a big crowd? Do you want to gather with your three closest friends? In the darkness, with a candle? Being grateful?  Saying out loud what you want to get rid of?  You know?  I think those elements are the important part. Again, gratitude, community, release, and calling in what you would like for the new year or your life. I'll say that I would suggest those same elements for any ceremony.

Judith: “Forgiveness is so much larger than that. A little bit like grief, right?”

Judith: “I also want to say that in 2024. I'll be coming out with Plant Speak Retreats, and that's for the doTERRA community to learn how to build relationships, spiritual personal energetic relationships with the oils.”

Resource Mentioned: Firewalk Ceremony

 You can find Judith Maxey at:

Website Instagram Mentorship

Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life Series

The Healing Power of Sound Baths with Stephanie Weber

Trust in Your Soul with Sonee Singh

Empowering Your Inner Wellness Warrior: Insights from Joyce Jimenez

Journey of Healing with Alana Keddie

Conversation with Julie Jancius: The Angel Medium

Confidence is a Journey with Sha Sparks

Guest Introduction: 

 Hello and a warm welcome, friends, to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast! I'm your host, Cindy MacMillan, and I hope you're finding inspiration and connection in our new podcast series – Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life. And if you happen to be joining us for the first time, a heartfelt welcome to you, new friends.

Throughout this series, I've had the privilege of chatting with some incredible healers and experts in various modalities. From the transformative power of sound baths to the profound wisdom of yoga, the sacred art of womb healing, the realm of angels, and the soul stirring beauty of poetry, we've delved into the diverse practices and perspectives that contribute to our holistic well-being.

My goal here is to offer you insights, stories, and practical advice. Wisdom. Wisdom that can inspire you to live a more authentic, balanced, and fulfilled life. Whether you're a seasoned explorer of these healing paths or just beginning your journey, there's something for everyone in this series. 

Go ahead and cozy up with your favorite drink, find a snug place to unwind, because we're about to embark on a deeply inspiring conversation.

Terry Dulin is a fourth-generation paranormal practitioner. She was raised in a metaphysical environment by her mother who is a professional psychic, trance medium and healer. She started assisting her mom doing healings at the early age of 12. She initially learned Reiki in 2002 to assist her mom in her practice. In 2008 she had a spiritual calling - a strong desire to do something more. She was led for Reiki to be a stronger presence in her life. In 2009 she learned Reiki II and a few months later she took the ART/Master class. Terry traveled to Southfield MI in 2010 to learn Karuna Reiki ® from William Rand.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Terry: “It really was not until 2008 to 2009 when, Reiki, and I didn't know Reiki was going to be this, divine force in my life. I had a spiritual calling, you know, for me, it's God. My spiritual calling is God, right? So, God was, encouraging me telling me I needed to do something more with my life than what it was.” 

Terry: “I have to tell you, it's been an amazing journey to see how it has shifted, altered and really propelled me to be where I'm at and who I'm meant to be.” 

Terry: “Every practitioner has their own way of practicing, right? Doing Reiki. So, they might ask someone, you know, for permission to touch.” 

Terry: “You can have an intention, you can go in with having, say, pain on your knee, or with your knee, and the Reiki energy will know that something is off in your body, and that say maybe the root cause is the hip.” 

Terry: “Just like we don't necessarily always get along with every person. So, every relationship is different. Every Reiki experience is different. If you really want to come from a stance of true knowledge, my encouragement would be to have a session.” 

Terry: “I of course would encourage you to find someone within your local area. I’m a Licensed Teacher with The International Center for Reiki Training. I am a member of the Reiki Membership Association. So, my encouragement would be to start there at Reiki. org and they have a link on their website to find a practitioner in your area.

You can find Terry Dulin at:

Website Phone# 219-712-0507

Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life Series

The Healing Power of Sound Baths with Stephanie Weber

Trust in Your Soul with Sonee Singh

Empowering Your Inner Wellness Warrior: Insights from Joyce Jimenez

Journey of Healing with Alana Keddie

Conversation with Julie Jancius: The Angel Medium

Ceremonies and Healing with Stacy Mitchell

Conversation with Yoga and Reiki Teacher Jerry Mikutis

"Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Guest Introduction: 

This podcast is for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey who are ready to lead healthier and happier lives and improve their emotional well-being.

I interview coaches, spiritual explorers and thought leaders from all walks of life about beginnings, endings, and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

Welcome back to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan.

I am really excited about today’s interview and before we jump in, I want to say thank you for being here.

Today’s guest is Jerry Mikutis. She is a Licensed Reiki Master Teacher with the International Center for Reiki Training, a yoga teacher and crystal practitioner and I am so excited to share this conversation with you! 

Let me tell you a little more about Jerry Mikutis. She has been enthralled by yoga ever since her first class in 2005 as a means for mental clarity from the stresses of life. The sense of peace the practice cultivated kept her coming back to the mat and the physical benefits soon made themselves evident. Her yoga practice eventually led her to subtler practices such as Reiki and other methods of energy harmonizing, such as connecting with the beauty of crystals. She facilitates yoga and Reiki classes as well as meditations online. Jerry lives in Chicago with her 2 cats Rosie and Milo and dozens of plants and looks for the magic everywhere.

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome Jerry.

Jerry: “I had this coupon, a postcard, that your first class was free. And I remember that the class completely transformed me. It showed me the stillness within me; I was probably like a hundred pounds heavier, and I couldn't do any of the poses.” 

Jerry: “Yoga was just really showing me how the body relates to the mind. So that was my introduction to yoga during a really difficult time in my life. It gave me that sense of peace and clarity.” 

Jerry: “I came from a very linear, logical thinking family. My dad was a math teacher. All my friends from college were, that were in my life at that time, they were just very logical thinkers.” 

Jerry: “That really made me realize even more that we’re always in communication with each other. It may not be words, it may not be eye contact, but it's within what we carry in our energy field.”

Jerry: “When people ask me what crystal they should get, I almost always say, like, start off with rose quartz, because it's soft pink, the crystal itself isn't soft, because it's quartz, but the colors are soft pink. I think of it as the light of the heart, the light of connection with others, the light of connection with the divine.” 

Jerry: “So we have cats that like to sleep. So, they teach us how to rest and to sleep and take things slower. I have two cats.” 

Jerry: “So back to your question about how I find the magic. I think Chicago is a very nature centered city in itself in so many ways. I live about three blocks from Lake Michigan, which is one of the largest lakes in the world.”

You can find Jerry Mikutis at:

Website Instagram FaceBook

Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life Series

The Healing Power of Sound Baths with Stephanie Weber

Trust in Your Soul with Sonee Singh

Empowering Your Inner Wellness Warrior: Insights from Joyce Jimenez

Journey of Healing with Alana Keddie

Conversation with Julie Jancius: The Angel Medium

Ceremonies and Healing with Stacy Mitchell

“You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the ocean in a drop”. ~ Rumi

Guest Introduction: 

Hello and a warm welcome, friends, to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast! I'm your host, Cindy MacMillan, and I hope you're finding inspiration and connection in our new podcast series – Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life. And if you happen to be joining us for the first time, a heartfelt welcome to you, new friends.

Holistic living—it's not just a fancy buzzword. Think of it as returning to the very essence of yourself – your body, mind, heart, and soul. Picture a world where you show up for yourself in every way imaginable, like you're your own best friend, chef, and personal cheerleader. It's about nurturing all those beautiful facets of you that make you, well, uniquely you.

But here's where the magic truly begins – wholeness.  It's embracing your stories, your scars, your stumbles, and your soaring moments, and realizing they're all essential brushstrokes that create your masterpiece. You're not a puzzle with pieces missing; you're a tapestry woven from the threads of your experiences.

Grab your favorite cozy beverage, find a comfy spot to sit back and relax, because we're about to dive deep into a truly inspiring conversation.

Stacy Mitchell has been a Life-Cycle Celebrant® since 2005, co-creating and officiating meaningful ceremonies across the life-cycle based on the beliefs and values of her clients. She is also a Reiki Master/Teacher, certified Soul Realignment advanced practitioner and Soul Regression therapist. Her goal is to provide others with the tools and knowledge they need for self-empowerment and self-healing through the weaving together of these offerings.

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome to the podcast, Stacy.

Stacy: “In Hinduism, there is an understanding that the cycles of life are birth, life, death, and rebirth and in the Western world, we tend to stop with just death, right?  Not that rebirth part; but it's not a full cycle if we don't have that fourth.” 

Stacy: “For me, life isn't about exploring cycles. It's about living into each season and cycle.” 

Stacy: “I think as time goes on, we really begin to understand that we are a part of the cycle, and so we are living the cycle, whatever, that cycle that we're in is in that moment.  And really, that’s the key to integration, I guess, is that that ability to just live the cycle rather than  peering in from the outside and say, oh, what's this?”

 Stacy: “In the ceremony co creation process or the healing process, as a practitioner, the most important thing for me is to be an active listener.  Active listening requires you to lay down any preconceived ideas or agendas about the work, or the people that you are speaking with.  And it also requires a presencing in the moment,  to be fully there in that moment, and not  thinking in the before time, thinking into whatever's in the future,  not jumping ahead mentally or even verbally,  but to really just take in what is said  to marinate in those words  and the emotions that the words invoke  and to listen  between the lines  in order to hear what the silence is saying.”

Stacy: “It can really be eye opening to, to see, like your friend, you know, to see how other cultures treat food and treat the sharing of food. And I'm sure you're aware that even in the West, sharing food after a ceremony, especially a funeral, is, like, one of the most important parts of the experience. So, it's not just, what happens within the ceremony itself, but that moment of breaking bread together, that moment of being...In community and feeding each other and in some circles would be called feeding the soul, right?”

 You can find Stacy Mitchell at: Honor Your Voice

Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life Series

The Healing Power of Sound Baths with Stephanie Weber

Trust in Your Soul with Sonee Singh

Empowering Your Inner Wellness Warrior: Insights from Joyce Jimenez

Journey of Healing with Alana Keddie

Conversation with Julie Jancius: The Angel Medium

"Your intuition will tell you where you need to go; it will connect you with people you should meet; it will guide you toward work that is meaningful for you – work that brings you joy, work that feels right for you." – Shakti Gawain

Guest Introduction: 

I'm your host Cindy MacMillan and you are listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast! We're currently immersed in a fantastic series called Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life.

Holistic living, it's not some fancy buzzword. It's like coming home to yourself – body, mind, heart, and soul. Imagine showing up for yourself in every way possible, like you're your own best friend, therapist, chef, and personal cheerleader. It's about nurturing all those parts of you that make you, well, you.

Now, wholeness – that's where the magic sparkles. It's embracing your stories, your scars, your stumbles, and your soaring moments, and realizing they're all essential brushstrokes that create your masterpiece. You're not a puzzle with pieces missing; you're a tapestry woven from the threads of your experiences.

Holistic living isn't about adding more to your plate; it's about savoring every bite, every breath, every precious moment.

Julie Jancius is The Angel Medium™ and host of the #5 spiritual podcast, Angels and Awakening, which receives over 2 million downloads a year in 80+ countries around the world. Julie is a world renowned angel expert on a mission to teach you how to connect with your angels and loved ones on the Other Side in order to make living “Heaven on Earth.”

Get ready to open your heart and mind to a world of love, connection, and spiritual wisdom. Let's dive in!

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome, Julie!

Julie: “I think it's really, really fascinating that throughout time we have all fought and throughout history on so many different points when it comes to religions, but angels are this fundamental piece and thread, that is woven in between all religions and all religions seem to remain consistent on there are divine helpers, right? God, Universe, Source did not set us up to fail.”

Julie: “Archangel Michael is here as a strength that when we're really having to have courage and resilience and be courageous; we're able to step into that and let our self-doubt and our fears go.”

Julie: “When you're working with somebody who you resonate with on all levels, your heart chakra is just completely open, your energy, your consciousness, your mind. You're completely open to that teacher and because you're more in that state of being, you're absorbing more of what they're trying to say instead of you being in a state of where you're like filtering what they're saying.”

Julie: “I started writing for the third largest newspaper in Illinois when I was 14 years old, and I loved journalism even back then because every day was going to be different. I didn't know what stories were going to pop up that week, who I was going to get to interview or talk to and I still love that today. I don't want to know what the rest of my life is going to be like, I enjoy, the magic.”

You can find Julie Jancius at:

Website Instagram YouTube

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH JULIE JANCIUS YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life Series

The Healing Power of Sound Baths with Stephanie Weber

Trust in Your Soul with Sonee Singh

Empowering Your Inner Wellness Warrior: Insights from Joyce Jimenez

Journey of Healing with Alana Keddie

“The condition of women’s wombs also directly reflects the condition of women’s minds, spirits, and actions. The womb is a storehouse of all our emotions.” ~ Queen Afua, Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit

Guest Introduction:  

Hello and a warm welcome, friends, to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast! I'm your host Cindy MacMillan, and I hope you are enjoying the new podcast series – Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life.  If you are new to the podcast, welcome new friends.

Holistic living, it's not some fancy buzzword. It's like coming home to yourself – body, mind, heart, and soul. Imagine showing up for yourself in every way possible, like you're your own best friend, therapist, chef, and personal cheerleader. It's about nurturing all those parts of you that make you, well, you.

Now, wholeness – that's where the magic sparkles. It's embracing your stories, your scars, your stumbles, and your soaring moments, and realizing they're all essential brushstrokes that create your masterpiece. You're not a puzzle with pieces missing; you're a tapestry woven from the threads of your experiences.

Grab your favorite cozy beverage, find a comfy spot to sit back and relax, because we're about to dive deep into a truly inspiring conversation.

I'm thrilled to introduce my guest, Alana Keddie, a remarkable Energy Healer & Conscious Life Coach hailing from the beautiful city of Sarasota, FL. Alana is the brilliant mind behind the AK Healing Method, a transformative approach that she uses to help clients globally find balance, healing, and growth. Her expertise extends to the fascinating realms of Subconscious reprogramming and Sacred Womb Healing, making her a true source of wisdom and inspiration for anyone seeking to embark on a journey of self-discovery and personal empowerment. Stay tuned for an enlightening conversation with Alana, as we delve into her unique methods and the profound impact they have on people's lives.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Alana: “Yeah, this is a good question. I mean, we all, we have so many seasons in life, you know, and you don't even realize you're in it until maybe you're out of it. And then even as women, we have the archetypal seasons, we have the maiden and the mother and the, I prefer the sage to the Crone, but we have so many seasons. So, I was really reflecting on this before I came to talk to you, and I feel currently, personally, I'm in a season of, I would call Rebirth.”

Alana: “I couldn't work. I couldn't function. The neurologist wrote me off and basically, I was lying in my bedroom like most hours of the day in a dark room with ice on my head and that was it. So, during that time, I had a lot of losses in my personal life as well. And I would call that absolutely my dark night of the soul, beyond broken.”

Alana: “Sometimes it's not in the way they want or in the way they think they want. You know, sometimes someone comes in for, you know, deep emotional scarring for one thing and before we know it, it's the womb that's releasing. It's we're having massive sacral healing. So, it's just in the way that they're meant to heal.”

Alana: “One thing that stands out for me is “As Within, So Without” and that is across the board on so many different spiritual schools or teachings. And so that leads me to, in my coaching, you know, really trying to get my clients to understand it's, there's nothing to change but self. It's all within.

Alana: “For women, we hold all our feminine essence in the sacral, all our creative ideas, all our healing, all our sexual energy. In fact, sexual energy, healing energy, and creative energy, it is one energy, and it all lives in the sacral.

Alana: “There's a lot of access to me right now as we expand. The main business is AK Healing. So that's just www.akhealing. com. We have two divisions. There's a manifestation and success coaching division with subconscious reprogramming. That's called Manifest Dreams Now, www.manifestdreamsnow.com and then I have the Sacred Womb Healing Division. That's www. SacredWombHealer.com and the workshops and ceremonies are on there too.

Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life Series

The Healing Power of Sound Baths with Stephanie Weber

Trust in Your Soul with Sonee Singh

Empowering Your Inner Wellness Warrior: Insights from Joyce Jimenez

“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” ~ Joan Didion

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome, welcome, friends, to a brand-new episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast! I'm your host Cindy MacMillan, and I'm happy to be back after a refreshing summer break, and super excited to introduce a new podcast series – Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life.

Holistic living, it's not some fancy buzzword. It's like coming home to yourself – body, mind, heart, and soul. Imagine showing up for yourself in every way possible, like you're your own best friend, therapist, chef, and personal cheerleader. It's about nurturing all those parts of you that make you, well, you.

Now, wholeness – that's where the magic sparkles. It's embracing your stories, your scars, your stumbles, and your soaring moments, and realizing they're all essential brushstrokes that create your masterpiece. You're not a puzzle with pieces missing; you're a tapestry woven from the threads of your experiences.

Holistic living isn't about adding more to your plate; it's about savoring every bite, every breath, every precious moment.

Join me as I welcome my guest, Sonee Singh.

Sonee Singh is a Doctor of Divinity, poet, novelist, avid reader, and cross-cultural seeker of deep knowing. Author of award-winning novel, Lonely Dove, and of the Soul-Seeker Poetry Collection: Embody, Embrace, & Embolden. Her second novel will be out this summer.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome, Sonee – we're truly fortunate to have you on the Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast!

“It was in that theme of exploring who we are, I got to a point in my life, and this is going back about, five or six years ago, so relatively recently, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was not happy doing what I was doing in my career because I had not allowed myself to really, follow my purpose and follow my dream.”

“I let myself believe that it wasn't possible for me, that I wouldn't be successful, that, you know, I wouldn't be financially stable.”

“Once I realized intuition is listening to my own voice, listening to myself and that's how I connect with the world outside, it just became this search of wanting to know more and do more, and so that's what led me into the Doctor of Divinity.”

“I don't usually feel like I have a home. I feel like I belong everywhere, but at the same time, I belong nowhere. And I think that is an important perspective, you know, some people, though not a lot of people, can relate to, there's a lot of us that are, you know, in a way not necessarily tied to any particular location.”

“I mean, for one, I think it's important to recognize that sometimes this is a life journey. As we explore who we are, we continue to evolve and change, but we also have to be mindful that who we are now may not be who we are tomorrow. And who we are now is not who we were yesterday. And that's okay.”

“Trusting in yourself is the greatest gift that we can give. It really encompasses in a way all that we've been talking about. Trusting yourself means connecting with your intuition, means accepting where you are in life, it means that you understand that we're in an evolution and when you're constantly trusting in yourself, that is your one constant. That is the one place that you can always rely on to handle anything that comes up.

You can find Sonee Singh at:

Website Instagram

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH SONEE SINGH YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Spiritual Matter with Martine Bachelart

Helping Women Heal from Their Divorce with Karin Nelson

Creativity and Asking the Question “What if?” with Heather Kraft

“Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are."  ~ Rachel Naomi Remen

Guest Introduction:  

Welcome, welcome, friends, to a brand-new episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast! I'm your host Cindy MacMillan, and I'm happy to be back after a refreshing summer break, and super excited to introduce a new podcast series – Holistic Living: Embracing Wholeness In Everyday Life.

Holistic living, it's not some fancy buzzword. It's like coming home to yourself – body, mind, heart, and soul. Imagine showing up for yourself in every way possible, like you're your own best friend, therapist, chef, and personal cheerleader. It's about nurturing all those parts of you that make you, well, you.

Now, wholeness – that's where the magic sparkles. It's embracing your stories, your scars, your stumbles, and your soaring moments, and realizing they're all essential brushstrokes that create your masterpiece. You're not a puzzle with pieces missing; you're a tapestry woven from the threads of your experiences.

Holistic living isn't about adding more to your plate; it's about savoring every bite, every breath, every precious moment. It’s about balance and mindfulness… whatever that looks like for you.

Join me as I welcome my guest, Stephanie Weber.

Stephanie Weber is a certified sound healer, mindful meditation facilitator, yoga instructor, and holistic coach. She leads deeply restorative sound baths designed to empower her clients to rediscover their inner light and heal from the inside out! Stephanie has a deep passion for helping others find balance and joy in their lives. She believes that sound healing can be a powerful tool for self-discovery and transformation, and she is committed to helping her clients explore their inner depths and uncover their true potential!

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome, Stephanie – we're truly fortunate to have you on the Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast!

 “Each season in our life really brings its unique energy, it brings new lessons, it brings new opportunities for growth, new changes. And sometimes we go through expansive seasons of growth and abundance and change and exciting things. And sometimes we also go through seasons of contraction and learning lessons and introspection.” 

“I think that nothing in life is ever a coincidence. I think that sometimes our most difficult seasons can be our biggest teachers. And I know that looking back at my own life, honestly, some of the most difficult times in my own life have been my biggest periods of learning. It's been the catalyst for my growth and expansion.”

“It was kind of the path that we're given, right? You go to college. You get a degree, you get a nine to five, you climb the ladder, you settle down, you get your white picket fence, and then you retire and die. That's kind of what people give us. And, you know, I realized really quickly that the corporate world was not for me.”

“I've done classes for companies like Salesforce and Bank of America and TikTok, McDonald's Corporation, you know, JLL, and so many more. And I love doing that because it's fun to go back into the corporate places where I once was to help the people who were once like me, the stressed out people and to really give back to them.”

“Each of my bowls specifically are tuned to the chakras and there's also bowls that are tuned to the endocrine system. There's lots of different tunings with the bowls. The sounds are tuned in a way that target your specific chakras or the specific pieces of the endocrine system, which are your energy centers in your body.”

 You can find Stephanie Weber at:

Website Instagram

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH STEPHANIE WEBER YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Cornelia Gilbert on Boundaries and Integrity

Through the Lens of Yoga and Mindfulness with Elizabeth Savage

Conversation with End-of-Life Doula, Hannah Fowler

“Breathe darling, this is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” – S.C. Laurie

Guest Introduction: 

Hello friend, Welcome to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

I’m your host Cindy MacMillan, Essential Emotions Coach and self-care advocate for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey who are ready to lead healthier and happier lives and improve their emotional well-being.

Exploring the Seasons of Life is a metaphor for understanding the complexities of being alive. It's a gentle reminder that our journey is filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and moments of both growth and stagnation. It's within these seasons that we learn, we evolve, and we become the most authentic and vibrant versions of ourselves.

In today's episode, we have the amazing Lisa Dunlap joining us, so, let's dive in and make the most of our time together.

Lisa Dunlap AGPCNP, is a holistic nurse practitioner, public speaker, healer and coach. She helps high achieving moms and nurses restore and revive, reignite their passions, and build profitable online holistic coaching businesses so they can leave the bedside.   

Lisa nearly died in order to wake up and heal from burnout and start living a life she loved. Now the women she coaches, don't have to wait for rock-bottom to heal.  While working on the frontlines of the pandemic as a Hospice NP and juggling two small children at home she saw the critical need for women in healthcare to prioritize their mental health. She founded Nurse Your Soul, after she transformed her own rock-bottom burnout, debilitating pain, and potentially life threatening diagnosis into spontaneous healing and living her dream life. She quit her 14- year career as a nurse, and started Nurse Your Soul to empower nurses with practical tools to get unstuck. As a certified herbalist, clinical aromatherapist, reflexologist, energy healer, and trained in mindfulness and self-compassion her coaching targets the mind-body and spirit.   

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Lisa, welcome to the podcast. It's wonderful to connect with like-minded women who share a passion for exploring the mind, body, and spirit connection. I believe that nurturing all three aspects is essential for overall well-being and personal growth.

2:25 I've been a nurse practitioner for, gosh, nine years now and a nurse five years before that. I have two little ones, they're now five and eight. And if we rewind, a lot of peoples, stories these days start at the beginning of the pandemic, and that's where mine starts. It was not the beginning of burnout for me. I was in Seattle where the pandemic unfolded and the nursing home where COVID first began was in my territory.

3:32 I feel like an onion, you know, I had these layers of burnout that we're building up that I didn't even know, you know, it's like, we as moms, as women, as high achievers, we're going through the motions and kind of putting the signs under the rug like no, no, I'm good. I'm gonna keep pushing, I'm gonna keep doing and, you know, on a real authentic, vulnerable level, I was sort of not admitting to myself, that I wasn't happy that I wasn't feeling healthy.

5:45 We get this call, we're driving up to the mountains, I had started to use a lot of my holistic tools. I'm certified in aromatherapy, energy work, mindfulness, and I had already started to use them and started to work on healing myself. And so, my family took a ski trip, sort of before Seattle, went lights out, everyone stays at home, don't leave your house for two weeks. And I was well enough to go.

6:39 We found a solid grapefruit size, mass in your ovary, now an ovary is like, like a walnut size really. And I thought what, and I just sunk into my seat, you know, and I could see everything up until age 40 flash before my eyes and the next 40 years and as a hospice nurse practitioner, the first thought was ovarian cancer.

9:37 The unraveling was stripping away identities I had formerly found self-worth in and so here I was, and the nurse practitioner was getting stripped away. I couldn't go to work. I was in a lot of pain. The runner, the athlete, the snowboarder, the mother who could care for her children and so here you are. Left sort of what I felt was a shell of myself, right? I'm lying on the couch most of these months in pain and couldn't be a hero on the front lines. I wasn't working at that moment.

17:27 And we just sat, and this was a very important conversation. And we said to each other, what is it we want? This question is transformational for you, for me, for anyone out there listening to this, ask yourself this question. And not what is it I think I should do? What is it I can do within the limits that are not what my parents want? It was, what is it we want if money wasn't an issue, location, and we just crafted, we said we want to surf more.

22:33 I think it's really hard to answer it in a few words, but what I'll say is, for me, it's that at that time, I got really clear on my values. That word can sound cliché, but when I say values, what I mean is, what do I love? What makes me tick? What makes me get up in the morning? What do I love today, you know, the vision of the nurse practitioner with the full practice, I always wanted that. Once I got there, it didn't feel right. It didn't align with my motherhood values with my mind, body spirit values, right?

You can find Lisa Dunlap at:

Instagram Website

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH LISA DUNLAP YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Helping Women Heal from Their Divorce with Karin Nelson

Tess Zigo on Financial Self-Care

Niki Svara on Self-Forgiveness

Your Clutter is a Teacher with Star Hansen

Beautiful friends, that's a wrap for today's episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life! I hope you enjoyed our discussion on self-compassion and giving yourself permission + found it informative and engaging. I’m always thrilled to bring you meaningful conversations with incredible guests.

If you loved what you heard today, I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to leave me a review on your preferred podcast platform.

Whether you listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other platform, leaving a review only takes a minute, but it means the world to me. Your reviews not only motivate me but also helps others discover the show and join our vibrant community.

A quick announcement, I am taking a short break recording the podcast to recharge and revitalize my creative spirit. You have heard me say many times, taking care of our emotional wellbeing is essential, as it radiates positivity into every corner of our lives. So, just like savoring an ice cream on a hot day, I'm indulging in this hiatus to nourish my creativity and bring forth a fresh wave of inspiration.

“Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jaime Lyn

Guest Introduction:  

Welcome back, lovely friends! You're listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I'm your host, Cindy MacMillan, and I'm delighted to have you here today.

Exploring the Seasons of Life is a metaphor for understanding the complexities of being alive. It's a gentle reminder that our journey is filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and moments of both growth and stagnation. It's within these seasons that we learn, we evolve, and we become the best versions of ourselves.

Each week, I have the privilege of connecting with incredible women who are dedicated to exploring the many facets of life. Our conversations are centered around self-love, well-being, and mindset, as we seek to understand how these elements shape our experiences and perspectives.

It's an absolute joy to have Cindy Kippley join us on the podcast today.

Cindy Kippley is not your average individual. She's a Business Professional, dog mom, yogi, marathon runner, outdoor enthusiast, mountain trekker, biker, weekend warrior, explorer, and world traveler. She embraces the world as her playground. From boardrooms to mountain peaks, she immerses herself in diverse cultures, forging connections, and leaving her mark on every path she treads. Her adventurous spirit knows no bounds, making her a true citizen of the world.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome to the show Cindy.

4:03 My first thought was, I did it. And then I also said, you know what, I am a badass. I don't like to swear. But I'm a badass. I can be a successful businesswoman during the day, during the week, but on my weekends and on vacation, I'm adventurous and I like to kind of push my body and my mind past that comfort zone to accomplish a goal or mission and that's what I felt.

5:12 I mean, overall, I just think age is only a number. I don't feel 56, well, maybe after doing that hike, I probably felt 86. At the end of that hike, I was very exhausted.

7:17 My trip started when I fainted on the airplane. Now, you may think it's funny, but it does happen occasionally. And so that started out my trip on my 14-hour flight. But I got through it. I was a little weak the first two days of my trip, but I recovered. I just had to hydrate a lot and kind of eat carefully.

9:05 So in our tea house, which is a hotel, the only place there's heat is in the dining room, and they only heat up the stove in the evening time for dinner. So that's where you would go to get warm, read a book, eat your dinner, etc. Well, instead of putting sticks or something out, they were putting yak dung in the stove, and that's what was burned to keep the dining hall warm. It was an amazing use of resources.

11:04 So for a week, I ate alot of like soup for dinner, like onion soup, garlic soup, potato soup. And then for like breakfast, I'd have a boiled egg, or maybe fried potatoes with the fried egg on it. So, it was kind of basic, very basic meals, nothing fancy.

13:00 Well, number one, for women that are working, we're very busy and it's very hard to coordinate schedules with a friend. It's also not always easy to find someone with the same interests as you to go to the same places. And at the same time that you're available.

18:36 Well, as a leader, you have to have perseverance, courage, and confidence. And the perseverance I used like, you know, maybe after so many days, you're getting burned out, or maybe you don't feel well and you're just like, oh, I can just turn around now and go back. I don't need to go to the top like, I'm good here. But it's like, no, you kind of have to check yourself and go, no, you signed up for this trip, you have a goal to reach and you're going to do it.

23:38 For me, I think it means living in the present. Not dwelling in the past, you know, I have done some self-discovery on that topic, and having gratitude for the gifts that God has given me, accepting what I have, embracing my age, making the most of what physical abilities I have right now. And how can I go explore if I have vacation time? How can I explore and use those physical abilities? I don't want to put off doing an activity and say, oh, I'll do that, when I retire. Well, maybe I won't have the physical capacity when I retire. So, I'm trying to take advantage of that.

25:18 I'm going to say, I know you thought that you'd be married at age 26 with 2.5 kids and a dog, but that's not how life worked out for you. But it's okay. You're going to be divorced and childless. But you're going to have eight awesome nieces and nephews, and two dogs, that you're a dog mom to and you're going to be climbing mountains in your 50s, you're going to be happy with your life and living your best life.

26:25 Actually, just two days ago, I signed up to hike the Camino de Santiago which is in Spain and that'll be spring of next year.

It's time to wrap up this episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I hope you've found inspiration and guidance in our conversation. Remember to visit CynthiaMacMillan.com for all the links and resources mentioned today. Until we meet again next time, I encourage you to keep embracing the ever-changing seasons of your life. Learn from the past, embrace the present, and look forward to the future. And always remember to prioritize self-care and self-love. You are truly worthy of all the wonderful things that life has to offer.

You can find Cindy Kippley at:

LinkedIn

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH CINDY KIPPLEY YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Rock Climbing is a Metaphor for Life with Anyssa Lucena

Helping Women Heal from Their Divorce with Karin Nelson

Tess Zigo on Financial Self-Care

Niki Svara on Self-Forgiveness

"Isn’t it marvelous to discover that you are the one that you’ve been waiting for? That you are your own freedom" ~ Byron Katie

Guest Introduction: 

I wanted to address a small technical issue with today's recording. Unfortunately, there was some fuzziness in the audio quality. However, I didn't want to let that deter us from sharing the incredible information that Dr. Eliza provided on the topic of burnout. Her insights and expertise were invaluable, and I didn't want to scrap such valuable content. So please bear with us regarding the audio quality, and I'm confident that you'll still find tremendous value in what Dr. Eliza had to say.

Today we are chatting about the stages or “seasons” of the burnout process, and how to work within them to recover.

You’re listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. With your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Dr. Eliza Collins.

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

I’m so grateful that you tuned in today; it means a lot to me. If you love this conversation and you want to continue it or want to share your thoughts, your takeaways, or just any aha’s that come up…come on over to Instagram. That is where I spend most of my time when it comes to social media. I'm @cindy.macmillan on Instagram. Make sure you're following me. Say hello. I'd love to hear from you.

It is my great pleasure to introduce Dr. Eliza Collins.

Eliza Collins is a burnout expert, a Doctor of Acupuncture & Eastern medicine, and Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner. She works with clients to recover from and prevent burnout by simultaneously addressing mindset and underlying physical health issues, bringing them a sense of ease, agency, and wellness.

Welcome to the show, Dr. Eliza.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

2:33 Burnout is kind of one of those insidious things, because we don't really see it coming. It's something that builds over time. So, the best sort of working definition that we have of burnout right now is that it is a state of sustained chronic stress that over time degrades your ability to handle day to day stress with ease. So, it's not necessarily this like aha moment of like, bang, all of a sudden, I have burnout. It's this real slow erosion of your ability to continue to handle stress. And that can come from a variety of places.

7:30 That started me on the road to burnout recovery, that I'm still on and much farther along. But you know, like most types of recovery, it's something that you have to be mindful of always going forward. And in the process of doing that and collecting these tools and getting other certifications and trainings for things like functional medicine, and hypnosis, gave me this really interesting constellation of tools to help other individuals address the same issues that I did without having to take the time, you know, to kind of trudge through it and find it themselves.

11:57 That's such an interesting question. And this is an answer that I give a lot because it's something that I don't think it's straightforward. The answer is I don't know. I would say yes. And probably, because a lot of it has to do with our coping mechanisms. So how well did we cope? What's our attachment style? Are we an anxious attachment? Are we avoidant attachment. So it's not necessarily like a type A personality, specifically of like the go getter, the perfectionist like those definitely, those attributes can play into burnout. But if somebody is a go getter, but they also understand how to rest and how to recover, and how to take care of themselves, they're not going to burn out as easily.

13:50 I always really like being able to make this distinction for people. So when my coach was burned out, she did not have depression, she just had burnout. She was happy in her relationships; she was genuinely happy with her life outside of work. But work was the primary focus of where she was getting drained and exhausted and resentful because she didn't have the boundaries necessary to do the work that she wanted in a way that filled her up versus drained her, but she wasn't depressed. I have a history of depression. And so when I was burnt out, I was also depressed.

16:25 Typically, for a lot of people, the first season with burnout is not knowing that you're burnt out. Because we are so I think cultured particularly in American culture in Western culture to be the go getter to be the pull yourself up by the bootstraps to, you know, be the self-made man, woman, person that is so ingrained in our culture, that it can be very difficult to recognize that you're burnt out, I certainly didn't.

26:39 Like many things in life, symptoms vary, depending on the person. So, it can be fatigue, resentment. Brain fog is a big one that I see with people. Because I work in a medical field with acupuncture and functional medicine, I also see people with like gut issues.

34:38 I have a lot of tools. Up to now, I would probably say the values exercise, because it tends to shock people where their values lie. Because oftentimes we try and function in a way that we think is beneficial for society, or for our household, or whatever the case may be. So, if somebody has a loving husband and three kids, and they really care about their family, and they do the values exercise, and they find out that family is not one of the values, that can be shocking to them.

40:25 I didn't have that three years ago, when I was burnt out. So that recovery process has been critical for me to actually show up in the world to be able to talk about this. And I think that my future self will really appreciate that. Because I want to make a big impact on the world.

It's time to wrap up this episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I hope you've found inspiration and guidance in our conversation. Remember to visit CynthiaMacMillan.com for all the links and resources mentioned today. Until we meet again next time, I encourage you to keep embracing the ever-changing seasons of your life. Learn from the past, embrace the present, and look forward to the future. And always remember to prioritize self-care and self-love. You are truly worthy of all the wonderful things that life has to offer.

You can find Dr. Eliza Collins at:

 Website Instagram Core Values

Resource mentioned: The Bouncebackability Factor: End Burnout, Gain Resilience, and Change the World

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH DR. ELIZA COLLINS YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

5 Tangible Steps Someone Can Take to Finally Befriend Their Grief with Helen Fernald

Making Friends with our Emotions with Ashley Valliere

Helping Women Heal from Their Divorce with Karin Nelson

Emotional Self-Care with Jamie Martin

“The attempt to escape from pain, is what creates more pain.” ~ Gabor Maté

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I am thrilled you’re here.

Exploring the Seasons of Life is a metaphor for understanding the complexities of being alive. It is a reminder that life is filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and moments of both growth and stagnation. Life is a journey, and each season brings its own unique lessons and experiences. As we move through the different “seasons” of life, we learn, we grow, and we become better versions of ourselves.

Each week I interview spiritual explorers, amazing coaches, and authors from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

Prepare yourself for another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life Podcast with my guest Martine Bachelart. Martine and I first met over a decade ago and our conversation today is a heartfelt journey.

Martine Bachelart is a trained architect, painter, and sculptor. She moved to the United States in 1996 with her husband Eric, a racecar driver, and their two beloved children, Eliott and Emilie.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

2:51 When I met my husband and we created our family and we had Eliott and Emilie, I felt extremely happy for tons of reasons. We came to the US, my husband created his team, I created a company where I organized parties for children, which I loved. With my background as an architect, I began to rehabilitate an old chicken farm, it was exhilarating because we were manifesting our dreams and passion. And I really believed at that point that happiness was granted. It was just normal; it was part of life. And of course, when Eliott my son began to suffer from addiction, everything changed because suddenly I discovered what fears were, I discovered shame, guilt. I was so sad. I realized that nothing was granted, not even life.

7:22 I wrote this book after my son passed away; I began to write this book one year after. And what happened is that when my son passed away, I was filled with immense love. Something that is almost impossible to describe.

11:30 Eliott, we will meet you where you are. We love you. And we love you always.

13:38 The answer that I found was, my grief didn't begin when Elliot passed away. My grief began 10 years before when addiction began. And this is such important information for the people who are facing and the mothers who are facing this incredible illness which is addiction. It's such a terrible illness. You live in fear, you know, it's it's excruciating. It's so painful.

21:48 Eliott was a beautiful young man in and out. Anyone that will talk about him will remember his smile, will remember his kindness.

27:22 It means that being conscious of our body, our mental process, our emotions, our habits, allow us to change, to evolve, to see out of the box, to have another perception, a bigger angle, and completely change our story and the grief, then what can I say, we change our life, by changing what we see how we see how we function, how we operate, by expanding what we allow us to see.

43:31 I want to say three things that I learned. The first thing is that when you have addiction and dependency, you usually have codependency. I was codependent, I became codependent, I showed that I could fix by controlling.

45:23 The second thing is that we not only forget ourselves. But sometimes we forget the siblings. My daughter has been so courageous. She was also, you know, powerless in the face of her brother's addiction, she tried so much to help him.

46:32 The third and final thing I want to say is that behind the behavior of the addiction, the lying the stealing, the ugly things, there is love. And I mentioned that before, love your child. Love him, don't only look at his behavior, and the addictive behavior, love him from soul to soul, because you know what you suffer, but he's probably the one who suffers the most.

You can find Martine Bachelart at:

 Website Contact Martine

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH MARTINE BACHELART YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Conversation with End-of-Life Doula, Sue Phillips

Lean Into the Seasons with Barbara Friesen

Grief Comes in Many Forms with Bobbie Rae Boyer

Grief and Secondary Losses with Nesreen Ahmed

“The healer you have been looking for is your own courage to know and love yourself completely.” — Yung Pueblo

Guest Introduction: 

Hello and welcome back my friends to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey.

I’m your host, Cindy MacMillan, and today, I have a special treat for you as I'm joined by two amazing Essential Emotions Coaches, Dawn Behm and Nicole Williams, who are equally passionate about helping others achieve emotional wellbeing. This episode is particularly special to us as we get to indulge in our passion and share it with you.

Exploring the Seasons of Life is a beautiful metaphor for understanding the complexities of being alive. It's a reminder that life's got it all - the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and moments of both growth and stagnation. It's like we're all on this big adventure, and each season brings its own lessons and experiences.

So, get cozy and prepare to be uplifted, because it’s a good one. Remember, taking notes can help you retain information and reflect on it later. So, grab your favorite notebook and pen and let's get started!

Dawn and Nicole, thank you for being on the podcast.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

3:36: Cindy MacMillan: Before we dive into our discussion, I want to emphasize that we are not medical professionals, but rather Essential Emotions Coaches who are passionate about sharing our knowledge and experiences. 

3:51: Cindy MacMillan: Dawn and Nicole, I will kick it off by saying, It's important to recognize that our emotional health plays a vital role in how we experience life. When we prioritize our emotional wellbeing, it has a positive ripple effect on all aspects of our life. Our intention is to share with our listeners some valuable insights into the relationship between essential oils and emotions that can help them on their journey towards health and happiness. Essential oils are an incredibly effective emotional regulation tool.

5:54: Dawn Behm: When I was in my 30s, I was going to yoga and people, all my life had told me, you know, your body is so fragile, you have such a fragile body, what a shame. And my yoga teacher was like, you're actually really resilient, your body is badass, because, you know, it's been through so much, and it keeps overcoming. And one of the health problems I had was that I bruised really badly.

6:57: Dawn Behm: Our cells have these little receptor sites on them; every single cell does. We learn this through Dr. Candace Pert’s work in the Molecules of Emotion, she was a researcher in the field of neuro chemistry in our brains, and how all of our emotions work.

8:37: Nicole Williams: Just as Dawn so beautifully explained, we experience our emotions in our body. I think many people like to believe that it's just all in your head. And maybe you heard that even that phrase, right growing up. But in actuality, what's happening is we're forming a thought based on what we're experiencing. And that thought is generating this feeling in our body, which is evoking usually an emotion sometimes it will evoke a sensation in our body. I would encourage anyone to first spend some time being an observer of yourself.

10:32: Nicole Williams: There are numerous moments throughout the day that are that can be really challenging between balancing your personal life and your home life, when we begin to draw more awareness on the thought we're having, how it's showing up in our body, it then gives us the ability to interrupt that pattern so that we can really support ourselves in a different way.

42:11: Nicole Williams: I love that question simply because I've not heard it posed that way. I've always heard the opposite, right? What would you tell your 18-year-old self? So, what would I thank my 18-year-old self for? Probably the spirit and embodiment of like exploration and curiosity. So, at 18, it felt like anything is possible, literally anything is possible, I can do anything. This idea of the world is your oyster, so to speak.

43:09: Dawn Behm: Gosh, I really liked this question. And I love reflecting back on that 18-year-old. I think I I'm very thankful for her stubbornness, because she had a lot of health issues. And she just stubborned through a lot of it. But even more, as I reflected, I am so thankful that she listened to her intuition and her heart and her gut when she met her husband at 18. And he didn't fit the boxes of what she was told was the right kind of guy for her. But her heart knew. And he's been the best thing that ever happened to me and my life partner. We've been together 35 years now. And I'm really grateful that she didn't listen to conventional wisdom. But she listened to her heart and her body.

You can find Dawn Behm at:

 Website FaceBook

You can find Nicole Williams at:

Instagram

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH DAWN BEHM and NICOLE WILLIAMS YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Essential Oils with Brianna Wilkerson

Dr. Laura Ricci on Integrating Essential Oils Into our Daily Lives

Mindy Schrager on the Shadow Side of Color

Niki Svara on Self-Forgiveness

“Where there is love, miracles occur naturally. Miracles are your inheritance in any given moment. A miracle is available to you when your heart is open. A Course in Miracles says you have a grievance or you can have a miracle – you cannot have both.” ~ Marianne Williamson

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome to another episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Helen Fernald.

Each week I interview spiritual explorers, amazing coaches, and authors from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in between because I believe every season is a beautiful opportunity for transformation.

In this episode of the podcast, we are chatting with Helen Fernald about 5 tangible steps someone can take to finally befriend their grief and her book LOVE, HELEN--Letters to My Mother: Creating a Loving Connection After Loss.

I am delighted to introduce my guest.

Helen Fernald is a grief recovery expert and author of the forthcoming book LOVE, HELEN--Letters to My Mother: Creating a Loving Connection After Loss. She specializes in teaching therapeutic letter writing.

All right, Helen, thank you very much for being with us.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

3:21  But then when I really started to think about was how my book is actually about exploring the seasons of life. And I think unlike a linear timeline, my book is about exploring the seasons of the heart. So, it's how all those emotions, the joy, the sadness, everything gets all mixed together. And I think that's the beauty of life. And that's the beauty of the seasons of life.

7:13 I've reflected on this question a lot over my life, because I've had so many sudden losses in my life of the people that I really loved and I come from a family where we didn't deal with grief, we didn't deal with emotions. And I don't think I'm the only family from the only family that did that.

7:55 The first thing that I would recommend to people is that you just acknowledge your grief. I think that's the first step, acknowledging it. And then also giving yourself permission to feel it to actually grieve. I know that that can be so hard because I realized, after a number of years of not dealing with the grief around my mother, there was a part of me that was so afraid, I would never be able to stop crying that I didn't want to start cry.

8:37  The second step is absolutely to find someone to talk with. I personally would suggest a therapist, someone who really specializes in this, it could be a therapist, a doctor, a coach, there are grief groups I know. And even in our small town, we have a grief group. It could be a pastor, I first turned to my pastor, and then he connected with me with a therapist, and it was just so extraordinarily helpful.

9:24 Step number three is to find some sort of practice, some sort of practice where we can just learn to take a breath and be still. I think that we can't really turn into our grief until we can slow down enough to acknowledge it and to be able to talk about it.

14:38 The first thing I think for writing letters, is that it needs to be something that you want to do. It shouldn't be something that you feel oh my god, I have to sit down and write a letter, I have to do all this other stuff and I’ve got to have a letter, it should be something that you want to do.

16:57 This was the first letter that I wrote to my mother, my mother just to give you a little timeframe my mother died in July of 1992. And I did not start writing letters until 2008. So, this was my first letter and I entitled it Letters Through the Veil because I feel like for me from a spiritual sense our loved ones are always around us, but we just simply can't see them.

23:12 I also just wanted to mention that I never knew when, when this book would end, I had no idea I just kept writing and writing and the letters all sort of ended the same way. They all ended in with perhaps the exception of this one. They all were about Mom, please stay by my side, I still need you.

31:27 I think that it's when we actually stop and explore the seasons of our life. I think that there are miraculous things that can happen. Amazing things. And, and it's okay to be vulnerable. It's okay to be honest. We are who we are. And we are all gifts to the world. We are all lights to the world. And I think that those are, I know that's a little more than what you asked. But that's what that's that would be for me the biggest takeaway.

You can find Helen Fernald at:

 Website Instagram

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH HELEN FERNALD YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Conversation with End-of-Life Doula, Sue Phillips

Lean Into the Seasons with Barbara Friesen

Grief Comes in Many Forms with Bobbie Rae Boyer

Grief and Secondary Losses with Nesreen Ahmed

That brings us to the end of this episode! Thank you Helen for joining us and as always, thanks for listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

If you love this conversation and you want to continue it or want to share your thoughts, your takeaways, or just any aha’s that come up…come on over to Instagram. That is where I spend most of my time when it comes to social media.

I'm

"I dwell in Possibility." ~ Emily Dickinson

Guest Introduction: 

Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I am thrilled you’re here.

Exploring the Seasons of Life is a metaphor for understanding the complexities of being alive. It is a reminder that life is filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and moments of both growth and stagnation. Life is a journey, and each season brings its own unique lessons and experiences. As we move through the different “seasons” of life, we learn, we grow, and we become better versions of ourselves. It’s a more beautiful way of being alive.

Each week I interview spiritual explorers, amazing coaches, and authors from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

Get ready… it’s time to hear some words of wisdom… from today’s guest, Miriam Wexler.

Miriam is a Certified Mindset and Life Purpose Coach currently based out of Florence, Italy. Miriam helps clients live their best life, by filling the gap between where they are now, and where they want to be. By identifying where growth is desired, setting goals and objectives, and holding accountability, clients will reach their highest goals and dreams.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Miriam, welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

5:25 How am I living my life? Is this how I want to live my life? Like, am I happy? Am I not happy? Like actually starting to ask those questions happened in my early 30s. I went on a backpacking trip in Asia for a year. And that's when you know, the deep contemplation about what the hell am I doing with my life started.

10:58 That's why, I became both a mindset and life purpose coach, because our purpose isn't, there's no one thing that we're stuck doing for the rest of our life, our purpose can change. This is where I think a lot of people make the mistake thinking, oh, I've never found my purpose. Well, you can have multiple purposes. And people think that purpose has to do with your career, it doesn't.

11:41 This is another exercise I do with all my clients…I create two lists. And this is the easiest and most fun way to figure out what your purpose is. I did a list of everything that I have ever been interested in, it could be the most ridiculous to the most profound, right. And it's things like travel and food and friendship and laughter, and comedy shows and movies, like anything and everything, and I call it a living list.

12:18 And then I do a second list with everything that I'm good at, have skill and experience in a talent in etc. And then I start cross referencing, and one of my biggest passions is travel. Obviously, I live in Italy. And one of the things that I'm really, really good at is event planning, right? So I'm like, Okay, how can I take travel and event planning and combine them to create the next chapter of my life, I'm like, oh my god, I can do wellness retreats, I can bring communities of women together.

24:11 It's how to manage the fear, how to respond to the fear, and how to get through life in spite of being afraid. That's the first mindset concept that I that I work with my clients. And then of course, creating a new system of beliefs and assumptions and ideas that will help us move forward.

29:15 For me my purpose is to help people recognize themselves, step into themselves, like build themselves up as human beings and live lives that just satisfy and excite them. But my passion is travel. My passion is food. I'm actually creating a couple of projects together that revolve around food and travel and community because that's what I'm passionate about. Am I passionate about life coaching, Yes, of course, I'm passionate about it. But it's not the end all and be all for me. It's my purpose. It's not my passion. My passion is something else altogether.

 You can find Miriam Wexler at:

Instagram Website Live Out Loud Retreats

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH MIRIAM WEXLER YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

The Quaranteen Project with Tanya Rex

Helping Women Heal from Their Divorce with Karin Nelson

Emotional Self-Care with Jamie Martin

"As a woman who’s highly gifted and co-creating your masterpiece in the world, it’s your birthright to give yourself what you need, energetically, emotionally and spiritually as much as possible." ~ Lynne Taggart

Guest Introduction: 

Hey, my friends, I’m Cindy MacMillan and I am so glad you’re here. Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

Exploring the Seasons of Life is a metaphor for understanding the complexities of being alive. It is a reminder that life is filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and moments of both growth and stagnation. Life is a journey, and each season brings its own unique lessons and experiences. As we move through the different “seasons” of life, we learn, we grow, and we become better versions of ourselves. Life is a beautiful and precious gift, and it is up to us to make the most of it.

Each week I interview spiritual explorers, amazing coaches, and authors from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

I am thrilled to introduce my guest and dive into some really important topics today.

Ashley Valliere is a Body Educator, her background is in personal/group fitness training, massage therapy and currently she's in school to become a Somatic Body Therapist. Her goal is to inspire and embolden people to advocate for themselves by understanding their bodies in new ways.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Ashley, welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

3:57 I ended up finding it in a modality called Bodynamic and it is developmental psychology that is based in somatics. Traditional psychology is talk therapy, with Bodynamic, it's a little bit of talk, like obviously we have to talk but the idea is it's really body driven.

5:38 There's a lot of emotional, like resonance that comes up in stretching, because all of a sudden, you're elongating a muscle that's maybe been rigid for decades, right? And like, physically rigid, yes, but also like energetically rigid, and then when you open it up, and you're in a different place than when that disruption happened, you're in a safer place. Now, all of a sudden, those emotions have a place to be processed.

6:28 So the way that I've learned it is that there are seven universal emotions. We have fear, sadness, shame, anger, joy, connection, and disgust and each one of those has like subsidiaries, right. So, like, you can filter it down, kind of like the feeling wheel, right? They can all get boiled down to different kinds of sensations.

10:30 So yes, like I think self-reflection, journaling, meditation, contemplation, whatever it is to you, that you reflect upon yourself is huge. Like, that is absolutely how you can get so many answers, right, like, that's how you can really start connecting your own dots. And though a lot of times, we're too close to our own situation. So it's like you need that outside help.

12:49 Each muscle has the capacity for any of it. Like for any emotion, really. So, there isn’t a specific muscle. It's not like my shoulders, is my happy muscle, right? Like, it's, it's not quite like that. I could give an example of, I like to think of our arms, and especially like the biceps, like those, those are our huggy muscles. Like that is like you bring somebody in and you're just you're holding them tight, you're squeezing them in, you're getting really good connection, like that is I think that's a joyful experience, right? 

24:25 Just talk to your body. I think we overcomplicate it, but it literally is just pausing like, hey body, and ask it a question. It can be that simple. Keeping in mind that you might not get an answer that second, right? So, it's like, hey, body, why did we react like that at the grocery store, like that was weird. You might not get the answer right then but maybe later when you're just doing something a little bit mundane.

 You can find Ashley Valliere at:

Instagram Website

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH ASHLEY VALLIERE YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Niki Svara on Self-Forgiveness

Conversation with End-of-Life Doula, Hannah Fowler

Through the Lens of Yoga and Mindfulness with Elizabeth Savage

Helping Women Heal from Their Divorce with Karin Nelson

 As always, thanks for listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

 Sometimes it can be hard to find the perfect Mother's Day gift. I have an idea for you...the dōTERRA Touch Blooming Trio. 

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Let me touch on a couple of the emotional aspects of these beautiful oils.

• Gardenia encourages you to love and share that love freely.

• Jasmine nutures healthy sexuality and asks individuals to honor and respect themselves and others.

• Neroli is a stabilizing oil and is helpful for calming troubled hearts. It encourages active acceptance and supportive space for the chosen partner. 

The dōTERRA Touch Blooming Trio will only be available while supplies last and is part of our April promotions. 

Which oil will become her new favorite?

“Love is a choice you make everyday.” ~ Gary Chapman

Guest Introduction:

Hey, my friends, I’m Cindy MacMillan and I am so glad you’re here. Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast.

Exploring the Seasons of Life is a metaphor for understanding the complexities of being alive. It is a reminder that life is filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and moments of both growth and stagnation. Life is a journey, and each season brings its own unique lessons and experiences. As we move through the different “seasons” of life, we learn, we grow, and we become better versions of ourselves. Life is a beautiful and precious gift, and it is up to us to make the most of it.

Each week I interview spiritual explorers, amazing coaches, and authors from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

I am thrilled to introduce my guest.

J. Parker is a Christian sex author, speaker, blogger, and podcaster. Her ministry, Hot, Holy & Humorous, focuses on helping others understand God's design for sexual intimacy in marriage. 

J has a personal story of redemption in the area of sexuality, holds a master’s degree in counseling, and lives in Texas with her fabulous but oh-so logical husband, fondly nicknamed "Spock."

 Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

J. Parker, welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. 

2:51 Professionally, because I'm talking a lot of times to wives and or couples, about sexual intimacy and marriage, there are seasons for that in your marriage. So, this idea that you get married, and then you're just gonna have a sex life, and that's the sex life you have for your whole marriage. It's just not true. And the more that we understand that there are ups and downs and sweet spots and challenges and all of that, then the better we're able to weather that and create something really beautiful.

10:01 I would say the hot part to me represents that this is supposed to be something that is pleasurable, that is mutually desired, mutually satisfying. It's supposed to feel good. Sex is supposed to feel good, and supposed to be something you enjoy doing.

13:35 One is, we don't necessarily always have the language for it. Some people grew up with, this isn't talked about at all. And so they don't really know how to talk about it. Other people grew up with a situation of it always being talked about in crass language. And so they know they're not supposed to do that with their spouse, but they don't know what else to do.

16:03 I think that we have to understand that sexual intimacy is not just the sex itself. And I'll say that this is something I was hearing recently, another author on sex, Dr. Juli Slattery  talk about who's excellent. How even talking about sex and getting comfortable talking about sex is something that builds sexual intimacy and makes the experience of being physical together later better. 

21:07 The first thing I would say is you can have a conversation and say, hey, it really makes me feel great when you initiate.

25:04 I would say in almost every marriage, somebody's higher drive than the other. But, I guess statistically, it seems like about 20% of couples are fairly well matched, in another 20% to 25% the wife is the higher desire spouse. And in the rest, the husband is higher drive. I mean, they're not perfect statistics, but it's pretty good. I've looked at a lot of research on this.

32:28 I would say in those situations, it's considered a sexless marriage, if you're having sex 10 or fewer times a year. Because you're really not getting the benefits of sexual intimacy in a marriage. And there are really a whole lot of benefits to your relationship, even to your health. I mean, sex is really good for your marriage.

YOU CAN FIND J. PARKER AT:

 Website Instagram Blog

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. I would love to hear your favorite part of the conversation.   

This may not be for everybody but this might be perfect for some of you. I would like to extend an invitation to join a dōTERRA® 30-Day Cleanse that I will be hosting on April 12, 2023.

Are you open to the idea?

The last 3 years have been hard, not only emotionally, but on our physical health as well. I believe when a group of women come together that have similar needs and desires, magic happens!

 I’m inviting you to join other women in community as we give ourselves permission to feel good and BE ALL IN ON OURSELVES. This is a wellness lifestyle change not a diet.

The Cleanse and Restore Kit is powerful and is filled with the essentials to promote lifelong health. It is a gentle 30-day cleanse designed to help rid your body of toxic overload and to support the overall function of the body’s systems and organs.

Enroll with my special link https://doterra.me/FC1GUn to order the doTERRA Cleanse and Restore Kit by March 31st  2023 so the products will be in before we begin.

“Aim for emotional wholeness. When you’re upset or feeling sick, try to get to the bottom of your feelings. Figure out what’s really eating you. Always tell the truth to yourself. Find appropriate, satisfying ways to express your emotions. And if such a prescription seems too challenging, seek professional help to feel better." ~ Candance Pert, PhD

Guest Introduction:  

Hello and welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I’m your host Cindy MacMillan and I’m joined today by Deyna Phillips. 

Today we are chatting about emotions and anxiety. What are emotions and the possible root causes for anxiety?  

Each week, I interview coaches and spiritual explorers from all walks of life about beginnings, endings and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well. 

It is my great pleasure to introduce Deyna Phillips. 

Deyna is a Master Emotional Wellness Coach specializing in anxiety and emotional flow mastery. She is a Certified Health & Life Coach, Certified Anger Management Specialist, and Domestic Violence Specialist. Deyna works with people throughout the country helping them embrace their anxiety and emotions so they can feel confident and empowered to live life by their own design!

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Deyna, I am thrilled you are here and I am so looking forward to today’s conversation. Thank you so much for being here today.

8:37 Let's define what anxiety is before we get to the causes, right? So, anxiety is an emotion along with a memory that got stored in our part of our brain called the amygdala. And it's stored there. And what it does is that it just really wants to keep us safe. So, it'll continue to run almost like a, like an anti-virus in our memory bank, right.

9:45 What ends up happening is that it will manifest itself again in different types of anxiety. So, there are five usual different types of anxieties, PTSD, OCD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic,  Panic Attacks. And so, what we end up doing is that, depending on the trauma itself, it'll fall into one of those types of anxiety.

 13:25 I want you to just look around you right now and tell me five things that you can see. And then you would look around and you would tell me, I see you know, all the things. Now four things that you can hear. Now, that's going to require you sitting quietly and paying attention to what's going on around you. Three things that you can touch, two things that you can smell, one thing that you can taste, the unconscious mind, which is where the anxiety is, is very sensory based, and it can't handle both jobs at the same time. So what we're doing is we're literally giving the mind a brand new assignment, I'm switching it over from the panic of what was happening here to now this job, which again, the mind is very sensory based. So it's going to be quiet and listen to what's happening around looking for the textures, looking for certain things. And now focus on that.

15:03 When you first asked me this question, I thought this was such a beautiful question. I love exploring the seasons of life because my approach, not just to business, but to life itself is, really being like nature and being like a tree. And I use this example so much with my clients, you know, I learned to start practicing detachment. And detachment really for me is the seasons of life. Because, you know, Nature doesn't get attached to every season that happens.

22:47 For example, one of my core needs is love and love, can be looked at as connection, affection, understanding, empathy, things like that. So, when I say love, my definition of love might be super different than your definition of love.

30:36 Anxiety, emotions are healthy, and you can use them as your superpower. And once you learn how to give yourself permission, you will literally create a completely different life for yourself. A life that is confident and empowered, and the life that you deserve. So please embrace your anxiety and embrace your emotions? Because you are beautiful.

You can find Deyna Phillips at:

Facebook Instagram Website

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH DEYNA PHILLIPS YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Emotional Self-Care with Jamie Martin

Niki Svara on Self-Forgiveness

Cornelia Gilbert on Boundaries and Integrity

Letting Go of Resistance with Michelle Kinnett

Through the Lens of Yoga and Mindfulness with Elizabeth Savage

 I have partnered with dōTERRA Essential Oils. Just one of the many reasons I am so excited; is because it's in total alignment with the podcast and the topics that I am passionate about...topics that encompass the human experience; self-care, stress management, resiliency, grief and our emotional health.

And I love love their uncompromising commitment to purity and being a company with a conscience.

I truly feel this is a beautiful fit with my mission to serve and support women in every season of their life; beginnings, endings + the messy bits in-between.

I'm also doing this for my overall well-being, and want to share my journey with you, as I rediscover the benefits of essential oils.

👉 Contact me to get started on your journey. My e-mail is Cindy@CynthiaMacMillan.com or go here to my doTERRA website.