Latest / Sacred She Reset: Awakening Your Radiant Wisdom in Midlife / Trust Your Inner Wisdom: A Conversation with Cheryl Brewster | 006

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Trust Your Inner Wisdom: A Conversation with Cheryl Brewster | 006 · Sacred She Reset: Awakening Your Radiant Wisdom in Midlife

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You're listening to the Sacred She Reset podcast. If
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you're a woman in midlife who's done doing this alone and
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ready for real conversations, real wisdom, and real
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radiance, you're exactly where you need to be. I'm your
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host, Sharea Sharna. Your path to radiance starts
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here.
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Welcome everyone. I have a beautiful
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guest with me today. Her name is Cheryl Bruce.
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And she helps leaders lead powerfully through
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uncertainty with clarity, calm, and confidence.
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She blends neuroscience, intuition, and practical strategy
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to help leaders make decisions that matter most.
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With over 2 decades of experience leading and developing people
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across the corporate, entrepreneurial, and nonprofit sectors,
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Cheryl brings deep insight and a practical, heart-centered
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approach to leadership. Her signature intuitive leadership
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system, has helped a variety of leaders regulate stress,
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trust their inner wisdom, and lead with greater impact
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in higher stakes moments. Welcome, Cheryl. It is an
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honor to have you here. Thank you.
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It's my pleasure. And I'm so excited for the conversation we're going to have today.
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Yeah, me too. We've just been chatting, haven't we? And it's, I feel like we
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should have had the record button running already because there was just some beautiful moments.
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But yeah, I feel like everyone's going to enjoy this episode so
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much. And I feel very honored that you said yes. So thank you for joining
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me. This conversation started
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for me, I just felt this was really aligned with Cheryl because we've,
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we're on a very similar path at the same time. And
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Cheryl shared in one of our last calls, it was one of our coaching
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calls where she shared how she's moving through some really big
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changes in her life right now. And as you know, this
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podcast is about moving through the midlife transition
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and where we might be overriding ourselves. And,
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uh, I just felt Cheryl's conversation was going to be really
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important, not only to share the magic that she has for us
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today and her work in the world, but also for
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some of the beautiful women out there that are transitioning through difficult times. And so
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Cheryl, if you had to describe this season of your life right now
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in one word, what would it be?
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Well, in one word, this season of my life is
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transformational.
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Mm. And moving from one level of
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consciousness to another and really
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invoking the word trust.
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Yeah. And You know, we've all had
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experiences where we've had great successes in
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life and also experiences where we're going, I've not
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done this before. I don't know what to do with this.
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So that layer and level of just opening up to the deeper power
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within us and taking time to pause
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and to check in with it and knowing that
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that is not only the most sacred thing we can do, the
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most important thing we can do.
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Yeah. And so much of my life, in
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retrospect, for most of us, I think, is
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where have we abandoned ourselves to take care of
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others or to take care of creating a living?
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And so at this time in history,
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in this critical place in the history
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of humanity, I just feel there's a deeper calling
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for all of us to say, what's my part? What
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can I do? And to really disregard any
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sense of being a victim or any
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sense of being a pawn in someone else's matrix.
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No, I create the reality from my thoughts, my
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perceptions, my viewpoint. So is it the reality I really want to
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create? Yeah, 100%. And I
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feel like that's so fitting to the message I'm sharing with my audience.
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It's so, so aligned straight away. And so
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these, this feeling of trust and transformation
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that's really present for you right now, because I know that you've been moving through
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without getting personal and sharing too much. It's like,
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I know I'm aware that you've been moving through some things.
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And you said something, you said something to me or
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to us on that call, and it was around being able to move through this
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no matter what's happening. And I don't have the exact words.
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And so I'm just wondering where that comes from with you, within you,
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and what, what that's teaching you in this season of your life.
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Like, how is that? How are you working with that energy?
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I'm very, very grateful. for intuition.
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Intuition is something that has literally
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called me out of different circumstances in my life and put me on a whole
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new timeline, a whole new trajectory. Yeah. What I noticed in
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my life was that every time I was in the midst of a breakthrough, something
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catastrophic would happen around me. And
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so I, over many years, this
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pattern started to reveal itself. I'm going, oh,
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Isn't that interesting where this time
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I'm able to hold my center? This time
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I'm able to not go into fear.
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I've got a family member who's really
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struggling right now with some health issues that are,
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within months, they may not be here.
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So it's really compelled me at an
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even deeper level, you know, what is the meaning of my
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life? Am I truly showing up for those that I love? Am I
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truly showing up for myself in the
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way that I
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can have peace with?
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Yeah. And you know, the beautiful part is that through
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many years of application, many years of study, many years of practice
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to be able to come out the other side. And there's been more than one
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event. There's been several where, you know, people's lives are at
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stake, where I'm able to
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be in the energy and
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faith of trust, bigger picture,
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this creative intelligence that has
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brought us into this world. There's a
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bigger picture for all of us and we can trust it and we don't have
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to go into the heartbreak and the sorrow
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and the suffering that we have in the past.
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Yeah, I totally agree with you because I also have this,
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just this, the trust is there and I trust that
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guidance that's coming through from our creator, from the divine.
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And You know, I've been sitting with the question
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lately and even in a few of my own interviews that I've had where I've
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been interviewed about my recent book and talking about
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grief and trust. And it's like, well, how do we cultivate that? Like
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where, so where for you, Cheryl, was that point,
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that crossing over point of like where you perhaps
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were allowing the
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surrounding chaos and everything that was happening in life to
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affect you? So there's like you having this reaction to that.
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Opposed to that now where you find yourself where you're in
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complete trust and you're in this season of your life of
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transformation, you know, because a lot of people will be going, well, how do I
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get there? You know, it's, and we'll talk about some practical value in
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a little while, but more from your own story, like where,
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give us a little bit of backstory, Cheryl, of how you cultivated
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this and how this has become for you. Sure, absolutely.
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You know, I think the defining moment for me
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was what I learned from studying neuroscience,
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which is self-regulation, emotional intelligence. And it's
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been around for a long time. Yeah. A breakthrough moment for
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me was really understanding biology,
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understanding that I have a primal brain that totally discounts the
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positive. And its only
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job is to keep me safe, and it will do so at all costs.
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So, you know, I remember as a young mother with
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my kids, it's like, you know, losing my
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patience and then regretting it. And I
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often wondered like, what's wrong with me? But, you know, I have faith, I have
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trust, and yet why can't I seem to just hold it together? Why am
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I always going into stress? So discovering the
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biological physiological implications of the nervous system
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was just life-changing because
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it was like, oh, that's why I do what I
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do. So learning how to self-regulate, learning how to use the breath,
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learning how to take a moment and pause
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restored this ability to choose.
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Rather than be a victim of my biology,
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rather than be run by raw emotion. So that
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was life-changing. And it took, you know, it took time.
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However, the more I studied it and the more I trained in it, the more
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I began to realize that, wow, you know what? When we
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work with the unconscious mind, these changes
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can happen very, very quickly. And the beauty is
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they're permanent. So
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my defining moment, which takes me, you know, into
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being able to honestly say,
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even though there are, you know, 3 separate different crises, what I would
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call crisis in my life right now,
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I am so grateful to be so grounded
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and to be in alignment
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with the higher power within me.
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Whose perspective is very different than my human biology.
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Yeah. It's kind of, and it sounds crazy,
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right? I know, and it's surreal. And
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in those moments when I find myself slipping, it's like, wait a minute,
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this is the practice. And in the past, I used to judge
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myself and I used to go, you know, say to myself,
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well, what's wrong with you? Like, why this is still here? And it's like, well,
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so it's like a, a total, I wanna
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say, viewpoint
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perspective. And it does take
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practice and repetition. So what I love what you're
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up to, and we're on similar paths here, is
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to be so in alignment with your personal conviction
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that no matter what happens in life, you
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know you're exactly where you need to be. And that
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is priceless. Yeah. And this sort of
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feeds into what we were chatting about before we started recording about this
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conviction piece, right? It's like, you know,
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to have that unwavering, I love that unwavering trust.
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And I know I've been questioned many times in the past. I've got a lot
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of girlfriends going, wow, I feel really inspired about what you're doing
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because you have this capacity to just drive it. And I feel like a
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lot of that for me actually
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came from doing life the
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hard way. Yes. As you know as
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well, like you've experienced this of like judging
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yourself and going through that, like that process of like,
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you know, oh, I could have been a better person here and da da da.
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And, you know, I think that just
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sheer forcing and willing and I
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say pushing shit uphill through a lot of my
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life has actually helped
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me, supported me in being the person I am today. Because if I
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hadn't have gone through all that stuff, because I don't have any regrets about all
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the trauma, everything, there's a lot of stuff there, but it has
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actually helped me to
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build this resilience. Now
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it's not a resilience where I'm overriding myself, but it's a resilience
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of trust and certainty and conviction and a certainty
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that I know myself. I love myself. I trust myself
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enough to know that I've got me because at the end of the day,
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take everything else away. We're really,
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I say on our own. I know collectively we're all together, but it's just that
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our journey with the creator and our
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personal relationship that we have. And it's
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cultivating that. And so I know so many, I would say
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people, but I work with women. And so women really
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struggle with this questioning of themselves, but we have this
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innate wisdom within us, this divine compass
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that is there. And tuning into that is the
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frequency, tuning into that is the practice.
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And then we often steer from that and
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start overriding and caregiving too much. And then we
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can go into the opposite side of things where we start having resent and all
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these sorts of things. So this, I feel like it's a really,
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it feels like we're walking a tightrope sometimes, right?
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You know, so it's like how in your life and in your work
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and what you've seen with the leaders you work with and even with
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yourself, because obviously it's that journey of the self to get to where we are
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now, now to be working with others. Yeah. people the way we do.
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You know, what have been those really slippery moments where you've
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just, it's kind of been on that edge of making that decision
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of it's this side or this side sort of thing.
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And I hope that makes sense. I just, there's just so much in that. It's
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really juicy. So take that wherever you want to take that.
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Yes. When you, when you've walked these paths, it
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makes sense. There's juice there. So if we can kind of bring, ground that in
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and ground that down for,
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you know, some of the ladies out there, you know, how can we,
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how can we ground this in for them so that we're speaking the language
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of where they might be right now? They might be just on that threshold of
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where you and I and many women have been. And so
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how, how do we support ourselves? How do we,
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how do we not repeat it, repeat those patterns?
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Exactly. Exactly. So what I have
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found to be very, very helpful for me is to
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think of life like a movie and to
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take a step back and watch myself.
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And there's something called the tension of opposites.
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Yeah. And so, as I was thinking about this and I put my
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program together and my system of, oh, oh,
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it's It's like, if life is
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a movie, it's like a, you know how we have nighttime dreams?
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Well, if we look at our waking life as
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like a dream, only it's real. Yeah.
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We're not, you know, and yet we are creating this
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reality based on our perception. Our perception may be
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clear or it may be somewhat confused.
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If we go back to biology and physiology,
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our primal brain has one agenda, just to keep
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us safe. That's it. So using the analogy of a
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movie, I began to realize, oh, is my
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life a Gong Show, a horror show, or the epic
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adventure of my life? Because— What a great question.
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That's a good one to reflect upon out there, listeners. Great. Are
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you living a horror movie or what? No, thank you.
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It reminds me when I was giving birth to my
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first son. I was in such agony. I had back labor and I
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bent over. My knees are on a stool. I'm bent over on the bed.
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I'm pulling my hair out. And no kidding, I had the experiences
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of this, like, oh my, I'm stuck in a
17:20
B-movie and I can't get out because of the amount
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of pain I screamed out. Oh
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my gosh. It was a terrible feeling. I can't get
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out of this, right? Like, I'm like, so anyway. You're in it.
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Yeah. So, so I have found that to be so powerful
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because, you know, when we're, when we're emotionally triggered,
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it's like, whoa, you know, and, and then to be able to
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use the breath as a pattern interrupt, come back and go, wait a minute,
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take a step back. And so, You know, I've
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created this intuitive leadership quiz where we're looking
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at movie as metaphor and, you know, what is
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your leading archetype right now? So is it the
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stressed out actor on the stage or
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is it the one who's really owning presence? So, you know, these different
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archetypes will come into play where we have these,
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you know, like cut. Act 1, scene 2.
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Um, I love this because it sounds— this, this to me, and this
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really feeds into what I bring a lot of as well, is around play.
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Yeah. Connecting with joy. And so as soon as you said, are you being
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like an actor on the stage or are you, you know, you're cool, calm, and
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collected. It's, it's a wonderful opportunity for us to really step
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outside of ourselves and just, and watch, you
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know, watch the thoughts, what's going on here. You know, I kind of have
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this thing of where. I'm taking, it's a little bit like your
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movie, uh, you know, watching the movie of our life
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where I take myself out of myself and kind of take a wider
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view and look in and, and go, okay, how am I behaving
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here? What is happening in this moment? Am I responding
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or am I reacting? You know, so this, this is wonderful.
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It sounds super playful. Tell me more about this, this, what,
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what you're doing with these archetypes. This sounds really interesting. Yeah. Well,
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I love them. You know, I've studied Carl Jung and the
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psychology of spiritual awakening. And
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I just love this reminder
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that we are, we not only have our personal
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consciousness, but we are part of a collective consciousness.
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And these archetypal energies are very real. And we're in the middle,
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if we're really close to a breakthrough, That's when
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it's, we're in a very vulnerable state, a
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powerful state, yet a vulnerable one, because that's
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when archetypal energies can become really activated.
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And when that happens, the key difference is
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to be aware of the archetypal energies rather than become
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them. So to use an example,
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You know, with everything I've gone through in my life,
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one of the
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leading archetypes, again, I wanna come back to the
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actor, is because when people are on your
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stage, we can look at them as
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being, oh, there they go again, they're triggering me. Well, they wouldn't be
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triggering you if you didn't already have something inside you to be triggered.
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Yeah, right. So then it's very
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humbling when you go, ooh. And so
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this is where I think 2 things really, really help when we're in the
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middle of really difficult transformation, uh,
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because I don't think we need to
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make it as difficult and painful as we do. That's been
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my big lesson. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I think there's
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just, there's a real opportunity for us to you know,
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look at like, let's go for say the triggering when you're triggered and
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it can be so easy to say, oh, that person is triggering me or
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I'm activated by this over there or whatever. But in
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actual fact, that is an opportunity to, it is a total
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opportunity to go inward, to go, oh, this
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is actually, thank you. Actually, thank you so much.
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Because this is an opportunity to, for me to see where there's more
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work to do and That's going to be prickly as
21:36
hell. Sometimes it's really uncomfortable,
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but it's in those uncomfortable moments where we grow the most.
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And sometimes it's hard to really look at ourselves in the mirror, right, Cheryl? And
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just take stock and really look at
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that for what it is. And often it can be a partner who's
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someone very close to us. I know, you know, sort of bringing it
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back to women traveling through midlife and the
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journey they're navigating through with all the changes, there's so
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much going on, and that we can be quite triggered from
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children, from loved ones, from partners, from friendship groups.
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And, you know, and so finding,
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you know, how we can support ourselves and connecting with how we can
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support ourselves in that and knowing that there's
22:26
always room for growth. There's always room
22:30
for more. And, you know, I guess that
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brings me to the point of having conversations
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with people around us that can be a little bit uncomfortable. You know,
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when you're triggered and you've got this happening in your life, Cheryl, you know, what
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is some of the things you think people, what women can do in those
22:50
situations, especially navigating really big change? Because we, we both
22:53
know how time-consuming that is and how energetically draining
22:57
that can be as well. What are some of the things people can do practically
23:01
to help support themselves? themselves during this
23:04
time? You know, what are some of the practical
23:08
tools and suggestions you might have that might be
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about the archetypes or might movie in the mind type
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thing? You know, what advice have you got there?
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Yeah, that's such a good question. And
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if I had my life to live all over again, this is the
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advice I would give myself, which is what my
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archetype system is about. Looking at your
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life as a movie is a really, really powerful tool because
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it creates some distance from the emotion that's taking you over.
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So when we observe something, we've
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removed the energetic attachment.
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Hmm. And we calm down the nervous system.
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And so even just You know, taking a step back, look at your life
23:59
as a movie, just take a deep breath. The breath
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is powerful because as soon as we begin to breathe
24:07
more consciously with more awareness, we're triggering our
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nervous system that it's okay. We're okay.
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When that happens, now anything is possible.
24:19
The part that felt disconnected and in panic can
24:23
come back home. It can come back to center. It can feel safe. And
24:27
when we feel safe, then
24:31
whatever was causing the problem, now we have access to solutions
24:35
that we couldn't see before. So my
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greatest piece of advice really is, okay, if this was a movie,
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watch it. You can pretty much predict what's going to
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happen if you stay where you are. Mm-hmm. And then
24:51
learn self-regulation, learn those self-regulation tools
24:54
because they will literally save your bacon. They'll save your life, truly.
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And one of the fast-track ways of doing that I have found in my experience
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is to bring myself back to gratitude for what I do
25:09
have. Mm-hmm. Because the primal brain is
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consumed with what it doesn't have.
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And that will lead to
25:19
paralysis, it'll lead to numbness, or it'll lead
25:23
to overreaction. So for me, it was
25:27
life-changing looking at my life as a movie. And even before I
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knew and understood all the neuroscience, even when I was younger,
25:35
I had that ability within me naturally. Going into
25:39
a job interview, I'd pretend I already had the job. And I mean,
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It works. So it does work. It
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works. And it's like, oh, well, if it works and I know it
25:50
works. So here's another really key piece
25:54
is gratitude helps you appreciate what you've already
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accomplished. So with gratitude, you're coming
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from strength, not trying to get to it. You're
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coming from a prosperity consciousness, rather than
26:09
trying to get to it. And one of the things I've certainly learned and
26:13
discovered the hard way is the more you really want something, the more pressure
26:17
you can put on yourself and the more you're actually pushing it away rather than
26:20
bringing it in. Absolutely. And I feel like you can
26:24
end up falling into the category of
26:28
procrastination. Yes. I find
26:32
whenever I've been in that spot in the past, it's the energy levels drop, you
26:36
start to feel tired, you start to get distracted.
26:40
And so I feel like they're sort of the body speaking and they're
26:43
markers and signals and signs to
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say something needs to shift and perhaps I'm not in
26:50
alignment right now. Would you say, would you agree with that, Cheryl?
26:54
Absolutely. And in the past, for
26:58
example, I'm working with one client right now. In the
27:01
past, he would have disregarded that. And now I'm saying, no, no, no, pay
27:05
attention. And so now when he pays attention, he goes, Oh
27:09
my, I'm seeing things I never saw before. And I said, that's
27:13
right, because you were honoring your body's
27:16
wisdom. And we intellectualize
27:20
so much these days. So it's just something as simple as saying,
27:24
you know, where in my body is this energy being held?
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Gets us out of the ruminating mind and gets us into
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the activation so that this energy can move through, which frees us from the
27:37
procrastination. and the
27:40
self-sabotage and all those things,
27:44
which in a way is really useful
27:48
biofeedback. And that was the other big thing that I just so
27:52
love. I have to say this out loud. What if procrastination and
27:55
self-sabotage, rather than judging them,
27:59
what if we looked at them as biofeedback tools?
28:02
100%. Letting us know that somewhere, oh,
28:08
I agree with you so much here, Cheryl. Like, we're speaking the same language
28:12
and I'm, I'm loving this because it, it speaks so
28:17
to the audience that's listening, to the women who are
28:21
really in, in that space of perhaps not listening
28:24
to the, the body's wisdom enough. Yes. And, or
28:29
have been overriding it. I know that's been a big thing
28:32
for me, not me personally, but the What I've been speaking a lot about
28:36
lately is the override and we override those
28:39
messages. But that all of that, the procrastination,
28:43
all of the things where we go, oh, we're out of alignment, it's a time
28:46
to listen. And it's, it's a big call
28:50
to come within and to change
28:54
things and start to shift things. And like you were saying, Cheryl, come back to
28:58
the breath. It's a really basic thing that we can all do. It's something
29:02
that we do. on autopilot, otherwise we wouldn't be here
29:05
today, you know, but to actually become a little bit
29:09
more conscious about how we're breathing and slowing that
29:13
down and coming back into rhythm and
29:16
balance. Is there any other, any other
29:20
tips or practical tools that you
29:24
can, you can offer our listeners today, Cheryl, where
29:28
it feeds into what you're offering and what you're sharing in the world
29:32
and perhaps this piece around where we
29:35
might be experiencing the procrastination and overriding the
29:39
system. Again, I would bring it
29:43
back to what
29:46
lens am I looking through? Again, am I looking through the lens of
29:51
judgment or am I looking through the lens of
29:57
Yeah. One of the things about an open and closed mindset,
30:00
which will make or break us, is a closed
30:04
mindset is very concerned about
30:07
image, very concerned about
30:13
not wanting to appear vulnerable or
30:17
not wanting to appear as if not knowing something. Whereas a
30:21
mindset would rather learn and grow. And
30:25
it's interesting, you know, when you study again the neuroscience
30:29
and some of the most successful companies in the world, I forget
30:33
which company this is, but it only hires people who have had
30:36
massive failures in business. Yeah, I love it.
30:40
Because they know that they've learned something and they're still willing to try. Yeah,
30:44
absolutely. Versus someone who, you know, has this track of,
30:48
you know, super successful. And
30:53
I just love this story that that opened up for me
30:56
because I thought, wow, there's so much
31:00
anxiety performance, I think, on all of us. I think we grew up
31:04
with it. And so there's a fear of being wrong. There's a fear of making
31:08
a mistake. There's a fear of not knowing enough. And
31:12
so there's this stigma of perfection
31:16
that we all are consumed by or
31:20
surrounded by. And look at the
31:23
commercialism and the consumption. You know,
31:26
we're surrounded by needing to
31:30
be better than we are. Well, what if we're already good enough?
31:34
Yeah. And what if we haven't appreciated that? And this is why
31:38
gratitude's so important, because the very thing we want
31:41
will push away if we're not coming from a gratitude for what we already
31:45
have. Mm. And that right there
31:49
is so powerful, what you just said around gratitude.
31:53
And I feel that we,
31:58
like you say about the commercialism and everything and what's happening where
32:01
we're just comparing ourselves to others on
32:05
platforms where that's not people's real life. Like that's not what's actually
32:09
going on for people. That's not what they're really like at home.
32:13
And, and so we're. striving to be
32:16
something that is actually really unrealistic and it's not obtainable.
32:20
It's not sustainable in any way, shape, or form.
32:25
And so it's like, what if you're already good enough?
32:29
You know, what, what you, what if God has made you exactly
32:33
the way you need to be right here, right now with everything you've been through,
32:37
where you are, everything you're about to experience and accepting that.
32:40
And I think there's this piece around brings it back to the
32:44
trust. And how we step into transformation and trust
32:48
is huge. But when we almost
32:52
become, I'm going to use the word surrender, but it's more than that.
32:55
There's this, it's, the word is humble.
32:59
When we, we, we just, we
33:03
soften and we open and we become humble
33:07
to what is. Yes. And, and then
33:10
really appreciate You know, oh my God,
33:14
we have everything we need. I mean, I've, I feel
33:19
like a queen. Do you know what I mean? And I've got a roof over
33:22
my head. I've got food on my table. I've got clean water.
33:27
I get to have a shower every day. And I mean, like, they're just basic
33:31
survival things, but why are we not just
33:34
bringing it back to basics and, you know, and
33:38
feeling gratitude for All, all that and just
33:42
the beauty of just eliminating all the other things,
33:46
all the things we own and just going, why am I just not grateful that
33:49
I've actually got food on my belly? There's people out there who won't
33:53
get a meal tonight. They're not eating, you know,
33:57
and, you know, we, we then kind of go,
34:00
oh, but I don't have this widget or this, or I don't look good enough
34:04
or. Mm-hmm. Yeah, just embracing
34:08
ourselves for who we are and
34:13
giving gratitude, like you say, Cheryl, it's so important.
34:17
So, so important. If we don't, uh,
34:22
start changing our ways, the
34:26
voraciousness of this, uh,
34:33
this infection of the mind will continue. And
34:37
so this is where personal responsibility to live
34:41
our joy. Nietzsche said, you have a noble duty to live
34:45
your joy. And I love that. Absolutely.
34:48
Because it's like we begin to realize, and
34:52
again, let's look at life as a movie. As you observe your
34:56
life right now and And when you bring
34:59
gratitude for what you already have,
35:03
there's a pressure release that takes place.
35:09
And now you're taking, you're taking dictation
35:12
from flourishing rather than
35:17
separation or suffering. Mm-hmm. So
35:22
my perspective is this, is that we're each creating our own reality.
35:27
We think the world is out there, but it really isn't. The
35:30
world is created from our thoughts, our
35:34
perceptions, our actions, our feelings, our behaviors.
35:38
So if that's the case, then,
35:41
you know, heaven and hell are not places, they're states of mind.
35:46
Mm-hmm. And I love what Helen Keller said. She said, I'm only one person, I
35:50
can't do everything, But I will not refuse to do the one thing I can
35:54
do. That is so beautiful. What a beautiful
35:57
quote. Can you, can you say that again? Because I just want, I want the
36:01
listeners to actually feel the energy of that. And if you're just
36:05
listening, I just, I want to just say, like, sitting here with
36:08
Cheryl, if you'll, you know, see her on video, if you do watch
36:12
this visually, she's just like, she's just like an angel, a glowing
36:16
angel, and she's just beautiful and she delivers her message so beautifully.
36:19
So I don't want to lose the thread. So can you say that
36:23
quote again for me, Cheryl? It was beautiful. Sure. And I'll
36:27
take that. I will take that. She's a beautiful
36:30
human, everybody. And I just, it's like there's
36:34
so much yumminess happening here and there's so many different threads we could go down.
36:37
So I just want to keep this container going.
36:43
So, uh, I'll repeat the quote again and
36:46
before I I'm just going to invite everybody.
36:50
I remember sitting at my desk in the corporate world
36:54
consumed by fear. And I
36:58
remember saying to myself, one day I hope I can be
37:01
free of this. And
37:05
I am. And I didn't think I could ever be
37:09
free of it. What I've come to recognize
37:13
is that even fear has a place in
37:17
transformation. And when we
37:21
drop the judgment of anything,
37:27
there's safe passage for everything to move through.
37:33
And, you know, and it is, I feel the emotion of that even as I
37:37
say it. So,
37:41
In the words of Helen Keller, I'm only one person and I can't do
37:44
everything, but I will not refuse to do the
37:48
one thing that I can do.
37:54
Just feel the energy of that. And so
37:58
hand on heart. Yeah. Just breathing into
38:02
that moment because we are all here. We've all got such
38:06
a beautiful, special gift that we're here to bring.
38:10
uniquely. And when we get out of our own way and we
38:15
do the work, and as I like to say, hug the cactus.
38:21
Hug the cactus. Yeah, it's a great one. I love it.
38:25
My partner, I always say, are we going to hug the cactus, have a conversation,
38:29
talk about the prickly bits? We have to, it's, there is
38:33
still fear and there's still hugging the cactus, there's still prickliness.
38:37
But it is so worth the journey and it is so
38:42
worth taking the time to work on ourselves
38:46
and overcoming and becoming that
38:50
version of ourselves of, as you said in the quote,
38:54
of doing that one thing. I'm doing that one thing that I'm here to do.
38:59
And we all have that. And so we don't
39:03
need to be taking someone else's IP
39:07
or, you know, it's taking that time with
39:10
ourselves, taking that time out to reflect and to
39:14
breathe and to be with ourselves and to actually
39:17
really discover who we are and what's going on within our
39:21
landscape. And what movie are we playing,
39:26
you know, and questioning that, you know, what is the
39:30
movie we're playing and how can you shift that You, and like
39:34
Cheryl's been saying, and I'm a true believer of this as well, it
39:37
first has to be in thought before it can manifest
39:41
in our, what we say, reality. And so what
39:45
is, what am I thinking? What am I, what movie am I playing?
39:49
And it's, we can all change that. Everybody has the ability
39:53
to change that. Which is, which is why, you know, in the,
39:57
uh, comparison of a movie, that's where the
40:01
screenwriter comes in. And it's like, okay, let's
40:05
write a different scene here. And now, and
40:09
so we have all these different archetypal energies. You know, we've
40:13
got the actor, the producer, the director, the audience, the screenwriter. And it's
40:16
like, we have all of them and
40:20
we'll lead predominantly from one or a combination.
40:24
Yeah. And each will have their strength and each will have their shadow.
40:28
And it's in the courage. And here's
40:32
another key piece. If there were 3 words I think that
40:37
are transformational in supporting
40:40
positive change, the first would be
40:43
courage. Mm-hmm. The second would be gratitude.
40:47
And the third would be conviction. Yeah.
40:52
And we put all these 3 together and we braid them together. That's a
40:55
solid anchor that is actually indestructible.
40:59
So in the movie of your life, again, it's
41:03
like, well, if everything in life happens for
41:07
me and not to me,
41:11
what choice will I make next?
41:15
What's that next Very simple step for me. And
41:19
sometimes it's so simple we miss it.
41:23
Absolutely. You know, simplicity is truth.
41:27
Complexity quite often is
41:31
ego masquerading as
41:34
intelligence. Absolutely. And
41:38
I think what you've just said right there is a really
41:41
wonderful wonderful piece
41:45
of not needing to overcomplicate those next steps.
41:51
And when we bring it into the subtlety of just
41:55
fine-tuning and simplifying, and that
41:58
next step could possibly be
42:02
making a cup of tea and sitting with a journal or whatever it is,
42:06
you know, or phoning a friend and having a conversation. It doesn't have to
42:10
be complicated, but
42:13
just in that awareness of, of
42:17
noticing where you are, first of all, and then
42:22
acknowledging and saying, I, I can make this
42:26
change. I have the courage to make this change. And I
42:29
trust in the process.
42:33
And Mm-hmm. Putting one step in front of the other with the
42:37
conviction and intention, because when we send those mixed
42:40
signals of stepping back and going, oh, I know I've done that many
42:44
times in my life. I step in with the ambition and I'm, it's
42:48
very different now for me. I must say, listeners, it's a very different game,
42:51
ballgame. But just the conviction piece is so important
42:55
because we're, we're sending the signal to the universe
42:59
that. We're showing up.
43:03
And so then, like Cheryl said, it's, we're braiding these all together.
43:07
You take courage, it's a, you take the step, you
43:11
trust in the process, you take the step forward,
43:15
you're braiding all those together, and then you've got this solid anchor.
43:19
And I think that is just wonderful advice. And it sounds
43:22
so simple, but it's not always that
43:26
easy, as we know. And you can repeat this process, like we can be repeating
43:30
this process. And I know also just bringing
43:33
this back to, in my recent book I just released, it's, I
43:37
talk a lot about this as well. So that's why I say we're
43:41
totally on the same page. It's such a beautiful conversation right now.
43:47
And I just also appreciate that you put this into a book. And I,
43:50
you know, I know what it takes to take something out of the
43:54
ethers and put it into physical form. That in itself,
43:59
is not only a birthing process, but a
44:02
demonstration of transformation. It's a
44:06
demonstration of abundance
44:09
because you've taken something out of nothing. And I
44:13
haven't read your book yet. I'm going to order it after we're done
44:17
this call because based on this conversation,
44:21
what you're working with is
44:26
It's like this breath of fresh air
44:30
where we're living in a time of
44:33
humanity's history that is so critical.
44:38
Absolutely. And I so appreciate you for what you're doing
44:42
and what you're up to here. Yeah, and right back at you
44:46
as well. Like, this is, I feel like there's just this
44:50
mirror reflection thing happening between us today. It's really beautiful.
44:55
Just, I'm so, so grateful. I
44:59
want to speak a little bit into when we don't be afraid of
45:02
exposure is the message I want to share as well, because
45:06
like you, Cheryl, the work you're putting into the world, we, we
45:10
have to show up really vulnerably and share pieces of ourselves.
45:15
And it's okay that things aren't perfect. They don't have to be
45:18
perfect. And because I know from
45:21
self-publishing a book, it's a lot of work, but I go through it and go,
45:25
oh yeah, there's improved needed here. There's probably a few little mistakes, but allowing
45:28
that to be seen and allowing yourself to be a little bit exposed
45:32
and be in that vulnerability, um, is really
45:36
important for your growth as well. Because you, yeah,
45:40
you have that sense of gratitude and you, you become humble in that
45:44
and go, oh, and you're just allow, allow
45:47
it to all just be as it needs to be and let it go.
45:53
Well said, well spoken. I think if anything, our only
45:57
job is to just let go, really.
46:01
Um, you know, there's a beautiful prayer that I
46:04
will often say to myself. Dear
46:08
God, help me accept the truth about
46:11
myself no matter how wonderful it is.
46:15
Oh, I love that prayer. I've got that actually written
46:19
down somewhere. And I'll share, I'm going to share that prayer
46:23
actually in the notes, the show notes, because that is such a
46:27
beautiful prayer. So simple and so
46:31
true. You know, instead of going, oh, you know, the truth about myself, no matter
46:34
how bad it is, like you just turn it into this, how
46:38
wonderful it is. So you're constantly opening up to
46:42
opportunity and possibility instead of,
46:46
you know, it's that natural default we have as human beings there.
46:50
Yeah. You know, the Velcro and the Teflon example where we,
46:54
you know, we naturally have a negative bias, you know,
46:58
towards the negative. And it does, it's a, it
47:02
takes work to turn that ship around and it's an
47:05
everyday thing. So yeah, listeners, you
47:09
need to start saying this prayer to yourself every day because it's a beautiful
47:13
prayer. It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful.
47:17
And so, Cheryl, this is, I think this is a
47:21
lovely note to, joyous note to start to wrap up on.
47:25
But I have, I do have a question for you.
47:28
And that is, if the
47:32
wisest, most radiant part of you could speak to the woman
47:36
you are becoming now, what would she want you to know?
47:41
I love that question. I
47:45
think she'd want me to know that having fun
47:51
is the elixir of life.
47:56
Oh, yes. I love that. And that a
48:00
sense of humor will take us out of the
48:03
seriousness of ourselves and
48:06
self-compassion.
48:11
will free us from
48:15
deceptive thinking.
48:20
Mm. That's like mic drop right there.
48:25
That's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
48:29
And I must say that you are looking absolutely radiant.
48:33
Well, I look forward to watching this after because I'm just so in the
48:37
zone here of So think
48:41
of it this way. It's like, it's
48:44
like, um, you know, long, long time
48:48
ago in a galaxy far, far
48:51
away. And the two of us
48:55
meet and, and, and the
48:58
connection's like this. And all of a sudden we're on a podcast together and it's
49:02
like, whoa.
49:08
And it's so great to be able to come together like this and let, let
49:12
it just roll with whatever it is and,
49:15
and have these conversations and laugh and cry and get it, get intimate and
49:19
deep. And, and that's what this is all about. It really
49:23
is. It's what this is all about. It's just beautiful.
49:27
And so before we finish, Cheryl,
49:31
Where is the best place for listeners to find you and explore more of
49:35
your work? Tell us a little bit more about that. Absolutely.
49:39
Well, I would love to hear anyone who listened to this podcast
49:44
from you. You can find me at theintuitivelife.com
49:48
and I have a
49:51
quiz for everyone who's listening to— Sounds
49:55
exciting. Yeah, it's called
49:57
intuitiveleadershipquiz.com and that's when you can find out
50:00
more about the archetype
50:04
that's currently in charge of your life and how you can better—
50:09
I think we all need to take this quiz, by the way, ladies. I
50:13
think there's a lot of value here.
50:16
And, you know, I think that that sense of play in what you
50:20
bring as well with the archetypes is wonderful. There's an
50:23
invitation there for some more play. And so I will
50:27
put all of this in the show notes and all of this wonderful juiciness
50:31
that we've shared today. But Cheryl, thank you. I've loved
50:35
this conversation and it really has
50:38
anchored in and reminded me of
50:42
the work you're doing, but what we're doing together, as in
50:46
my work as well, and how important and it's
50:50
needed in the world. And so I can't
50:54
thank you enough. This conversation has been awesome.
50:58
It's just been heart-centered and I
51:02
have so much gratitude for you showing up with me here
51:05
today and sharing this message.
51:10
Thank you. I think you've created a joy magnet in your podcast here
51:14
today. It's a joy magnet.
51:19
Yay. Oh, you're an amazing human. And so
51:23
I think in closing, let's sort of something for the listeners
51:27
to come back to and reflect upon from what we've been
51:31
talking about. And so I invite you
51:34
today to take what we've said with all the
51:38
pieces around courage and trust
51:42
and conviction. And
51:46
so where in your life have you been
51:50
asking for certainty? And where can
51:54
you trust yourself a little bit more? You know, where, where can you
51:58
create change? And reflecting on this, perhaps grabbing a
52:01
cup of tea and your journal and just really taking
52:05
this into your, into your body and your heart and
52:09
just noticing where you might need more certainty and where you can
52:13
trust yourself a little bit more deeply with that. And
52:16
so if you want to connect in the community and connect with
52:20
Thank you. Thank you so much, Cheryl. I'll pop everything in the show notes.
52:25
And you can join, if you want to join the Sacred She Reset community,
52:29
I will have all the links here as well where you can connect in and
52:33
find more of these conversations. And I look forward to seeing you
52:37
next time.