Sovereign Self

Megan Phippen, MA LPC
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Sexuality
  • Updated Weekly

Sovereign Self is a podcast about erotic embodiment, relational sovereignty, and intimacy as a lived practice. Hosted by Megan Phippen, a licensed sex and relationship therapist, the show explores the relationship between sex, love, and spirit through a grounded, body-based lens. Sovereign Self invites you to unlearn inherited shame, question conditioned relationship norms, and cultivate a deeper relationship with desire, sensation, and truth. Liberation begins inside your own skin.

  1. Jul 6

    Ep 14: You've Been Lied to About Sensuality

    I recorded this one recovering from surgery, hot, itchy, sticky, and in pain. Not exactly the soft-lit, silk-and-candles version of sensuality we've all been sold. And that's the whole point. We've branded sensuality as an aesthetic, coded it as feminine, and turned it into something you curate rather than something you already are. This episode is me pulling that apart in real time, from inside a body that isn't performing the way I'd want it to. Here's what we get into: Why sensuality has been collectively branded as softness, beauty, and an elevated version of being in a body, and what that costs us The difference between sensuality as a feeling and sensuality as a capacity to gather data through the senses Why pain, grief, shame, and discomfort are just as sensual as pleasure and what happens when we only count the good stuff The industry built on the gap between the body you have and the body you think you're supposed to have Why resistance and numbness aren't things to bypass, but places to meet yourself What it actually looks like to stay present with a body that's changing, aging, bracing, and sometimes deeply uncomfortable Follow me on Instagram: @sovereignself.love Join my email list: Join my email list — Sovereignself.love Website: https://www.sovereignself.love

  2. Jun 9

    Ep 13: How to Access for Relationship Compatibility

    Most people say they are looking for compatibility. What they are actually doing is running everyone they meet through a filtered checklist built on surface optics, appearance, lifestyle, politics, preferences, and calling it discernment. Megan is here to push on that hard. This episode is a precise, unflinching breakdown of what compatibility actually is, what most people are confusing it with, and the one question that has shaped how she relates and what she looks for in a partner. Here's what we get into: Why we have imported the dopamine architecture of social media directly onto how we evaluate potential partners, and what that is actually costing us The three layers of compatibility most people collapse into one: preferences, values, and capacity, and why only one of them actually predicts whether a relationship lasts The Gottman research that stopped Megan cold: 69% of conflict in successful long-term relationships is perpetual, recurring, and never fully resolves, and what that actually means for how we choose partners Why dating for sameness and frictionless fit is not only shallow but completely unrelated to relational longevity The one question Megan brings to her own relationships and her clients: can I trust this person to turn towards when it is easier to turn away What conscious partnership actually asks of us over time, and why the relationship you can hold is the one your nervous system can match The couples that go the distance are not the ones who resolved everything. They are the ones who stopped trying to win and learned how to stay relational inside of inevitable difference. Follow me on Instagram: ⁠⁠@sovereignself.love⁠⁠ Join my email list: ⁠⁠Join my email list — Sovereignself.love⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠https://www.sovereignself.love

  3. Jun 2

    Ep 12: Shame and the Threshold of Desire

    Most of us are not afraid of desire. We are afraid of what happens when we actually follow it. This episode sits right at that edge. The moment you arrive at what you want and then collapse, not because the desire wasn't real, but because something old and protective shows up first. Shame is sneaky. It doesn't look the way you expect it to. And this episode is about learning to see it. Here's what we get into: Why desire and fear expand together, and what it actually means to grow your capacity to hold both The wall people hit when they arrive at the threshold of something they want, and why it almost always has nothing to do with the desire itself How shame hides in the relational moves we make after, not in the thing we did, and why it is so hard to catch in the moment The difference between caring about impact and needing approval, and why one is contact and the other is extraction What it looks like to bring something forward in relationship from a place of genuine connection rather than a reaching for absolution Why the real initiation of desire is not whether you can have the thing, but whether you can become the person who can hold it This episode is dedicated to everyone who is stepping into new territory right now. Who is following something true and alive and necessary, and also interfacing with the fear that comes along with it. You are not doing it wrong. This is what the practice actually looks like. Follow me on Instagram: ⁠@sovereignself.love⁠ Join my email list: ⁠Join my email list — Sovereignself.love⁠ Website: ⁠https://www.sovereignself.love

  4. May 22

    Ep 11: Your Liberation Is Inside of Your Anger

    Anger has been alive in the field lately. My clients are feeling it, the collective is feeling it, and I woke up this morning feeling it too. So instead of waiting for it to settle, I recorded from inside it. What follows is me making the case for why anger is not the thing to get past and why your relationship with it is actually the path to liberation. Here's what we get into: Why anger and arousal run on the same current, and what that means for your capacity to feel pleasure, desire, and aliveness in the body The difference between clean anger and reactive rage, and how suppressing the first one leads directly to the second Subtle self-abandonment: the small moments of sweeping frustration under the rug to keep the peace, and how that quietly erodes both the relationship and yourself What actually happens in the sympathetic nervous system when anger moves through you, and why embodiment is not a meditation posture A lion's breath practice to move heat through the body when the charge is high The question I bring myself and my clients: what standard is your anger holding you to? Anger is a compass. It doesn't arise around things that don't matter. It arises around something you are not willing to betray. Follow me on Instagram: @sovereignself.love Join my email list: Join my email list — Sovereignself.love Website: https://www.sovereignself.love

  5. May 18

    Ep 10: Erotic Embodiment in the Age of Sexual Fragmentation with Sureya Part 2

    In this episode, Sureya and I explore the nuance of what people often call “leaky” sexual energy and why these conversations around sexuality, desire, and intimacy are rarely as black and white as the internet makes them seem. Together, we unpack how unconscious relational patterns, nervous system responses, and cultural conditioning shape the way we express, suppress, or outsource our erotic energy. This conversation weaves through themes of conscious relationships, sexual embodiment, attachment styles, and nervous system regulation in relationships, while inviting a more honest and compassionate relationship with desire itself. At its core, this episode is about learning how to stay connected to yourself inside intimacy, rather than abandoning yourself for validation, performance, or control. Here, we explore: The difference between authentic erotic expression vs. unconscious, “leaky” sexual dynamics A nuanced conversation around repression, overexpression, shame, validation, and the complexity of modern sexuality How attachment wounds, trauma responses, and conditioning shape intimacy and relational behavior The role of embodiment, self awareness, and emotional responsibility in creating healthier relationships Why reclaiming your sexuality and learning to trust your own body changes the way you relate to love, desire, and connection Sureya Leonara is a Holistic Sex & Relationship Coach and Writer with a kink for sucking the marrow from each moment. Her work collapses outdated identities, expands capacity to stay with discomfort, and lives at the wild edge where fear and desire make eye contact and learn to breathe together. Free “Making Love with Life” Practice: https://blue-block-67264.myflodesk.com/nxsyaw1wyh Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/alchemyoferos Follow me on Instagram: @‌sovereignself.love Join my email list: https://sovereignself.myflodesk.com/emailsignup Website: ⁠⁠https://www.sovereignself.love⁠

  6. May 8

    Ep 9: Erotic Embodiment in the Age of Sexual Fragmentation with Sureya Leonara Part 1

    This episode felt like dropping into the living edge between sexuality, embodiment, desire, and truth. Sureya and I explore what it means to relate to erotic energy as life force itself, not something confined to the bedroom, but something woven through creativity, connection, intimacy, and the way we inhabit our bodies. We talk about nervous system regulation in relationships, somatic healing, conscious relationships, and the ways conditioning disconnects us from our authentic self and sexual embodiment. This conversation is raw, relational, deeply alive, and an invitation to reclaim your sexuality without shame or fragmentation. In this episode, we explore: Why erotic energy is not separate from creativity, spirituality, or embodied intimacy How nervous system regulation and emotional regulation impact desire, attraction, and connection The link between somatic healing, attachment style, and sexual expression in relationships What happens when we suppress desire, disconnect from sensation, or abandon our authentic self How conscious relationships require vulnerability, self trust, and the capacity to stay present with fear, intimacy, and uncertainty Sureya Leonara is a Holistic Sex & Relationship Coach and Writer with a kink for sucking the marrow from each moment. Her work collapses outdated identities, expands capacity to stay with discomfort, and lives at the wild edge where fear and desire make eye contact and learn to breathe together. Free “Making Love with Life” Practice: https://blue-block-67264.myflodesk.com/nxsyaw1wyh Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/alchemyoferos Follow Sureya on Instagram: ⁠@‌alchemy.of.eros⁠ ⁠Holistic Sex & Relationship Coach | Sureya Leonara Follow me on Instagram: @‌sovereignself.love Join my email list: https://sovereignself.myflodesk.com/emailsignup Website: ⁠⁠https://www.sovereignself.love⁠

  7. May 1

    Ep 8: Activated & Alive - Staying Present with Fear, Anger & Your Truth

    In this episode, I’m bringing you directly into a real-time, activated moment in my body, because this is where the work actually lives. This isn’t about being perfectly regulated; it’s about staying with yourself in the intensity, practicing emotional regulation, and choosing how you respond from your authentic self. We explore what it really means to be in conscious relationships, where truth, fear, and connection are all in the room at once. This conversation is an invitation into deeper self trust, sexual embodiment, and the kind of embodied intimacy that begins within. Together, we dive into: What nervous system regulation in relationships actually looks like beyond being “calm” and how to stay present with fear, activation, and truth The fawn response, how it forms, and how it disconnects us from our voice, anger, and self trust Reclaiming anger as healthy, protective energy and why it’s essential for boundaries, truth, and breaking cycles The two core fears underneath people-pleasing: losing connection vs. losing yourself and how they shape your relational patterns How practicing honesty in real time supports your mental health, deepens embodied intimacy, and brings you back into alignment with your truth Follow me on Instagram: @‌sovereignself.love Join my email list: https://sovereignself.myflodesk.com/emailsignup Website: ⁠⁠https://www.sovereignself.love⁠

  8. Apr 24

    Ep 7: Novelty and Erotic Aliveness

    In this episode, we explore the subtle but powerful relationship between novelty, perception, and our erotic aliveness. I’m inviting you into a deeper inquiry around how desire isn’t something we chase, but something we reconnect to through presence, awareness, and sexual embodiment. This conversation weaves together nervous system regulation in relationships, attention, and the ways we unintentionally disconnect from our own vital sexuality. If you’ve been feeling flat, disconnected, or like your desire has gone missing, this is a return to your authentic self and the aliveness that’s already here. Together, we explore: How novelty awakens the nervous system and reopens access to desire, pleasure, and erotic wellness The difference between consuming stimulation vs. being in true, present contact with your life and relationships Why “low desire” is often a perception issue, not a problem, and how to shift it through awareness and staying present The role of awe, anticipation, and imagination as gateways into deeper intimacy and embodied aliveness How to bring curiosity and newness back into long-term relationships by seeing your partner (and yourself) as ever-evolving beings Follow me on Instagram: @‌sovereignself.love Join my email list: https://sovereignself.myflodesk.com/emailsignup Website: ⁠⁠https://www.sovereignself.love⁠

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5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Sovereign Self is a podcast about erotic embodiment, relational sovereignty, and intimacy as a lived practice. Hosted by Megan Phippen, a licensed sex and relationship therapist, the show explores the relationship between sex, love, and spirit through a grounded, body-based lens. Sovereign Self invites you to unlearn inherited shame, question conditioned relationship norms, and cultivate a deeper relationship with desire, sensation, and truth. Liberation begins inside your own skin.

Information

  • Creator
    Megan Phippen, MA LPC
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Megan Phippen, MA LPC
  • Show Website
    Sovereign Self