Getting Through the Messy Middle

Any time we’re making changes in our lives, any time we’re learning something new, any time the universe throws us a curve ball – there’s usually a big chunk of mess we have to wade through to get to the other side. This episode goes out to anyone who’s feeling stuck in that muck. Sometimes […]

If You’re Feeling Like a F*ck Up…

Woman sitting amidst a pile of papers, holding her face with. eyes closed, feeling like a fuck up

Interrupting my season break with a spontaneous love note to anyone struggling with self-doubt, self-criticism, or the shitty fucking stories that like to get their grips on us. In particular, this is for my NeuroSpicy folks, my friends in recovery, and anyone who just feels like it’s impossible to fit into the box of what […]

Practical Mysticism and Trusting the Divine with Julie Day

What would it be like to live in a world filled with unconditional love? A world where we fully trusted in ourselves, where we felt utterly supported in showing up for the lessons the universe has laid out for us? It’s aspirational, for sure. But maybe it’s not quite so out of reach as we […]

Normalizing the Struggle

Are you on the struggle bus, my friend? If so, you are not alone – even if it super duper feels like it a lot of the time. And, as much as it sucks, the struggle is just a normal part of being human. What there is to do is persist and remember to connect […]

What It Means to Prioritize Ourselves

We often talk about getting our priorities in order or making a priority list – that if we could just clearly rank everything in order of importance, then we’d have our shit figured out. And that’s true! Sort of.  You see, when we look at the word priority itself, it’s singular. To prioritize something means […]

The Difference between Settling and Acceptance

When life is doing shit that we don’t like, acceptance is the jumping off point, y’all. Settling is the crash landing. Or maybe it’s the getting stuck on a sandbar landing. Settling is definitely muddy and gross, and I do not wish it upon any of you beautiful souls!  Acceptance, on the other hand, is […]

How Trauma Disrupts Our Capacity for Joy with Dr. Stephanie Goldsmith, PhD

woman holding slip of paper that is on fire. Message on the paper says "good vibes only"

We all have trauma, y’all. It just might not be Trauma with a capital T. Instead, many/most of us are just wandering around on this journey of life getting hijacked by our little-t trauma responses without even knowing it!  That’s why I brought in a globally-renowned trauma expert to talk to us about how trauma […]

Season Break! (+ The Necessity of Rest)

We all need to take a break sometimes, and this episode is both a reminder and announcement! I’ll be taking the next few weeks off for a much-needed season break, and this episode is a lovely little pep talk for you to take some time off, too. Listen anywhere you listen to podcasts! Transcript: Hello, […]

Making Brave Choices

We all have shit going on in our lives that scares us, even if we don’t necessarily think of it as fear. And that means we all have to make brave choices sometimes, even if we don’t necessarily think of it as bravery. But facing our shit – whether it’s the big, heavy stuff, or the […]

Honoring Anniversaries of Sobriety and Other Milestones

Yesterday marked my 14th anniversary of getting sober – which is a big deal! And also tends to stir up a lot of weird emotions: ambiguous grief, an intense combination of gratitude and longing, lots of hope and heaviness at the same time… So this episode is very much about my recovery specifically, but also […]

Be the Weirdo Who Dares to Enjoy

If I could bottle up and sell a single magic elixir to the world, it would be a potion of self-acceptance. Because the truth is, as the LP song goes, we are all strange. And I think the world would be a kinder, more joyful, more vibrant place if we could all celebrate that instead […]

Dreams Come True a Day at a Time

rainbow colored paper cranes hanging from string

When I was first getting sober, everyone kept saying how it happens a day at a time. We just don’t drink today, they said. Which, honestly, felt like a stupid, trite catchphrase that was designed to make me crazy.  What the fuck did they mean, “a day at a time?” What about next year? What […]

What My Recovery Means to Me

thirteen year sobriety coin and an illustration of a panda with a four leaf clover

Today marks 13 years since I smoked the last of my weed (July 1st, 2010) and decided to try spending 90 days entirely sober (July 2nd, 2010). As it turned out, being completely substance-free suited me really, really well – eventually.  When I got sober, I didn’t really think I had a problem with alcohol. […]

Deciding People Mean Well

No matter how kind or compassionate or generous we may be, people are going to hurt us. That’s a reality of being in relation with other humans. People fuck up, and our feelings get hurt. We get angry. We sometimes retaliate, even when we don’t mean to.  Everybody behaves like a jerk sometimes. Welcome to […]

Happiness is Fleeting, Wholeness Persists

I think one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in recovery is that feelings aren’t forever – all of them. Happy, sad, afraid, elated, hopeless, irritated, confused, delighted, embarrassed, ashamed, adored… none of them are permanent states of being, and trying to make them last is an unrealistic goal.  But we do try, and […]

Moving from Fear to Love

In the past few years, I’ve made a lot of big, scary decisions. It started with the decision to leave academia – because I wanted the agency to choose where I live. Then I had to actually decide where to live and picked Portland – even though I wasn’t sure I could afford it. Then […]

Give Yourself a F**king Break

I’m writing this from Mexico City – which is important context since I’m on day four of an eight day trip and have cried at least once (if not multiple times) every day for the last three days. And the shitty voice in my head wants to be a dick to me about that, so […]

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