Do you worry that if you say what you really think, you wouldn't be being nice? This week on Embracing Intensity, I talk about why instead of worrying about being nice, what we should really focus on is being kind.
In this episode, I talk about:
Resources:
To support you in your journey of self-exploration, I put together this free retreat planner to help you create your own self-guided retreat.
Visit my Embracing Intensity Patreon Page to join in the conversation and receive more tools for self-exploration!
You have a gift that the world needs, and by embracing your intensity, you are on your way to transforming lives. Sometimes, all it takes for us to fully embrace our intensity is simply to act. My guest today took that step both figuratively and literally.
I am so excited to bring today’s guest, Shannon Milliman, to your ears. Shannon has fully embraced the power of her intensity, and she is on a mission to inspire through her larger-than-life personality and the power of theater. Shannon’s one-woman show, “Not So Supernova,” is on its way to Portland, and Shannon knows that this bit of theater is more than just a creative project. Shannon’s show is the full expression of her own intensity, faith, and memories, and it is designed to inspire the audience to act on their dreams.
In today’s episode, Shannon and I will discuss why helping passionate people is such a worthy cause. Shannon believe that we find our purpose when we embrace our gifts, and she is modeling that through her show. This opens us up to discuss how theatre showcases diverse perspectives while also bringing people together. Shannon has found that being both a practicing Mormon and an intense individual is a powerful combination, and she wants to open up her life to the rest of the world.
I am so glad I took the time to get to know someone new. Shannon is teaching me to say “Yes!” to the improvisation that life brings. What is your gift you are bringing to the world? How can you say “Yes!” today?
More in this episode:
Shannon Recommends
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Resources:
Do you ever go to great lengths to avoid discomfort? On this week's episode of Embracing Intensity, Aurora talks about why in order to heal, both personally and as a world, we need to learn to sit with discomfort.
In this episode, Aurora shares:
Resources:
As a part of getting out of our comfort zones, I have been putting together tools for self-exploration on my Patreon page, and put together this free retreat planner to help you create your own self-exploration retreat.
You can own your gifts and use them in a positive way to change the world. The best way to start is to be inspired, and that is why Jaya Rose is here today. I really appreciate Jaya’s energy and online presence. She is very clearly Gifted and Intense, and her recent rebranding to focus on multi-passionate entrepreneurs is a great example of someone who has fully embraced her talents.
Jaya and I had the chance to sit down and share so many great nuggets about owning your intensity and sharing it with the world. It is clear that when you hold back your gifts, you are not just doing yourself a disservice but everyone else who might benefit from it as well. Jaya is shaping the world by offering up her services to anyone who identifies as multipassionate. Jaya is a transformational speaker and business coach with a heart of service. She is on a mission to help creative entrepreneurs identify what they only can offer the world and how they can get that message to as many people as possible.
My hope is that Jaya inspires you to keep pursuing your passion! When you do, you might just change the world.
More in this episode:
Jaya Recommends
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Resources:
Do you like to start fires, but not really to tend them? A lot of gifted and creative people enjoy the spark of starting new things, but not so much maintaining them. How do you keep the fire burning without burning out?
In this episode:
Links:
What does it mean to be mindful in the modern era? Mindfulness is a tool that many Intense Women use to harness their inner fire, and my guest Danielle Savory is no exception. Danielle is a local Portland friend who I’ve been running into for years. The more I followed her work, the more I knew I had to have her on the show. Danielle epitomizes what it means to be Gifted and to embrace multiple potentials. I cannot wait for you to hear all about the work she is doing to bring mindfulness into a modern context.
Danielle is a Master Certified Life Coach who helps busy women reduce stress in their lives. Her approach to “Modern Mindfulness” cleverly blends both a skeptic’s healthy analysis with a spiritual acceptance of the unknown. She is bringing ancient wisdom to the masses that is also backed by neuroscience. The results speak for themselves: women who work with Danielle experience so much personal growth! Today, Danielle is going to tell us how her mindfulness practice has been an essential part of how she harnesses her inner fire. She will remind us to accept all parts of ourselves, even the “bad” ones! Danielle’s intense feelings are a gateway to her true self, and I am so thankful she is here to share that message with you today!
More in this episode:
Danielle Recommends
Self Compassion by Kristin Neff
Women’s Anatomy by Sherri Winston
Resources:
Instagram @DSavory_ModernMindfulness
Free Retreat Planne
Are you fully immersed in the moment or do you let thoughts of what you SHOULD be doing get in your head when you should be enjoying yourself? Contaminated time is when different parts of your life bleed in to each other so you can't focus your energy on what you are doing in the moment.
In this episode:
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No one shares your unique history, lineage, and experience, so it makes sense that no one experiences intensity in quite the same way as you do! Nevertheless, we all have common ground on which we stand: we all hurt, we all experience prejudice, we all want to be known. Words have a powerful way of connecting us together while also celebrating what makes us unique. This is why I am so excited to share an interview with Leesa Renee Hall today. Her palpable energy and compassionate heart are two of the many gifts Leesa brings to the table. Most of all, Leesa celebrates the diverse ways we express and embrace our intensity.
Leesa Renee Hall is a writer, a storyteller, and an ancestry advocate. She is intensely passionate about curious inquiry, especially when we start to take some of societies biggest barriers and turn them into vehicles for self-exploration. Leesa is breaking down cultural and racial barriers by writing beautiful and provocative articles, many of which reflect her own raw thoughts and feelings as a black woman. By harnessing the power of her intensity into words, Leesa encourages us to disrupt the stories we have always told ourselves about diversity and identity. Instead, she wants us to be a little curious to discover our true identity and purpose.
Today, she is going to share some of the formative experiences that shaped Leesa into the writer and advocate she is today. Along the way, Leesa will share incredible wisdom about breaking through our own inner oppression, and how we can find our unique voice. If you are interested in spiritual bypassing, diverse modes of activism, white fragility, and breaking through cultures of silence, Leesa has so much to offer you. Leesa is speaking up about some of the most difficult topics, but she does it in a way that invites discourse, rather than shutting down differing perspectives. We need more Leesas in the world, and that is why I feel lucky to have her on the show today!
More in this episode:
Leesa Recommends
Dr. Robin DiAngelo teaching white fragility (a term she's coined)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
The White Fragility Script (5 Part Act)
http://www.leesareneehall.com/
The Sovereignty of Quiet: Beyond Resistance in Black Culture by Kevin Quashie (he explores quiet as a form of intensity)
https://www.goodreads.com/book
The Art of Gentle Protest by Sarah Corbett (TEDTalk)
https://www.ted.com/talks/sara
The Power of a Positive No by William Ury
https://www.goodreads.com/book
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
https://www.goodreads.com/book
The Becky Code: How to Deal White Woman Violence While Amplifying Your Joy by Catrice M. Jackson
http://www.thebeckycode.com
Antagonists, Advocates & Allies: The Wake Up Call Guide for White Women Who Want to Become Allies With Black Women by Catrice M. Jackson
White Spaces, Missing Faces: Why Women of Color Don't Trust White Women by Catrice M. Jackson
http://www.shetalkswetalk.com/
11 Lessons I Learned Writing Half a Million Words Over 365 Consecutive Days
http://www.leesareneehall.com/
Expressive Writing Prompts to Use to Overcome White Fragility, Spiritual Bypassing, or White Privilege
http://www.leesareneehall.com/
Get new expressive writing prompts to question your internal programming by joining Leesa's exclusive community
http://www.leesareneehall.com/
Resources:
"We are moving out of the time of the guru." This quote from my interview with Alexandra Lewis really resonated and stuck with me. If we are moving away from gurus, what are we moving toward?
In this episode, I discuss:
In this episode:
My Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/embracingintensity
Find Your Superpower Course
http://www.auroraremember.com/find-your-superpower
What is your life’s purpose? It’s certainly a loaded question, but it is precisely the question that opens up so many positive experiences in our lives. I love talking with spiritual leaders and healers who dig beyond "love and light" because they have devoted their lives to understanding life and giving it purpose. Many of them also happen to experience times of feeling like they are “too much,” and my guest today is no exception. I am delighted to introduce you to Angela Rose Fields. Angela is a fellow Portland local, spiritual healer, yoga teacher, coach, and so much more. Her life has been built with experiences that have stretched her to fully embrace her healing gifts, even if that was difficult or not accepted by her community. She dwells in the realms of spirituality and mental health, and she fully believes that those realms overlap and align in beautiful ways we haven’t seen yet.
Angela grew up in a conservative community, but her parents always encouraged her to forge her own path spiritually. Angela jokes that, even though she wanted to find her own unique purpose, she ended up following in her parents’ footsteps as a spiritual guide. From her trip to the Amazon at 16 to meet with local shamans and years traveling the world solo in search of purpose, Angela has accumulated so many life experiences that have only confirmed her desire to guide others to spiritual understanding. Angela is using her fire to teach the sensitive, intense, and empathetic how to find their purpose and harness their gifts for both the light and the dark that they are.
Angela treats life experiences like lessons, and she embraces her gifts with an open heart. She has much to teach us about how to find our place in this world, so let’s dive in together!
More in this episode:
Resources:
Angela Recommends
Patreon.com Search “Embracing Intensity”
Do you spend to much time thinking and not enough time doing? This week, Aurora talks about things that have gotten in the way of taking action and ways she's planning on moving forward.
In this episode, Aurora shares:
How can we use our intensity to give back? Once we have embraced our beautiful and unique intensity as the gift it is, we often find ourselves in a position of wanting to make positive changes in the world. My guest today is no exception. Olivia Baylor is a multi-disciplined therapist and counselor based out of Maryland, and she truly enjoys counseling couples before they get married. Due to her own cross-cultural background, Olivia is drawn to couples that don’t quite “fit the mold.” She discovered right away that she could use her intensity to better serve these couples by creating resources they could actually use!
Olivia’s most recent book is a pre-marital workbook designed for people of diverse backgrounds called Before “I Do”. Whether the couple comes from different ethnic, cultural, or religious backgrounds, or they are an LGBTQ+ or polyamorous couple, Olivia’s workbook will have something for them. The workbook is just a small part of Olivia’s heart to give back to her community. She wants to celebrate the diversity of love and humanity that she sees all around her. The only way to do that is by listening to her clients and creating tools that focus on what they need.
In her personal life, Olivia relies heavily on her community and her family to keep her grounded. She has so many ideas about how to change the world, but she needs to pace herself or otherwise face burnout. Olivia has a lot to teach us today about harnessing our intensity for the good of others, and how counseling and therapy can be a healthy place for nontraditional couples to grow together. We have a lot to learn from Olivia, so let’s get started!
More in this episode:
Resources:
Life Revisions Counseling LLC
410-870-5615
Be on the lookout for Olivia’s Podcast!
Have you ever found yourself confusing drama for passion? As intense people, we can be drawn to the allure of the dramatic. In this week's episode, Aurora shares thoughts sparked by last week's interview with Alexandra Loves exploring relationships that challenge us vs. relationships that diminish us.
In this Episode, Aurora:
Love is the very fabric of the universe, and I get so excited when I see someone using their intensity to spread the love around. My guest this week is Alexandra Loves, and I actually approached a year ago to be on the show. I’m so glad we decided to wait until now, because my connection with Alexandra has grown and bloomed during that time, giving us plenty to talk about! Alexandra is a Love Attraction Coach, Intuitive Spiritual Guide, and Entrepreneur. She is on a mission to catalyze creative power, and use her intuitive spirituality to guide her clients into their best existence. In everything she does, Alexandra is all about harnessing the power of that abundant universal fabric from which everything is made, Love.
Today, Alexandra and I are talking about how intensity can be a force for good, for love, and for large-scale transformation. Because of her international upbringing, Alexandra feels comfortable talking to just about anyone. Added to that, she never felt the need for all the labels and stereotypes in the world today, yet the world seems inclined to want to place them on everyone. Rather than let that be the reason for toning herself down, Alexandra has fully embraced who she is and what she stands for. Now she is using her gifts to help people find love, find meaning, and find who they really are.
Alexandra is teaching us today how to use our intuition. Once we begin listening, nothing can hold us back, and we can only increase our impact on what is going on around us. Alexandra says it best, “We are changing the world right now.”
More in this episode:
Links:
Do you ever get so stuck when something doesn't work how it should that you make even more work than there has to be? This week, Aurora shares an experience that reminded her to stop and pause to examine when it's time to pivot and when it's time to persist.
In this episode, Aurora:
Many Intense women often find that by toning themselves down, they also lose sight of their authentic self. When we are able to tap into our inner being, we open up the powerful tool of intuition, and it will never let us down. Today, I am delighted to bring to you a story of one woman who spent years trying to fit in by tuning her intuitive voice out, but then fully embraced herself to then bring about amazing change. This is the story of Heather Coale Schwarts, a former Psychologist turned healer and spiritual guide. Heather believes that when we tap into our inner power, we can create a life of freedom and passion for ourselves. We simply need to learn to listen to our voice of intuition.
Heather is passionate about bringing about a spiritual awakening because that is exactly what happened to her. Once she learned to express the fullness of her spirit, Heather then turned her focus towards other people. What she found was a depth of connection that rivaled any relationships she had before, and now she can explore all the wonders of this world. Heather is going to share stories of how she first looked to Psychology, rather than her own inner voice for answers. She will share the cultural impacts of being a gay woman, as well as those childhood experiences that first quieted her inner voice. At one point in her life, Heather had cut herself off from her own life force, and she began to disappear.
Not wanting anyone else to fade, Heather is sharing her wisdom and light with you today. She is one fiery woman who embraces passion and encourages intensity. I knew from the early days of this podcast that her story would fit right into our community of intense, passionate guests. It’s time to stop tuning out your own voice, and trust your intuition!
More in this episode:
Resources:
Heather Online
Do you ever get so busy you lose connection with yourself? In this digital day and age it is so easy to get caught up in information overload and business. This week, Aurora talks about the importance of stopping to pause when we get so caught up in our heads, so we can reconnect with our bodies and our intuition.
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So often, we see creativity, spirituality, and social justice as three separate spaces with only a little overlap. Today, I am challenging you to think of the three as inherently connected. That is the amazing perspective my guest, Sharon Burton, uses to harness her inner fire using her creativity, spirituality, and desire for social justice. I first connected with Sharon through a podcasting group, and I was immediately taken with her story. Sharon’s head, heart, and spirit are all connected in a special way that I know you need to hear about today.
Sharon is most comfortable with the title of “Artist.” While collage and mixed media are her tools of choice, Sharon delights in helping others find their own unique path to self-expression. Sharon has been curating a number of exhibitions since ’06, as well as doing some consulting work with novice art collectors. She is most definitely intensely passionate about helping artists through creative recovery. Her podcast, Mindfully Creative, is one of the many ways she is looking to jumpstart creativity. Whether someone is just starting out or looking for a fresh take on their art, Sharon is right there, guiding and cheering you on.
Sharon’s creative mission doesn’t stop with coaching and podcasting. She is also a huge advocate for art education, and she loves working with young people on developing a creative spirit. Her artistic activism also fueled her desire to help others find spiritual healing as well as justice. She is also a Reiki healer, which allowed Sharon to fully express every facet of her loving and warm inner being. Today, Sharon is going to share the cultural influences of her creativity and activism, as well as all the unique situations where spirituality and the arts combine. If you are looking for a warmth and inspiration, look no further than Sharon Burton.
More in this episode:
Sharon Recommends:
The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte
Resources:
Instagram and Twitter @SJBCreativeArt
Instagram @SparkYourCreative
Twitter @Spark_Create
Do you use the new year as an opportunity to reset? The last year has been one of much introspection for Aurora as she connected more with her intuition to guide her in her next steps to best meet the diverse needs of her audience.
This week on Embracing Intensity, she is exited to share what she has in store for 2018!
In this episode, Aurora shares:
The Gifted community is filled with a diverse collection of beautiful individuals making their mark on the world as no one else can. In an effort to showcase the cultural diversity as well as the neurodiversity within Gifted and Intense individuals, I came across Silver Huang, a self-proclaimed “Neuromaverick” who is working tirelessly to make the Gifted community aware and inclusive. Silver has been hard at work to embrace the very core of who she is, and is just now emerging from within her own personal revolution. For anyone who has ever felt atypical, out of place, or even out of touch with who they really are, Silver has a message for you!
Raised in Singapore, and educated in Australia, Silver has never really felt like she belonged. Her culture told her she was too much. Her inability to perform in school told her she was dumb. With all of these mixed messages, it’s no wonder her body and mind shut down on her! To complicate the narrative even further, Silver had no idea she was on the Autism spectrum until just a few years ago. Her Gifted assessment is even newer, occurring within just these past months. These two acknowledgments of her own neurodiversity seemed to open up the floodgates of self-realization. Silver doggedly pursued ways that she could embrace who she was inside. She took her identity as Gifted very seriously, and now she is building a community around her ideals of integrity and authenticity. Her mission is to support any individual who has felt out of step
Listen this week as Silver shares her amazing journey towards self-love. Whether you are loving yourself right now, or simply coming to terms with your own intensity, Silver’s insights will speak right to your core. No one can stop you from being you except you. Your healing can begin right now.
More in this episode:
Silver Recommends
The Complex PTSD Workbook by Arielle Schwartz
Links
Connect with your Neuromaverick
Join in the Intrepid Integrity Community
Do you cycle between sprinting and then crashing? As intense people we have a tendency to go all in and then crash when we hit the finish line, but what happens when there's not a finish line?
This week, Aurora shares:
Links:
Find Your Superpower
http://www.auroraremember.com/findyoursuperpower
League of Excitable Women
A message for any woman who has felt marginalized, shut down, or shut out: you are not alone in this world. Today, I have for you a message of empowerment and strength from a new connection, Melissa Danielle. Embracing Intensity is all about bringing together women from all stages and walks of life to share their perspective on what it means to be an Intense or Excitable Woman. It is such a treat to have Melissa on the show today because she brings a breath of life and perspective we haven’t explored as much on the podcast. Melissa is a coach, advocate, and podcaster who speaks to the wounds and setbacks women face due to flaws in the system. Her podcast, Diary of a Too Much Woman, deals with issues like sexism, the Mother Wound, feminine energy, and rediscovering identity head-on. She is on a mission to show women they are as great as they dare to be, while also giving them tools to fully express their innermost desires.
As a guest today, Melissa candidly shares her wild passions, her hardest challenges, and her brave explorations into what it means to be a woman. She will also dive into unique cultural challenges she faces as a black American woman, healing from wounds and trauma as a result of cultural stigmas, and how she has learned to embrace her identity. Are you prepared to fight for your sense of self? Give this episode a listen and see what you’ve been missing.
More in this episode:
Melissa Recommends
Connect with Melissa Online
Check out the Diary of a Too Much Woman Podcast: http://melissadanielle.com/all-the-things/too-much-woman/
Listen to the Fringy Bit Podcast
Have you ever felt afraid of your own power? This week Aurora shares about an experience she had this week that that brought up this quote from Marianne Williamson:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?"
Have you ever felt unworthy? Like you didn’t belong on this planet? I think we all can struggle with the feeling that we don’t belong, but as Intense Women, it can be an extra heavy weight. Our society teaches us that we do not belong in the world at large, and many leaders are trying to take back that narrative! Today, we are bringing to you the empowering and inspiring leadership of Thais Sky, who wants nothing more than to remind you that you are valuable.
Thais is a leader, a blogger, a coach, and now, a podcaster! Her new podcast, called “Reclaim,” is all about the systematic influences that tell women they are not “enough.” Her perspective is quite unique: she was born in Brazil, grew up in Japan, and then immigrated to the U.S. where her cultural differences were stark. This unusual cultural clash led to a crisis of identity and a sense of displacement that followed her into adulthood. Her journey to healing and acceptance of her unique heritage led Thais to spiritualism. She loved the inner work she was doing but found that instead of confronting her issues, it only clouded them.
Now, Thais works to encourage women to lean into challenges, to embrace the dark as well as the light, and to work with your community to overcome issues. So much of our inner work happens in a vacuum, but Thais does not see it that way. Her work is inspiring, and so is this interview! You will not be disappointed.
More in this episode:
Thais Recommends
The Heroine’s Journey by Marlene Murdoch
Connect with Thais Online
Check out the Reclaim with Thais Sky Podcast!
Do you ever try to push away or distract yourself from your uncomfortable thoughts and emotions? When you experience the world more intensely than others, it is tempting to try to shut down the negative. But to fully integrate we must acknowledge the whole, both the dark and the light.
With the current trend in spirituality to focus entirely on love and light, it encourages us to keep our thoughts positive with the idea that what we think about is what manifests in our life. But if we don't face our shadow side, it will always be lurking in the background waiting to come out when something brings up our stuff.
In this episode, Aurora shares:
Links:
Find Your Superpower
http://www.auroraremember.com/findyoursuperpower
League of Excitable Women
https://www.facbook.com/groups/leagueofexcitablewomen/