January 14, 2025 • 57 mins
In this transformative episode of Soul CPR, we’re joined by the inspiring Dr. Joanna McDonald to explore the art of creating a safe and solid lifestyle that nurtures every aspect of your being—body, mind, and spirit.
Discover practical strategies to build a strong foundation for your life, empowering you to thrive in every season. Whether you’re seeking balance, healing, or renewal, this conversation will guide you toward a life of fulfillment and well-being.
#SoulCPR #buildingyourfoundation #mindbodyspirit #lifestylewellness #holistichealth #selfcare #emotionalwellness #positiveliving #thriveeveryday #nourishyoursoul #soulspace #lotuslivingspace
Guest Contact:
Website: joannamcdonald.ca
Instagram @thelotuslivingspace
Facebook @thelotuslivingspace
Linktr.ee https://linktr.ee/joannamcdonald
Free Gift: "Mastering your intuition in 21-days self-care plan"
https://www.joannamcdonald.ca/videos-podcasts-meditations
Discover practical strategies to build a strong foundation for your life, empowering you to thrive in every season. Whether you’re seeking balance, healing, or renewal, this conversation will guide you toward a life of fulfillment and well-being.
#SoulCPR #buildingyourfoundation #mindbodyspirit #lifestylewellness #holistichealth #selfcare #emotionalwellness #positiveliving #thriveeveryday #nourishyoursoul #soulspace #lotuslivingspace
Guest Contact:
Website: joannamcdonald.ca
Instagram @thelotuslivingspace
Facebook @thelotuslivingspace
Linktr.ee https://linktr.ee/joannamcdonald
Free Gift: "Mastering your intuition in 21-days self-care plan"
https://www.joannamcdonald.ca/videos-podcasts-meditations
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Are you ready to untangle from your past, recover from heartbreak,
and revive your life. This is Soul CPR with your
host and Papa Yode. We've all had soul crushing experiences
and lost ourselves in our pain, but there is a
way out. On this podcast, Amazon best selling author, award
winning life coach and advice columnist and Papa Yode helps
(00:27):
us navigate the path from heartbreak to healing. So now
please welcome the host of Soul CPR and Papa Yode.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hello, everyone, and thank you for tuning in today. I
wanted to say that I've had a lot of really
wonderful feedback about the Letting Go series that we've had
two shows on so far, and as promised, I will
bring that third and final show to you early next month.
(01:03):
But first I've got a few other things I'd like
to bring to the table and share with you. And
with this being the new year, I've had conversations with
many people who are struggling to kind of find their
group or their rhythm, if you will, And so despite
their best intention, even and the fact that we're already
(01:23):
halfway through the month of January, I thought it's really
a great time to bring my first guest and this
topic building your foundation, mind, body and spirit, and what
we mean by that is really creating that safe and
(01:43):
solid lifestyle if you will, to support and nurture every
aspect of your being. So to help with that conversation
and to lead us into that is metaphysician, seeker and
health passionista, the incredible and inspiring doctor Joanna McDonald. Joanna,
(02:08):
welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Thank you so much for having me. That's quite an introduction.
I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Thank you, of course, Joanna. So I'd like to always
share with my audience how I know and find my guests,
and once again it's one of my passions that initially
introduced us because your beautiful mom, Sharon, Hello, if you're
listening or watching, found and joined my Zoompa class back
(02:36):
when I was living in Point Claire, Quebec. And I
believe you came as a guest one time, and then
we got to knowing one of her stories and you
were sharing your expertise in healthy eating and living. I
think you brought some pressures and talked to us when
you were doing your soul food block that day.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Do you remember that, I do I do, and a
lot has changed since then. When I look back, I
can't believe how long it's been and how far I've
come from that day.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, of course, well we're going to get into all
that about your journey. But I just love how I've
noticed throughout my life that Zoomba has been and continues
to be that great human connector for me. When people
dance to music and where the exercises in disguise, if
you will, and they have that happy hour if you will,
(03:33):
I would say it's definitely part of my lifestyle foundation.
And we're going to get back around to that foundation
that we're talking about. But first, I want the audience
to learn more about you. And I know that becoming
a metaphysician has been a journey, and so let's start
at the beginning in mind. And I know that me
(03:55):
at least, when I think about your story, there's been
two distinct paths that may be intersected, one being your
gifts and one for help, which one of those that
share with us first, as I.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Know you'll doak at that, Well, maybe I'll start with
my health because that's been the obviously the overpowering theme
I guess throughout my life. And we were talking the
other day about gifts that show up in your life,
and I really believe that this is a big gift
for me because I really wouldn't be able to do
the things that I do and haven't probably would have
(04:36):
met half the people I know due to this. So
on the one hand, of course, it's been a huge
journey and illness probably since about mid twenties and I'm
fifty one now, so it's been quite a hall of
body body illness, getting through spirituality stuff, getting through emotional
(04:58):
blockages and trauma, and it's really helped me to understand
my clients so much better because I've lived it firsthand.
So for me, it's been a huge, huge gift. It
started really with It's funny, it started with IBS back
in the late nineties and I really thought, Okay, well,
(05:19):
this is just something I'm going to sail through and
it'll be fine, and I'll just change my diet and everything.
I'll be great. And I really wasn't all that spiritual
at this time, and I really was, I could honestly say,
disconnected from my body and my emotions and my spirit
to the point where I just said, okay, I'll just
pop a pill and everything I'll be great. Well, that
(05:43):
really began a journey of personal power and empowerment to
the point where I just kept learning more and more
and more about myself. And it wasn't just a simple
changing of a diet, but it was an entire lifestyle
that I believe I was learning. It was like I
was going to school for how to be I guess, empowered,
(06:05):
and how to learn self esteem, and how to learn boundaries,
and how to learn so many things. So I really
ran the gamut of everything in the digestive system, so ibs,
crones colitis, I've had pretty much every test known to womankind,
just let's just put it that way, to try to
get to the bottom of this. And it's just recently
(06:28):
that I am really finding out and understanding how I
operate and who I am as a person. And consequently
my health has gotten so much better. So it's been
quite quite a journey.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
So all of these health challenges that you were going through,
what a gamut of illness and disease. You named a
lot of things there, crones colitis, ibs, How did that
effect you personal life?
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Oh? Boy, huge, hugely. I had to make, of course,
some adaptations and some you know, concessions which I really
didn't want to do. I resisted this disease for a
long call Dad disease for a long time, and I
for a lot of years, I stuck my head in
(07:26):
the sand like an ostrich. I just really didn't want
to pay attention. I didn't want to learn, I didn't
want to do anything. I just wanted to be normal.
I wanted to eat what everybody else was eating. And
I was really I spent a good number of years
really excuse my own iage, really pissed, like I was
very angry that I had to go through this. I
remember having arguments with God and why is it happening
to me? And what's going on? And I really resisted,
(07:51):
and this is what led me to become extremely ill,
where I was in and out of the hospital with
different ailments and different things, and finally ending in cancer
in the year two thousand and when this is when
kind of my spirituality broke open wide and I heard
(08:15):
Spirit say to me. Being an EmPATH and a clairvoyant,
I had a direct message from Spirit. And I was
lying in the hospital bed and Spirit said to me, okay,
either you step up and you do your mission and
it's going to be easier, or you can continue this
way and you can die. So basically it was evolve
(08:38):
or die. And I said to myself, very reluctantly, I'm like, okay,
I just completely at that point. I remember I was
lying there and I just surrendered everything, crying and the tears,
and I just finally gave up the whole story of
trying to fight the flow. And I said, okay, all right,
(08:59):
this is going to take a little bit of work,
and I knew was going to take an inordinate amount
of change on my part and cooperation on my part.
And I made a promise to myself there then and
there that if I really wanted to get better, then
I had to love myself enough to do that. And
that was a huge step in that direction, because I
(09:21):
didn't have a lot of love for self, and I
really believe that that's what caused my disease in the
first place, is my self esteem was in the toilet
and I really really didn't feel good about myself and
that was not helping things at all. So that was
a really a big turning point for me.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
What a testament about self love or the lack thereof
something interesting. You said in there that you acknowledged that
you were an impath in clairvoyant and you had that
message that you received in Had that been blocked, that
gift blocked while you were going through this or when
did you know that you had those spiritus? Will guess
(10:02):
I think I.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Woke up at that point. In hindsight, I've known all
my life. I remember being a little kid and knowing
things ahead of time. I knew who was going to
call on the phone, I knew who was going to
come over. I knew what people were going to say
before they said it. But I somehow seemed to have
blocked all of that out. I didn't want to be that.
I didn't really want to come out of the you know,
(10:23):
the clairvoyant closet, let's say. And I really felt people
were going to think I was weird and woo woo,
and I resisted that a long time. So when then
when I finally did wake up in my mid thirties,
I said to myself, Okay, well, this is a part
of who I am, and I'm just going to be
who I need to be as much as I can.
(10:45):
And that was really a huge shift, a huge, huge
shift right there.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, it makes me think that how can we love
ourselves if we deny ourselves? Right? And that was part
right or who you are? So once you this evolve
or die? That was I wrote that down. I'm like, wow,
that's a big statement or a big wake up call.
(11:11):
As you said, what started changing? What did? What was
the next thing for you?
Speaker 3 (11:18):
The next thing for me is I I really gave
up a lot of my bad habits. I gave up
the self sabotage. That was a big one. I still
struggle with that a little bit today, but I really
that was one thing where I said, okay, I'm I
just don't want to hurt myself anymore. So out went
the chips, Out went the candy, Out went the alcohol,
(11:40):
Out went the dairy products that I knew were not
working for me whatsoever. I totally cleaned house in my
friends and friends and acquaintances department, I guess you could say,
and all of the things that I really felt like, boy,
this is a real drain on my energy, this is
not making me feel good, went out the door. And
(12:03):
it was really brutal because and I went through this
again a couple of cycles afterwards a couple of years later,
and then during COVID and everything. While I was standing
up for myself and while I was loving myself and
while I decided to be me, there was a lot
of people that just sort of fell off and I
let them and I was just blessing them as they left.
(12:27):
But it was a really lonely period for a long
long time because I was like, oh, geez am I
going to have to go through this like a solitary journey,
you know, Am I gonna have to do this alone
and stuff. But eventually, once I made space for more
and more and more and more love as the years
went by, then the nicer people started to come in
and they started to match my vibration. So I had
(12:51):
to make some big, big changes there. Also in my mindset,
I had to lean into caring for myself every single day.
So that meant a regiment of exercise. That meant a
regiment of nature. That meant water, drinking water, that meant
taking breaks. And I'm a self proclaimed workaholic, all work
(13:11):
till the cows come home. But I really had to
force myself with a timer on my desk, to get
up and walk around and go outside. So it was
a real three point sixty. I really became somebody new.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Wow, that's amazing. I love that because what I heard
in that you cannot self love and continue to self
sabotage you have you had to make changes not just
in diet, but also in an environment, and in that
included people, the people that were in your life, because
(13:46):
toxicity for us and in our lives comes in many forms.
And so something that I heard you say as well
is that as you allowed people to leave your life,
you bless them beautiful thing to say yes and yeah,
and that you also allowed yourself then to experience the
(14:10):
loneliness that came with that open space, and you were
able to sit with that and then also then receive
what came from having let go. Absolutely. And I work
with so many people that hold on so tight to
something because they don't want to be with nothing. And
(14:32):
yet it's with that space and that emptiness that what
they really deserve can actually come and meet them energetically.
As you were saying, it is almost time for our
first break. So I think this is a great spot
to just take a moment. I want everybody to just
take a moment with that and think what maybe do
(14:54):
you what and who need to let go of to
make space for what you really need. That's going to
represent that self love and self care, all right, So
with that, don't go far, We'll be back with more
self CPR and Joanna.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
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(16:22):
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(16:42):
She will also provide real life facts, examples and personal
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(17:04):
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Speaker 2 (17:18):
Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in today. This
is sol CPR on Bold Brak TV. I'm and Papayotte
here with my special guest, doctor Joanna MacDonald and Joanna
Before the break, we were talking about this, you know,
letting go and giving up of things that didn't serve
you or that made you feel bad because you were
(17:40):
working on literally healing yourself. That evolve or guy, that's
a pretty strong message there. So you know before it
was your your thought was you know, Papa pill or whatever.
But now you're really thinking differently and you're you've really
made a lot of changes. Is And I know when
(18:01):
we when we have a medication for something, we have
a timeline, we have an idea of when we're going
to feel better. But taking this holistic approach, when did
things start to shift for your health?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
You mean when I started to get better? Do you mean? Yeah?
I've had periods of sort of intermittent remission and then
illness again, and then remission and then illness again, and
I just I'm just getting over another one of those.
I'm going to I'm going to reframe it and recall it,
rename it a transformational journey to me. That sounds better
(18:42):
than I was sick. I don't like saying that I
was sick. Yes, for all intents and purposes, I was sick.
But I really do believe that the body is able
to heal itself if you give it the right ingredients
and the right tools and the right environment. And for me,
sometimes I think things have to break through or break
(19:03):
down to break through. So if we look at nature
as an example, you know, the trees lose their leaves
and everything regenerates itself in the springtime, I believe our
body is very much the same way. And for me,
this last little bit has been right about right now
actually that I'm just starting to come back into my bloom,
(19:23):
I guess. And it started in twenty twenty three and
I really I felt like I had to lose all
my leaves. I had to start over again and start
from scratch. There was a lot of things that weren't working,
and it took about a year and a half.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Okay, Okay, well I think that's I love that kind
of honest, holistic look. I think the ebb and flow
of life, right, there's no just getting well and staying well.
There's going to be these different experiences throughout life. And
on this transformational journey that you call it, you also
(20:00):
changed your profession. So tell us a little bit about
where you were when you first started experiencing these labeled
diseases and illnesses and how that changed along with your
learning on this holistic journey.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Okay, Well, in my teen years, I always had a
fantasy of being in food and beverage. I always wanted
to be in hospitality. I always wanted to be in
some sort of bed and breakfast or catering or something.
I really wanted to be a chef at one point,
and I really followed that trail, and up until about thirty,
(20:40):
I was still in that industry. And you know, I
found food as a career as well, but in a
completely different angle or side of things. And back then
I burnt out that lifestyle of working, you know, till
three in the morning. The bar industry and the hospital
hospitality and hotel is very hard. You're on your feet
(21:03):
a lot, You're grabbing food here and there, you're eating
usually you're drinking. There's alcohol around all the time. And
I really my body just went who like completely, No,
I'm not doing this anymore. It's too much stress and
too much toxins and too much people around. And had
I been paying more attention, I suppose I would have
(21:25):
been a lot earlier. I don't know if this is
for me and shift, but it took again a transformational
journey to bring me down to break down, to be like, Okay, wow,
I really need to change direction here. This is not working.
And because of that, I said, I'm going to go
into naturalopathy and natural medicine. And this is where the
(21:47):
metaphysics comes in. Is it's a nice cross between spirituality
and alternative health. Is that I didn't want to give
up my passion for food, but I said, there's got
to be a better way that I can be of
service and be helpful and be happy and healthy at
the same time. So that's really why I gravitated towards
the natural health because I was going through it myself.
(22:09):
I was my first student, and I really had a
strong belief that I never ever wanted to own a
business where I didn't know what I was talking about
or hadn't been in the trenches. And I'd been in
the trenches. So I thought to myself, Wow, this is
really good. You know, like I've been there. I can
really empathize with my clients. And the ball just started
(22:29):
rolling from there. And I love it. I love learning,
I loved working in the industry. I love working in
health food stores and trying recipes at home. And I
just couldn't get enough and just to this day, just before,
about an hour ago, I was making muffins and I said, oh,
I just I like this lifestyle. You know, this is
for me. This is really for.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Me, right right? And so throughout that journey you've taken
on and received several different certifications. Give us the down
throughout that list.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Well, it's a funny story actually, because I went to
massage therapy school in around two thousand and I was
wooo really really pigeonholing and focused on having a bed
and breakfast and I was going to be the best
innkeeper and I was going to do this, and I
wanted to go to massage so I could instruct my
(23:23):
employees and I was going to know what was happening
in my spa, and lo and behold, I had a
physiology teacher who was very woo wu and she said
to me, you practice spirituality in reiki one day and
I was like, well, nope, not for me. No, No,
don't even know what energy work is, don't want to
do it, don't want to know it. I don't want
(23:44):
to know what reiki is. I have no idea. And
lo and behold, six months later, a year later, I'd
done all three levels of reiki, munaikei, rights, fung shui,
crystal healing. I got my bachelor's and my master's and
then I just got my doctor at last in metaphysics.
So you could say I was mistaken and what issue
(24:07):
is right? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Yeah, Well I love it because what you did is
as you learned and you healed yourself, then you began
able to integrate that and help and heal others. And
I think it's interesting because I see so many people
who become what they always wanted to be. But it's
(24:29):
a very different version of that. So, like you said,
this hospitality is this helping and catering to other people
in the food industry, it's just very different. So the
soul food that is where it started for you, and
then helping people live these healthy lifestyles and then really
enjoy their best life. So let's talk a little bit
(24:52):
first before we get into that foundational lifestyle about how
you learned to trust that intuition and were the universe
however whatever you want to call it. How did you
learn to trust?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Oh, that's a big one. That's a big one because
I'm still I don't know if I'm one hundred percent
there yet, but I've come a long way in the
last five years because so many good things happened to me.
So I just kept following the breadcrumbs, and every time
I would ask for something, I would say, Gee, it
(25:30):
would be really nice if I had dot dot dot,
And things started to show up. I was like, oh, okay,
let's try that again. And for at first I started
with the weather, or I started with the coffee. I
wonder if I could manifest a coffee today, or you
know whatever. And then it was like a yoga practice
(25:50):
or any kind of practice that you go through. I
just started trusting in the trust that it was going
to be there. And the more I asked, the more
I received, the more I was more specific, the more
I got and my my own intuition comes to me
very naturally. I would say that I have a gift
(26:11):
in that that I knew my intuition was very very
strong from my whole life. But trusting in spirit, yeah,
I really believe that there's you know, so much bigger
out there than me. And I came to a point
where I said, Okay, I'm really going to step outside myself,
(26:32):
get get out of my own way, and realize that
I am not the only one in this universe, and
that the universe is very, very very supportive. So every
single thing we do, it's there, we just have to
open our eyes to see it. And I just I
(26:54):
really was in touch with my feelings a lot as well.
So it was sort of like when you're young, you know,
you play that game, Oh you're getting warmer, you're getting colder,
you know, And when things felt like, ooh that feels good,
that feels warmer, I would follow that Breadcromb, I would
go there. But if it was kind of like a feeling,
(27:15):
I was like, no, that's not for me, or not
maybe it's not for me right now. But I really
learned to trust my feelings. That was very very strong,
and that's really what homed my intuitional lot was my
feelings was being connected to my feelings.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Wow, that's amazing, And I think we can all learn
from that because I do talk to a lot of
people who say they felt they should have or should
not have something, and they got the result that went
that was evidence for that reason that they should or
should not have. But coming to that place of really
(27:54):
trusting is a journey in and of itself, and I think,
like you said, it becomes practice, absolutely practice. So when
you think of this foundational lifestyle for all of us
that we need to help create maybe a balance in life,
(28:15):
what would you say to the audience guide us.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Creating a balance. Well, I came across a quote the
other day that I had seen before, but I'd like
to just share it as a as a launching pad
if you don't mind. It's a fairly long poem and
I'm just going to abridge it a lot because if
there's one flaw that women specifically, I'm going to talk
(28:44):
to women today because and some men as well, is
that the poem goes on to say, you know a
lot of really beautiful things about women and that, but
at the end of the day, they don't know their worth.
And I would say this is probably the quintessential thing
(29:05):
that you can start with, is believing that you're worthy
of receiving. It doesn't have to be a million dollars,
it doesn't have to be a pretty face, it doesn't
it can be whatever you want in your life, but
you have to begin at I am worthy of receiving,
and that is the start of creating a foundation for
(29:29):
yourself and in a balanced lifestyle, because if you don't
have that, it's going to be really hard to build it,
if you don't believe that you can receive anything. And
to me, I just feel like that's such an integral
part of healing is really just accepting yourself for being
human and where you are with all of your desirable
(29:52):
qualities and you're let's call it undesirable qualities if you
want to call it that. We all have the things
that we want to change within ourselves, but we're human
and we have these super perfectionistic standards in our society
now with social media and everything that are unentertainable, and
I think a lot of us are caught up in
some of those And that would be the one thing
(30:14):
I would say to start there if you don't know
where to start or you don't know what to do,
is just to lean into receiving because you're worthy.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, belief systems are so powerful, aren't they. So if so,
that foundation has to be there and cemented some lots
of believing that you are worthy of receiving.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Yeah, exactly. And the thing with the foundation is that,
like to me, it's like it's systematic. It's like building
a home you know, you can put up walls, and
you can put up curtains, and you can paint and everything,
but if you don't have a strong foundation underneath you,
your house is probably going to collapse, right Yeah. So
it's a really systematic way of doing things. And I
(31:06):
really feel like if you have a strong foundation, then
the waves and the winds of life can come and go.
But you're going to be the lighthouse as opposed to
the rowboat in the storm. You can still shine your
light on solid ground and you can still be of service,
but you don't lose yourself in the melee of whatever
is out there and trying to rescue people in your
(31:28):
boat and everything that just never works. So be the
lighthouse as much as you.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Can, Beautiful. I love that. And with that, it is
time for our second break, So don't go far. We'll
be back with more with doctor Joanna McDonald and SULCPR.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
Are you struggling to care for elderly parents or a spouse?
Do you wonder if being a caregiver is making you sick?
Are you worried about taking time off work to care
for elderly parents and balance work life and caregiving? Has
caregiving become exhomts and emotionally draining. Are you an aging
adult who wants to remain independent but you're not sure how?
(32:06):
I'm Pamela d Wilson. Join me for the Carrying Generation
radio show for caregivers and aging adults Wednesday evenings, six Pacific,
seven Mountain, eighth Central, and nine Eastern, where I answer
these questions and share tips for managing stress, family relationships,
health wellbeing, and more. Podcasts and transcripts of The Carrying
Generation are on my website Pamela Dwilson dot com, plus
(32:29):
my Caregiving library. Online caregiver support programs and programs for
corporations interested in supporting working caregivers. Help, hope and support
for caregivers is here on the Carrying Generation and Pamela
d Wilson dot com.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Mike Zorich a three time California state champion in Greco
Roman wrestling at one hundred and fourteen pounds. Mike blind
Sizberth was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a six
time national placer, including two secs, two thirds and two fourths.
He also won the Veterans Folk Style Wrestling twice at
(33:06):
one hundred and fifty two pounds in all these tournaments,
he was the only blind competitor. Nancy Zurich a creative
spirit whose talents have taken her to the stage and
into galleries and exhibitions in several states. Her father, a
commercial artist who shared his instruments with his daughter and
helped her fine tune her natural abilities, influenced her decision
(33:29):
to follow in his footsteps. Miss Zorich has enjoyed a
fruitful career doing what she loves. Listen Saturday mornings at
twelve Eastern for the Nancy and Mike Show for heartwarming
stories and interesting talk on the BBM Global Network.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
And we are back with Joanna McDonald today and we
are just talking about those foundational kind of lifestyle things
to make sure we live in balance and harmony. So, Joanna,
the first thing that you shared was really about believing
that we're worthy and that that without that, nothing else
(34:08):
really matters. So what can we build on or what's next?
What do we build on from there?
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Okay, Well take it from me from somebody who lived
a life of not having a foundation and just going
willy nilly without intention or anything anywhere. I got very
sick and very lost, and I took so many detours.
I would say that the first step, of course, is
leaning into believing in yourself and believing that you're worthy,
(34:38):
believing you deserve. And I don't know if many people
ask themselves really what they want to do in life,
So that would be another step too, is to really
sit down and think about what do I want? Where
do I want to go? Is this really making sense
for me? Or is this something my family wants me
(35:00):
to do, or my husband or wife is pressuring me
to encouraging me to do. What is it that you
really really really want to do and try it. The
second thing I would say is to create a realistic
plan of goals and daily habits for yourself. So for me,
(35:21):
they may be very different from you, or from my mom,
or from my aunt or from my best friend. For me,
you know, walking every day works, and yoga and stretching
and gentle breathing and meditation really works for me. You know,
dancing works for me, but that might not be everybody's
(35:43):
cup of tea. So really lean into setting yourself some
goals and some habits that suit your lifestyle. For a
long time, I said, Okay, I'm gonna go to the gym.
It's gonna be five days a week. I'm gonna get
have six thirty in the morning and I'm gonna pump
iron And are you crazy? I'm not even a morning person.
And that after a while I was like Joanna, like
who are you kidding? Like I kept failing and failing,
(36:04):
and I'm like this is not for me, Like, this
is not a doable goal for me. So I really
found a timeline that suited me, and it took me
a couple of years. But that's number two is create
a realistic plan for yourself of habits that you can
do to support yourself. So it might just be as
simple as drinking more water and you start there. It
(36:26):
might be as simple as, you know, putting yourself together
a little bit more. If you feel like uncomfortable in
your jogging pants every day, We're all different, right, And
then step three is to discover your why. And Simon
Sinek talks a lot about this, a lot about discovering
your why because this is really what's going to get
(36:46):
you out of bed in the morning. And when you
remember your why, it's a lot easier to stick to
your goal. So, for example, for me, I really want
to increase my flexibility. So I do yoga every day
because my goal is to increase my flexibility, and I'm
reminded of my goal while i'm doing it. So the
days that I'm like, oh gosh, I'm not sure, I
(37:07):
don't feel like I feel like doing yogur or whatever,
I'm like, Okay, remember your why? What is your why?
What's your big goal of why you want to get
to that goal. So for some people, it could be
they want to lose weight, they want to stop smoking,
they want to, you know, get outside of the house more.
Whatever your why is, put it on a little post
it note summer where you're going to see it every
(37:29):
day that you can remind yourself when you go and
lean sort of into those those habits that are not
taking you down that road, to remind yourself of why
you're doing it in the first place. To be motivated. Okay, no,
I don't want to make that choice today. I want
to make this choice and this is where I'm going
to go to take me closer to my goals. I
(37:49):
find it very easy when you have a visual cue
to remind you every day of why you're doing your thing.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
I agree with you and I use post it notes
for everything. Dan, this is something for you after the
show today, So I love that. And I talk about
turn your goals into habits. Often habits really are what
(38:17):
change our lives for the better or worse. Right, So
we got to pay attention to our habits sometimes, I
think just evaluating our habits, looking at our day, what
how are we spending our time? What is our what
are our habits that exist now? And what do we
want to change to reach that overarching goal like you're
(38:38):
talking about. And one thing that I was reading about
recently James Clear Atomic Habits, author of Atomic Habits, that's
a great book, by the way, is habits stacking. So
when you're trying to introduce a new habit, it's to
stack it or tack it onto something you already do.
(38:59):
So we already brush our teeth twice a day hopefully, right.
So if that's already a routine for you, then you
add that's something new just before it or just after it,
so that you get that routine set for that. So
let's say something I've started doing is inversion, because my
son gave me one of those little inversion little things
(39:20):
that so you stand upside down do the headstands, but
you got the pads for you. So if I'll do
it right after I brush my teeth in the morning,
it's now becoming a new habit that that's when I
do it. I don't have to think about it or
reschedule it or find that time. It's just brush my
teeth to do my handstand for two minutes or whatever.
(39:41):
So habit stacking is a good way to help people
make habits that stick, if that makes sense. So I
love that. I love the habits and the why absolutely
remembering the why and the visual. Yes, Johanna, I agree
with you some people. I suggest making it your saver
on your phone because how many times do we look
(40:03):
at that in a day right or right in front
of your computer, or just that sticky note on your computer,
so wherever you spend a lot of time. So love
that those are great for those foundational lifestyle transformations that
(40:23):
we're talking about to help us get in bounced, because,
like I said at the top of the show, so
many people I've talked to are struggling with just getting
this new year kicked off and finding and feeling like
they've found their rhythm for the year. So I love those.
So Joanna, when we talk about this and this path
(40:47):
that you've taken for yourself to heal yourself and to
help others, how rewarding has this been for you?
Speaker 3 (40:56):
Very very rewarding, very humbling, I would say very I'm
honored that after you know, thousands of clients and experiences
of meeting people on retreat and workshops and different things
that that we've done, it's very humbling that that. I well,
(41:18):
I'm very honored that they share their stories with me,
and they trust me enough to open up to to
share some of the most vulnerable parts of themselves. So
I consider myself very privileged to walk with them on
their journey because I mean, I don't know, I I
I know there's lots of choices out there for practitioners,
(41:40):
and I'm just very honored and and happy that they're
they feel safe, I guess working with me.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Yeah, that's that's that's very beautiful. So let's talk a
little bit about that that journey, because, as I said,
when I met you, you were it was soul food,
and then I know it became soul space and I
was a client for you, and I had an amazing
like spiritual card reading with you, and then I know
(42:10):
you were doing circles and I sent one of my
clients to you to participate in a group and that
was like a reading. I know you've taught meditation and
do group meditations, and now you've moved on and you've
exchanged your business model a bit because now you're doing
(42:31):
more serving a wider audience on a larger scale. So
tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
Dam thank you for asking. Yes, I did, of course
start out small. One of my friends. One day when
I moved back from Calgary to Montreal, where I am now,
one of my friends said, oh, can you come over
and do a card reading? And I said, okay, sure.
I kind of babbled with it on the side, and
I did hers and it was a pretty successful reading.
(42:56):
And then lo and behold, my phone started ringing and
people were calling from all over the place. I was
blessed with a friend lyan she's watching, who told everybody,
basically town crier told everybody, oh, join it as readings,
Oh I do really okay, And so it started from there,
and I guess I had to learn through you know, experience,
(43:19):
and I learned energy management, I learned chakra system, I
learned readings, I learned cards, talking with spirit, I learned
a lot about land energy. So for some people, they
may be familiar with my travel vlog where I go
around to different places and I listened to the energy
of the land and I helped to heal the land
(43:40):
with spirit. So I went through you know, soul spaces,
and then I went through the gardening land energy part
of it. And then now I'm branching. We still do
workshops and retreats and whatnot, but I'm branching into a
lot more of conferences and speaking on a wider scale,
(44:01):
I guess because I really feel like the time is
now or people the messages there, and I just really
want to help people to walk on their journey and
we need that. We all need the love, we all
need the care, and whatever way I can pitch in,
I'm more than happy to assist in any way I can.
(44:22):
So I like speaking, you can tell I like talking,
And I really like meeting people too. I mean, I've
met so many wonderful people in my life of all
walks of life, and I just love hearing people's stories.
So that's also a big motivator for me too, is
to meet different people.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
I love that it's just another It sounds like it's
just another transformation and another evolution of you and another growth.
And you talk about.
Speaker 3 (44:52):
Foundation, I think I had to start and create a
nice foundation for myself and I had to learn a
lot as I went along and before I could teach her,
before I could even speak. And if you'd told me
about even ten years ago that I would be online
on a video or talking in front of people, I'd
be like, well, no, no, thanks, not for me. But
now I'm like, okay, yeah, let's do it. You know.
(45:14):
So I think life is just a progression of that.
You never lose any kind of experience you have in
your toolbox, and yeah, you just keep going and learning
as you go.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
That's wonderful. Well, I think that your expertise is highly
valuable and I think it would be amazing to hear
you speak. I know when we were talking before the show,
I was like, I could see speaking at universities, to
groups like that and beyond. I could really see you
affecting change. So, Joanna, it is time for our third
(45:49):
and final break, and when we come back, we're and
have some closing thoughts and some key takeaways for our audience,
so go for We'll be back. We're sol CPR.
Speaker 4 (46:00):
Are you struggling to care for elderly parents or a spouse?
Do you wonder if being a caregiver is making you sick?
Are you worried about taking time off work to care
for elderly parents and balance work life and caregiving? Has
caregiving become exhausting and emotionally draining? Are you an aging
adult who wants to remain independent but you're not sure how.
(46:20):
I'm Pamela d Wilson. Join me for The Carrying Generation
radio show for caregivers and aging adults Wednesday evenings, six Pacific,
seven Mountain, eighth Central, and nine Eastern, where I answer
these questions and share tips for managing stress, family relationships, health, wellbeing,
and more. Podcasts and transcripts of The Carrying Generation are
(46:40):
on my website Pamela Dwilson dot com, plus my Caregiving library.
Online caregiver support programs and programs for corporations interested in
supporting working caregivers. Help, hope and support for caregivers is
here on The Carrying Generation and Pamela d Wilson dot com.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
Author, radio show host and coach John M. Hawkins reveals
strategies to help gain perspective, build confidence, find clarity, achieve goals.
John M. Hawkins' new book Coached to Greatness Unlock Your
Full Potential with Limitless Growth, published by I Universe, Hawkins
(47:21):
reveals strategies to help readers accomplish more. He believes the
book can coach them to greatness. Hawkins says that the
best athletes get to the top of their sport with
the help of coaches, mentors, and others. He shares guidance
that helps readers reflect on what motivates them. We discover
and assess their core values, philosophies and competencies, find settings
(47:44):
that allow them to be the most productive, and track
their progress towards accomplishing goals. Listen to John hawkins My
Strategy Saturdays one pm Eastern on the BBM Global Network
and tune in radio.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
And we are back. So, Johanna, just to kind of
recap this whole foundational building that we were talking about.
So to be the lighthouse, we want to start with
believing that we're worthy of receiving. We want to create
a realistic plan and goal with daily habits to support
(48:23):
that goal. And then we want to discover our why
before we move into a key takeaway. Do you have
a tip for that, creating that believing in ourselves, in
our worthiness. Do you have a tip or something that
worked for you when you were struggling without yourself?
Speaker 3 (48:45):
Yes, I do. Actually I have a memory where I
was reading something somewhere about ten fifteen years ago that said,
in all of the universe, in all of time, past, present, future,
(49:06):
they'll never be another you. Ever, our voices are unique,
our cellular structure is unique, Our past life memories are unique,
Our our biological structure is unique. Even twins are completely different,
even though they may look alike. So that really helped
me to turn the corner because I said to myself, well,
(49:28):
not that I wanted to put on airs and be like, oh,
well you know, there's only one of me and blah
blah blah. It was more like, well, there's only one
of me, so if I may as well step up
and show the world what I am and what I
can offer and be of service that way, Because obviously
I'm I am not a very religious person, but I
(49:52):
do believe in God, very strongly believe in God and Spirit.
And I said, if God or Spirit had the wherewithal
to build me and to create me for a reason.
Then I'm going to honor that and I'm going to
be that. And that really helped me to stick with
the leaning into the deserving, because I said, well, well
(50:15):
why not. I mean, if my neighbor deserves it, or
my dog deserves it, or I looked at all of
my friends too, and I said, well, there's not a
minute that goes by that I wouldn't say my friends.
If I looked at my best friend, I'd be like, oh, yeah,
you totally deserve it girl, you know, But why was
it so different for me? Right? So I said, okay,
let's take this ego out of it a little bit
(50:36):
and remind yourself that there's only one of you and
you're here for a purpose, and you know you need
to honor that purpose. It's either that or evolve or die. Right.
We need to always keep upgrading ourselves to to really
give our heads a shake a little bit sometimes and
be like, yeah, is that the truth? No, I'm just
telling yourself a story, you know. So that's what really
(50:58):
got me through, And that's the tip, is to really
honor your uniqueness, and that helps a lot.
Speaker 2 (51:05):
I love that. Thank you for sharing that so much.
All right, Well with that, if you had a key takeaway,
which to me that whole thing was. But yeah, key
takeaway for the audience today about building their foundation or
anything else that we've shared, what would it be?
Speaker 3 (51:25):
Key takeaway? I would say that a lot of my
clients say to me, Oh, I can't I don't have time,
I can't afford it, I can't do this, I can't
do that. I can't do it because dot dot dot. Well,
I'm just going to squeeze in a yoga class in
between picking my daughter up or my son or whatever
from ballet or baseball. And these things are very important.
(51:48):
Don't get me wrong. Family, it's very important. But I
would lean into reminding yourself that life is short and
we nobody knows how long we're going to be here.
Nobody knows tomorrow if that's going to be your last day.
And I would really, you know, make some time for yourself,
carve out some time for yourself. You're important as well,
(52:09):
just like you know, the dad or the mom, or
the kid or the dog or whatnot. Everybody is so
important and self care is for everybody, and it's not
just all squeeze it in when I've got five minutes
or or you know, when the kids are whatever, everybody
else is taken care of, I'll deal with me. It's
put yourself in the schedule and make sure that you
(52:32):
do that because life is short and time goes by
so fast, and I say to myself, I'm like, oh,
here we are Friday again. Wooh, the week just went again.
And by the before you know it, you're you know,
you might be at the end of your life and
you're like, yeah, I really wish I would have done
that then. So nobody wants to have any regrets at
the end of their life. So do it now. Do
(52:52):
enjoy your life, Do what you got to do, do
what you want to do. Make space for the joy
because the work and the us and the chores will
always be there. But you know, find the time to
do what you want to do.
Speaker 2 (53:07):
I don't so much absolutely, and and all of that
that self care and prioritizing self and and all of
that it comes back to you also, I believe is
something you were talking about earlier. We have to know
ourselves and spend time getting to know yourself and really
(53:29):
embracing yourself so you can then love yourself and rid
yourself of those self sabotaging behaviors and the habits. I'm
gonna go ahead and call them the bad habits or
the underserving habits, and the things that hold you back
from living that best life and the cracks in that foundation.
Speaker 3 (53:50):
Right, So, absolutely distractions. I'll just finish two by saying
distractions are such a detriment to self care. You really
the word of the day is focus, focus, Focus. Focus
in the universe will, if you're serious about this, will
really help you focus. And to the point now where
(54:10):
I really turn off my phone and I'm very focused
on what i want to do and there's nothing going
to stop me going towards what I want to do
with my joy. So just remember that we have so
many distractions around that just focus on what you love
and then the universe will open more and more doors
for you to go do more of that.
Speaker 2 (54:28):
So ah, that's a beautiful thought. Wonderful all right, Dennis.
So how can our audience get in touch with you?
Speaker 3 (54:37):
Oh? I would love that. My website is Joanna McDonald
dot ca and I have a plethora of resources on
there if you want to look at videos or podcasts
or anything. This will be up and live probably this afternoon.
I have some free meditations on there. I also, as
I mentioned to you while we were chatting before, free
(55:00):
twenty one day Intuition, mastering your intuition, and don't get
you all scared by the title. It's really about reconnecting
with yourself. So it's a twenty one day plan to
reconnect with yourself and every day. It's a nice good
habit to add to your repertoire. And I when I
was creating it, I went through the whole thing myself
(55:20):
and I thought, oh, this is really really cool because
it helped me stay on a nice structure to self care.
So it's a nice place to start to come back
to yourself.
Speaker 2 (55:30):
I love that. I thank you for sharing that with
the audience, and it's there on the screen. So Joanna
McDonald dot ca. And then you've got the www. Dot
Joanna McDonald dot ca, slash videos, hyphen podcasts, hyphen meditations,
and this will be in the show notes as well
as Joanna's other social media links. And I appreciate you
(55:55):
so much being on the show today and sharing your
knowledge and your wisdom for Dees and just the gift
of your time as well.
Speaker 3 (56:03):
Oh, thank you so much, and it's been a pleasure
and I was so looking forward to this year. Such
an angel.
Speaker 2 (56:10):
Well, thank you again, thank you.
Speaker 3 (56:11):
So.
Speaker 2 (56:12):
As we close out today's show, I just want to
say to everyone that if today's stories resonated with you,
then please do share this podcast with someone who made
it a lifeline of their own. Subscribe, rate and leave
a review to help us reach more hearts. You can
always connect with me on social media. On Facebook, it
is Skyview Coaching. On the other apps, it is at
(56:35):
Anne Papayote. Let me know your thoughts, your stories, and
the topics you'd like to explore in future episodes. And
until next time, may you find strength in your vulnerability
and courage in your journey. Thank you for listening. Breathe deeply,
love openly, and live soulfully. Good day.
Speaker 1 (56:55):
This has been Soul CPR with host and Papa Yode
read Life back into your Spirit with each episode where
she and special guests explore the relationships that hurt us
and discover that healing can only begin with you. Tuesdays
at three pm Eastern on the Bold Brave TV Network
Are you ready to untangle from your past, recover from heartbreak,
and revive your life. This is Soul CPR with your
host and Papa Yode. We've all had soul crushing experiences
and lost ourselves in our pain, but there is a
way out. On this podcast, Amazon best selling author, award
winning life coach and advice columnist and Papa Yode helps
(00:27):
us navigate the path from heartbreak to healing. So now
please welcome the host of Soul CPR and Papa Yode.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hello, everyone, and thank you for tuning in today. I
wanted to say that I've had a lot of really
wonderful feedback about the Letting Go series that we've had
two shows on so far, and as promised, I will
bring that third and final show to you early next month.
(01:03):
But first I've got a few other things I'd like
to bring to the table and share with you. And
with this being the new year, I've had conversations with
many people who are struggling to kind of find their
group or their rhythm, if you will, And so despite
their best intention, even and the fact that we're already
(01:23):
halfway through the month of January, I thought it's really
a great time to bring my first guest and this
topic building your foundation, mind, body and spirit, and what
we mean by that is really creating that safe and
(01:43):
solid lifestyle if you will, to support and nurture every
aspect of your being. So to help with that conversation
and to lead us into that is metaphysician, seeker and
health passionista, the incredible and inspiring doctor Joanna McDonald. Joanna,
(02:08):
welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Thank you so much for having me. That's quite an introduction.
I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Thank you, of course, Joanna. So I'd like to always
share with my audience how I know and find my guests,
and once again it's one of my passions that initially
introduced us because your beautiful mom, Sharon, Hello, if you're
listening or watching, found and joined my Zoompa class back
(02:36):
when I was living in Point Claire, Quebec. And I
believe you came as a guest one time, and then
we got to knowing one of her stories and you
were sharing your expertise in healthy eating and living. I
think you brought some pressures and talked to us when
you were doing your soul food block that day.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Do you remember that, I do I do, and a
lot has changed since then. When I look back, I
can't believe how long it's been and how far I've
come from that day.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, of course, well we're going to get into all
that about your journey. But I just love how I've
noticed throughout my life that Zoomba has been and continues
to be that great human connector for me. When people
dance to music and where the exercises in disguise, if
you will, and they have that happy hour if you will,
(03:33):
I would say it's definitely part of my lifestyle foundation.
And we're going to get back around to that foundation
that we're talking about. But first, I want the audience
to learn more about you. And I know that becoming
a metaphysician has been a journey, and so let's start
at the beginning in mind. And I know that me
(03:55):
at least, when I think about your story, there's been
two distinct paths that may be intersected, one being your
gifts and one for help, which one of those that
share with us first, as I.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Know you'll doak at that, Well, maybe I'll start with
my health because that's been the obviously the overpowering theme
I guess throughout my life. And we were talking the
other day about gifts that show up in your life,
and I really believe that this is a big gift
for me because I really wouldn't be able to do
the things that I do and haven't probably would have
(04:36):
met half the people I know due to this. So
on the one hand, of course, it's been a huge
journey and illness probably since about mid twenties and I'm
fifty one now, so it's been quite a hall of
body body illness, getting through spirituality stuff, getting through emotional
(04:58):
blockages and trauma, and it's really helped me to understand
my clients so much better because I've lived it firsthand.
So for me, it's been a huge, huge gift. It
started really with It's funny, it started with IBS back
in the late nineties and I really thought, Okay, well,
(05:19):
this is just something I'm going to sail through and
it'll be fine, and I'll just change my diet and everything.
I'll be great. And I really wasn't all that spiritual
at this time, and I really was, I could honestly say,
disconnected from my body and my emotions and my spirit
to the point where I just said, okay, I'll just
pop a pill and everything I'll be great. Well, that
(05:43):
really began a journey of personal power and empowerment to
the point where I just kept learning more and more
and more about myself. And it wasn't just a simple
changing of a diet, but it was an entire lifestyle
that I believe I was learning. It was like I
was going to school for how to be I guess, empowered,
(06:05):
and how to learn self esteem, and how to learn boundaries,
and how to learn so many things. So I really
ran the gamut of everything in the digestive system, so ibs,
crones colitis, I've had pretty much every test known to womankind,
just let's just put it that way, to try to
get to the bottom of this. And it's just recently
(06:28):
that I am really finding out and understanding how I
operate and who I am as a person. And consequently
my health has gotten so much better. So it's been
quite quite a journey.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
So all of these health challenges that you were going through,
what a gamut of illness and disease. You named a
lot of things there, crones colitis, ibs, How did that
effect you personal life?
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Oh? Boy, huge, hugely. I had to make, of course,
some adaptations and some you know, concessions which I really
didn't want to do. I resisted this disease for a
long call Dad disease for a long time, and I
for a lot of years, I stuck my head in
(07:26):
the sand like an ostrich. I just really didn't want
to pay attention. I didn't want to learn, I didn't
want to do anything. I just wanted to be normal.
I wanted to eat what everybody else was eating. And
I was really I spent a good number of years
really excuse my own iage, really pissed, like I was
very angry that I had to go through this. I
remember having arguments with God and why is it happening
to me? And what's going on? And I really resisted,
(07:51):
and this is what led me to become extremely ill,
where I was in and out of the hospital with
different ailments and different things, and finally ending in cancer
in the year two thousand and when this is when
kind of my spirituality broke open wide and I heard
(08:15):
Spirit say to me. Being an EmPATH and a clairvoyant,
I had a direct message from Spirit. And I was
lying in the hospital bed and Spirit said to me, okay,
either you step up and you do your mission and
it's going to be easier, or you can continue this
way and you can die. So basically it was evolve
(08:38):
or die. And I said to myself, very reluctantly, I'm like, okay,
I just completely at that point. I remember I was
lying there and I just surrendered everything, crying and the tears,
and I just finally gave up the whole story of
trying to fight the flow. And I said, okay, all right,
(08:59):
this is going to take a little bit of work,
and I knew was going to take an inordinate amount
of change on my part and cooperation on my part.
And I made a promise to myself there then and
there that if I really wanted to get better, then
I had to love myself enough to do that. And
that was a huge step in that direction, because I
(09:21):
didn't have a lot of love for self, and I
really believe that that's what caused my disease in the
first place, is my self esteem was in the toilet
and I really really didn't feel good about myself and
that was not helping things at all. So that was
a really a big turning point for me.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
What a testament about self love or the lack thereof
something interesting. You said in there that you acknowledged that
you were an impath in clairvoyant and you had that
message that you received in Had that been blocked, that
gift blocked while you were going through this or when
did you know that you had those spiritus? Will guess
(10:02):
I think I.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Woke up at that point. In hindsight, I've known all
my life. I remember being a little kid and knowing
things ahead of time. I knew who was going to
call on the phone, I knew who was going to
come over. I knew what people were going to say
before they said it. But I somehow seemed to have
blocked all of that out. I didn't want to be that.
I didn't really want to come out of the you know,
(10:23):
the clairvoyant closet, let's say. And I really felt people
were going to think I was weird and woo woo,
and I resisted that a long time. So when then
when I finally did wake up in my mid thirties,
I said to myself, Okay, well, this is a part
of who I am, and I'm just going to be
who I need to be as much as I can.
(10:45):
And that was really a huge shift, a huge, huge
shift right there.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, it makes me think that how can we love
ourselves if we deny ourselves? Right? And that was part
right or who you are? So once you this evolve
or die? That was I wrote that down. I'm like, wow,
that's a big statement or a big wake up call.
(11:11):
As you said, what started changing? What did? What was
the next thing for you?
Speaker 3 (11:18):
The next thing for me is I I really gave
up a lot of my bad habits. I gave up
the self sabotage. That was a big one. I still
struggle with that a little bit today, but I really
that was one thing where I said, okay, I'm I
just don't want to hurt myself anymore. So out went
the chips, Out went the candy, Out went the alcohol,
(11:40):
Out went the dairy products that I knew were not
working for me whatsoever. I totally cleaned house in my
friends and friends and acquaintances department, I guess you could say,
and all of the things that I really felt like, boy,
this is a real drain on my energy, this is
not making me feel good, went out the door. And
(12:03):
it was really brutal because and I went through this
again a couple of cycles afterwards a couple of years later,
and then during COVID and everything. While I was standing
up for myself and while I was loving myself and
while I decided to be me, there was a lot
of people that just sort of fell off and I
let them and I was just blessing them as they left.
(12:27):
But it was a really lonely period for a long
long time because I was like, oh, geez am I
going to have to go through this like a solitary journey,
you know, Am I gonna have to do this alone
and stuff. But eventually, once I made space for more
and more and more and more love as the years
went by, then the nicer people started to come in
and they started to match my vibration. So I had
(12:51):
to make some big, big changes there. Also in my mindset,
I had to lean into caring for myself every single day.
So that meant a regiment of exercise. That meant a
regiment of nature. That meant water, drinking water, that meant
taking breaks. And I'm a self proclaimed workaholic, all work
(13:11):
till the cows come home. But I really had to
force myself with a timer on my desk, to get
up and walk around and go outside. So it was
a real three point sixty. I really became somebody new.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Wow, that's amazing. I love that because what I heard
in that you cannot self love and continue to self
sabotage you have you had to make changes not just
in diet, but also in an environment, and in that
included people, the people that were in your life, because
(13:46):
toxicity for us and in our lives comes in many forms.
And so something that I heard you say as well
is that as you allowed people to leave your life,
you bless them beautiful thing to say yes and yeah,
and that you also allowed yourself then to experience the
(14:10):
loneliness that came with that open space, and you were
able to sit with that and then also then receive
what came from having let go. Absolutely. And I work
with so many people that hold on so tight to
something because they don't want to be with nothing. And
(14:32):
yet it's with that space and that emptiness that what
they really deserve can actually come and meet them energetically.
As you were saying, it is almost time for our
first break. So I think this is a great spot
to just take a moment. I want everybody to just
take a moment with that and think what maybe do
(14:54):
you what and who need to let go of to
make space for what you really need. That's going to
represent that self love and self care, all right, So
with that, don't go far, We'll be back with more
self CPR and Joanna.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Author, radio show host and coach John M. Hawkins reveals
strategies to help gain perspective, build confidence, find clarity, achieve goals.
John M. Hawkins' new book Coached to Greatness Unlock Your
Full Potential with Limitless Growth, published by I Universe, Hawkins
(15:36):
reveals strategies to help readers accomplish more. He believes the
book can coach them to greatness. Hawkins says that the
best athletes get to the top of their sport with
the help of coaches, mentors, and others. He shares guidance
that helps readers reflect on what motivates them. We discover
and assess their core values, philosophies and competencies, find settings
(15:59):
that allow them to be the most productive, and track
their progress towards accomplishing goals. Listen to John hawkins My
Strategy Saturdays one pm Eastern on the BBM Global Network
and tune in Radio Doctor RC will share extraordinary resources
and services that promote educational success as well as making
(16:22):
a difference in the lives of all social workers as
well as the lives of children, adolescents and teens of today.
She will have open discussions addressing many of the issues
that we face about our youth and how being employed
in the uniquely skilled profession of social work for over
eighteen years has taught invaluable lessons through her personal experiences.
(16:42):
She will also provide real life facts, examples and personal
stories that will confirm that why serving as a child
advocate is extremely beneficial when addressing the needs of the
whole child. Listen Live to Dare to Soar Saturdays ten
am Eastern on the BBM Global Network and tune in
radio as Doctor RC will provide thought provoking information that
(17:04):
will empower, encourage and strengthen students, families and communities across
our nation. You can also visit her at soarwith Katie
dot Com.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in today. This
is sol CPR on Bold Brak TV. I'm and Papayotte
here with my special guest, doctor Joanna MacDonald and Joanna
Before the break, we were talking about this, you know,
letting go and giving up of things that didn't serve
you or that made you feel bad because you were
(17:40):
working on literally healing yourself. That evolve or guy, that's
a pretty strong message there. So you know before it
was your your thought was you know, Papa pill or whatever.
But now you're really thinking differently and you're you've really
made a lot of changes. Is And I know when
(18:01):
we when we have a medication for something, we have
a timeline, we have an idea of when we're going
to feel better. But taking this holistic approach, when did
things start to shift for your health?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
You mean when I started to get better? Do you mean? Yeah?
I've had periods of sort of intermittent remission and then
illness again, and then remission and then illness again, and
I just I'm just getting over another one of those.
I'm going to I'm going to reframe it and recall it,
rename it a transformational journey to me. That sounds better
(18:42):
than I was sick. I don't like saying that I
was sick. Yes, for all intents and purposes, I was sick.
But I really do believe that the body is able
to heal itself if you give it the right ingredients
and the right tools and the right environment. And for me,
sometimes I think things have to break through or break
(19:03):
down to break through. So if we look at nature
as an example, you know, the trees lose their leaves
and everything regenerates itself in the springtime, I believe our
body is very much the same way. And for me,
this last little bit has been right about right now
actually that I'm just starting to come back into my bloom,
(19:23):
I guess. And it started in twenty twenty three and
I really I felt like I had to lose all
my leaves. I had to start over again and start
from scratch. There was a lot of things that weren't working,
and it took about a year and a half.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Okay, Okay, well I think that's I love that kind
of honest, holistic look. I think the ebb and flow
of life, right, there's no just getting well and staying well.
There's going to be these different experiences throughout life. And
on this transformational journey that you call it, you also
(20:00):
changed your profession. So tell us a little bit about
where you were when you first started experiencing these labeled
diseases and illnesses and how that changed along with your
learning on this holistic journey.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Okay, Well, in my teen years, I always had a
fantasy of being in food and beverage. I always wanted
to be in hospitality. I always wanted to be in
some sort of bed and breakfast or catering or something.
I really wanted to be a chef at one point,
and I really followed that trail, and up until about thirty,
(20:40):
I was still in that industry. And you know, I
found food as a career as well, but in a
completely different angle or side of things. And back then
I burnt out that lifestyle of working, you know, till
three in the morning. The bar industry and the hospital
hospitality and hotel is very hard. You're on your feet
(21:03):
a lot, You're grabbing food here and there, you're eating
usually you're drinking. There's alcohol around all the time. And
I really my body just went who like completely, No,
I'm not doing this anymore. It's too much stress and
too much toxins and too much people around. And had
I been paying more attention, I suppose I would have
(21:25):
been a lot earlier. I don't know if this is
for me and shift, but it took again a transformational
journey to bring me down to break down, to be like, Okay, wow,
I really need to change direction here. This is not working.
And because of that, I said, I'm going to go
into naturalopathy and natural medicine. And this is where the
(21:47):
metaphysics comes in. Is it's a nice cross between spirituality
and alternative health. Is that I didn't want to give
up my passion for food, but I said, there's got
to be a better way that I can be of
service and be helpful and be happy and healthy at
the same time. So that's really why I gravitated towards
the natural health because I was going through it myself.
(22:09):
I was my first student, and I really had a
strong belief that I never ever wanted to own a
business where I didn't know what I was talking about
or hadn't been in the trenches. And I'd been in
the trenches. So I thought to myself, Wow, this is
really good. You know, like I've been there. I can
really empathize with my clients. And the ball just started
(22:29):
rolling from there. And I love it. I love learning,
I loved working in the industry. I love working in
health food stores and trying recipes at home. And I
just couldn't get enough and just to this day, just before,
about an hour ago, I was making muffins and I said, oh,
I just I like this lifestyle. You know, this is
for me. This is really for.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Me, right right? And so throughout that journey you've taken
on and received several different certifications. Give us the down
throughout that list.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Well, it's a funny story actually, because I went to
massage therapy school in around two thousand and I was
wooo really really pigeonholing and focused on having a bed
and breakfast and I was going to be the best
innkeeper and I was going to do this, and I
wanted to go to massage so I could instruct my
(23:23):
employees and I was going to know what was happening
in my spa, and lo and behold, I had a
physiology teacher who was very woo wu and she said
to me, you practice spirituality in reiki one day and
I was like, well, nope, not for me. No, No,
don't even know what energy work is, don't want to
do it, don't want to know it. I don't want
(23:44):
to know what reiki is. I have no idea. And
lo and behold, six months later, a year later, I'd
done all three levels of reiki, munaikei, rights, fung shui,
crystal healing. I got my bachelor's and my master's and
then I just got my doctor at last in metaphysics.
So you could say I was mistaken and what issue
(24:07):
is right? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Yeah, Well I love it because what you did is
as you learned and you healed yourself, then you began
able to integrate that and help and heal others. And
I think it's interesting because I see so many people
who become what they always wanted to be. But it's
(24:29):
a very different version of that. So, like you said,
this hospitality is this helping and catering to other people
in the food industry, it's just very different. So the
soul food that is where it started for you, and
then helping people live these healthy lifestyles and then really
enjoy their best life. So let's talk a little bit
(24:52):
first before we get into that foundational lifestyle about how
you learned to trust that intuition and were the universe
however whatever you want to call it. How did you
learn to trust?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Oh, that's a big one. That's a big one because
I'm still I don't know if I'm one hundred percent
there yet, but I've come a long way in the
last five years because so many good things happened to me.
So I just kept following the breadcrumbs, and every time
I would ask for something, I would say, Gee, it
(25:30):
would be really nice if I had dot dot dot,
And things started to show up. I was like, oh, okay,
let's try that again. And for at first I started
with the weather, or I started with the coffee. I
wonder if I could manifest a coffee today, or you
know whatever. And then it was like a yoga practice
(25:50):
or any kind of practice that you go through. I
just started trusting in the trust that it was going
to be there. And the more I asked, the more
I received, the more I was more specific, the more
I got and my my own intuition comes to me
very naturally. I would say that I have a gift
(26:11):
in that that I knew my intuition was very very
strong from my whole life. But trusting in spirit, yeah,
I really believe that there's you know, so much bigger
out there than me. And I came to a point
where I said, Okay, I'm really going to step outside myself,
(26:32):
get get out of my own way, and realize that
I am not the only one in this universe, and
that the universe is very, very very supportive. So every
single thing we do, it's there, we just have to
open our eyes to see it. And I just I
(26:54):
really was in touch with my feelings a lot as well.
So it was sort of like when you're young, you know,
you play that game, Oh you're getting warmer, you're getting colder,
you know, And when things felt like, ooh that feels good,
that feels warmer, I would follow that Breadcromb, I would
go there. But if it was kind of like a feeling,
(27:15):
I was like, no, that's not for me, or not
maybe it's not for me right now. But I really
learned to trust my feelings. That was very very strong,
and that's really what homed my intuitional lot was my
feelings was being connected to my feelings.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Wow, that's amazing, And I think we can all learn
from that because I do talk to a lot of
people who say they felt they should have or should
not have something, and they got the result that went
that was evidence for that reason that they should or
should not have. But coming to that place of really
(27:54):
trusting is a journey in and of itself, and I think,
like you said, it becomes practice, absolutely practice. So when
you think of this foundational lifestyle for all of us
that we need to help create maybe a balance in life,
(28:15):
what would you say to the audience guide us.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Creating a balance. Well, I came across a quote the
other day that I had seen before, but I'd like
to just share it as a as a launching pad
if you don't mind. It's a fairly long poem and
I'm just going to abridge it a lot because if
there's one flaw that women specifically, I'm going to talk
(28:44):
to women today because and some men as well, is
that the poem goes on to say, you know a
lot of really beautiful things about women and that, but
at the end of the day, they don't know their worth.
And I would say this is probably the quintessential thing
(29:05):
that you can start with, is believing that you're worthy
of receiving. It doesn't have to be a million dollars,
it doesn't have to be a pretty face, it doesn't
it can be whatever you want in your life, but
you have to begin at I am worthy of receiving,
and that is the start of creating a foundation for
(29:29):
yourself and in a balanced lifestyle, because if you don't
have that, it's going to be really hard to build it,
if you don't believe that you can receive anything. And
to me, I just feel like that's such an integral
part of healing is really just accepting yourself for being
human and where you are with all of your desirable
(29:52):
qualities and you're let's call it undesirable qualities if you
want to call it that. We all have the things
that we want to change within ourselves, but we're human
and we have these super perfectionistic standards in our society
now with social media and everything that are unentertainable, and
I think a lot of us are caught up in
some of those And that would be the one thing
(30:14):
I would say to start there if you don't know
where to start or you don't know what to do,
is just to lean into receiving because you're worthy.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, belief systems are so powerful, aren't they. So if so,
that foundation has to be there and cemented some lots
of believing that you are worthy of receiving.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Yeah, exactly. And the thing with the foundation is that,
like to me, it's like it's systematic. It's like building
a home you know, you can put up walls, and
you can put up curtains, and you can paint and everything,
but if you don't have a strong foundation underneath you,
your house is probably going to collapse, right Yeah. So
it's a really systematic way of doing things. And I
(31:06):
really feel like if you have a strong foundation, then
the waves and the winds of life can come and go.
But you're going to be the lighthouse as opposed to
the rowboat in the storm. You can still shine your
light on solid ground and you can still be of service,
but you don't lose yourself in the melee of whatever
is out there and trying to rescue people in your
(31:28):
boat and everything that just never works. So be the
lighthouse as much as you.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Can, Beautiful. I love that. And with that, it is
time for our second break, So don't go far. We'll
be back with more with doctor Joanna McDonald and SULCPR.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
Are you struggling to care for elderly parents or a spouse?
Do you wonder if being a caregiver is making you sick?
Are you worried about taking time off work to care
for elderly parents and balance work life and caregiving? Has
caregiving become exhomts and emotionally draining. Are you an aging
adult who wants to remain independent but you're not sure how?
(32:06):
I'm Pamela d Wilson. Join me for the Carrying Generation
radio show for caregivers and aging adults Wednesday evenings, six Pacific,
seven Mountain, eighth Central, and nine Eastern, where I answer
these questions and share tips for managing stress, family relationships,
health wellbeing, and more. Podcasts and transcripts of The Carrying
Generation are on my website Pamela Dwilson dot com, plus
(32:29):
my Caregiving library. Online caregiver support programs and programs for
corporations interested in supporting working caregivers. Help, hope and support
for caregivers is here on the Carrying Generation and Pamela
d Wilson dot com.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Mike Zorich a three time California state champion in Greco
Roman wrestling at one hundred and fourteen pounds. Mike blind
Sizberth was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a six
time national placer, including two secs, two thirds and two fourths.
He also won the Veterans Folk Style Wrestling twice at
(33:06):
one hundred and fifty two pounds in all these tournaments,
he was the only blind competitor. Nancy Zurich a creative
spirit whose talents have taken her to the stage and
into galleries and exhibitions in several states. Her father, a
commercial artist who shared his instruments with his daughter and
helped her fine tune her natural abilities, influenced her decision
(33:29):
to follow in his footsteps. Miss Zorich has enjoyed a
fruitful career doing what she loves. Listen Saturday mornings at
twelve Eastern for the Nancy and Mike Show for heartwarming
stories and interesting talk on the BBM Global Network.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
And we are back with Joanna McDonald today and we
are just talking about those foundational kind of lifestyle things
to make sure we live in balance and harmony. So, Joanna,
the first thing that you shared was really about believing
that we're worthy and that that without that, nothing else
(34:08):
really matters. So what can we build on or what's next?
What do we build on from there?
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Okay, Well take it from me from somebody who lived
a life of not having a foundation and just going
willy nilly without intention or anything anywhere. I got very
sick and very lost, and I took so many detours.
I would say that the first step, of course, is
leaning into believing in yourself and believing that you're worthy,
(34:38):
believing you deserve. And I don't know if many people
ask themselves really what they want to do in life,
So that would be another step too, is to really
sit down and think about what do I want? Where
do I want to go? Is this really making sense
for me? Or is this something my family wants me
(35:00):
to do, or my husband or wife is pressuring me
to encouraging me to do. What is it that you
really really really want to do and try it. The
second thing I would say is to create a realistic
plan of goals and daily habits for yourself. So for me,
(35:21):
they may be very different from you, or from my mom,
or from my aunt or from my best friend. For me,
you know, walking every day works, and yoga and stretching
and gentle breathing and meditation really works for me. You know,
dancing works for me, but that might not be everybody's
(35:43):
cup of tea. So really lean into setting yourself some
goals and some habits that suit your lifestyle. For a
long time, I said, Okay, I'm gonna go to the gym.
It's gonna be five days a week. I'm gonna get
have six thirty in the morning and I'm gonna pump
iron And are you crazy? I'm not even a morning person.
And that after a while I was like Joanna, like
who are you kidding? Like I kept failing and failing,
(36:04):
and I'm like this is not for me, Like, this
is not a doable goal for me. So I really
found a timeline that suited me, and it took me
a couple of years. But that's number two is create
a realistic plan for yourself of habits that you can
do to support yourself. So it might just be as
simple as drinking more water and you start there. It
(36:26):
might be as simple as, you know, putting yourself together
a little bit more. If you feel like uncomfortable in
your jogging pants every day, We're all different, right, And
then step three is to discover your why. And Simon
Sinek talks a lot about this, a lot about discovering
your why because this is really what's going to get
(36:46):
you out of bed in the morning. And when you
remember your why, it's a lot easier to stick to
your goal. So, for example, for me, I really want
to increase my flexibility. So I do yoga every day
because my goal is to increase my flexibility, and I'm
reminded of my goal while i'm doing it. So the
days that I'm like, oh gosh, I'm not sure, I
(37:07):
don't feel like I feel like doing yogur or whatever,
I'm like, Okay, remember your why? What is your why?
What's your big goal of why you want to get
to that goal. So for some people, it could be
they want to lose weight, they want to stop smoking,
they want to, you know, get outside of the house more.
Whatever your why is, put it on a little post
it note summer where you're going to see it every
(37:29):
day that you can remind yourself when you go and
lean sort of into those those habits that are not
taking you down that road, to remind yourself of why
you're doing it in the first place. To be motivated. Okay, no,
I don't want to make that choice today. I want
to make this choice and this is where I'm going
to go to take me closer to my goals. I
(37:49):
find it very easy when you have a visual cue
to remind you every day of why you're doing your thing.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
I agree with you and I use post it notes
for everything. Dan, this is something for you after the
show today, So I love that. And I talk about
turn your goals into habits. Often habits really are what
(38:17):
change our lives for the better or worse. Right, So
we got to pay attention to our habits sometimes, I
think just evaluating our habits, looking at our day, what
how are we spending our time? What is our what
are our habits that exist now? And what do we
want to change to reach that overarching goal like you're
(38:38):
talking about. And one thing that I was reading about
recently James Clear Atomic Habits, author of Atomic Habits, that's
a great book, by the way, is habits stacking. So
when you're trying to introduce a new habit, it's to
stack it or tack it onto something you already do.
(38:59):
So we already brush our teeth twice a day hopefully, right.
So if that's already a routine for you, then you
add that's something new just before it or just after it,
so that you get that routine set for that. So
let's say something I've started doing is inversion, because my
son gave me one of those little inversion little things
(39:20):
that so you stand upside down do the headstands, but
you got the pads for you. So if I'll do
it right after I brush my teeth in the morning,
it's now becoming a new habit that that's when I
do it. I don't have to think about it or
reschedule it or find that time. It's just brush my
teeth to do my handstand for two minutes or whatever.
(39:41):
So habit stacking is a good way to help people
make habits that stick, if that makes sense. So I
love that. I love the habits and the why absolutely
remembering the why and the visual. Yes, Johanna, I agree
with you some people. I suggest making it your saver
on your phone because how many times do we look
(40:03):
at that in a day right or right in front
of your computer, or just that sticky note on your computer,
so wherever you spend a lot of time. So love
that those are great for those foundational lifestyle transformations that
(40:23):
we're talking about to help us get in bounced, because,
like I said at the top of the show, so
many people I've talked to are struggling with just getting
this new year kicked off and finding and feeling like
they've found their rhythm for the year. So I love those.
So Joanna, when we talk about this and this path
(40:47):
that you've taken for yourself to heal yourself and to
help others, how rewarding has this been for you?
Speaker 3 (40:56):
Very very rewarding, very humbling, I would say very I'm
honored that after you know, thousands of clients and experiences
of meeting people on retreat and workshops and different things
that that we've done, it's very humbling that that. I well,
(41:18):
I'm very honored that they share their stories with me,
and they trust me enough to open up to to
share some of the most vulnerable parts of themselves. So
I consider myself very privileged to walk with them on
their journey because I mean, I don't know, I I
I know there's lots of choices out there for practitioners,
(41:40):
and I'm just very honored and and happy that they're
they feel safe, I guess working with me.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Yeah, that's that's that's very beautiful. So let's talk a
little bit about that that journey, because, as I said,
when I met you, you were it was soul food,
and then I know it became soul space and I
was a client for you, and I had an amazing
like spiritual card reading with you, and then I know
(42:10):
you were doing circles and I sent one of my
clients to you to participate in a group and that
was like a reading. I know you've taught meditation and
do group meditations, and now you've moved on and you've
exchanged your business model a bit because now you're doing
(42:31):
more serving a wider audience on a larger scale. So
tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
Dam thank you for asking. Yes, I did, of course
start out small. One of my friends. One day when
I moved back from Calgary to Montreal, where I am now,
one of my friends said, oh, can you come over
and do a card reading? And I said, okay, sure.
I kind of babbled with it on the side, and
I did hers and it was a pretty successful reading.
(42:56):
And then lo and behold, my phone started ringing and
people were calling from all over the place. I was
blessed with a friend lyan she's watching, who told everybody,
basically town crier told everybody, oh, join it as readings,
Oh I do really okay, And so it started from there,
and I guess I had to learn through you know, experience,
(43:19):
and I learned energy management, I learned chakra system, I
learned readings, I learned cards, talking with spirit, I learned
a lot about land energy. So for some people, they
may be familiar with my travel vlog where I go
around to different places and I listened to the energy
of the land and I helped to heal the land
(43:40):
with spirit. So I went through you know, soul spaces,
and then I went through the gardening land energy part
of it. And then now I'm branching. We still do
workshops and retreats and whatnot, but I'm branching into a
lot more of conferences and speaking on a wider scale,
(44:01):
I guess because I really feel like the time is
now or people the messages there, and I just really
want to help people to walk on their journey and
we need that. We all need the love, we all
need the care, and whatever way I can pitch in,
I'm more than happy to assist in any way I can.
(44:22):
So I like speaking, you can tell I like talking,
And I really like meeting people too. I mean, I've
met so many wonderful people in my life of all
walks of life, and I just love hearing people's stories.
So that's also a big motivator for me too, is
to meet different people.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
I love that it's just another It sounds like it's
just another transformation and another evolution of you and another growth.
And you talk about.
Speaker 3 (44:52):
Foundation, I think I had to start and create a
nice foundation for myself and I had to learn a
lot as I went along and before I could teach her,
before I could even speak. And if you'd told me
about even ten years ago that I would be online
on a video or talking in front of people, I'd
be like, well, no, no, thanks, not for me. But
now I'm like, okay, yeah, let's do it. You know.
(45:14):
So I think life is just a progression of that.
You never lose any kind of experience you have in
your toolbox, and yeah, you just keep going and learning
as you go.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
That's wonderful. Well, I think that your expertise is highly
valuable and I think it would be amazing to hear
you speak. I know when we were talking before the show,
I was like, I could see speaking at universities, to
groups like that and beyond. I could really see you
affecting change. So, Joanna, it is time for our third
(45:49):
and final break, and when we come back, we're and
have some closing thoughts and some key takeaways for our audience,
so go for We'll be back. We're sol CPR.
Speaker 4 (46:00):
Are you struggling to care for elderly parents or a spouse?
Do you wonder if being a caregiver is making you sick?
Are you worried about taking time off work to care
for elderly parents and balance work life and caregiving? Has
caregiving become exhausting and emotionally draining? Are you an aging
adult who wants to remain independent but you're not sure how.
(46:20):
I'm Pamela d Wilson. Join me for The Carrying Generation
radio show for caregivers and aging adults Wednesday evenings, six Pacific,
seven Mountain, eighth Central, and nine Eastern, where I answer
these questions and share tips for managing stress, family relationships, health, wellbeing,
and more. Podcasts and transcripts of The Carrying Generation are
(46:40):
on my website Pamela Dwilson dot com, plus my Caregiving library.
Online caregiver support programs and programs for corporations interested in
supporting working caregivers. Help, hope and support for caregivers is
here on The Carrying Generation and Pamela d Wilson dot com.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
Author, radio show host and coach John M. Hawkins reveals
strategies to help gain perspective, build confidence, find clarity, achieve goals.
John M. Hawkins' new book Coached to Greatness Unlock Your
Full Potential with Limitless Growth, published by I Universe, Hawkins
(47:21):
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the help of coaches, mentors, and others. He shares guidance
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(47:44):
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Speaker 2 (48:01):
And we are back. So, Johanna, just to kind of
recap this whole foundational building that we were talking about.
So to be the lighthouse, we want to start with
believing that we're worthy of receiving. We want to create
a realistic plan and goal with daily habits to support
(48:23):
that goal. And then we want to discover our why
before we move into a key takeaway. Do you have
a tip for that, creating that believing in ourselves, in
our worthiness. Do you have a tip or something that
worked for you when you were struggling without yourself?
Speaker 3 (48:45):
Yes, I do. Actually I have a memory where I
was reading something somewhere about ten fifteen years ago that said,
in all of the universe, in all of time, past, present, future,
(49:06):
they'll never be another you. Ever, our voices are unique,
our cellular structure is unique, Our past life memories are unique,
Our our biological structure is unique. Even twins are completely different,
even though they may look alike. So that really helped
me to turn the corner because I said to myself, well,
(49:28):
not that I wanted to put on airs and be like, oh,
well you know, there's only one of me and blah
blah blah. It was more like, well, there's only one
of me, so if I may as well step up
and show the world what I am and what I
can offer and be of service that way, Because obviously
I'm I am not a very religious person, but I
(49:52):
do believe in God, very strongly believe in God and Spirit.
And I said, if God or Spirit had the wherewithal
to build me and to create me for a reason.
Then I'm going to honor that and I'm going to
be that. And that really helped me to stick with
the leaning into the deserving, because I said, well, well
(50:15):
why not. I mean, if my neighbor deserves it, or
my dog deserves it, or I looked at all of
my friends too, and I said, well, there's not a
minute that goes by that I wouldn't say my friends.
If I looked at my best friend, I'd be like, oh, yeah,
you totally deserve it girl, you know, But why was
it so different for me? Right? So I said, okay,
let's take this ego out of it a little bit
(50:36):
and remind yourself that there's only one of you and
you're here for a purpose, and you know you need
to honor that purpose. It's either that or evolve or die. Right.
We need to always keep upgrading ourselves to to really
give our heads a shake a little bit sometimes and
be like, yeah, is that the truth? No, I'm just
telling yourself a story, you know. So that's what really
(50:58):
got me through, And that's the tip, is to really
honor your uniqueness, and that helps a lot.
Speaker 2 (51:05):
I love that. Thank you for sharing that so much.
All right, Well with that, if you had a key takeaway,
which to me that whole thing was. But yeah, key
takeaway for the audience today about building their foundation or
anything else that we've shared, what would it be?
Speaker 3 (51:25):
Key takeaway? I would say that a lot of my
clients say to me, Oh, I can't I don't have time,
I can't afford it, I can't do this, I can't
do that. I can't do it because dot dot dot. Well,
I'm just going to squeeze in a yoga class in
between picking my daughter up or my son or whatever
from ballet or baseball. And these things are very important.
(51:48):
Don't get me wrong. Family, it's very important. But I
would lean into reminding yourself that life is short and
we nobody knows how long we're going to be here.
Nobody knows tomorrow if that's going to be your last day.
And I would really, you know, make some time for yourself,
carve out some time for yourself. You're important as well,
(52:09):
just like you know, the dad or the mom, or
the kid or the dog or whatnot. Everybody is so
important and self care is for everybody, and it's not
just all squeeze it in when I've got five minutes
or or you know, when the kids are whatever, everybody
else is taken care of, I'll deal with me. It's
put yourself in the schedule and make sure that you
(52:32):
do that because life is short and time goes by
so fast, and I say to myself, I'm like, oh,
here we are Friday again. Wooh, the week just went again.
And by the before you know it, you're you know,
you might be at the end of your life and
you're like, yeah, I really wish I would have done
that then. So nobody wants to have any regrets at
the end of their life. So do it now. Do
(52:52):
enjoy your life, Do what you got to do, do
what you want to do. Make space for the joy
because the work and the us and the chores will
always be there. But you know, find the time to
do what you want to do.
Speaker 2 (53:07):
I don't so much absolutely, and and all of that
that self care and prioritizing self and and all of
that it comes back to you also, I believe is
something you were talking about earlier. We have to know
ourselves and spend time getting to know yourself and really
(53:29):
embracing yourself so you can then love yourself and rid
yourself of those self sabotaging behaviors and the habits. I'm
gonna go ahead and call them the bad habits or
the underserving habits, and the things that hold you back
from living that best life and the cracks in that foundation.
Speaker 3 (53:50):
Right, So, absolutely distractions. I'll just finish two by saying
distractions are such a detriment to self care. You really
the word of the day is focus, focus, Focus. Focus
in the universe will, if you're serious about this, will
really help you focus. And to the point now where
(54:10):
I really turn off my phone and I'm very focused
on what i want to do and there's nothing going
to stop me going towards what I want to do
with my joy. So just remember that we have so
many distractions around that just focus on what you love
and then the universe will open more and more doors
for you to go do more of that.
Speaker 2 (54:28):
So ah, that's a beautiful thought. Wonderful all right, Dennis.
So how can our audience get in touch with you?
Speaker 3 (54:37):
Oh? I would love that. My website is Joanna McDonald
dot ca and I have a plethora of resources on
there if you want to look at videos or podcasts
or anything. This will be up and live probably this afternoon.
I have some free meditations on there. I also, as
I mentioned to you while we were chatting before, free
(55:00):
twenty one day Intuition, mastering your intuition, and don't get
you all scared by the title. It's really about reconnecting
with yourself. So it's a twenty one day plan to
reconnect with yourself and every day. It's a nice good
habit to add to your repertoire. And I when I
was creating it, I went through the whole thing myself
(55:20):
and I thought, oh, this is really really cool because
it helped me stay on a nice structure to self care.
So it's a nice place to start to come back
to yourself.
Speaker 2 (55:30):
I love that. I thank you for sharing that with
the audience, and it's there on the screen. So Joanna
McDonald dot ca. And then you've got the www. Dot
Joanna McDonald dot ca, slash videos, hyphen podcasts, hyphen meditations,
and this will be in the show notes as well
as Joanna's other social media links. And I appreciate you
(55:55):
so much being on the show today and sharing your
knowledge and your wisdom for Dees and just the gift
of your time as well.
Speaker 3 (56:03):
Oh, thank you so much, and it's been a pleasure
and I was so looking forward to this year. Such
an angel.
Speaker 2 (56:10):
Well, thank you again, thank you.
Speaker 3 (56:11):
So.
Speaker 2 (56:12):
As we close out today's show, I just want to
say to everyone that if today's stories resonated with you,
then please do share this podcast with someone who made
it a lifeline of their own. Subscribe, rate and leave
a review to help us reach more hearts. You can
always connect with me on social media. On Facebook, it
is Skyview Coaching. On the other apps, it is at
(56:35):
Anne Papayote. Let me know your thoughts, your stories, and
the topics you'd like to explore in future episodes. And
until next time, may you find strength in your vulnerability
and courage in your journey. Thank you for listening. Breathe deeply,
love openly, and live soulfully. Good day.
Speaker 1 (56:55):
This has been Soul CPR with host and Papa Yode
read Life back into your Spirit with each episode where
she and special guests explore the relationships that hurt us
and discover that healing can only begin with you. Tuesdays
at three pm Eastern on the Bold Brave TV Network
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