AMPstigator

Overdoing it is ingrained in our culture. So how do you go against the grain? In this latest episode, host Lauren Lowrey takes you on a journey through our American obsessions with doing too much. Get the deets on how our nation compares to other countries when it comes to work-life (im)balance. Plus, what questions to ask yourself so you can DO LESS.  💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You're chronically doing too much. Your self-worth was based on how much you can produce. You bought into the equation that HARD WORK makes you A GOOD PERSON   📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with Lauren detailing why Americans are so obsessed with overdoing it. Lauren takes you way back to the Mayflower to show how pilgrims laid a lasting foundation for American society. Even to this day, we see the impacts  [4:26] But something changed in the digital age. Our obsession with work was accelerated and Lauren explains how. [11:26] Lauren walks you through the quantifiable disengagement happening in workplaces all over America and how it compares to other countries. [13:38] Tiny sneak-peak into what's coming up next for AMPstigator as Lauren details how she's taking her own medicine.   🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:27 - Lauren details how this episode is structured 1:34 - Our American history (Hard work = Heaven) 3:09 - Individualists vs Collectivists  4:26 - How the digital age accelerated our need to DO 7:03 - How the digital age has changed broadcast TV 8:12 - How "Just Do It" fueled the fire 9:30 - How this negatively impacts us 11:22 - We're seeing quantifiable disengagement in the workplace  12:33 - World Happiness Report 13:38 - Lauren's taking her own medicine on doing less     🗈 Show Notes 🗈 Ep. 31 At what cost? (When doing it all nearly kills you) [Spotify | Apple]    ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

Wait, you want me to face my pain!?! Woof! In the latest AMPstigator episode FACE IT, host Lauren Lowrey teaches you that once you've experienced trauma, the pain doesn’t go away. It just blends with you over time. The difficulty in processing the trauma comes from your inability to move forward.  After we experience pain, we spend our lives trying to return to status quo. We try to get back to who we were before that pain. But we have to realize: We were literally changed by the pain and the person we were is gone. In this episode, she shares 6 steps to FACE your pain and accept yourself for who you've become.   💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You've experienced any bit of pain that you can't seem to face You're ready to try something new to process your problems When you think about a particular thing that happened in your life, you can't help but cry   📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with Lauren sharing a recent experience getting her annual blood work. Everything was perfect until the rubber tourniquet around her arm triggered a major MAMMA JAMMA trauma response. Whoa, Nelly! Didn't see that coming! She shows how tears indicate unhealed pain and why you need to FACE IT! [3:13] Lauren shares the PARADOX in trying to heal. Once you've experienced something, it's literally part of you. You are different so you need a different approach.  [4:59] Why does talking-it-out work so well? It's literally a well-studied psychological foundation of Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT). [8:57] Lauren shares the steps you can take to begin to FACE IT in your own life. Her 6 suggestions include kicking judgment to-the-curb, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system and implementing a gradual exposure.    Plus, how you'll know when the healing is all done!   🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:27 - Lauren experiences her first MAMMA JAMMA trauma trigger 2:44 - Working to heal and facing your fear 3:13 - How pain becomes part of you 4:59 - Research around healing trauma, Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT) 6:52 - The root of the phrase "face it"  8:57 - How you can FACE IT in your own life  10:34 - Getting a re-do on a trauma trigger   🗈 Show Notes 🗈 Ep. 31 At what cost? (When doing it all nearly kills you) [Spotify | Apple] Understanding PTSD, National Institutes of Health Ep. 56 The 7 surprising things that started happening when I meditated 2hrs/day [Spotify | Apple]    ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

We look for reflections everywhere - in our friends, on our social feeds, in our work - but when do we ever see who we really are? In this episode of 2 Words that will Change Your Life, host Lauren Lowrey shows you how cameras give the ultimate reflection.  Listen as she shares stories from her own life as she learned how to be her true self.   💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You've ever seen a picture or video of yourself and said 'that doesn't look like me' You need help seeing your true self but can't find a good reflection You're curious about Lauren's methods using cameras for solid self-reflection    ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

We talk entirely too much! If our mouths aren't yappin', our minds will certainly fill the void. In this eternal conversation with our intuition, our racing thoughts create a barrier for us to listen to the guidance. You’re missing the best parts of your spiritual experience because you just can’t figure out how to SHUT UP. So in this episode, we help you find ways to close your mouth, quiet your mind and just LISTEN to what you're being guided to do.   💥 This episode is for you if 💥 Your mind talks too much and you can't get it quiet You're interested in research around why we do the things we do You need the Top 5 research supported ways to clear your mind   📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with Lauren laying out what this episode is all about - SHUTTING UP! She shares her history as a compulsive communicator and what she's learned from getting quiet. In this episode, we also get into: [3:02] The sheer amount of research done about people who talk too much. There's even a Talkaholic scale where you can measure if you're a compulsive communicator.  [6:12] The newest estimates about the number of thoughts you think every day and how overwhelming that would be if you said them out loud! [7:11] The Top 5 research-supported ways to quiet your mind. Lauren digs into the research around how to find calm and stillness in your mind and body.     🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:27 - Here's why you need to listen to this episode 1:54 - Little Lauren talked too much! 3:04 - Psychological research around talking too much 4:26 - Your mouth is closed but your mind won't stop talking  6:12 - You think 6,200 thoughts every day; your mind won't shut up 7:11 - Top 5 research-supported ways to quiet your mind (#1 Meditate) 8:57 - #2 Be in Nature 10:03 - #3 Be Creative/Artsy 11:33 - #4 Start journaling 12:55 - #5 Physical exercise 13:57 - Shut up your mind; listen to your intuition!    🗈 Show Notes 🗈 Talkaholic Scale (found here) Ep. 59 JUST ASK (2 Words that will Change Your Life) [Spotify | Apple] Ep. 56 The 7 surprising things that started happening when I meditated 2hrs/day [Spotify | Apple] Ep. 31 At what cost? (When doing it all nearly kills you) [Spotify | Apple] Ep. 39 How to trust, allow & let go (w/ Alyssa Rosenheck) [Spotify | Apple]   ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

You say 'I'M SORRY' more than you think. Research shows when we say it in the wrong situations we cause more harm than good. In this latest episode of the mini-series '2 Words that will Change Your Life,' Host Lauren Lowrey explores how we constantly over-apologize [newsflash: women are repeat offenders]. Get ready to learn why we say it, the 8 things you should never apologize for and the 3 things you could say in it's place.  💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You've found yourself saying 'I'm Sorry' way too often You need a solid reflection about how people perceive your so-called apologies You didn't realize saying over-apologizing was such a detriment and want to stop   📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with Lauren laying out why we say 'I'm Sorry' more than we realize. For many people it's a learned behavior that's hurting us in social situations.   [2:17] Research shows when you say ‘I’m sorry’ you’re actually sending the message that you don’t have any confidence in yourself. Saying 'I'm Sorry' at the wrong time causes the other person to feel even worse. [6:59] Why are you apologizing for things you shouldn't? In this section, Lauren lays out the 8 things you should never say 'I'm Sorry' for.  [9:39] Lauren shares three easily attainable options for other quotes you could use in place of saying 'I'm Sorry.'     🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:27 - You say I'm Sorry way too much 1:16 - Using I'm Sorry [incorrectly] to appease and comfort others 2:17 - Research around 'I'm Sorry' (lack of confidence, anger, etc.) 3:13 - Why do we say 'I'm Sorry'??? 5:58 - What Dr. PaQuita Pullen says about 'I'm Sorry' 6:59 - The 8 things you never should apologize for 8:31 - How to stop saying 'I'm Sorry'  9:39 - 3 things to say OTHER THAN 'I'm Sorry' 10:45 - Don't use this as a crutch   🗈 Show Notes 🗈 Ep. 20 Set Your Intentions w/ Lauren Lowrey   ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

Why did I have to deal with that pain? Why did that traumatic loss happen to me? If you've ever asked the question WHY ME?!? this episode is definitely FOR YOU.  In this latest installment of '2 Words that will Change Your Life,' host Lauren Lowrey answers the question by highlighting our uniquely human need for meaning and how -when we've found it- research shows we live longer, happier lives. She walks you through her own steps to heal hurts and reframe the deepest of all questions [Why did this happen to -of all people- ME?!] to arrive at the answer you really seek.  Next time you ask the question WHY ME, Lauren's answer will ring clear in your mind 'because it had to BE YOU.' 💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You're having a really hard time in a situation where it seems the deck is stacked against you. You've held on to bitterness around an event and it continues to hold you back You want healing but you aren't sure how to go about it   📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with Lauren detailing a panic attack that started on TV in 2017. She explains the pain from that moment and how she felt victimized in a situation that left her asking 'Why ME?!?" Her experience with that question emerged again one year later after a life-threatening heart event in 2018 after the birth of her 2nd child. For the four years that followed, Lauren continued to ask the question 'WHY ME?!?" [5:00] Research around the uniquely human need for meaning. How an entirely new psycho-therapeutic theory sprung from Nazi concentration camps and what the doctor behind logotherapy behind discovered. Here's a hint: if we find meaning, we find hope; then we live longer. [7:37] How you 'll go about answering the question WHY ME?!? The steps you'll take to ensure you ask the right question and get the right answer  [10:35] When you have the courage to heal pain and trauma, you put yourself right on the cusp of learning the motherload of information surrounding your purpose. It's a means to understanding the bigger picture. [12:21] Why it HAD TO BE you!   🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:27 - Lauren's nervous breakdown and the question, "WHY ME?!?" 2:15 - Lauren's heart event and the second time she asked, "WHY ME?!?" 3:36 - Why do this mini-series and (more specifically) this episode 5:00 - Man's theoretical search for meaning and it's impact on longevity 7:37 - How do we find the answer to "WHY ME?!?" (Heal first, then ask a different question) 9:27 - Deconstructing your pain from a 3rd person place 10:55 - How painful years led to purposeful creation in Lauren's life 12:21 - Why did that happen? Because it had to BE YOU!   🗈 Show Notes 🗈 Dr. Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning Logotherapy (Frankl's theory, "A will to meaning")   ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube The AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

WHAT IF you could change your $h!++y situation? WHAT IF you could change your reality? WHAT IF you could change your life? You can! It all starts with these two words: WHAT IF? In this installment of the mini-series Two Words that will Change Your Life, host Lauren Lowrey lays out a path to transformation. Before you ever make a choice, buy a book, or start a plan... you begin with imagination. Transformation starts when you allow yourself to imagine you have the power to change. We get there by asking 'WHAT IF?' You'll hear the latest research around the sheer power of your mind and its ability to shape reality. Then, Lauren walks you through what the research says about identifying the $h!++y parts of your life that need re-shaping. She helps you apply the WHAT IF? principles to make change -- all in less than 15 minutes! 💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You're at wit's end with a problem that just won't resolve.  You have a sneaky suspicion there's more to this mindset stuff and you want to give it a try. You know something's off, but you need help identifying what that is.   📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with Lauren detailing a new responsibility at work and how it threatened her views on the victim mindset. She uses her personal story to introduce and apply the principles of WHAT IF? [5:20] What is mindset? It's simply a set of assumptions that help us leverage our world. Beliefs that don't serve us lead to interpersonal problems, feeling of guilt, inadequacy, sadness, etc. [9:43] So how do you even change your mindset? Lauren shares how to identify the issues and how to apply the principles of WHAT IF? [12:20] Using WHAT IF? can bring healing, and in this part of the episode, Lauren shares a personal experience with applying the question and how it shaped a situation.    🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:27 - Come on, Lauren! You're not a victim! 1:32 - Disrupting beliefs with 'WHAT IF?' 4:21 - This big shift is MINDSET 5:12 - What the research says about your mindset 7:00 - Drawing attention to the 'red flags' 7:37 - Actual findings from recent studies 9:43 - How to use WHAT IF? to change your mindset   12:20 - How mindset shifts bring healing   ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube The AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

Ready to make the impossible possible? Just ask. In this first installment of the AMPstigator mini-series "Two words that will change your life," host Lauren Lowrey explores what it means to just ask for what you need. This isn't about asking another person to shoulder the load. Nope. That isn't surrender. This episode gets you into a place of true, hands-up surrender - which only happens when we know we don’t have the answers, we can’t see the way forward and we don’t know if what’s to come is better or worse, we only know we can't continue the way we've been living.  Your path to surrender isn't in the DOING, but in the NON-DOING. Your next-level spiritual development is in letting go of the process and surrendering to something much greater than you. All you have to do is JUST ASK.   💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You've been struggling with a big problem in your life that has felt insurmountable for far too long. You've tried every solution and the only thing left to do is surrender the problem. You have a mental block around anything to do with asking for help.   📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with Lauren explaining how a frustrated 4-year old who wouldn't ask for help was the inspiration for this recording. She addresses the power of learning to ask for help and why surrender is the path to your greatest overcoming. Lauren walks you through the six main journalist questions (who, what, when, where, why & how) to convey a fuller understanding of why it's time for you to JUST ASK.   🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:27 - Set-up to why you need to JUST ASK 2:27 - Here's why you're listening to this episode 3:13 - WHO? 4:27 - WHAT?  6:43 - WHEN? 9:03 - WHERE? 9:37 - WHY? 11:02 - HOW? 11:21 - Visualization   ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube The AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

Feel like crap? No libido? High stress? High anxiety? Before you fill the Rx for an anti-depressant, do me a favor, sis. and let's test your hormones. In this episode, Katy Whalen explains why your hormones are betraying you. So often it starts with racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping and an increase in anxiety. The walls slowly cave in and you find yourself saying "what is happening to me?!?" Katy explains how she discovered the hormonal changes in her own body and how she's built a company to help other women do the same. Simple hormone tests saved her from divorce. It's why she says her company 'saves marriages.' This is a conversation about controlling the physical things we can control and understanding when we get wacky, maybe it's the hormones.    💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You love learning the latest health data about hormones and your body You've been feeling not-up-to-par physically and you're ready to do something about it You need tangible, actionable advice on how to feel better.   📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with Lauren and Katy spelling out how we're supposed to feel when our hormones are in balance, compared to when they are not. Katy describes the hormonal changes in men and women as we age.  [8:30] What are estrogen and progesterone and what's the natural role they play in our bodies? What will we begin to notice when these two power hormones are out of balance? [17:05] Katy shares her personal experience with hormonal imbalances and how the problem almost led to her own divorce. It's why she says her company 'saves marriages.' [33:02] We learn the physical indicators your body's hormones are off-balance. What signs and symptoms do you  need to look out for? Plus, [36:54] Katy shares what the research says about how often you should be having sex for your happiness.   🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:28 - Lauren's opening monologue 2:21 - How we're SUPPOSED to feel in our bodies, but the reality of stress 5:35 - What changes in your hormones in your late 30s, early 40s? 8:30 - Understanding the roles of estrogen and progesterone 10:52 - When do we start seeing a decline in these hormones? 14:15 - How hormone imbalances affect men 17:05 - How Katy's companies started from her personal crisis 22:09 - What tests do men and women need? 23:58 - What are peptides? 26:00 - Our healthcare needs to be personalized 28:12 - What changes for women as we age (a need for magnesium, fiber & protein) 31:52 - What stress does to your body 33:02 - Physical indicators your body is off-balance (itchy skin, frozen shoulder, moodiness, lethargy, weight gain around the midsection) 35:10 - What changes we might see in a man with hormone imbalances 36:54 - What's a normal amount of sex? (General happiness, once a week) 40:15 - Katy's life background before starting Joi Women's Wellness   44:12 - How to connect with Katy and her companies   ✔️ Show Notes✔️ Joi Women's Wellness Blokes (the brother company to Joi) The book Estrogen Matters Ep. 50: Think Even Bigger w/ Dr. Christina Rahm  (Apple | Spotify)    ✔️ Connect with Katy Whalen ✔️ Through her company, Joi Women's Wellness On her personal Instagram   ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube The AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram

When things aren't working out, most of us white-knuckle the wheel and believe we can think our way out of the problem. This episode's guest is teaching you how to surrender. Cyntoia Brown-Long shares her UNBELIEVABLE testimony of being convicted of murder, trying to THINK her way out of prison, and then finding a level of spiritual surrender few of us ever reach.  After 15 total years behind bars, she walked out of prison a free woman in a totally IMPOSSIBLE situation where every door had closed. Her attorneys were baffled, but Cyntoia was not. She always knew she would be set free. How the heck did that happen? In this episode Cyntoia details a remarkable story of LETTING GO and LETTING GOD. Get ready for the unapologetically spiritual and inspirational conversation we all need right now.   💥 This episode is for you if 💥 You love impossible endings to impossible stories  You have a thirst for social justice that's quenched in conversations like these  You were captivated by Cyntoia Brown-Long's rise to prominence in 2017 and 2018 when she was still in prison, and want to hear more details of her life out of prison  📺 What you'll hear in this episode📺  The episode begins with host Lauren Lowrey describing the psychological cages we imprison ourselves in and juxtaposes that with Cyntoia's actual imprisonment. It allows Cyntoia to share her defiance (from Day 1) around serving a term of life in prison. [12:57] Cyntoia describes the 3 total years she spent in solitary confinement and how it 'broke' her mind. She details how she needed to learn to have conversations again. [28:38] How Cyntoia met her husband who completely changed her idea of spirituality. He reached out to her through a written letter to say 'you're getting out of prison.' [47:10] Cyntoia shares her prophetic dreams leading up to her release, detailing the nighttime release in the rain. It turned out to be exactly how she was let out of prison.     Plus, Cyntoia gushes about her new soap business [1:07:40] that helps teenagers in and out of the juvenile justice system.   🔖 Chapters 🔖 0:30 - Lauren's opening monologue 3:05 - Liberating yourself from a cage and the defiance needed 7:03 - Treating God as a genie in a bottle 9:03 - Cyntoia's last prayer before anger settled in 11:16 - Cyntoia's search for help through other religions 12:57 - She describes her 3 total years in solitary confinement 18:09 - Cyntoia's obsession with case law and desperation to get out of prison 22:49 - A denied appeal and the hope for clemency 25:55 - Cyntoia's devastation with the denied appeal 27:48 - The problem with THINKING your way out of the problem 28:38 - How Cyntoia met her husband and how he uncovered her spirituality 33:33 - The miracles that happened when Cyntoia started to believe 44:39 - The process to forgive Cyntoia's birth mom 47:10 - Cyntoia's prophetic dreams about seeing her prison release 51:36 - The song 'Thy Will' and why it speaks to Cyntoia 54:04 - Her deep respect for former Gov. Haslam 55:58 - Some people are here to cause calamity 57:59 - Cyntoia's prayer these days 1:00:08 - Cyntoia's life lesson (Surrender to God's plan, because it's way better than yours) 1:01:56 - Cyntoia councils teenagers in state custody 1:06:26 - Is a 2nd book on the way? 1:07:40 - Cyntoia and Lauren BOTH make homemade bar soap 1:13:13 - Surprise story! Lauren shares that she was supposed interview Cyntoia in 2019 after her release   ✔️ Show Notes✔️ JFAM - Cyntoia's foundation for Justice, Mercy and Freedom Lipscomb University LIFE program for inmates that gave Cyntoia her Bachelor's degree The PBS Documentary Me Facing Life where Cyntoia's husband first saw her story Sentencing Children (The Tennesseean's series) Thy Will by Hillary Scott Epic Girl an organization Cyntoia partners with for teens Soap & Water Organics, Cyntoia's soap company    ✔️ Connect with Cyntoia Brown Long ✔️ Read her book, Free Cyntoia Follow her on Instagram Buy her soap by clicking here   ✔️ Connect with Lauren Lowrey ✔️On the AMPstigator website AMPstigator on Youtube The AMPstigator Instagram Lauren's Instagram