The Unfinished Human™

Lyndsay

The Unfinished Human™ is a creative experiment in being and un-becoming in a world that rarely lets us. This space is for the wrecked, the wild, and the endlessly unraveling. For those breaking open, waking up, and reaching for magic through the madness. I’m Lyndsay—writer, seeker, neurodivergent human, lifelong overthinker, and recovering overachiever. You’ll hear raw stories, sacred mess, short stories, and real talk about what it means to un-become. Unfiltered, unpolished, and yes—there will be swearing. This isn’t self-help. It’s soul witness. Welcome to the experiment.

  1. EP29: Bodies, Bikes & Relearning…Again (Part 2)

    2D AGO

    EP29: Bodies, Bikes & Relearning…Again (Part 2)

    What happens when the body you’ve relied on your whole lifesuddenly refuses to cooperate—and the tools you swore you’d never use become the ones that finally help you heal? In Part 2 of our Sibling Files catch‑up series, Ben and I pick up right where we left off, diving deeper into what it means to rebuild a life inside bodies that have changed faster than our identities have. We talk about GLP‑1s, perimenopause, mobility loss, and the slow, humbling climb back toward strength. We also explore the surprising emotional terrain of returning to cycling after years away—and why freedom and play matter more to us now than metrics or milestones. I share the long road from hysterectomy to chronic pain, tobeing told I have “the spine of an 84‑year‑old,” to the medical team that helped me claw my way back through Pilates, PT, and functional movement. Ben talks about pool therapy, the shock of how quickly the body deteriorates when you’re forced into stillness, and the mindset shift required to train differently at 50. And somehow, without planning it, we both found ourselvescircling back to the same thing that once defined us: bikes. The community we left. The identity we shelved. The freedom we’ve been craving. This episode is about aging, resilience, stubbornness, andthe quiet revolution of learning to move differently—not harder. What We Explore • GLP‑1s, metabolism shifts, and why “doing all the rightthings” sometimes isn’t enough • The aftermath of hysterectomy, chronic pain, andrebuilding from the ground up • Pilates vs. yoga for aging bodies and why functionalmovement is everything • Pool therapy, water treadmills, and the shock of delayedsoreness • How identity gets tangled up in strength, capability, andindependence • The grief of losing mobility—and the joy of getting piecesof it back • Returning to cycling after years away: freedom, play, andzero expectations • Custom bike fits, aging joints, and learning not to chasethe younger riders • Why movement is no longer optional—it’s survival Talking Points / Quotable Moments • “If I’m not working out, I instantly put weight back on.Instantly.” • “They told me I have the spine of an 84‑year‑old woman.” • “Pilates has strengthened everything—muscles I didn’t evenknow I had.” • “Pool therapy felt easy… until the next two days when Icouldn’t move.” • “We’re so stubborn. We always think we can figure it outourselves.” • “Cycling has always given me a sense of freedom and play.” • “I either need to start riding again or finally get rid ofmy bikes.” • “We both stepped away from cycling—and now we’re bothcoming back.” Listen If You’re Into Raw conversations about aging, chronic pain, identityshifts, mobility, functional movement, and the emotional complexity of rebuilding a life inside a body that no longer behaves the way it used to. Stay Unfinished Healing isn’t linear. Strength isn’t static. And returningto yourself—again and again—isn’t regression. It’s the work. Follow The Unfinished Human® wherever you listen, and staywrecked, wild, and full of wonder. Connect with Lyndsay / The Unfinished Human® 🌐 Website: TheUnfinishedHuman.com📸Instagram: @theunfinishedhuman 🕯️Free Ritual Journey: The Descent Begins Here🌀Ritual Journey: Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey 🎧 Insight Timer Meditations: insighttimer.com/lyndsaytoensing

    31 min
  2. EP28: Bodies, Bikes, and Relearning...Again (Part 1)

    APR 1

    EP28: Bodies, Bikes, and Relearning...Again (Part 1)

    What happens when the body you've always pushed keeps pushing back? In this first installment of The Sibling Files catch-up series, I sit down with my brother Ben to talk about what Q1 2026 has really looked like for both of us—surgeries, recovery, and the humbling process of relearning how to move in bodies that no longer play by the old rules. Ben shares the full story of his ankle surgery: the bone spurs, the scar tissue, the ligaments that had to be cut and re-tied, and the 90+ days of forced stillness that followed. We talk about what it's like to go from "the beast" to someone who can't make it from the bed to the kitchen without planning. About the panic of realizing you can't do this alone—and the stubborn resistance to asking for help anyway. I share my own parallel journey: a hysterectomy that kicked off years of medical challenges, the slow rebuild through Pilates and PT, and the recent return to cycling after three years away. We both stepped away from a community and identity that had defined us. And now, without coordinating, we're both finding our way back. This episode is about aging bodies, lost strength, and the grief that comes with it. But it's also about what opens up when you finally stop fighting your body and start listening to it instead. What We Explore • Ben's ankle surgery: bone spurs, scar tissue, and ligaments re-tied • The difference between recovering at 19 vs. recovering at 50 • Living alone through major surgery—and the struggle to ask for (or accept) help • How forced stillness affects not just the body but the mind • The role of companions in healing (enter: Jax the dog) • Cycling as identity: what it meant, why we left, and why we're coming back • Custom bike builds and the decision to do it right this time • The realization that sitting still accelerates decline—movement is non-negotiable now Talking Points / Quotable Moments • "I get halfway to the front door and I turn around and look at her and say, 'I have no idea how I'm going to do this.'" • "People are used to you being the rock... and when you have a pattern of not asking for help, to see that panic is like, oh shit." • "The older you get, the more your body breaks down if you just sit. Two months of not being able to do anything—I felt it everywhere." • "Cycling has always given me a sense of freedom and play. I've been getting the itch again." • "I either need to start riding again or finally just get rid of my bikes—they're just taking up space." • "We both stepped away from cycling a few years ago. And now, unbeknownst to each other, we're both stepping back in." Listen If You're Into Honest conversations about aging, identity tied to physical ability, the emotional weight of recovery, sibling dynamics, and what it means to rebuild from a body that's changed the rules on you. Stay Unfinished Recovery isn't linear. Neither is identity. Sometimes relearning means accepting that what worked before won't work now—and that's not failure. That's just being human. Follow The Unfinished Human® wherever you listen, and remember to stay wrecked, wild, and full of wonder. Connect with Lyndsay / The Unfinished Human® 🌐Website: TheUnfinishedHuman.com 📸Instagram: @theunfinishedhuman 🕯️Free Ritual Journey: The Descent Begins Here 🌀Ritual Journey: Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey 🎧 Insight Timer Meditations: insighttimer.com/lyndsaytoensing

    29 min
  3. EP27: The Cost of Belonging – with Guest Andrea D. Carter

    MAR 25

    EP27: The Cost of Belonging – with Guest Andrea D. Carter

    What does it really cost to belong — and what’s the cost if we don’t? In this unfiltered and richly human conversation, I sit down again with Andrea D. Carter, organizational scientist and creator of the Belonging First Methodology™, to talk about the personal side of belonging — the messy, inconvenient, unfinished part we all wrestle with.   Andrea shares how belonging often breaks down not because people fail, but because conditions fail — and how we can start rebuilding those conditions both inside organizations and inside ourselves. From how we negotiate our needs (or forget them altogether), to how generational patterns shape our ability to connect, this is a powerful look at what it takes to stay in the room when leaving would be easier.   We explore what it means to do belonging work for yourself first, to rebuild from burnout, and to recognize when not fitting in isn’t failure — it’s actually belonging working exactly as it should.   This one’s tender, timely, and quietly radical.   🔍What We Explore • Belonging vs. fitting in — and why most environments ask for the wrong one • The language of needs: how we lose it, and how to get it back • How environments fail people long before “performance” does • The inconvenient truth: why real belonging requires friction and repetition • Breaking generational conditioning around self-sufficiency • How to identify your own 50% in any relationship, personally or professionally • What it means to stop showing up to things that ask you to disappear 👤 About Andrea D. Carter Andrea D. Carter (she/her) is an organizational scientist, adjunct professor at Adler University, and creator of the Belonging First Methodology — a neuroscience-driven framework to measure and strengthen belonging acrossworkplaces and communities. She’s one of MSN’s 2025 Top 10 Disruptors and an award-winning researcher helping leaders and HR professionals transform toxic culture into psychologically safe, high-performing environments.   Find her work and resources at andreadcarter.substack.com or explore her human-centered leadership insights on fisher.osu.edu.   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreadcarter/   Research: https://www.adler.edu/en-ca/faculty-engagement/faculty-directory/carter-andrea-d/Belonging    HealthCheck: https://belongingfirst.com/belongingbreakdown   🚀 Listen If You’re Into Raw conversations about identity, the science of relationships, healing generational conditioning, and the courage to be unfinished together.   🌀 Stay Unfinished You don’t have to keep showing up to something that keeps asking you to disappear — but you do have to keep showing up for your own belonging.   Follow The Unfinished Human® wherever you listen, and remember to stay wrecked, wild, and full of wonder.   ✨ Connect with Lyndsay / The Unfinished Human®🌐 Website: TheUnfinishedHuman.com 📸 Instagram: @theunfinishedhuman 🕯️Free Ritual Journey: The Descent Begins Here 🌀Ritual Journey: Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey 🎧Insight Timer Meditations: insighttimer.com/lyndsaytoensing

    35 min
  4. EP26: What is Belonging – with Guest Andrea D. Carter

    MAR 18

    EP26: What is Belonging – with Guest Andrea D. Carter

    What if belonging isn’t just a feeling — but a brain-basednecessity? In this unfinished (and completely unfiltered) conversation,I sit down with Andrea D. Carter, organizational scientist, global speaker, and founder of Belonging First, to unpack the real science and human cost behind belonging. We move past the buzzwords and dig into what it truly means to create spaces — at work, at home, in our communities — where people can exhale, connect, and contribute for real. Andrea breaks down her five neuroscience-backedindicators of belonging — Comfort, Connection, Contribution, Psychological Safety, and Wellbeing — and shows how each one shapes not only how we perform, but whether we thrive. We talk about the difference between fitting in and truly belonging, how cortisol hijacks our brains, and why burnout isn’t personal failure, it’s environmental design. This conversation isn’t polished — it’s unfinished, human, and sometimes messy. We go there: from neurodivergent family life to the polarizing rollout of DEI, to the friction and grief of trying to bridge divides in a world on edge. Andrea’s insights will shift the way you think about work, leadership, family, and repair. So, what’s the real cost of belonging — and what’s the costif we don’t? Spoiler: both are high. But one leads us back to each other. 🔍 Topics We Dive Into • What belonging actually is — and the science behind it • The 5 key indicators of belonging and how they work in the brain • Why comfort ≠ being “nice,” and how it regulates cortisol • How connection fuels resilience (and why isolation is expensive) • Neurodivergence, masking, and what environments are really doing to our nervous systems • The myth of resilience and the misplaced burden of “personal” burnout • How leaders, parents, and partners can use belonging to regulate and repair 👤 About Andrea D. Carter Andrea D. Carter (she/her) is an organizationalscientist, adjunct professor at Adler University, and creator of the Belonging First Methodology — a neuroscience-driven framework to measure and strengthen belonging across workplaces and communities. She’s one of MSN’s 2025 Top 10 Disruptors and an award-winning researcher helping leaders and HR professionals transform toxic culture into psychologically safe, high-performing environments. Find her work and resources at andreadcarter.substack.com or explore her human-centered leadership insights on fisher.osu.edu. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreadcarter/ Research: https://www.adler.edu/en-ca/faculty-engagement/faculty-directory/carter-andrea-d/Belonging  Health Check: https://belongingfirst.com/belongingbreakdown 🚀 Listen If You’re Into Raw conversations about being human, navigating identity,messy leadership, nervous system science, and building real community in a fractured world. 🌀 Stay Unfinished If this stirred something in you, get curious. Don’t ask where you belong — ask what you’re willing to risk to build it. Follow The Unfinished Human™ wherever you listen — and as always, stay wrecked, wild, and full of wonder. ✨ Connect with Lyndsay / The Unfinished Human® 🌐 Website: TheUnfinishedHuman.com 📸 Instagram: @theunfinishedhuman 🕯️ Free Ritual Journey: The Descent Begins Here 🌀Ritual Journey: Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey 🎧 Insight Timer Meditations: insighttimer.com/lyndsaytoensing

    49 min
  5. EP25: Unfinished at 50, Part 7: If the World Implodes

    JAN 6

    EP25: Unfinished at 50, Part 7: If the World Implodes

    It starts with crooked shirt banter and ends with a question that could break you open: If life imploded—what would you fight to keep? Lyndsay and Brother Ben talk humanity, integrity, and what stays when the world loses its mind. They wrestle with moral courage, fear, and the quiet hope that maybe—just maybe—we’d still choose compassion when everything else burns. And because it’s them, the conversation eventually pivots—Virgo-season style—from collapse to creation. They dream out loud about the seeds they still want to plant: music, art, movement, freedom, new homes in other corners of the world. Joy as rebellion. Hope as ritual. Takeaways • Humor helps when the world is on fire. • You don’t really know who you are until everything breaks. • Integrity and humanity are worth protecting—even when it costs you. • Connection outlives possessions. • Spirituality doesn’t need ceremony; sometimes it’s just what you hold in your head. • Moral courage begins where comfort ends. • Hope and horror can coexist without canceling each other out. • Planting wild dreams in dark times is defiance, not denial. • Joy is a survival skill. • Being unfinished means loving and creating anyway. Chapters 00:00 Crooked Shirts & Side-Eyes 02:42 If the World Imploded 11:25 Seeds for the Next Decade 26:30 Thanks for Listening ✨ Connect with Lyndsay / The Unfinished Human™ 🌐 Website: TheUnfinishedHuman.com 📸 Instagram: @theunfinishedhuman 🕯️Free Ritual Journey: The Descent Begins Here 🌀 Ritual Journey: Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey 🎧 Insight Timer Meditations: insighttimer.com/lyndsaytoensing

    28 min
  6. EP24: The Body Remembers First

    12/30/2025

    EP24: The Body Remembers First

    Plant medicine, shadow work, and the ache of un-becoming. Some truths don’t rise in words — they erupt through the body. This episode is part of my Harvesting the Raw series, a night of shadow work, plant medicine, and somatic unwinding that didn’t just crack me open…it flooded me with joy and love I didn’t know my body still remembered. Yes, there was release. Yes, old trauma stirred. But what surprised me most was the tenderness — the silliness — the way my whole being flooded with light. Grief and joy tangled together. Laughter breaking through tears. The kind of embodiment that feels like cominghome and falling apart in the same breath. This isn’t a tidy story of “healing.” It’s a reminder that the body doesn’t only store pain — it also stores delight, wonder, and the kind of love that refusesto die, even when you forget to feel it. If you’ve ever had a moment where your body rememberedsomething sacred before your mind did — a softness, a truth, a release — you’ll feel yourself in this one. ✨ Listen in. 🎧Ritual Playlist: Shadow Dwelling — Tidal Link ✨ Connect with Lyndsay / The Unfinished Human™ 🌐 Website: TheUnfinishedHuman.com 🕯️Free Ritual Journey: The Descent Begins Here 🌀 Ritual Journey: Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey 🌙 Shadows & Seeds Newsletter: Subscribe to the Experiment 🎧 Insight Timer Meditations: insighttimer.com/lyndsaytoensing 📸Instagram: @theunfinishedhuman

    9 min
  7. EP23: The Sibling Files Unfinished at 50, Part 6: The Rhythm of Enough

    12/23/2025

    EP23: The Sibling Files Unfinished at 50, Part 6: The Rhythm of Enough

    It opens with laughter, caffeine, and the death of morning routines. Lyndsay and Brother Ben talk about the dumbest habits they’ve ever tried to force themselves into — from “just do it” culture to the delusion that being a morning person makes you morally superior. Between the sarcasm and real talk, they explore body rhythms, ADHD revelations, and the liberation that comes with finally working with yourself instead of against your nature. This one’s a love letter to the late risers, the slow starters, and the ones still figuring out what joy feels like when it isn’t tied to productivity. Takeaways • “Early bird gets the worm” — great, let him have it. • Being a morning person doesn’t make you enlightened. • Your rhythms aren’t flaws — they’re instructions. • ADHD and burnout are often the body’s way of saying “enough.” • Capitalism fears what it can’t schedule. • Joy without an outcome is sacred rebellion. • Creating for yourself — not for validation — restores magic. • Community reminds you you’re not weird; you’re wired differently. • Listening to your body is self-trust in action. • Being unfinished means choosing presence over performance. Chapters 00:00 Before the Conversation 00:39 Introduction & Today’s Theme 02:13 Forcing Stupid Routines 16:44 No More Mini-Me’s 19:16 Creating Joy in Midlife 37:15 Thanks for Listening ✨ Connect with Lyndsay / The Unfinished Human™ 🌐 Website: TheUnfinishedHuman.com 📸 Instagram: @theunfinishedhuman 🕯️Free Ritual Journey: The Descent Begins Here 🌀 Ritual Journey: Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey 🎧 Insight Timer Meditations: insighttimer.com/lyndsaytoensing

    38 min
  8. EP22: When The Forgotten Parts Speak

    12/16/2025

    EP22: When The Forgotten Parts Speak

    When the Forgotten Parts Speak: Shadow Work from the Shores of Port Ludlow When the forgotten parts finally speak, they don’t whisper — they rise like a tidal surge you can’t outrun. This episode of The Unfinished Human™ is part of my Harvesting the Raw series, where I share the reflections that surface when I stop performing and let the shadow tell the truth. Recorded after a week of deep shadow work on the shores of Port Ludlow, this piece dives into the anger I was never allowed to feel, the memories I buried to survive, and the identities I shed in order to come home to myself. It’s a story about reclamation, embodiment, and what happens inside the body when old wounds crack open and ask to be witnessed. This isn’t grammable shadow work. It’s honest. It’s real. It’s unfinished. The kind of truth that isn’t meant to be pretty — only meant to free you. We explore the way trauma healing often begins with somatic truth — the tightening in the chest, the heat in the spine, the “I can’t swallow this anymore.” We look at what happens when your nervous system finally stops protecting the people who once benefitted from your silence, and instead begins protecting you. If you’re in a season of un-becoming, identity dissolving, or emotional truth-telling… if your body is louder than your mind… if you’re ready for ritual work or deeper somatic healing… you’ll feel yourself in this episode. Listen in for a reflection that isn’t about reliving the past — it’s about reclaiming the parts of you that were exiled to survive it. ✨Listen in.🎧 Playlist: Forest Dwelling ✨ Connect with Lyndsay / The Unfinished Human™ 🌐 Website: TheUnfinishedHuman.com 🕯️Free Ritual Journey: The Descent Begins Here 🌀Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey: Voice Reclamation Ritual Journey 🌙 Shadows & Seeds Newsletter: Subscribe to the Experiment 🎧 Insight Timer Meditations: insighttimer.com/lyndsaytoensing 📸 Instagram: @theunfinishedhuman

    13 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

The Unfinished Human™ is a creative experiment in being and un-becoming in a world that rarely lets us. This space is for the wrecked, the wild, and the endlessly unraveling. For those breaking open, waking up, and reaching for magic through the madness. I’m Lyndsay—writer, seeker, neurodivergent human, lifelong overthinker, and recovering overachiever. You’ll hear raw stories, sacred mess, short stories, and real talk about what it means to un-become. Unfiltered, unpolished, and yes—there will be swearing. This isn’t self-help. It’s soul witness. Welcome to the experiment.

Information

  • Creator
    Lyndsay
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Lyndsay
  • Show Website
    The Unfinished Human™