Redefining Meditation
Not a fan of meditation? We get it. Our minds are constantly racing with thoughts about our to-do lists, our pending errands, and our worries – sometimes it feels impossible to turn it off. Until now…
Meet Certified Life Coach and Founder of The Grounded Canary, Beth Shaha. Beth is a fan favorite on Her Journey Told, and she’s back with host Sandy Lutton to talk about what meditation is, and more importantly, what it isn’t.
Learn how to redefine what “meditating” means to you in this brand new episode, powered by Pivotal Moments Media!
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Looking for some tools to amplify your moments of meditation? Get our MindCareKit – on sale now!
Show Notes:
0:00 Introductions and overview
0:50 Sandy’s wellness journey and initial thoughts on meditation
2:50 Beth’s take on meditation and redefining meditation
4:37 Journaling and letting go of rules
6:20 Meditation and using the five senses
9:00 Meditation is about what you need
11:35 Sandy’s struggle with being productive and how meditation can help
13:57 What’s important and going with the flow with self-care
15:10 PivitolMomentsMedia and where to find Beth Shaha
How to Envision Your Ideal Day
What does your perfect day look like? How does it make you feel? How do you turn your vision into a reality?
We sat down with Life Coach, Beth Shaha, to learn more about “The Ideal Day” Exercise. Practiced by our Her Journey Told Host, Sandy Lutton, we take a deep dive into how we can intentionally become our best selves, turn our dreams into reality, and fill in the gaps with mental fitness.
Follow along with this episode to learn how to do this exercise and put it into practice! Elevate your experience during the “Ideal Day” Exercise by using the tools in our MindCareKit by Pivotal Moments Media. Mental Fitness delivered right to your door!
Understanding The Mind/Body Connection with Beth Shaha & Jen Hampton
Beth Shaha and Jen Hampton return to the Her Journey Told Podcast to talk about the mind-body connection.
In this episode, Beth explains how the body has many more receptors to process information than the mind and the importance of being able to listen to your body. Jen discusses the need for routine in order to be able to pick on the signals the body is sending and to start the healing process from experienced traumas. They share with us their own journey while weaving in key insights to help drive your own mental health journey.
Finding Strength & Courage with Stacy Case
In this episode, Stacy Case shares her heart-wrenching journey from being diagnosed and then later un-diagnosed with MS as a result of a dental procedure. She speaks to the overwhelming fear of being told she only had 5 years to live and finding strength from her faith.
Stacy encourages the audience to never stop being an advocate for yourself and to never give up. The audience will be inspired by Stacy’s overcomer story and her unwavering faith where she found her strength and will to live.
Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StacyCase_
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacycase_/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100058096778519
Show Notes
0:00 Sandy introduces Emmy-Award winning journalist and health advocate, Stacy Case, to the Pivotal Moments Media audience
2:52 Stacy tells us the heartwrenching story of her diagnosis and un-diagnosis with MS as a result of a dental procedure
9:25 The story continues, as Stacy details how her faith and journalistic background compelled her to find out how her sickness was connected to silver dental fillings
16:00 Stacy details how she was guided by her faith to seek out help through chance encounters
19:10 Sandy and and Stacy talk about pushing past the hesitancy to share their most difficult stories; Stacy talks going from being given only 5 years to live, to creating a full documentary on her story
26:10 Stacy answers the question, what would be your advice to someone who’s just been diagnosed with a serious disease?
29:51 What’s next in Stacy’s career?
34:30 Sandy closes the show
Making Mental Fitness an Everyday Practice
In this episode, Sandy discusses with her personal mental wellness gurus, Beth Shaha & Jen Hampton, what mental fitness means to them and how they incorporate it into everyday life.
Beth introduces the concept of “the power of the pause” and using it to make decisions while Jen talks about the importance of listening to what your body is telling you and tapping into your own intuition. Both bring powerful insights and practices that will help us all to make mental fitness part of our daily routine.
Show Notes
00:23 Sandy opens the show by introducing Beth Shaha and Jen Hampton, her “personal gurus”
2:54 Jen’s definition of mental fitness reminds us all to take a chance on ourselves
6:13 Beth defines mental fitness as making the choice to be intentional about being present for each moment
12:10 Jen goes in depth on the truth of intuition and receiving confirmation through your body
18:00 Beth uses the phrase “the power of the pause” to illustrate the power in taking the time to make decisions
23:50 Sandy asks the guests, what are the small things you do everyday for your mental fitness?
28:59 The group discusses embracing “messy” personal things that are good for you no matter how unpopular they may seem to others
31:10 Beth implores the audience to stay in tune with themselves and surrounded by people who feed your soul
33:26 Being intentional about addressing your needs
35:50 Sandy closes the show, previewing a future discussion on the body/mind connection
Mental Health Boundaries at Work
Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown is one such book that maps the emotions and stages of the human experience. It gives us a peek into how we function and how our thoughts create the reality we live in. If living through the pandemic taught us one thing, then it’s that nothing is in our control except ourselves, our thoughts, emotions, and our recognition of it. Living through the pandemic, we had to adapt. Most of us find ourselves in a world where our personal and professional life now is integrated more than ever. Thus making it even more challenging to establish a clear boundary around it. As a result, we sacrifice our professional goals for personal life or vice versa. So, how do we set limits to ensure that we balance our professional and personal relationships? Most importantly, how do we do this to keep a healthy mind space for ourselves?
The professional space is tricky since there is a wage or a salary involved. We primarily do not allow ourselves the well-being of our mind space. Still, contrary to this, Brene suggests that allowing ourselves healthy boundaries can serve as a nurturing environment for us to achieve our goals and serve as an inspiration to those around us who are struggling.
Those who do not appreciate your boundaries often struggle themselves; their lack of appreciation is a clue of their own struggles and for you to help them in their journey. In this article, we will give you 5 tips on how you can establish healthy boundaries in a workplace environment.
Develop a morning routine.
We often feel guilt or shame when setting up boundaries, and most of the time, it comes from a space of self-neglect. To counter this, it is essential to focus on ourselves. A fun way to do this is to develop a morning routine. It can be exercise, skincare, planning your task list, or even making yourself a healthy breakfast. A morning routine subconsciously tunes you to focus on yourself and teaches you the importance of spending time with yourself.
Self-awareness is a good thing.
Pay attention to your instincts! What gives you a sense of security? What causes you to feel uneasy? Setting boundaries is prioritizing your comfort to feel secure and present with others, but you must first acknowledge and honor your feelings. Allowing boundaries to shift and alter as you grow is essential; let this happen while also making space to recognize and sit with your feelings.
Don’t explain personal time off.
We are often taught to be there whenever we are asked for in the corporate world. In the long run, most of us forget the importance of taking time off just because we think our employers wouldn’t understand. We have all lied at work just to secure personal time off so that we don’t upset our employers or loved ones. However, it’s essential to be truthful to ourselves, and when we lie to others, we are essentially lying to ourselves. For example: if you want to spend time at home, there is no need to come up with excuses, no need to explain why and the how; just honoring the desire of spending time with loved ones is enough. You’d be surprised how much you’ll inspire others to do the same.
Start small if creating boundaries makes you feel uncomfortable or frightened.
You have the right to say no without feeling bad, but it takes practice! Begin by establishing a little barrier in a more manageable location, then gradually increase it. If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can offer an option while creating a boundary. If someone asks you for a favor and you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you can suggest a tool or another person who can help.
If you need backup, get support.
Defining and asserting boundaries can get even trickier if you, a loved one or a colleague lives with a mental health condition, mood disorder, or a history of trauma. It’s essential to check in regularly to ensure that everyone is content with meeting their needs and respecting boundaries. Lastly, being part of a community can reduce the sense of loneliness we all feel. We have all asked ourselves the “Why me?” question, and it’s not just us. Most of the people around us are going through a similar version of the same problems we face. So, sharing and listening can help us put our own feelings into perspective. Becoming a part of such a community can do wonders. Visit our Facebook page and follow us to be part of our community and get your dose of inspiring content.
If you’re interested in Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown and would like to check out our book review, watch the full episode on Her Journey Told.
Women Helping Women Series with Tina Fox
Serial Entrepreneur, Tina Fox shares her journey from a successful career in Corporate America to taking a leap of faith into entrepreneurship.
She shares the pivotal moment that solidified her decision to make that change and how she redefined success for herself in the process.
Show Notes
00:00 Sandy opens the show with an introduction to the “Women Helping Women” series featuring Tina Fox
3:13 Tina discusses how a heartfelt moment with her son lead her to leave a very successful corporate sales career to “do something different”
9:50 Sandy relays her own story of transitioning and how her husband helped to push her when she may have felt incapable of making the change
12:57 Sandy and Tina discuss taking a demotion in order to use their mental capacity to support the future you’re trying to create, and the reactions to their decisions
23:04 Tina and Sandy discuss fine-tuning your frequency to what you want to gravitate towards and a better way to look at pursuing your passions
29:49 Tina explains Women on Course and how she partnered with the company through starting her own private business group for women, to eventually become part-owner
35:40 Sandy shares her experience as an accountant at a Women on Course event
39:03 The conversation shifts to the current state of ‘women helping women’
43:23 Tina explains how she was prompted by a friend to mentor and how she pushes more women to mentor as well
50:32 Sandy closes the show on a warm note; Tina tells us how to find her online
A Discussion of Atlas of the Heart with Beth Shaha, Part 5
Sandy and Certified Master Life Coach, Beth Shaha continue the discussion of Atlas of The Heart by Brene Brown. This discussion addresses key points of the final chapters including the need for belonging, showing up and being your true self, and cultivating meaningful connections.
00:00 Sandy opens the show by re-introducing the author, Brene Brown, and her book Atlas of the Heart
1:58 Beth Shaha discusses an instance of positive influence based on the theme of Chapter 9, belonging
7:29 Sandy shifts the discussion to Chapter 10: When Our Hearts Are Open, focusing on family dynamics and integrity in communication
13:38 Quick anecdotes on self-betrayal
18:23 Sandy quotes Brene Brown: “One of the bravest things you could say to someone is, “that hurt my feelings.’”
20:29 Beth discusses the concept of ‘flooding’, a product of being deeply blended with an emotion, and how important it is to disarm yourself when this occurs
25:28 “Ask yourself, do I have enough information to freak out?”
27:27 Sandy opens up a quick discussion on intentionality
29:19 Beth shifts the topic to Chapter 11 – the balance between contentment and satisfaction
33:54 The discussion moves onto Chapter 12: Places We Go When We Feel Wronged and Chapter 13: Places We Go To Self Assess – pride vs. hubris
37:11 Beth and Sandy summarize the final chapters of the book highlighting the fact that emotional intelligence rests within our bodies, not just the mind
41:21 Sandy shares a sweet anecdote about how she connected with a new neighbor
44:48 Sandy and Beth close the series with wise words from Brene Brown’s mother – “Don’t look away, don’t look down, don’t pretend not to see hurt. Look people in the eye, even when the pain is overwhelming; and when you’re hurting and in pain, find the people who can look you in the eye.”
A Conversation with Auti
Award winning singer/songwriter and PMM Artist/Brand Ambassador Auti Gillispie shares with us her journey as an emerging artist and how she uses her music platform to drive awareness around suicide prevention and to promote anti-bullying campaigns.
Auti reveals the story that drove her to become a mental health advocate and the message she wants to share through her music. In this episode, our listeners will be truly inspired by the courage and mission of this incredible young woman.
00:00 Auti explains how she got involved in mental health advocacy
4:09 Auti and Sandy discuss Auti’s personal and artistic influences, and how they contribute to her personal wellness
10:27 Auti tells the story of how her fanbase began with a viral video
14:18 Auti discusses how spending time in nature allows her to separate herself from the music for a mental break
18:26 Auti details how her musicianship has developed throughout the years on piano
22:01 Auti tell us what she wants people to get from her music
23:18 The discussion switches to Auti’s partnership with Pivotal Moments Media, and her future endeavors
27:00 Sandy asks, “what’s one piece of advice that really drives you?”
28:43 Auti thanks the audience
A Discussion of Atlas of the Heart with Beth Shaha, Part 4
Sandy and Certified Master Life Coach, Beth Shaha continue the discussion of Atlas of The Heart by Brene Brown.
This discussion focuses on what you feel when you start to compare yourself to others and how it can impact your mental fitness.
00:00 Introduction to Brene Brown and the book
1:52 Sandy opens with Brene Brown’s list of 87 emotions and experiences
5:20 The discussion centers on Chapter 7: “Places We Go With Others”, noting the key feelings compassion, empathy, pity, and sympathy
7:37 Beth chimes in on what’s missing when we relate to each other emotionally, “being curious about the backstory”
12:44 Sandy and Beth discuss helping others in a healthy manner
16:20 Beth and Sandy discuss the limits of human perspective, leading into a deep discussion on boundaries
27:11 “Places We Go When We Fall Short” – guilt, shame, perfectionism, embarrassment, humiliation to self compassion
28:36 Beth and Sandy discuss their thinking around guilt and shame
36:13 Sandy reads an excerpt from the book, prompting a shift to the topic of perfectionism and how it can be harmful
41:14 Beth and Sandy discusses Chapter 9: “Places We Go When We Search For Connection”
47:22 Beth implores the audience to care about the wellbeing of others
53:40 Beth and Sandy close the show
