Living from Within – Trusting Intuition & Releasing Expectations with Tara Mae Temple

We’re thrilled to welcome back a cherished friend of our network, Tara Mae Temple, in this powerful and heart-centered episode of the podcast. You may remember her from previous guest appearances on The Embracing Layers Radio Show, like The Value of Introducing Yourself Via Character Traits, The Power of Knowledge, and The Role of Pets in Our Wellness—all available now on our Substack.

Tara brings her signature spiritual wisdom, compassion, and emotional depth as she shares the transformational journey of stepping away from other people’s expectations and learning how to truly live from within. Through grounding practices like journaling, meditation, and prayer, she emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with your inner voice and trusting your intuition—even when it challenges everything you’ve been taught.

🧠 Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• What it really means to live out of your own expectations

• The power of retreating inward to rediscover your identity

• Why your intuition is a divine compass—and how to follow its guidance

• How to recognize universal signs and synchronicities meant just for you

• Healthy ways to release suppressed emotions and feel them fully

• Reframing anger as a layer of healing—not something to hide from

• Creating safe emotional spaces for yourself and others

Tara reminds us that healing is not linear, and sometimes, the most painful layers are the ones holding the greatest transformation. Her gentle encouragement to be empathetic—not only to others but also to ourselves—is a core theme in this discussion. Emotions like anger, fear, and doubt aren’t weaknesses; they’re messengers. Tara shares how uncovering and processing those emotions can open the door to emotional freedom, spiritual clarity, and deeper self-trust.

✨ "The signs are there when you’re open to seeing them."
With a blend of emotional intelligence, lived experience, and spiritual insight, Tara empowers listeners to release what no longer serves them and step into their full potential. This episode will inspire you to trust your gut, take up space, and embrace your layered self unapologetically.

Blog Excerpt: Tara’s journey has been full of expectations, some of them coming from her, but mostly coming from other people. When you begin to live out of your own expectations, it can feel lonely at first, because you’re going up against what you’ve been trained for your whole life.

Ways to Engage: When learning to live out of your own expectations, start asking yourself questions to get to know yourself better and know what you truly desire. Think of this as you sit in silence, meditate, journal, pray, or anything other acts that allow you to consider the expectations of your authentic self.

Timestamps:

Prioritizing Self Care - ( 3:30 )

Confidently Setting Boundaries - ( 10:39 )

Taking Care of Your Emotional Health as much as Your Physical Health - ( 12:35 )

Support self & other women unapologetically - ( 26:31 )

Coming Back to Your WHY and Your VALUES - ( 31:31 )

Living Out of Your Own Expectations - ( 37:25 )

Accepting the Layered Aspects of Yourself - ( 46:50 )

Living out FEEL, how does it affect your relationships - ( 53:24 )

5 Activities That Nourish You - ( 56:30 )

5 Words for How You Want to Feel in the Next Six Months - ( 57:30 )

Original Music by Rio & Valencia Saint-Louis

Want to be a guest on The F.E.E.L. Podcast? - Send Melissa Crook a message on PodMa

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Hello, Melissa Crook here from the Field Podcast.
So glad to have you here with usthis week On today's episode on
the Field podcast. We've got Tara May Temple with
this with her episode titled being from Expectations to
empowerment. Tara May Temple's journey when
learning to live out of your ownexpectations, start asking

(00:23):
yourself questions to get you toknow yourself better and know
what you truly desire. Think of this as you sit in
silence, meditate, journal, pray, or any other acts that
allow you to consider the expectations of your authentic
self so that you know that what you are asking of yourself is

(00:44):
truly coming from you and not other people's expectations or
other narratives that you heard that aren't actually what you
desire. And then you got to communicate
those as well to those around you.
We hope this helps you engage today with this episode with our
friend Tara May Temple from expectations to empowerment, her

(01:06):
journey. Thanks so much for being with
us. Hello field podcast audience.

(01:26):
Welcome back this week. I have a friend here with me
today that if you listen to our radio show in 2024, you will
have heard her voice and she joined me on a really couple of
really intentional conversationsin the fall and we'll talk more
about that later. So she is not new to the
network, but she's new to the podcast.

(01:48):
Met her through our good friendsat Pod Match.
Thankful for all the connectionsI'm able to make there.
Tara Temple is here today. Tara, welcome to the Field
podcast. Well, thank you, Melissa.
It's so great to be here. I'm excited to have a
conversation with your listenersand you I.
I I am too. I this is going to be, this is

(02:09):
going to be great and you're going to have so much to say.
Your story ties in so succinctlywith what it is we talk about
here. And Tara describes herself as
kind, spiritual, loyal, passionate and caring.
And those things really come through.
I've had the opportunity to talkto you a few times already via

(02:32):
our platforms, and those things really come through as people
listen to you. You're very insightful, you're
very intuitive, and so I'm really excited to share your
voice, your resources, and your story here with us today.
I think you're just going to have so much to say about these
talking points, but let's get right into it.

(02:55):
I'm excited. I am looking forward to giving
people up there a bit of inspiration, especially
especially right now in our world.
I know everybody needs it. Yes, yes, so true, so true.
And Tara's joining me from the Ontario spot of Canada, our good
friends to the north, and she's trying to stay warm up there

(03:17):
right now as we're recording in the winter time.
It's so cold. So yeah.
So I'm thankful to have her voice here with me today.
But Tara, talk to me about, let's start with your journey
with prioritizing self-care in your life.
This is something you had to go through some bumps to realize

(03:39):
how important it was to you. So talk to me about your journey
with self-care. Yes.
So I'd say about 5-6 years ago, I, you know, I'd like to do
things like yoga and exercise, but sometimes that would drop
off the radar, especially with raising a young child.

(04:02):
So I was very, I would prioritize being a mother 1st
and take care of my family and being a career woman at the same
time. So I was in the corporate world
at the height of my career in fundraising and marketing.
And basically I, you know, I hadmy dream job.
I thought, you know, I was making a lot of money, pretty

(04:25):
much the most money I've had, I ever had in my, the span of my
career. And I was starting to develop
people. I had a team that was underneath
me and I was the leader. So I thought what a, what a
great way to make a living. You know, I'm doing, I'm working
for hospital, I'm helping raise money.

(04:49):
I love this because I'm helping people indirectly, you know,
helping to save lives indirectlyby raising money for healthcare.
So I thought, you know, that that was all great and
everything, but it got to the point where I was just not
feeling right in my body. I felt very, I was feeling sick,

(05:11):
overrun, burnt out, you know, stress building up while having
to manage career and family. So we got to a point where I did
have a health scare during the peak of my career.
Obstacles were piling up everywhere in terms of dealing

(05:32):
with people at the office. And no matter what I did to find
solutions to conflict, solutionsto misunderstandings and
solutions to just working betterwith people, nothing seemed to
be working. It seemed like the universe and

(05:52):
God was telling me, you know, like you're not meant to be
here. It didn't feel like it was the
right place for me. I felt, I felt like, you know,
like I'm meant to be some, somewhere else.
My heart wasn't in the job I was.
I got to the point where I was like, oh, why am I, why am I
feeling miserable like this? And so I, I was going through

(06:18):
some health stuff and I realized, you know, like I need
to step back and really assess what's happening here.
And, you know, if I don't have my health and I can't think
straight and there's brain fog and it's affecting all my
systems, my mind, body and spirit.

(06:38):
If I don't do something to fix this right now, then not only is
my career in jeopardy, but my family and my relationships are
also in jeopardy. So I need to make, I had to make
that realization. And I thought, you know, where
would my family be without me? So basically had to prioritize

(07:02):
my family 1st and health. At the start of 2020, I made
changes, really assessed my environment and decided to leave
my career, although that was bittersweet, leaving income on
the table, deciding to relocate and get out of the city and live

(07:23):
somewhere in a small town where,you know, there wasn't so much
noise pollution and it didn't feel chaotic and like it was
suffocating my soul. Yeah.
So I really undergoed, like, a really intense self discovery
when we did move. And I always say things happen

(07:44):
for a reason. It was around the time the
pandemic was starting Lock down was on his way and we're we're
just saying we need to get out of here.
We didn't know how we're gonna make it happen.
But I'm a very spiritual and person that believes in God and
in faith. So I thought it was our destiny.

(08:06):
You may might as well pursue getting out of the city in
however way we can. So we looked at our options.
We, we sold their place in the city and then moved down here
and I got in touch with nature again, got in touch with how I
was feeling in self-care. And, you know, I, I realized I

(08:29):
started showing up a lot more differently with my family.
I wasn't so short or angry when I began to take care of myself.
So I made lifestyle changes and prioritize my health as well.
And, you know, it wasn't easy because that was out of my

(08:49):
comfort zone. Like I was a career woman for
several years and, you know, wanted to have that stability
and income for my family. But you know, everything was
pretty much showing up in my past telling me you're meant to
go somewhere else. And through that journey, I
found my love for writing again.It really got into the

(09:14):
publishing world and helping other non fiction authors edit
their books and along the journey during the pandemic into
I think it took me two or three years to write my own story.
I wrote a teaching memoir about the lessons that I've learned in
my life and how can I develop these strategies to help other

(09:36):
women and other people achieve in our peace.
And by writing that story out, you know, sharing my wisdom
through the messages in that book, I really hope to inspire
other women to know that, you know, it's within your reach to
find your potential and your peace.

(09:57):
So I knew deep in my heart, since I was a young girl, I've
always wanted to help people suffer less.
And I just know that it's my mission to be here, to put my
message out and my story out, tohelp others.
Wow, wow. So powerful and a lot of courage
wrapped up in that. I want because you walked away

(10:21):
from a very well paying, very financially stable job.
And so many times we just keep pushing through because we're
afraid. We're afraid and we don't listen
to the cues our bodies giving us.
Your story is so deeply entrenched in taking care of our
emotional and physical health, our mental, emotional,

(10:44):
spiritual, all those pieces you've just described that
talking point and we talked about here very succinctly and
the direct tie it had to your Wellness and yourself care.
What is it that you think gave you the what?
What in your background gave youthat wisdom and insight to know

(11:04):
you needed to listen? Because so many times as women,
we don't, we keep pushing the voices away.
So talk to me about your your ability to really respond to
that. Yes.
So growing up, I, I seen a lot of my caregivers, a lot of women
self abandoned themselves for the sake of the family cooking,

(11:29):
you know, working, making an income while taking care of the
household and raising children. And I've seen how much self
abandonment can weigh on, you know, family members, mental,
emotional, spiritual and physical state.
I've seen a lot of them have health scares as well.

(11:53):
So when seeing that, I've seen alot of suffering in that way.
And when you know is I come, well, my caregivers come from a
generation where they're just used to caring for others.
They put their family 1st and I highly regard that and admire
that. But what they didn't know is

(12:14):
they didn't have the tools and you know, the knowledge that we
share so freely today that was within within our fingertips.
They don't they didn't have it back then.
So they don't know any any bad about self regulation and taking
care of your health and not selfabandoning.

(12:34):
And also they didn't know boundaries.
Boundaries were not existent. Exactly.
Speak to that. Speak to the boundaries piece
here, or the lack thereof. Yes.
So basically what what I saw is like when when I saw, you know,
friends or family members that had lack of boundaries, I pretty

(12:55):
much witnessed a lot of, you know, strife.
You could tell that they're overwhelmed and weighed down and
that it was creating tension andresentment between
relationships. Yeah, and that builds up over
time. And when you don't know how to
create a healthy boundary, you're really self abandoning

(13:18):
yourself. And that can get you into a lot
of health issues in their conflict.
And you don't have Peace of Mind.
You're, you're constantly on thego taking care of everyone else
and putting everyone's needs first.
So it's, it's definitely something I wish my older

(13:39):
generations of women in my family knew how to do better.
And yes, and, and it's only because I say that because I
care about them and I feel bad that they didn't have access to
the content and resources about living healthy and putting
yourself first. Yeah, absolutely.

(14:01):
And you just tied in beautifullyour first three talking points
and how they're connected, how they're interrelated, the power
of them. And just, you know, breaking
generational cycles is such an important piece of what you saw.
Like, I've seen this, how this plays out.
This is not a road I'm going to continue down for myself.

(14:24):
I knew when I was younger I wanted better.
Now I've got a chance to do something about it.
So I'm going to take the necessary steps, maybe as scary
as they mean, but I know I don'twant to end up where I saw their
lives go with that continual self abandoned.
Would it cost your health? Would it cost your

(14:44):
relationships? There's so many tie insurance to
that. And that's all part of our
self-care. I'd say often self-care is
healthcare. It's caring for yourself.
Yes, we like to do the nice fun things, the spas and the and the
bubble baths and that. All those things are great, but
it's beyond that. It's tending and listening to

(15:06):
your body when it's giving you clues and looking at your, the
generations that are older than you and.
And like, oh, wait a minute, I see what's happening here.
I'm going to learn from this. I'm going to do better for
myself, which is then going to be better for my child because
she, yeah, she's going to see this as possible.

(15:28):
And I'm going to not, you know, so thank you for all of that.
That was really so well explained.
So talk to me about your own boundaries.
You've got to this point. You realize you need to make
changes. You moved.
You've got back out to nature. Talk to me now about where when
you decided to make these moves,these are big moves, how to be

(15:50):
about communicating this need todo this to your family because
you're like, OK, guys, we're we're heading now we're getting
out of the city, your workspaces.
Talk to me about that establishing those because she
said it's all boundaries are forour self preservation.
They're so we don't abandoned ourselves.

(16:11):
They're not walls. They're not these brick, bricks
and mortar. They're they're guideposts and
spaces where we are able to protect our time and our
bandwidth to make sure we can fill our cups and come back as
our healthiest, most authentic selves in all the spaces we
inhabit. But what was it like
communicating this to people? Oh, yeah.

(16:35):
So basically, you know, what I was, I got to a point where I
was so consumed with making myself and my family happy and
joyful and healthy that it no longer, you know, took up my
mind space about what others would think about this

(16:56):
situation. You know, I I say, you know, let
it be. I used to be the type of person
many years ago before I healed. We're worried about what others
thought. Yeah.
But, you know, we're in the state of the world when the
pandemic was just beginning and people were afraid for their

(17:16):
lives. So people were uncertain, right?
So people were stuck in their own fear, in their own, you
know, insecurities and uncertainties that my husband
and I just need to move ahead onthis plan.
And we felt so comfortable aboutit.
And we thought, you know, we're doing this for our daughter's,

(17:39):
our daughter's future and for our family's future.
So it was really, you know, something that we just went full
steam ahead on, and I'm so thankful for that.
So it took some planning, but welike to plan and you know it, it
took some exploring during a time when it was very dark for

(18:01):
people. People were getting sick,
people, a lot of lives were lost.
I acknowledge that suffering when it was happening, but it
felt like almost like the twilight zone where, yeah, you
know, you don't know what's going to happen in the world.
So I felt like I was, you know, let's just go for the stream of

(18:21):
getting a house out of the city and, you know, living in a
totally different environment. It's kind of like pressing
reset. And in a time where people were
clicking reset on their lives during lockdown, we were pretty
much resetting everything. So that was very helpful to do.

(18:42):
And then in terms of the boundaries, like you said it,
it's so true that you need to protect your time and your
safety. And that needs to be
communicated clearly with familyand friends, you know, and
overtime, like when you first Start learning how to instill

(19:03):
those boundaries, you're going to feel a little bit guilty at
first, as I did, because you're so used to like not thinking,
caring about your own feelings that that self abandonment.
Yes, it feels uncomfortable because you're putting that
boundary in place. But at the same time you feel

(19:25):
guilty because you feel like you're living leaving those
people in the dark, kind of justsaying the hell with you.
But you do it in a nice way, in an assertive way.
And you make it very simple without having to explain
yourself and learning just to say no as a complete sentence.
And you know, just being clear about what you want, like for

(19:48):
example, at night after I have my nightly shower and dinner's
over and everything, my family knows not to go into my room
after I have my shower because they know that's my meditation
time. So I just said to them, you
know, I'd like to make a simple request that you guys don't come
in the room while I'm doing my meditation.

(20:10):
That's my time to refuel my, my mind, body, spirit.
So they know that. I love that.
That's a great example. That is a really great example
and the way you say it, and I love how you talked about don't
need to over explain. I need to do for the my this for
my Wellness, my health. Those that authentically care

(20:30):
about you and want you to be well are going to come around.
Even if it takes some time for them to get used to the new
boundary, they will come around because they want you to be well
too. If they if they don't come
around that, that might be an indication of a different
boundary around that relationship.
I mean, these are all opportunities to learn about
that. And I think for so many people,

(20:53):
and it's sad to me, and I think what I'd love to see us get past
by using these frameworks that you and I are talking about here
and that we talk about on the podcast regularly is time and
time again, not only personal like roadblocks that we run into
with our health. But for so many in the world,
and especially I think in North America and Europe, it took this

(21:15):
massive catastrophic event of a of COVID to get people to sit
down long enough to consider that they might need a reset.
That they might need to look at how they're spending their time
and who they're giving their time to valuing these

(21:36):
relationships because all of a sudden people were being lost
that no one ever thought they were going to be losing in that
time span. So it, it really forced us to
face some hard truths. I would love us to get to a
point where it doesn't take something really difficult or
catastrophic in your life personally or on a world scope,

(21:59):
global scope, to make us sit back and listen.
Let's put these frameworks in inplace now.
Let's value ourselves and our relationships and our life
enough now to not need to hit this.
But because you go back to how you saw women operating as you
grew up, the scripts we get as little girls, I mean, we get

(22:21):
these collectively as women. But then there's another level
depending on your background, your faith space, your
ethnicity, your socio economic space, all these things, you
know, play into the depth and the intensity of these messages
that you that we get about taking care of with everyone

(22:44):
else and prioritizing yourself is selfish and all these really
backwards ways of thinking. But when they're so ingrained,
it's really hard. You talked about feeling guilty
at first. It's really hard to get that
mind shift going. And it takes time and practice
to convince your nervous system or no, this is good.

(23:05):
We're on a good path here. And it also takes people time.
It didn't operate that way and may not understand it and may be
fearful of your choices and whatthey mean instead of realizing,
no, this is actually healthy. And just because we've always
done it that way doesn't mean it's the healthiest way to go.

(23:26):
Exactly. And you want a good point there.
Because you know. What you're so right about
people like the older generations being stuck in their
ways and having traditional waysof thinking, not being really
open to anything, almost like being close minded, not in a bad
way, but just being used to whatthey're used to.

(23:47):
So something someone does something of a younger
generation, their family that isout of the norm, not within
their expectations, that's definitely going to throw them
off. But you know, if you're
authentic to yourself, you're being true to your heart, your
soul, and you're doing it for the good of your own mental
health and well-being. And, you know, sometimes you're,

(24:10):
you're going to disappoint people, but you have to realize
that's part of life. And if they're going to be
disappointed in in what you're doing to make yourself better,
then they're just going to have to stay that way.
And you're going to have to, youknow, let go of you know what
they're thinking about you. Yeah.

(24:31):
So when you let go of what others, how others perceive you,
that creates more space and freedom for you to who you are
in this world. You're not fitting this mold of
what they want you to be. And then, you know, if you start
to shed those expectations of our different roles that we play

(24:54):
and not hold on to them so much like, Oh my gosh, I'm, I'm a
daughter, like, you know, I'm a grandchild and I'm not
fulfilling my responsibilities as as those roles, that puts
more pressure on you as a person.
And if you just take the pressure away and don't take
your try not to take your roles too serious seriously, even

(25:17):
though it is important to take care of your family and and be
caring, don't do it at the expense of your own mental,
emotional and spiritual physicalhealth, right?
Yes, yes, you said that so well,so good.
And this really has enabled you to really show up
unapologetically for yourself and now you're supporting and

(25:41):
providing resources to other women to do so.
But it's that when I, when we are well, then it's better for
everybody else. And we need to really start
shifting our mindsets as a culture to see that when we're
taking care of ourselves and prioritizing our Wellness,
everybody wins. And if you view it as a loss,

(26:05):
then that's something you need to work through.
Like if someone is pushing back or not responding well to these
changes, it's not your responsibility to change their
mind. It's not responsibility your
energy exactly to force. Them into something they're not
ready for, that's their work to do.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't move forward with what

(26:27):
you know is healthiest for yourself.
So really well said on that. Talk to me about that
unapologetic piece you mentionedearlier, the freedom that when
you release other people's expectations and, and you
release those things that you have been trying to live by to
keep everybody else well but abandoned yourself, it really

(26:50):
does free you up to to be authentic to you.
You got back to your writing. You got back to helping others
with their writing. You've got resources via books
and journals now available for women.
When talk to me about that transition of like, wait a
minute, I am not only helping myself here by making these

(27:11):
changes, I can help others too. And that's really always been
within me. Talk to me about moving into
that space. Yes, it's, it took a lot of self
discovery, but when I began writing my story and the lessons
I've learned throughout different points of my life, I,
I realized this is just not for me to keep.

(27:32):
This is for me to teach other people through my website,
through social media and throughthese podcasts, ways in which
she could really find inner peace.
And it's my mission to do that because I, I care about people
and I see the suffering that people experience.

(27:54):
I feel that energy of, you know,struggles that people go
through. And pretty much we have
universal themes that we all go through in our lives, whether
that be grief, identity crisis, relationship issues with either
friends or family or, you know, parental relationships and also

(28:21):
like self identity issues as well.
And, you know, power, status, wealth and, you know, ego,
everyone has a dark side and a good side.
So I realized, you know, this issomething I really need to
disseminate and find a frameworkto find simple ways and simple
strategies that people can, you know, implement in their lives

(28:44):
in small steps to find just a little bit of peace if they're,
you know, not ready to go on a full healing journey.
Because there's little bits and pieces and glimmers of hope in
our everyday journey. And if you just, you know, do
something for yourself that makes you joyful without
worrying about what others are going to think of you, or if

(29:07):
without worrying about being judged and just doing it things
for yourself, that creates a lotof freedom and peace.
So yeah, I'd love to write aboutstrategies on how to help people
cope with these different life challenges in different stages
and phases of their life. And it's all all about mindset

(29:30):
reframing, assessing your environment to promote healing,
and having compassion for yourself and others.
So if you make a mistake, pleasedon't beat yourself up over it.
This is all part of being human and learning our lessons along
the way on our path to evolutionand growth.

(29:50):
So I'm doing what I'm doing as amission to bring unity to people
because there's so much division, especially in this
world of how politics are unfolding and people, you know,
being displaced from climate change and the recent wildfires
and not only California, but other parts of the world as

(30:12):
well. Yeah.
You know, it's just we're not going to have the outside
external things to comfort us. We have to rely on our our inner
strength and how we deal with ourselves.
And if we can love ourselves andlove others, that can really go

(30:34):
a long way in helping you feel like you could thrive.
Yeah. And get through anything.
Because as we've seen with thesepeople being displaced from
their homes at this time in the world, it's, you know, it just
shows that, you know, you've built a life.

(30:54):
It can get knocked down again. We could go through rough bottom
and lose everything. But if you work on building your
inner peace and strength and loving yourself and loving
people around you, it can go. It can help you rebuild again.

(31:16):
So, and that's what people need to know.
We can't rely on outer things, but you have to rebuild your
life. Yes, that firm foundation within
you. Thank you so much.
That was so good. You spoke to that so well and
that goes really nicely into coming back to your why in your
values. You allowed your why in your

(31:36):
values to be shaped and formed and to build a life that fit
into that, that aligned with that, that felt authentic to
that. You recognized when this
corporate job and his life in the city is not in alignment
anymore, even though you, the the organizations you were
working for was doing really philanthropic work.

(31:58):
So sometimes I think it's important to point out that just
because you're doing a good thing, there may be a time that
it comes in, it's not the right good thing for you to be doing
anymore. And really circling back to what
you, what you value and, and start looking at what's my why
behind this. You determined my why behind

(32:18):
staying here has been this stability, but this stability,
financial stability is costing me and every other area of my
life. So I've got to get aligned with
those values and you were kind of partner supporting you in
that, which is huge. But talk to me about your why in
values journey and how that informs you.

(32:42):
Yes, so basically I, I thought about like, sometimes I'm only
human too. So I, I like to ask questions
about how can I live a better life or what can I learn to, to
help me navigate a certain situation.
So I'm always getting curious and asking myself how can I

(33:03):
improve my personal development and growth?
And, and I, I try to put myself in other people's shoes.
What, what would they want to know on about their lives and
how can they navigate their situations as well.
So my why values always goes back to thinking about humanity.

(33:28):
How can we suffer less? How can we do away with inner
conflict? How can we live less from a
state of feeding our egos and instead of coming and living
from a spiritual place where we're compassionate and caring
about not only ourselves, but others.

(33:51):
And you know, it's, it's always life is complicated,
relationships are complicated. But hearing other people's
stories and reading about different ways of how to
navigate certain situations, I just like to go on explorations

(34:12):
of, you know, how can I develop this different content to put a
message out there that will makesomeone's day a little better.
So it's, it's baby steps. It's not throwing a big
framework at somebody and saying, you know, this is how
you get to inner peace. It's a, it's a huge journey and
it'll be an, a healing journey every day till the day you're no

(34:37):
longer here on earth. So try different modalities.
And I encourage that. I, I come from, you know, a
religious background of Roman Catholic, and I'm still true to
my religion this day, but I'm more so spiritual.
And I, I really think that people can find their way if

(35:00):
they're just open to trying different modalities, trying
different ways of healing and just seeing what works for you.
Yeah, yes. And everyone will find something
different. But there's always a path to
feeling a little better and healing any trauma that I mean,
that you have and you can get there.

(35:21):
It seems hard at first, but if you put in a little bit of work
and find a support network like you're podcasting your
community, Melissa and Racing Layers Network, women really
need that. And you know, sometimes women
don't always have the support system in their own lives.
That when you can reach out and and be a part of a community

(35:45):
like yours where women are uplifting each other and not
bring each other down and tryingto teach each other different
lessons, I think we can come together and and build this
unity that we need right now in our world.
Yeah. So yes.
Thank you so much for that. Thank you for the affirmation

(36:07):
and thank you for the wisdom. You have so much wisdom about
this. Your curiosity really drives
your learning it your passion does your your caring does you
are set. You're you're naturally
empathetic. Like that's really built into
you're naturally intuitive and that really drives how you
proceed with yourself, with others, what you offer, what you

(36:31):
share, and what you continue to learn.
And what you said is so true. Stay with it ladies.
There are ways and places and things that you can do to find
that peace and that contentment.It is a journey.
It is not an overnight fix. We are not here to here's five
ways to reach inner peace in thenext six weeks.

(36:53):
That's not going to happen. It's a it's a continual journey,
but it's that willingness to go on it.
Be curious, be kind, be empathetic and, and, and, and
learn from each other. That was just so beautifully
laid out and that is you. Your values are like you just
described your values right in there, like all those things or

(37:17):
what you value and what drive you.
That was really beautiful. Thank you so much for that.
We've talked a little bit about this already, but living out of
your own expectations versus others, you have moved into
this, you've seen the value of it.
You've seen what it was costing you to try to meet all these
other expectations. You've seen what it's cost the

(37:38):
generations before you. You have now moved into this
space where this it's a, it's a value of yours in many ways to
live from that, that authentic place.
So talk to me about that journeyand getting to you the space
where you really do live authentically there and how you
help others to get there as well.

(37:59):
Yes, so so the journey could be 1 where you feel lonely for a
while because you're you're excavating all these this
different messaging and content to help you grow as a person.
But it's kind of, you know, likegoing on a spiritual retreat for
myself that very much felt like it.

(38:22):
I'd ask questions, I journal, I'd say my prayers everyday to
look for answers. Whenever I was experiencing an
issue or a problem, I would journal about about it.
And it had, you know, the answerwouldn't appear right away.
Sometimes they wouldn't, you know, I'd have to ask this

(38:42):
question to myself every day either, just in my own head as
I'm going through the day. How, how am I going to get
answers to this problem? And you know, how am I like, how
do I navigate the situation? So I'm always asking questions
through my prayer, through my meditation, and just in my head

(39:06):
throughout the day. And I found that through healing
journeys, you do need to ask yourself these questions so that
you can get to a point where youfeel comfortable in your own
skin and you're being steered inthe direction that you're meant
to be and meant to go. Everyone has a destined path

(39:26):
that they're meant for. And I encourage you to look out
for those signs that are tellingyou to go in another direction.
If something's falling away in your life that you know, you
don't expect it to go away and but you're trying to hold on to
it, that's a sign that it's, youneed to let that go and move on

(39:46):
to a different path in your lifebecause doors are always closing
and, and people don't realize, OK, you know, like, why did
this? Why is this opportunity falling
away? It's because the universe and
God has something greater in store for you.
So it's just being open to science.

(40:06):
Be very open to what you're feeling intuitively.
Sometimes you'll feel that in your gut.
Sometimes you'll, you'll ask yourself a question.
You'll just feel an inner knowing in your heart whether
that thing is right for you or not.
And sometimes there could just be signs of, you know, you

(40:27):
overhear someone speaking in public or on on a podcast or on
TV, or you read a book and you know, like a message just really
lands for you. And that took it's leading you
on the path to to heal, to not be afraid of healing.
And you know, don't don't let your fears get the best of you

(40:52):
because love is stronger. And if you feel alone and
isolated while you're going on ahealing journey, that that's OK
because you're never really alone.
If you believe in spirituality, you do have guys and angels
looking over you to help you through.
So it can feel like a lonely journey at first to heal.

(41:14):
And you know, when you know it'sthe right time to do that for
you, you won't be worrying aboutwhat other people's expectations
are of you. You'll you'll feel free.
It feels very liberating. And you know, a spiritual
awakening is you know, it's the greatest gift that you can give

(41:35):
yourself. It is to heal your inner beans
and move on with your life and go for what you're really meant
to be doing in this world. Yeah.
Oh yeah. Gosh, so good.
You're really good at this. You're really good at eating
touch on things so well and you had to trust yourself in that.
And I think that is not. It's one thing to get the

(41:57):
messages, it's another thing to trust them.
How have you learned to trust that and not?
And I think sometimes we just get to a point like, I can't
live like this anymore. I have no other choice but to
listen to this and trust this and move forward because staying
where I'm at is not working. Is that how it worked for you or

(42:18):
was there a different path to really learning to trust
yourself? Yeah, that's a great question,
Melissa. And I love that because if
you're deeply intuitive and you learn how to harness that
intuition within yourself, you really know, like for me, it was
a lot of nudges and bread crumbsand signals and signs that I was

(42:41):
getting to lead me down the pathto pursue my writing again, to
write a book, you know, for example, wherever I went or
wherever I go to this day, I'm, I'm getting signs that are
telling me to still, you know, pursue this journey of being a
writer and an author and gettingmy word out there.

(43:05):
So it's just, it's a constant reminder.
It's like this radio frequency where you're getting these
messages spoken to you and it doesn't ever shut up.
Like it's like on constant repeat.
And I think, you know, like if you tune into that, the universe

(43:26):
and God always has a way of communicating with you.
So try to tune into that harness.
I know if some people haven't cultivated that yet, do some
research and see how you can cultivate that a little bit
more. And it's a recent topic I talked
about in my recent free newsletter that ioffer on my

(43:46):
website, if you want to subscribe to it, is finding a
spiritual solution to your problems.
And this involves following yourinner knowing and looking for
these these signs and messages that come through to you on a
loop. And that's how you know it.

(44:07):
It just sits right with you. If you can have here a message,
it'll sit with you and I'll justfeel right.
And that's how you know that's the path to go down.
Some people having need to learnhow to cultivate it.
And I encourage it. Yeah.
I'm. So glad you brought up that
cultivation piece because because of the fast-paced
society we live in, we live muchof our lives disassociated from

(44:30):
our bodies. We just go, go, go, go, go and
push it, push it back. And so it does take some time.
Sit down, pause, give yourself space to actually TuneIn to what
your body is trying to tell you what your spirit, your soul is
trying to speak to you and take some time and it, and it does

(44:54):
take a commitment to cultivate it once you do.
And it's president's there, it'spresent, you know, and I mean,
and I can attest to that becauseI've gone on my own journey.
Like, I know it's just up to me to be like, oh, yeah, OK, I'm,
I'm feeling this and this. And it'll keep nudging you.
It'll get your attention in waysyou can't ignore until you

(45:18):
acknowledge it. But yeah, I want to.
I'm so glad you brought up the cultivation piece, because if
you're like, I'm not getting anything, I'm like, when's the
last time you sat down and quieted your mind?
Do you set aside any time in your day, your week, to do that,
to allow this to develop and grow?
Exactly. And then I love that you brought

(45:38):
that up because it's in that silence.
Once you ask yourself those questions, I you're looking for
answers to issues you're facing and you want to be able to solve
them. Ask yourself those questions in
moments of silence. That's the most powerful time to
do that and just listen to your senses and, and what you're

(45:59):
feeling and even look at your dreams and, and seeing, you
know, like what pops up for you and your dreams.
Maybe there's something there, there's a message there that can
really be insightful to helping guide your next steps.
So just just be fully aware, tryto develop your awareness

(46:21):
because the answer, sometimes they say the answer is within
you and all around you. You just need to find it.
Yeah, and give ourselves space to notice it.
I mean, honestly and also somatically pay attention to
your body, where you're carryingthings.
We carry so many of these thingsin our bodies and when we don't

(46:42):
give ourselves time to sit and notice that, you know, that
plays a role too. So thank you so much for that.
So good. All right, accepting the layered
aspects of ourselves. These are all the parts and
pieces of our life, our story, our character traits that make
up who we are. And I really feel like it's an

(47:03):
important piece of the journey to really acknowledge those
layers, accept those layers. We don't have to love all of
them, but we need to acknowledgethem and and realized that we're
human and, and, and those are all parts and pieces of us.
Talk to me about your layers journey.
Oh, I'm a very, there's a lot oflayers here and a lot of layers

(47:26):
I needed to kind of release fromthrough through this healing
journey. I had a lot of because they're
in the basically, I think with my layers like anger, it was
definitely one of them like thinking.

(47:46):
And before I got completely healed, I had a lot of anger
and, and not knowing why, you know, as I think I bottled
things up for so long before I had healed.
And that's where the anger stemsfrom because it never got
released. And it's a really difficult

(48:07):
emotion to deal with because youdon't want anyone getting in
your way when you're, or being anywhere near you when you're
angry that way, because you don't want to make that
relationship rupture in any way.So I encourage people, if
you're, if you're dealing with some sort of anger emotion, you

(48:28):
know, it's, it's going to the safe space where you close the
door and you, you know, maybe scream into a pillow or
something, you know, and kick iskick and scream in your in your
bed or something, something likethat.
Make it a safe space and releasethose emotions.
And they say if you shake it out, those emotions get released

(48:50):
as well. So there's different coping
things that you could do to really release your body of what
you're holding on to. And they say it's healthy to
feel anger. So if you're feeling it, don't
shove it down, don't suppress it.
Definitely find a way of lettingit out in a Safeway way.

(49:10):
Yeah. So yeah, go screaming.
So a pillow, go for a walk in nature.
And they say screaming is really, really, you know,
therapeutic for you. And if, if that doesn't work,
there's I'm sure there's a wholeother host of strategies you
could do to believe setting or whether it be journaling,

(49:32):
listening to music and just letting yourself feel it for a
while so that you can process itand then let it go.
So that is one that that one of those complex layers I don't
like to have because I almost feel like it's shameful to have
that anger. And then I think to myself, oh,

(49:53):
why? I have nothing to be angry
about. What is that?
Where's that coming from? So I asked myself these
questions and then I think back to, oh, well, maybe it's because
you bottled things up for so long and now it's time to find
ways to release these things. So it's very complex.

(50:14):
And that that was a hard emotionthat I had to deal with through
my healing journey and find a way to purify my mind, body and
soul of that. Because that anger can fester
and, you know, find its way intoyour cells and not make you feel
so great. So yes, yeah, those were one of

(50:38):
the emotions that I had difficulty with.
And I know others. Others do too.
Yeah, I'm so glad you brought upthe anger piece because there's
so many misguided notions about anger.
Anger is a clue. It is a clue to let you know
that something needs to be processed, moved through,
handled, and also that there's can be multiple ways to approach

(50:59):
that. But you got curious.
You moved out of judgement in shame and got curious instead
and started asking yourself questions so you could get to
the why. And so then you could release
it. I mean, and I think that's such
an important part of the process.
I have had to deal with anger aswell from different things in my

(51:20):
story. And my therapist would say she's
like, all right, we've talked about this today.
EMDR is a of therapy that I've used.
We've used him here, but there'sa lot stored up in your body
still. So I want you to take a pillow
and find a wall that you can hitwith it.
Find an anger room somewhere. Some cities have anger rooms

(51:41):
where you go in and blocks and kick things because you need to
it or the screaming. But your body, even if you've
identified the why and maybe talked about some things and
done some different notes, your body still needs to release it.
So thank you for those examples.And, and it's such, I think

(52:02):
anger again, is just one of those really misunderstood
emotions about what's appropriate about also
remembering too, that there's, there's some kinds of anger that
can really motivate you to make changes in your own life, in
society and whatnot. So channeling it, but don't

(52:22):
bottle it up, don't try to hide it, don't be ashamed of it.
Your body can't carry it forever.
And it's going to come out in a really unpleasant way, whether
you're snapping your partner's head off or whether it manifests
itself physically in some kind of a going back to that mental,
emotional, physical health connection.
So thank you so much for sharingthat and your vulnerability in

(52:44):
that, because that's something Ithink a lot, a lot of people
experience, but they don't know how to approach or they don't
want to approach because of stigmas that they've heard in
their lives about anger. Yes, of course.
And I've heard that the stigmas can get in the way.
So yeah, to find different avenues of of letting it go and
releasing it, it's a game changer.

(53:06):
It really is. Help you, you know, make space
for more important things in your life.
Absolutely it does. It clears out space.
You would literally feel a physical lift off of you when
you release that. I mean, I know for me and my
experience, I do. Thank you so much for that,
Tara. All right, in living out feel,
finding empowerment, embracing layers, which is what you are

(53:29):
doing. Talk to me about how that has
impacted your relationship with yourself as well as your
relationship with other people. OK, so I think nowadays I give
myself more grace. I I used to be the type of
person that would beat myself upor put so much pressure on

(53:51):
myself to succeed, almost to a point of where you don't like,
you get down on yourself for making a little mistake or, you
know, not being perfect in a certain way.
But when you start letting go ofthose expectations of yourself,
you give yourself compassion andjust meet yourself where you

(54:11):
are, you know, makes life so much easier.
You don't feel like there's a burden on your shoulders and
you're just letting yourself be.You're going with the flow of
life. You know, it's all about being
and living in the present moment.
And if you can master that and learn how to really just embrace

(54:34):
the present moment and love yourself where you are, even if
you made a little mistake, that's okay.
That's part of being human. Yeah.
So coming to a full acceptance of myself and being aware of
what my flaws are and where I need to improve and just being

(54:55):
honest with myself and trusting that I could take care of these
things, You know, it leads to a much easier, more peaceful life
in a sense because you're takingit easy on yourself.
And when you're easier on yourself, that that really
creates healthier relationships around you, as I know it has for

(55:17):
me with my family. You know, I'm not expecting 10
million things of my family because, you know, when you have
a partner, you're, you're not relying on, you know, on them to
make you joyful. We're 100% responsible to make
ourselves happy. They're only one person and
can't, you know, carry the load of being responsible for our

(55:41):
happiness. So I think being a little
lighter on expecting, not reallyexpecting too much of our family
members, I think that is a really big game changer in terms
of creating more harmonious relationships.
Yeah. Oh, that was so well said.

(56:02):
Thank you for that. Yeah.
We are responsible for ourselves.
No one else is responsible for us and we are not responsible
for others happiness like so they and it makes you come in
when you don't. It takes the pressure off of the
relationship too, to be something it was never meant to
be. Yes.

(56:22):
Yeah. So good, so good.
Oh my gosh, so good. OK, we are getting down to the
rapid fire here. Name 5 activities that nourish
you. OK, so definitely podcast.
I love listening to a good podcast.
That's that really brings me a boost of motivation every day.

(56:44):
So I try to make sure that's a very list of of different
people's perspectives. Yeah.
So if you're a big podcast fan, go listen to Melissa's Embracing
Layers Field podcast. It's really helpful.
And then #2 definitely writing. I love doing that meditation

(57:07):
clears my cobwebs and you know, very noisy thoughts in my mind
and then walks in nature and prayer talking to God.
So those are my top five that I love to do and I incorporate
pretty much everything of all ofthose every day.
Awesome. I love that.

(57:28):
So good. I love that so much.
All right, 5 words on how you want to feel the next six
months. OK, Joyful, fulfilled.
Rejuvenated, excited and accomplished.
OK, awesome. All right, Tara, tell people
where they can find you and follow you.

(57:49):
This will be on our website listeners.
It's already there on our radio show page.
It'll be on our resources page that's connected to the podcast.
Just go to embracinglayers.com and look at that resources page.
But tell people right now and give them a chance to.
If they want to write it down right now, they can do that.
Yeah, sure. So you can follow me on

(58:10):
Instagram. I'm at Tara Mae Temple, which is
spelled TARAMAETEMPLE. Or you could find me on Facebook
at Tara Mae Temple. So you'll find that I post
positive and motivational messages to really give you
inspiration during this time of unrest, so encourage you to

(58:33):
visit those. And then I also have a free
newsletter you can subscribe to on my website for uplifting
content on how to achieve harmony.
So basically my website istriplew.terrasuiteawakening.com.
So basically it it can serve youin many ways if you're looking

(58:58):
for a little bit of support in your life on how to be more
peaceful and joyful. And if you're looking for
different strategies on how to solve a problem in your life, I
wrote a recent newsletter about different ways you can solve
those issues and find the answers you're looking for.

(59:19):
So subscribe now and I'll, I'll have that in your inbox.
And then you'll notice on my website if you're needing
support with your healing journey, I'm also a mentor in
that capacity. So I develop a personalized plan
based on your needs, on what youneed help healing with.

(59:40):
So there's a form on the websiteand I determine if we're a good
fit to work with one another. And I'm there to support you
with a plan. So those are different ways you
can work with me. OK, that's fantastic.
I'm also going to share in our show notes and on our resources
page will be the link to where Tara and I were together on the

(01:00:04):
radio show in the fall of 2024. We had a great conversation
about the value of knowing your character traits, not
identifying yourselves by your roles and your titles.
It was a really, really good conversation.
Highly recommend you go visit that as well.
That'll be linked there. Tara, thank you so much for your
time today. You are a blessing.

(01:00:25):
In the world. And I'm so happy to know you.
Oh, I'm so happy to know you too, Melissa, and your show and
your words of wisdom are helpingso many people.
So never stop doing what you're doing.
And I encourage you to, you know, take a listen to all
Melissa's shows because she's she's finding strong and really

(01:00:47):
great role models and in the women community and you can
learn a lot. Yeah, thank you.
I know I I learn a lot every week.
I mean, I'm thank you so much for your words of support and
affirmation. I and this is what it looks
like, ladies, to support each other unapologetically.
There's room for all of us to dothis work and have these

(01:01:07):
conversations, and it's necessary to have all of us
involved so we can bring everybody into this community of
taking care of ourselves well and knowing that prioritizing
our Wellness is good for us and for everybody that we're in
association with. Exactly.
And that's once you take care ofyourself, that's when you get to

(01:01:28):
a place of inner peace. So don't stop caring for
yourselves. Yes, yes, absolutely,
absolutely. Thank you again for your time
today, for your authenticity, your vulnerability, your
empathy, and your passion and care for women.
I appreciate it so much. Audience members, take good care
of yourselves this week. Sit into the quiet, give

(01:01:51):
yourself some time, listen to those nudges.
Trust yourself. Are you aligned in living
authentically for how you were designed to live?
Take it, take it. Take a step back and take a look
at that. You're worthy of that.
The world needs that from you aswell and and your relationships

(01:02:12):
will thrive when you are showingup with the right people that
value you as much as you value yourself.
So take some time for that this week.
Take good care and have a great week.
Hello, Melissa Crook here. Thank you so much for joining us
on the field podcast today. Finding Empowerment.

(01:02:35):
Embracing Layers. I hope you found today's
framework and resources supportive and informative.
To learn more about all that we offer here at the Embracing
Layers Network, visit embracinglayers.com.
You can go to our contact form to schedule me as a speaker for
your next conference, workshop, or seminar.

(01:02:57):
You can go to our book page to order our book, The Jessica
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authored with my support and engage with this framework in
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women inviting them on this journey with you.
You can look at our resources page for all of the helpful and

(01:03:20):
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You can find the schedule for our weekly Together We Feel
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(01:03:42):
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(01:04:03):
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