This podcast conversation was recorded on October 22nd 2022. 

Last fall, I had the joy of welcoming my dear friend and beautifully authentic spirit, Nancy Regan, to the Embodied podcast. An author, professional communicator, presentation coach, and an inspiring beacon of light, Nancy had penned her first book, From Showing Off to Showing Up: An Impostor's Journey from Perfect to Presence.

About Nancy's book

Nancy’s creation is a divine amalgamation of memoir and self-help, a true call to authenticity, and a guide to living a fearless life. What touches my heart deeply about her book is its gentle encouragement for readers to embrace intimacy with themselves and to find acceptance in every fragment of their being. This approach mirrors Nancy’s journey, and her transformation is interwoven within the words, an echo of her soulful dance with acceptance.

Connecting on a personal level

Our exchange on the podcast was filled with giggles and moments of genuine...

Take twelve minutes and explore this guided audio meditation; a journey that encourages you to imagine encountering a version of your future self, ten years from now.

Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Slow your breath down and expand your breath. Breathe deeply, allowing every part of your body to relax, to surrender with each exhalation, allowing your jaw to drop, and every part of your throat chakra to soften, to relax.

At your next deep breath, imagine that the core of your being, from the base of your spine all the way to the top of your head, opens up like a hollow cylinder. And this beautiful white light that comes from the top of your head from the universe pours down and fills your entire core and comes out at your root chakra. You can feel the movement of this light going down your body.

And imagine that, in a counter-movement, this beautiful light also comes back up from the earth, moves...

Toxic Empathy
Psychologists make the distinction between “emotional empathy” and “cognitive empathy” or “social intelligence,” which is to appreciate what’s going on emotionally with another person without any contagion of feelings. Cognitive empathy allows us to understand that someone is suffering and still want to help, but without feeling what they are feeling. This distinction makes all the difference when it comes to serving and still conserving our energy.
Emotional empathy is a disembodied emotion, meaning that your attention is outside of yourself. You project yourself in the other person’s body, you feel what you perceive they feel.
Emotional empathy takes you out of yourself and places you in the other person’s shoes where you are disconnected from your inner world. You are out of your body and in an emotion that doesn’t belong to you. In the process, you contaminate your present moment awareness. In this state,...