021 | Shakti, Sensuality & Feminine Wisdom with Ashly Rose Wolf of Femme Rising

 

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Hello beautiful sisters,

I have a new podcast episode for you today with goddess Ashly Rose Wolf of Femme Rising.  I have been admiring Ashly's luscious images and designs on her instagram feed for some time now so was *over the moon* excited to sit down with her and ask my questions about shakti, cycle syncing, sensuality and feminine wisdom.  

"You're worth it.  You're so worth it.  We need you to do this work. We need you to show up. We need you to heal. We need you to be yourself. We need you to be authentic and expressive. We need you to share your magic. We need you to heal and save the planet. You're worth it.  You can do it.  We believe in you. And if you need help, we're here, please reach out." ~ Ashly Rose Wolf

Here's what you'll find in today's episode:

  • How to release shame around sexuality and let  go of the "numbing out" that is so prevalent in our culture

  • Tips to tap into your natural, sensual, feminine nature

  • How to access the magic that lives in your hips!  

  • Why sensuality + cycle syncing + shakti are key ingredients for self-love and living an empowered, confident, feminine life

  • Tips on what to eat and how to plan your lifestyle around your body's natural rhythms throughout the month

  • Tuning into the cycles of the moon and how to use that energy to feel empowered around your own natural cycles as a woman

I hope you enjoy today's episode!  If you're traveling you can listen to it on the iTunes podcast app on any iPhone for easy listening.  

Wishing you all lots of rest, self-care, self-love & time to tap into your sensual nature this long holiday weekend... <3 

With love, 
Meredith

MORE ABOUT ASHLEY...

Ashly Rose Wolf is a Women’s Health and Sensuality Coach who helps women reprogram their relationship with their bodies so they can live healthy, sexy, beautiful lives.

Using cycle syncing, sensuality practices, holistic nutrition and an ancient yogic science, Ashly helps women activate their sensual and cyclical wisdom to unlock their full feminine potential.

When she’s not leading the sensual revolution with Femme Rising, you can find her doing sensual yoga, playing outside with her little adventure dog Zuri Girl, soaking up Vitamin Sea and always, always, always stopping to smell the roses!

You can find her on instagram @femme.rising and on her website here.


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020 | Standing Rock & A Message of Hope with Lyla June Johnston

 
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"All Nations Rise" Music Video

When I first watched Lyla June Johnston's music video, "All Nations Rise," it gave me  chills and I felt an immediate calling  to interview her for the Rising Women Leaders podcast.  

Lyla's video  soon went viral on Facebook, with over 1.6 million views, providing a powerful platform for Lyla to share her message of compassion, peace and prayer during turbulent times. 

I spoke with Lyla just days after she returned from Standing Rock last month.   I left this interview feeling filled with so much hope, passion, and devotion to our Mother Earth as well as my own dreams and ambitions.  I hope you will find the same.

Please take the time this week to listen to the  full episode, and I encourage you to share it with your friends.   The time has come for us all  to rise together.

Love, 
Meredith

"What you may think of as failure is actually a success ...because you tried... Creator doesn't want you to be  perfect, Creator just wants you to try."

In this episode Lyla shares:

  • Her experience at Sacred Stone Camp at Standing Rock
  • Her powerful story of overcoming  dark times of drugs, numbing and sexual abuse to find her light and power to be of service in this life
  • About a prayer circle where she received clear messages from her guides
  • The message she has for women who believe they have something powerful to share and give in their lives
  • What we can do to cleanse ourselves of fear
  • The role prayer plays in moving through turbulent times
  • How the Purification Lodge Ceremony has affected her life
  • A closing prayer in her native language

Links in this episode:

Lyla is calling in assistance,  management and administrative support in organizing her performances and speaking opportunities.  If you feel called to learn more, please contact her here.

Lyla June Johnston was raised in Taos, New Mexico and is a descendent of Diné (Navajo) and Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) lineages. Her personal mission in life is to grow closer to Creator by learning how to love deeper. This prayer has taken her on many journeys and materializes in diverse ways.

She is a student of global cycles of violence that eventually gave rise to The Native American Holocaust and the destruction of many cyclic relationships between human beings and nature. This exploration birthed her passion for revitalizing spiritual relationships with Mother Earth and cultivating spaces for forgiveness and reconciliation to occur between cultural groups. She is a co-founder of The Taos Peace and Reconciliation Council, which works to heal intergenerational trauma and ethnic division in the northern New Mexico. She is a walker within the Nihigaal Bee Iiná Movement, a 1,000-mile prayer walk through Diné Tah (the Navajo homeland) that is exposing the exploitation of Diné land and people by uranium, coal, oil and gas industries. She is the lead organizer of the Black Hill Unity Concert which gathers native and nonnative musicians to pray for the return of guardianship of the Black Hills to the Lakota, Nakota and Dakota nations. She is the also the founder of Regeneration Festival, an annual celebration of children that occurs in 13 countries around the world every September.

In 2012, she graduated with honors from Stanford University with a degree in Environmental Anthropology. During her time there she wrote the award winning papers: Nature and the Supernatural: The Role of Culture and Spirituality in Sustaining Primate Populations in Manu National Park, Peru and Chonos Pom: Ethnic Endemism Among the Winnemem Wintu and the Cultural Impacts of Enlarging Shasta Reservoir. She is a musician, public speaker and internationally recognized performance poet. Lyla June ultimately attributes any achievements to Creator who gave her the tools and resources she uses to serve humanity.

She currently lives in Diné Tah, the Navajo ancestral homeland which spans what is now called New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. She spends her free time learning her engendered mother tongue, planting corn, beans and squash and spending time with elders who retain traditional spiritual and ecological knowledge.

 

019 | The Power of Self-Love with Meredith Rom

 
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On Friday I made an instagram post for the women in my community who I knew were feeling the energies of what is happening at Standing Rock.

As sensitive beings, we can so easily pick up on the emotions in the air around what is happening to our Mother Earth as well as the anger and emotions from the tribes protecting their water.  

I wrote this message as a reminder that we are all doing our part to heal the collective...as I believe how we treat ourselves is a valid place to start in healing our world.   (Scroll to the bottom of this message to read the full post).

And today I have a new podcast for you, on the power of self-love. 

To me, self-love is about knowing how to show up for ourselves when challenges and difficulties arise.  When we create that foundation of self-love, that's when we can live beyond our fears and fully share our gifts with the world, knowing that no matter what happens, we will be okay. 

In many ways, it's much easier to do acts of self-care like yoga practice, meditation, and healthy eating when everything is going smoothly...

But if you can call upon these acts in times of challenge?  That is where the real work comes in.

What I share in the podcast, is a talk I wrote under the guidance of KC Baker this summer as part of her speechwriting course.  (If you are planning to join me for my Celebration event, Yin Yoga, Tea & Book Reading, you may like to wait to hear it in person there.)

I share the story of one of my greatest challenges, where the world felt like it was falling apart, and instead of becoming a victim to my circumstances, I chose love, awareness and forgiveness.  I also write about this experience in detail in my book, Synchronicity.

That single choice made in a moment of complete distress, went on to dramatically alter the course of my life. 

Learning how to hold myself with unconditional love allowed me to find a deep forgiveness and truly love others without conditions. 

Choosing to love and forgive is not always easy, I know.  But I believe it is a true path to miracles.  I hope my story will inspire you in your own path of self-love and forgiveness.

There are only 4 days left to pre-order your early copy of Synchronicity and donate to the Kickstarter campaign (special thanks for how StartMotionMEDIA produced my video.  We are so close to reaching the goal!  Check out all the latest stats and make a contribution right here.

With love, 
Meredith

P.S. In the podcast I reference one of my past podcasts, "Fall in Love with Yourself" that includes all my favorite self-care tips.  You can find that right here.

Thank you @theessenceoracle&nbsp;For this beautiful image, via @daniellebertoia

Thank you @theessenceoracle For this beautiful image, via @daniellebertoia

Sister, I want you to know you are doing your part. 

By healing your own psyche, you are altering the collective consciousness. 
By loving yourself, you are healing the collective consciousness. 
I believe how we as a whole, are treating the world is a direct reflection of how we as a whole, are treating ourselves. 
Tearing up the Earth, using up our resources solely for financial gains, polluting the airs, polluting the waters...How many people do you see in the world today treating their own bodies this way? 
As we heal ourselves, we naturally heal the collective. 
Sister, every time you shift a thought of self-hate to self-love, you are doing your part.
Every time you show up to your yoga mat, you are doing your part. 
Every time you nourish your body, every time you meditate, every time you pray, even every time you do something that brings you joy, you are doing your part. 
I believe when we AS A WHOLE, collectively love, nurture and cherish ourselves, it will be directly reflected in how we love, nurture and cherish our Mother Earth. 


Let's rise together. 
In our prayers. 
In our devotion.
And in our ability to take small steps toward healing ourselves, healing all beings and healing the great mother who holds us all. 


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018 | Love & Magic: A Book Reading with Meredith Rom

 

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Have you ever found that it's in the moments that you are totally happy and content with yourself, at peace with exactly who you are and what you have in your life, that you begin to manifest your desires?

Today I'm sharing one of the more fun and playful readings from my book,  Synchronicity. 

I was sitting in a chai shop having just arrived in a new town when a man walked in wearing all white with red puja dust on his third eye.  

I almost instantly fell in love with him... In this story you'll hear how I met Shankara, one of the main characters in the book.  You'll also hear more about the holy mountain of stillness and light, Mount Arunachala in the town of Tiruvannamalai, India.

To pre-order your copy of Synchronicity,  follow the kickstarter campaign here.  Specials thanks to the Crowdfunding Consultants at StartMotionMEDIA for helping me fundraise!

With love, 
Meredith

 

017 | Amma, Service & Finding My Voice: A Book Reading with Meredith Rom

 

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Last night I held my first book reading in Berkeley, CA at the community meditation house I used to live in.

The living room was packed, and at one point people were even spilling out into the hallway!  

What happened there, was pure magic.

I sang with the harmonium, told stories, answered questions from the audience and shared the first in-person reading from Synchronicity. 

It's amazing to think that only three years ago I never would have imagined my life would look like this.  Singing and telling stories in front of a group?  Me?  I don't know if I would have believed you!  

However, what I've learned about my fear over the years is that confidence comes from actually going out and DOING the things that scare us.  

Confidence comes from taking action.


It's only when we are in the non-action - the waiting and procrastinating that our minds run wild telling us stories that aren't even real.

Every time I've done something that scares me, it always feels like a crazy leap of faith, but every time I have made the jump, I have been met with so much love, synchronicity and magic. 

Today I have a new Synchronicity book reading to share with you!  It's all about Amma, service and finding my voice as a teacher.

In this episode you'll learn about:

  • Teachings of Amma, the hugging saint and my experiences at her ashram 
  • What it was like to teach English to hundreds of children at an orphanage in India
  • My experience of teaching my first yoga class and discovering my authentic voice as a teacher

I'm curious what fear you have been hiding from?  What small step could you take to walk towards it?  Let me know in the comments below.

There are just 10 days left in the Kickstarter campaign! I am so grateful to everyone who has gathered together in support of this project. Really, I had no idea my heart could expand with this much love.

Warmly,
Meredith

 

016 | Mysteries of Mary Magdalene with Faye Wylder

 

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This past week I have been immersing myself in the life and teachings of Mary Magdalene.  My friend recently brought out a pile of books she was giving away where I picked up The Magdalene Manuscript  and began to learn more about the mystery and magic of her life.

As life's synchronicities would have it, Mary Magdalene happened to be the topic of my next podcast interview with Faye Wylder.  Faye has been such a positive force in my life, and brings so much light, love and encouragement to other women.

I'm beginning to really see the power of calling upon ascended masters like Mary Magdalene to reconnect with source energy.    If you have been intrigued to learn more about Mary Magdalene and want to learn more about how you can work with the unconditional love she has to offer, I highly recommend you listen to today's show.

In this episode you'll learn about:

  • Mary Magdalene's message and magic
  • The meaning of sovereignty
  • Faye's experience of pregnancy and motherhood
  • Faye's definition of affluence
  • How Faye recognizes when fear arises and how she continues to spread her light 
  • More details about Faye's Magdalene Mentorship program

With love, 
Meredith

Faye Wylder is a Lightcaster, Spiritual Mentor, Mama, and Dancer. She is very, very Human. 

Faye mentors EnterpRising Feminine Leaders, to activate their sovereignty, and amplify their light, naturally increasing their spiritual and material affluence. She works closely with the over lighting mentorship of Mary Magdalene, streaming her mystery, message, and Unconditional Love into modern entrepreneurship and living. 

In her group program and private mentorship container, Faye weaves embodied divinity with practical, aligned tools, empowering women to upgrade their nervous systems (because making stuff can be scary!) and really, truly, vibrantly, courageously shine the Light they came to shine, creating and anchoring new paradigms of Love for humanity through their thriving enterprise. 

Join the #Lightcaster love fest on Instagram via @fayewylder and learn more about Faye's offerings at fayewylder.com

 

015 | Heartbreak, Visions, & My First Big Leap: A Book Reading with Meredith Rom

 
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I believe we all have the power to transform our greatest moments of pain and suffering into our greatest moments of awakening.

But I know from personal experience it is so hard to see the light when it feels like the world is crumbling beneath our feet.

Today I want to share with you one of my more difficult moments in the first reading of my book, Synchronicity, on the Rising Women Leaders podcast.

I take you back to over six years ago where I found myself sobbing on the floor after going through  total heartbreak (something that I know so many of us are familiar with).

I share about the challenges and hardships I faced that eventually led me into my greatest moments of awakening...the moments where I began to live beyond my fears and follow my intuition first across the country and then to the other side of the world to India.

This book is a story of finding forgiveness, of transformation, of healing and ultimately of finding love within.

I  look back and see my hardships as profound gifts.  It was these moments that prompted my greatest awakening, and I hold them in my heart with gratitude.

But today I wanted to share with you where I was and what my life was like before I found the inner peace I speak of now.

If you feel called to hold the book in your hands and read the whole story of transformation, I invite you to  watch the kickstarter video and contribute to the campaign.  

Supporters have a chance to receive an early signed copy of the book, coaching sessions for women on a heroine's quest, a self-care gift box, and 40 day meditation practice, among many other rewards.  Check them all out right here!

I hope you enjoy this  podcast and opportunity to learn more about my story. 

Stay tuned for more podcast episodes and sneak previews of the book coming soon...

With love, 
Meredith

 

014 | Let it Out: Books, Journaling & Body Image with Katie Dalebout

 

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First I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to watch the video and contribute to the kickstarter campaign for the release of my book, Synchronicity.  I am so grateful for all the love & support that has been coming in!!

And I'm excited to share a new episode today on the podcast! I sat down with one of my inspirations, Katie Dalebout to talk about podcasting, book publishing, journaling and body image. 

I first discovered Katie's podcast, Let it Out (formerly the Wellness Wonderland) through my friend Jasmine who was raving to me about it.  Over the past year I've enjoyed listening to the inspirational speakers, authors and experts she has on the show.  I also recently read Katie's book, Let it Out and was amazed reading the introduction of how this book came into manifestation.  (Listen to the episode to hear Katie tell the story herself).

I'm so glad to be back to sharing these interviews with you!! 

Here's what to expect in today's episode:

  • How Katie magically landed a deal to publish her book with Hay House
  • The importance of releasing our attachments in manifestation
  • Katie's story of finding love for her body and how journaling played a role in her healing
  • Katie's perspective on when it's right to be a full time entrepreneur and when it works to stay with a full time job
  • How she handles vulnerability and being looked up to as a leader in her field
  • Katie's favorite morning and evening rituals 
  • All about Katie's latest book Let it out!

Love, 
Meredith

Through her writing, workshops, and podcasts, millennial blogger, yoga teacher, and podcast host Katie Dalebout explores creativity is a gateway to developing a positive body image and true holistic wellness. She’s a contributor to Refinery29, Mind Body Green, and her work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Yahoo Health, and The Daily Mail. Her first book was published with Hay House in April 2016 is a collection of journaling tools to help people find self acceptance beyond their physicality. Sign up for her weekly newsletter and receive her ‘Favorite Things: Quick Start Guide’ here or visit her blog, or on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

 

 

24 Hours of **Magic**

Click the image to watch the video!

Click the image to watch the video!

Over the last month I've ridden the waves of fear and trust as I prepared to start the publishing process to share my book with the world.

...And since launching a campaign yesterday, I am humbled and AMAZED by the outpouring of love and support this project has received...

Check out the latest stats to see how far we've come in only 24 hours.

This book was written to help you take bigger leaps to stand up and share your gifts with the world...

If there's anything I've learned in the last day, it's that we're all in this together.  
You can now watch the project video and be one of the first to join the community ready to experience my new book, Synchroncity.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me cross this threshold.

With immense love & gratitude, 
Meredith

P.S. Your help makes all the difference!
Please like, comment, and share this post on facebook to continue spreading the word.  In your post please include the project short link http://kck.st/2dTEZpS so people know where to go to view the project!

Yoga, Kirtan & Book Readings!

11/4 ~ Yin Yoga, Tea, Book Reading & Celebration! in honor of finishing my book, 'Synchronicity' 6:30 pm at The dhyana Center

10/27
Kirtan! 6:30 pm at Alive Yoga in Sebastopol

10/24 ~ 
Kirtan & Book Reading at the Dhamma Pad 8 pm in Berkeley, CA


Please contact me if you'd like to invite me for a book reading, kirtan or yoga event during the campaign :)

Do You Have a Dream Gathering Dust?

Have you ever had a dream that just felt crazy to actually accomplish?

That’s how I felt five years ago when I was traveling in India and a friend of mine handed me a handwoven notebook and said, “Meredith, you’re going to write a book one day, and I got this for you to start.”

A book! The idea felt impossible, overwhelming, and also kind of scary.

But over the course of the 6 months I traveled in India by myself, the events that happened were almost too magical for me to not write a book.

So I began.

I wrote.  Then I stopped.

I moved through resistance but at one point it just got too hard and I stopped altogether.

Almost two years passed with my stories growing dust, just sitting on the desktop of my computer. 

Until one night I went to sleep and had a dream.

I found a book of a woman’s travels, and began flipping through the pages until I realized, this was supposed to be the book I wrote...and I hadn't done it yet.

The next morning, I recommitted. Even though I didn’t know how, I trusted I would be guided.

Three months later I was led to an editor who for a whole year and a half I sent 5,000 words to every two weeks.

Just a few months ago I finished.  I did it.  I finished writing the book.

I'm taking the steps forward in copyediting, design and printing, and next week have an exciting announcement on how you can experience the stories of synchronicity for yourself.

But I chose to share this story with you today to remind you, your dreams are still possible.

Maybe YOU have a book gathering dust on your desktop, or a far-off dream to travel to Europe, or drive across the country...

Maybe you've always wanted to quit your job, make a feature film, write poetry, give a talk, or lead a retreat... the list could go on.

What dream are you ready to recommit to?

It will probably take support, encouragement, and trusting in the universe to take your next step, but I know you can do it.

Trust in your divinely guided dreams and ambitions, even if they feel crazy to the rational mind.

I can speak from experience that you will be glad you did.

I'd love to hear what dream you are called to commit to in the comments below.

If you don't feel called to share now, I still invite you to share it with someone when you're ready. Think about who in your life may be able to offer you a little bit of support and encouragement. 

And stay tuned for my big announcement next week! 

With love, 
Meredith

The Secret to Finding a Four-Leaf Clover (and Manifesting Other Desires...)

 

I remember growing up and feeling envious of how my mom had a way with finding four leaf clovers.  

I sometimes spent hours in a patch of grass looking for those four leaves, perfectly bound together.  I would immediately grasp my fingers around anything that looked close. But I didn't find one.

It wasn't until one day I met a British man in India who told me the secret.

"The secret is you have to believe it's there waiting for you..."

He handed my friend a four leaf clover, then crouched down again and moments later stood up with another one for me. 

I later thought, "Isn't that the secret to life, and really anything we want to manifest?"  We have to believe with our whole heart that it is possible.  

We have to believe the universe is on our side, even conspiring in our favor to help us manifest what we want and need...

But months passed and I still didn't find one.

"I believe!" I told myself, but I continued to be disappointed.  

Then finally, I released the idea that I ever needed to find one. 


I found myself at the headwaters of Mt. Shasta a few weeks later sitting in a patch of grass.  I looked down, and there it was.

There was my first four-leaf clover waiting for me.

It was that moment I realized I needed to release all attachments to the outcome in order to manifest my desires.

I've learned this is an essential part of manifestation.  

When I believe, trust, and let go, I am met with exactly what I need.  

Again and again, I've seen this play out in my life.

I live for moments like finding that first four-leaf clover.  It is in these moments of pure synchronicity that I feel most connected.  

That's when I feel like there is a higher power...something greater at work that is guiding me and protecting me.

That is when I know I can offer up my fears, my need to control, and trust in the universe.

This is why I chose Synchronicity as the title of my book. The book tells the stories of the chain of events I experienced in India that linked together in an almost too perfect way.  

And it was those synchronicities that brought a deeper meaning to my life. 

I've spent the last few weeks revising my final manuscript to prepare for publishing.  I have some really exciting news to share (in about two weeks) and I can't wait to give you a chance to be one of the first people to get your hands on a copy so that you can experience this magic for yourself...

With love,
Meredith

P.S.  Click here to see the collection of four leaf clovers I have found since learning this secret...

 

What an Elephant Taught me About my Fear

 

In the weeks before I left for my trip to India I met a man in San Francisco named Josh. 

We immediately connected over our passion for music, tea, yoga, and astrology.  We spent long mornings chatting together in the three days I had in the city, and in the weeks that followed, we continued our conversation through letters and emails. 

I knew I could have had a promising romance in the States if I stayed, but I chose to follow my dreams, bought my ticket to India and left for Amma’s ashram in Kerala.

To my surprise, two weeks after my arrival, I found a message waiting from Josh in my inbox:

“I bought a flight to visit you!!  I’ll be arriving in just a few weeks.”

I was flattered, but also shocked — “You’re traveling halfway around the world to see me??” 

I had enjoyed our romantic emails in the weeks before I left, but I knew in my heart I was making the trip to India for myself and no one else.  I had so much to discover there and part of me knew I needed to do it on my own.

But then I thought of leaving the safety of the ashram premises (where I had been safely meditating). I hadn’t been outside of the ashram yet and I had no idea how I would feel navigating the trains and buses around the country by myself.  “Wouldn’t it be nice to have this man with you for a sense of security?”

I knew it was safer, more secure, and I was scared of the unknown. 

So I replied, “I’m excited you’re coming!”  Over the days that followed we talked about riding an elephant into the sunset together and watching the full moon rise over the beach on his birthday...

A week before Josh arrived, I felt a strong desire to go out exploring on my own.  I took a train to a nearby beach town and every step of the way surprised myself at how at home I felt making all the decisions by myself.

On the beach a huge elephant walked by on a nearby path.  I went closer to admire it when a man leading it asked, “Do you want to go for a ride on Ganesha?”

“A ride? Me, by myself? Up there?” I thought. I remembered my dreams of riding an elephant with Josh tightly holding my hand as we watched the sunset.

Then for a moment I imagined myself up there on the elephant all by myself, with the breeze on my face, looking down at the world around me. It felt liberating. 

Josh probably wouldn’t mind if I did it on my own, I thought. “Yes, please!” 

I ran closer and waited while one of the Indian men moved his hand over the side of Ganesha’s face and whispered a few words in his ear. He patted Ganesha’s front leg and the elephant bent down. The Indian man advised me to step on his hoof so he could hoist me up. 

I followed his directions and found myself belly down on top of the elephant trying to swing my leg over to the other side. The little hairs on his enormous body brushed against my face.

When I successfully swung my leg to the other side, I sat up slowly, finding my balance. The Indian men were laughing and clapping as I looked around, a little shocked by the new perspective.

The ground was a good ten feet away. I ran my hands over his grey, wrinkly skin. As I found my composure, the shakiness I felt at first began to dissipate.

I sat with poise and confidence like an Indian queen greeting the villagers of her kingdom. 

Then I thought, "I don’t actually need Josh to be here with me to feel safe." I realized a big part of the reason I had initially been so happy to have Josh come visit me was because I had been afraid of being on my own.

The prospect of having a man with me while I traveled to a new country felt safer. But now that I had found my own way from the ashram to this town, I felt fine.

I felt more than fine—I felt confident in myself.

I didn’t need Josh to be there with me to feel safe. I didn’t need him there to ride the elephant, and I didn’t necessarily need him there to travel with me around India.

I still felt excited to see him, but an old, limiting belief had been lifted. I no longer felt a need to depend on a man outside of myself. 

The more steps the elephant took, the more I realized I wasn’t carrying any fear at all, just excitement.

I felt awake, present, and invincible.

I realized that doing the things that scared me brought me fully into the present moment. Once I was doing it, there didn’t seem to be any more fear.

Even more than that, I realized in doing the things that scared me, I walked away with more confidence. I reminded myself, The only way to get rid of my fears, is to simply go out and do what I'm afraid of. 

I had spent so much of my life in fear. I was afraid to speak up in class, afraid to travel on my own, I was even afraid of driving on highways. I always wondered, "How do I gain more confidence?"

I was so busy avoiding the things that scared me that I had never learned the pathway to more confidence was simply doing what scared me.

When I did that, the fear became more familiar, and less scary. Each fear I faced gave me more confidence to face another. 

Deep within myself, I knew if I were to travel on my own for the rest of my time in India, I’d be okay. I needed to ride the elephant by myself to discover that. 

I lowered down closer to the elephant’s ear and whispered, “Thank you Ganesha for clearing this path for me. Thank you for this new wisdom.” 

To find out what happened next you’ll have to keep reading in my book.  Stay tuned to find out how you can receive an early copy...

In the meantime, I’m curious, what fears or limiting beliefs have you been holding?  And what action could you take to live more fully beyond your fears? I'd love to hear in the comments below.

With love,
Meredith

 

Why I Cut Off My Hair When I was 22

 

When I was 22 years old I cut off most of my hair.  

It was in a salon, just hours before my flight to India.  I didn't know how long I would be gone or when I would be coming back. 

I remember staring at my long, golden locks in the mirror thinking about how much I had identified myself with my hair.  Men often complimented me on it.  It made me feel beautiful. 

But it was also a place where I would hide.  I remember when my skin broke out in cystic acne and all the products and creams I used stopped working all together.  To feel comfortable going outside, I put on layers of makeup and let my hair cover most of my face.

I remember hiding behind my hair in class, hoping the teacher wouldn't call on me, terrified that my voice would shake if I was asked to speak...

But in the moments before boarding my plane to India, I knew I was done with hiding.  

I stood looking in the mirror and thought, "What if I cut it all off?"

It was like standing on the edge of a cliff. I felt tingles from my toes run up my shins. 

It took courage to take the leap I was about to take, to travel half-way around the world without an end date or a plan...

I would be entering a place where no one knew me.  I realized, I could be anyone I wanted to be.  

And I was ready to stop hiding. 

So I walked into the closest salon and told her to cut my hair to a boy-short length.

I watched as the golden locks hit the floor, wondering how men would look at me now, and how I would feel about myself when I looked in the mirror.  I wondered if I had made a mistake.

But then I realized how brave I was in making a conscious choice to leave my insecurities about my appearance behind. 

"I am doing this for myself and no one else.  I am doing this to see my own inner radiance," I told myself. 

I took these before and after pictures in the salon mirror...

Before and after pics of my haircut in the salon bathroom

Before and after pics of my haircut in the salon bathroom

Walking out, I ran my fingers through my new short cut, tied a scarf around my head and hours later, boarded my flight into the unknown.

More photos from my first week in India at Amma's ashram in Kerala, 2011:

Photos of me during my first week in Kerala, India

Photos of me during my first week in Kerala, India

As self-conscious as I was in my first weeks with short hair, it was also incredibly liberating.  It helped me drop the identity of the person I had been up to that point, and helped me stop trying to put on an appearance for the outside world. 

It helped me reconnect to a love within myself and for myself, that had nothing to do with my appearance.

I share this with you today to remind you of your own inner radiance. 

Where have you been relying too much on your outer appearance?

I don't think we all need to go as extreme as cutting off all our hair - but what if you chose not to wear makeup for a day? Or wore your hair pulled back, away from your face? 

A simple act like that is for you and no one else.  May it help you remember that at your core and your essence, you are pure radiance. 

With love, 
Meredith

P.S. This story is also a scene from my upcoming book about my travels in India.  Stay tuned for more stories like this coming out this month...<3

 

An Ancient Hawaiian Practice for Forgiveness

 
Image from the_soulessence

Image from the_soulessence

As humans, we are prone to making mistakes.  At some point, we all mess up--we click send before reading over the message, we say something before thinking it through, we forget to show up, or show up late--and as much as we try to avoid it, sometimes these things happen.

So what do you do when it happens - when you've made a mistake and find yourself sinking into negative energy?  How do you shift your mood and let it go?

This year I learned a simple practice that has become an essential part of my life.  I read an article by Joe Vitale about an ancient Hawaiian practice called "ho'oponopono" Shamans passed down for years.  It's based on the simple words:

"I'm sorry, I love you. Please forgive me, thank you." 

The story goes that there was a prison in Hawaii that was a horrible place to be.  People who worked there often quit because the prisoners were so hard to be around.

Then a Hawaiian psychiatrist was brought in to work with the prisoners.  He began doing his healing work, and suddenly the prisoners were really changing.  People were being released on early leave, and people who worked there saw a huge shift, and began to love their job.

However, the psychiatrist never even interacted with the prisoners in person.  So how did he heal them?

He sat in his office, looking through each file of the prisoners and used the ho'oponopono practice.  "I'm sorry, I love you."

Susan Minarik notes:

According to the teachings of Ho’oponopono (and just about every other system of well-being as well), you are responsible for everything that you experience.  Everything you see, think, notice, hear and feel is a creation of your own mind.  All your reactions and interpretations are of your making, based in memories from the past. 

The psychiatrist was working energetically with each of the prisoners.  The ho'oponopono is based on the idea that we are all responsible for the pain and suffering in the world.  When we take responsibility, people around us begin to heal.

Joe was skeptical of this practice, so he tried it when he got an angry email from a colleague.  Instead of hitting reply he just sat, looking at the email, saying, "I'm sorry, I love you."

An hour later, he received another email from the same person, apologizing for what she had said.

Joe describes:

As long as people hold on to grudges, they will remain unhappy and unhealthy.  The hardest thing for people to accept is total responsibility, yet the door to freedom is opened when you accept it all as your responsibility.  Again, it's not your fault, but it is your responsibility.

I began using this practice often in my life.  Anytime I felt upset, or worried that I triggered somebody else, I closed my eyes and repeated, "I'm sorry, I love you."

When I do the practice, I feel an immediate shift in my energy.  In my softening, I feel any negative energy between me and another person begin to lift.

So, the next time you make a mistake, or feel yourself going down a negative thought spiral, breathe and try it.  Repeat, "I'm sorry, I love you. Please forgive me, thank you." over and over until you feel a release.

 

013 | Uninhibited Leadership & the Queen Archetype with Ashley Burnett

 

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Last week I sat down with another Rising Woman Leader,  Ashley Burnett, to talk about her journey to uninhibited leadership.  

One of the things I love about Ashley is that she can have a fierce get-stuff-done attitude at the same time as embracing everyone around her with so much love. 

I've been honored to get to know her over the past few months since she moved from SF to the countryside in Petaluma, CA and I can't wait for you to get to know her through today's show!

"Dance is my lifeline."

Here's what you'll find in today's episode:

  • How Ashley healed a Gallbladder disease through diet change and embracing her emotional landscape
  • How to release our attachments when manifesting new visionary ideas and desires
  • How dance and movement has informed Ashley's life and work
  • What is uninhibited leadership? How to fully embrace yourself and your ideas.
  • The meditation Ashley uses on a daily basis
  • The archetype of the Queen - what it is and how you can use it to build more self-confidence and self-love
  • Unleashing your voice 
  • Ashley's upcoming UNLEASH retreat happening in Sonoma County September 21 - 25, 2016.  It looks absolutely AMAZING...so be sure to check it out.

I would LOVE to hear what insights you gained from the episode and how you will use the archetype of the QUEEN to live and love more fully in your life. Let me know in the comments below...

With love, 
Meredith

Women’s leadership coach, professional dancer, speaker, retreat facilitator and creative muse, Ashley Burnett is dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs heighten their visibility, embody their missions, deepen their facilitation & leadership skills, and speak up for their life's work with confidence. She's been teaching and leading groups for over 15 years and running her own business for 13. Ashley has facilitated hundreds of classes, workshops, events and retreats, and has led thousands of women from over 60 different countries in building their businesses and expanding their leadership. She lives in San Francisco Bay Area Wine Country with her husband David, and has the pleasure of running her retreats and workshops at her workshop space on 22 acres of expansive land. Visit www.strongbodylove.com to learn more about her work.

 

Read the Transcript:

Meredith Rom:

Welcome to the Rising Women Leaders Podcast. We are a sisterhood of women stepping into courage, self-love, and feminine leadership. I'm your host, Meredith Rom, and here I'll be sharing personal insights as well as interviews with inspiring leaders and entrepreneurs, so you can create more daily magic in your life and also grow your business without losing sight of spiritual values as a rising woman leader.

 

If you like this podcast, use our hashtag #RisingWomenLeaders, follow me on Instagram @meredithrom, and sign up for email updates at risingwomenleaders.com. You'll receive all the new and inspiring content, including insights I only share on email. Now get cozy with a cup of tea, light a candle, and grab a journal to listen to this week's magical radio podcast.

 

Hey, everyone. I have an awesome podcast to share with you today from Ashley Burnett. This episode is full with wisdom about being a visionary person, the archetype of the Queen, and how you can use that in your life, as well as how to let go of inhibitions that may be holding you back from showing up as your fullest self in the world.

 

I have a couple of announcements before we dive in. The first is that I'm really proud to share that I have recently completed writing a book. It's all about synchronicity, self-love, and my travels through India. This whole project began about five years ago, when a very influential man in my life handed me this beautiful, hand-woven notebook when I was in India. He said, "Meredith, you're going to write a book one day. I got this for you to start."

 

At first I didn't believe him, and I thought the idea was impossible, but then the more and more that I traveled and I met spiritual teachers and I learned how to really listen to my intuition then I started having these magical situations and occurrences where I just was showing up at the right place at the right time. The more it became clear to me that even if it felt impossible, I just needed to start writing down these stories and ideas.

 

I began writing, but there actually came a time a couple years ago when it just felt too hard and I stopped altogether. I needed to put my energy into finding a stable home, starting my career. I just put the whole project aside. It sat on my desktop for almost three years. It wasn't until I had this dream one night, when in the dream I opened this drawer and inside there is this book. I'm flipping through the pages of the book. There's a beautiful image on the cover, and I realized it was a story of a woman's travels. I thought, "Oh, my God. This was the book that I was supposed to write. I gave that up."

 

When I woke up the next morning, I knew that I needed to complete that project. I had no idea how it was going to happen. I didn't know, but I just sat down and I prayed. I said a really clear intention. I just said to the universe, "I don't know how this is going to happen, but I promised to show up for my part and to at least sit down at the computer and give it my best and see what happens."

 

Two months later, I met a woman who was just finishing her book. She had been working with an editor and a writing coach. She was like, "Oh, yeah. It's helpful to just have support through the process." I was like, "I'm ready for that." She connected me with that woman, and we started working together. For about 13 months, I wrote 5,000 words every two weeks. That's about 20 double-spaced pages. It really helped to have that accountability, that support along the way to actually complete this project. Just a few months ago, I've completed the manuscript.

 

I tell this to you because I want to invite you to think about any places in your life, any dreams that maybe you have pushed aside, felt like, "Oh, my God. That's impossible. How could I ever do that?" and to really think about, yes, you can do that if you set a really clear intention and if you're willing to trust in the universe that the very next step will be shown to you.

 

I'm now at the phase of having a couple other people read it and making more edits, but next month I'll be starting the process of publishing it. I'm really excited to share it with you. I have some awesome opportunities for you to get involved in the process, including an opportunity to actually pre-order an early copy of the book. I'd love to share just what's happening behind the scenes as they go through this process. You can go to my website, meredithrom.com. There you'll be prompted where you can sign up to stay involved and to get to hear all about the details of the release of this book that I wrote.

 

I'm so grateful to have you here listening to the podcast. If you've been enjoying the show, I'd love to hear. You can leave us a review on iTunes. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy today's episode.

 

Welcome back. This is Meredith Rom. I'm so grateful to have my friend, Ashley Burnett, on the podcast today. Ashley is a women's leadership coach, a professional dancer, a speaker, retreat facilitator, and creative muse. She's dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs heighten their visibility, embody their missions, deepen their facilitation and leadership skills, and speak up for their life's work with confidence.

 

I had been hearing about Ashley from a few other entrepreneurial women friends for probably a few months before she actually came into my field and we got to meet. I was lucky enough that she moved from San Francisco to Petaluma, where I live. We got to have dinner together and, since then, just been having some really sweet visits in each other's homes, and really glad to have her here and just to talk about uninhibited leadership and a lot of other great topics. Thanks, Ashley.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yay! I'm so excited to be here, Meredith. I'm just stoked to have this conversation with you and all the women that are listening today.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah. I would love to just dive in and talk a little bit about how you came to be doing this work. I know that you had studied dance for a long time in your life and you had been a professional dancer. I'm curiously particular about that transition of how dance evolved into what you believe in now and how you're serving women in leadership.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yes, I grew up in a fairly small town in Illinois, Quincy, Illinois in the Midwest. My mom was my dance teacher and my dad was my theater director. I was born into the arts. My mother ran a dance studio for years, and her mother was also an entrepreneur as well. In terms of entrepreneurship, that has just been embedded in my blood for lifelines, I think, for a long time.

 

In terms of dancing, I ended up majoring in dance in college at the University of Illinois. I went on to dance professionally for about 10 years after graduating and was running a massage therapy practice at the time also. I think there was a moment of just not feeling that my body could physically sustain those two careers for a long, long time.

 

Hence, a few years ago, when I was also getting into health and wellness and really wanting to heal my body, because I was also, when I was 28, diagnosed with hereditary gallbladder disease, which also was in that long lineage of women entrepreneurs. There was that gallbladder disease. My mom and her mom and her mom and my aunt and everyone had been diagnosed with that.

 

I was actually on the table at San Francisco General Hospital to get it taken out. I had a change of heart at the last minute, jumped up off the table, said, "I can't do this. I want to heal it naturally with diet and lifestyle shifts." I haven't had a gallbladder attack in nearly eight years now.

 

That was the catalyst for me to go back to school to become a health coach, which got me into the coaching industry. Once I got into the wellness industry and the health industry and started health coaching, pretty soon thereafter, people started coming to me to ask me how did I build this business, "How did you do this? How are you getting out there so quickly and doing your work?" It started to organically shift into this business in leadership coaching work.

 

I was really understanding that because of my long lineage of entrepreneurship that this was really where I was being called to be. However, to come back to the dance piece, I let go of that. I think there was a correlation between the gallbladder. Part of my healing was to slow down and to go inward. So much of my dancing was always an external process with performance and things like that. There was a lot of inner processing as well in the studio, but there was part of me that felt like I had to step away from that for a little bit to heal, at least to heal the way that I was dancing at the time.

 

Then, in addition to that, there was also this piece of I really need to focus on one thing for a little bit because, for so long, I had been doing massage, creating a jewelry line, dancing professionally and creating dances and producing shows, and I had a company and also is dancing for other people, and starting a coaching business. There was this moment where it was like I've got to just yank everything out and just focus on this coaching business.

 

It was something I needed to do for a while, but about two to three years into that sabbatical, I was really understanding that that wasn't an option for me, that dance is one of my most strongest lifelines. I have been blessed with this ability to express myself through movement, and I need to honor that. I don't feel like myself when I'm not doing that.

 

Not only in this year of moving to Petaluma, where now I have this really beautiful thousand-square-foot workshop studio space attached to the house that we're living on, where I get to share my retreats and workshops and things like that, but I'm healing myself side that workshop and out on this sacred land, channeling movement here again. That feels really important. I'm channeling that work, that movement into the work that I do.

 

Teaching always, when I start a retreat, which is something that I ... I just love retreats. They're like my jam. Always starting that retreat after a meditation and intention setting always with movement. I really believe that the body is the shortcut to moving through fear and self-doubt and limiting beliefs and for us to get into our intuitive state. When we're disconnected to the body, we can't get out there, channel the information that we need to get out there in a flowing way. That's the way that I always start my work and start my days really.

 

Once we get into that then with my clients, I also weave in a lot of leadership embodiment work that helps to boost confidence. The body is a huge integral part of the work that I do with all of this leadership work. It feels good now to be able to put all these pieces together and to be able to teach these yoga dance fusion classes, as well as then as I'm teaching curriculum to then, in between, get them up, teach them these leadership embodiment practices which still draw on the body to help them to step into larger visibility platforms with confidence, and get out there and hold space for groups and speak onstage and all the things that people that are in leadership roles are wanting to do either on a small scale or a large scale, but being able to do that with a sense of trust in one's self.

 

Meredith Rom:

I agree that the body is the ... It's really the vehicle to connect to our intuition to know what steps to take next in our life. It sounds like this gallbladder disease that came at that time, it was like you had been really outward and giving of yourself in dance and massage therapy. It sounds like that was a time your body was asking you to tune inward and to be a little bit more there for yourself and that healing. Then again the dance came back in later.

 

I'm curious just a little more about the gallbladder disease that came up. I'm curious about what emotions do you think it was related to and what really did catapult that healing at that time for you?

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah. Obviously, I have a little frog in my throat, so I apologize. To be completely honest, I think what really was going on, and I'm so glad that you asked this question because I want to stress that while I am so passionate about leadership and business, work for entrepreneurs, a huge part of the work that I do is all based on fiercely prioritizing self-care and really paying attention to the signals of the body.

 

At the time, I was about 28. My parents got divorced in my very early 20s. I had been super close with my family and attached to that unit. When that broke off later in life, not early childhood, the rug was pulled from underneath me and I fell on my face. I didn't have any of the tools really at that time to deal with my anger around that.

 

Right after that happened, I graduated college, I moved to Chicago. In Chicago, I was there from 20 to 25. I was really angry. I was really. really angry and sad and frustrated. I didn't really process it and I don't think that until I moved to San Francisco, I spent a few years learning massage therapy and continuing to self-teach myself on health and holistic healing and all of that, that really I think what happened was that it was manifesting as anger in the body. It ended up residing in that gallbladder area because the liver and those areas are really representative of anger.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah, I know that, too, in my practice of yin yoga, which brings in the Chinese medicine system, that the liver, gallbladder can ... It's where we hold unexpressed anger, emotions like that.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah. There was that piece and the energetic piece. Then there was just a dietary piece that was definitely there. I, at the time also, was going to a little more extremes, drinking a little bit more coffee a couple of times a day, a bar of dark chocolate a day, just things that I, at the time, was like, "Oh, yeah. This is totally fine," but it was overkill.

 

When I decided to jump off of that table and heal this thing naturally, there was the process of going on a fairly strict gallbladder diet for a year. If anyone that's listening to this interview has had gallbladder stuff, gallbladderattack.com was the site that was like my Bible. It helped me so much in terms of diet, but the reality is that now I can eat all of those things, I just do so really in moderation. Most importantly, I've gone inward and I've expressed ... I've deeply worked on my issues around my parents' divorce and other things that were coming up that I think were really energetically causing the gallbladder to spasm out.

 

Meredith Rom:

Right. I have a question that came to my mind, which you've partly answered, but you've gained so many tools since that time. If you were to look back on that woman, just finding out this disease and feeling out of balance, what would be some of the first things you would tell her, where to start, and how to begin that healing process?

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah, it's such a good question. It's really letting her know that it's okay, that starting to understand that people's existence, that you're not responsible for other people's existence, coming to be in process around understanding that life isn't permanent and moving through our attachments and releasing those.

 

I think that I would have potentially told her to start going to Spirit Rock and meditating a lot sooner than she had, really dropping inward. I think I was reaching, I think I was grasping a lot at that time. I was also going through my Saturn returns. It was very intense emotionally. I had also met my now husband, who was living in Omaha at the time and I was living in San Francisco. We were having this two-year, long-distance romance, which was also a very grasping time. There was always this wanting of wanting to see someone.

 

I think if I could tell her anything, it would be to just really try to practice presence. That's something that's coming up for me really strongly right now of just trying our best to be in the present moment to really see the buds on the trees, to really smell, use our senses of where we're at right now. We've gone so far away from this with technology. I think it's really important for us to just come back to really being where we are in that moment and being okay with ourselves.

 

I probably would have done myself healing work earlier, too, but now that I'm saying that, it's like I was always doing self-healing, but the thing was I wasn't getting support. If I could also tell her anything, it would be go get some support. You don't have to do everything yourself. You don't have to read self-help books and read nutrition books, and that's the only thing that you do and try to hold the space for yourself all the time. It's okay to be held by other people.

 

That's coming in very strongly also right now, and I'm sure you feel this as also a leadership coach and holding space for others quite frequently, that, as people in roles of leadership, we've got to learn how to have the space held for us. We cannot be giving, giving, giving and holding the space for others all the time and then not having that space be held for ourselves and giving back to ourselves. Long-winded answer to your question, that's probably what I would talk to her about now.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah. I love all of those. Those are so integral to just how I live my life and how I've been teaching others. That piece about support, a blog post that I wrote a few months ago was about this idea of even if we are just leaning on one person for support, that's usually not enough. We need layers of support around us.

 

I had my friend, Kevin. He was visiting me for a few days while Michael, my boyfriend, was away. I have been going through a challenging time. I was feeling like, "Wow! My partner, who I rely so much on, he's away for two weeks." I was telling him about that challenge. He was like, "Yeah. If you're just relying on one person for most of your needs, it's like standing on top of a flagpole."

 

Ashley Burnett:

Totally.

 

Meredith Rom:

It can get pretty shaky up there if that person just moves a little bit to the right or to the left. He says, "Instead, if you can think of becoming a spider and having eight legs holding you up and you have your friends and you maybe have a coach or a massage therapist or a therapist, and just like lots of people that are there supporting you." That was a huge light bulb moment for me. I immediately went into just cultivating that support around myself so deeply.

 

Ashley Burnett:

I love that. Yeah, community is key, what I like to call your support power posse. It's like having that and determining who is that. Yeah, exactly. If you're just looking for your partner to fill that space or just one coach or something like that, I feel like it is. It can be completely overwhelming. We've got to create other built-in support networks for ourselves. Yeah, I love the spider analogy, too. It's great.

 

Meredith Rom:

Definitely. I had a couple other questions come up when you were speaking earlier. One was around ... I know that you're a very visionary person, I'm a very visionary person, and sometimes I get these huge ideas or downloads and I'm like, "Oh, my God. Everything needs to change right now. I need everything to be different."

 

Part of the practice of being with these big ideas that sometimes come in that I want to take action on is that non-attachment and that, okay, coming back to the present moment, being gratitude. I'm curious how you handle this, what you do for yourself to be in that practice of non-attachment? I think it'd be useful for me in particular, but anyone listening who has a visionary mind.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah. I mean when you're in a leadership role and you're a visionary and/or an entrepreneur, I mean it's the entrepreneurial mind to have all of these ideas that come up, and we want to take action on them and we want them to happen overnight. There's an impatient nature that happens.

 

There's also this grasping of, "If I don't get it out now, someone else is going to take that idea and run with it. I won't be able to do it." There is this idea of, "Yeah, it's already going to be done. I need to do it right now." This brings me into the idea of uninhibited leadership, if you're interested in going there.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah.

 

Ashley Burnett:

This is the idea of understanding that even if you have an idea that comes up and you sit with that for a while, and then you see someone else do something similar to that idea and get it out there, the reality is that no one else on the face of the planet can execute and deliver an idea the same way that you can.

 

Your thoughts, philosophies, and ideas don't have to be the same. They can be the same as someone else, but the way that you are going to actually deliver those is what makes it unique. When you can really drop into that idea, that's when you can relax, we can relax, and just completely owned who we are, which is my really definition of an uninhibited leadership. It's like allowing yourself to completely be yourself in your leadership and to, what I like to say, let your freak flag fly.

 

You can get out there and be your wild, crazy self in a way that still has dignity and integrity and ground, but that's the idea. It's really about understanding and owning that no one else on the face of the planet is you or is going to deliver anything else like you. You can have very similar thoughts, philosophies, and ideas and visionary programs or anything else, but that person is going to deliver it in a completely different way than the other person is. It's going to resonate with certain people. That's how we can get out of that compare and despair syndrome, too.

 

The other piece is that it's not a sprint. Life is not a sprint and neither is your journey of entrepreneurship or whatever kind of leadership you're in. It's not a sprint to the finish line. This is a marathon. This is a lifelong marathon, and your ideas do not have to happen and they're not going to happen overnight.

 

I think a lot of people that identify themselves as light workers and visionaries, there's this idea of like, "But we've got to do this now. We've got to do this now because the world needs us and we need to do it." I get that. I really get that desire.

 

The fast-paced franticness of that is not going to help anything. We have so much of this fast-paced, frantic energy going around us, swirling at all times, the technology and, "I've got to change my printing ink," and "I've got to check that email," and "I've got to write that blog post," "I need to ... " I mean it's out of control. "I've got to do this Instagram thing. I've got to write on Twitter. I've got to ... " Then it's like, "Oh, I need to actually be present and look at a flower for a second, an actual living thing that has a higher vibration."

 

I think there's this level of actually when we release that attachment to have to having something done really quickly or doing it now that we give the opportunity space to flow. We give ourselves space to flow. I've learned how to stop pushing so hard. I'm not perfect with this all the time. In fact, just a few months ago, I did a huge conference that I felt like I was pushing again. I was like, "I don't like how this feels."

 

I think it's really important in this process to ask yourself, "How is this feeling to me right now? Do I want to feel like this? Do I want to feel in this frantic push, push, push, push place, or do I want this to feel more spacious? Do I want this to feel like there's more pleasure involved and more flow and connection and trusting that this process is going to unravel itself because I'm holding this intention, I'm starting to take maybe some action towards it, but I'm letting it to unravel itself instead of me forcing it to happen?"

 

Meredith Rom:

I had an insight recently. I was doing this exercise I learned from a book around I'm writing a letter to God, spirit, universe, just getting out any challenges you're facing, and then to end the letter with, "Please, right through my pen, guide me." I was writing, just connecting to that intuitive state of what would this greater presence say to me.

 

One of the things that was said was, "Meredith, sometimes the best thing about having a desire is it's just having that thing to look forward to and having something that is in the anticipation phase of having it," so learning to enjoy that. I wanted to touch on what you said before this piece around if you have an idea that is similar to what someone else has already done in the world, that you should go right ahead and do it because no one will receive it the way that you're going to share it.

 

That reminds me of something that ... I've been listening a lot to KC Baker, as you know, this woman who share so much about your messaging and your speaking. She had this idea around it's okay to not be original as long as you're authentic. That was very freeing for me to hear, like, "Oh, okay. Yes, my ideas may be similar to what other people are sharing, but I have my own stories to add to them. If it's really true for me then, yes, I should go ahead and share it, of course."

 

Ashley Burnett:

Totally, yeah. I couldn't agree more.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah. One other thought around that timeline of I recently watched Tony Robbins' film, I'm Not Your Guru. Have you seen that?

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah. I just saw it, yeah.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah. Something that he says is like we usually overestimate what we can get done in a year, but we greatly underestimate what we can get done in 10 years. It's like that idea of what you said at the marathon. Let's look at our life in the bigger picture here and find the ease in that process.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Right, yeah. I think he's right, where it's like then we think it's too hard. It's like an extreme. It's either one thing or the other, where we might think it's too hard and then we just don't go ahead and move forward with that dream at all. A lot of dreams are just released because they tried for a few months and it was hard. Then it felt like it was too hard, so, "I quit. I'm done. I'm done. I'm not going to try to become an entrepreneur anymore," or whatever it is. "I'm not going to try to build that app," or whatever it is.

 

Again, yeah, it takes time. The process doesn't happen overnight. If I could say anything to anyone, it would be stop trying to be Oprah when you're first starting out, or just stop trying to be Oprah all together. It's like just be yourself. Trust this process. Understand it takes time get support. It's going to happen.

 

Meredith Rom:

When it starts feeling hard, unconsciously it's usually when we are trying to be something else or we saw something and, "Oh, I want to try and be like that." Then it gets hard and sticky, and it doesn't feel good. Always coming back.

 

I'm curious about ... You mentioned Spirit Rock before. I know that you recently wrote a blog post about going there. What have you been learning there? What has that been like for you?

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah. I mean I've just, in the last ... Again, as someone who is constantly producing new things as an entrepreneur and visionary, that I was really feeling this calling in the last few months to start really going inward a little bit more than I normally do. I talk a lot about self-care even in the midst of launches.

 

I know it's hard, and I don't even have a kid yet. I have a primary relationship, I have tons of friendships that I'm navigating, and a big, big business where I'm holding space for my clients. Then also when I was launching that conference, we had gathered 1500 people together from all over the world for that. That was a lot of space to hold for people. I tried my best to take care of myself and take [babs 40:43] and meditate here and there, morning and night, and do my movement. It was clear it was still too much and not enough focus on going inward and rebalancing and being supported and being held.

 

I really was being called the Spirit Rock because I felt like this space could hold me. There's that piece. I have meditated myself for years and years and years, but I've never been formally trained. It's been cool to be taking real time out and learning more about the process of non-attachment and releasing that ... I think desire is good in a lot of ways, but I think there's a lot of unhealthy ways that it comes in and takes us away from the present moment.

 

It's really one of my favorite practices I just learned, and I had been doing it myself without knowing that's what I was doing for a while, but is the love and kindness meditation. Some of you probably know it and others of you maybe have never done this before, but it's really sitting, finding a place, finding a comfortable seat, closing your eyes, and then starting with yourself, repeating the mantras, "May I be safe, may I be healthy, may I be happy, may I be able to support myself with ease," and you can change these words up. It could be, "May I be filled with love and kindness, may I be filled with peace," starting with yourself and repeating each mantra a few times until it really sinks in to your being.

 

Then moving on to the next one silently to yourself. Then moving it towards someone else that you care about, that you want to hold in that space, and then moving it outward even further to maybe your greater community, or eventually you can get it to where you're holding that space for the whole world or that intention for the whole world.

 

Then, lastly, the most difficult for a lot of people ... I'll say the most difficult for some people would be doing it towards yourself. In fact, when we were holding that practice at Spirit Rock, one of the people was expressing that they were like ... Or actually the teacher was, when he first started doing this 30 years ago or however long, he was fine with doing it for other people, but then as soon as it came to himself, he hit a wall.

 

Also, it could be very difficult for people to do it towards people who have really triggered you in the past or are very challenging for you, or even with the state of the world that we're in right now, people who actually cause harm and suffering to others and actually trying to hold them in that light. That's been pretty profound to me. I've been doing that morning and night every day, or if I'm laying in, getting acupuncture, I'll do the love and kindness meditation, or if I'm taking a bath or something like that, I've been doing it. It really helps me to get out of my head and just really drop into myself and just understand there is nothing else but this present moment.

 

That's the other thing that I really ... I talk about presence, but, having gone to Spirit Rock a few times now, really honing in on they talk so much about the present moment that there's nothing else but this moment right here. If we're somewhere else, we're in the future or the past, we're never actually getting the present moment. We're never experiencing it. It's huge. It's really huge. That's where I'm focusing my energy right now.

 

It's tough when you are a visionary because we're always looking forward towards the next thing, but I think it's really important as visionaries. This whole past month of August, I've been super internal, not trying to produce other things. I've got a retreat coming up at the end of next month that I'm looking forward to, but I'm not creating that curriculum yet. I have the intention for it, but this month of August has really been about just letting it be, giving myself a break from producing anything new.

 

The other thing I want to say about that is I took a ritual training program a few years ago, and I teach ritual in my work also. There's this idea of never really being able to relish in the harvest. If we are constantly looking to the next thing ... It's like this idea my coach, Joanna Lindenbaum, who originally taught me this idea, was if we're constantly climbing up the mountain and we get to the top of the mountain, then we get up there and then we just see this other peak and we're like, "Okay, we've got to climb that mountain now." We never take in the view. We never actually relish in the harvest of what it is that we've just accomplished.

 

I think for a lot of entrepreneurs and visionaries, it's like an illness. We just keep going to the next thing and we never actually get to soak in and celebrate what we've really accomplished.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah, that's so important. I think that's a lot of what can be hard or challenging in our culture is there is so much just people achieving and what's next?

 

Ashley Burnett:

Right.

 

Meredith Rom:

It's hard work. It's the piece about slowing down, looking at what we have done, feeling grateful for that.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Totally.

 

Meredith Rom:

Love and kindness, too. It's been a big piece. I really like how when I first learned sending that love into every cell of your body first, and then from that place, sending it out, really nourishing.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah, because really you can't show up in the way that you need to as a leader or partner or mother or father if you don't start with loving yourself first. I really strongly believe that they're going to feel that energy. Your clients, your kids, your colleagues, they're going to feel that energy of you not really being connected to yourself. That will affect everything. I think it's imperative that we begin with ourselves and move outward from there so that we can give in just a much more fully aligned way.

 

Meredith Rom:

That's so true. This actually I think relates to the archetype of the Queen. I know that you've been bringing that into your work, and the Queen being someone who can hold space for that and really be of service, but I'm wondering if you could share more about the Queen and how that's been coming to play in your life and work.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah, I'd love to. It's been interesting, this journey with the Queen. Back at that ritual training, we looked at different archetypes. Mostly at those, we were just looking at Maiden, Mother, Queen, and Crone. I don't know, it was this interesting thing where the women who identified with the Queen stage of their life were asked to stand up.

 

I don't know what it was, but I just broke down in tears. It was so powerful to have these women stand up. I didn't stand up because I don't identify with being in that stage of my life right now necessarily. I definitely resonate with the Mother stage, but, I don't know, it just struck me that here's this idea of someone really, really knowing themselves and really owning who they are and being comfortable in their own skin. There was that that happened, and then I don't know exactly what else happened, but recently I led a retreat where we focused ... I'm not exactly sure where the inspiration came from other than that, to start working with the Queen. It really organically came in.

 

Then I started going back and watching old dance videos that I had created six, seven years ago. I was realizing, "Oh, my God. I was working with this Queen energy back there and I didn't even know it." I was doing very esoteric modern dance and having this one character like come forward and pins this banana peel to her head and she just claimed all the space. I was like, "Oh, my God. I'm watching this. I was working with the Queen energy back then and I didn't know it."

 

It's interesting. I've been playing with it for a while. Now it's really an integral part of the work that I'm doing. The reason being is that if there's one major piece that I could say that my clients walk away with, it's that it's not that they get to a place of never having fear or doubt or any of that again, but they are so much more self-confident in themselves, much more self-loving, have so much more trust in themselves after they get out of a program. I really feel that working with this Queen energy is helping them to truly embody that.

 

The idea of working with the Queen is ... And it's not this idea of this big Queen presence that is full of ego. It's not about that, it's about the Queen who fully owns her value and embraces all of her unique skills and her life experiences and her talents and her challenges and everything that really makes up who she is, and that she's not afraid to weave her uniqueness and her unique qualities into the work that she's doing to help shift the world for the better.

 

It's this idea of the Queen who can sit on her throne and take up space without questioning her right to take up that space, because one of the things that I've seen a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with and a lot of visionaries struggle with is they have these ideas, they want to do this work, and then they're so engulfed by fear and self-doubt that they don't do it. They don't end up holding space for people, they don't end up having that women's circle or doing that retreat because they're scared that they're going to look stupid or they're not going to know enough, or they haven't had enough training to do that, or they aren't going to fill it and no one's going to come to their party, so they just don't do it, or they don't do it because they feel like they're going to take up space from someone else.

 

The Queen doesn't question our right to take up space because she knows that when she does, she actually won't be taking anything away from you or anyone else. In fact, the contrary actually happens. She is giving you permission to step into your confidence and shine and do your great work.

 

The Queen also knows she's not perfect. She has released this idea and the myth of perfectionism, and she owns her mistakes and she cultivates the courage to voice those mistakes humbly and learn from them. I can't tell you how many mistakes I have done and created and made over this journey of 15 years of entrepreneurship, but I do voice when I make a mistake to my clients, to my communities, to my people and apologize for that and try to learn from it.

 

Meredith Rom:

That's so beautiful. That's so freeing. It's so freeing to know that on an entrepreneurial path, or really any path, mistakes, we all make them, and it's okay. We can learn from them and to think of that as part of the Queen, something that maybe many of us look up to, is very freeing.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah, this idea of there is really no such thing as failure, only feedback and that when we make a mistake, it's another opportunity for ourselves to learn and grow. We can't grow the way that we really want to if we don't make mistakes. We just stay in this little comfortable place.

 

A couple other pieces of the Queen that I really work with and the work that I do is talking about, again, self-care. It's like the Queen, the archetype of the Queen. We're not necessarily talking about actual Queens right now, we're talking about the idea and the archetype of the Queen, but she loves herself and she really cares for herself just as much she cares for and loves others. She really values her self-care, she really practices it diligently, and she works on loving all of the parts of who she is, even the dark shadowy parts that bug the shit out of her, excuse me, for lack of better words right now, but that trigger her.

 

There's so many pieces of myself that trigger me, too. I have to learn how to embrace that's part of myself. I can work on this. It's not perfect. I will continue to work on this, but I have to have compassion for that part of myself that triggers me.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah. There's the meditation piece coming back in, going to give love to myself even in those times that trigger, even those parts I don't want to accept on the surface. That's true. True work, inner work.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah, and it's hard. It's hard to look at the parts of ourselves that we don't like. They're dead in the eye, and then tell them, "It's okay. I understand you've been trying to keep me safe. You have a positive intention for me," and then working with it and seeing how we can start to shift it.

 

Also, one of the ideas of the Queen that I like to do to embody, especially in the leadership embodiment work that I talked about, is leading with a combination of warmth and compassion and ground and strength. Some of the best leaders are really people who emulate these two and really embody these two qualities. It's learning how to lead with that ground and that fierceness and that strength, but with compassion and love and warmth always at the forefront. Some of the best, best leaders that have been out there, Gandhi and Maya Angelou, Mother Theresa, people who have really just done huge work in their lives, they lead with that combination.

 

The idea of the Queen, it's leading with that idea of warmth and compassion and ground and strength, and then leading without ego, not letting her fear, shame, guilt, doubt define her and/or slow her down from actually putting herself out there because the mission is stronger than that fear and doubt and shame and guilt. The mission of why they're doing what they're doing, why we're doing what we're doing, it takes precedence over that fear. The Queen is not afraid to speak the truth and vulnerably use her voice to create positive social change for the greater good of humanity through the work that she does.

 

Those are really the elements that I like to work with. I think once we start to work with these and embody it through a ritual that people begin to really feel that Queen energy in themselves. Then they can draw on that experience when they do go out and hold space for groups or retreats or giving a talk on stage or doing events or workshops, or holding space for even just one client. I'm going to be working a lot with this in my upcoming retreat late September, but I think throughout all the work that I do now, it's really working with this archetype.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yes. I have a couple more questions for you. One thing you just mentioned was the voice and the Queen using her voice and speaking up in the world. I'm curious if you could touch for a minute just what that journey's been like for you and if you have any advice for women that are on the brink of wanting to share their voice. Maybe they're feeling the fear or the self-doubt come up, anything you would say to them.

 

Ashley Burnett:

It was interesting. I started out again in dance and theatre and performance and was on all these stages from a very young age. I mean I did my first musical at age five. By the time I had gone to college, I had already done, I don't know, probably ... I can't even ... performed on a hundred different stages.

 

Performance was my life. I was always using my voice, whether that'd be dancing or actually speaking, doing a play in that way. I had that upbringing. That's part of ... In a way I wasn't as scared of the stage because of that, but then I went to the opposite extreme and started this massage therapy practice when I lived in San Francisco, and have that running for 10 years. It was quite an interesting thing to just get quiet and go inward and basically communicate with someone through touch and through the body.

 

About halfway into that experience, I was really realizing like, "Wow! I have something to say here, and I want to say it on a larger scale and on a larger platform and it's not just behind a massage table." There was this feeling of hiding at one point that was happening.

 

I think I needed it. Also, there was healing, and I just needed to go inward in that way, but then I just felt like there was a bigger message that I needed to share.

 

Really, it was interesting because when I started coaching, I was just doing one-on-one coaching mostly. I had started to lead some online group programming, but where I flourish and where my passion is is in-person with people, holding events and retreats and workshops and creating experiences for people that they can viscerally feel and experience in-person.

 

I started to lead experiential day retreats in the city. That was when I really felt like I could start to really speak my truth. I had done some telecalls, but there was still this idea of hiding behind the computer, and so I started to get out and really create the vision for those retreats. Now it's like that's what we're doing here and that's what this upcoming retreat that I have at the end of September is really focused on helping people to do.

 

I think in terms of what I would say now, again, it's these elements of perfectionism doesn't exist. We have to release the myth of perfectionism. Stephen Hawking, the great scientist, said that after the Big Bang, if the particles would have not gone in odd directions and everything would have just expanded perfectly, we wouldn't be here. Matter would never have been created and we wouldn't be here.

 

Perfectionism does not exist in our universe. We can't continue to buy into that myth anymore. It doesn't mean just like throw something together absent-mindedly and then try to put it out there. That's not what it means. It just means that it's not going to be perfect and we need to start getting our work out there because the world needs it.

 

The biggest thing is to continue to connect to your why, continue to connect to the bigger mission of why you're doing what you're doing if you really have the desire to help people get healthy or help people live a more peaceful life through meditation or to help someone to feel more confident in their style, if you're a personal stylist. I've worked with stylists before. If you're someone who wants to help someone to dance again and get back into their body in that way, if you're someone who wants to help them to move forward into their leadership and get over their fear of public speaking, that your fears that come up around doing that work and putting it out there, those are what's holding you back from actually getting the people that need your message the help that they need.

 

If we can start to really connect into that why and really think about our community that we want to serve and really connecting with that, that can help us to release this idea of perfectionism and help us to actually get the good work out there, and the work with the body and learning different strategies on how to build more confidence in the body through simple movements that actually help to diminish cortisol levels and boost testosterone and oxytocin which slashes those cortisol levels, which is a lot of the work that I teach in the experiential retreats that I do, that can actually help us to feel more in our strength and in our power even before our mind feels that way. It's like we want to play with boosting the oxytocin and testosterone in the bodies that we can slash out those cortisol levels, which we can do through movement technique.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah. I like what you said. I've thought that before. On the other side of your fear is someone who genuinely needs your help, and if you can continue to come back to that. It really helps to be with whatever intensity of sensation that might be there.

 

I'm curious, I'd love to hear a little bit more about ... You have a retreat coming up the end of September. Tell us more about what that's going to be about and how people can find that.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah. I'm super excited about it. It is called the Unleash Retreat. You can find out more about it at unleashretreat.splashthat.com. Unleashretreat.splashthat.com. Really, it's for any woman who identifies as a leader of some sort or an entrepreneur who feels like they're ready to expand their leadership and their business and their visibility and to scale their good work through strengthening their facilitation skills, as they lead classes and workshops and events and retreats.

 

We're going to focus on group programming. This can also be online or offline, because I've done such an array of both work, and the skills that we're going to be learning or things that you can apply if you're creating an online virtual circle or group program, or if you're doing something in-person with people, or a combination of both, but we're going to focus on developing advanced skills to create safe containers to really build trust with your attendees and your clients as soon as they come into your radar and walk in the door, and help build a really sacred container for that work to be done in.

 

Then to weave powerful ritual. We're going to look at some different rituals that you can do to really help embody the work that you're doing, help your clients really embody the work that you're doing. We're going to start looking at that.

 

We're going to talk about confidence skills, like how to start building that confidence while facilitating, because I know a lot of times people just won't even ... They can't even think about leading a group because of that fear. For other people, it's like they feel very confident holding space for groups, but they just want to take this work to the next level and they want to learn some new skills and advance their facilitation skills.

 

Really, it's for both people who are maybe beginning an entrepreneurship, as well as people who have been in it for a while and just want to take their skills to the next level, as well as people who actually aren't entrepreneurs. I have a couple of people coming who are in higher up positions at corporations who are leading teams and things like that that are coming as well.

 

We're also going to talk about, for those that are in entrepreneurial roles or are holding events and things like that, how to create lasting transformation for the clients, how to bring more income flow into the business from those retreats and events, and actually how to fill those retreats and events, too.

 

That's some of the main focus, but we're also going to be working a lot with that Queen archetypal energy to help just boost confidence in ourselves in general as well as while we're facilitating and really drop into the body and healing the body through movement, self-care, nature, ritual, and coming together in sisterhood. I think it's so important to be able to come together in community and, again, like we talked about at the beginning of this conversation, allow ourselves to be held and not always have to be in that facilitator role and to be able to really be held by a safe and sacred circle of women who are like-minded and who are getting out there and doing great work in the world and holding space for others.

 

It's going to be super awesome. The first night is on the autumn equinox on September 22nd. It's the 22nd through the 25th. We're holding a powerful autumn equinox ritual to help restore balance and ground and strength as leaders, because if we don't have that balance, we can't get out there and give. It's going to be a really beautiful opportunity to restore balance in ourselves before we even get into the work of learning new skills and things like that.

 

I live out here in Petaluma, California on 22 acres of beautiful, sacred Native American land. We'll be gathering here during the days, and folks will stay in the charming town of Petaluma at night. It's just going to be a really beautiful opportunity to grow and expand and really get centered before we dive into fall and winter. I am really, really excited about it.

 

If people have questions, they can find me personally at [email protected], or at strongbodylove.com, on Instagram or Facebook. You can also, again, go to unleashretreat.splashthat.com to learn more.

 

I'm happy just for your community, Meredith, because I love you and I love this community that you're gathering together to offer a really beautiful discount to your community for this retreat, too. If people want to ...

 

Meredith Rom:

Yay!

 

Ashley Burnett:

... learn more, the best way is to just shoot me an email and we can hop on the phone together and chat about it.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yay! Oh, my God. It sounds incredible. I have a big smile on my face as you're sharing because I can feel so deeply your passion about this work. It is really needed. It is going to help so many people. I'm very excited for you. I will-

 

Ashley Burnett:

Yeah. The last thing I'll say about it is my friend, my dearest friend, one of my dear, dear friends, Monica Lucero, who you know, will be acting as retreat doula a.k.a really holding the space throughout the entire retreat and clearing the energy and making sure that when things come up, because when we're doing this deep work, it's really intense, but that we acknowledge when stuff comes up that we can look at it, explore it, clear it so that we can continue to move forward and do the great work that we need to do.

 

Moni also clears my energy and she clears the space energetically beforehand, so it really feels like a safe and sacred container for us. She'll be part of that as well. Then I'm going to have a couple of other guests that will come weaving in and out of it, too. It's going to be awesome. I'm super excited.

 

Meredith Rom:

Wow! That's so wonderful. I will include, too, the links in the blog post and the show notes so people can take a look at everything that's there.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Thank you. I appreciate that so much.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah. So much of what we shared today I feel like was what I needed to hear. I know that it's going to really resonate out in all the people who got to listen to this. I would love to just close this call today with so much gratitude. Thank you, Ashley, for being here. Do you have any closing words before I say a little prayer for the call?

 

Ashley Burnett:

Mostly to just thank you so much for having me on the show. I love you and I love the work that you're doing and the energy that you bring to everything. It's been just so great to get to know you over the last year. I look forward to more.

 

I want to thank everyone who has listened to this interview and just for your presence and being here. I hope to get to connect in with you personally at some point. I'm sending you all just so much love. Just remember presence, presence, presence and trust and slow down. Those are the three biggest pieces that are coming to me right now.

 

Meredith Rom:

Yeah, that's so key. Let's ground back into our breath, just reflecting on all that has been shared. For those of you listening, you can tune into the space of your heart to see what comes to your mind, what you're going to take into your life, all this information that was shared today, and the action steps you might want to take, any insights that you're going to carry, maybe share with someone you know. Just hold that gem in your hearts. I'm going to bring my hands to my heart center and bow. Thank You, Ashley. Thank you. Thank you to everyone listening. Namaste.

 

Ashley Burnett:

Thank you.

When Insight Strikes in the Middle of the Night

 
Image source from @the_soulessence

Image source from @the_soulessence

During my travels over the last month I had a mentor pose a question to me:

“If you only had 5 years left to live, what is the one message you know you need to dedicate yourself to?”

The answer came to me in the middle of the night after waking up from a bad dream.

In the dream I was being faced with a scary situation where I felt like I was losing someone I really loved. I woke up to my heart beating fast and my solar plexus tied up in knots. 

Instinctively, I began listening to my breath and I placed my hands on my body. I welcomed all the sensations and let them wash over and through me.

I watched as the stories of my mind ran wild until eventually, my breath slowed and my heart beat became steady again.

I connected to a feeling of love I have in my heart, a love that over the years I have come to know is always with me.

I sent that love to every cell of my body.

As I lay awake in the middle of the night, I realized I had full power to love and soothe myself in a time of need, holding myself with compassion, the way a mother would hold a child. 

It was in that moment I realized the power self-love has had on my life.

I asked myself:  What if every challenge or difficult situation I am facing is actually an OPPORTUNITY to more deeply love myself? 

I believe we all have the power to love ourselves through any challenge or difficulty in our lives. 

I believe when we tap into the power of self-love, we no longer need to be afraid.  We then have the ability to share our love without fear, to take risks, and to really stand up and share our gifts in the world.

Today I invite you to think about what challenge or difficulty you are currently facing... How could you see this challenge as an opportunity and invitation to even more deeply love yourself? 

I'd be happy to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

With love, 
Meredith

 

012 | Mantra, Sound & Motherhood with Noelani Love

 
noelani-love-hawaii-designer-mother

When I imagine a woman fully empowered in her voice, I think of Noelani Love.  

I first met Noelani in Hawaii when dear friend Erica Jago and I led a workshop at her studio.  Since then I've watched Noelani come more and more into her voice as a mantra singer, teacher and retreat leader. 

I've seen Noelani go for her dreams, speak up for her needs and stand for her beliefs.  When we reunited in Bali, Indonesia last May for the Rising Women Leaders Bali Retreat, I wasn't even surprised when she took the floor at Ecstatic Dance at the Yoga Barn to sing the closing song with her ukulele.  I watched in amazement as she gathered over a hundred of us to sing along with her that day.

On today's episode of the Rising Women Leaders Podcast, I asked Noelani if she would share about her experiences of finding her voice and how her unique experiences of motherhood and childbirth have shaped her into the woman she is today.

In this episode you'll discover:

  • Noelani's empowering experience of having a home birth 
  • How she found her voice as a singer
  • The vision she holds for new mamas and their babies
  • Practices for tapping into more pleasure through sound
  • Details about Noelani's upcoming album, Lakshmi Lullabies

Links in this episode:

What did you take away from today's show?  and How will you add more pleasure to your life with sound?  I'd love to hear in the comments below.

With love, 
Meredith


oahu-hawaii-goddess

A note from Noelani:

As a mother, designer and yogini, I create to inspire.  I believe in the healing power of our intentions along with the gifts of this earth. As a daughter of the Mother Earth, I realize that we all have the potential to teach, to heal and empower others through our offerings, as we navigate our way to fulfill our true purpose: LOVE.

Living in Hawaii, with a love for traditional Hawaiian 'oli (chanting) as well as Sanskrit mantra, I began my musical adventure by sharing my original ukulele compositions of mantras in my yoga classes.  I have many passions that allow me to share my light with others and empower them along the way:  jewelry design, teaching yoga, birth education, tantra, and inspiring self love.  I love surfing, singing, writing and spending time with my 'ohana on the North Shore of Oahu. 

We are all human beings that deserve to give and receive love. Share your medicine.

Learn more about my latest mantra album project on my Indiegogo campaign


Did you enjoy today's episode?  If so, let us know by leaving an iTunes Review for us right Here!

 

"Do I love this?" (Why I'm giving away half the clothes in my closet)

 

I woke up this morning, with a strong urge to give away half of the clothes in my closet.

Yesterday, my friend came back from a transformative festival and declared, "From now on, I am only going to wear clothing that is made of organic, natural fibers in the colors of white, red or gold." 

She had come home wearing a beautiful white cotton dress that made her look like a priestess.  She told me, "I spent $108 on this dress, and it may be all I need."

I have watched over the past month as this friend moved, gave away half of her belongings and simplified her life.  

Being around her has been so refreshing, and also inspired me to look at the areas of my life (and closet) that have felt stagnant.

I recently finished reading Greg McKeown's NY Times best-selling book, Essentialism. 

In it, he challenges the reader to go into their closet and instead of asking, "Is there a chance I will wear this someday in the future?" to ask, "Do I love this?" If the answer is no, then you know it is a candidate for elimination.  

I realized I have been craving this kind of clarity in my life.  I was yearning to declare, "This is what I want," fully own it, and decide the rest is nonessential.

This summer I have been saying no to opportunities.  I've said no to interviews, subbing yoga classes, new teaching opportunities, and even new clients.  I realize I needed to do this to clear the space in my mind and my schedule to just be.  

Through that space I'm seeing more clearly what I want to say yes to.  
I now feel a fresh inspiration for my podcast interviews, for crafting and refining my book (the stories of India I so long to share,) and for creating space this Fall to work with women one-on-one.  

I realized at least for now, everything else could fall away.

When we eliminate, we create space for our highest possible contribution to shine through. 


So today, as I am going through my closet, I invite you to ask, "What is cluttering up my life?"

Maybe it is material clutter, or maybe it is one-too-many projects you have said yes to...

I'm curious what you can eliminate or say no to, in order to make greater space for your yes...

I'd love to hear what it is in the comments below.

With love, 
Meredith

 

The 3 Biggest Leaps I've Taken and How They Changed My Life

 

This spring I read Brene Brown's book, Rising Strong.  I've been thinking back on the biggest turning points in my life - the times when I have catalyzed the most positive change and personal growth.  I realized they were all times I took a leap.

Taking a leap is scary.  It's when you're drawn by a deeper calling and feel the pull to greatness, but it requires you to leave your zone of comfort and step into total unknown with trust.

What I found is there is always inner resistance and self-doubt before taking a leap.  The rational mind will come up with all kinds of excuses not to do it.  But for me, the inner calling became so pronounced at certain times in my life that I didn't feel like I had any other choice.  

So I lept.  And I'm so glad I did. 

Here are 3 of the biggest leaps I've taken over the last six years, and how they impacted my life:

1. Moving to San Francisco

At 22 years old I was living on the East Coast.  New York was all I knew.  I grew up in a suburb of NYC and at age 18 chose to go to college a mere 45 minutes away from my house. 

New York was my comfort zone.  Yet, the  thought of living with warmer winters, palm trees, surrounded by nature and the hopes of a more  carefree lifestyle drew me in. 

When I started applying to jobs in NYC when I graduated just after the economic crises of 2008, I was only hearing crickets.  The thought of finding a new apartment in New York City, continuing to search for jobs when I still didn't totally know what I wanted to do with my life felt daunting. 

I started going to yoga classes and consistently in savasana I kept seeing San Francisco.  The vision came again and again, so finally one day on craigslist instead of searching for jobs in NYC, I searched for housing in San Francisco. 

I found an artist collective in the Mission within my budget, and within a week I was flying out there to look at the room. 

When I made a choice to move (it was a 1 month sublet, so I knew if it didn't work out, I could always fly back home and continue my job search) everything began to fall into place.  

Ten days after moving to SF, I met Amma, the hugging guru and I just knew it was all meant to be.  I established more trust in the universe and in following my intuition.  

"A leap requires you to jump before you know what comes next."

2. Becoming a Yoga Teacher

In 2010 I attended a 16-day training at Yandara Yoga Institute in Baja, Mexico.  It was a leap because it required me to invest in myself and to face my biggest fear: public speaking.

I remember holding so much fear standing up to present in my classes in college. Actually, I couldn't bear to do it even just sitting down.

But the more yoga classes I went to, the more clear it came to me that I too wanted to be the leader, confidently leading the class at the front of the room...so I leapt and I never looked back.

3. Leading My First International Retreat in Bali, Indonesia

I remember being with my family in Northern Minnesota for Christmas in 2014 and suddenly these very clear downloads coming to me about leading a retreat in Bali.  I wrote and wrote, and even saw the images on the website page inviting women to join me there.

I had no idea how I would go about leading this retreat in a country I had never been to before, but I trusted in the process and I started sharing about the dream.

One day in a meditation course I met a woman who told me about the perfect retreat center.  I reached out to them and within a few months, I put my deposit down.

I remember my friend Erica Jago was sitting next to me in my home at the time and she encouraged me every step of the way.  "Yes you can do this!" she said.  

So I paid the deposit and signed a contract to pay a huge sum of money to the retreat center, even though I was unsure if I would really be able to make it happen. 

However, I trusted in the process and 8 months later, there I was, in Bali with 11 participants.

I needed to commit to the choice, give it my all and follow through. 

Every step of the way I gained more confidence, more trust in my intuition and trust in the universe. 

A leap can certainly be uncomfortable, but every so often I believe they are necessary for your growth.  

In all cases, I was connected to my intuition.  I was  willing to face a fear and take a leap, I received support along the way, and I opened myself to the power of sharing my gifts.

This is how I aim to serve women now...

1. Reconnect with the wisdom of their body and the messages it may be sending them

2. Gather up the courage to face their fears, take a leap and answer the calling of their soul's adventure

3. Create layers of support around themselves to take those leaps

4. Share the gifts of all they learn through the process

I believe when women are supported to listen to this wisdom, and face the fears that come up along the way, really anything is possible.  

 

011 | 4 Keys to Feminine Leadership with Meredith Rom

 

SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES

A few months ago I sat down to be interviewed by Luna Love, the host of the  Ladies Who Lead Podcast.  I had a great time sharing about my personal story of how I came to do the work I am doing today.  

I talked with Luna about growing up in New York, what inspired me to take a leap to move to California after college, become a yoga teacher, travel to India and eventually start my own business.  

I decided to share this interview on the  Rising Women Leaders Podcast  so you can hear about  my  "4 Keys to Feminine Leadership"  as well as the women who have inspired me most over recent years.

"When you share your fear, it starts to lose its charge."

Here's what else you'll find in this  episode:

  • My personal process of how I execute my creative ideas
  • How I let go of "distractions" of alcohol, sugar, and busy-ness in my life to listen to my body's wisdom and needs 
  • How I moved from a fear of self-expression and being seen to becoming a yoga teacher and entrepreneur
  • My dark night of the soul  - how I knew I reached my breaking point where I needed to make a big shift in my life 
  • How I discovered yoga  and met my first spiritual teacher, Amma

"If I feel fear, but even just a little bit of excitement, I know that's a good sign for me to walk closer to it..."

  • How I handle my inner critic voice and limiting beliefs
  • Practices to listen to your body wisdom, face your fears, and create layers of support in your life 
  • The story of what happened when I shared my first song on the harmonium 
  • How I call  upon a higher power to manifest my desires
  • The women who have inspired me the most in business and life
  • A sneak preview of details about the book  I've been writing for the last year about my travels in India

Did you enjoy this episode?  I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Love, 
Meredith

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