Creative Spirits Unleashed Lynn Carnes

My guest for this next episode is Stevie Delahunt. This podcast is going to be a very different episode. When you get into it, you'll notice that we just started recording. There wasn't this moment where I went, "Stevie, welcome to the podcast," because we just started talking the minute we got on Zoom together. 
Here's the background. 

In the 24 hours before Stevie and I were scheduled to record, she discovered that her horse, Captain America, had severely lacerated his front left leg in the pasture. There was a big decision to be made. Was it even something that could be recoverable? She had spent the last 24 hours working with him to determine what to do. 

The vets eventually took four hours to stich him up and put him back together. Given all that, I started this podcast by saying, "Stevie, we can just talk. We don't have to do a podcast; maybe you just need an ear for what you've been going through." She started talking, and I hit record because we just got right into it. 

What you're going to hear in this podcast is two people having a very rich discussion about how to deal with adversity and pressure, including things like having our horse cut their leg and all the other things that we might call trauma.  She calls those things productive struggle, or spicy memories.

Stevie is all about helping people deal with difficult situations. Let me tell you a little bit about her. 

Stevie Delahunt graduated Michigan State University with two degrees and an intent to pursue law school at Georgetown University where she had been accepted. She switched gears and went to the French Pastry School of Chicago to learn how to do wedding cakes and set up shop in the Windy City. While in Chicago she learned of the worlds toughest horse race, the Mongol Derby, and she again let life guide her into constant change. On the other side of successfully completing the Mongol Derby she took a job with a start up company in Rhode Island and learned coding and marketing for the online business. 
 
The endeavor in the world of start-ups gave her strong leadership skills and an education in business models she applied to starting her second and current business of horse related retreats. Stevie’s current business encompasses several facets of the horse world including beginner riding instruction, advanced Bootcamp style retreats for riders wishing to participate in difficult horse riding survival races around the world, horse shoeing, and endurance racing with horses which includes doing the worlds toughest one day one hundred mile horse race; the Tevis Cup. 
 
Stevie believes that adversity is a necessary part of life and being prepared for adversity as well as creating it for oneself is essential and is a tool she uses in teaching both horses and humans, both young and old. 

My guest for this episode is Kathy Price. Kathy is from the United Kingdom, which you will be able to tell from her accent when you hear this conversation. She and I met last year during the Journey on Podcast Summit in San Antonio, TX.
 
This year, we're just coming off the second Podcast Summit in San Antonio.  As we did last year, Kathy and I connected immediately. In fact, I was so excited to get to have her on this podcast because there was so much I wanted to learn from her.
 
Last year, I sat with her last year in a session she did on at a breakfast meeting about the work she does, which is called Point of Balance. I was interested to learn how  someone with such a scientific background - she has a degree in Zoology – is now talking about things like energy, quantum physics, and how those fields apply to healing horses and healing humans.
 
This podcast gives many of those answers. Kathy is also clear that her work is that of a facilitator, and in that, she carries a strong message of empowerment. Kathy said several times that we have everything we need to be who we’re meant to be and to achieve what we’re meant to achieve, and to bring ourselves back into balance.
 
Here's what Kathy shared about herself:
 
From a very young age horses have been THE passion in Kathy’s life. Even though Kathy grew up in the suburbs of London with totally a non-horsey family, somehow the love of the horse was always the most powerful thing in her life.
 
Kathy comes from a scientific background gaining a BSc (Hons) degree in Zoology. Her mindset was always based on the scientific paradigm of you had to be able to “measure it, replicate it and explain it” for it to be true. If those criteria were in place, she was happy. If they weren’t, she didn’t want to know.
 
That was until in 2003 when with her horse Midnight she went to a horsemanship clinic with clinician Len Judd. For her this clinic was the moment of transformation, a spiritual experience that changed her life.
 
From that weekend forward, as she stepped into and embraced the world of energy and connection, her need for scientific explanation fell away and her mind set became, “My Experience is my Truth.”
 
Now after many years of studying energy, quantum physics, healing, spirituality and training in several energetic modalities, Kathy is well-established in her own, unique work which she calls Point of Balance.
 
Through this purely energetic work her aim is to facilitate the person or animal she is working to move back into balance at all levels - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. This move back to balance not only helps them to heal themselves, but also helps them realize their unique power and potential.
 
Kathy knows categorically that is the horse that has not only led her to the wonderful people around her today, but also continues to lead her into deeper and deeper insights of the fundamental aspects of this World and indeed The Universe, namely that everything is energy and everything is connected.
 
Kathy’s work includes carrying out sessions in person and at distance with both people and animals, and she feels blessed and grateful to have clients both people and animals, all over the world.

Anne Bartolucci is my guest for this next episode of the Creative Spirits Unleashed Podcast. She's the author of a book called, "Better Sleep for the Overachiever."

Our conversation touched on lots of the parts of that book title. We talked about sleep, but the more prominent theme was what it means to be an overachiever. I count myself as an overachiever. I've been that way my entire life. You'll find in this conversation Anne is as well.

We are both a couple of “experts” talking about what it is to be an overachiever, along with the benefits and costs of having that personality type. One of the costs, of course, is lack of sleep. But the other thing we do as overachievers is to be hard on ourselves. We are perfectionists; we fear failure, we like to get everything right, and we hate making mistakes.

Throughout this conversation, we had a vibrant discussion about what to do about those mindsets and how to make things a little better for ourselves.

Here’s more about Anne:

Anne Bartolucci, Ph.D., D.B.S.M. is a licensed psychologist, certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist, and professional speaker who has taught workshops and classes for several writing, medical, and psychological organizations. She is a USA Today bestselling author with over twenty novels and novellas in print under her pen name Cecilia Dominic and two nonfiction books including Better Sleep for the Overachiever (2020; AIBHS) as herself. Recently, she combined her loves of writing, sleep, and psychology in her new online teaching and coaching venture, Psych Up Academy: Compassionate, Psychology-Based Solutions to Get Out of Your Own Way, Work with Your Brain, and Live Your Dreams.
 
I'm sure you're going to enjoy this conversation. If you like this conversation, please rate it and share it on the podcast platforms. I love your comments as well. I want to get the word out there because if we can all have a little more peace of mind, we will have a better world.

Topics:
What made you choose sleep as a career? (1:54)Sightseeing and ear training. (10:34)What is a proving mindset? (16:04)How do you break the emotion away from the thoughts? (21:34)The key to helping overachievers let go. (25:09)It's never too late. (29:50)The fear of failure. (36:43)The difference between improving mindset vs. proving mindset. (40:40)What happens when you get through the first 30 seconds? (46:42)The shadow self and the principle of life. (53:15)How to let go of perfectionism. (57:41)What Is Psychopath Academy? (1:02:51)How to encourage people to take advantage of courses. (1:06:42)How do you get out of your own way?Contact Information

Website: https://psychupacademy.com

Email: anne@sleepyintheatl.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-bartolucci/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/psychupacademy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/psychupacademy

My guest for this episode of the Creative Spirits Unleashed Podcast is Kathy Taylor of HerdWise Leadership Coaching. We started this conversation with a quote, which launched a very interesting conversation about what it means to be true to ourselves. The quote was behind her and it said “Be full of yourself.” I was pretty sure there was a double meaning, so we started our conversation there.

We came around to an interesting question. Kathy said, "What does it mean to be a safe person to ourselves?" Now, if that's intriguing for you, it got even more interesting because she likened what we were talking about to filling a little honey bear jar with all kinds of nooks and crannies.

What she does is help people find all the nooks and crannies inside their bodies and their mindsets that keep them from being who they were born to be. We're talking about balancing acts, we're talking about how we can be more true to ourselves, and we're talking about the steps it takes to get there. I will never see a honey bear jar the same way again!

She gave us some of those steps in this conversation along with lots of ideas on how we can learn and grow.

Here's a little bit more about Kathy.

Kathy Taylor is an Embodiment & Nervous System coach who also incorporates horses and nature in her practice. She works with highly successful women who don't want to believe "this is all there is," but just can't quite seem to get where they want to go and are exhausted from trying.

Kathy was aware her people-pleasing, perfectionism, and proving were holding her back, but she didn't know what else to do. The latest self-help book, new strategies and "trying really hard" had gotten her only so far. She put a lot of pressure on herself to succeed like everyone else had and nearly gave up. When she discovered it was her own well practiced stress and trauma responses getting in the way, she knew that more head knowledge couldn't take her where she wanted to go. By learning how to work with her own body and nervous system she was finally able to acknowledge her needs, show up as her *real* self and take meaningful action. With her intellect and intuition working together at last, Kathy shares with others how to access the wisdom of the body.

Topics: 
What does it mean to be true to ourselves? (0:02)Be full of yourself and take up space. (2:49)Taking responsibility for your life. (8:32)The importance of coming back to center of safety. (13:47)Cold baths and ice baths. (17:31)Physical assessment of the nervous system. (22:31)Pushing through the fear. (26:53)How did you come to this point of consent? (31:36)Why horses are so valuable? (36:46)Horses have better sensors than we do. (40:51)The importance of air traffic control. (45:22)Trying to change the mistakes in our bodies. (50:09)Leaving yourself behind creates a little hole. (56:29)What can you do to make connections in your body? (1:01:57)Boundaries between what's mine and what's not mine. (1:06:52)How we invite the injury. (1:11:04)The sway test and its power. (1:17:27)How to get in touch with her. (1:22:54)The journey to the self. (1:29:11)

Have you ever thought about the practical applications of yoga? My guest for this episode, Cathy Woods of Cathy Woods Yoga, offers tons of practical insights and connections on how yoga can make life better. In fact, this conversation was a masterclass in “lifemanship”. Not only did we talk about yoga, we talked about leadership, mindfulness, and parallels to horsemanship. In other words, we talked about was life and some of the more profound life principles that can help all of us have a better time here on Earth.

Here is more about Cathy Woods.

A pioneer in equestrian wellness, who combines mindfulness, yoga, and horsemanship to improve and enrich horsemanship from ground to saddle through the use of yogic "principles." Through a variety of enrichment programs, Cathy shares how to become a more skilled human being, thus better for our equine partners, teaching participants to deepen their relationship and connection with themselves, their horses, and the world around them.

Cathy Woods is the creator of her trademarked program, Body, Mind, Equine, and author of Yoga for Riders (published by Horseandriderbooks), a long-time yoga teacher/retreat leader, horsewoman, and avid, backcountry trail rider. She leads retreats and clinics internationally at ranches, expos, and equine centers and also has online audio and video courses. Cathy has been leading yoga programs for horse lovers and non-equestrians for thirty-three years. Her yoga and equine programs teach about the parallels between true yoga and horsemanship.

Body, Mind, Equine is not about doing acrobatics on the back of a horse, but rather how to use yoga principles (not just postures) to improve our interactions with equines and how to become a more aware, mindful equestrian. In addition, Cathy also teaches good stretches for riders and breathwork for riders through mounted and unmounted sessions.

Combining her passions of yoga, horses, and travel, she loves to curate unique, meaningful, enrichment, and empowerment experiences; her one-of-a-kind programs have reached international acclaim, Woods has written for and been featured in publications such as Horse Illustrated, Equus, Horse and Rider Magazine, Cowgirl Magazine,  StreamhorseTV, Yoga Digest, Forbes.com, and others.

Woods aims to impart an aware/mindful approach to yoga and horsemanship to make enhanced horsemanship and true yoga accessible to everyone while promoting a more enriched and skillful life. She is based in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina but teaches internationally

I'm looking forward to you hearing this conversation with Cathy Woods of Cathy Woods Yoga.

My guest for this episode is Kymberly Dakin-Neal. She is the author of "Head, Heart, and Hands Listening in Coach Practice." It is available for Pre-Order on Amazon now and will be released by Routledge Publishers on July 4, 2023

It is a phenomenal book about the art of listening. In fact, our conversation was an exercise in listening as we explored a number of topics, including:
How do you open up to different points of view? How do you let in different points of view? What does it look like to truly tune in? Kym has a point of view about listening, and it is much more than just parroting back what someone else has said. In her view, listening is a whole body experience that can change outcomes. She tells the most wonderful story about making a choice between finishing her emails or hunting for earthworms. Who knew earthworms could be so memorable!

It's always a treat for me to share these conversations with another coach, and you bet I took a bunch of notes for my own reference, and I’m guessing you will too.

Here is her official Bio:

Kymberly Dakin-Neal is a mindset coach specializing in effective communication and professional presence for over a decade. She works successfully with newly promoted employees, women running for office, entrepreneurs pitching new products. Kym helps train medical professionals in more productive listening and patient communication via the Standardized Patient program at Tufts and Kaiser Permanente. Kym has also developed and recently sold a bookmarking app called, "Nugget" to eliminate the need to take notes in online meetings. She is a mindset coach with Positive Intelligence. Her book “Head, Heart, and Hands Listening in Coach Practice” will be released in July, 2023 by Routledge Publishers.