until we speak again

quick update on the podcast and potential plans for the future

After a lot of back-and-forth, I've decided to step away from the podcast for a bit. I feel a strong pull to simplify my life and get quieter, so I'm going to practice what I preach and listen to myself. Thank you all for your support! I hope to be back with a more intentional show. In the meantime, please take the time you would normally listen to this show and use it as quality, quiet, alone time with yourself!

In this end-of-the-year solo episode, I share 21 life lessons for the New Year. Below are the lessons I share and discuss, and (as promised) links to all the blogs/articles referenced throughout. 1.      It’s okay to be a thinker. Thought Catalog - 5 Little Reasons Why It’s Actually Good To Be An ‘Overthinker’   2.      Everything matters.   3.      There is insight in every emotion – good and bad. Blog – All the Feels   4.      We can only ever love to the extent that we understand love.   5.      Our relationship with our self takes time.   6.      Life has different seasons. Check out Ep. 9: How to East the Stress of Self-Care with Megan Weigel, DNP Blog – The Gift   7.      Nothing ever goes away, until it has taught us what we need to know. Quote by Pema Chodron   8.      The point of relationships are to trigger our shit.   9.      Our brain can’t always be trusted.   10.  Set boundaries. Check out Ep. 15: Meeting Needs in Relationships with Dr. Kirstie Overstreet   11.  It’s not easy to listen to your gut. Thought Catalog - These 3 Important Tells Mean Your Gut Is Speaking Up And You Need To Listen   12.  Maybe there is no right and wrong.   13.  Life knows better. Blog - Maybe Life Knows Better   14.  Everything that matters is happening inside us. Blog – The Ruse   15.  It is what it is.   16.  We actually can change others… but only by changing ourselves. Check out Ep. 18: Using Awareness & Perspective to Move Forward with Bryan Falchuk Thought Catalog - When We Give Up On Others, We Give Up On Ourselves   17.  All change starts with awareness.   18.  Life is only lived one step at a time. Blog – The Moment   19.  Trust the process. Thought Catalog - Oops, I Bought 3,000 Instagram Followers   20.  The reaction doesn’t belong to you. From Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic   21.  Agree to disagree. Check out Ep. 73: just me: on empathy amid controversy   Follow me on all the socials: Instagram @kaciemain_writes, Facebook @kaciemain.write, or Twitter @kaciemain_write. Find my book – I Gave Up Men for Lent, the story of a jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious party girl’s search for meaning – on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. And for everything else you want to know about me, visit my website at www.kaciemain.com Please SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, RATE, and REVIEW the podcast! Follow the podcast on Instagram @TheBetterYouPodcast. And you can email the podcast at [email protected]

In the first-ever episode of the podcast, we talk with my high school friend Graham and hear his story of struggling to come to grips with the death of his mother at a young age, all while realizing he was gay in a time and environment that wasn’t supportive of that.   In this episode, we discuss: ·      How our selflessness can be such a noble thing, yet it can have some serious consequences for our relationship with ourselves and others. ·      How oftentimes we must process and accept things internally before we are ready to share them with the people in our lives. ·      How you truly never know what someone else is going through. ·      The awareness in relationships to stop and consider if you want to be in those relationships vs. focusing on the other person and what they want or how they’re feeling. ·      How everything we go through in life serves a purpose. You can find and follow Graham here: Instagram: @instagrahamfrancisco Let Me Introduce You Podcast Instagram: @letmeintroyoupod Twitter: @letmeintroyou PREVIOUS EPISODE RECOMMENDATIONS: Ep. 70: Balancing Taking Care of Yourself & Being There for Others with Asha Tarry Ep. 48: Embracing the Real Rebel Within You with Katie Buemann Ep. 44: Death, God, Religion, & Mysticism with Rev. Peter Panagore SHOP CLEAN products with DISCOUNTS in my SHOP! Please SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, RATE, and REVIEW the podcast! Follow the podcast on Instagram @TheBetterYouPodcast or Facebook @TheBetterYouPodcast. And you can email the podcast at [email protected] Follow me on all the socials: Instagram @kaciemain_writes, Facebook @kaciemain.write, or Twitter @kaciemain_write. Find my book – I Gave Up Men for Lent, the story of a jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious party girl’s search for meaning – on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. And for everything else you want to know about me, visit my website at www.kaciemain.com  

In this episode, we talk about the various forms of trauma, how it affects us and our brains, and look at a powerful treatment therapy to heal the negative impacts of trauma.   Amy Pope-Latham is a licensed clinical social worker with extensive experience in treating children, adolescents, adults, and families. She received an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Stony Brook University and a Master's degree in Social Work from Stony Brook University's School of Medicine and Social Welfare. She offers EMDR, as well as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and largely incorporates Evidence-Based Practices and Somatic and Mindfulness-based Therapy for a variety of presenting symptoms such as grief, anxiety, complex trauma, obsessive and compulsive thinking patterns, and substance use. In this episode, we discuss: ·      How our minds – like our bodies – are actually set up to heal themselves. ·      The different approaches to help reconnect our mind and our body and remove the continuous pain from trauma. ·      How EMDR is a tool to access our limbic system, where we store - and essentially hide – our physical feelings, and revisit and process traumatic experiences in a safe space. ·      Our drive for connection and how that impacts how we react to trauma. ·      How important it is to recognize that we are all in process and wherever you are in that process is exactly where you need to be. You can find and follow Amy here: CoastalBeachesTherapy.com Instagram: @coastalbeachestherapy Facebook: @coastalbeachestherapy PREVIOUS EPISODE RECOMMENDATIONS: Ep. 81: Equine Therapy to Bring You Back to Self with Dr. Ashley Dial Ep. 79: Finding Forgiveness & Healing with Sara Schulting Kranz Ep. 69: Breathing Through Stress & Anxiety with Dr. Emma Seppala SHOP CLEAN products with DISCOUNTS in my SHOP! Please SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, RATE, and REVIEW the podcast! Follow the podcast on Instagram @TheBetterYouPodcast or Facebook @TheBetterYouPodcast. And you can email the podcast at [email protected] Follow me on all the socials: Instagram @kaciemain_writes, Facebook @kaciemain.write, or Twitter @kaciemain_write. Find my book – I Gave Up Men for Lent, the story of a jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious party girl’s search for meaning – on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. And for everything else you want to know about me, visit my website at www.kaciemain.com

In this episode, Krista (founder of A Life in Progress) and I discuss the messiness of life and how to use self-compassion to get through it. Krista O'Reilly-Davi-Digui works as a writer & Joyful Living Educator. Her mission is to help messy humans like herself quiet the noise of perfectionism, comparison and fear and show up fully - with joy and on purpose - to their imperfect and beautiful lives, in every season. In this episode, we discuss: ·      How to better understand your sensitivity and see that there is beauty in it. ·      The importance of fully accepting ourselves, including the mess, pain, and discomfort that comes with growth. ·      Perfectionism and the different ways it can show up. ·      How our struggles are actually tied in with our strengths. ·      Using curiosity vs. judgment to see how nothing is inherently “bad.” ·      How our different traits live on a spectrum of healthy vs. unhealthy and the importance of being aware of that. ·      How being deeply rooted in self-awareness and self-compassion can help us stay grounded when we move along those spectrums. ·      The difference and relationship between self-compassion, self-esteem, and self-worth. ·      How self-compassion involves allowing all the emotions and all the messy parts of life. ·      And the power of both/and instead of either/or. You can find and follow Krista here: www.alifeinprogress.ca Facebook: @alifeinprogressca Instagram: @a_life_in_progress RESOURCES: Kristin Neff Brene Brown Byron Katie Parker Palmer – Let Your Life Speak PREVIOUS EPISODE RECOMMENDATIONS: Ep. 80: Balancing It All is Bullshit with Casey Castro Ep. 79: Finding Forgiveness & Healing with Sara Schulting Kranz Ep. 75: Finding the Positive & Going After Big Goals with Paralympic Athlete Sydney Collier Ep. 71: Transforming Your Mindset to Believe You’re Enough with Leisse Wilcox SHOP CLEAN products with DISCOUNTS in my SHOP! Please SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, RATE, and REVIEW the podcast! Follow the podcast on Instagram @TheBetterYouPodcast or Facebook @TheBetterYouPodcast. And you can email the podcast at [email protected] Follow me on all the socials: Instagram @kaciemain_writes, Facebook @kaciemain.write, or Twitter @kaciemain_write. Find my book – I Gave Up Men for Lent, the story of a jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious party girl’s search for meaning – on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. And for everything else you want to know about me, visit my website at www.kaciemain.com     Some links are Affiliate links.

In this episode, we talk Jungian psychological insight into our unconscious, and knowing and embracing our archetypes. Gary S. Bobroff is the author of Knowledge in a Nutshell: Carl Jung (2020) and Crop Circles, Jung & the Reemergence of the Archetypal Feminine (2014). He is the founder of Jungian Online and JUNG Archademy and the developer and facilitator of Archetypal Nature. He has an MA in Jungian-oriented Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and a BA from the University of British Columbia, Canada.  In this episode, we discuss: ·      A brief history of Carl Jung – his work, his contribution to psychology, and his influence on our culture. ·      The human psyche and the different views – or definitions – of it. ·      Our egos and how they can be under-developed or over-developed. ·      How we need a strong sense of self in order to grow. ·      Archetypal principles and where they exist in our culture and our psyches. ·      Four common personality archetypes and their different characteristics. ·      Whether we should try to enhance each archetype within us or settle for being in one or two. ·      How to identify our archetype and how to look at other archetypes to further our own growth. ·      How we can get trapped trying to live in a different archetype because that’s what we think we are supposed to be. ·      How understanding the different archetypes can help in relationships, especially family. ·      And how archetypes impact dating and relationships. You can find and follow Gary here: GSBobroff.com ArchetypalNature.com Facebook: @ArchetypalNature JungArchademy.com JungianOnline.com Instagram: @JungianOnline Twitter: @JungianOnline Facebook: @JungianOnline Check out his course on Archetypal Nature. His books – Knowledge in a Nutshell: Carl Jung Crop Circles, Jung & the Reemergence of the Archetypal Feminine Archetypes article I reference in the episode. Please SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, RATE, and REVIEW the podcast! Follow the podcast on Instagram @TheBetterYouPodcast or Facebook @TheBetterYouPodcast. And you can email the podcast at [email protected] Follow me on all the socials: Instagram @kaciemain_writes, Facebook @kaciemain.write, or Twitter @kaciemain_write. Find my book – I Gave Up Men for Lent, the story of a jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious party girl’s search for meaning – on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. And for everything else you want to know about me, visit my website at www.kaciemain.com  

In this episode, we discuss equine therapy and the incredible ability horses have to sense what’s going on inside us and help us work through whatever is blocking us from a stronger sense of self.   Dr. Ashley Dial (formerly Dr. Thompson) received her PhD in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute of Carpinteria, CA. Unlike traditional Western psychology, Depth Psychology does not seek to label problems or prescribe quick fix solutions, instead it approaches mental health issues with compassion, love, empathy, and creates consciousness around what troubles us. Dr. Dial’s research and studies on the horse-human relationship have afforded her special insight into the psychological elements involved in equine therapies. In addition to her in-depth studies and education, Dr. Dial’s experience working on horse ranches gave her the advantage of complete immersion into the understanding of horses.   Combining her knowledge of Depth Psychology and Trans-species Psychology, Dr. Dial has developed a unique therapeutic model that offers a refreshing and real approach to modern day issues. Dr. Dial’s therapeutic technique is personable, honest, and organic. Working from a Jungian perspective of mental health, the entirety of the individual is taken into consideration and worked with in-depth. As the goal of any mental health treatment model should be, Dr. Dial engages clients with the expectation that whatever issues they may have, their treatment will be specific and result oriented.   In this episode, we discuss: ·      Her very interesting story of why she first started working with horses. ·      What depth psychology is and how it differs from traditional psychology. ·      The significance and the insight we can gain from our dreams. ·      The energetic conversations that are happening alongside our actual conversations. ·      The intuitive nature of horses and how they can sense what’s going on in us. ·      How and why trans-species therapy can be an easier way to work through traumas and issues than traditional therapy. ·      How working with horses can help with everything from trauma, depression, and grief to everyday stressors and anxiety. You can find and follow Dr. Dial here: ThompsonTherapy.com Instagram: @thompson_therapy Facebook: @AshleyThompsonPhD PREVIOUS EPISODE RECOMMENDATIONS: Ep. 79: Finding Forgiveness & Healing with Sara Schulting Kranz Ep. 72: To Change Your Life & Change the World, You Have to Do the Work with Brandi Harvey Ep. 69: Breathing Through Stress & Anxiety with Dr. Emma Seppala Ep. 43: Brainwash Yourself to Make Better Decisions with Dr. Austin Perlmutter Ep. 24: Meditation to Reduce Stress, Increase Focus, & Rest Your Brain with Monty Cholmeley Ep. 51: Your Unconscious, Your Ego, & You with Jungian Psychologist Gary Bobroff Ep. 7: How the Body Remembers What the Mind Tries to Forget with Amy Pope-Latham Please SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, RATE, and REVIEW the podcast! Follow the podcast on Instagram @TheBetterYouPodcast or Facebook @TheBetterYouPodcast. And you can email the podcast at [email protected] Follow me on all the socials: Instagram @kaciemain_writes, Facebook @kaciemain.write, or Twitter @kaciemain_write. Find my book – I Gave Up Men for Lent, the story of a jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious party girl’s search for meaning – on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. And for everything else you want to know about me, visit my website at www.kaciemain.com

In this episode, we have a very honest conversation about the struggle to balance motherhood, life, and work in the corporate world. Casey Castro is a mother of four, yogi, and has a passion for helping others to grow and reach their potential. Casey has been a yoga practitioner for over 20 years when a debilitating knee injury left her unable to continue with ballet and martial arts. Since then her practice has evolved with her life. "Moving my body has always been a priority, and much like the seasons, my practice changes as my life changes. When I teach yoga, I bring a frankness to it. I make it real. I make it accessible. We can't all be Instagram yogis." This mentality is what drives Sydney Yoga Collective and The Prenatal Yoga Studio to be some of the most popular studios for real people, wearing real clothes, that show up to feel good.   In this episode, we discuss: ·      Her story of deciding to leave her high-powered, corporate sales job to becoming a full-time mother and yogi. ·      The pressure mothers feel to excel and stay relevant in the corporate world. ·      Whether or not it really is possible to balance a career and parenting. ·      The importance of figuring out what you really want and then accepting that. ·      The role meditation and yoga can play in helping you find clarity in what really matters to you. ·      How to find the time to fit meditation into your busy life. ·      The power of redefining what meditation, yoga, or different acts of self-care look like for you. ·      How little things as simple as smiling or breathing can bring you back into the present moment. ·      A new way to see yoga and how to fit it into your life. You can find and follow Casey here: SydneyYogaCollective.com Instagram: @sydneyyogacollective @thesydneyyogi Facebook: @sydneyyogacollective Twitter: @sydney_yoga YouTube: @sydneyyogacollective PREVIOUS EPISODE RECOMMENDATIONS: Ep. 65: The Great Divide: Equally Splitting Housework & Childcare with Francine Deutsch Ep. 63: Eastern Philosophy & Living Meditation for Your Life with Dr. Jenelle Kim Ep. 39: Yogic Principles for Life & a Pandemic with Ashton August Ep. 9: How to Ease the Stress of Self-Care with Megan Weigel Please SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, RATE, and REVIEW the podcast! Follow the podcast on Instagram @TheBetterYouPodcast or Facebook @TheBetterYouPodcast. And you can email the podcast at [email protected] Follow me on all the socials: Instagram @kaciemain_writes, Facebook @kaciemain.write, or Twitter @kaciemain_write. Find my book – I Gave Up Men for Lent, the story of a jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious party girl’s search for meaning – on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. And for everything else you want to know about me, visit my website at www.kaciemain.com  

In this episode, we discuss the process of forgiving others, as well as ourselves, and the powerful role nature can play in it. Sara Schulting Kranz is a professional life and leadership coach, motivational speaker and certified wilderness guide. She specializes in helping those who have suffered hardship or trauma to find forgiveness and strength in their lives through guided wilderness retreats in locations such as the Grand Canyon and the Pacific Rim. Her upcoming book, Walk Through This: Harness the Healing Power of Nature and Travel the Road to Forgiveness, releases November 10, 2020.   In this episode, we discuss: ·      Her incredible story, including the major traumas she’s been through, and how she came around to writing a book about forgiveness and healing. ·      Our tendency to compare our journeys and our pain to others and why, instead, we should honor our unique journey. ·      How to shift from seeing life as happening to you to happening for you. ·      Why it’s so difficult to forgive people who have hurt us and the power in releasing our pain. ·      Setting intentions vs. goals and opening ourselves up to what life has to offer us. ·      The importance of knowing our values and being in touch with our inner compass. ·      How connected we all are and how being in nature can help remind us of that. ·      How to define our self-worth. ·      Our tendency to get so comfortable with our pain that it gets difficult to receive and sit with happiness. ·      The process of forgiving ourselves. ·      The importance of taking time to be with ourselves. You can find and follow Sara here: WalkThroughThisBook.com SaraSchultingKranz.com Instagram: @saraschultingkranz Facebook: @liveboldly Documentary: WalkThroughThis.com PREVIOUS EPISODE RECOMMENDATIONS: Ep. 56: Exploring the Ten Worlds of Happiness with Dr. Ash Eldifrawi Ep 52: You’re Imperfect, Life is Messy, Show Up Anyway with Krista O’Reilly-Davi-Digui Ep. 7: How the Body Remembers What the Mind Tries to Forget with Amy Pope-Latham Check out former guest Melissa Grace’s new book, Home is Where You Are melissagracewrites.com Ep.4 Saving Ourselves with Mel Stephens Please SUBSCRIBE, SHARE, RATE, and REVIEW the podcast! Follow the podcast on Instagram @TheBetterYouPodcast or Facebook @TheBetterYouPodcast. And you can email the podcast at [email protected] Follow me on all the socials: Instagram @kaciemain_writes, Facebook @kaciemain.write, or Twitter @kaciemain_write. Find my book – I Gave Up Men for Lent, the story of a jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious party girl’s search for meaning – on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. And for everything else you want to know about me, visit my website at www.kaciemain.com