July 28, 2025 • 22 mins
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you completely transformed your life in the span of just a few weeks? Michelle Wincell O'Leary found out firsthand when she experienced what she calls "the trifecta of change" in 2023 - leaving her career as a healthcare healing executive, ending her marriage, and giving up her house to live full-time on a boat on the Mississippi River.
The transformation didn't stop there. Michelle tapped into her background in therapy and her extensive training in Mastering Alchemy to navigate this massive transition with remarkable resilience. Rather than being crushed by these simultaneous life changes, she used them as a catalyst to discover her true calling as an author, teacher, and master of energy work.
Michelle's approach to alchemy - transforming stress and difficult emotions into manageable energy - provides a fascinating blueprint for anyone facing significant life transitions. She describes how she simplified everything in her life to gain clarity, and how writing from her "higher self" enabled her to produce an astonishing 80,000 words that would eventually become a series of eleven books. Her first book, "Resilience," debuted as a bestseller in 2024.
What's particularly inspiring about Michelle's story is how quickly she adapted to her new reality. Within just five months, she had not only adjusted to boat life but had created a new business teaching energy work classes called "Your Energy, Your Way" to her local community. Her journey exemplifies how embracing change, rather than resisting it, can lead us to unexpected fulfillment.
Whether you're considering a major life change or simply trying to navigate everyday stresses more effectively, Michelle's practical wisdom about staying present and consciously rebalancing yourself will give you valuable tools to transform challenges into opportunities. Join us to discover how you too can move from surviving to thriving through the power of resilience.
About Michelle
@michellewincelloleary
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The co-hosts of this podcast are not medical professionals. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Reliance on any information provided by the podcast hosts or guests is solely at your own risk.
Pamela Cass is a licensed broker with Kentwood Real Estate
Natalie Davis is a licensed broker with Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
All of us reach a point in time where we are
depleted and need to somehowfind a way to reignite the fire
within.
But how do we spark that flame?
Welcome to Reignite Resilience,where we will venture into the
heart of the human spirit.
Resilience where we willventure into the heart of the
(00:27):
human spirit.
We'll discuss the art ofreigniting our passion and
strategies to stoke ourenthusiasm.
And now here are your hosts,natalie Davis and Pamela Cass.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Welcome back to another episode of Reignite
Resilience.
I'm your co-host, natalie Davis, and I am so happy to be back
with everyone, and joining me,of course, is your co-host, pam
Kass.
Hello Pam, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
I'm fantastic.
This is like day four, butwe've been together like three
days in a row.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yes, Not in real life .
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Which is kind of nice , because we go for these long
stretches where we don't talk toeach other, see each other, and
then it's like a drinking froma fire hose and then I think we
have a break for a little whileagain.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Exactly.
I am totally impressed by thesepodcasters that meet and they
record like together in a studio, and I don't understand how
that works.
And I say that with Pam and Iliving no more than 10 miles
away from each other.
We've only seen each othervirtually for the last four days
.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
But Kavya, I mean you and I do have like 15 jobs,
that's exactly right.
It's kind of one of thosethings Getting our schedules
together is like an act ofCongress.
It is absolutely ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Oh my gosh, Even when we think that we have plenty of
time.
We started out by talking aboutthat today.
You know, I was doing mysetting up my schedule yesterday
and I thought oh, Monday, it'sa light day, that's nice, I have
a pretty light schedule.
I showed up for this sessionLike who am I?
What day is it?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Busy I think the universe knows when we have a
light schedule, because thenthey're like oh, perfect here
take a call.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Here's an email.
Here's an extra fire for you toput out.
All right, love it.
I wouldn't trade it for theworld.
Not complaining, I love it.
Keeps us out of trouble,exactly, exactly.
And we have a fabulous guestthat's joining us today and I am
excited to dive in to hear herstory and how she is helping
people everywhere.
So why don't you tell ourlisteners who's joining us today
(02:32):
?
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Absolutely Well, super excited.
Today we have Michelle WinslowO'Leary.
She is someone who, throughresilience, moved from
unconscious to conscious andfrom surviving to thriving,
after her life changeddramatically in 2023.
Her book Resilience from Flowin the Present series debuted as
(02:53):
a best seller in 2024.
Her resilience skills andenergy tools support those
experiencing change and lookingfor more in life.
Michelle is a career therapistand a healthcare healing
executive, turned entrepreneur,author and master of energy,
alchemy and consciousness.
Welcome, we are so excited foryou to be with us today and to
(03:17):
share your story with us.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Thank you so much for having me.
You guys, I feel so like it'sright up my alley to be on your
particular podcast and with yourlovely presence.
So it's right up my alley to beon your particular podcast and
with your lovely presence.
So I'm really really happy tobe here.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I love it.
Thank you so much.
Share with us kind of yourstory that brought you to, kind
of where you are right now andshare with our listeners right
now where you are personally,physically, right now.
I think that's a fun place tostart.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
It is a fun place to start, so I'll start exactly
right there.
So I'm joining you from my boatwhere I live now in the summers
in Minnesota.
So I'm on the Mississippi River, on a stretch of the river.
That's also a lake called LakeHeffin, and it started out as a
place to come on the weekends,so a little bit of a reprieve
from full-time work back in theTwin Cities in Minnesota.
(04:08):
I was overseeing a large agencythat was serving people with
serious and persistent mentalillness and folks that were
without homes, and I wasinnovating around healing
environments and bringingservices online for people 24
hours a day, when needed, asneeded, how needed Everything
from food service to mentalhealth support, to physical
(04:31):
health support, to exercise,healing, wellness, the whole
thing.
So that was my lifelong careerand in the summer of 2023, what
happened was I had kind of setmyself up with.
I've done everything in thisagency I could do all through
COVID, all through George Floyd.
I worked in the third precinct.
(04:52):
So all of those riots and firesand all that stuff taking place
while overseeing this agency,all these staff and helping all
these individuals, and my ownresilience came into call there.
Right, everybody's did in oneway, shape or form but mine
certainly did in how I couldsupport everybody through all of
(05:12):
those things and I made itthrough that.
I helped keep things afloat, ifyou will.
But during COVID I decided Ihave this boat I've been coming
down to on the weekends and ifI'm working from home, why
wouldn't I work from the boatinstead of the home?
What's the difference?
So this weekend getaway startedto become I'm there three, four
(05:35):
, five days a week and justdriving home to do laundry and
come back, and over time, itjust sort of dawned on me like
my whole lifestyle could shift.
I could be immersed in nature,I could be working from this
beautiful environment and in acommunity that's been very
welcoming of me, and I couldstill maintain that career
(05:56):
remotely, which I did for acouple of years and successfully
.
However, at one point in 2023,my boss says we need to have a
talk, and I'm like she neverwants to talk.
So what is that about?
I'm like, okay, something's up,hello.
And we had a discussion.
The part of the agency I was notpaying attention to, was not on
(06:16):
my plate, was really struggling, and they needed to figure out
how to make things work and oneof the options was I could shift
my work hours, I could dosomething different, I could
leave altogether and I had toreally pause and go.
Whoa, I love this career.
However, I could shift and Icould go into my higher calling,
which I knew was right.
(06:37):
There sort of would eventuallypop up and I thought this could
be a really good time to makethis shift, and so I did.
I said you guys are all set up,you've got projects for the
next decade, you've got all theinfrastructure that you need in
place and you're doing greatwork.
So I'm just going to see thisas an opportunity to do my own
thing.
So I stepped out of that andmoved onto my boat.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Okay, when you did that, when you stepped out of
that position and onto your boat, it was like you walked away
from that job, the career, yeah.
So now you're like now whatRight you had this higher
calling.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And lifestyle.
Right, You're not going back todo laundry anymore.
It is here we go.
Yes.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Yeah, yeah, I'm going to stay.
I'm going to stay immersed innature.
Now there's a caveat I haven'ttold you about that.
You're probably like well, whatabout family and houses and
partners and families?
Well, the caveat is that in thecourse of the last several
years leading to this point, mythen partner and I had kind of
grown a little bit apart and wewere sort of like let's try and
(07:39):
find our way back.
And part of that was having aboat, like let's leave the
stress and go down and hang outon the boat.
Well then I sort of startedspending more time on the boat.
So now we're spending a littleless time together.
And then add to that COVID,where I was like, well, I might
as well just work from the boat.
So our distance just keptgrowing.
I tell you that becauseliterally two weeks after I
(08:02):
stepped away from that job, I'min a conversation with my then
husband on the boat, on thewater, and we kind of come to
this conclusion that it mightjust be time to let us go too.
And I really didn't.
I knew it could happen.
I knew we were still working onthis.
I wasn't expecting thatparticular timing, like really
within two weeks.
It was like well, it sort offeels like the right decision
(08:25):
for us, so I guess we'll justchange everything then.
I guess that's what happens.
And then, of course, I thoughtI'm already living on the boat,
so I might as well.
He wanted the house.
I'm like, well, I mean, I mightas well go full on clean slate,
full on clean slate.
So that's the other sort ofcomponent.
That trifecta of my careershifted, my relationship status
(08:47):
shifted and I let go of my house.
So literally I stepped onto theriver and in this new community
and was like okay, I got tofigure out what I'm going to do
now.
Essentially, I got to figureout what I'm going to do now.
Essentially, I got to figureout what I'm going to do now.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
That is a huge transition.
We call that when your life islike a country music song.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Yeah, that's exactly what we do, we do right Like the
truck broke down, the dog died,my girlfriend left me.
That's the country song.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
That's exactly right.
That's exactly right, yes.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Yeah.
So how long did it take you, inthis new space, with all of
this transition, huge transition, for you to get to that spot
where you're like, okay, this iswhat my higher calling is, this
is what that purpose is, thatI've been looking for.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I have to kind of back up a little to help explain
that, because one of the thingsthat's unique about me is that
I've had this like spiritualsense since I was a child, and
so I've always had, you know,I've always delved into kind of
different and fun things.
And in about 2011, a friend ofmine said I'm a part of this
(09:55):
class, this group calledMastering Alchemy, and I really
think you'd like it, and she wasa healing practitioner.
She is a really great person,and I thought, okay, I'm going
to check it out.
And the minute I heard Jim Selfas one of the founders, I heard
his voice and I saw him and Ijust was like I am mesmerized by
this human.
(10:15):
You're amazing, and the energycoming from him was like
overwhelming, like I think thisis where I'm supposed to be
feeling.
Okay.
So 2011, my husband and I didthat together and then life
happened.
I'm a newlywed, I'm a young mom, blah, blah, blah.
Seven years-ish later, about2018, I have this weird
(10:40):
experience in the middle of thenight where my phone alarm goes
off three o'clock in the morning.
I'm like, okay, weird, turn itback off.
Two seconds later, my husband'sphone goes off and we're just
like okay, that's weird, we turnthat off.
Yep, third time my phone goesoff.
I'm just like, all right, likewho's with us?
Like what's the message?
What is going on Now?
Mind you, I have spiritualconnections.
So for me to say to you, Iheard three names and a message,
(11:02):
kind of how things happensometimes when you listen and
tune in, we all have places wehear things from.
So I heard Michael Gabriel,Uriel and in unison.
It's time and I'm like I knowwhat they mean.
I need to get back to MasteringAlchemy because I kind of let
that go and I have more coursesto complete that move me into my
(11:22):
higher purpose.
So I started back likeimmediately.
So by the time I got to 2023,when this trifecta happened, I
knew my life was going toeventually shift.
I didn't know how much, when,where, what that would be like,
but when it shifted I had thebenefit of almost being at
(11:42):
graduate level in MasteringAlchemy and all the tools of
consciousness, awareness,presence, using energies,
creating, releasing presentmoment skills that I had
integrated somewhat with mytherapeutic background and
building healing environmentsand supporting people.
(12:03):
So I was kind of mulling allthose skills together.
So, to answer your question,when the boat comes out of the
water in October.
I've got a winter to figure out.
I don't have a house to go backto or a relationship to lean on
, and I'm entrepreneurial doingcontract work.
While figuring out what to do, Itraveled, and during that
(12:24):
travel, part of the underlyingpurpose was figure this out.
Let this happen, let this cometo me.
Spend some time getting to knowmyself and integrating, which
led to a book.
The book on resilience is thefirst in a series of 11 books
that I wrote.
I can tell you how thathappened too, but it's the first
set of energies that I got intouch with to become as
(12:48):
adaptable and flexible andpresent and aware to each moment
to kind of decide what's goingto fit for me to integrate all
this and start a business for me.
So the answer is five months,but it took a little bit to get
there.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
I mean five months.
I think is very impressive toreach that point.
I think even if you're workingin like that conscious healing
space or traditional Westernmedicine type of therapy to have
those big changes like yourenvironment has changed, your
significant other importantrelationship has changed, your
profession, which a lot of usconnect our identity to, has
(13:24):
changed, most people would startto spiral right, even though it
is for your higher purpose.
Most people would start tospiral in those settings.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Yeah, I won't say, I didn't ever spiral.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Of course, okay.
Thank you for keeping it real,michelle?
Of course, of course.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
I called Anjim Self at Mastering Alchemy and I said
I know, when you talk about thekind of spiritual or higher
conscious work, that your lifeshifts quite a bit in that
process because you're changingso much about how you think and
how you manage emotion and howyou just step through day-to-day
life shifts and there's a wayin which, when that happens,
(14:05):
that the aspect of linear timeand worrying about the past or
having anxiety and concern aboutthe future becomes not in the
present moment and what you haveaccess to in the present moment
is a lot more options becauseyou choose how to experience
each moment.
And I was calling on things likeease and relaxed and nature
(14:30):
inspired and watery and fluidand buoyant and the beauty, and
I was calling in all thoseenergies to support me every
single day, without disruptionfrom a boss or work or partners
or kids or animals orresponsibilities.
Are now all this.
(14:51):
That is also something mostpeople don't have.
I didn't even have a house.
I mean I have this to take careof that.
I simplified everything that Icould so that I could get this
as clear as I could and thatmakes it, I think, a smidge
easier to step into.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Absolutely.
Now for our audience, who hasnever heard of alchemy, could
you give just a quick kind ofexclamation so people understand
, kind of, what you're talkingabout?
Natalie and I both know aboutit, but our audience may not.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
People ask me that a lot, and what I say is alchemy
is really how you justtransition from one form to
another form.
So I had a day like you guyshad today.
I had all kinds of stressorscoming at me.
I didn't know what day it wasor what time it was or what time
zone it was Things I thoughtweren't real, I mean just all
that stuff.
And so it's a matter of how Iwalk through those moments and,
(15:47):
instead of falling apart, I justkind of hold my energy where
it's preferred to rebalancemyself.
I'm constantly rebalancingmyself, so I'm transforming
stress, if you will, into a wayto go through my day that I'm
not falling apart over.
I didn't call you to cancel.
I'm right here on time and Ifeel good about it, but I've had
(16:09):
a day.
That's the everyday way toexplain what alchemy is.
That's why resilience fits sowell with it.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Well, the movement that you did with your hands,
michelle.
It actually reminds me of theboat, right, like if you're on
the water, waves are coming yourway, other boats are going by
and causing additional waves,but you just readjust, right,
you're not gonna topple over.
The boat's not toppling over,it's just doing a readjustment
(16:38):
to keep everything balanced andin place, like you're.
It was so beautiful to watchyou just describe that and to
find yourself on a boat nowliving this next season of your
life.
Well, for the summer.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
It's my third summer of being here all summer, which
makes it just special, really,really special.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
And have you been able to build community there in
your new space?
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Absolutely, and I'll say it's the third summer.
I've been here all summer, butit's the ninth year in this
marina and in this community andin fact I actually had a local
event where, during Lake CityDays, community comes out and I
kind of stepped up and said, hey, I'm a local artist and thank
you for inviting me into yourcommunity.
Here's how that came to be.
Here's my book, and from mybook I also do some classes.
(17:23):
I call it your Energy, your Way.
So I met with people of all ageswho are interested in
rebalancing, whether it's mentalhealth, oriented family stress,
work stress, life change,whatever.
And so I'm doing a two-partseries.
So when we finish today, I havepart two with a group of local
(17:43):
individuals who I love doing myclass live and connecting with
what's actually happening inyour lives and how can the tools
of energies and words anddifferent tools I can put in
place in the moment, how can Itranslate them so that you can
use them in your life?
So they've welcomed me to thepoint that they're paying for me
to do my course and came outand buy my book, and I have lots
(18:06):
of conversations about this allthe time.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
So I feel really fortunate.
Yeah, yes, that's great.
Congratulations to you.
That's awesome, thank you.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Now you said you have seven books and you share that
story.
I would love to know, becauseNatalie and I just finished the
first but we're pretty much donewith the second one.
The second one's at the editorbook in a series as well, so I'm
like 11.
I'm like okay.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Well.
So details matter.
Let me give you the actual.
What happened was when I firststarted writing this would have
been early in, like March.
I found a book coach becauseI'm not a writer by nature.
I like creativity and writing,but I don't have a background in
writing, for example.
So I had a book coach and shewas really good.
She did NLP programming,neuro-linguistic programming, so
(18:52):
she could kind of I don't knowif the right word is tease
things out of me in a reallynice way.
Devagini Mahapatra Chuan, bythe way, if anyone's yeah, okay.
Anyway.
So in 12 weeks, each week shewould give me prompts and I
would go back and write achapter.
So at the end of 12 weeks,chapter.
(19:15):
So at the end of 12 weeks I had80,000 words and 11 chapters.
But part of it is in my practicein working with energy.
I'm familiar with where to viewthings from.
I can view from heart, I canview from mental, I can view
from sort of a more spiritual, Ican view from like the etheric
or dream time spaces.
I can also go into higher mindor higher self.
I've spent a lot of timecultivating that.
(19:36):
So what I did in terms ofwriting is I purposely wrote
from higher self or higher mind,and what that does is it opens
up the flow of information of myown inner wisdom and it just
like poured through me.
It poured out.
So the 11 chapters, 80,000words.
I took the first chapter andasked for feedback from I don't
(19:57):
know 20-ish people and they allwere taking a really long time
to get me feedback.
And I'm like, okay, what doesthat mean?
Is that a good thing?
Is that a bad thing?
I don't know what that means.
Well, what it meant was there'sa lot to my book.
Well, what it meant was there'sa lot to my book.
Most people say it's reallygreat and I need to like reread
it or kind of soak it up alittle bit or go back and forth
a little bit.
It's not like I can read thisin two hours and I'm done.
(20:20):
It's just not what it is.
So the first chapter became thefirst book.
Each chapter has enough contentthat each chapter is a book and
each chapter is a level ofenergy, starting with resilience
on that survival to thrivalmode and kind of weaving its way
up to different energies, toolsand types of strategies or
(20:44):
experiences one would encounterif you wanted to go down that
path.
So I've only released the first.
The second is in editing.
So, like you right, it doestake time to get it kind of
right where you want it, but thestructure is there for all.
11 have been written.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Wow, amazing.
That is great.
Congratulations yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Yeah, I had an opportunity to attend a writing
retreat almost 10 years ago nowand it's interesting when you
get into that flow state andthere were 20, 25 of us that
were participating in thatwriting retreat and you're
exactly right it is kind of likethe floodgates open and you are
just it's pouring into you andeverything you can do that your
fingers just can't keep up withthe message that's going through
(21:29):
.
During that time I had alsoreceived the message that I had
three books that were there.
Like I knew that there arethree.
So we'll see, I'm just going tokeep getting those little taps
until I get it done.
I'm sure it's in there.
I have three in me and I need toget those out.
Fantastic Congratulations.
Well, I've got to get therefirst, michelle, but thank you,
thank you.
There, you'll get there.
(21:50):
Yeah, thank you, thank you.
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Thank you for joining us today on the Reignite
Resilience podcast.
We hope you had some ahamoments and learned a few new
real life ideas.
To fuel the flames of passion,please subscribe on your
favorite streaming platform,like or download your favorite
episodes and, of course, sharewith your friends and family.
We look forward to seeing youagain next time on Reignite
(22:17):
Resilience.
All of us reach a point in time where we are
depleted and need to somehowfind a way to reignite the fire
within.
But how do we spark that flame?
Welcome to Reignite Resilience,where we will venture into the
heart of the human spirit.
Resilience where we willventure into the heart of the
(00:27):
human spirit.
We'll discuss the art ofreigniting our passion and
strategies to stoke ourenthusiasm.
And now here are your hosts,natalie Davis and Pamela Cass.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Welcome back to another episode of Reignite
Resilience.
I'm your co-host, natalie Davis, and I am so happy to be back
with everyone, and joining me,of course, is your co-host, pam
Kass.
Hello Pam, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
I'm fantastic.
This is like day four, butwe've been together like three
days in a row.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yes, Not in real life .
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Which is kind of nice , because we go for these long
stretches where we don't talk toeach other, see each other, and
then it's like a drinking froma fire hose and then I think we
have a break for a little whileagain.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Exactly.
I am totally impressed by thesepodcasters that meet and they
record like together in a studio, and I don't understand how
that works.
And I say that with Pam and Iliving no more than 10 miles
away from each other.
We've only seen each othervirtually for the last four days
.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
But Kavya, I mean you and I do have like 15 jobs,
that's exactly right.
It's kind of one of thosethings Getting our schedules
together is like an act ofCongress.
It is absolutely ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Oh my gosh, Even when we think that we have plenty of
time.
We started out by talking aboutthat today.
You know, I was doing mysetting up my schedule yesterday
and I thought oh, Monday, it'sa light day, that's nice, I have
a pretty light schedule.
I showed up for this sessionLike who am I?
What day is it?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Busy I think the universe knows when we have a
light schedule, because thenthey're like oh, perfect here
take a call.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Here's an email.
Here's an extra fire for you toput out.
All right, love it.
I wouldn't trade it for theworld.
Not complaining, I love it.
Keeps us out of trouble,exactly, exactly.
And we have a fabulous guestthat's joining us today and I am
excited to dive in to hear herstory and how she is helping
people everywhere.
So why don't you tell ourlisteners who's joining us today
(02:32):
?
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Absolutely Well, super excited.
Today we have Michelle WinslowO'Leary.
She is someone who, throughresilience, moved from
unconscious to conscious andfrom surviving to thriving,
after her life changeddramatically in 2023.
Her book Resilience from Flowin the Present series debuted as
(02:53):
a best seller in 2024.
Her resilience skills andenergy tools support those
experiencing change and lookingfor more in life.
Michelle is a career therapistand a healthcare healing
executive, turned entrepreneur,author and master of energy,
alchemy and consciousness.
Welcome, we are so excited foryou to be with us today and to
(03:17):
share your story with us.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Thank you so much for having me.
You guys, I feel so like it'sright up my alley to be on your
particular podcast and with yourlovely presence.
So it's right up my alley to beon your particular podcast and
with your lovely presence.
So I'm really really happy tobe here.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I love it.
Thank you so much.
Share with us kind of yourstory that brought you to, kind
of where you are right now andshare with our listeners right
now where you are personally,physically, right now.
I think that's a fun place tostart.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
It is a fun place to start, so I'll start exactly
right there.
So I'm joining you from my boatwhere I live now in the summers
in Minnesota.
So I'm on the Mississippi River, on a stretch of the river.
That's also a lake called LakeHeffin, and it started out as a
place to come on the weekends,so a little bit of a reprieve
from full-time work back in theTwin Cities in Minnesota.
(04:08):
I was overseeing a large agencythat was serving people with
serious and persistent mentalillness and folks that were
without homes, and I wasinnovating around healing
environments and bringingservices online for people 24
hours a day, when needed, asneeded, how needed Everything
from food service to mentalhealth support, to physical
(04:31):
health support, to exercise,healing, wellness, the whole
thing.
So that was my lifelong careerand in the summer of 2023, what
happened was I had kind of setmyself up with.
I've done everything in thisagency I could do all through
COVID, all through George Floyd.
I worked in the third precinct.
(04:52):
So all of those riots and firesand all that stuff taking place
while overseeing this agency,all these staff and helping all
these individuals, and my ownresilience came into call there.
Right, everybody's did in oneway, shape or form but mine
certainly did in how I couldsupport everybody through all of
(05:12):
those things and I made itthrough that.
I helped keep things afloat, ifyou will.
But during COVID I decided Ihave this boat I've been coming
down to on the weekends and ifI'm working from home, why
wouldn't I work from the boatinstead of the home?
What's the difference?
So this weekend getaway startedto become I'm there three, four
(05:35):
, five days a week and justdriving home to do laundry and
come back, and over time, itjust sort of dawned on me like
my whole lifestyle could shift.
I could be immersed in nature,I could be working from this
beautiful environment and in acommunity that's been very
welcoming of me, and I couldstill maintain that career
(05:56):
remotely, which I did for acouple of years and successfully
.
However, at one point in 2023,my boss says we need to have a
talk, and I'm like she neverwants to talk.
So what is that about?
I'm like, okay, something's up,hello.
And we had a discussion.
The part of the agency I was notpaying attention to, was not on
(06:16):
my plate, was really struggling, and they needed to figure out
how to make things work and oneof the options was I could shift
my work hours, I could dosomething different, I could
leave altogether and I had toreally pause and go.
Whoa, I love this career.
However, I could shift and Icould go into my higher calling,
which I knew was right.
(06:37):
There sort of would eventuallypop up and I thought this could
be a really good time to makethis shift, and so I did.
I said you guys are all set up,you've got projects for the
next decade, you've got all theinfrastructure that you need in
place and you're doing greatwork.
So I'm just going to see thisas an opportunity to do my own
thing.
So I stepped out of that andmoved onto my boat.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Okay, when you did that, when you stepped out of
that position and onto your boat, it was like you walked away
from that job, the career, yeah.
So now you're like now whatRight you had this higher
calling.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And lifestyle.
Right, You're not going back todo laundry anymore.
It is here we go.
Yes.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Yeah, yeah, I'm going to stay.
I'm going to stay immersed innature.
Now there's a caveat I haven'ttold you about that.
You're probably like well, whatabout family and houses and
partners and families?
Well, the caveat is that in thecourse of the last several
years leading to this point, mythen partner and I had kind of
grown a little bit apart and wewere sort of like let's try and
(07:39):
find our way back.
And part of that was having aboat, like let's leave the
stress and go down and hang outon the boat.
Well then I sort of startedspending more time on the boat.
So now we're spending a littleless time together.
And then add to that COVID,where I was like, well, I might
as well just work from the boat.
So our distance just keptgrowing.
I tell you that becauseliterally two weeks after I
(08:02):
stepped away from that job, I'min a conversation with my then
husband on the boat, on thewater, and we kind of come to
this conclusion that it mightjust be time to let us go too.
And I really didn't.
I knew it could happen.
I knew we were still working onthis.
I wasn't expecting thatparticular timing, like really
within two weeks.
It was like well, it sort offeels like the right decision
(08:25):
for us, so I guess we'll justchange everything then.
I guess that's what happens.
And then, of course, I thoughtI'm already living on the boat,
so I might as well.
He wanted the house.
I'm like, well, I mean, I mightas well go full on clean slate,
full on clean slate.
So that's the other sort ofcomponent.
That trifecta of my careershifted, my relationship status
(08:47):
shifted and I let go of my house.
So literally I stepped onto theriver and in this new community
and was like okay, I got tofigure out what I'm going to do
now.
Essentially, I got to figureout what I'm going to do now.
Essentially, I got to figureout what I'm going to do now.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
That is a huge transition.
We call that when your life islike a country music song.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Yeah, that's exactly what we do, we do right Like the
truck broke down, the dog died,my girlfriend left me.
That's the country song.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
That's exactly right.
That's exactly right, yes.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Yeah.
So how long did it take you, inthis new space, with all of
this transition, huge transition, for you to get to that spot
where you're like, okay, this iswhat my higher calling is, this
is what that purpose is, thatI've been looking for.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I have to kind of back up a little to help explain
that, because one of the thingsthat's unique about me is that
I've had this like spiritualsense since I was a child, and
so I've always had, you know,I've always delved into kind of
different and fun things.
And in about 2011, a friend ofmine said I'm a part of this
(09:55):
class, this group calledMastering Alchemy, and I really
think you'd like it, and she wasa healing practitioner.
She is a really great person,and I thought, okay, I'm going
to check it out.
And the minute I heard Jim Selfas one of the founders, I heard
his voice and I saw him and Ijust was like I am mesmerized by
this human.
(10:15):
You're amazing, and the energycoming from him was like
overwhelming, like I think thisis where I'm supposed to be
feeling.
Okay.
So 2011, my husband and I didthat together and then life
happened.
I'm a newlywed, I'm a young mom, blah, blah, blah.
Seven years-ish later, about2018, I have this weird
(10:40):
experience in the middle of thenight where my phone alarm goes
off three o'clock in the morning.
I'm like, okay, weird, turn itback off.
Two seconds later, my husband'sphone goes off and we're just
like okay, that's weird, we turnthat off.
Yep, third time my phone goesoff.
I'm just like, all right, likewho's with us?
Like what's the message?
What is going on Now?
Mind you, I have spiritualconnections.
So for me to say to you, Iheard three names and a message,
(11:02):
kind of how things happensometimes when you listen and
tune in, we all have places wehear things from.
So I heard Michael Gabriel,Uriel and in unison.
It's time and I'm like I knowwhat they mean.
I need to get back to MasteringAlchemy because I kind of let
that go and I have more coursesto complete that move me into my
(11:22):
higher purpose.
So I started back likeimmediately.
So by the time I got to 2023,when this trifecta happened, I
knew my life was going toeventually shift.
I didn't know how much, when,where, what that would be like,
but when it shifted I had thebenefit of almost being at
(11:42):
graduate level in MasteringAlchemy and all the tools of
consciousness, awareness,presence, using energies,
creating, releasing presentmoment skills that I had
integrated somewhat with mytherapeutic background and
building healing environmentsand supporting people.
(12:03):
So I was kind of mulling allthose skills together.
So, to answer your question,when the boat comes out of the
water in October.
I've got a winter to figure out.
I don't have a house to go backto or a relationship to lean on
, and I'm entrepreneurial doingcontract work.
While figuring out what to do, Itraveled, and during that
(12:24):
travel, part of the underlyingpurpose was figure this out.
Let this happen, let this cometo me.
Spend some time getting to knowmyself and integrating, which
led to a book.
The book on resilience is thefirst in a series of 11 books
that I wrote.
I can tell you how thathappened too, but it's the first
set of energies that I got intouch with to become as
(12:48):
adaptable and flexible andpresent and aware to each moment
to kind of decide what's goingto fit for me to integrate all
this and start a business for me.
So the answer is five months,but it took a little bit to get
there.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
I mean five months.
I think is very impressive toreach that point.
I think even if you're workingin like that conscious healing
space or traditional Westernmedicine type of therapy to have
those big changes like yourenvironment has changed, your
significant other importantrelationship has changed, your
profession, which a lot of usconnect our identity to, has
(13:24):
changed, most people would startto spiral right, even though it
is for your higher purpose.
Most people would start tospiral in those settings.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Yeah, I won't say, I didn't ever spiral.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Of course, okay.
Thank you for keeping it real,michelle?
Of course, of course.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
I called Anjim Self at Mastering Alchemy and I said
I know, when you talk about thekind of spiritual or higher
conscious work, that your lifeshifts quite a bit in that
process because you're changingso much about how you think and
how you manage emotion and howyou just step through day-to-day
life shifts and there's a wayin which, when that happens,
(14:05):
that the aspect of linear timeand worrying about the past or
having anxiety and concern aboutthe future becomes not in the
present moment and what you haveaccess to in the present moment
is a lot more options becauseyou choose how to experience
each moment.
And I was calling on things likeease and relaxed and nature
(14:30):
inspired and watery and fluidand buoyant and the beauty, and
I was calling in all thoseenergies to support me every
single day, without disruptionfrom a boss or work or partners
or kids or animals orresponsibilities.
Are now all this.
(14:51):
That is also something mostpeople don't have.
I didn't even have a house.
I mean I have this to take careof that.
I simplified everything that Icould so that I could get this
as clear as I could and thatmakes it, I think, a smidge
easier to step into.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Absolutely.
Now for our audience, who hasnever heard of alchemy, could
you give just a quick kind ofexclamation so people understand
, kind of, what you're talkingabout?
Natalie and I both know aboutit, but our audience may not.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
People ask me that a lot, and what I say is alchemy
is really how you justtransition from one form to
another form.
So I had a day like you guyshad today.
I had all kinds of stressorscoming at me.
I didn't know what day it wasor what time it was or what time
zone it was Things I thoughtweren't real, I mean just all
that stuff.
And so it's a matter of how Iwalk through those moments and,
(15:47):
instead of falling apart, I justkind of hold my energy where
it's preferred to rebalancemyself.
I'm constantly rebalancingmyself, so I'm transforming
stress, if you will, into a wayto go through my day that I'm
not falling apart over.
I didn't call you to cancel.
I'm right here on time and Ifeel good about it, but I've had
(16:09):
a day.
That's the everyday way toexplain what alchemy is.
That's why resilience fits sowell with it.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Well, the movement that you did with your hands,
michelle.
It actually reminds me of theboat, right, like if you're on
the water, waves are coming yourway, other boats are going by
and causing additional waves,but you just readjust, right,
you're not gonna topple over.
The boat's not toppling over,it's just doing a readjustment
(16:38):
to keep everything balanced andin place, like you're.
It was so beautiful to watchyou just describe that and to
find yourself on a boat nowliving this next season of your
life.
Well, for the summer.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
It's my third summer of being here all summer, which
makes it just special, really,really special.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
And have you been able to build community there in
your new space?
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Absolutely, and I'll say it's the third summer.
I've been here all summer, butit's the ninth year in this
marina and in this community andin fact I actually had a local
event where, during Lake CityDays, community comes out and I
kind of stepped up and said, hey, I'm a local artist and thank
you for inviting me into yourcommunity.
Here's how that came to be.
Here's my book, and from mybook I also do some classes.
(17:23):
I call it your Energy, your Way.
So I met with people of all ageswho are interested in
rebalancing, whether it's mentalhealth, oriented family stress,
work stress, life change,whatever.
And so I'm doing a two-partseries.
So when we finish today, I havepart two with a group of local
(17:43):
individuals who I love doing myclass live and connecting with
what's actually happening inyour lives and how can the tools
of energies and words anddifferent tools I can put in
place in the moment, how can Itranslate them so that you can
use them in your life?
So they've welcomed me to thepoint that they're paying for me
to do my course and came outand buy my book, and I have lots
(18:06):
of conversations about this allthe time.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
So I feel really fortunate.
Yeah, yes, that's great.
Congratulations to you.
That's awesome, thank you.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Now you said you have seven books and you share that
story.
I would love to know, becauseNatalie and I just finished the
first but we're pretty much donewith the second one.
The second one's at the editorbook in a series as well, so I'm
like 11.
I'm like okay.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Well.
So details matter.
Let me give you the actual.
What happened was when I firststarted writing this would have
been early in, like March.
I found a book coach becauseI'm not a writer by nature.
I like creativity and writing,but I don't have a background in
writing, for example.
So I had a book coach and shewas really good.
She did NLP programming,neuro-linguistic programming, so
(18:52):
she could kind of I don't knowif the right word is tease
things out of me in a reallynice way.
Devagini Mahapatra Chuan, bythe way, if anyone's yeah, okay.
Anyway.
So in 12 weeks, each week shewould give me prompts and I
would go back and write achapter.
So at the end of 12 weeks,chapter.
(19:15):
So at the end of 12 weeks I had80,000 words and 11 chapters.
But part of it is in my practicein working with energy.
I'm familiar with where to viewthings from.
I can view from heart, I canview from mental, I can view
from sort of a more spiritual, Ican view from like the etheric
or dream time spaces.
I can also go into higher mindor higher self.
I've spent a lot of timecultivating that.
(19:36):
So what I did in terms ofwriting is I purposely wrote
from higher self or higher mind,and what that does is it opens
up the flow of information of myown inner wisdom and it just
like poured through me.
It poured out.
So the 11 chapters, 80,000words.
I took the first chapter andasked for feedback from I don't
(19:57):
know 20-ish people and they allwere taking a really long time
to get me feedback.
And I'm like, okay, what doesthat mean?
Is that a good thing?
Is that a bad thing?
I don't know what that means.
Well, what it meant was there'sa lot to my book.
Well, what it meant was there'sa lot to my book.
Most people say it's reallygreat and I need to like reread
it or kind of soak it up alittle bit or go back and forth
a little bit.
It's not like I can read thisin two hours and I'm done.
(20:20):
It's just not what it is.
So the first chapter became thefirst book.
Each chapter has enough contentthat each chapter is a book and
each chapter is a level ofenergy, starting with resilience
on that survival to thrivalmode and kind of weaving its way
up to different energies, toolsand types of strategies or
(20:44):
experiences one would encounterif you wanted to go down that
path.
So I've only released the first.
The second is in editing.
So, like you right, it doestake time to get it kind of
right where you want it, but thestructure is there for all.
11 have been written.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Wow, amazing.
That is great.
Congratulations yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Yeah, I had an opportunity to attend a writing
retreat almost 10 years ago nowand it's interesting when you
get into that flow state andthere were 20, 25 of us that
were participating in thatwriting retreat and you're
exactly right it is kind of likethe floodgates open and you are
just it's pouring into you andeverything you can do that your
fingers just can't keep up withthe message that's going through
(21:29):
.
During that time I had alsoreceived the message that I had
three books that were there.
Like I knew that there arethree.
So we'll see, I'm just going tokeep getting those little taps
until I get it done.
I'm sure it's in there.
I have three in me and I need toget those out.
Fantastic Congratulations.
Well, I've got to get therefirst, michelle, but thank you,
thank you.
There, you'll get there.
(21:50):
Yeah, thank you, thank you.
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Thank you for joining us today on the Reignite
Resilience podcast.
We hope you had some ahamoments and learned a few new
real life ideas.
To fuel the flames of passion,please subscribe on your
favorite streaming platform,like or download your favorite
episodes and, of course, sharewith your friends and family.
We look forward to seeing youagain next time on Reignite
(22:17):
Resilience.
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