Heart + Soul with Ellen Newhouse

After 30 years in the corporate world, Brenda's body started sending signals that something wasn't right. She got adrenal fatigue, stress syndrome, and memory loss. It was a wake-up call, and it was also an invitation to look at her story and find out the real reason for her afflictions. She was abandoned at age 3, and her life wouldn't get any better in the forthcoming years. She experienced all kinds of abuse, from physical to sexual, mental, and even spiritual. It seemed that every person in her life was there to abuse her; friends, lovers, husbands, bosses, and above them all, herself. 

She began a personal recovery journey, fighting against several addictions, and most importantly, she needed to stop blaming everyone but her for her suffering. 

Brenda Reiss is a Forgiveness Coach and CEO of Brenda Reiss Coaching. Brenda is the author of two books and the host of the upcoming podcast, Liberate Your Heart. She helps others to be masters of their own lives and move beyond their scars and challenges, no matter how tough they are. Brenda found in forgiveness the ability to assist others in stepping into their own power, let go of their baggage, and move past their most ardent hurdles. 

In this episode, we had a heart-touching conversation about Brenda's journey, her healing process, and her leap of fate towards entrepreneurship. Brenda demystified forgiveness and put some clarity on why most people are reluctant to forgive. We talked about acceptance and forgiveness, the arduous journey of forgiving ourselves, and what happens when we look at life as a mirror. Brenda also shared some powerful exercises to learn to forgive ourselves, and finally, she explained her 5 steps journey to forgiveness. 

Tune in and enjoy Brenda's flawless insights on forgiveness, self-compassion, growth, and love. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• How did you become the forgiveness coach? (3:05)
• Do you think that codependency is just another form of addiction that you went from the drinking to the codependency or was all together? (8:36)
• How does it work to go from acceptance to forgiveness? (11:15)
• How do we start that journey of forgiving ourselves? (18:29)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• A pinnacle moment for Brenda and her realization of what was wrong in her life (6:27)
• Brenda demystifies forgiveness (12:30)
• Some simple exercises to start our forgiveness journey (21:29)
• Awareness is key. How we can heal the hiding part of ourselves (25:28)
• Why we keep ourselves trapped in a shame loop (38:21)

Resources:

• Brenda Reiss website
• Book: Brenda Reiss - Forgive Yourself
• Book: Brenda Reiss - Journey to Your Heart Space: A Mandala Coloring Book
• Book: Caroline Myss - Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing

Connect with Brenda:

• Facebook

Let's Connect!

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some parents abuse their children not because they choose to, but because they are crippled by addictions or never healed from abuse and repeat the story with their own kids. Yet, there is light and darkness in all of us; and when Tameka Anderson remembers her abusive mother, she chooses to focus on the light, not her dark side. 

Tameka Anderson is America's F.U.N Coach (Families Understanding Needs) and Founder of Parenting Confident Kids. She helps parents of kids from 4 to 12 overcome behavior issues. She survived a traumatic childhood, being abused by her mother physically and emotionally. In her more than 25 years of experience, Tameka developed a system to help families unlock their potential, specializing in healing intergenerational traumas, meeting emotional needs, practical communication skills, and building confidence.

In this episode, Tameka shared her harrowing childhood story and the positive outcomes she got from it. We talked about how she made peace with her story and how she started her healing journey. We went through some of her many tactics to deal with parents and kids with behavior issues, the importance of creativity, and her top three defusing techniques to deal with kids' tantrums. Tameka also explained how critical it is to practice patience for both parents and kids, and she took us through some simple examples about how to implement it. 

Tune in and enjoy this masterclass on compassion, forgiveness, growth, and love to the little humans. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• How do you think you got here? How do you think you accomplished this? (7:08)
• How did you pull out all of the good things and not be more traumatized by how your mother treated you? (8:19)
• You say that creativity is crucial. Can you tell us a bit about that? (18:48)
• For people who are listening, who may have food issues, can you give us some pointers on how to deal with that? (32;02)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why Tameka decided to illuminate the light in her mother (8:11)
• Her first heartbreak. What it meant for Tameka not being acknowledged (12:12)
• Coming from a place of compassion and grace. Why Tameka never judges the people she works with (16:57)
• Tameka's top three tips to defuse a toddler's tantrum (22:50)
• Abuse is not always loud and physical. Tameka talks about some indicators kids can demonstrate through their behavior (29:24)

Resources:

• Parenting Confident Kids website
• Parenting Confident Kids Podcast
• Book: Tameka Anderson - Parenting The Confident Child: How to Crush Family Dysfunction, Eliminate Behavioral Issues & Raise Excellent Communicators​

Connect with Tameka:

• Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 

Let's Connect!

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leanne was five months pregnant when a blackout made her faint and fall to her bathroom floor while her other two children were sleeping and her husband was away on a business trip. Despite being awake, Leanne couldn't move, so she started to bargain with God. She stayed on the floor for more than 5 hours until she managed to take herself to a hospital. But that was only the start of the nightmare. The doctors couldn't tell what her condition was, but they gave her 5 years to live. 

She had some sort of degenerative condition on her brain, making her forget how to light the stove or open a cracker bag. After some years, things weren't getting better. Until one day, two years before the doctor's deadline, Leanne simply decided she wasn't dying anymore and that she would use the number 5 to change everything. 

Leanne Kabat is the author of The 5 Seasons of Connection collection. Her books take us right into those crucial minute-by-minute interactions where we either draw closer together or push further apart. Her first book helps parents connect on a deeper level with their kids, her second book goes into the most profound adult relationship we have, guiding couples out of Winter and towards their deepest love and truest connection, and her third book helps entrepreneurs overcome fears of success and failure to build a business on their brilliance. Leanne developed the 5 Seasons framework as a result of a medical diagnosis in 2006 that gave her five years to live, challenging her to truly live a life she loved. Fifteen years later, she’s happily raising three teens and excited to visit her 50th country when it's safe to do so.

In this episode, we talked about Leanne's inspiring life story and how she managed to always choose to be in a better place. We also talked about the period of her life when she thought life was sliding through her fingers and how she came up with her 5 seasons life approach. Leanne spoke about the importance of planting seeds of kindness and love and about taking care of our emotional gardens to have them ready to grow the right seeds. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• How do we decide? How do we believe when we don't believe? (20:10)
• So when people are in winter, and they can't believe what they want is possible. How do you guide them through the "I want it, but I don't believe it"? (26:52)
• Are there any tips for how to pull the weeds of our gardens? 41:35)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Laying on the floor for hours. The beginning of Leanne's nightmare (4:21)
• Throwing away the meds. The day Leanne decided she wasn't dying anymore (11:12)
• Leanne's 5 seasons. Winter, Fall, Summer, Spring, and Crossroads (14:15)
• Going for a hunt. Looking for slight evidence of positive change (31:08)
• The power of making intentional choices (39:57)

Resources:

• 5 Seasons Life website
• Book: Leanne Kabat - The 5 Seasons Connection to Your Business Brilliance
• Book: Leanne Kabat - The 5 Seasons Connection to Your Love Partner
• Book: Leanne Kabat - The 5 Seasons Connection to Your Child: Lead Your Family from Chaos to Connection

Connect with Leanne:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
• 5 Seasons Life Facebook Page

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I'm joined by Caroline Allen; she is a novelist and visual artist, and has been a metaphysical coach and book coach for more than two decades. She works out of an art studio yurt in the woods in rural Oregon.

Today, Caroline is the author of four award-winning novels. She's a professional visual artist, and she helps writers all over the world tell their stories. She's currently at work both writing and illustrating a middle grade book called Blue. All of her novels deal with mysticism and ecology, with spirit and the earth.

She began her career as a newsroom journalist in Tokyo, across Asia, in London and in Seattle. A sudden spiritual awakening when she was working at the Financial Times in London would propel her on a path of spiritual and creative evolution. 

She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri, School of Journalism. Caroline worked over a decade as an International Journalist. 

Today, we talked about Caroline's incredible journey into connecting with her creativity from a different place after her awakening. She kindly shared the details of how an excellent job and a magnificent lifestyle suddenly seemed the least fulfilling thing for her. We also talked about creativity, purpose, commitment, and goals. Caroline also shared some nuggets of her fantastic creative process and how she feeds her imagination before writing. 

Tune in and enjoy Caroline's masterclass about creativity, inspiration, and the fulfilling yet arduous writing process.  

Some Questions I Ask:

• How was your spiritual awakening like? (5:32)
• Why do you think creativity is so essential for people to utilize and also apply themselves? (12:41)
• What would you say to people who had a tough 2020 to get in touch with their creativity? (28:55)
• What are your next steps? (40:49)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Stories with no soul. How was Caroline's job as a journalist (3:31)
• How Caroline's awakening started (5:43)
• How we are conditioned to use the left linear brain and how that affects our creativity (14:38)
• Motivation is what keeps commitment on (16:31)
• Meeting ourselves where we are in our creative process and being gentle with ourselves (34:05)

Resources:

• Caroline Allen website
• Book: Caroline Allen - WATER: Book Four of the Elemental Journey Series
• Novel Wins Gold Visionary Award
• 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results

Connect with Caroline:

• LinkedIn

Let's Connect!

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After deciding to stop acting for some time to be a full-time mom, Rania felt something was missing; not being creative was killing her. She then discovered Snapchat and started recording short humor clips with tremendous success. She was getting messages from people thanking her for putting a smile on their faces during hard times, and that made her commit even more to her mission until one day, her camera broke. She thought stopping her sketches for three days wouldn't harm her, but she broke down completely. The pain and the trauma she was avoiding and pushing away by doing comedy to help others cope with their miseries came up, and she realized she needed to take some time to heal. 

In this episode, I'm joined by Rania Kurdi; she is an Actor, Singer, Confidence Life Coach, Speaker, and Mom. Rania has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment business. After graduating from Drama School in the UK, she returned to Jordan and produced a Children's TV special for Unicef and Jordan's first-ever talk show in English for JTV. Rania co-hosted the first reality show in the Middle East, SUPERSTAR (aka Pop Idol). Rania became the first Jordanian to achieve pan-Arab success as a TV presenter after being part of the hosting team for World Idol in the UK. She did tons of voice-overs for documentaries, commercials, and radio, and she was the IVR voice for the two first telecommunication companies launched in Jordan. In 2013, she was named ambassador for the children of war foundation COWF, and she wrote and produced her own Arab TV sketch show, " The Rania Show."

We had a fantastic conversation about the intersection between comedy and healing and the role comedy had in Rania's life. We also talked about Rania's journey to become a confidence coach and her commitment to helping other women and creatives live a fuller and more daring life. Rania kindly shared her healing process after her mother's death, and how through her healing, she unveiled childhood trauma that helped her grow and encouraged her to raise the flag against grooming and child abuse. 

Tune in and enjoy this fantastic conversation with this strong, kickass Jordanian woman. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• Did you ever use your comedy as a way to heal from any adversity in your life? (3:12)
• Did you know before your mom got sick that you had all of this healing work to do? (15:06)
• Do you know where the core piece of your fear of men comes from? (20:57)
• You've started an initiative called First Time. Can you tell us a bit about this initiative and what your dream is? (31:43)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The shadow self, what is it and its role in the healing process (5:44)
• Rania's experience in Snapchat and how she was using comedy to push her pain away (10:38)
• How Rania found closure after her mother's death (19:24)
• How we as women tend to blame ourselves after sexual abuse episodes (30:39)

Resources:

• Breaking Free podcast with Rania Kurdi
• Rania Kurdi YouTube channel
• TEDx Talk: Sheila Kelley - Let's Get Naked
• Book: Michael A. Singer - The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
• Book: Kenneth Adams, Ph.D. - Silently Seduced: When Parents Make Their Children Partners
• Book: Brian L. Weiss - Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives

Connect with Rania:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Let's Connect!

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the years, what I've noticed in a lot of my patients is a lack of fulfillment, a disconnection within themselves. A disconnection from their true selves.  At some point, they made decisions that separated them from their true nature. So, how do we get back to our true knowingness? When I think about babies….they know what they need and want and raise their voice to ask for it, and I wonder how we go from that to being completely out of knowingness, out of tracks, unfulfilled, and not knowing who we are. How do we return to our deep knowingness, our true self? 

In this episode, we talk about finding our voice and reconnecting with who we truly are. We dive deep into why we get  off track,  the power of learning to say no, and why it is so important to stand for what we want. I share three simple yet effective ways of finding our authentic voice and begin the journey into reconnecting with ourselves. 

Today, you will find out what happens when you unpack your truths - even the most challenging and painful ones - and slowly but firmly start to trust in yourself again. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why and how we start to betray our true nature (3:38)
• We are being bombarded with false versions of fulfillment, happiness, and success (5:22)
• How to create space for the supreme pleasure of saying YES (6:51)
• The first time I've heard my voice in a long time (10:18)
• Why we need to find quiet places where we can listen (14:01)
• My relationship with writing and reconnecting with my own voice (17:51)

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Book: Tosha Silver - Outrageous Openness: Letting the Divine Take the Lead
• Book: Ellen Newhouse - Nothing Ever Goes On Here: A Memoir

Let's Connect!

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a difference between seeing challenging times as a reason to stop doing something or giving up on a dream and understanding that difficulties happen and that they're just part of the journey. For Kathy Corneau, every roadblock in the pursuit of her goals didn't make her quit but try it later. She believes that dreams don't go away; even after many years, they'll still be there. 

Today, joining me is Kathy Corneau; she is a proud mom, an entrepreneur, a singer, a songwriter, an acoustic performer, an artist of dog portraits, and a dog behaviorist and trainer. 

When her son, 13 at that time, asked her for skincare products, they realized there is one brand that dominates the market, and it's not meant for teenagers but for men. Kathy decided to create a skincare line for teenage boys and girls made with natural and organic products that support the teen spirit and, most importantly, act as a bridge between childhood and adulthood. 

In this episode, we talked about Kathy's impressive journey raising two kids as a single mom and having such an unstoppable will to succeed and never give up on her dreams. We talked about her relationship with her passion, music. We also spoke about her relationship with her kids, painting, and dog training. Kathy kindly shared her thoughts on walking the spiritual path and being connected with our dreams. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• What was the impetus for this skincare line? Was it easy? Did it just come to you? How did it happen? (3:50)
• What would you say to somebody who's coming up against obstacles? (9:13)
• Have you ever had any roadblocks that you just were like, okay, no, I can't do this? (16:55)
• Now that the kids are older, has your creativity shifted from the music to the skincare line? (19:47)
• Is there any fear in beginning something? What would you tell somebody who says I don't know how to start? (28:58)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• How Kathy's journey into creating a skincare line for teenagers started (4:57)
• The roughest times Kathy faced and how she dealt with them (8:35)
• Inspired action. Kathy's philosophy to face life (12:57)
• The place creativity has in Kathy's life (18:41)
• Kathy's goal with her music (22:03)
• A piece of advice from Kathy for any entrepreneur that feels stuck (29:17)

Resources:

• 219 Skincare website
• 219 Skincare Instagram
• 219 Skincare Facebook

Let's Connect!

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we’re feeling bored or lonely, too often our automatic response is to reach for a social media outlet to fill that void. But are we really finding the connection we crave, or are we simply filling those minutes with a less-than-satisfying solution?

Humans are social animals, and we want to feel connection. As we’ve lived through the pandemic of 2020 and spent an entire year communicating, working, and doing our best to bond over Zoom calls, one thing has become crystal clear: screen time just isn’t the same as real, deep, human connection. But, despite the global focus on mental health, somehow, we are still deeply ashamed of feeling, and admitting to feeling, lonely.

In order to create the connection we desire with others, we first have to cultivate a deeper bond with ourselves. That means getting out of our own way and clearing the path towards personal growth. It’s time for all of us to listen more closely to our own hearts and discover what it is that we’re really yearning for.

In this episode, I’ll share how a series of experiences, from an unfortunate accident to a global pandemic, to the death of my mother, forced me to pause and connect more authentically with myself. Self-connection facilitates deeper bonds with those we love, and it reminds us that we are simply better together.

You’ll learn 3 simple methods you can use to build your connection to self through daily practices. Are you ready to take inspired action and enjoy deeper connections in life?

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

●  The accident that taught me how to sit still (2:53)

●  Why we’re all craving connection (7:55)

●  The loneliness epidemic in the US (17:58)

●  Daily practices to help you connect with yourself (22:25)

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Book: Together: Why Social Connection Holds the Key to Better Health, Higher Performance, and Greater Happiness by Vivek H. Murthy

Let’s Connect!

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.