Written by Elisha May, Intuitive Energy Alchemist & Coach Elisha May is an Intuitive Energy Alchemist and Transformation Specialist, and the Founder of Freedom of Self®. She works with high-functioning and empathic individuals to remove the energetic and emotional blocks that strategy and hard work alone cannot reach. You've done the therapy. Read the books. Hired the coach. Journalled until your hand cramped. You understand your patterns, you can trace them back to their origins, and yet, when the money arrives, something contracts. When love gets close, you find a way to exit. When the opportunity lands, your body goes into threat response while your mind says yes. If this sounds familiar, you don't have a mindset problem. You have a hardware problem. Nobody told you it existed. What does "doing the work" actually mean? The personal development industry has spent decades telling us that transformation is a thinking problem. Identify the limiting belief, reframe it, and repeat the affirmation until it sticks. Some of that works, partially, for a while, for some people. But for a growing number of high-functioning individuals, particularly those who are deeply sensitive, emotionally attuned, and have genuinely lived through significant hardship, mindset work alone hits a ceiling. They do everything right and still find themselves stuck at the same threshold. Not because they haven't worked hard enough. Because they've been working on the wrong layer. The 3 layers of real transformation After 14 years of lived experience navigating my own transformation, and over a decade working with clients who had already exhausted conventional approaches, I've come to understand that lasting change happens across three distinct layers, and most people never reach the third. Layer 1: Mind This is where most personal development lives. You become conscious of the pattern. You name it, understand it, and trace it back to its roots. You gain insight. This is genuinely valuable work, it creates awareness where there was none. But insight without metabolising and embodiment is just a very articulate version of the same stuck feeling. You can understand exactly why you self-sabotage and still do it anyway. Knowing the why is not the same as the pattern being gone. Layer 2: Identity The second layer goes deeper. You stop just thinking differently and start becoming someone different. The ego restructures. Old choices stop making sense, not because you're forcing yourself away from them, but because they genuinely no longer fit. This is where the most powerful coaching work operates at its best, helping someone inhabit a new version of themselves rather than just intellectually endorsing one. It's slower than mindset work and less immediately satisfying. But it's more durable. Layer 3: Body This is the layer most people never reach, not because they're not committed, but because nobody told them it existed. The nervous system is the hardware that everything else runs on. You can update the software, the beliefs, the identity, the conscious thinking, but if the hardware hasn't caught up, the old threat responses keep firing regardless of what your mind now knows. The new identity feels like a costume. The insight doesn't land in the body. Every time something good tries to arrive, money, love, recognition, opportunity, something in you braces, contracts, or finds a subtle way to return things to the familiar. This isn't a weakness. This is biology. It requires a completely different approach to address it. Why high achievers get stuck here specifically There's a particular version of this pattern that shows up in high-functioning, privately stuck individuals, the people who look fine from the outside, who have done significant amounts of self-development, and who cannot work out why they keep hitting the same invisible ceiling. Research in polyvagal theory and somatic psychology helps explain what's happening. The nervous system doesn't update through understanding. It updates through lived experience, specifically, through repeated evidence that the thing it's been treating as a threat is actually safe. No amount of reframing communicates that to the body. Only experience does. For those who have experienced significant stress, loss, or prolonged pressure, the nervous system can become conditioned to treat expansion itself as dangerous. Business visibility, financial growth, receiving love, all of these can trigger the same physiological response as a genuine threat, because the body learned at some point that good things getting close meant danger was close too. This is why you can want something desperately and sabotage it simultaneously. It's not a contradiction. It's a nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do, protect you from what hurt you last time. Survival stamina is not the same as regulated capacity This is perhaps the most important distinction I make with clients, and it's one that the personal development world almost never names clearly. If you've navigated significant hardship, loss, instability, family crisis, financial pressure, years of rebuilding, you almost certainly have enormous survival stamina. You can endure. You can keep going. You can function under conditions that would floor other people. That's real, and it's hard won. But survival stamina and regulated emotional capacity are not the same thing. Survival stamina says, "I can endure this." Regulated capacity says, "I can experience discomfort, uncertainty, and expansion without abandoning myself, collapsing, or contracting around what's good." These are entirely different skill sets. And the nervous system that kept you surviving, the one wired for threat, for vigilance, for endurance, often actively interferes with the regulated capacity needed to receive abundance, love, and sustainable success. The work at this layer isn't about pushing through. It's about updating the body's understanding of what is actually safe now. What this work actually looks like Working at the nervous system level doesn't look like more analysis. It doesn't look like another framework to apply or another belief to reframe. It looks like accumulating lived evidence that expansion is survivable. That good things arriving doesn't mean something is about to be taken away. That you can be visible, receive, succeed, and love, and not be destroyed by it. It happens through action that the nervous system completes rather than abandons. From the moment you press publish on the vulnerable post to the moment nothing terrible happens. Through the financial decision you make from groundedness rather than panic, and survive. Through the relationship that doesn't require you to make yourself small. Through rest that isn't earned through exhaustion. Each of these experiences, however small, becomes new data for a nervous system that has been running on old information. Over time, the threat response to good things quietens. Not because you've thought your way out of it. Because your body has finally gathered enough evidence that it's safe to receive. The question worth asking If you've done significant mindset work and still find yourself hitting the same ceiling, it may not be that you haven't done enough. It may be that you've been working on layers one and two while layer three remains untouched. The question isn't what do I need to think differently? It's what does my body still believe is unsafe, and what experiences would help it learn otherwise? That's a different conversation entirely. It's the one that actually moves the needle. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Elisha May Elisha May, Intuitive Energy Alchemist & Coach Elisha May is an Intuitive Energy Alchemist and Transformation Specialist, empowering high-functioning, driven, and empathic individuals to stop hitting the same wall and claim the level and life they know is theirs. She works at the energetic root - reading and alchemizing what others cannot see - creating rapid, permanent shifts that nothing else has. Her authority is not academic. It is lived. A natural-born gift for energetic transformation, consciously refined across decades of practice. When the internal shifts, the external follows. It always does.

In this interview, Lushea Taylor, a person-centred counsellor and founder of Lushea Counselling Care Therapy, shares both her professional insight and lived experience of growing up in a hoarded home. She discusses the emotional realities behind hoarding behaviours, the impact of shame and isolation, and how compassion and understanding play a vital role in recovery. The interview also explores the effects of emotional overwhelm, the impact of COVID lockdowns, and how creating emotionally safe spaces can support healing and personal growth. Lushea Taylor, Person Centred Counsellor What first made you realise that hoarding behaviours are deeply connected to emotional pain rather than possessions alone? It was actually through my personal experience growing up with my parental figure in a hoarded environment. Before my lack of understanding, I focused on the clutter, the lack of space, where can I sit today, etc. Living through it gave me emotional distress. When attempting various ways to rearrange a room or get outside help, the dots connected and I could see the hoarding behaviours were connected to somewhat feeling safe and protected, memories, comfort for that person, and emotional survival. Growing up, when I reflect, the experience was overwhelming and isolating. When things were at rock bottom in my late twenties, I came to understand that my parental figure's difficulties were deeply rooted in various past pains, struggles, and traumas. As for the possessions, 60% of them had nothing linked to the past. My training in person centred counselling deepened this understanding further. It wasn’t laziness as I once thought in my early teens. It was deeper than that. How has your own experience growing up in a cluttered home shaped the way you support clients today? Growing up in a cluttered and hoarded home has deeply shaped the way I support clients today. It has given me a personal understanding of the emotional impact for the person who is the hoarder, but also for family relationships, well being, and daily life. I found it very hard to bring friends home. I think I had two experiences of this, masking stories to inform them beforehand or doing a quick declutter a few hours before they arrived, just feeling embarrassed, not knowing what anxiety was but having it. Through the painful difficulty of that long chapter in my life, the experience has made me a more compassionate and non judgemental counsellor. I can understand how difficult it is for someone to feel safe enough to talk and ultimately get support for their pain. I work at the client’s pace. Before any room can be decluttered, it’s the declutter of the real issues and understanding the individual first. You have unresolved needs, grief, pain, loss, you name it, before you can think to get rid of or rearrange anything. It is a sensitive area whilst trying to encourage self awareness and support them in reaching their potential true self. What emotional patterns do you see most often beneath chronic clutter and hoarding behaviours? The common pattern is various painful life experiences. It could be a breakdown in some type of relationship or a longing to reconnect, for example, an aunt and nephew. It could be being clean from drugs for some time and having a disconnect with family. A few times I have had clients who have experienced trauma from living beside a bad neighbour. Unemployment and employment struggles are common. Divorce or relationship breakdown is also common. All these are linked to a type of depression, loneliness, fear, and grief. Through these life challenges, possessions can become a handbag of emotional security, comfort, and a sense of safety. Shame and low self worth are strong emotions which appear in sessions. Difficulty making decisions and fear of how others view them add to hoarding behaviours. However, for me to witness and support the client when levels of emotion arise, it is just amazing to see those mini breakthroughs, to be honest. Why do you think hoarding is still widely misunderstood in conversations around mental health? Well, for one, it’s a physical thing, isn’t it? People only see the physical clutter. Stereotypes and judgements combined with culture, and every community has its own attitudes on the matter versus society as a whole. The psychological difficulties are being talked about here and there, but there needs to be more awareness and education on the matter, along with more organisations and funding to support people. Compared to conditions such as anxiety or depression, hoarding is less openly discussed and is often reduced to a problem of organisation or cleanliness. As a result, people going through this hardship are seen as "lazy", "not recognised", or "irresponsible", which overlooks the complexity of the root issues. The silence behind this matter does increase misunderstandings and loneliness. What impact did the COVID lockdown period have on people already struggling with clutter and emotional overwhelm? The psychological distress across the UK population, particularly among people with pre existing mental health conditions, was very high. The impact was huge. People, including myself, were going through long periods of confinement. Those affected, as well as those who were hoarders, were facing further mental health challenges too, making it emotionally harder to even consider organising their issues. Anxiety and depression skyrocketed. This naturally increased the attachment to possessions, food, papers, living objects, and clothing. The pressure and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic often led to avoidance, emotional exhaustion, and difficulty making decisions about possessions or daily routines. It also made me see how closely emotional wellbeing and living environments were, and still are, connected. What helps clients feel emotionally safe enough to begin opening up about shame and isolation? From me as a person centred counsellor, emotional safety comes when the client can feel comfortable enough to let down their guard and feel heard and respected, with no judgement. To feel and be reminded that you are valued as an individual rather than defined by your possessions or state of living is a big deal. Of course, consistency, patience, and active listening can help clients gradually feel more comfortable expressing emotions they may have hidden for a long time. However, allowing clients to have control is best for me because every session brings a surprise through vulnerability. Again, it’s something beautiful for me to see and support the transformation of. Creating a calm, compassionate, and confidential environment can encourage openness over time. You can feel the release and weight off their shoulders when it slowly comes out. When clients feel emotionally safe, they are more able to explore painful experiences with me, challenge feelings of shame, and begin developing self acceptance within the therapeutic relationship. What is one small but meaningful step someone can take when they feel emotionally trapped by their environment? I always say let’s focus on one area, not the entire situation. I had a Welsh client who stated in his first session with me, "I never expected to cry like this, don’t know what’s going on here, I thought we were gonna talk about the clutter, the clutter, but here I am like this." I smiled. Why? Because his idea and focus of what he thought the session would be about was the complete opposite, and he surprised himself with what he disclosed in the moment compared to what he had planned to talk about. Clearing a small work surface desk or organising one drawer could be a main focus rather than looking at two bedrooms. The place a person sits and resides in, I tend to find, is the best place to start because it is a place of comfort and sanctuary where an individual can think, so to speak. Small steps can create a sense of control and help reduce feelings of being overwhelmed. However, I always state it is important that the individual approaches themselves with compassion rather than criticism. It’s about meaningful progress, not "chop chop, let’s get this done today, now, or yesterday." People forget that meaningful progress does not always begin with major changes. Often, emotional healing starts with one small decision that helps a person feel safer, calmer, and more able to cope within their environment. How do you personally define the idea that "compassion meets recovery"? Recovery is not only about changing behaviours or even recuperating quickly, but I tend to see it as recognising emotional pain and unmet needs underneath the entire struggle within struggles. Compassion is a key feature and the foundation that allows the process to have a positive result. Meeting the person with empathy, patience, and unconditional positive regard is a central tool in person centred counselling. It’s also linked to understanding and allowing the person to rediscover themselves and their self worth whilst moving at their pace. When individuals are met with kindness and no judgement, they feel more willing to open up. Small steps that are achieved are not simply dismissed but celebrated and recognised. I believe healing becomes more possible when people feel emotionally supported rather than pressured. Compassion does not remove difficulties, but it can give individuals the emotional safety and confidence needed to begin recovery and personal growth. No matter what you go through, whether you are a professional, famous, or just a member of society, compassion is always needed. What would you most like people to understand about those living with hoarding behaviours? From both my lived experience and my work as a person centred counsellor, I understand how much shame and isolation people can carry while struggling with hoarding behaviours. Judgement and criticism often make people withdraw further rather than seek support. What many individuals need most is compassion, patience, and understanding rather than pressure or blame. I would also like people to understand that recovery is not simply about clearing a space. Emotional healing must happen alongside practical change, and this takes time, trust, and emotional safety. Every person’s journey is different. At Lushea Counselling Care Therapy, my approach is centred around empathy, acceptance, and supporting individuals at their own pace without judgement. "Empowering you, one step at a time" Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Lushea Taylor

Success in law is often associated with sharp arguments and high-profile victories. For attorney Michael Pogue, however, lasting success has come from something quieter: sound judgment, clear communication, and the ability to stay focused on what truly matters. His nearly three-decade career shows how credibility, curiosity, and thoughtful decision-making can make a greater impact than simply being the loudest voice in the room. How one attorney built a career around judgment, not noise In the legal profession, people often assume success comes from having all the answers. Michael Pogue learned something different. Over nearly 30 years as an attorney, he has discovered that success is less about having the loudest voice in the room and more about asking the right questions. It is about staying calm when others are stressed. And it is about finding clarity when situations become complicated. Today, Pogue practices law in Sun Valley, Idaho, focusing on commercial law, litigation, real estate matters, and intellectual property issues. Along the way, he has appeared in state and federal courts across the country and before international bodies, including the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva. But the foundation of his career was built long before any courtroom appearance. From literature student to lawyer Pogue's path did not begin with a fascination for legal arguments. He first studied English Literature at UCLA. That background taught him something that still influences his work today: the importance of communication. “Clients are not paying for theatrics,” he says. “They are paying for someone who can understand a messy situation, cut through the noise, and explain what matters.” After graduating from UCLA, he attended the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude and ranked among the top students in his class. He also served as an editor of the Law Review. The experience reinforced a lesson that would stay with him throughout his career: details matter. Learning from the bench Early in his legal career, Pogue worked for federal judges in California and Colorado. For many young attorneys, those roles provide a close-up view of how decisions are made. For Pogue, they also revealed the qualities that separate effective lawyers from average ones. “Working for federal judges taught me the value of precision and credibility,” he says. That lesson became one of the big ideas that shaped his professional life. In a field where confidence often gets attention, credibility earns trust. Years later, that principle still guides his approach to clients and cases. Silicon Valley taught him a different lesson After working with judges, Pogue joined a large global law firm in Palo Alto, California. The firm served emerging companies throughout Silicon Valley and around the world. The environment moved fast. Technology was changing industries. Companies were growing overnight. New challenges appeared constantly. Yet one realization stood out. “Early on, one obstacle was learning not to confuse activity with progress,” he says. It sounds simple. But it became another defining idea in his career. Many professionals spend their days reacting to emails, meetings, and urgent requests. Pogue learned that real progress often comes from focusing on what actually moves a problem toward a solution. “You can work very long hours and still not be moving the ball forward if you're not focused on the right things,” he says. Building a career around problem solving As his career evolved, Pogue developed expertise across commercial litigation, business disputes, technology agreements, intellectual property matters, and real estate law. His cases have been cited in legal publications. He has appeared before courts and tribunals across multiple jurisdictions. Yet he does not define success by the size of a case or the number of victories. “Sometimes success is winning a motion,” he says. “Sometimes it is helping a client avoid a fight entirely.” That perspective reflects another big idea that has guided his work: solving problems is often more valuable than escalating them. For clients facing difficult situations, clarity can be just as important as the final outcome. What failure taught him about success Not every argument succeeds immediately. Not every strategy works the first time. Pogue believes some of the most valuable lessons come from setbacks. “One thing litigation teaches you very quickly is that not every good argument lands the first time you make it,” he says. Instead of viewing obstacles as failures, he sees them as opportunities to improve. “Sometimes losing a round teaches you how to win the case.” That mindset has helped him remain adaptable through decades of changes in law, technology, and business. Why balance matters more than ever For many professionals, career success becomes the primary goal. Pogue believes that approach has limits. Over the years, he has served on community boards, taught as a faculty member for the National Business Institute, and remained active outside of work. He enjoys tennis, fly-fishing, hiking, and spending time with his family. “The older you get, the clearer it becomes that professional success without personal balance is not much of a bargain,” he says. Rather than viewing life outside work as a distraction, he sees it as a source of perspective. That perspective helps him show up more effectively when clients need him most. The idea that continues to drive him After nearly three decades in law, Pogue remains committed to learning. “The law changes, industries change, clients’ needs change,” he says. For him, experience is valuable, but curiosity is essential. His career has been shaped by several simple ideas: focus on facts, communicate clearly, stay credible, and never stop learning. They are not flashy concepts. They do not generate headlines. But over time, they helped transform a young law student into a respected attorney whose career has spanned courtrooms, boardrooms, and communities. And perhaps that is the biggest lesson from Michael Pogue's journey: lasting success often comes not from dramatic moments, but from consistently making thoughtful decisions day after day.

Written by Ella Thomas, Bookkeeping & Accounting Strategist Ella Thomas is a Bookkeeping and Accounting Specialist and the founder of Strategic Bookkeeping Specialists. She helps business owners gain confidence, control, and peace of mind with their finances so they can fully focus on growing the business they love. Every entrepreneur starts somewhere. Some begin with formal education and years of industry experience. Others learn through trial and error, unexpected opportunities, career changes, personal hardships, or simply a desire to create something of their own. No two journeys are exactly alike. As business owners, we often compare ourselves to others and wonder if we are taking the "right" path. We see successful entrepreneurs who appear to have everything figured out and question whether our own experiences are enough. What I've learned over the years is that our greatest strength is not having the same journey as someone else, it's having our own. Every job you've held, every challenge you've faced, every mentor you've learned from, and every mistake you've made contributes to the leader and business owner you become. The goal is not to copy someone else's blueprint. The goal is to learn, adapt, and create a business that reflects your own values, strengths, and vision. Here are five reasons your unique journey is one of your greatest business advantages: 1. Every experience teaches you something valuable Many entrepreneurs look back and wonder if certain jobs, careers, or life experiences were a waste of time. In reality, very little is wasted. You may have learned customer service from a retail position, leadership from managing a team, communication skills from working with clients, or resilience from navigating difficult circumstances. At the time, those experiences may have seemed unrelated to the business you run today. Looking back, however, you can often see how each chapter prepared you for the next one. The lessons you carry with you become part of your leadership style and influence how you serve your clients, build your team, and solve problems. 2. You don't have to build your business like everyone else One of the most freeing realizations as an entrepreneur is understanding that there is no single right way to build a business. There are best practices, proven strategies, and valuable advice from people who have gone before us. Those lessons are important. But eventually, every business owner must decide what works for them. Your business should reflect your goals, your values, your priorities, and the life you want to create. Some entrepreneurs prioritize rapid growth. Others prioritize flexibility, family time, or a smaller organization with deeper client relationships. Success looks different for everyone. The beauty of entrepreneurship is that you have the opportunity to design a business that aligns with your vision instead of someone else's expectations. 3. Growth often creates the need to teach others There comes a point in many businesses when the owner can no longer do everything alone. The systems become more complex. The client base grows. The responsibilities increase. What helped you reach your current level of success may not be enough to help you reach the next one. This is often the season when entrepreneurs begin teaching others. You start documenting processes, training team members, sharing knowledge, and helping others develop their own skills. At first, this can feel uncomfortable. It may even feel slower than simply doing the work yourself. But teaching others is often one of the most important investments you can make in the future of your business. 4. Paying it forward strengthens everyone One of the greatest rewards of entrepreneurship is the opportunity to help others grow. Someone once took the time to teach you. A manager, mentor, coworker, family member, teacher, or fellow entrepreneur likely shared knowledge that helped shape who you are today. As your business grows, you have the opportunity to do the same for others. When you invest in developing your team, you create opportunities for people to gain confidence, build new skills, and advance professionally. At the same time, your organization becomes stronger because knowledge is no longer dependent on one person. Paying it forward benefits everyone involved. 5. The best businesses reflect the vision of their owners At the end of the day, it is your company. You can learn from books, courses, mentors, consultants, and other successful entrepreneurs. In fact, I encourage you to do so. But eventually, you must take everything you've learned and make it your own. Build the culture you want. Create the systems that support your goals. Develop leaders who align with your values. Serve clients in a way that feels authentic to you. Your business is not meant to be a replica of someone else's success story. It is meant to be an expression of your own journey, experience, and vision. As entrepreneurs, we spend years learning, growing, adapting, and refining our craft. Every experience adds another layer to who we become as leaders. There will come a time when your growth requires you to shift from doing everything yourself to teaching others what you know. When that season arrives, embrace it. Share your knowledge. Develop your people. Create opportunities for others to grow. Remember, while you should always remain open to learning from others, you don't have to build your business exactly like anyone else. Take the lessons. Keep the wisdom. Make it your own. Because your unique journey is not a limitation, it is one of your greatest strengths. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Ella Thomas Ella Thomas, Bookkeeping & Accounting Strategist Ella Thomas is the founder of Strategic Bookkeeping Specialists, dedicated to helping business owners simplify their finances and build confidence in their numbers. With years of experience in bookkeeping and accounting, she understands the challenges entrepreneurs face and provides practical strategies to bring clarity and peace of mind. Ella’s mission is to empower business owners to focus on what they love, growing their business, while she takes care of the financial details. Discover more insights and tips by visiting her profile page.

Written by Michelle Vidal, President/Founder Michelle Vidal is the Founder and President of Resonant Essentials Esoteric School of Metaphysics and a leader in consciousness-based education. With over five decades of study, she transforms metaphysical principles into practical tools for clarity, resilience, and real-world decision-making. Have you thought, even once in your life, “There is something more, I am something more”? If you have, then take heart, the answer is yes, you are something more. What that something is often gets caught up in the spellbound thoughts of our past, rearing its head in a moment when we are ready for that “more” to manifest within our lives. The stories we inherit Truly, this is a breakthrough I wish more people would have. Too often, we are happily walking through our lives working from the teachings of our youth. The thoughts that shape our lives are conditioned in us by parents, spiritual leaders, television, and teachers. They accumulate like so much lint and dog hair in the lint trap of our dryer. “You must work hard for your money, you are nothing without a wife or husband, I’ll give you something to cry about” are just a smidgen of messages we are given. These messages bring us to feel inadequate, misaligned, and wrong about the life choices we make that do not support the teachings we were brainwashed into believing. If we recognize those feelings, who is doing the recognizing? Feelings come and go, but the thoughts that created them often continue beneath our awareness, quietly shaping our choices. Remember, we scurry past the choices that will actually say, “I am who I am,” to return to the more aligned ones we were taught were healthy, responsible, and, above all, aligned with values from a reality we no longer live in. Living someone else’s script Fear is the contributing emotion that has us by the throat. Fear comes before all negative emotions, just like love comes before all positive ones. The irony that is consistently brought to my table first by my own dawning realization, and now by my students, is that we create our lives predicated on choices that stem from our emotions. It would be wonderful if we could create from positive emotions, but alas, that is not how the world works. It is from fear. Fear that we will be deemed unacceptable by our societies, our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Have you ever paid attention to where the fear is felt and what triggered it in the first place? What part of you watches the fear? If you can observe fear, then maybe, just maybe, fear is not who we are. Perhaps it is simply passing through our awareness. Learn more about the neuroscience of fear responses. The observer behind the fear Just think, all those people in your world are also making choices based on what they were taught to believe. This means that we become aligned with the same type of conscious awareness of “I’m not good enough.” What if, instead, we quit basing choices on our past that we “hope” will jettison us into an abundant, loving, coherent future where we actually love the job that only this morning we hated? Not to sound repetitive, but what if we came to use our intuition to help us as we become more aware of who we are and how something makes us feel, either positive or negative, before making the decisions that will create the next moment of our lives. This is where we start creating our joy. Yes, we will still have bad moments in our lives, but we will not have a bad life. Just one where the decisions we make help us to remember the joy and fascination of participating with each other on earth. Could this be the duality of humans? The positive and negative expressions that help us align could be seen reflectively as experiences, neither good nor evil. Because truly, we are not in the garden of good and evil, we are just in our moments of experience that show us where we are misaligned with our possibilities. Many powerful people have talked about this. Yet, most people who agree with the alignment of our hearts fail to choose to make their lives more positive. Why is it, do you suppose? Personally, I think we have been blessed to experience this time where things transpire, and the world is moving at lightning speed in technology and innovations that will change the way we have lived over the past 2,500 plus years. This, unfortunately, has its drawbacks as well. People think that just knowing a thing to be true means they are operating from those truths. In reality, they haven’t built the necessary foundations into their lives to stand firm in those truths. Ergo, they run around looking for wisdom from spiritual leaders, intuitives, astrologers, and all manner of future-seers they can, in order to find those answers. Reconnecting with intuition There are foundational tools we can start utilizing in our lives to strengthen our connection to our intuition. Start each morning with gratitude. We all know gratitude brings us blessings and joy, but we get busy with our to-do list. So, before you leap out of bed, breathe, put your hand on your heart, and be grateful for a day of wonders yet to come. Why is this important? Most of our to-do lists don’t spark joy in our hearts and minds. The to-do list generally sparks dread, and that is the position you will take for the rest of the day, dread. Spending the day checking in with our intuition starts building the connection. Soon, if we consistently commit to doing this one thing, checking in, we start having our intuition speak back to us, guiding us. This is the first step, the most powerful step of learning to live in the present moment, reminding us that all that we have pushed into our future by using words like “I want” becomes “I have.” Read more about trusting yourself and your intuition. Awareness changes everything As an instructor of metaphysics, if I were to give one more step, which I am, it would be the step of awareness of our words. After my son passed away, I dwelt in the abyss of negativity. Grief will do that. It will also bring isolation, by choice, by vibration, and by our words. At first, when people asked how I was doing, I would either cry or say, “not good.” I realized one day I wasn’t getting better, so I changed my dialogue when they asked to “I’m getting better every day.” This rephrase altered my consciousness, and I slowly started the arduous climb back to my destiny. In our awareness of our experience, our words will create what we say. One reason is that that is all we will see in our lives, but also because that is the level we align with vibrationally. I ask you, is your name, “Cap’n Gonna,” and your last name, “Yeah but”? If it is, then may I remind you. “There is something more, you are something more.” Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Michelle Vidal Michelle Vidal, President/Founder Michelle Vidal is a leader in metaphysical education and applied intuitive training, with over five decades of experience translating higher principles into practical, real-world tools. She is the Founder of Resonant Essentials Esoteric School of Metaphysics and author of Mastering Metaphysics, guiding individuals to clarity, resilience, and conscious decision-making.

Written by Mark Mathia, Chief Catalyst Officer & Business Strategist Mark Mathia, Chief Catalyst Officer & Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, leverages 30+ years in the C-suite to accelerate profitable growth for founders and executives worldwide. Creator of CatalX(tm), a proven framework fusing profit strategies, elite communication, and energy mastery-he helps leaders dominate rooms, scale faster, and avoid burnout. Your business will never outgrow your thinking. Discover why the leader’s internal state is the ultimate bottleneck and how to upgrade your Leadership Operating System through the CatalX PSE™ framework. The loudest voices in the market are often the most distracting. If you’re letting external chaos dictate your internal boardroom, you’ve already hit your ceiling. True scale isn’t about working harder, it’s about elevating the quality of your thinking. Why your business rises or falls with you The headlines scream. Markets swing. Fear whispers in every notification. But your mind doesn’t have to join the noise. This is the quiet trap catching most business owners today. We mistake motion for momentum. We let chaos into the boardroom. We let fear dress up as strategy. Then we wonder why the numbers stall even when we’re working harder than ever. Here’s the hard truth. Your business may survive a bad market, political storms, or an aggressive competitor. But it will never outgrow the quality of your thinking. If you want a stronger company, become a stronger leader first, not louder, not busier, but stronger inside. Two thousand years apart, a king and a Roman emperor expressed the same truth: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” – Proverbs 4:23 Marcus Aurelius put it this way: “Your life is what your thoughts make of it.” Same law. Different voice. Your inner world shapes your outer results. This is leadership physics. The person at the top sets the ceiling for the entire company. The real danger isn’t knowing what’s happening in the world. It’s letting it control you. You can stay informed without becoming infected. Awareness sharpens. Absorption weakens. Once fear moves in, self interference follows, hesitation on big decisions, overreaction to small threats, and trading clarity for headlines. Fear has buried more companies than any recession ever did. The owners who thrive aren’t blind to reality, they’re disciplined in their response. They refuse to let external volatility dictate their internal state. The CatalX PSE™ Framework: Psychology × strategy × energy If your business feels capped, these three pillars are holding up the roof. Strengthen them, and your leadership and your company will rise. 1. Psychology: The inner game Performance rises when interference drops. Most leaders hunt for interference “out there,” in the market, the team, or the economy. The real opponent is usually the voice in their own head saying, “Now isn’t the time,” or “You don’t have what it takes.” This shows up as knowing the right move but delaying it, shrinking in critical moments despite having the talent, mistaking fear for “realistic market reading” and handing your agency to the daily news cycle We start here. Using tools like CliftonStrengths, we rewire patterns so you lead from your strongest talents instead of fighting what’s shaken. Clear the internal static, and your decisions become sharper and faster. 2. High leverage strategy Once your thinking is clean, strategy stops being reactive. Most leaders miss the obvious because their minds are crowded. They chase urgency, confuse activity with progress, and call it leadership. True strategy at the highest level is seeing what others cannot. It’s recognizing the move beneath the move, knowing what matters, what doesn’t, and where a single decision can change the trajectory of the entire business. You don’t need more tactics. You need a cleaner lens. High leverage vision lets you spot patterns early, simplify complexity, and make decisions that look bold to others but feel obvious to you. 3. Energy: The vitality to sustain it all Conviction and a smart plan mean nothing if your body, mind, and spirit are running on empty. Teams feel the leader’s energy long before they hear the words. Burnout isn’t a badge of honor, it’s a warning light on your judgment. We build simple, repeatable rhythms, micro habits, recovery practices, focused walks, and strong boundaries, that let you lead with steadiness instead of strain. If the business is draining the life out of you, that’s not success. That’s a signal. Real results, not theory Take the Greenville Literacy Association. What changed wasn’t just a clever initiative, it was a psychological breakthrough at the leadership level that transformed the culture from the top down. We applied the CatalX PSE™ framework with Psychology leading the way, addressing how people showed up, where trust was thin, what stories were driving behavior, and where leadership presence created safety or friction. Strategy then brought alignment, and Energy made the new standard sustainable. The results speak for themselves: Overall satisfaction jumped from 73.9% to 94.1% “Very Satisfied” responses rose from 20% to 89% The “great place to work” recommendation score increased from 20% to 89% That’s what happens when leaders stop managing symptoms and start transforming the internal condition of the culture. Change the thinking at the top, and the experience of everyone below changes too. Develop the owner, not just the business Too many owners spend years tweaking the machine, new marketing, new software, more meetings, more dashboards, while the driver stays the same. Stop. A bigger business requires a bigger leader. That starts with the quality of thought you bring into the room every single day. This is the heart of how I work with leaders, creating intentional space to reset and realign their leadership operating system before routines turn into ceilings. Top performers don’t always win because the conditions are favorable. They win because they operate with sharper clarity, stronger emotional mastery, and less internal friction, fully leveraging their natural strengths to elevate team performance. Be that leader. Your leadership reset: 10 minutes to start Winning often begins with small, intentional steps. Set aside ten quiet minutes and courageously answer these three questions: Where is fear or ego drowning out my clarity right now? What high leverage move am I delaying simply because it feels uncomfortable? What one ritual, a focus block, micro habit, or energy reset, will I commit to this week to sharpen my leadership edge? Write your answers down. Then act on at least one before the day ends. Small moves, practiced with discipline, compound into the kind of leadership that makes growth inevitable. Your next move If your business feels stuck, the bottleneck is rarely the market. It’s the person in the mirror. Your company will never rise higher than the emotional steadiness and disciplined thinking you personally bring to the table. That is your ultimate leverage point and your greatest risk. If you’re ready to cut the self interference, stop playing small, and upgrade your Leadership Operating System, professional coaching can help you make that shift. Let’s stop chasing surface fixes and start building the leader your vision requires. Your first step changes everything. If you’re ready to break through the same ceiling and finally upgrade your leadership, book your Coaching Discovery Session today or visit this website for more information. Start building the kind of business your highest level thinking makes possible. Your future self and your bottom line will thank you. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more info! Read more from Mark Mathia Mark Mathia, Chief Catalyst Officer & Business Strategist Mark Mathia is a former C-suite executive turned Chief Catalyst Officer and Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach with over 30 years of leading and advising national organizations. He created the CatalX™ framework to help founders and senior leaders master high-stakes communication, accelerate profitable growth, and sustain peak performance without burnout. His clients, CEOs, founders, and executive teams, consistently scale faster, win bigger deals, and lead with greater clarity and energy. When he’s not coaching one-on-one or speaking to leadership teams, Mark distills battle-tested insights on influence, profit acceleration, and human performance.

Written by Lindsay Evans & Danielle McGrath, Co-Founders of Nourish Live Flow Twin sisters Danielle McGrath & Lindsay Evans are co-founders of Nourish Live Flow, a holistic wellness brand for women in midlife. As certified integrative holistic health coaches, clean living experts, and breathwork and meditation guides, they help women reset their nervous systems, reduce toxic load, and thrive through perimenopause and beyond. Many women entering midlife begin to notice that something has shifted. They feel more anxious, more easily overwhelmed, and less able to tolerate the same pace of life they once managed with ease. While hormonal changes during perimenopause certainly play a role, there is another critical piece that is often overlooked, the nervous system. Understanding how the nervous system interacts with stress and hormones can be one of the most transformative steps a woman can take toward feeling balanced, grounded, and supported during this stage of life. What is the nervous system and why does it matter? The nervous system is the body's central communication network. It constantly processes information from the environment and directs how the body should respond, moment to moment, all day long. Two main branches govern how we feel and function. The sympathetic nervous system activates the body's stress response, commonly known as the "fight or flight" state. The parasympathetic nervous system, often called the "rest and repair" state, allows the body to relax, digest food, restore energy, and heal. Ideally, the body moves fluidly between these two states depending on the demands of the moment. However, when stress becomes chronic, the body can become stuck in a prolonged state of activation, and this affects many systems, including hormonal balance. Why perimenopause increases sensitivity to stress Hormones and the nervous system are deeply interconnected. During perimenopause, fluctuating estrogen levels directly influence brain chemistry and the body's capacity to regulate stress. Estrogen supports several key neurotransmitters that affect mood, sleep quality, and emotional resilience. As hormone levels begin to shift, many women notice that their tolerance for stress changes noticeably. Situations they once managed with relative ease, busy schedules, disrupted sleep, constant multitasking, can suddenly feel unmanageable. This heightened sensitivity contributes to some of the most common perimenopause symptoms, anxiety, sleep disruption, fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. Research highlighted by institutions such as Harvard Health Publishing confirms that hormonal shifts during the menopausal transition can significantly influence mood, stress response, and overall emotional wellbeing. When layered on top of the demands of modern life, this physiological shift can leave women feeling as though their nervous system is perpetually on edge and wondering why nothing feels quite like it used to. Fight or flight vs. Rest and repair When the body perceives danger or sustained pressure, the go-go go or hustle mentality, the sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight or flight response. Heart rate increases, muscles tense, and stress hormones such as cortisol surge. This response is essential for survival. It is designed to help the body act quickly in the face of immediate challenges. The problem arises when the body remains in this activated state for extended periods of time. Chronic stress exposure means the body never fully receives the signal that it is safe to stand down. The parasympathetic nervous system offers the antidote. In rest and repair mode, digestion improves, hormones regulate more effectively, sleep becomes deeper and more restorative, and the body can genuinely recover from daily stressors. During perimenopause, when hormonal changes are already placing additional demands on the body, prioritizing time in the rest and repair state becomes not just beneficial. It becomes essential. Why so many women feel constantly "on edge" in midlife Modern life is not designed with the nervous system in mind. Many women in midlife are simultaneously managing careers, family responsibilities, caregiving for aging parents, and a relentless stream of digital stimulation. Over time, this sustained pressure keeps the body locked in a heightened stress response. When chronic nervous system activation is compounded by hormonal fluctuations, even small stressors can feel disproportionately overwhelming. Sleep becomes lighter or fragmented. Energy levels swing unpredictably. Emotions feel harder to regulate. One of the most important things we can offer women in this season of life is this reframe, what you are experiencing is not a personal failure. It is a physiological response to the intersection of stress and hormonal change. It can be addressed. Supporting the nervous system during perimenopause One of the most powerful ways to support hormonal health in midlife is to intentionally focus on nervous system regulation. This does not require overhauling your entire lifestyle. It begins with incorporating small, consistent practices that signal safety to the body and create space for the nervous system to reset. Over time, these moments of intentional calm help shift the body away from chronic stress activation and back toward a state where rest, repair, and hormonal balance can occur more readily. Simple, practical strategies to regulate your nervous system Here are evidence informed practices that can make a meaningful difference: Slow, intentional breathing. Even a few minutes of slow, diaphragmatic breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce the physiological effects of stress. Try a 4 count inhale and 6 count exhale to start. Time outdoors and natural light exposure. Spending time in nature and getting morning light helps regulate circadian rhythms, supporting both mood and energy throughout the day. Gentle, consistent movement. Walking, stretching, or yoga helps release physical tension while supporting circulation, metabolism, and emotional regulation without overloading an already stressed system. Deliberate pauses. Stepping away from screens, slowing down between tasks, or sitting quietly for a few minutes are not luxuries. Instead, they are acts of biological self care that allow the nervous system to recalibrate. Practiced consistently, these habits build genuine resilience to stress and can meaningfully improve how you feel day to day. The foundation that makes everything else work In our work supporting women through perimenopause, we have observed time and again that nervous system regulation is often the missing link, the piece that allows every other health strategy to work more effectively. Nutrition, movement, sleep, and hormonal health are all shaped by how safe or threatened the body feels at any given moment. When women begin to prioritize nervous system care, the downstream effects are significant. Improved energy, steadier moods, better sleep, and a greater sense of resilience in daily life. This is why nervous system regulation is one of the four core pillars of our Nourish & Thrive in Perimenopause framework, alongside mindset, nourishment, and reducing toxic load. Together, these pillars create a foundation that supports women in moving through midlife with greater stability, clarity, and vitality. Ready to go deeper? If this article resonated with you, we have two practical resources designed to help you take action right away. Our Seven Day Nervous System Reset is a guided program that walks you through daily practices to help your body shift out of chronic stress and into a state of genuine restoration, one day at a time. Our Nourish & Thrive in Perimenopause Workbook is a comprehensive, evidence informed guide and workbook designed specifically for women in perimenopause and midlife. It covers nervous system support alongside nutrition, mindset, and reducing toxic load, giving you the tools to navigate this season with confidence and clarity. Available now on Amazon. Get instant access with our digital downloadable copy. Final thoughts Perimenopause can feel disorienting, but understanding the role of the nervous system offers women an entirely new lens through which to view their midlife health. Rather than pushing harder or searching for quick fixes, supporting the body through nervous system care creates the internal conditions where balance can return. This is not about doing more. It is about doing things that actually work with your biology. Through our work at Nourish Live Flow, our educational workshops, and our growing suite of resources, our mission is to help women understand their bodies and cultivate practices that allow them to feel steady, informed, and empowered throughout this stage of life. To learn more and explore further, visit us on Instagram or join our free Nourish & Thrive community on Skool, where we continue to share education, tools, and community to help women truly nourish and thrive. Follow me on Facebook and find our Workshops & Programs here! Read more from Lindsay Evans & Danielle McGrath Lindsay Evans & Danielle McGrath, Co-Founders of Nourish Live Flow Danielle McGrath and Lindsay Evans are holistic health and wellness coaches specializing in perimenopause and midlife. After navigating their own challenges, they created the 4-Pillar Nourish & Thrive in Perimenopause framework: mindset and intentions, nervous system regulation, nourishment, and reducing toxic load. With backgrounds in physiotherapy, acupuncture, nutrition, integrative holistic health coaching, and clean-living advocacy, they bring a uniquely practical and preventative lens to women’s health. Their mission is simple: to empower women to thrive—not just survive—through midlife and beyond.

Written by Emma Abalogun, Leadership Consultant | Speaker Emma Abalogun is a leadership consultant, speaker, and creator of the RAM-R™ Method. She works with organizations to address leadership behavior under pressure – helping leaders stay consistent, accountable, and effective when it matters most. Her work focuses on the patterns that drive performance, trust, and retention across teams. The training session goes well. The leader is engaged, reflective, articulate about their blind spots. They leave with insight, language, and intention. Two weeks later, their team is navigating the fallout of a reactive decision made under pressure, the same pattern that existed before the program began. This is not a failure of the training. It is a failure of what the training was designed to change. Most leadership development is built on a foundational assumption, if leaders understand themselves better, they will lead better. Self-awareness is positioned as the entry point to growth, and in many ways, it is. But understanding your patterns and being able to interrupt them under pressure are two entirely different capabilities. Organizations are investing in one while expecting results from the other. The real problem is not what leaders know about themselves Ask most senior leaders if they are self-aware and the majority will say yes. Ask their teams the same question and you will often get a very different answer, not because the leaders are dishonest, but because self-awareness in calm conditions does not predict performance under pressure. Most organizations treat inconsistent leadership as a capability issue. It is not. It is what happens to capability when pressure is applied. A leader can know exactly why they become reactive in high stakes conversations. They can name the trigger, trace it back, discuss it with clarity in a coaching session. Then walk into a board presentation or a difficult performance conversation and respond from exactly the same reactive pattern, because knowing the pattern and regulating it in real time are not the same skill. What is actually happening is this, under pressure, the nervous system responds faster than conscious awareness can intervene. The leader's internal operating system, the emotional and behavioral patterns built over years, takes over before their self awareness has a chance to engage. No amount of insight can change that without a targeted, structured approach to building regulation capacity. This is the gap that most leadership development programs are not designed to close. What it costs when the gap goes unaddressed The consequences of unregulated leadership under pressure are not abstract. They show up in the numbers organizations are already tracking. Turnover is the most visible cost. Research consistently shows that people leave managers, not companies, and the managers they leave are rarely the ones who lack skill. They are the ones who become unpredictable, reactive, or withdrawn when pressure is highest. The leader who is excellent in steady conditions but destabilizing in a crisis does not retain talent. People make their decision to leave in those moments, even if they act on it months later. Beyond turnover, there is the slower, harder to measure cost of productivity drag. Teams with leaders who respond inconsistently under pressure spend significant cognitive energy managing upward, anticipating mood, second guessing decisions, and hedging communication. That energy is not going toward performance. It is going toward self protection. Then there is decision quality. When leaders are dysregulated, the decisions made under pressure tend to be reactive, short term, and disconnected from organizational values. The cost of those decisions, in team trust, strategic direction, and operational clarity, often far exceeds the cost of the leadership development investment being considered. Self-awareness does not solve any of this. Emotional regulation does. Why emotional regulation is a performance skill, not a wellness concept This distinction matters enormously in how organizations frame and fund leadership development. Emotional regulation is not about helping leaders feel better. It is not a wellness initiative or a mindfulness program. It is the specific, trainable capacity to stay clear, consistent, and accountable when internal and external pressure is highest, which is precisely when leadership performance has the greatest organizational impact. This is where data driven diagnostics change the conversation. Tools like the EQ i 2.0 and EQ 360 assessments do not measure personality or potential, they measure specific emotional and behavioral patterns that are directly linked to performance outcomes. They identify where regulation breaks down, what drives it, and what a targeted development pathway looks like for that individual leader. From there, the work is not insight, it is rewiring. The RAM R™ method is built on this principle, structured, repeatable practice that interrupts existing patterns and builds new responses at the level where they are needed, under pressure, in real time, when the stakes are highest. This is not leadership development as a learning experience. It is leadership development as a performance intervention. What the shift looks like in practice Consider a senior leader referred for coaching following a period of team instability. Diagnostically, the picture is clear, strong strategic capability, high emotional intelligence in low stakes environments, but a consistent pattern of withdrawal and sharp communication under deadline pressure. The team has adapted by avoiding difficult conversations with her, which means she is operating without accurate information precisely when she needs it most. The work does not begin with more self reflection. It begins with identifying the specific physiological and behavioral sequence that precedes the pattern, the early warning signals that regulation is starting to break down. From there, through the RAM R™ method, the focus is on building the capacity to interrupt that sequence before it completes. Six weeks in, the shift is observable, she is not perfect under pressure, but the pattern is no longer automatic. She catches it earlier. She communicates differently in high stakes moments. Her team notices, not because she told them she was working on it, but because the behavior changed. That is the difference between insight and regulation. One stays in the room. The other goes into the meeting. The standard has to change Organizations cannot keep measuring leadership development by what leaders learn in the room. The standard has to be what they do when the pressure is on and no one is watching the theory. Self-awareness is a starting point, not an outcome. It tells a leader where the work is. Emotional regulation is what does the work, and it is what determines whether the investment in leadership development ever reaches the team. If the gap between what your leaders understand about themselves and how they actually behave under pressure is costing your organization trust, talent, and performance, the solution is not more insight. It is a different kind of development entirely. If you are seeing this pattern in your leaders, strong capability in stable conditions, inconsistency when pressure is highest, I work with a small number of organizations at a time to address exactly this. If you would like to understand what that looks like, book a 30 minute conversation here. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more at Emma Abalogun Emma Abalogun, Leadership Consultant | Speaker Emma Abalogun is a Self-Leadership Coach, Speaker, and creator of the RAM-R™ Method–a four-step framework designed to help women break free from survival patterns, projection cycles, and self-abandonment. Her work empowers individuals to lead with radical self-worth, emotional responsibility, and authentic power. Drawing from years of coaching experience and a deep understanding of identity, leadership, and legacy, Emma helps women reclaim their inner authority and become the kind of leader their life and work requires.

Written by Catherine Starr, Life Coach, Speaker, and Tarot Reader Catherine Starr is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Tarot Reader, bringing transformative experiences to individuals seeking to design and manifest lives that ignite passion and fulfill purpose. Her ritual-theatre piece, Oracles from the Living Tarot, brings Tarot cards to life, providing community and personal insights. Her commitment to mentoring and guiding others is a cornerstone of her work. Could it be possible to create an experience for a community where Tarot cards were brought to life and were able to provide a true reading for a community? This is how I developed a process and created Oracles from the Living Tarot™. How did I start this process? I started working on the concept of bringing a Tarot deck alive for a community reading when I was part of the San Francisco Bay Area theatre company, Magical Acts Ritual Theatre. The company worked to combine ritual and theatre into the productions we did. This seemed like it would be a perfect concept for the company. I started with a simple question. Could I bring a deck of Tarot cards to life and do a traditional Tarot divination for a community? At the time, this idea seemed simple, and this question became the basis for creating Oracles from the Living Tarot™. Over the years, this has become so much more than a simple answer to my question. It has transformed people’s lives. What did I use as a framework for a Tarot reading? The concept is to bring the twenty-two standard Major Arcana cards to “life” before an audience and create a community tarot reading for the year. As part of the ritual-theater piece, the cards are invoked, shuffled, and then chosen to represent different times of the year. In a traditional Tarot reading, the reader will lay out the cards in a particular pattern. I created a Calendar of the Year layout by using thirteen full moons and the eight seasonal holidays in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year Calendar. This gave me twenty-one card placements for the year plus a final outcome card placement. In this way, I was able to ensure all twenty-two cards in the Major Arcana would be utilized for a reading. Becoming a living Tarot Card For the first deck, I enlisted members of the theatre group as well as several friends. The mix of people included actors and magical practitioners who knew how to do trancework. Each person who takes on the role of a living tarot card goes through their own personal discovery about the card they will portray. This includes research into the meanings associated with the card. They decide what oracle they will present to the audience, and how they will present the card. I work with and train participants in both acting and magical practices so they can truly become the card for the production. How is the actual reading done? The play itself has four parts. First, there is a theatrical opening that transforms into a ritual to create the sacred space so the cards can be properly invoked. Over the years, this opening has changed. Since I started presenting this piece to audiences in Europe, I have customized the opening based on where we were. In Scotland, I used the first scene from Macbeth with the three hags. In Spain, I used a story about magical caves. Once the sacred space is created, the living tarot cards are invoked. They enter the space and move through the audience to represent the shuffling of the deck, finally ending in front of the audience, ready to be drawn. The second part is the actual tarot reading. Physical cards are drawn by audience members and then announced. The living tarot card that represents the card that was drawn steps forward to present their oracle, or message for what will be important for the time of the year in which the living tarot card was drawn. After their oracle is presented, the living tarot card goes to sit in the designated space for the time of year. This continues until all twenty-two cards are drawn and the final outcome card has been drawn. By the end of the reading, the audience is surrounded by the living tarot cards. The audience is now sitting within the reading that was done for them. The third part of this play provides an opportunity for the audience to interact personally with the living tarot cards. Audience members are invited to pull a personal tarot card and then get a one-to-one reading with the living tarot card. Some of the most memorable exchanges have occurred during these one-on-one conversations. The last section is the closing of the ritual space. Once all the personal readings are complete, the living tarot cards are “picked up” and returned to the area in front of the audience. Then the living tarot cards are returned to a non-magical state. Lastly, the ritual space is closed. A brief history The first production of Oracles from the Living Tarot was done in October 1998 in Palo Alto, California. Since then, there has been at least one presentation of this ritual-theatre play every year. Sometimes, instead of a full production, I led a workshop, but these always included a reading. Full productions have been done at the PantheaCon conference in California, starting in 1999 and for several years until the end of this conference. Productions have also been done in San Diego in 2001, Reno in 2002, and Oakland in 2003. In 2016, I did the first workshop in Italy. Since then, there have been productions in various places in Europe and Toronto, Canada. We even did an online version during COVID. In 2026, we will celebrate the tenth year of European productions in Italy. Did I get my question answered? But through all of this, did I get my question answered? Did I bring a traditional tarot divination to a community of people through living tarot cards? Over the years, there are many stories of how our readings matched events that happened in the larger community. The best example is from 2019. I produced two community readings that year. The first was in August in Poland and the second was in October in Toronto. In Poland, the last two cards were Death and the Tower. In Toronto, the last two cards were the Tower and Death, the same two cards, just reversed. So, what happened? Within a few weeks of the Toronto reading, we started to hear about cities in China going into lockdown due to a very contagious virus. This was the beginning of COVID, and the two cards representing death and very sudden changes suggested that something major was going to occur. That we got the same outcomes from two readings done within months of each other and with different audiences indicated to me at the time that there was going to be something very big coming to the entire world. But this is just one example. There are more, including transformational stories about how the personal readings affected people. The stories I have collected are all part of the book I am in the process of publishing. To get a feel for how a version of Oracles from the Living Tarot looks, here is my blog for the Toronto 2019 production. If you are interested in doing a production of Oracles from the Living Tarot, contact me. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Catherine Starr, Catherine Starr, Life Coach, Speaker, and Tarot Reader Catherine Starr is a life coach, spiritual leader, hypnotist, speaker, tarot reader, and creatrix of Oracles from the Living Tarot. She has been developing transformative experiences for over three decades. Catherine is the creative force behind the ritual-theatre play, “Oracles from the Living Tarot,” a groundbreaking production that has captivated audiences worldwide since its inception in 1998. This immersive experience is still performed annually around the world, including nine countries, and online during COVID. This production brings Tarot cards to life to give a reading for a community. Those who have embodied a card describe interesting personal experiences and transformation, while audience members have received insight and inspiration from their interaction with the Living Tarot cards. She has served in several interfaith organizations and is a Global Trustee for the United Religions Initiative.

Written by Helen Kenworthy, Artistic Director Helen champions the arts as a tool for change. Now, as CEO of RYTC Creatives CIC and Give Get Go Education, she mentors young people, creates pathways for them to thrive in the arts, and helps launch successful careers. There is a powerful difference between seeing potential in a young person and creating the conditions for that potential to grow. Many young people are told they are talented, creative, capable, or full of promise, but encouragement on its own is not always enough. Talent needs somewhere to go. It needs space, practice, guidance, opportunity, and real experiences that help young people test what they can do and begin to believe in it for themselves. This is where experiential arts education becomes so important. It moves learning beyond theory and places young people inside the creative process. Instead of only being taught about performance, storytelling, theatre, film, communication, or creativity, they are invited to take part. They learn by doing, by trying, by rehearsing, by contributing, by receiving feedback, by reflecting, and by discovering what growth feels like from the inside. For the next generation of creative talent, this matters deeply. Young people are growing up in a world that requires more than academic achievement alone. They need confidence, communication, adaptability, imagination, collaboration, resilience, and the ability to bring ideas to life. These qualities are rarely developed through instruction alone. They are often built through meaningful participation, especially in spaces where young people feel seen, supported, and trusted to contribute. Experiential arts education gives young talent a way to move from possibility into practice. It helps them understand that creativity is not something they must admire from a distance. It is something they can actively shape, explore, strengthen, and use. Through real creative experiences, they begin to discover their voice, develop their skills, and see themselves as part of a future they may not have imagined they belonged to. At its heart, this is also about access. Not every young person grows in the same way, at the same pace, or through the same route. Some need a stage, some need a script, some need a workshop, some need a mentor, some need a practical project, and some need one meaningful opportunity that helps them realise they are capable of more than they first believed. This is why experiential arts education is not simply an enrichment activity. It is a powerful way to shape confidence, talent, identity, and future direction. Why focusing on young talent today builds the creative future of tomorrow The creative future is not shaped only by established artists, experienced professionals, or those who already have access to opportunity. It is also shaped by those who are still discovering what they can do. Their ideas may still be forming, their confidence may still be developing, and their skills may still be emerging, but their imagination, perspective, and potential matter now. When young talent is supported early, something important begins to shift. Confidence has room to grow. Curiosity becomes stronger. Skills begin to develop through practice rather than pressure. Young people start to understand that creativity is not separate from their future, but part of how they communicate, solve problems, build relationships, and contribute to the world around them. The challenge is that many young people are expected to become confident before they are given meaningful opportunities. Yet confidence is often built through opportunity. A young person may not know what they are capable of until they are given the right space, the right guidance, and the chance to take their first real steps. This is why investing in young creative talent today matters so much. It helps shape future artists, storytellers, performers, creative professionals, leaders, entrepreneurs, and thoughtful contributors. More importantly, it helps young people begin to see that their voice, ideas, and presence have value. Understanding the creative catalyst A creative catalyst is anything that helps young talent begin to move. It may be a spark, a space, a person, an opportunity, or an experience that helps a young person shift from having potential to actively using it. For some, that catalyst may be a workshop. For others, it may be a mentor, a performance, a project, a learning environment, a creative challenge, or simply being trusted to take part. This matters because talent does not always appear loudly or confidently. Sometimes it is quiet. Sometimes it is hidden behind fear, low confidence, lack of access, or the belief that creative spaces are meant for other people. A creative catalyst interrupts that pattern by giving young people something real to step into. In the creative arts, a catalyst may: Open the door: It gives young people an entry point into creative experience. Create movement: It helps them move from watching or wondering into taking part. Offer structure: It gives creativity a space, rhythm, process, and purpose. Provide guidance: It surrounds young people with support that helps them keep going. Make opportunity feel possible: It helps young people begin to see creative growth as something they can access, not something reserved for someone else. A rehearsal room, drama session, storytelling project, production, performance opportunity, training experience, or moment of thoughtful feedback can all become creative catalysts. From the outside, these moments may appear simple. For a young person, they can become the first step, the first moment of courage, or the first experience that helps them believe there is somewhere for their talent to go. The strongest creative catalysts do not only inspire young people for a moment. They help create the conditions where young talent can begin, practise, improve, and grow. This is why the creative catalyst connects so closely with experiential arts education. It is not just about recognising talent. It is about giving talent somewhere meaningful to develop. What experiential arts education really means Experiential arts education is learning through direct creative experience. It is not simply teaching young people about the arts from a distance. It invites them to take part, try, create, rehearse, reflect, collaborate, and understand creativity from the inside. In this kind of learning, the creative process becomes the classroom. A young person may learn through drama, theatre, film, storytelling, performance, production, voice work, script development, or creative workshops. They may also learn through behind the scenes roles such as planning, organising, supporting a production, contributing ideas, solving problems, or helping bring a creative project to life. What makes experiential arts education powerful is that it gives young people something real to engage with. They are not only being told what creativity looks like. They are experiencing the responsibility, uncertainty, discipline, excitement, and growth that come with creative participation. This helps them understand that creativity is not only about talent. It is also about practice, process, teamwork, patience, and courage. It also allows different forms of talent to emerge. Not every young person will shine in the same way. Some may find confidence through performance. Others may discover their strength through writing, directing, organising, designing, listening, problem solving, or supporting others. Experiential arts education makes room for these different expressions because it values participation, contribution, and development, not only polished outcomes. At its best, experiential arts education gives young people a way to discover what they can do by becoming actively involved. It helps them move from learning about creativity to experiencing creativity as something they can practise, shape, and carry into their future. Learning by doing through the creative pathway methodology Learning by doing sits at the heart of the Creative Pathway Methodology because it recognises that young people often grow most powerfully when they are actively involved in the process. They do not only need information placed in front of them. They need opportunities to practise, test ideas, make connections, receive guidance, and experience what progress feels like in real time. This is where the wider pathway becomes important. Through RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC), Education Selection Box (ESB), and Give Get Go Education (GGGE), the Creative Pathway Methodology brings together learning, creativity, and career development in a way that helps young people move from potential into participation. It understands that growth is not always linear. A young person may build confidence through a creative arts workshop, strengthen understanding through personalised learning support, develop communication through performance, or discover future direction through practical training and professional exposure. Through this unified approach, learning by doing is not limited to one environment. It can happen in a rehearsal room, a classroom, a workshop, a mentoring space, a creative project, or a career development opportunity. What matters is that the young person is not left as a passive observer. They are invited to take part, contribute, reflect, and gradually build the confidence to keep going. This is especially powerful because practical experience helps young people connect learning to life. When they create, perform, collaborate, plan, present, solve problems, or take responsibility for a task, they begin to see how their skills can be used beyond that moment. Creativity becomes more than expression. Learning becomes more than instruction. Career development becomes more than future planning. Together, they become part of a living pathway that helps young people understand what they are capable of. The Creative Pathway Methodology gives young people a way to grow through experience rather than waiting until they feel fully ready. Through the combined work of The RYTC, ESB, and GGGE, young people are supported to practise courage, build confidence, strengthen skills, and begin to imagine a future where their talent, voice, and contribution have a place. Why this matters for the brilliantly underestimated For the brilliantly underestimated, experiential arts education can be more than a creative opportunity. It can be a different way of being recognised. Many young people are overlooked not because they lack ability, but because their strengths do not always appear in the ways traditional systems expect. Their confidence may be quiet, their communication may be different, their learning journey may not be straightforward, or their potential may not yet have had the right conditions to emerge. This is why learning by doing matters so deeply. It allows young people to show capability through action, not only through grades, labels, or first impressions. A young person who struggles to explain their ideas in a formal setting may come alive through drama, storytelling, problem solving, design, performance, or practical project work. Another may find that a creative or career development space gives them the confidence to try, contribute, and be seen in a new way. The brilliantly underestimated often need environments that notice what is underneath the surface. They need spaces that ask better questions. Not simply, “Are they ready?” but “What support would help them begin?” Not only, “Can they perform now?” but “What could grow if they were given the right opportunity, guidance, and belief?” This shift matters because it changes the starting point. Instead of asking young people to prove they already belong, it creates a pathway where belonging, confidence, and capability can grow through meaningful experience. That is the deeper value of the Creative Pathway Methodology. Through experiential arts education, tailored learning, creative practice, and career development opportunities, it recognises that some young people need more than a standard route. They need a pathway where learning, creativity, and career development work together, helping them build confidence, strengthen skills, and discover a future they can begin to see themselves in. Experiential arts education shapes young talent because it gives young people more than knowledge. It gives them a place to practise, participate, reflect, and grow through experience. When young people are trusted to take part in creative, learning, and career development spaces, they begin to build the confidence and capability needed for the future. Here are 11 ways experiential arts education helps shape the next generation of creative talent. 1. It builds confidence through real participation Confidence grows when young people are invited to try, contribute, improve, and see that their effort matters. Each experience becomes quiet evidence that they can take up space, learn through practice, and keep going. 2. It helps young people discover their voice Creative experiences give young people different ways to express ideas, emotions, stories, and perspectives. For those who may not always communicate easily in traditional settings, this can become a powerful route into self expression. 3. It turns potential into practical skill Talent becomes stronger when it is practised through doing, feedback, reflection, and repetition. Experiential arts education helps young people understand that ability grows when it is used, stretched, and supported. 4. It teaches discipline and commitment Creative work helps young people understand preparation, consistency, patience, and the importance of showing up. These habits matter not only in the arts, but in education, employment, leadership, and life. 5. It strengthens communication Through performance, discussion, teamwork, and creative tasks, young people learn how to listen, respond, speak, and adapt. Communication becomes something they practise in real situations, not just something they are told to improve. 6. It builds teamwork and collaboration Young people learn how to share ideas, respect different roles, support others, and contribute to a shared outcome. They begin to understand that creativity is often strengthened when people bring different skills and perspectives together. 7. It develops resilience through practice Creative spaces teach young people that mistakes, changes, and feedback are part of growth, not signs of failure. This helps them build the emotional strength to try again, adjust, and keep moving forward. 8. It makes learning feel relevant and purposeful When learning is connected to real experience, young people can see how their skills apply beyond the classroom or workshop. This sense of relevance can increase motivation, engagement, and belief in the value of what they are learning. 9. It gives young talent meaningful visibility Being seen, heard, and recognised in the right environment can help young people understand the value of their contribution. For those who have often felt overlooked, this kind of visibility can be deeply affirming. 10. It connects creativity to career development Experiential arts education helps young people see how creativity can lead into communication, leadership, enterprise, media, events, production, education, and other future pathways. It expands their understanding of what creative talent can become. 11. It helps young people believe they belong in creative and professional spaces When young people are given real opportunities, they begin to imagine themselves not only taking part, but contributing meaningfully to the creative future. Belonging grows when they are trusted with experience, responsibility, and the chance to be part of something real. Together, these 11 areas show why experiential arts education matters. It does not only develop talent for the stage, the studio, the classroom, or the workshop. It helps young people build the confidence, skills, self belief, and direction they need to step into wider creative and professional opportunities. Conclusion The future of young creative talent is shaped by the opportunities young people are given today. Encouragement matters, but real growth happens when young people are trusted with spaces where they can practise, contribute, reflect, and learn by doing. Experiential arts education offers this kind of opportunity. It helps emerging talent move from potential into participation, while building confidence, skill, communication, resilience, and self belief. For the brilliantly underestimated, this can be especially powerful because it creates another route into recognition, growth, and future possibility. Through RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC), Education Selection Box (ESB), and Give Get Go Education (GGGE), the Creative Pathway Methodology brings together learning, creativity, and career development in a way that supports young people as whole individuals. It reminds us that talent does not simply need to be noticed. It needs to be nurtured, practised, believed in, and given somewhere meaningful to go. To explore more about this work and the wider Creative Pathway approach, please visit Creative Pathway Methodology: Of Course You Can!™ serving the brilliantly underestimated. The full portfolio can be found here. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Helen Kenworthy Helen Kenworthy, Artistic Director Helen Kenworthy’s career embodies the transformative power of the arts, from her early roles in the prestigious West End with Bill Kenwright to her impactful work in regional theatre. As manager of the Oxfordshire Youth Arts Partnership, she created pathways for young people to thrive in the arts, with many going on to successful careers. Now at RYTC Creatives CIC and Give Get Go Education, Helen continues to inspire and mentor the next generation of theatre-makers and community leaders, offering invaluable opportunities for growth and professional development.

Written by Joshua Bennett-Johnson, Licensed Counselor & Owner of JBJ Counseling For nearly 14 years, I've helped individuals navigate the complex landscape of addiction in order to achieve recovery. Nicknamed "The Casual Counselor", my approach is unconventional but undeniably effective. Go to virtually any drug and alcohol treatment program, and you’ll be introduced to a framework built around completing a checklist of external changes in order to achieve “recovery.” We are told to structure our days, friend groups, and how we are altered and influenced by the company we keep. We are told to adopt an exercise and healthier dietary routine, to “clean up” whatever exists beyond managed care, getting rid of paraphernalia, substances, or bottles possibly left behind where we will be returning. Stuff like that. Lifestyle change. Building our schedule around self help meetings, awkwardly trying to seek out sponsors and mentors to hold our hands through those early, difficult months. Medication compliance. Journaling. Keeping a gratitude list or a dream diary, and on and on forever. Make no mistake, these structural adjustments are excellent! Lifestyle change is vital. Changes and rearranges create the stability needed to survive the chaos of the early days. Here’s the thing, though. As important as it may be, lifestyle change is just one side of the medallion of recovery and the flip side is the heavier side, because the truth, for everyone, proves that every person in long term recovery confronts this hard truth, you cannot heal an internal wound with an external glow up. Don’t get me wrong! I’m all for getting that haircut, buying the shoes, building the body so we start seeing the contours of sinew in our mirror, manicures and pedicures, vacations. Why? Because they make us feel good! They give us a lift. Real healing, long term, emotional recovery demands that we lean into the direction of down. The stuff deep down inside of us. The yuck. The hurt. The wounds. The unmet needs. The propaganda and fucked up conditioning that we’ve been filled with, the shortcomings of our parenting. Yeah. All that and more! That which does not make us feel good, but unless or until we confront it, will fester and grow inside of us like a malignant tumor, permeating just about every element of “self,” from our esteem to how we behave in relationships, which will manifest misery, guaranteed, and on and on forever. Sorry. Lasting, whole self recovery never happens from the outside in. It can only happen from the inside out. When we first step onto the path of recovery, rearranging our lifestyle is what we want to start with, as a deep dive into the hardest stuff will inevitably harm us in all of our raw vulnerability. We need to get ourselves into a healthy and steady rhythm of decision making, day to day. A tempo we can keep up with. We trade sleepless nights for early morning jogs. We swap triggers for actionable choices to re regulate when our overwhelm is rising. This external “scaffolding” is incredibly important. It serves as guardrails so that if we begin to drift off the road to recovery, we have some effective barriers to protect us from rolling off the highway into a fireball in the field. We’re dealing with visceral cravings, feelings we’ve been numb to for years. Decades, even. So. Much. Pain. Discomfort beyond measure. The scaffolding gives us something to lean on when we’re floating in the massive void left by the loss of our coping tool. Our source of relief. But if we stop there, and maybe I’ll write my next article about it, we’re likely to become someone whose life was saved by the external fixer upper, but a project that was never able to help us rebuild the life inside of us. The mess of the internal world often makes the external mess look like a dance in the daisies. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Joshua Bennett-Johnson Joshua Bennett-Johnson, Licensed Counselor & Owner of JBJ Counseling After working for 7 years in an amazing clinic, I launched into private practice in 2018. I love my job. I can say that without reservation. Watching people rebuild their lives is something that is worth more than any dollar amount.

Written by Jenna McDonough, Emotional Regulation Specialist Jenna McDonough is a trauma-sensitive emotional regulation specialist who supports adults and children through meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, somatic resets, and sound healing. She is the creator of the PEACEFUL: Mindful Moments for Every Age app and author of Kind Kids. Her mission is to make emotional well-being accessible to all. We spend years teaching children how to read, write, and solve complex math problems. We prioritize academic performance, standardized testing, and college preparation. Yet there is one essential life skill children use every single day that is rarely taught in a structured way, emotional regulation. Children experience constant emotions, excitement, frustration, disappointment, anxiety, joy, and overwhelm, often before they even learn to speak. But many are never taught how to recognize these feelings or what to do when emotions take over their bodies. Emotional regulation is not an “extra” skill. It is foundational to learning, relationships, and overall well-being. Without it, academic success becomes harder, not easier. What I learned working with children I have been fortunate to work with children in many roles, as a babysitter, educator, and parent. Across all environments, one consistent theme emerged, children needed tools to understand and regulate their emotions. Regardless of age, background, or home environment, children often struggled not because they didn’t understand expectations, but because they didn’t know how to manage what they were feeling internally. When I became an elementary teacher, this became even more apparent. Children spend six or more hours a day in school, navigating academic expectations, social dynamics, transitions, and sensory input. This constant stimulation can overwhelm their nervous systems, making regulation difficult without support. In structured classroom environments, emotions surfaced quickly, disappointment, anxiety, frustration, and excitement. Yet many children lacked the tools to manage them. Dysregulation is often misunderstood When children become dysregulated, it is often interpreted as misbehavior. But dysregulation is typically a nervous system response. When overwhelmed, children shift into fight, flight, or shutdown mode. In this state, logical thinking and problem-solving are much more difficult. This is why telling a child to “calm down” rarely works. They haven’t yet been taught how. When we teach emotional regulation, we give children practical tools to pause before reacting, identify emotions, use breathing to calm the body, and reflect and problem-solve. These are skills they carry into friendships, classrooms, and eventually adulthood. This connection between emotional awareness and compassionate action is something I explored further in my Brainz article, Why Teaching Children to Pause, Breathe, and Reflect Changes Lives, where I discuss how creating space between emotion and response can transform communication, relationships, and overall emotional resilience. The academic gap It is striking that we emphasize academic intelligence so heavily, yet emotional intelligence, something children experience all day, is rarely part of the core curriculum. We prepare children for college before we prepare them for conflict resolution. We push advanced coursework earlier and earlier, yet many children enter adolescence without understanding their own emotional responses. This gap contributes to increased anxiety, stress, and emotional overwhelm, where simple daily habits can help individuals return to calm and build emotional awareness. Seeing it as a parent When my own children began school, I observed emotional challenges from a new perspective. Classrooms often included “safe spaces” or feeling charts, helpful starting points, but what came next was often missing. Children could identify how they felt, but they didn’t always have the tools to regulate. Teachers, often without specific training, did their best, but many classrooms lacked structured strategies for emotional regulation. This gap leaves children feeling overwhelmed without resolution, and repeated dysregulation can shape long-term patterns. Emotional regulation supports learning Regulated children are better able to focus on instruction, solve problems, communicate effectively, build friendships, and navigate conflict. When a child is dysregulated, learning becomes secondary to survival. Supporting regulation actually enhances academic outcomes. This connection between emotional awareness and overall well-being mirrors the mind-body relationship, where emotional states directly influence behavior, focus, and decision-making. Why schools matter While many parents teach emotional skills at home, not all children have access to these tools. Making emotional regulation a part of the school curriculum ensures equity. Some children may never encounter structured instruction in emotional intelligence unless it is embedded in education. These are often the children who benefit most. Teaching emotional regulation in schools levels the playing field, supports mental health, reduces behavioral challenges, improves classroom climate, and strengthens social-emotional learning. Practical tools for classrooms Emotional regulation does not require complicated programs. Simple practices can be integrated into daily routines. Pause practices teach children to pause before responding, which builds awareness and reduces impulsivity. Breathing exercises help calm the nervous system and return children to a regulated state. Emotion identification helps children name feelings and builds emotional literacy. Reflection questions support problem-solving and empathy. Co-regulation, through a calm adult presence, helps children borrow regulation until they internalize it. These tools can be incorporated into transitions, morning routines, and moments of conflict resolution. The ripple effect When emotional regulation is taught consistently, the impact extends beyond individual students. Classrooms become calmer. Peer relationships improve. Teachers experience less stress. School communities become more connected. Small changes create meaningful ripple effects, a concept I explore further in my writing about how small acts of kindness and emotional awareness can influence entire environments, Ripple Effect of One Small Act of Kindness and How Simple Moments Can Change Everything. A shift in priorities Imagine a generation of children who grow up understanding their emotions, responding instead of reacting, communicating with empathy, and resolving conflict peacefully. This is not unrealistic. It begins with prioritizing emotional regulation alongside academics. Because education should prepare children not just for tests, but for life and life requires more than knowledge, it requires the ability to navigate emotions, relationships, and challenges with resilience and kindness. Emotional regulation is not the missing piece because it is unimportant. It is the missing piece because we have not yet fully recognized its power. But when we do, everything changes. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jenna McDonough Jenna McDonough, Emotional Regulation Specialist Jenna McDonough is a meditation and mindfulness teacher, children’s book author, and emotional regulation specialist dedicated to helping people of all ages live more peaceful and present lives. She supports adults and children in recognizing, understanding, and moving through their emotions with meditation, mindfulness, somatic resets, breathwork, and sound and energy healing, all offered through a trauma-sensitive approach that ensures safe and empowering experiences. She is the founder of the PEACEFUL: Mindful Moments for Every Age App and the author of Kind Kids: The Adventures of Hurley, Pearl, and the Pink Soldiers of Kindness, and the creator of meditation and healing arts courses designed to foster emotional intelligence, resilience, and compassion.