23. Finding faith in Black maternal and infant health: A woman’s epic journey of infertility, miscarriage, & motherhood with Narissa Harris

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23. Finding faith in Black maternal and infant health: A woman’s epic journey of infertility, miscarriage, & motherhood with Narissa Harris

I invite you to join me on this journey, full of lots of twists and turns, of deep emotion, of experiencing cultural bias, of loss, of grief, of determination, of experiencing deep spiritual healing.

Our storyteller, Narissa Harris, is a licensed marriage and family therapist. In her work she runs a small private practice and spends most of her professional career providing trainings, workshops, consultations, and writings to help others increase their cultural awareness particularly when working within the African-American community. Narissa prides herself on using a real, direct, and unapologetic approach, while also creating safety and trust.

So, today I am sharing the epic journey of this amazing woman’s struggle with infertility, with miscarriage, and how losing hope was exactly what she needed in order to be open to a spiritual journey that would lead her right back to what she was looking for in the first place…her Faith.

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19. Finding compassion in my younger self with Katelyn Kendrick

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19. Finding compassion in my younger self with Katelyn Kendrick

Here’s my big question for you: why is it so much easier to show compassion for someone else than it is to show it to yourself?

Today our storyteller, Katelyn Kendrick, who I talked to way back in February when I was still pregnant…is going to share their very personal journey, one that involves her growing up as a super feeler in an addicted home, how they experienced trauma both in the home and outside of it, and how that impacted their ability to see herself and treat herself with compassion. In their story they will talk about how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy taught her how to take perspective on her story and how that has slowly shaped not only an understanding of their life and trauma, but an even stronger sense of who she is and what she wants to be about.

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16. "Being more me": Growing into authenticity with Summer Mingo

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16. "Being more me": Growing into authenticity with Summer Mingo

In this episode I talk to fellow introvert Summer Mingo. We talk about how we’ve learned to not only come “out” of our shells but to grow into them.

I relate our experience to that of a hermit crab. It’s shell might be mistaken as any other shell, but it is uniquely the environment, the context in which the hermit crab resides.

We all have our own space and, own context by which we are living our life right now. You too have an experience that is different from anyone else's, and different from what it looks like 5 or 10 years ago. Your shell is your life, right now.

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15. Breaking the introvert bubble with Rebekah Perez

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15. Breaking the introvert bubble with Rebekah Perez

This is the first episode of the new season of the podcast formerly called ACT-Inspired Behavior. The show is now titled The Vibrant Introvert!

To start off our season, I want to ask you a question. What IS an introvert? How would you define the term? Of course there are many definitions out there, books written, blog posts…but what is YOUR definition?

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13. Speak life into yourself with Chauntae Gold

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13. Speak life into yourself with Chauntae Gold

Have you ever been put in a situation where you were forced to do something that didn’t ring true to you? Perhaps it was something your parent asked you to do. Perhaps it was a new rule at work…or something you felt pressured to do because of your friends?

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11. My relationship with stress with Martha Smith

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11. My relationship with stress with Martha Smith

Ok, let’s play a little game.

What is the first thing you think of when you think of the word…”stress?” For me it’s…the word… “tightness”… or the phrase, “too much on my plate.” Or the image of my son Matthew screaming at me at 6AM in the morning because he doesn’t “always want to put on new underwear!”.

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10. When you try to change a person with Tayler Gowan

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10. When you try to change a person with Tayler Gowan

Do you ever look at other people’s family and wonder, how the hell do they get along so well? They look so happy. They seem to get along…I bet they go on skiing holidays and wear matching sweaters. And then, do you compare them to your family?

I’ve caught myself thinking: “If only they would change…then we’d finally get along.” I’d hazard to say that this line of thinking is common because… I’ve thought it a time or two.

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9. Finding value when everyday is the same with Courtney Bilton

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9. Finding value when everyday is the same with Courtney Bilton

See if you can guess what movie I’m referring to…Bill Murray is asleep in bed, covers pulled up to his chin and then the camera pans to the alarm clock. The clock’s number flips from 5:59 to 6:00 AM. And then the radio starts to play.

This scene plays out again and again and again throughout the entire movie. Because, it’s Groundhog Day. And, unfortunately, for Bill Murray, the day repeats itself over and over and over again. There’s no changing it. There’s no response he can make that will move him forward in time. He’s. Just. Stuck.

This is the movie that Courtney Bilton so very much relates to…She’s a mom of 2 young children, who last year around this time was preparing to return from her second year-long maternity leave. And, as you know, this was the same time last year when the pandemic hit causing everything in her life and everything in YOURS to pause.

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3. Forgiveness through curiosity and compassion with Hannah Van Petten

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3. Forgiveness through curiosity and compassion with Hannah Van Petten

Today’s episode is about forgiveness, forgiveness between someone and their close loved one. I don’t know about you, but forgiveness is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life...maybe because it’s so easy to not forgive. Our guest Hannah shares her own story about forgiveness toward her father and how we was able to use mindfulness and compassion to overcome past feelings of hurt.

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2. Eating disorder & the cost of avoidance with Kim Loneck

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2. Eating disorder & the cost of avoidance with Kim Loneck

In this episode we explore the story of an eating disorder as told by Kim Loneck. Since the topic of this conversation touches on a sensitive subject, I want listeners to be aware before they decide to listen. If this is a potentially triggering subject for you, please be kind to yourself in whatever way possible. Thank you.

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