Halfway To Dead, A Midlife Spiritual Journey

Jen Lovell
  • 5.0 (36)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Let’s have a moment of real talk. Life is f*****g hard. You and I didn’t get to midlife without hitting a few bumps in the road. Sure, on the surface your life seems pretty great. You’ve accomplished some amazing things. But dig a little deeper and we’ve been through some shit. I’m talking big T traumas. We armored up and battled through…it’s worked for us…until now.  Now, you and I have reached the age where we are done with all the b******t. Time feels more precious and we have the wisdom to know we aren’t going to live forever.  That’s OK because you and I plan on finishing this life strong.  Midlife is our chance to flip the script and experience life on our terms. It’s time to reconnect with our highest selves and reclaim our inner peace. A spiritual journey or a spiritual awakening isn’t about religion. It’s about connecting with yourself and your higher power directly. It’s not just about the woo-woo stuff either. Don’t get me wrong, we are going to explore all things woo-woo…like tapping into our intuition, meditation, manifesting, how to connect with your spirit team, human design, reiki, past lives and so much more. For you and I, it also means figuring out how to love and care for our aging bodies. Plus, it’s time for us to break free from the bubble we've been living in and open our hearts and minds to the world around us. We can change things for the better as a collective. Basically, it’s time for us to become better f*****g people. When we know better, we can do better. Every person’s journey is unique. You may have no idea what your spiritual journey is going to look like. That’s OK, we’re going to figure this out together. We’ll laugh, we’ll cry, and we’ll use too much profanity.  That’s just how we roll. Are you ready?  Awesome. Hop in and ride shotgun with me as we transform and grow through enlightened conversations, practical tips, and inspiring stories. It’s time to embark on this midlife spiritual journey together!  

  1. 4d ago

    Becoming A NeuroHeir by Healing Generational Trauma

    Your body can’t “mindset” its way out of survival mode. When anxiety, overwhelm, people pleasing, or shutdown keeps showing up, it’s often your nervous system doing exactly what it learned to do to keep you safe, even if the strategy is costing you now. We talk with Leanna Hunt, an associate clinical mental health counselor, certified performance coach, and certified brainspotting therapist, about what regulation really looks like for midlife women who are tired of carrying everyone else.  We get into the deep definition of safety in the body, how fight, flight, freeze, and appeasement drive our reactions, and why “I’m fine” can be a cover that blocks real healing. Leanna shares the idea of becoming a NeuroHeir: recognizing generational trauma and inherited survival patterns, then choosing what you want to pass forward. We also explore how family pain can be healed without living in blame, including what to do when a parent won’t participate, or when the relationship can’t be repaired in the traditional way.  You’ll leave with practical nervous system tools you can use immediately, including the Four Ns framework (Notice, Name, Nurture, Navigate) and why diaphragmatic breathing is the most powerful place to start. If you’re ready to feel more embodied, set cleaner boundaries, and stop outsourcing your safety to other people, this conversation is for you. Subscribe or follow, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a five-star rating and review so more midlife women can find the support. Leanna Hunt is an Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Certified Performance Coach, author, and certified Brainspotting therapist who specializes in nervous-system and body-based approaches. She helps women understand the patterns behind anxiety, overwhelm, people-pleasing, and other protective responses so they can create greater safety, connection, and choice. She is the creator of the NeuroHeir™ framework and host of The NeuroHeir™ Podcast, where she explores nervous-system healing, generational patterns, and what it looks like to choose what comes next. Let's Connect! Leanna's Website The NeuroHeir Podcast Leanna on IG Halfway To Dead Podcast Website Facebook Instagram email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com

    Becoming A NeuroHeir by Healing Generational Trauma

  2. Sep 23

    It's Time To Awaken Your Sleeping Queen

    The moment you realize your life looks “fine” but feels wrong can be terrifying and clarifying at the same time. I’m sitting down with Nathalie Cordell, an accredited psycho-spiritual coach and the author of Awakening the Sleeping Queen: How to Reclaim Your Feminine Wisdom and Power, to talk about that exact threshold. Nathalie shares how a slow-building discontent, plus a family health crisis, snapped her awake and made the old metrics of success feel meaningless.  We dig into why so many women fall asleep to their own needs and intuition, and why midlife often triggers a crisis of meaning. Nathalie explains her psychosynthesis lens, the idea of sub-personalities, and how protectors like the inner tyrant (perfectionism, overdoing, control) and the inner witch (cold anger, shutdown, revenge fantasies) aren’t “bad,” they’re trying to keep us safe. We also talk about reclaiming the crone era, the powerful wisdom that can come with aging, and why anger is energy that needs movement, not shame.  Then we get practical: remothering, emotional safety, and how to start listening to the nudge without rushing to fix yourself. Nathalie’s favorite first step is journaling because it helps you see patterns clearly and reconnect with your authentic self from the inside out.  If you’re ready to stop outsourcing your worth and start living with real inner sovereignty, hit play, subscribe, and share this with a friend who’s feeling the shift. And help Jen out, leave a five-star rating and a review so more women can find this work. Nathalie Cordell is an accredited psycho-spiritual coach and writer of Soul Seeds on Substack, a space for women navigating the messy middle of life. After 20 years climbing the corporate ladder in pharma, she got tired of climbing and decided to see if she could fly instead. She retrained as a coach, earning an MA in Psychosynthesis Leadership Coaching. Now she helps women discover who they really are and reclaim their authentic power. Passionate about exploring life's mysteries and the depths of the human soul, her new book Awakening the Sleeping Queen guides women on the journey home to themselves. Let's Connect! Buy Awakening the Sleepin Queen Book Nathalie's Link Tree Nathalie's LinkdIn Soul Seeds Blog Nathalie on Instagram Nathalie on Facebook Halfway To Dead Podcast Website Facebook Instagram email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com

    It's Time To Awaken Your Sleeping Queen

  3. Sep 16

    The Adoption Triad Explained With Compassion

    Adoption stories usually get flattened into a single viewpoint, and that is where so much pain and misunderstanding starts. I sit down with Donna Pope, executive director of Heart to Heart Adoptions and host of the Voices of Adoption podcast, to talk about adoption from all three perspectives: birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees. We get honest about the emotions people do not say out loud, and we name the myths that keep families stuck, especially the cruel idea that a birth mother does not love her child. Donna explains what birth mothers often carry privately, why voluntary relinquishment can be about protection and stability, and how adoptive parents can avoid creating a loyalty tug of war that puts the child in the middle. We talk about open adoption, age-appropriate honesty, and the practical reality that adoptive parents are human too, with real insecurities and real challenges, including mental health and prenatal drug exposure concerns and the added layers in transracial adoption. We also spend time on adoptee trauma and healing, including the way separation can live in the nervous system and show up later as anxiety, anger, addiction, or deep identity questions. Donna breaks down trauma blind, trauma aware, and trauma stuck, and we discuss therapy options that can help at any age. If you are a midlifer feeling called to foster or adopt, or you want to help kids in the foster care system without bringing a child into your home, we talk about CASA, the court appointed special advocate role, and why one consistent adult can change everything. We also share a new community resource Donna is building: adoptions.com. Donna Pope is a compassionate leader and dedicated advocate in the adoption community, serving as the Executive Director of Heart to Heart Adoptions. With a deep commitment to supporting women experiencing unexpected pregnancies, Donna has made it her life’s mission to walk alongside birth mothers with empathy, respect, and unwavering care.Whether providing emotional support, helping navigate financial concerns, or ensuring access to appropriate medical care, Donna is known for going above and beyond to support the women and families she serves.Donna plays a vital role in creating a safe, non-judgmental environment where birth mothers and adoptive families feel heard, supported, and empowered to make informed decisions. Her expertise in thoughtfully matching birth mothers with adoptive families has made her an invaluable part of the adoption community.In addition to her work in adoption, Donna is the host of the Voices of Adoption Podcast, along with three other podcasts, where she shares real and authentic stories from across the adoption triad. Through these meaningful conversations, she brings awareness, connection, and understanding to the complexities of adoption, helping others feel less alone in their journeys. Subscribe or follow, share this with someone who needs a more compassionate adoption conversation, and leave a review to help more people find the show. What part of the adoption triad do you want to understand better? Let's Connect! Heart To Heart Adoption Donna's Linkedin Voices Of Adoption YouTube Listen to Voices of Adoption podcast on all platforms Halfway To Dead Podcast Website Facebook Instagram email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com

    The Adoption Triad Explained With Compassion

  4. Sep 9

    Absolute Self-Love In Midlife

    You can have the title, the money, the house, the “good on paper” life and still feel like something is missing. That quiet misery is the signal we dig into with Jasmyn Quianna, author of Falling Madly in Self-Love and founder of the Absolute Self-Love Movement. Jasmyn brings a rare mix of real-life grit and spiritual depth, and she names what a lot of high-achieving women don’t want to admit out loud: you may not have a burnout problem, you may have a self-trust problem. We talk about self-love as something deeper than self-care and way bigger than confidence. Jasmyn lays out what it means to stop treating love like a transaction you earn through perfection, productivity, or people-pleasing. We also get honest about how shame-based conditioning and strict religious upbringing can wire you to fear your own inner voice, and what it looks like to rebuild your connection to the divine in a way that actually expands your worthiness instead of shrinking it. From there, we get practical. We unpack key pillars like self-awareness across conscious, subconscious, and superconscious thought, self-accountability as boundaries, and self-forgiveness as a daily practice you can repeat in real time when the inner critic shows up. Jasmyn also shares a powerful part of her story, including an involuntary psychiatric commitment, and how that experience became a mirror for the ways we sedate, abandon, and punish ourselves when we’re stuck in survival mode. We close with tools, support options, and a simple truth that matters in midlife: five minutes a day can change everything if you keep showing up. Jasmyn Quianna is the author of Falling Madly in Self-Love and founder of the Absolute Self-Love Movement. A former oncology clinical research leader, she now helps high-achieving women who feel stuck and burned out realize they don’t have a burnout problem - they have a self-trust problem. They already know what they want, but don’t trust themselves enough to choose it. Through her work, she helps them stop overthinking, stop second-guessing, and finally act on what they know is right so they can build a life that actually feels as good as it looks. Subscribe or follow for more midlife healing conversations, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a five-star rating and review so more women can find the path back to themselves. Let's Connect! Book: Falling Madly in Self-Love FREE Chapter Jasmyn's Website Follow Jasmyn on Instagram Halfway To Dead Podcast Website Facebook Instagram email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com

    Absolute Self-Love In Midlife

  5. Sep 2

    Naked Out Loud -From Rock Tours To Real Healing In Midlife

    The wildest part of Machan Taylor’s story isn’t the backstage access or the legendary names. It’s the quiet moment when she realizes the life that looks “made” from the outside is still built on old trauma, old shame, and a nervous system that never learned safety.  I sit down with Machan, a singer, songwriter, educator, and author of the memoir “Naked Out Loud,” to talk about what happens when you stop saving face and start telling the truth. We get into her Japanese American upbringing, the early rupture of leaving Japan as a child, and the long shadow of not belonging. Machan shares how family dysfunction and an alcoholic father shaped her self-worth, and how those patterns echoed later in an abusive marriage she ultimately had to leave to survive. We also talk candidly about panic attacks, anxiety, and the way trauma can imprint on the body for years.  From there, the conversation opens into the healing tools that helped her rebuild from the inside out: chanting and Buddhism, meditation and yoga, intuition and energy, and the sacred, demanding work of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Machan explains her guided experiences with MDMA and psilocybin, why intention and integration matter, and how those sessions helped her find the “original” wound that talk therapy never fully reached. We end with the part I want every midlife listener to hear: reinvention is real. Machan goes back to school at 54, becomes a professor at NYU, keeps performing, and proves that turning 70 doesn’t mean shrinking your life.  If you take something from this, subscribe or follow, share it with a friend who needs a second act, and leave a five-star rating and a review so more women can find this work. Let's Connect! Machan's Website Buy Her Book Naked Out Loud Halfway To Dead Podcast Website Facebook Instagram email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com

    Naked Out Loud -From Rock Tours To Real Healing In Midlife

  6. Aug 26

    Tantra Talk Part 2 -The Midlife Guide To Tantra Beyond Sex

    Tantra Talk Part 2 Tantra has a branding problem, and it’s costing a lot of us the exact thing we’re craving in midlife: peace in our bodies, clarity in our desires, and real connection that doesn’t require performing. I’m back with Rosa, founder of the London School of Tantra, to strip the topic down to its roots. Tantra, as Rosa defines it, is a tool for weaving and expanding consciousness, a path of liberation that includes sexuality without being reduced to it. We talk about how tantra got popularized in the West through neo-tantra, why desire was treated as “bad,” and what changes when you stop shaming your wants. Rosa breaks down key concepts like Shiva and Shakti, kundalini life force energy, and polarity in relationships, with a grounded take that keeps it practical instead of preachy. If libido feels flat, intimacy feels tense, or you’re tired of leaking energy through people-pleasing, this part will hit home. Then we get into Rosa’s framework: the 12 fundamentals of the human experience. We walk through the base fundamentals that create safety (boundaries, desire, rejection, emotional connection), the core that brings your magnetism back online (authenticity, presence, love, play), and the source tier that expands everything (surrender, intuition, sexuality, energy). You’ll also hear why real change takes work at the subconscious level, the nervous system level, and the behavior level, plus a guided foundation breath you can try today. If you’re ready to feel more alive, more sovereign, and more you, press play. Subscribe or follow so you don’t miss what’s next, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a five-star rating and review to help more women find the show. Rosa Maxwell is the founder of the London School of Tantra, the UK’s largest female-founded Tantra school, and a leading voice in the modern Tantra movement  An international facilitator and sex magic expert, Rosa is the creative force behind the school’s visionary approach that unites science, spirituality, and sexuality. With over a decade of experience in psychology, coaching, and embodiment, Rosa bridges ancient wisdom with modern neuroscience to create world-class training for facilitators and profound transformation for her students. Her work helps people regulate the nervous system, awaken erotic energy, and experience true freedom—living, loving, and leading from authenticity and liberation.  When she’s not holding space, Rosa can usually be found with a cacao in hand, dancing barefoot somewhere warm, or dreaming up new ways to make spiritual work more accessible, inclusive, and deeply human. Let's Connect! Rosa's Website The Secret Diary of a Tantrica Secret Podcast Rosa on Instagram Halfway To Dead Podcast Website Facebook Instagram email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com

    Tantra Talk Part 2 -The Midlife Guide To Tantra Beyond Sex

  7. Aug 26

    Tantra Talk Part 1- T**s Out With A Guitar And A Nervous System Reset

    Tantra Talk with Rosa Maxwell Part 1 Your body can look calm while your nervous system is in full survival mode, and if you’ve ever wondered why talk therapy alone doesn’t always create lasting change, this conversation clicks things into place. We sit down with Rosa Maxwell, founder of the London School of Tantra and an international facilitator known for trauma-informed coaching that weaves together embodiment, nervous system regulation, spirituality, and sexuality without the fluff. Rosa shares the behind-the-scenes story most people never see: just a few years ago she’s dealing with depression, severe anxiety, numbness in her body, and trauma flashbacks that derail her life in the corporate world. EMDR helps stop the flashbacks and ease PTSD symptoms, but it doesn’t automatically reconnect her to pleasure, desire, and aliveness. That search leads her to Tantra, and what starts as curiosity about sex becomes something much bigger: a daily practice of coming back home to herself, peeling away what isn’t truly her, and building real inner safety. We also unpack a powerful moment for Jen at a retreat in Greece where a sudden burst of rage triggers a freeze response. Rosa explains what’s happening through the lens of fight, flight, freeze, dissociation, and co-regulation, including why gentle grounding and being witnessed can shift the body faster than logic ever will. If you’re exploring somatic healing, inner child work, IFS-informed practices, or midlife spirituality, you’ll leave with language and insight that makes your own patterns feel understandable, not shameful. Part two goes deeper into Tantra fundamentals and myths, so make sure to hop over and listen now! If this resonates, share it with a friend and leave a five-star rating and review so more people can find the path back to embodiment. Rosa Maxwell is the founder of the London School of Tantra, the UK’s largest female-founded Tantra school, and a leading voice in the modern Tantra movement.  An international facilitator and sex magic expert, Rosa is the creative force behind the school’s visionary approach that unites science, spirituality, and sexuality. With over a decade of experience in psychology, coaching, and embodiment, Rosa bridges ancient wisdom with modern neuroscience to create world-class training for facilitators and profound transformation for her students. Her work helps people regulate the nervous system, awaken erotic energy, and experience true freedom—living, loving, and leading from authenticity and liberation.  When she’s not holding space, Rosa can usually be found with a cacao in hand, dancing barefoot somewhere warm, or dreaming up new ways to make spiritual work more accessible, inclusive, and deeply human. Let's Connect! Rosa's Website The Secret Diary of a Tantrica Secret Podcast Rosa on Instagram Halfway To Dead Podcast Website Facebook Instagram email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com

    Tantra Talk Part 1- T**s Out With A Guitar And A Nervous System Reset

  8. Aug 19

    You’re Not The Problem: A Nervous System Roadmap For Midlife

    Your nervous system isn’t the enemy, and “try harder” isn’t the answer. Jen Lovell sits down with somatic healing practitioner and author Lori Montry to get honest about what midlife really reveals: the coping patterns that once helped us survive can start running the show, leaving us stuck in stress, overwhelm, people pleasing, emotional eating, and that quiet sense of “What is wrong with me?”  Lori shares her own path from high achievement on the outside to feeling unsteady on the inside, and she reframes the shame loop with one simple truth: you’re not the problem. We dig into nervous system regulation as a real, body-based foundation for sustainable behavior change, including why trauma-informed support matters and how survival mode can show up as both high alert and functional freeze. This is practical and science-aware, from safety and capacity to the role energy plays when you feel exhausted even after sleep.  Then we walk through Lori’s Freedom Framework: regulate first, discover what’s true for you, then build a life that matches it. You’ll hear an actionable way to start today with simple self check-ins throughout the day, what to look for in your body, and how to respond with care instead of control. We also talk about how authenticity can change relationships, sometimes in challenging ways, and why community support can make the discomfort doable.  If you’re ready to stop treating yourself like a project and start listening to what your body has been trying to say, hit play. Subscribe or follow so you don’t miss what’s next, and if the conversation helps, share it with a friend and leave a review. Lori Montry is a somatic healing practitioner, author of You’re Not the Problem, and the creator of the Freedom Framework, a nervous system–based roadmap for sustainable behavior change. She helps people who feel stuck in stress, overwhelm, or self-sabotage understand the survival patterns driving their choices so they can build the safety, capacity, and clarity needed to take aligned action in every area of their lives.  Let's Connect! Lori's Website Nervous System Self Discovery Quiz Join The Circle Lori on YouTube Lori's FB Lori's Insta Halfway To Dead Podcast Website Facebook Instagram email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com

    You’re Not The Problem: A Nervous System Roadmap For Midlife
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Let’s have a moment of real talk. Life is f*****g hard. You and I didn’t get to midlife without hitting a few bumps in the road. Sure, on the surface your life seems pretty great. You’ve accomplished some amazing things. But dig a little deeper and we’ve been through some shit. I’m talking big T traumas. We armored up and battled through…it’s worked for us…until now.  Now, you and I have reached the age where we are done with all the b******t. Time feels more precious and we have the wisdom to know we aren’t going to live forever.  That’s OK because you and I plan on finishing this life strong.  Midlife is our chance to flip the script and experience life on our terms. It’s time to reconnect with our highest selves and reclaim our inner peace. A spiritual journey or a spiritual awakening isn’t about religion. It’s about connecting with yourself and your higher power directly. It’s not just about the woo-woo stuff either. Don’t get me wrong, we are going to explore all things woo-woo…like tapping into our intuition, meditation, manifesting, how to connect with your spirit team, human design, reiki, past lives and so much more. For you and I, it also means figuring out how to love and care for our aging bodies. Plus, it’s time for us to break free from the bubble we've been living in and open our hearts and minds to the world around us. We can change things for the better as a collective. Basically, it’s time for us to become better f*****g people. When we know better, we can do better. Every person’s journey is unique. You may have no idea what your spiritual journey is going to look like. That’s OK, we’re going to figure this out together. We’ll laugh, we’ll cry, and we’ll use too much profanity.  That’s just how we roll. Are you ready?  Awesome. Hop in and ride shotgun with me as we transform and grow through enlightened conversations, practical tips, and inspiring stories. It’s time to embark on this midlife spiritual journey together!  

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