From Denial to Self-Devotion with Trudy Goodman

What if the parts of you you’ve learned to doubt are actually the ones trying to guide you home?

In this conversation, Cari sits with Trudy Goodman to explore the quiet but profound cost of not trusting ourselves—and the long, compassionate path of returning to that trust. Not as a concept, but as a lived, embodied relationship with intuition, vulnerability, and truth.

Trudy shares how a lifelong pattern of overriding her intuition led to painful consequences, including moments of deep denial in relationships. What emerges is not regret, but a reframing: those experiences became the very doorway into rebuilding trust from the ground up. Not through force, but through small, consistent acts of listening.

The conversation gently unravels the tension between spiritual teachings that ask us to “drop the self” and the very real, human work of tending to it. Rather than rejecting the self, Trudy invites a different approach—one rooted in compassion, awareness, and the willingness to stay present with what’s difficult without turning away.

There is no bypassing here. No perfection to reach.

Only a deepening devotion to what is true—again and again.

And the realization that even the parts we’ve pushed away are not problems to solve… but places asking to be loved.

The Treasures in the Trash:

1. When Intuition Gets Overridden – Trudy shares how ignoring her inner knowing led to painful consequences and long-standing patterns of self-doubt.
2. Rebuilding Trust From the Inside – A practice of listening to even the smallest impulses becomes a way to retrain intuition and restore self-trust.
3. The Myth of Dropping the Self – Spiritual teachings are reframed to include, rather than reject, the human self and its lived experience.
4. Compassion for the “Unwanted Parts” – What we often label as shadow is revealed as parts of ourselves asking for attention, care, and love.
5. Self-Devotion as a Practice – The path forward becomes one of steady, compassionate commitment to knowing and trusting oneself over time.

About the Guest:

Trudy Goodman is a psychotherapist and internationally recognized meditation teacher who has been teaching mindfulness for decades. She is the founding teacher of InsightLA, a leading meditation community in Los Angeles, and was among the earliest teachers of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, working alongside Jon Kabat-Zinn. Trudy holds a graduate degree in psychotherapy from Harvard and has dedicated her life to helping people cultivate awareness, compassion, and emotional healing through meditation. Known for her warmth, accessibility, and depth of wisdom, she has guided thousands of students in integrating mindfulness into everyday life.

https://www.trudygoodman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/trudy_goodman/

https://www.facebook.com/therealtrudygoodman

About Cari:

Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.

Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.

Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.

She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.

Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.

https://www.bravedirections.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/

https://www.instagram.com/cari_jacobs_sf

Thanks for listenin