August 14, 2024 • 42 mins
What if writing could be a tool for profound personal growth and societal transformation? Join us on the Resonate podcast as we host Megan Barnhard, a writing coach for bold thinkers and intuitive channel. Megan recounts her journey from wrestling with the writing process to mastering it, and how she now empowers others to do the same.
We explore how writing helps us understand ourselves and the world around us, emphasizing that breaking the writing process into manageable steps can lead to deeper self-inquiry and meaningful change.
Our conversation touches on the balance between the analytical and creative minds, highlighting how creativity thrives when it’s allowed to be playful and unstructured. We also discuss techniques like the Alexander Method and the Pomodoro Technique to demonstrate how mindfulness can enhance productivity and creativity.
Megan shares insights on how listening to our bodies can enhance our emotional and physical awareness, transforming how we relate to ourselves and others. Tune in for a rich conversation filled with wisdom and practical tips to elevate your writing journey.
Connect with Megan
Instagram: @writewithmegan
Facebook: @megan.barnhard.writer
LinkedIn Profile: @meganbarnhard
Website: www.meganbarnhard.com
Thanks for listening! To book a free consultation with Aideen visit https://www.confidenceinsinging.com/contact/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Aideen Ni Riada (00:03):
Welcome.
This is the Resonate podcastwith Aideen.
I'm Aideen Ni Riada, and myguest today is Megan Barnhard.
Welcome, Megan.
Thanks so much for having me.
We're going to have a reallyexciting conversation.
We've already know what is.
You know, it's like wetting ourappetite and I'm really excited
to talk to you.
(00:23):
But I want to introduce you alittle to the audience before we
start.
Megan is a writing coach forbold thinkers who want to change
the world with their words.
As an intuitive channel, Meganconnects soul-led business
owners energetically to theiraudiences to elevate their sales
(00:43):
copy and content.
So, megan, I know that you're awriter yourself as well, which
is something you haven'tmentioned in that short bio.
You'll probably get to it later.
But how did you come to thispoint of you know writing
coaching?
Megan Barnhard (01:01):
By struggling with writing myself, which is
perhaps how so many of us cometo coaching I have.
I'm somebody who just feltshe's had an identity as a
writer my entire life and as akid was told by adults you're a
good writer, you're a strongwriter, you could be a writer
and I went to college andstudied philosophy and had to
(01:22):
write long form essays about bigideas and my whole writing
process fell apart because Ididn't have a writing process.
I'd always been somebody whosat down and just wrote.
The words flowed out and youknow, as this kind of identity
crisis hit me, um of, if I'm nota writer, who am I?
(01:47):
Right, I can't write, and thatmeans I'm not a writer.
So then, who am I?
I discovered that this flow I'dalways intuitively had could be
broken down into the steps of aprocess, and I became a little
bit obsessed with helping otherpeople find their process, and
by process I mean how do you gofrom an inspired idea or kind of
(02:07):
an inkling to an actualfinished piece of writing?
You know, going through somebrainstorming and outlining and
drafting and revising along theway.
So my own breakdown in how do Ido this led me to becoming
consciously competent atsomething I had been
(02:28):
unconsciously competent at, andthen studying writing, studying
how the brain works.
I spent a lot of time workingwith students with severe
learning disabilities andhelping them find pathways into
writing and into language andinto expression, and that opened
up my knowledge even more.
So I had this intuitive senseof you know when I would work
(02:51):
with somebody, finding whathelped them.
And then it was really helpfulto have this knowledge of you
know different possible inroadsto the brain, in different ways
our brains are wired.
So that led me to coachingfirst students and then had a
revelatory moment in a businesscoaching program.
(03:12):
I was just trying to grow mybusiness coaching students and
suddenly realized I was in aroom full of amazingly smart
business owners who were allstruggling with writing.
Aideen Ni Riada (03:23):
It's everybody.
You know we have so much input.
This is what was going throughmy mind when you were talking
there.
It's it's about you know.
Why is writing important?
You know, and why have wegotten out of the habit of
writing things?
You know, it's almost likeeverything is a three line
(03:43):
summary and there's very littleexpansion within what the
average everyday person wouldwrite down.
Students and then withinbusinesses, what do you think
(04:08):
the benefits are of developingwriting skills and what do
people get when they start usingsome of the resources that you
help them with?
Megan Barnhard (04:16):
I think writing is really how we're
understanding the world, right?
We're developing a topic,whether we're doing that
formally, through an expositoryessay, you know, and what are
the causes, or what are theeffects, or what are the reasons
why something's happening, or apersuasive piece of writing,
whether we're doing somethingthat in depth, or we're
(04:36):
sketching an idea on a socialmedia post or even in a piece of
poetry.
I think writing is aconversation we're having with
ourselves and with source,trying to understand what we're
experiencing.
We have these moments of vastexpansiveness, right, sometimes
(04:58):
in meditation, or if you're innature and you're watching the
sunset, where there aren't a lotof words happening, right,
you're just really present,you're really in the experience,
and that's a way of beingthat's lovely.
And yet, how we grow, how wetransform, how we shed old
(05:18):
identities that don't serve usand step into new ways of being,
I think is through knowingourselves and self-reflection,
right.
So that's an internalconversation we're having.
Why did I do that?
Do I want to do that goingforward?
What could I do instead?
Where did this habit come from?
Right?
(05:38):
All of these kinds ofself-inquiry questions are, I
think, writing first in the mindand then we expand it and put
it on paper so that our ideashold still.
So, to my mind, when we'retalking about writing, we're
talking about the evolution ofan individual and then also the
(06:01):
evolution of our culture, of oursociety.
If we don't write down ourideas, we can't hold them in
common and look at themcritically and say, no, this
doesn't make sense as a societyor as a culture.
You know, we need to rethinkhow we're addressing this.
We need to move forward fromwhat has been and the way we
(06:25):
know what has been and the waywe talk through.
What we want instead is, Ithink, through writing.
So I think it's a fundamentalpart of being, of living a
self-examined life.
Aideen Ni Riada (06:41):
That's a beautiful thing, you know, to
live a self-examined life, and Ilove the phrase you used to let
the I to make the ideas holdstill, because it's so much goes
through the head.
Right, our brains are likefiltering so much, so many words
, so much meaning, yeah, and itsounds to me like what you're
(07:02):
suggesting is a way of, uh,discerning and finding the
wisdom, or finding the learning,or the gem, or whatever it is.
There's something there and ourbrain keeps, you know, churning
everything until it starts tomake sense.
Megan Barnhard (07:21):
Yes, sense, yes, and only once it's holding
still.
You know, once the ideas areholding still can we look at
them.
I think with detachment.
So as long as the thoughts arein our head, we really identify
with them, right, and a lot ofcoaches, a lot of spiritual
teachers have written about this.
You know, identifying with thethoughts and over-identifying
(07:43):
and that is kind of the path ofsuffering, right.
And writing things down givesus detachment and then we can
look at the ideas and say, huh,is that true?
Do I want to believe it?
You know, anybody who's everdone a journaling activity has
felt the relief of moving theidea from, as you said, churning
(08:07):
to the page.
And then we have some distancefrom it and we say is that true?
Do I know for sure that's true?
Is there something that couldbe more supportive?
If this is true, do I want tochange it?
Do I want to take some actionaround it?
So, absolutely, it's creatingthe space to have new thoughts
(08:31):
instead of the same thoughtscirculating.
When we write them down andlook at them with some distance
and detachment, we get to decideif those are the thoughts we
want to keep or we want toupgrade them.
Aideen Ni Riada (08:43):
If those are the thoughts we want to keep or
we want to upgrade them.
What I'm really hearing fromyou is that it's a catalyst for
change, and so many of us wantthings to change, sometimes in
small ways, sometimes in bigways, and it can feel so
overwhelming when we have maybea big change that's needed or we
(09:03):
have a big problem or challengethat we're handling.
So it sounds to me like I needto start journaling again.
Megan Barnhard (09:12):
I think it's such a magical practice.
And the other thing I'll sayabout writing and I have a bias,
because writing is what came tome Somebody who dances may feel
this way about dancing.
Somebody who sculpts may feelthis way about to me.
Somebody who dances may feelthis way about dancing.
Somebody who sculpts may feelthis way about sculpting.
Somebody who sings may feelthis way about singing.
But I also feel that writing isa way of becoming a conduit for
(09:36):
source.
You know the collectiveunconscious of the world of
humanity.
It's a way of tapping in.
So there's this aspect towriting where we're clearing
(09:59):
what's in our own heads andwe're creating some peace there.
But there also is thiscommunion with the divine, I
feel, where we become thechannel and when we can clear
the mind, chatter and step outwith the divine, I feel where we
become the channel and when wecan clear the mind, chatter and
step out of the way things comethrough.
And sometimes you write and youalmost want to look over your
shoulder and ask who said that?
Right, it's like I didn't knowthat thought was in me until I
(10:21):
gave it the space to flow out.
So writing, whether it'sjournaling or any kind of
writing, is also, I think, anopportunity to become conscious
of how much you know, that youmay not know you know, and to
allow the ideas that arecircling in the ether to find a
(10:43):
home in you and through you andenter the world, and that that
truly is life-changing.
I mean, I say your words willchange the world.
Um, and I I really think thatwhen we open to ideas and we
also have a practice of writingright We've done the, the
(11:04):
research internally to find outwhat gives us writing flow, so
that we have some facility withthe practice when we do that,
we're allowing the new ideas tocome through.
That will change the world.
And we're in such a strangeplace in the story of humanity
(11:26):
right now because, on the onehand, everybody can talk to
everybody and there's so muchwriting circulating.
But the question is are welistening to one another?
Because if that is another partof this puzzle or piece of this
puzzle, we can't change theworld with our words if no one
(11:49):
is listening.
Aideen Ni Riada (11:51):
And that brings us back to something we
mentioned before we even startedour recording today, which is
are we listening to ourselves?
I definitely feel there's somuch input.
Everything is kind of coming atus.
We, um, we are watching the tvfor entertainment, we are, you
(12:13):
know, getting other people'sopinions about things, and we
can be frantically searchingexternally for answers to all of
the questions in our minds andI I know that this is something
you're interested in promoting.
Is this idea of coming back tolistening to ourselves?
Megan Barnhard (12:35):
Yeah, and creating some blank space
Because, as you're saying, it'sconstant input and I think that
becomes a self-perpetuatingcycle Because most of the inputs
are really activating, arereally, you know, putting us
(12:56):
into, you know, an arousednervous system state, and it
doesn't even necessarily have tobe something negative.
You know, obviously there's somuch frightening news in the
world, there's so much bad newsthat we're exposed to.
But just even the pace, youknow, when I walk through the
(13:19):
supermarket and they're playingpop music, I just I'm always
struck by how nervous systemarousal creating it is.
You know, everything is thisfast pace, so there are all of
these inputs.
So then we feel stressed, so wewant to numb, so we look for
more inputs.
Right, so it can be this, thiscycle that goes around and
(13:40):
around, um, where it feelsuncomfortable often to pause and
really feel, and I'm thinkingabout, you know, resonate the
name of your show, and thinkingabout when you play a guitar and
you strum the last chord andyou don't dampen the sound and
(14:01):
you just let it resonate, andthat stillness of absorbing and
integrating is really importantfor being able to create.
So, if we want to write, if wewant to be creating more,
pausing and listening toourselves is such a key part of
(14:24):
that, and that might meanjournaling, just for us.
You know I'm listening tomyself and my words are
primarily for me or making,making sounds.
Um, I think using your voicephysically is a huge part of
being able to write, and I teacha workshop called Activate your
(14:51):
Voice, and part of what we dois speaking aloud and making
sounds and getting comfortablewith hearing the sound of your
own voice, and it's on, it'sonline, so everybody's only
hearing their own sound.
You know they're just alonewith it, and I think it's
(15:11):
profound when you hear the powerof your own voice.
Yeah, do you have?
Aideen Ni Riada (15:17):
that experienced.
Yeah, I mean, there's a coupleof things coming.
You know that there's a certaineven with writing something
down, or even making a noise canbe a form of release and that
(15:38):
can alleviate the churning sideof things.
And then, beyond that, there'sthe feeling of each voice has a
place and that my voice isallowed to be audible.
You know, we can be so carefulI'm sure you get this with
(15:59):
writing as well.
We are so careful.
We want the thing that we writedown to be right, straight away
.
We want to say the perfectthing straight away.
We want to write the hit songstraight away.
That's what you want to do.
We are all so tuned into whatthe end goal should be that
(16:21):
sometimes we're not taking thejourney, and what you're saying
to me is about let's enjoy thejourney, let's explore the
different aspects of expressionthat we have, whether that be
writing or the voice, orcreating visually.
There's an opportunity there todiscover something.
Megan Barnhard (16:42):
Yeah, I think that's also what lets in
creativity.
I describe um, the part of my.
I think we have different partsof the writing brain and they
respond to different energiesand and, uh, you know different
approaches and I call mydrafting part of my brain, my
inner five-year-old um.
She's one of the cards in thein the wise writer within oracle
(17:03):
deck.
She brings her energy.
Aideen Ni Riada (17:04):
Well, we have to explain this now because, um,
Megan has created a beautifulwise writer within oracle deck
with 54 cards and a guidebookand with art by nixie foster,
and you graciously sent me theum full deck and before our
interviews, I have seen thesecards and they are gorgeous.
(17:27):
So, um, yeah, so this is abeautiful thing that you've
created with this, with yourhigher self, I'm sure, guiding
you.
Megan Barnhard (17:40):
Absolutely Well, thank you.
Yes, so I'm curious, when youget to the inner five-year-old,
what your your take will be.
But you know, I I think this issuch a beautiful energy and the
inner five-year-old is messyand likes to splash in mud
puddles and finger paint and isiterative and goes what if we
move this over here?
And what if we move this overhere?
And just wants to get her handsdirty and get in and try things
(18:05):
.
And the analytical adult partof our brain very useful, very
glad to have mine right.
This is the part who will laterhelp me with revising and
editing.
But think about what happens ifthat analytical adult stands
over the five-year-old.
Oh, you're going to make a mess.
Oh, that's not how that's used.
Oh, you know, trees aren'tfluorescent pink.
That's the wrong color, right?
(18:26):
Eventually the innerfive-year-old gets fed up and
stomps off, right?
So if we treat our creativityin a constricted way, we say,
all right, you know, please sendme an amazing idea, but it has
to have an incredible openingfirst line.
As soon as I start writing, youknow, our creativity eventually
is like I'm going to go playsomewhere else.
(18:47):
These are not the conditionsthat help me thrive.
So, absolutely, when I'mworking with clients and when
I'm writing I want what goes outinto the world to be the best
it can be.
But that's not how it'sstarting out, and it's more than
enjoying the journey, it's morethan being open to the
(19:13):
wonderful experience.
It's really just about what'sefficient and what's effective,
and play and pleasure whenyou're in that drafting space is
going to get you so muchfurther than being an inner
critic or even being a rulefollower.
(19:34):
You know, when you're writingthat first draft it's like
forget about how that word isspelled, or is that a
sophisticated way of phrasingthings?
All that's going to slow downthe creative flow.
So if you've ever been inconversation with somebody and I
do this all the time aninterrupter and you interrupt to
(19:56):
interject something, evensomething supportive, like oh
yes, I understand, and they losetheir train of thought.
Aideen Ni Riada (20:28):
You know, you just lost that creative flow.
So the idea of getting into aspace where you can be messy, to
create, is vital to my mind tobeing able to allow those ideas.
Her, my version of that a lotof space.
Because what happens is westart to rely on that critical
(20:51):
part and we, you know, we knowthat that's the part that can
earn us money and that cancreate something very logical.
And it becomes a feeling of,you know, I can control things
when I'm in my more adult mind,um, but when the invitation that
(21:20):
you're suggesting is to go intoa feeling of freedom, which can
be something we could be afraidof, and certainly deep down
there is within me a little bitof a fear of letting go of the
reins and letting the horses runwild I would.
Megan Barnhard (21:32):
I hear you 100%, and so here's another vital
piece to bring to theconversation that creativity
truly feels free to flow whenthere is structure.
So I see writing as this dancebetween structure and flow, and
the structure is the container.
It could be an outline or atemplate.
(21:53):
I create a lot of what I callplug and play templates for
writers that are like Mad Libs.
If you ever played those I haveno idea what you're talking
about.
Okay, it was a way of makingsilly stories, and so you would
fill in the blanks, but oneperson wouldn't see what the
whole story would be.
So you would say to your friendokay, give me a noun, give me
(22:15):
an adjective, and you would endup with this goofy story about a
turquoise elephant who rode ona roller coaster, or something
like this.
Aideen Ni Riada (22:23):
Right, Because you're just filling in.
Megan Barnhard (22:24):
So the structure already exists and you're
simply filling in your piece ofit, which sounds the opposite of
creative, it sounds theopposite of letting that inner
five-year-old play.
But the magic in structure isthat it says, hey, I've already
figured out something that works, that takes you from beginning
(22:45):
to end, for example, in how totell a story.
Right, I've given you thispathway and your job is to just
show up and dance your waythrough it.
So these are the banks of theriver and the water gets to gush
and flow and, you know, havethis powerful force that, um,
you know, can generateelectricity by turning a turbine
(23:07):
a turbine.
That doesn't happen if thereare no banks to the river.
Right, then you get a Delta andthe water just kind of spills
out.
It doesn't have any forwardmomentum or force that can
create impact.
So the structure is an importantpiece and for anybody who's
feeling that fear of expression,I highly recommend some
(23:27):
structure, and it could be assimple and straightforward as a
writing prompt.
It doesn't have to be anythingfancy, but if you just say, oh,
I have this writing prompt andI'm just going to trust the
prompt and allow whateverunfolds to unfold, all of a
sudden there's some more safetyfor creativity, because it's
(23:47):
only natural for creativity tosay well, wait a minute, am I
about to channel my energy and Idon't know where it's going?
And what if I don't getsomething helpful?
What if I just wasted all of mywriting time and I didn't end
up with something that you knowhelps me achieve my goal?
What a very natural fear tohave.
Aideen Ni Riada (24:08):
Yeah, and the what was coming to mind there
was also about like that nervoussystem response that we have
when we feel things are a littleout of control or when we are
fearful and coming into a kindof a state of peace and there's
a lot of um with.
I teach meditation and there'sa lot of benefit to to just
(24:30):
being you know.
Just being you know anddeciding that right now for the
next one hour or whatever in agroup situation, or 10 minutes
if you're on your own, or eventhree minutes, just say for the
next three minutes, I'm justgoing to sit here and breathe
and allow for just peace to comein for a few minutes for a few
(24:55):
minutes.
Megan Barnhard (24:55):
That sounds like a beautiful way of listening to
yourself, because listening toyourself is also listening to
your system, to your body, toyour somatic voice.
Aideen Ni Riada (25:03):
Yes, and you know I very rarely hear the word
somatic back in Ireland, but,um, this idea I've.
I've been seeing an Alexandertechnique therapist and she gave
me some exercises to do andthey're really hard, you know,
because you sit there and you'relike, okay, I'm looking around
the room, I'm just checking outthe ceiling and you know the
(25:27):
ceiling feels high or low orwhatever it is you're, you're
there's this whole you knowstructure that she gives for
doing this exercise, which isgreat.
And then you turn inward andyou think about how do my
shoulders feel?
And does one shoulder feelhigher than the other?
And How's my belly?
Am I tensing?
And a lot of us I would say mostof us go through most of our
(25:51):
lives with no respect whatsoeverfor that internal self, in
tip-top condition all the time,and often I'm guilty myself.
When things aren't going well,we are frustrated and we're like
(26:13):
, hey, you body, arm, whateverwhat's going on.
You know there's thisdisrespect, this idea of
listening to ourselves.
I think it comes down to alsorespecting your truth in
whatever moment you arecurrently in.
Megan Barnhard (26:31):
Yes, and this practice is an amazing entry
point into greater creativity,because listening to ourselves,
we're listening to our body,we're listening to what do I
need right now?
I teach a lot aboutprocrastination and
(26:52):
perfectionism.
I have perfectedprocrastination in my life.
I call myself the mayor ofprocrastination town and there's
so much of that.
That's about listening to ourbody.
So, oh, I start writing, butthen I immediately get up to
make another cup of tea.
Well, there's, you know, mybody's sending me an important
(27:12):
message there, which is I'm kindof tired.
What if I?
Maybe I do make the cup of teaand then come back to writing,
but maybe that also means I takesome time and I breathe and I
stretch and I get some moreoxygen to my brain, or I go and
I stand out in the sunshine.
So, yeah, I resonate with whatyou're saying about we blame the
body, we shame the body.
(27:34):
We say why are you not givingme what I need and I want?
And we may do that with ourcreativity as well or with our
focus when we're writing and theshift there a lot of my work in
writing, coaching is in thespace of reframing.
There, you know, a lot of mywork in writing.
Coaching is in the space ofreframing.
You know what's?
What's a more powerful story Icould tell that makes me the
(27:55):
hero and gives me agency andchoice.
So the reframe around oh, Idon't have any good ideas is ah,
I may need to give myself somemore time to gather my ideas.
I may need to recoup some of mycreative energy in some way by
sitting down and doing somemeditation or doing some somatic
inquiry.
(28:15):
So these practices you'retalking about, of listening to
the body, respecting the body,can open up creativity as well.
And then we come intorelationship with our body where
we're partners and we'reco-creators, as opposed to
(28:38):
master and machine.
Let me squeeze some moreproductivity out of myself.
Okay, that, that's apossibility, that's a paradigm,
um, but you might find it's waymore productive and feels a lot
better to partner with your body, to partner with your
(29:02):
creativity, by listening withoutjudgment and just asking what's
going on.
Aideen Ni Riada (29:07):
Yeah, so with our creativity.
This might Sorry, and stayplayful, like you're saying,
about the inner five-year-old.
Megan Barnhard (29:15):
Absolutely To gamify things.
I will do this sometimes withwriting and using something as
simple as the Pomodoro technique, you know, which is just
setting a timer for 25 minutes.
It's 25 minutes on and thenfive minutes off, so it becomes
a game.
How much of this can I get donein 25 minutes?
(29:37):
I'm racing against the clock,which does bring this, this
playful aspect, in, but thereare so many ideas available and
ready for us if we're willing toslow down and listen to our own
intuition.
And I think these things areinextricably linked listening to
(30:02):
the body and listening to theintuition.
The intuition, because if we'relistening inward but the body
is, if we're not in the body andwe're kind of disembodied, when
we're listening inward, we'reprobably listening to the inner
thought loop, to the innercritic, to perfectionism, to
futurizing, to the mind who'sdesperately trying to keep us
(30:28):
safe by predicting what willhappen or by rehashing what has
happened, as opposed to our deepknowing and our deep intuition.
That is the place from whichthose big, bold, world-changing
ideas come from.
Aideen Ni Riada (30:43):
And I know you work with business owners also
who may have the big, bold worldchanging ideas.
What you mentioned earlier inyour bio is that you help those
people to connect more deeplywith those they want to reach.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthat.
We're kind of getting towardsthe end of how much time we have
(31:07):
, but I think this is animportant aspect because most a
lot of the listeners and youknow may be working in some area
where they they need to connectwith others.
Megan Barnhard (31:20):
Yes.
So everyone I encounter knowsmore than they know.
They know, and I see my job asto help them bring that
knowledge to the surface.
And so I do energeticconnections with one-on-one
clients and, as I mentioned, inworkshops, where we're simply
tapping into that place, whereyou're energetically connected
(31:43):
with your audience.
And the business owners I workwith tend to be incredibly
empathic, intuitive and reallylead their business from a sense
of purpose and mission.
Right, this is the work theywere called to do, and so you
know our, our goal together isjust to open that connection,
(32:06):
open that channel, drop theminto their empathy and then,
from that inspired state, theyknow.
So I'll ask, I'll prompt themwith questions.
You know what is your audiencefeeling.
I'll have them envision theiraudience and you know what are
they saying and see the pain andwhere's it coming from and what
do they wish they could have.
And these beautiful businessowners are just speaking Is this
(32:30):
?
Oh, they need this, this, this,it's all just flowing out of
them.
And then, of course, I'mhelping them to shape it into
content and providing thestructure and providing the
feedback.
But that's a form of listeningto yourself as well, and I'm
creating a space that we don'tnecessarily create for ourselves
, which is just to really dropin and ask these questions and
(32:58):
allow whatever comes out to comeout, without trying to shape it
into something that sounds justright.
Aideen Ni Riada (33:05):
Do you find people that are surprised by
what comes out of your sessionswith them?
Megan Barnhard (33:11):
Oh, absolutely, and I, I love, I love the look
on someone's face when they go.
You know that, that feeling Iwas describing of when you're
writing and you kind of lookover your shoulder and go well,
who said that?
Cause, that's brilliant.
I mean, they'll often come outof this visualization and open
their eyes and go whoa, I didn'tknow that was in me and in a
(33:37):
sense it was in them and inanother sense it wasn't right.
It was like they became thechannel for what was in their
audience to come through intothe space.
But they're surprised anddelighted and yet, at the same
time, they feel it's up to them.
You know, my Oracle deck iscalled Wise Writer Within,
(33:59):
because I truly believe thateveryone has within them a wise
writer who knows, and so my jobis never to tell somebody this
is how you have to say itbecause they need to feel that
intuitive.
Yes, they need to go.
That's what I want to say,that's what resonates with my
audience.
Um, that is my truth.
(34:21):
But I get to, you know, openthe doorway and let the flood of
ideas come through for them tobe able to recognize them.
That's beautiful.
Aideen Ni Riada (34:33):
So I would love to you know, connect some of
our listeners to you a littlebit more.
So I want to let everyone knoweveryone who's listening.
Thank you so much for listening.
By the way, that we will havein the show notes a link to
Megan's website and she doeshave her awesome Oracle deck
(34:56):
available.
And where can people get theOracle deck, Megan?
That's on the website.
Yeah, perfect.
And also that you do have anumber of offerings through your
website for business owners,for writers and what kinds of
things can people you know howcan people connect with you if
(35:19):
they wanted to work with you insome way?
Megan Barnhard (35:22):
Absolutely.
On my website there's a link tomessage me and you can message
me directly and just let me knowwhere you are with writing and
what your goals are.
I work with folks individuallyand I also have a membership for
soul-led business owners calledWrite your Light Collective,
which is a place specificallygeared toward consistently
(35:45):
creating content that feelsauthentic and that feels
inspiring, so that you can callin more of those clients whose
lives you transform.
But my work is reallypersonalized to different folks.
I create a lot of bespokepackages, so best thing is to
(36:06):
get on that website and just hitthat message me button.
Aideen Ni Riada (36:10):
Beautiful.
Tell us about some of thethings that you've written in
the past that you've been proudof, because I'm sure you have
stuff out there that you maybeyou don't promote as often as
your current offerings, and I'mcurious what kind of writing
you've done in the past andwhere people can you know who
would be interested in those?
Megan Barnhard (36:30):
Oh my goodness, yeah, it ranges from STEM
curriculum.
Aideen Ni Riada (36:36):
What is STEM curriculum?
Megan Barnhard (36:38):
Oh, uh, uh.
Science, technology,engineering and math.
Um.
So I've written curriculum.
I've written books on how towrite and the writing process.
I've written for an anthologysome of my more personal stories
.
(37:00):
The bulk of my writing,interestingly, is in my content
for my business, is in mycontent for my business and in
some ways that seems soinsignificant because it's
content, it goes on social media, it's there and it disappears.
But what I found over the yearsis that it is such a beautiful
(37:22):
sandbox for developing our ideasAt the top of our conversation.
I was talking about our writingbeing this conversation with
ourselves and how we areunpacking our ideas and
developing them.
And what I've found is that thespace to write impermanently on
(37:43):
social media channels or in myweekly emails that go out to my
audience is such a beautifulinvitation to play without the
pressure, because I get to askokay, what feels alive for me
right now?
What's really on my mind?
Oh, what was a client juststruggling with?
And you know I'll often writeemails where I've just given
(38:06):
permission or acknowledgement toa client and then I, taking out
the personalized details youknow, share that with a larger
audience.
Like I've just said this to aclient, you may need to hear it
as well that kind of thing andyou know that has created such a
deepening in my writing.
It really helped lead to theWise Writer Within Oracle deck,
(38:29):
because so many of thosepowerful statements that are in
the deck are pieces of wisdomthat I have shared with clients
over the years, things that cameup intuitively in response to a
challenge or an unhelpfulbelief that a client was having,
and these are things that Ispontaneously shared and then
(38:51):
shared them so many times thatthey kind of just became part of
my toolbox.
So, funny enough, although I'vepublished three books, been part
of another multi-author bookpublished curriculum, have this
Oracle deck.
My most prolific writing isactually my content for my
(39:16):
business and that's why I reallyhave an interest in helping
people create business content.
I mean, yes, I want you tobring in more clients, but
ultimately I see it as this youknow it's unique to our time.
It's this platform, theseplatforms unique to our time,
that allow you to compile yourheart message in pieces.
(39:38):
You don't need to dive in anddo it all at once and wait until
you have the idea for the book.
You can build it daily as youlearn more and as you gain more
wisdom, you can build it daily.
Aideen Ni Riada (39:48):
As you learn more and as you gain more wisdom
, you can be sharing that wisdomand sharing your evolution in
real time, and I think that is abrilliant way to live an
examined life it is excitingwhen you put out something and
you get a response, and Idefinitely know from my own uh,
(40:09):
my my first published book,which is an e-book at the moment
, but it was based on a videothat I did that I just got an
amazing response to.
So, um, that's just, I think,really good advice for anyone is
to see everything that we do asa way of connecting with people
.
You know it's it's about, it'sabout relating, it's about
(40:30):
receiving, but also giving, andwhat you're talking about is is
just a beautiful process likethis.
I've written down a couple ofthings like about this idea of
gathering ideas and draftingthings and staying playful and
not being too critical andcreating structure that allows
that play, and I have, I bet,that your program is so
(40:54):
interesting.
It just even from the tidbitsthat you've mentioned today,
there's so much there that I canalready feel like little
simmering of ideas.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
It's been amazing.
Megan Barnhard (41:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
Aideen Ni Riada (41:10):
Yeah, is there anything else you wanted to say
to the listeners before wefinish up.
Is there anything that you wantto reiterate?
And you know anything quick?
Megan Barnhard (41:22):
Just that last thing you were saying about.
It's really about connectingand resonating, right?
This is the work that you dowhere it's I'm sending out this
vibration and it hits you, andthen you absorb it and you send
back, and then when we get onthat same frequency, magic
happens.
So when we first listen andfind what's resonating for us,
(41:43):
and then we share it out, we cancreate those vibrations.
That are the connections thereare the ways we communicate in
words and beyond words, and Imean that's what it's all about.
Aideen Ni Riada (41:57):
It's beautiful and the wisdom can come through
like that.
The channel is open.
Thank you so much, Megan, andthank you to anybody who's
listening.
We really appreciate you andplease share the podcast and
share Megan with the world.
Let's get this beautifulprogram that you have out there
to more people.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to come and talk to us
(42:20):
today.
Thank you.
Megan Barnhard (42:21):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been a delight.
Thank you.
Welcome.
This is the Resonate podcastwith Aideen.
I'm Aideen Ni Riada, and myguest today is Megan Barnhard.
Welcome, Megan.
Thanks so much for having me.
We're going to have a reallyexciting conversation.
We've already know what is.
You know, it's like wetting ourappetite and I'm really excited
to talk to you.
(00:23):
But I want to introduce you alittle to the audience before we
start.
Megan is a writing coach forbold thinkers who want to change
the world with their words.
As an intuitive channel, Meganconnects soul-led business
owners energetically to theiraudiences to elevate their sales
(00:43):
copy and content.
So, megan, I know that you're awriter yourself as well, which
is something you haven'tmentioned in that short bio.
You'll probably get to it later.
But how did you come to thispoint of you know writing
coaching?
Megan Barnhard (01:01):
By struggling with writing myself, which is
perhaps how so many of us cometo coaching I have.
I'm somebody who just feltshe's had an identity as a
writer my entire life and as akid was told by adults you're a
good writer, you're a strongwriter, you could be a writer
and I went to college andstudied philosophy and had to
(01:22):
write long form essays about bigideas and my whole writing
process fell apart because Ididn't have a writing process.
I'd always been somebody whosat down and just wrote.
The words flowed out and youknow, as this kind of identity
crisis hit me, um of, if I'm nota writer, who am I?
(01:47):
Right, I can't write, and thatmeans I'm not a writer.
So then, who am I?
I discovered that this flow I'dalways intuitively had could be
broken down into the steps of aprocess, and I became a little
bit obsessed with helping otherpeople find their process, and
by process I mean how do you gofrom an inspired idea or kind of
(02:07):
an inkling to an actualfinished piece of writing?
You know, going through somebrainstorming and outlining and
drafting and revising along theway.
So my own breakdown in how do Ido this led me to becoming
consciously competent atsomething I had been
(02:28):
unconsciously competent at, andthen studying writing, studying
how the brain works.
I spent a lot of time workingwith students with severe
learning disabilities andhelping them find pathways into
writing and into language andinto expression, and that opened
up my knowledge even more.
So I had this intuitive senseof you know when I would work
(02:51):
with somebody, finding whathelped them.
And then it was really helpfulto have this knowledge of you
know different possible inroadsto the brain, in different ways
our brains are wired.
So that led me to coachingfirst students and then had a
revelatory moment in a businesscoaching program.
(03:12):
I was just trying to grow mybusiness coaching students and
suddenly realized I was in aroom full of amazingly smart
business owners who were allstruggling with writing.
Aideen Ni Riada (03:23):
It's everybody.
You know we have so much input.
This is what was going throughmy mind when you were talking
there.
It's it's about you know.
Why is writing important?
You know, and why have wegotten out of the habit of
writing things?
You know, it's almost likeeverything is a three line
(03:43):
summary and there's very littleexpansion within what the
average everyday person wouldwrite down.
Students and then withinbusinesses, what do you think
(04:08):
the benefits are of developingwriting skills and what do
people get when they start usingsome of the resources that you
help them with?
Megan Barnhard (04:16):
I think writing is really how we're
understanding the world, right?
We're developing a topic,whether we're doing that
formally, through an expositoryessay, you know, and what are
the causes, or what are theeffects, or what are the reasons
why something's happening, or apersuasive piece of writing,
whether we're doing somethingthat in depth, or we're
(04:36):
sketching an idea on a socialmedia post or even in a piece of
poetry.
I think writing is aconversation we're having with
ourselves and with source,trying to understand what we're
experiencing.
We have these moments of vastexpansiveness, right, sometimes
(04:58):
in meditation, or if you're innature and you're watching the
sunset, where there aren't a lotof words happening, right,
you're just really present,you're really in the experience,
and that's a way of beingthat's lovely.
And yet, how we grow, how wetransform, how we shed old
(05:18):
identities that don't serve usand step into new ways of being,
I think is through knowingourselves and self-reflection,
right.
So that's an internalconversation we're having.
Why did I do that?
Do I want to do that goingforward?
What could I do instead?
Where did this habit come from?
Right?
(05:38):
All of these kinds ofself-inquiry questions are, I
think, writing first in the mindand then we expand it and put
it on paper so that our ideashold still.
So, to my mind, when we'retalking about writing, we're
talking about the evolution ofan individual and then also the
(06:01):
evolution of our culture, of oursociety.
If we don't write down ourideas, we can't hold them in
common and look at themcritically and say, no, this
doesn't make sense as a societyor as a culture.
You know, we need to rethinkhow we're addressing this.
We need to move forward fromwhat has been and the way we
(06:25):
know what has been and the waywe talk through.
What we want instead is, Ithink, through writing.
So I think it's a fundamentalpart of being, of living a
self-examined life.
Aideen Ni Riada (06:41):
That's a beautiful thing, you know, to
live a self-examined life, and Ilove the phrase you used to let
the I to make the ideas holdstill, because it's so much goes
through the head.
Right, our brains are likefiltering so much, so many words
, so much meaning, yeah, and itsounds to me like what you're
(07:02):
suggesting is a way of, uh,discerning and finding the
wisdom, or finding the learning,or the gem, or whatever it is.
There's something there and ourbrain keeps, you know, churning
everything until it starts tomake sense.
Megan Barnhard (07:21):
Yes, sense, yes, and only once it's holding
still.
You know, once the ideas areholding still can we look at
them.
I think with detachment.
So as long as the thoughts arein our head, we really identify
with them, right, and a lot ofcoaches, a lot of spiritual
teachers have written about this.
You know, identifying with thethoughts and over-identifying
(07:43):
and that is kind of the path ofsuffering, right.
And writing things down givesus detachment and then we can
look at the ideas and say, huh,is that true?
Do I want to believe it?
You know, anybody who's everdone a journaling activity has
felt the relief of moving theidea from, as you said, churning
(08:07):
to the page.
And then we have some distancefrom it and we say is that true?
Do I know for sure that's true?
Is there something that couldbe more supportive?
If this is true, do I want tochange it?
Do I want to take some actionaround it?
So, absolutely, it's creatingthe space to have new thoughts
(08:31):
instead of the same thoughtscirculating.
When we write them down andlook at them with some distance
and detachment, we get to decideif those are the thoughts we
want to keep or we want toupgrade them.
Aideen Ni Riada (08:43):
If those are the thoughts we want to keep or
we want to upgrade them.
What I'm really hearing fromyou is that it's a catalyst for
change, and so many of us wantthings to change, sometimes in
small ways, sometimes in bigways, and it can feel so
overwhelming when we have maybea big change that's needed or we
(09:03):
have a big problem or challengethat we're handling.
So it sounds to me like I needto start journaling again.
Megan Barnhard (09:12):
I think it's such a magical practice.
And the other thing I'll sayabout writing and I have a bias,
because writing is what came tome Somebody who dances may feel
this way about dancing.
Somebody who sculpts may feelthis way about to me.
Somebody who dances may feelthis way about dancing.
Somebody who sculpts may feelthis way about sculpting.
Somebody who sings may feelthis way about singing.
But I also feel that writing isa way of becoming a conduit for
(09:36):
source.
You know the collectiveunconscious of the world of
humanity.
It's a way of tapping in.
So there's this aspect towriting where we're clearing
(09:59):
what's in our own heads andwe're creating some peace there.
But there also is thiscommunion with the divine, I
feel, where we become thechannel and when we can clear
the mind, chatter and step outwith the divine, I feel where we
become the channel and when wecan clear the mind, chatter and
step out of the way things comethrough.
And sometimes you write and youalmost want to look over your
shoulder and ask who said that?
Right, it's like I didn't knowthat thought was in me until I
(10:21):
gave it the space to flow out.
So writing, whether it'sjournaling or any kind of
writing, is also, I think, anopportunity to become conscious
of how much you know, that youmay not know you know, and to
allow the ideas that arecircling in the ether to find a
(10:43):
home in you and through you andenter the world, and that that
truly is life-changing.
I mean, I say your words willchange the world.
Um, and I I really think thatwhen we open to ideas and we
also have a practice of writingright We've done the, the
(11:04):
research internally to find outwhat gives us writing flow, so
that we have some facility withthe practice when we do that,
we're allowing the new ideas tocome through.
That will change the world.
And we're in such a strangeplace in the story of humanity
(11:26):
right now because, on the onehand, everybody can talk to
everybody and there's so muchwriting circulating.
But the question is are welistening to one another?
Because if that is another partof this puzzle or piece of this
puzzle, we can't change theworld with our words if no one
(11:49):
is listening.
Aideen Ni Riada (11:51):
And that brings us back to something we
mentioned before we even startedour recording today, which is
are we listening to ourselves?
I definitely feel there's somuch input.
Everything is kind of coming atus.
We, um, we are watching the tvfor entertainment, we are, you
(12:13):
know, getting other people'sopinions about things, and we
can be frantically searchingexternally for answers to all of
the questions in our minds andI I know that this is something
you're interested in promoting.
Is this idea of coming back tolistening to ourselves?
Megan Barnhard (12:35):
Yeah, and creating some blank space
Because, as you're saying, it'sconstant input and I think that
becomes a self-perpetuatingcycle Because most of the inputs
are really activating, arereally, you know, putting us
(12:56):
into, you know, an arousednervous system state, and it
doesn't even necessarily have tobe something negative.
You know, obviously there's somuch frightening news in the
world, there's so much bad newsthat we're exposed to.
But just even the pace, youknow, when I walk through the
(13:19):
supermarket and they're playingpop music, I just I'm always
struck by how nervous systemarousal creating it is.
You know, everything is thisfast pace, so there are all of
these inputs.
So then we feel stressed, so wewant to numb, so we look for
more inputs.
Right, so it can be this, thiscycle that goes around and
(13:40):
around, um, where it feelsuncomfortable often to pause and
really feel, and I'm thinkingabout, you know, resonate the
name of your show, and thinkingabout when you play a guitar and
you strum the last chord andyou don't dampen the sound and
(14:01):
you just let it resonate, andthat stillness of absorbing and
integrating is really importantfor being able to create.
So, if we want to write, if wewant to be creating more,
pausing and listening toourselves is such a key part of
(14:24):
that, and that might meanjournaling, just for us.
You know I'm listening tomyself and my words are
primarily for me or making,making sounds.
Um, I think using your voicephysically is a huge part of
being able to write, and I teacha workshop called Activate your
(14:51):
Voice, and part of what we dois speaking aloud and making
sounds and getting comfortablewith hearing the sound of your
own voice, and it's on, it'sonline, so everybody's only
hearing their own sound.
You know they're just alonewith it, and I think it's
(15:11):
profound when you hear the powerof your own voice.
Yeah, do you have?
Aideen Ni Riada (15:17):
that experienced.
Yeah, I mean, there's a coupleof things coming.
You know that there's a certaineven with writing something
down, or even making a noise canbe a form of release and that
(15:38):
can alleviate the churning sideof things.
And then, beyond that, there'sthe feeling of each voice has a
place and that my voice isallowed to be audible.
You know, we can be so carefulI'm sure you get this with
(15:59):
writing as well.
We are so careful.
We want the thing that we writedown to be right, straight away
.
We want to say the perfectthing straight away.
We want to write the hit songstraight away.
That's what you want to do.
We are all so tuned into whatthe end goal should be that
(16:21):
sometimes we're not taking thejourney, and what you're saying
to me is about let's enjoy thejourney, let's explore the
different aspects of expressionthat we have, whether that be
writing or the voice, orcreating visually.
There's an opportunity there todiscover something.
Megan Barnhard (16:42):
Yeah, I think that's also what lets in
creativity.
I describe um, the part of my.
I think we have different partsof the writing brain and they
respond to different energiesand and, uh, you know different
approaches and I call mydrafting part of my brain, my
inner five-year-old um.
She's one of the cards in thein the wise writer within oracle
(17:03):
deck.
She brings her energy.
Aideen Ni Riada (17:04):
Well, we have to explain this now because, um,
Megan has created a beautifulwise writer within oracle deck
with 54 cards and a guidebookand with art by nixie foster,
and you graciously sent me theum full deck and before our
interviews, I have seen thesecards and they are gorgeous.
(17:27):
So, um, yeah, so this is abeautiful thing that you've
created with this, with yourhigher self, I'm sure, guiding
you.
Megan Barnhard (17:40):
Absolutely Well, thank you.
Yes, so I'm curious, when youget to the inner five-year-old,
what your your take will be.
But you know, I I think this issuch a beautiful energy and the
inner five-year-old is messyand likes to splash in mud
puddles and finger paint and isiterative and goes what if we
move this over here?
And what if we move this overhere?
And just wants to get her handsdirty and get in and try things
(18:05):
.
And the analytical adult partof our brain very useful, very
glad to have mine right.
This is the part who will laterhelp me with revising and
editing.
But think about what happens ifthat analytical adult stands
over the five-year-old.
Oh, you're going to make a mess.
Oh, that's not how that's used.
Oh, you know, trees aren'tfluorescent pink.
That's the wrong color, right?
(18:26):
Eventually the innerfive-year-old gets fed up and
stomps off, right?
So if we treat our creativityin a constricted way, we say,
all right, you know, please sendme an amazing idea, but it has
to have an incredible openingfirst line.
As soon as I start writing, youknow, our creativity eventually
is like I'm going to go playsomewhere else.
(18:47):
These are not the conditionsthat help me thrive.
So, absolutely, when I'mworking with clients and when
I'm writing I want what goes outinto the world to be the best
it can be.
But that's not how it'sstarting out, and it's more than
enjoying the journey, it's morethan being open to the
(19:13):
wonderful experience.
It's really just about what'sefficient and what's effective,
and play and pleasure whenyou're in that drafting space is
going to get you so muchfurther than being an inner
critic or even being a rulefollower.
(19:34):
You know, when you're writingthat first draft it's like
forget about how that word isspelled, or is that a
sophisticated way of phrasingthings?
All that's going to slow downthe creative flow.
So if you've ever been inconversation with somebody and I
do this all the time aninterrupter and you interrupt to
(19:56):
interject something, evensomething supportive, like oh
yes, I understand, and they losetheir train of thought.
Aideen Ni Riada (20:28):
You know, you just lost that creative flow.
So the idea of getting into aspace where you can be messy, to
create, is vital to my mind tobeing able to allow those ideas.
Her, my version of that a lotof space.
Because what happens is westart to rely on that critical
(20:51):
part and we, you know, we knowthat that's the part that can
earn us money and that cancreate something very logical.
And it becomes a feeling of,you know, I can control things
when I'm in my more adult mind,um, but when the invitation that
(21:20):
you're suggesting is to go intoa feeling of freedom, which can
be something we could be afraidof, and certainly deep down
there is within me a little bitof a fear of letting go of the
reins and letting the horses runwild I would.
Megan Barnhard (21:32):
I hear you 100%, and so here's another vital
piece to bring to theconversation that creativity
truly feels free to flow whenthere is structure.
So I see writing as this dancebetween structure and flow, and
the structure is the container.
It could be an outline or atemplate.
(21:53):
I create a lot of what I callplug and play templates for
writers that are like Mad Libs.
If you ever played those I haveno idea what you're talking
about.
Okay, it was a way of makingsilly stories, and so you would
fill in the blanks, but oneperson wouldn't see what the
whole story would be.
So you would say to your friendokay, give me a noun, give me
(22:15):
an adjective, and you would endup with this goofy story about a
turquoise elephant who rode ona roller coaster, or something
like this.
Aideen Ni Riada (22:23):
Right, Because you're just filling in.
Megan Barnhard (22:24):
So the structure already exists and you're
simply filling in your piece ofit, which sounds the opposite of
creative, it sounds theopposite of letting that inner
five-year-old play.
But the magic in structure isthat it says, hey, I've already
figured out something that works, that takes you from beginning
(22:45):
to end, for example, in how totell a story.
Right, I've given you thispathway and your job is to just
show up and dance your waythrough it.
So these are the banks of theriver and the water gets to gush
and flow and, you know, havethis powerful force that, um,
you know, can generateelectricity by turning a turbine
(23:07):
a turbine.
That doesn't happen if thereare no banks to the river.
Right, then you get a Delta andthe water just kind of spills
out.
It doesn't have any forwardmomentum or force that can
create impact.
So the structure is an importantpiece and for anybody who's
feeling that fear of expression,I highly recommend some
(23:27):
structure, and it could be assimple and straightforward as a
writing prompt.
It doesn't have to be anythingfancy, but if you just say, oh,
I have this writing prompt andI'm just going to trust the
prompt and allow whateverunfolds to unfold, all of a
sudden there's some more safetyfor creativity, because it's
(23:47):
only natural for creativity tosay well, wait a minute, am I
about to channel my energy and Idon't know where it's going?
And what if I don't getsomething helpful?
What if I just wasted all of mywriting time and I didn't end
up with something that you knowhelps me achieve my goal?
What a very natural fear tohave.
Aideen Ni Riada (24:08):
Yeah, and the what was coming to mind there
was also about like that nervoussystem response that we have
when we feel things are a littleout of control or when we are
fearful and coming into a kindof a state of peace and there's
a lot of um with.
I teach meditation and there'sa lot of benefit to to just
(24:30):
being you know.
Just being you know anddeciding that right now for the
next one hour or whatever in agroup situation, or 10 minutes
if you're on your own, or eventhree minutes, just say for the
next three minutes, I'm justgoing to sit here and breathe
and allow for just peace to comein for a few minutes for a few
(24:55):
minutes.
Megan Barnhard (24:55):
That sounds like a beautiful way of listening to
yourself, because listening toyourself is also listening to
your system, to your body, toyour somatic voice.
Aideen Ni Riada (25:03):
Yes, and you know I very rarely hear the word
somatic back in Ireland, but,um, this idea I've.
I've been seeing an Alexandertechnique therapist and she gave
me some exercises to do andthey're really hard, you know,
because you sit there and you'relike, okay, I'm looking around
the room, I'm just checking outthe ceiling and you know the
(25:27):
ceiling feels high or low orwhatever it is you're, you're
there's this whole you knowstructure that she gives for
doing this exercise, which isgreat.
And then you turn inward andyou think about how do my
shoulders feel?
And does one shoulder feelhigher than the other?
And How's my belly?
Am I tensing?
And a lot of us I would say mostof us go through most of our
(25:51):
lives with no respect whatsoeverfor that internal self, in
tip-top condition all the time,and often I'm guilty myself.
When things aren't going well,we are frustrated and we're like
(26:13):
, hey, you body, arm, whateverwhat's going on.
You know there's thisdisrespect, this idea of
listening to ourselves.
I think it comes down to alsorespecting your truth in
whatever moment you arecurrently in.
Megan Barnhard (26:31):
Yes, and this practice is an amazing entry
point into greater creativity,because listening to ourselves,
we're listening to our body,we're listening to what do I
need right now?
I teach a lot aboutprocrastination and
(26:52):
perfectionism.
I have perfectedprocrastination in my life.
I call myself the mayor ofprocrastination town and there's
so much of that.
That's about listening to ourbody.
So, oh, I start writing, butthen I immediately get up to
make another cup of tea.
Well, there's, you know, mybody's sending me an important
(27:12):
message there, which is I'm kindof tired.
What if I?
Maybe I do make the cup of teaand then come back to writing,
but maybe that also means I takesome time and I breathe and I
stretch and I get some moreoxygen to my brain, or I go and
I stand out in the sunshine.
So, yeah, I resonate with whatyou're saying about we blame the
body, we shame the body.
(27:34):
We say why are you not givingme what I need and I want?
And we may do that with ourcreativity as well or with our
focus when we're writing and theshift there a lot of my work in
writing, coaching is in thespace of reframing.
There, you know, a lot of mywork in writing.
Coaching is in the space ofreframing.
You know what's?
What's a more powerful story Icould tell that makes me the
(27:55):
hero and gives me agency andchoice.
So the reframe around oh, Idon't have any good ideas is ah,
I may need to give myself somemore time to gather my ideas.
I may need to recoup some of mycreative energy in some way by
sitting down and doing somemeditation or doing some somatic
inquiry.
(28:15):
So these practices you'retalking about, of listening to
the body, respecting the body,can open up creativity as well.
And then we come intorelationship with our body where
we're partners and we'reco-creators, as opposed to
(28:38):
master and machine.
Let me squeeze some moreproductivity out of myself.
Okay, that, that's apossibility, that's a paradigm,
um, but you might find it's waymore productive and feels a lot
better to partner with your body, to partner with your
(29:02):
creativity, by listening withoutjudgment and just asking what's
going on.
Aideen Ni Riada (29:07):
Yeah, so with our creativity.
This might Sorry, and stayplayful, like you're saying,
about the inner five-year-old.
Megan Barnhard (29:15):
Absolutely To gamify things.
I will do this sometimes withwriting and using something as
simple as the Pomodoro technique, you know, which is just
setting a timer for 25 minutes.
It's 25 minutes on and thenfive minutes off, so it becomes
a game.
How much of this can I get donein 25 minutes?
(29:37):
I'm racing against the clock,which does bring this, this
playful aspect, in, but thereare so many ideas available and
ready for us if we're willing toslow down and listen to our own
intuition.
And I think these things areinextricably linked listening to
(30:02):
the body and listening to theintuition.
The intuition, because if we'relistening inward but the body
is, if we're not in the body andwe're kind of disembodied, when
we're listening inward, we'reprobably listening to the inner
thought loop, to the innercritic, to perfectionism, to
futurizing, to the mind who'sdesperately trying to keep us
(30:28):
safe by predicting what willhappen or by rehashing what has
happened, as opposed to our deepknowing and our deep intuition.
That is the place from whichthose big, bold, world-changing
ideas come from.
Aideen Ni Riada (30:43):
And I know you work with business owners also
who may have the big, bold worldchanging ideas.
What you mentioned earlier inyour bio is that you help those
people to connect more deeplywith those they want to reach.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthat.
We're kind of getting towardsthe end of how much time we have
(31:07):
, but I think this is animportant aspect because most a
lot of the listeners and youknow may be working in some area
where they they need to connectwith others.
Megan Barnhard (31:20):
Yes.
So everyone I encounter knowsmore than they know.
They know, and I see my job asto help them bring that
knowledge to the surface.
And so I do energeticconnections with one-on-one
clients and, as I mentioned, inworkshops, where we're simply
tapping into that place, whereyou're energetically connected
(31:43):
with your audience.
And the business owners I workwith tend to be incredibly
empathic, intuitive and reallylead their business from a sense
of purpose and mission.
Right, this is the work theywere called to do, and so you
know our, our goal together isjust to open that connection,
(32:06):
open that channel, drop theminto their empathy and then,
from that inspired state, theyknow.
So I'll ask, I'll prompt themwith questions.
You know what is your audiencefeeling.
I'll have them envision theiraudience and you know what are
they saying and see the pain andwhere's it coming from and what
do they wish they could have.
And these beautiful businessowners are just speaking Is this
(32:30):
?
Oh, they need this, this, this,it's all just flowing out of
them.
And then, of course, I'mhelping them to shape it into
content and providing thestructure and providing the
feedback.
But that's a form of listeningto yourself as well, and I'm
creating a space that we don'tnecessarily create for ourselves
, which is just to really dropin and ask these questions and
(32:58):
allow whatever comes out to comeout, without trying to shape it
into something that sounds justright.
Aideen Ni Riada (33:05):
Do you find people that are surprised by
what comes out of your sessionswith them?
Megan Barnhard (33:11):
Oh, absolutely, and I, I love, I love the look
on someone's face when they go.
You know that, that feeling Iwas describing of when you're
writing and you kind of lookover your shoulder and go well,
who said that?
Cause, that's brilliant.
I mean, they'll often come outof this visualization and open
their eyes and go whoa, I didn'tknow that was in me and in a
(33:37):
sense it was in them and inanother sense it wasn't right.
It was like they became thechannel for what was in their
audience to come through intothe space.
But they're surprised anddelighted and yet, at the same
time, they feel it's up to them.
You know, my Oracle deck iscalled Wise Writer Within,
(33:59):
because I truly believe thateveryone has within them a wise
writer who knows, and so my jobis never to tell somebody this
is how you have to say itbecause they need to feel that
intuitive.
Yes, they need to go.
That's what I want to say,that's what resonates with my
audience.
Um, that is my truth.
(34:21):
But I get to, you know, openthe doorway and let the flood of
ideas come through for them tobe able to recognize them.
That's beautiful.
Aideen Ni Riada (34:33):
So I would love to you know, connect some of
our listeners to you a littlebit more.
So I want to let everyone knoweveryone who's listening.
Thank you so much for listening.
By the way, that we will havein the show notes a link to
Megan's website and she doeshave her awesome Oracle deck
(34:56):
available.
And where can people get theOracle deck, Megan?
That's on the website.
Yeah, perfect.
And also that you do have anumber of offerings through your
website for business owners,for writers and what kinds of
things can people you know howcan people connect with you if
(35:19):
they wanted to work with you insome way?
Megan Barnhard (35:22):
Absolutely.
On my website there's a link tomessage me and you can message
me directly and just let me knowwhere you are with writing and
what your goals are.
I work with folks individuallyand I also have a membership for
soul-led business owners calledWrite your Light Collective,
which is a place specificallygeared toward consistently
(35:45):
creating content that feelsauthentic and that feels
inspiring, so that you can callin more of those clients whose
lives you transform.
But my work is reallypersonalized to different folks.
I create a lot of bespokepackages, so best thing is to
(36:06):
get on that website and just hitthat message me button.
Aideen Ni Riada (36:10):
Beautiful.
Tell us about some of thethings that you've written in
the past that you've been proudof, because I'm sure you have
stuff out there that you maybeyou don't promote as often as
your current offerings, and I'mcurious what kind of writing
you've done in the past andwhere people can you know who
would be interested in those?
Megan Barnhard (36:30):
Oh my goodness, yeah, it ranges from STEM
curriculum.
Aideen Ni Riada (36:36):
What is STEM curriculum?
Megan Barnhard (36:38):
Oh, uh, uh.
Science, technology,engineering and math.
Um.
So I've written curriculum.
I've written books on how towrite and the writing process.
I've written for an anthologysome of my more personal stories
.
(37:00):
The bulk of my writing,interestingly, is in my content
for my business, is in mycontent for my business and in
some ways that seems soinsignificant because it's
content, it goes on social media, it's there and it disappears.
But what I found over the yearsis that it is such a beautiful
(37:22):
sandbox for developing our ideasAt the top of our conversation.
I was talking about our writingbeing this conversation with
ourselves and how we areunpacking our ideas and
developing them.
And what I've found is that thespace to write impermanently on
(37:43):
social media channels or in myweekly emails that go out to my
audience is such a beautifulinvitation to play without the
pressure, because I get to askokay, what feels alive for me
right now?
What's really on my mind?
Oh, what was a client juststruggling with?
And you know I'll often writeemails where I've just given
(38:06):
permission or acknowledgement toa client and then I, taking out
the personalized details youknow, share that with a larger
audience.
Like I've just said this to aclient, you may need to hear it
as well that kind of thing andyou know that has created such a
deepening in my writing.
It really helped lead to theWise Writer Within Oracle deck,
(38:29):
because so many of thosepowerful statements that are in
the deck are pieces of wisdomthat I have shared with clients
over the years, things that cameup intuitively in response to a
challenge or an unhelpfulbelief that a client was having,
and these are things that Ispontaneously shared and then
(38:51):
shared them so many times thatthey kind of just became part of
my toolbox.
So, funny enough, although I'vepublished three books, been part
of another multi-author bookpublished curriculum, have this
Oracle deck.
My most prolific writing isactually my content for my
(39:16):
business and that's why I reallyhave an interest in helping
people create business content.
I mean, yes, I want you tobring in more clients, but
ultimately I see it as this youknow it's unique to our time.
It's this platform, theseplatforms unique to our time,
that allow you to compile yourheart message in pieces.
(39:38):
You don't need to dive in anddo it all at once and wait until
you have the idea for the book.
You can build it daily as youlearn more and as you gain more
wisdom, you can build it daily.
Aideen Ni Riada (39:48):
As you learn more and as you gain more wisdom
, you can be sharing that wisdomand sharing your evolution in
real time, and I think that is abrilliant way to live an
examined life it is excitingwhen you put out something and
you get a response, and Idefinitely know from my own uh,
(40:09):
my my first published book,which is an e-book at the moment
, but it was based on a videothat I did that I just got an
amazing response to.
So, um, that's just, I think,really good advice for anyone is
to see everything that we do asa way of connecting with people
.
You know it's it's about, it'sabout relating, it's about
(40:30):
receiving, but also giving, andwhat you're talking about is is
just a beautiful process likethis.
I've written down a couple ofthings like about this idea of
gathering ideas and draftingthings and staying playful and
not being too critical andcreating structure that allows
that play, and I have, I bet,that your program is so
(40:54):
interesting.
It just even from the tidbitsthat you've mentioned today,
there's so much there that I canalready feel like little
simmering of ideas.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
It's been amazing.
Megan Barnhard (41:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
Aideen Ni Riada (41:10):
Yeah, is there anything else you wanted to say
to the listeners before wefinish up.
Is there anything that you wantto reiterate?
And you know anything quick?
Megan Barnhard (41:22):
Just that last thing you were saying about.
It's really about connectingand resonating, right?
This is the work that you dowhere it's I'm sending out this
vibration and it hits you, andthen you absorb it and you send
back, and then when we get onthat same frequency, magic
happens.
So when we first listen andfind what's resonating for us,
(41:43):
and then we share it out, we cancreate those vibrations.
That are the connections thereare the ways we communicate in
words and beyond words, and Imean that's what it's all about.
Aideen Ni Riada (41:57):
It's beautiful and the wisdom can come through
like that.
The channel is open.
Thank you so much, Megan, andthank you to anybody who's
listening.
We really appreciate you andplease share the podcast and
share Megan with the world.
Let's get this beautifulprogram that you have out there
to more people.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to come and talk to us
(42:20):
today.
Thank you.
Megan Barnhard (42:21):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been a delight.
Thank you.
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