The True North Collective Podcast

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Un-sugar-coated convos w/everyday humxns fearlessly finding + living their TRUE NORTH

Episodes

Saturday Jun 20, 2020

IDENTITY: WHO THE F*CK AM I? S3|E23

Saturday Jun 20, 2020

Welcome to THE TRUE NORTH COLLECTIVE℠ PODCAST: SEASON 3! With co-hosts Rachel Bellotti (she/her) and Jenell Riesner (she/her), this is a gathering of un-sugar-coated conversations celebrating the untold stories of everyday people fearlessly finding and living their true north.

In our own search to discover and live from our TRUE NORTH, we continue to meet many interesting, courageous people from all walks of life, doing all sorts of amazing things to live life in their own unique way. Stories from all over the world. Stories with heart. Stories with grit. Stories with plot twists. Stories going untold - until now. This season, we celebrate these untold stories of everyday people who are fearlessly living their true north and inspiring each of us to do the same.

Today, Jenell and Rachel take some time to sit down and discuss identity. We have both gone through a lot of changes, along with the rest of the world as 2020 has unfolded, and we wanted to capture this conversation in real-time. What do you do when your identity starts to change and evolve? When does your past authenticity become your present facade? How do you stay true to yourself as you and the world around you starts to transition into something new? How do you stay anchored in your TRUE NORTH when everything around you looks different? No matter where you might be on this journey, know that you are not alone.

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

**note: recorded on 4/29/2020

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

#amplifymelanatedvoices @andrejworldwide
#amplifymelanatedvoices @iamandco
#amplifymelanatedvoices @loveoffering
#amplifymelanatedvoices @dellahickswilson
The Angry Therapist
THRIVE – a human development company
Nate Postlethwait via IG @nate_postlethwaith
Mark Groves via IG @create the love
Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer
Music from: https://www.jukedeck.com/

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Who am I? It can feel like such an overwhelming and loaded question. Are we layers upon layers of curated facade pseudo selves that we must peel back to find our core? Are we a mashup of contrasts with different levers that automatically turn on or off depending on the environment and perceived need? Are we tapping into some universal vibration depending on what the moment calls for? Whichever it is, it almost doesn’t matter as much as recognizing the potentiality that exists within each of us at any given moment. What if within us, right now and always, we have the infinite potentiality to choose a million+ ways of being and acting. And we just have to slow down enough to not default and instead sincerely connect within and choose what this body, at this moment, in this lifetime truly needs. What if that is who we all are - infinite potential expressing itself through us in physical, linear time, moment by moment? Who's to say?
When we can invite curiosity through a sense of presence-based reflection, we can get more information, self-driven awareness, and clues about ourselves to bring us closer to a place of authenticity in this moment vs going onto our default. What do I need right now? How old is the person talking through me right now? Where in my body am I experiencing sensations? What do they have to tell me? What if I was running towards myself, what would I do right now? What do I really want to experience? What is my responsibility in that?
Having words and language to communicate what is going on for you is key to connecting with yourself and others. Without being able to acknowledge what is going on or have words to describe where you are, what you need, and what is going on, we are at a loss. We can become lost in the unknown - an abyss of unrepresented stuff. We can feel like there is something wrong because we have never known the thing we are going through to exist before. But when we hear another person’s story or words that describe what we are going through all of a sudden we are liberated from our cave of uncertainty and darkness. There are now words to the things we are experiencing and we can do something with them and feel a little (or a lot) less alone.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[8:00] Playing with certainty
[11:30] The layers of who we are
[13:00] Labels + a curated sense of self
[19:00] Solid self vs pseudo self
[22:30] AD: Join THE COLLECTIVE, a monthly gathering of the TNC community to reflect + discuss a certain aspect of authenticity as a virtual group. Sign-up to receive emails to get all the details + to join us on the first Thursday of every month!
[23:00] Who is Jim Carrey?
[27:30] Are you running towards yourself or away from yourself?
[32:30] Nate Postelthwait inner child work
[34:30] Grieving your past
[43:00] Reflection + contrast
[50:00] It never ends + we never get “there”
[53:00] Being yourself in relationship to others
[57:00] Power of language + words
[1:08:00] It’s all f*cking made up
[1:11:00] We are not alone
[1:14:00] How do you live your TRUE NORTH as you are finding your identity?

Friday Jun 12, 2020

LIVE WORKSHOP PT 2: BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH MY BODY S3|E22

Friday Jun 12, 2020

Today, we continue our conversation about our relationship with our bodies with the lovely Judy Dejno (she/her), Partner at THRIVE - a human development company, Mindset coach, and insightfully rad human. If you haven’t listened to PART 1 (episode 21) yet, we highly recommend that you listen to that first, then come back to this conversation. The first part is a co-led workshop to reconnect you to your body’s authentic TRUE NORTH and it is nice to be able to tap into your own insights before hearing what ours are because at the end of the day, your TRUTH, INSIGHTS, and WISDOM is way more important for YOU than our reality. And it’s more fun to see where your truth intersects and diverges from ours when you have taken the time to sit with yourself first. This episode speaks candidly about the relationship that we each have with our bodies through the lens of a small cross-section of ages - someone in their 20s, someone in their 30s, and someone in their 50s. This conversation truly just scratches the surface, and it’s a really great start to a larger dialogue around building a more intimate relationship with our bodies.

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

**note: episode recorded on May 2, 2020

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Music from: https://www.jukedeck.com/

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

We tend to always focus on what we might lose, but what if we asked ourselves what we might gain? There is a pretty substantial energetic difference between these two questions that can be posed around how we look at a situation - and how we view the world, honestly. When we only pay attention to what we will lose, it can elicit all sorts of uncomfortable emotions, which can sometimes create a block or confusion around how to move forward or that there could be something beneficial in taking the step in front of us. If we could take a minute to pose the question, “what do we have to gain from this?”, it forces us to open up new doors and see possibility and disrupt our fear-based programming and start to maybe act. Even if it’s only in small steps. Those count too!
Can you allow your body to change over time in response to your growth and your life without trying to force it to maintain or go back to where it was in the past? In life, sometimes things happen that stop us from ever being able to go back to the way it was before. And what if our bodies were the same? What if we aren’t meant to go back to the way our bodies were when we were 16, 23, 30, 50, 75...? When we are so focused on where we’ve been and trying to stay there (in life + in our bodies) we stop ourselves from being able to experience love and radical acceptance right now in this form today and at each stage of life that we are in. Otherwise we miss it all, always striving for something that is an illusion and not real and not here.
Pay attention to your beauty training wheels - make-up, clothes, fillers, anything that you use to make yourself feel “beautiful” and “acceptable”. Those things in and of themselves aren’t bad at all and there is no right or wrong way to be you! And, it’s an important reminder to notice for yourself when those training wheels might become crutches. Notice when those training wheels become barriers, blocking you from yourself. Notice when those training wheels become the only things that allow you to feel good about yourself. When this happens, we create a gap between us and our genuine self-worth. Where can you practice taking off the training wheels and allow yourself to be truly seen for who you are? And then add on all the extras you want to expand the love that is already there with or without it.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[1:00] Mug obsessions
[7:00] Update on Covid realities
[19:00] What is there to gain from this?
[26:00] Discernment
[27:30] AD: Join us on June 13th @10:30am CST for a live workshop via Zoom called RECONNECTING TO YOUR TRUE NORTH, a 90-min movement + reflection workshop to connect you to your true north. Sign up here!
[30:00] Welcome back, Judy!
[32:00] Becoming aware of externally sourced perceptions + curating your body
[36:00] When self-care becomes self-shame
[40:00] Giving yourself permission to be your age + love yourself here
[43:00] Being mindful about how you talk about your body with others
[46:00] Recognize your beauty training wheels
[52:00] Beauty privilege
[56:00] Being in relationship with self + your body
[1:00:30] Trusting in your body’s intelligence
[1:05:30] How do you live your TRUE NORTH in your body?
[1:07:00] Connect with Judy + THRIVE via thrivehdc.com or email Judy at judy@thrivehdc.com

Thursday May 28, 2020

LIVE WORKSHOP: DISCOVERING MY BODY’S TRUE NORTH S3|E21

Thursday May 28, 2020

Today, we’re bringing back Judy Dejno (she/her), Partner at THRIVE - a human development company, Mindset coach, and insightfully rad human, to co-lead the second live recorded workshop in our 2020 workshop series. This workshop reconnects us to our relationship with our bodies and creates space to discover our body’s TRUE NORTH. If our body was an actual person, what type of friend would it be? Partner, stranger, estranged lover, bestie, bully, enemy? In this workshop, we invite a dialogue with our bodies - to listen and build a different type of connection. Grab a pen, print out the worksheet in the resources section, and find a comfy space where you can sincerely focus on you. We always encourage doing these workshops with friends as it can be really impactful to be witnessed + bear witness to each others’ journey - we always find we learn so much from each other! If you need more time than we have allowed in the recording, simply pause the workshop while you share and reflect. This workshop has been very meaningful for us to create and facilitate and we hope that you are able to get what you need for you and your body. We see you and love each of you exactly as and where you are.

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

There is a beauty to hearing the real-life, present-moment, honest experience of the facilitators of workshops too. Because each person’s unique experience has merit and when we are able to listen to the gamut of potential interpretations, we open ourselves up to realizing just how many ways there are to experience a thing and therefore, there is space for our interpretation to exist, too, with just as much validity. We are all simply humans trying to figure it out, even facilitators. When we deem someone an expert for any reason, we run the risk of outsourcing our experience to them and their truths and their ways instead of empowering ourselves to connect with our own discernment + inner wisdom. And actually staying connected to our truths is way more powerful, and probably the only way to experience long-term sustainable impact.
Having a formal practice allows it to become more second nature in real-time. At first, the practice may feel forced and clunky, however, when we allow ourselves to get more comfortable in the uncomfortableness the more it starts to sink in and stick so that when we are in our daily lives we can call on that skills much more quickly for ourselves without needing all the setup and ritual involved.
We are moving so fast and have so many times in our lives where we are pushed along to the next thing, the next thing, the next thing that we usually don’t give ourselves the time to ask what is important for us as individuals about this thing or that thing? Whenever we can, there is an invitation to self-reflect. To take the experiences we are having and give ourselves time to ask, “What do I want to remember from all this? What has this all meant to me?” To consider how we take all this information from life and make it our own and personalize it so that it can have a lasting impact and not get forgotten in the mix of the millions of moments and distractions within and around us is an important step not to be belittled or overlooked.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[2:15] Welcome back, Judy!
[2:30] Why would I want to have a conversation with my body?
[4:00] Importance of hearing the raw responses of all sorts of people and doing growth work alongside other people
[5:43] AD: Join us on June 4th @6:30-7:20pm CST for our monthly community conversation, THE COLLECTIVE, where we will have an open dialogue around self-sabotage: how do we neglect ourselves?
[6:30] Let’s get started: go ahead + print out the worksheet from the resources section and answer the first few questions at the beginning of the worksheet
[13:00] This might be a vulnerable + uncomfortable conversation + know that whatever you are feeling is totally normal
[16:00] Love + Personal Responsibility
[19:30] Embodied presence + intelligence
[29:00] What do you want your relationship to be with your body?
[30:00] Shine a light on the influences that are here right now within you
[33:00] Taking a meta-view of my beliefs + influences
[42:00] Start, stop, continue
[43:23] HUMAN INTERNAL OPERATING SYSTEM™ (H-IOS™)
[47:00] Make it yours + your unique body mantra
[1:09:30] Connect with Judy + THRIVE via thrivehdc.com or email Judy at judy@thrivehdc.com

Friday May 22, 2020

BODY TALK: THE “TOO MUCH” SIDE OF FITNESS (PART 1) S3|E20

Friday May 22, 2020

Today, we have part 1 of a conversation with Maaia Geis (she/her), a virtual friend from Regina in Saskatchewan, former spin instructor, interested in psychology with a focus in neuroscience, and currently working on a coaching certification with a program called Becoming a Soul Coach. We discuss how connecting mind and body is where true wellness exists, how to listen to your body, knowing when we push our bodies too hard, prioritizing recovery, and the potential future of the wellness industry. Plus, we throw in some weird chatter about fear of horses and reviews of current streamed shows. Enjoy!

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Movement, fitness, and physical activity is actually a practice in getting to know your body - understanding different sensations that arise, listening to what your body is saying, and responding to different types of activities. However, we tend to use fitness as a way to prove how much we can do and prove how far we can push ourselves as a glorified endeavor. We so often hear about upping our mental game so that we can reach these physical feats, but what about upping our body game? What if we could understand and decipher what our body is also telling us, what it needs, and what insights it has to provide? When we can connect the head and the body, we have a full system that can be used for our overall wellness and well-being. We can understand what fitness works best for us and when we are pushing our edge in a healthy way or merely wrecking our bodies for some arbitrary external glory.
How recovered are you? What do you need to do to take care of your body? These are questions we aren’t really used to asking ourselves living in a world that prioritizes stamina and physical performance over all else! And yet these questions are so important because not every day and everything is about going as hard as you can. Sometimes the best thing you can do is slow down. To take it easy. To stop. The pausing and recovering is just as important as the actual working out. We need BOTH. And in fact, sometimes less is actually better and taking time for breaks can actually improve performance.
Who is making the call here, my ego, or my soul? Invite yourself to ask who is driving the decisions and actions around fitness AND your life. You might be surprised by the things that you think you are doing for your health or for yourself that are actually coming from a place of trying to look good or validate your enoughness (ego). And maybe your soul would make a different call? Are you willing to listen?

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[1:30] Fear of horses + llama + camels
[8:00] Shows during quarantine
[14:30] AD: Season 2’s Chelsey Charbenaeu has just launched BREATHE AT HOME - streamed meditation, reflection, and conversations on wellness - only $19.99/mo! Use promo code: RACHEL5 to get $5 off/mo.
[15:30] Introducing Maaia!
[17:50] Where the hell is Saskatchewan?
[23:00] Connecting mind + body for wellness: embodied presence
[28:00] The “too much” side of fitness
[39:00] The ego vs the soul
[41:00] Shifting fitness industry norms
[36:00] Whoop - knowing when to take a break
[50:00] Fitness comparison + industry expectations
[56:00] Modifying + going back to the basics to TRULY get better
[1:09:00] How do you live your TRUE NORTH?
[1:09:30] Contact Maaaia via IG @maaaaiageis

Friday May 15, 2020

ENNEAGRAM: BUILD A BRIDGE TO YOURSELF S3|E19

Friday May 15, 2020

Today, we talk to Meaghan Richardson (she/her) + Alex Sigler (she/her), fellow weirdos and enneagram nerds from Dallas, about all things enneagram! This episode opens up an approachable dialogue with two humans who have an innate passion for using personality tests, especially enneagram, to better understand themselves. We discuss what the heck enneagram is, mislabeling, using it as a bridge to relate to yourself + others, growth patterns, and being in choice around personality tests so that you can own the parts of you that are hard to see. Plus, some real talk about crying, emo music, and the fact that sometimes figuring out who you are is NOT easy - but you don’t have to do it alone.

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

**note: this episode was recorded in late March 2020 so some COVID context may seem out of place to now.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Truly starting to understand yourself IS a way to build bridges to relate to others. In whatever way you choose to do that - whether reflection, meditation, personality tests, astrology, coaching, movement, therapy (the possibilities are endless) - just begin. Start digging in and getting curious about who you are and what makes you tick and what makes you shine. The more you get comfortable understanding your insides, the easier it becomes to get comfortable understanding others. It seems counterintuitive, but we can only connect outside of ourselves in ways that we are able to connect within ourselves.
Be in choice. Use discernment. Don’t just take life’s algorithms at face value, question it, check-in with yourself, get curious, come in through another angle until you feel like you have really landed on what you feel is yours. Give yourself permission to speak for yourself and own the parts of you vs being told what you are and what that means about you. And sometimes it is really helpful to start (or check-in) with a pre-created set of buckets, like the nine enneagram types, to gain some additional data to consider and spring off from. No matter where you are, always invite yourself to ask yourself what feels true to you and to trust that above all else.
It’s helpful to establish a common language with others in your life and the world. Sometimes we think we are saying the same things or we just don’t know how to describe what we are going through and to have words and language to describe it for ourselves and others can support in connection and understanding as well as being able to get curious and dig deeper versus just assumptions and misunderstandings. Where in your life are you experiencing tension with someone or lack of connection and could it be because there is a common language gap? Could you introduce a new set of words, like enneagram, that supports closing the language gap?

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[1:30] Trial + tribulations of lash extensions in quarantine
[6:00] Having a bad day vs a bad moment
[11:10] AD: Join THE COLLECTIVE - our live community meetup to connect + unpack aspects of authenticity via zoom - 1st Thurs of every month!
[12:15] Introducing Meaghan + Alex!
[15:50] Enneagram helped me understand parts of me that I didn’t love, as well as understand other people + how I relate to them
[21:40] Using enneagram to help build bridges w/people
[26:00] Growth patterns
[27:00] Enneagram basics
[29:00] You can score differently at different times, but you are always only one type based on your core fear + core desire at the end of the day
[35:00] We all have fears, but what is your motivating fear?
[39:00] Misidentification
[44:00] Type compatibility
[50:00] Trauma + enneagram
[55:00] Using enneagram as a common language
[1:13:30] How do you live your TRUE NORTH?
[1:14:30] Contact Meaghan via IG @mamameaghan or Alex via IG @alexsiglerr
[1:17:00] Who loves emo music?

Thursday May 07, 2020

AGORA ARTISTS: CREATING LIFE THROUGH MOVEMENT S3|E18

Thursday May 07, 2020

Today, we talk to Agora Artists practicing movement artists and co-founders, Avery-Jai Andrews (she/her) + Lauren Kravitz (she/her). Agora Artists is a new arts service organization run by dancers, for dancers; focused on providing programming and resources that contribute to a supportive ecosystem for dance, maintaining an active and sustainable creative life in DFW. We chat about the importance of hibernating, having a supportive community and space to create, allowing life to express itself through your body + your organic movements, and saying yes to the open doors in front of you even if they seem like they are totally not in line with where you thought you would be going. This episode shares the importance of having a physical experience of life, inviting you to step beyond your thoughts and your words to allow movement to be an intuitive way of receiving new information about life, from your body.

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Sometimes we end up in places where we don’t feel like we fit in or are conducive to supporting us in the way that we like being supported. And in fact the very discomfort there and the time you must learn to get comfortable and accept yourself there is actually the thing that leads to and fosters your growth.
Having a physical experience of life opens up pathways of expression, release, understanding, forgiveness, curiosity, etc that just cannot be tapped with words alone. We are typically taught to only really value the head as a means to intelligence and wisdom, however, the full body is a massive untapped resource. By getting quiet and listening to physical sensations, we can allow ourselves to let life move through us, we are able to connect to a deeper, subtler connection and understanding of life. We connect to a universal language that invites intuition to step forward through the body and give us new information that would otherwise lay dormant.
Importance of hibernating to think about what you really want and what is really important to you and what you want to create or get up to. Taking time to look at where you aren’t satisfied and how you could be, reflecting, and not doing that much to allow new insights and awarenesses and desires and directions to emerge.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[1:30] Being a child model
[3:10] Falling in love with a clown in Costa Rica
[6:30] Introducing Avery-Jai + Lauren from Agora Artists!
[9:30] Becoming a choreographer + entrepreneur
[16:00] Benefits of being forced to be in a place where you don’t feel like you fit in
[19:00] Dreaming about a sustainable movement career
[21:57] The kibbutz for creativity - living in a community of people that fosters your creative lifestyle
[28:00] Could a virtual kibbutz community exist? Or does tech kill the magic of IRL?
[38:00] Creating life experience anchored in movement
[45:00] Learning to untrain your body + movements
[51:00] Understanding the importance of having a physical experience of life
[56:00] Changing up your body movement patterns
[59:00] Hibernation periods
[1:01:00] How movement relates to living your TRUE NORTH
[1:05:00] What’s coming up for Agora Artists
[1:12:00] How do you live your TRUE NORTH?
[1:14:30] Contact Agora Artists via email welcome@agoraartists.com or Avery-Jai via IG @aveand or Lauren via IG @lauren.kravitz

Friday May 01, 2020

MOVING THE LINE: IN PURSUIT OF YOUR PASSIONS S3|E17

Friday May 01, 2020

Today, we talk to Megan Collins (she/her), a friend from SPIRE Fitness in Milwaukee, WI and TNC Podcast listener. She originally reached out wanting to hear more on the topic of finding your passion and making a transition in your professional life towards your passions - and so we decided to have her on + have an honest conversation about it! Megan is currently a Global Professional Instructor, but has had many jobs over the years in her pursuit of finding work she loves. We dissect what it means when you feel lost without a map of your future, how to trust your intuition, noticing when you are putting more merit into other people’s realities vs yourself, and recognizing your line and learning how to move that line to live a life that feels true to you.

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Finding your passion, going after what you think you want, and learning to trust your intuition can be incredibly uncomfortable at times. Especially when the thing you're being called to or that you want will blow up your current day-to-day routine and lifestyle if you go after it. And that can make you question your desires and convince yourself that it isn’t right or it’s crazy or that you’re crazy, etc. and that can be really confusing. It takes a lot of grit to choose to listen to yourself and follow through with what you hear within you so that you can live the life you want to live.
A huge act of courage can be really small (or even silence + NOT take action) + is still worthy of celebration + acknowledgment. The size of the change doesn’t equate to the amount of courage or grit it takes to make the change. What feels big for me, may seem small for you, and visa versa - recognize in yourself when you know you have taken a leap of any size + celebrate the fuck out of yourself for taking ANY steps to move your line in your way today.
Listening to your intuition is a practice. Learning to trust what you hear is a practice. Figuring out how your intuition speaks to you is a practice. Not judging yourself for your relationship with your intuition is a practice. And the only way to build that relationship is to show up and keep practicing even if it’s uncomfortable, even if you “mess up”, even if you forget, even if you get it “right”. And if you don’t know where to start, first start practicing getting present with yourself (meditation, mindfulness, be in nature + get quiet, intuitive movement, creative expression, writing/journaling, place your hand on your heart + breath into this moment + observe your felt sense). As you practice getting present, you can start to play with asking questions + listening + allowing answers to arise from deep within you - an inner knowing. Reflecting on how you have “known” what your intuition was saying to you in the past is another way to start to hone in on how it speaks to you now + how you hear it. Know that there is no right or wrong way and trusting in your way is more important than any process or protocol that comes from outside of you. Play with it and trust what comes up for you.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[1:00] Auditioning for American Idol + Bachelor
[4:30] Putting yourself in the spotlight
[11:30] Introducing Megan!
[16:30] Feeling lost amidst people who seem to have it all figured out
[23:00] Is bouncing around on your resume bad?
[27:00] Professional ecosystem of workers + finding self-worth in a job
[33:30] Learning to listen to your intuition + never really knowing what you’re doing
[39:00] The college bubble of opportunities vs real-life realities
[49:00] Moving the line
[56:00] Reaching your full potential - whatever that means
[59:50] What if our values are actually what we spend our whole lives wrestling with?
[1:03:00] Putting more merit in what others say over myself is living into other people’s projected reality vs your own
[1:07:00] Re-evaluating the stories we are being told + the stories we are telling ourselves
[1:11:00] How do you know you are connected with your intuition?
[1:22:00] Balancing your relationships/commitments/responsibilities when following your intuition
[1:27:00] Is there a sweet spot that even exists where you feel you have finally found that thing that you want to do for the rest of your life?
[1:38:00] How do you live your TRUE NORTH?
[1:40:00] Contact Megan via IG @m_colls or email via collinsjmegan@gmail.com

Thursday Apr 23, 2020

SEAN THE DRUMMER: BE A WORK IN PROGRESS S3|E16

Thursday Apr 23, 2020

Today, we talk to Sean Beiersdorfer (he/him), a friend and fellow meditation teacher at Breathe Mind + Body, a musician, yogi, yoga teacher, and amazing human with a huge heart. We unpack how WWE Pro-wrestling surprisingly parallels yoga + life, our relationship to our bodies through rhythm, getting out of your own way, reconnecting to the love of something for the love of it, role of the bad guy, and sharing your WIP to give the world permission to start showing up for themselves and experiencing life not to be perfect, but to experience something.

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

You can like what you like and not like what you don’t like. You don’t have to like or dislike things just because people you care about like or dislike those things. Notice what you lean towards on your own accord vs what you are leaning towards because of the people around you.
There is a place for the shadow, for the bad guy parts of yourself that ruffle feathers in the world and/or make mistakes. This exists in all of us whether we want to admit it or not. Those frequencies and aspects are a part of this human experience and they carry a necessary role in all of our lives. It can be easy to demonize them and want to avoid them, but we become our own hero when we can know them and still accept + be ok with the fullness of ourselves, including these aspects - not just the parts that are easy to love. And when we ruffle other people’s feathers, it is an invitation for others to become their own hero as well.
Post your work in progress. Share your real, honest, attempts at being you. Be messy. Try it and show people your tries. You have no idea how much you will inspire people to give their own dreams a go, to let go of their own perceived barriers, because they see someone else doing something imperfectly and continuing to show up and do it anyways and get better. You doing this gives the world permission to try their thing, not because they are the best, but because it’s beautiful to watch people be led by their hearts and experiencing a depth of life within themselves. We can all experience this, we just have to be willing to be a WIP.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[1:30] Corn poops
[3:00] Ghosts during quarantine
[13:00] Self development work + demons
[15:00] How Pro-wrestling WWF superstars relate to yoga + life
[20:00] Rachel aka “Homeless Lotti”, Jenell aka “The Raptor”, + Sean aka “Mister Bonet” cut their own pro-wrestling promos
[28:00] Introducing Sean!
[34:00] Getting in your own way
[38:00] Listening to your body
[42:00] Recognizing + pursuing your tastes
[50:00] Acknowledging the heels (bad guys in wrestling)
[1:02:00] Doing something for the love of it
[1:06:00] Be the model of what it’s like to be a real, messy, authentic human in your own way + inspire others to shed unnecessary layers within themselves
[1:11:00] How playing + learning different styles of music can unlock your true heart
[1:15:30] How do you live your TRUE NORTH?
[1:16:00] Contact Sean via IG @sean_yogibeiers or FB @seanbeiersdorfer or Spotify @seanbeiersdorfer

Thursday Apr 16, 2020

INDRI: COMING INTO YOUR OWN SOUND S3|E15

Thursday Apr 16, 2020

Today, we talk to Jack Nelms (he/him), a friend and lululemon co-worker, an aspiring producer/artist under the name Indri - while there isn’t a ton under this brand name yet, keep this guy on your radar because his passion for his craft is palpable and his beats are super unique. We chat about the energy of music, changing career paths, what it truly means to follow your passions and commit to the lifestyle of the world you really want to live in. We get really honest about the importance of who you surround yourself with and experiencing the gap between your taste and your output (source: Ira Glass quote listed below).

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

When a hobby turns into a full-time gig, your life will start to look different and so will you. The idea of adopting the lifestyle of that which you want can feel tough at first, but more importantly, it can set you up to consistently practice the behaviors, thoughts, patterns, energy of the life you actually want, way more quickly.
Surrounding yourself with people who are different from you and who are all being honest with themselves and each other, in full transparency can be completely life-changing and transformative for all people involved. Each person can bring their own unique flavor to the table and with humility, learn from one another in different ways.
Be confident in your truth, have conviction around your dreams, be a stand for what you want and what you know you can do and who you know you can be. And remember that there is a difference between cocky and confident. Cocky comes from a forceful place, from a place of deficit and I need to prove something to you and it will push people away; confidence comes from a trusting, calm, patient place that allows dreams to unfold and invites people into the world you are creating.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[1:05] Country western dance team
[5:30] Nicknames
[8:20] Mythical materials + cockroaches
[12:12] Introducing Jack!
[18:00] Taking a hobby way more seriously
[23:00] Power of a diverse community
[29:00] Having conviction + utmost belief in self + recognizing doubt
[32:00] Learning to love the parts of the process that you hate + learning to love the gap (source quote: IRA GLASS “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
[41:00] Refining the creative process
[45:00] Authenticity + piggybacking
[52:00] What to do when you aren’t feeling passionate about life?
[56:00] Developing your environment around you
[1:00:00] Keeping plants alive
[1:07:51] How do you live your TRUE NORTH?
[1:08:00] Contact Jack via email jfnelms@sbcglobal.net + indrivibes@gmail.com

Friday Apr 10, 2020

SNOOZE ON BOOZE: 90 DAYS SOBER S3|E14

Friday Apr 10, 2020

Today, we talk to Clare Geiger (she/her) + Jesse Gitter (she/her), two awesome ladies from our Ragnar Trail team, about going alcohol-free for 90 days. We expected some highs and lows, but we didn’t anticipate how sobering and revolutionary a 90-day dry challenge would be in helping us to regain a sense of empowerment and ownership of our lives, to stop judging other people, to take new risks and step out of our social comfort zones, and to invite permission in finding our own authentic experience of life again. It’s an episode of deep, honest reflection about where we choose to hide from life and when we choose to take life back into our own hands.

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

There is no right or wrong time to do anything. You can always change your mind, restructure your belief system, start something, stop something. When it feels right, go for it. There might seem to be “better” or “more opportune” times to do the things we want, but we truly always have permission all the time to do any of it whenever we want in the way we want.
Notice how you are using alcohol (or something else) as an easy scapegoat or crutch for real-life stuff that needs to be addressed - lifestyle choices, poor habits, lack of emotional + energy management, mindset, etc. Then address those things head-on, get the support you need to work on the things you uncovered and be gentle with yourself instead of continuing to ignore what your system is trying to tell you and teach you.
The power of reflecting on the choices you make in life can help you to truly remember what is important before you sprint forward to the next thing. It is so easy to distract oneself with the next goal or to do and forget what your experience was, what you want to remember, what you want to take from it, what you want to learn and grow from the choices/experiences you have to become the you that you want to be.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[0:30] Are you a sore loser or a gracious winner?
[4:30] Primal screaming
[8:30] Jenell’s life changes
[13:00] Introducing SNOOZE ON BOOZE - a 60-90 day dry program that we challenged ourselves, our Ragnar team, and our TNC community to join in on. This is the recap of our Ragnar Team’s reflections.
[15:00] How do you approach 60-90 days of no-drinking?
[24:00] How will having a drink improve this situation?
[28:00] Who am I when I don’t drink? What does it look like to be me when I am not drinking in social situations?
[35:00] Judgement
[37:00] How people responded to the choice to not drink
[46:00] What is your relationship to your external environment?
[50:00] Importance of a support group or community
[54:00] What is a huddle?
[55:00] You can restructure your belief system whenever you want
[57:00] Alcohol isn’t the only thing that equals fun
[58:00] Any experience can be an empowered experience vs a should or have to experience
[1:01:00] Operating proactively vs reactively
[1:04:00] How did 90-days of sober living support you in living your TRUE NORTH?