Episodes

  • "Look down at your body
    whisper
    there is no home like you"
    - thank you

    Rupi Kaur
    the sun and her flowers

    🌴What would it be like to remember and honor your freest, most uninhibited self? Could reconnection with your ancestral guidance (what I call The Ancient Calm) bring you to your most creative, expressive you?

    Today's Tiny Astonishment finds KJ musing on two accessible practices that help her remember her creativity, just in time to honor May, the month of Mental Health Awareness and AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage.

    🌴Also: Join KJ in remembering, resetting, and recovering creativity in Bali! Grab your spot now, only two rooms remain for September's Session, and December already has a nearly full waitlist!

    Episode Mentions:

    - The Sun, Mary Oliver, from Devotions
    - Evensong excerpt, Kathryn Le Grice from Song Of Ojai
    - Original Instructions, Asha Frost from You Are The Medicine

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to nourish and recover your creative voice. Next Retreats: February 12 - 18, 2024 (3 spots left!) and May 7 - 12 2024 (only ONE (1!!) spot left unclaimed and they are filling up quickly)IG: @_KJCreates_Web: Bliss Begins Within Book a FREE Hello CallEp 83 Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul SOAL Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Please rate and review this podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well >>> https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • Welcome back to the second part of an extremely vulnerable conversation in which Meghan "Meg" Thomas - podcast hostess, and breathwork teacher - talks to KJ about the discovery that she is donor-conceived. She opens up about her journey of reclamation now that she has learned the truth.

    Meg shares what happened once she decided to "Click Connect" after submitting her DNA into 23 and Me, which includes meeting half-siblings. She began leaning into curiosities such as Genetic Mirroring and embracing the potency and impact of unearthing her astonishing story.

    Compassionate Considerations

    🍃 When in a discovery journey feelings of shame, unworthiness, and insecurity may rise. How do you issue tender care in these moments?

    🍃 Words have power. Their intentionality informs our ability to remain open, transparent, and present.

    🍃 To stay in a relationship with people who have hurt us means finding ways of shifting toward forgiveness.

    🍃 Self Compassion is sitting IN the feelings, not avoiding them.

    April 27th is International Donor Conception Awareness Day

    Connect With Meg

    Web: Meghan Thomas Pod: Emotional Expedition IG: https://www.instagram.com/emotional_expedition/

    Connect With KJ & #BlissBeginsRetreats

    Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to nourish and recover your creative voice. Next Retreats: February 12 -18, 2024 (3 spots remain!); May 5 - May 12 (1 room left!) & May 28 - June 3, 2024 (only 3 rooms left!) and Sept 5 - 12, 2024 (Rooms are filling up quickly!)IG: @_kjCreates_ + @blissbeginsretreats Web: Bliss Begins Within Book a FREE Hello CallEp 82 Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul SOAL Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Please rate and review this podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well >>> https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

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  • In this extremely open conversation, Meghan "Meg" Thomas - coach, podcast hostess, and breathwork facilitator - joins KJ on SOAL to share her deeply personal story publicly for the first time.

    Meg and KJ touch on themes of identity, reclamation, and the power of storytelling. Their dialogue serves as a catalyst for further discussions about fertility, adoption, and donor-conceived children. Welcome to the transparent, heartbreaking work of unearthing for reclaiming.

    Compassionate Considerations:

    🌱 How do you check back and ensure your intuition is correct?

    🌱 In order to feel emotions, you move through them.

    🌱 The body always knows the truth; even if our minds are unwilling to see it yet.

    🌱 Permission to feel all the emotions including shame, betrayal, grief, and anger.

    🌱 Ingredients for shame: secrecy, silence & judgment. The antidote is transparency and the willingness to dialogue.

    🌱 Be brave enough at this moment, to take the next action.

    🌱 Self-compassion includes allowing you to uncover your medicine for yourself (which is medicine for The World).

    April 27th is International Donor Conception Awareness Day

    Connect With Meg

    Web: https://www.meghanthomas.comPod: https://www.meghanthomas.com/podcastIG: https://www.instagram.com/emotional_expedition/

    Connect With KJ & #BlissBeginsRetreats

    Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to recover your creative design. Next Retreats: May 30 - June 5, 2023 (only 1 room left!) and Sept 23 - Sept 28, 2023 (Limited spots, filling up quickly!)IG: @_kjCreates_ + @blissbeginsretreats Web: https://blissbeginswithin.com Book a free Hello Call: https://blissbeginswithin.as.me/HelloCallEp 81 Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Please Rate and Review This Podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • Today's new SOAL gallery features artist, writer, and best-selling author (and Dream Guest for KJ) Elle Luna and luminous Sound Healer and Shamanic Ritual Guide Andrea Tomasi in conversation exploring the intersection of art, breathwork, and the creative spark.

    Compassionate Considerations:

    🌱 Conscious breath helps us to REMEMBER our Soul Self, our Quintessential Self, The BELOVED

    🌱 Conscious Breath can help us create from a place that is not solely in pain and suffering.

    🌱 Creativity is the process of building the reconnective bridge where there was suffering and separateness.

    🌱 Creating comes from a place of devotion and service; a desire to create more LOVE

    🌱 Self Compassion is in stabilizing ourselves and returning to our innate wisdom.

    Connect With Elle and Andrea

    Elle Luna

    Web: https://elleluna.art Breathwork Site: https://elleluna.art/the-awakening-breathIG: https://instagram.com/elleluna Book: The Crossroads of Should And Must

    Andrea Tomasi

    Website: https://andreatomasimusic.comBreathwork Site: https://elleluna.art/the-awakening-breath IG: https://www.instagram.com/at.tunes/Sound Healing Album: Into The Mystery on Spotify

    Connect With KJ & #BlissBeginsRetreats

    Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to recover your creative design. Next Retreat: May 30 - June 5, 2023IG: @_KJCreates_ & @blissbeginsretreats Web: https://blissbeginswithin.com Book a free Hello Call: https://blissbeginswithin.as.me/HelloCallEp 80 Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Please Rate and Review This Podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • Today's episode features a joy-infused, nervous system-soothing conversation between kindred spirits Brenda Winkle and KJ. The ladies contemplate ways to recover and enhance our intrinsic power: our intuition.

    As a trauma-informed Reiki Master, Brenda helps highly sensitive people, over-achievers, perfectionists, people pleasers, and empaths set boundaries, protect their energy, and heal their nervous systems. She holds a master's degree in Educational Leadership, and a BS in Music Education, and spent 26 years of her career in elementary and choral music classrooms.

    She stepped away from full-time teaching and now runs her business full-time but still volunteers on a regional board as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair. She has been trained as an Advanced ThetaHealing® Meditation Technique Practitioner, and a trauma-informed Breathwork Facilitator.

    Compassionate Considerations:

    🍃 Align your inner and physical selves and chase joy endlessly.

    🍃 Uncover authentic purpose by observing unguarded, uninhibited moments.

    🍃 Have physical reminders for self-care and self-protection out within your eye line for easy accessibility.

    🍃 Preparation is a form of self-compassion and activism.

    🍃The Heart Hug technique crosses brain meridians and moves us out of the brain stem, our reptilian [survival] response mode.

    🍃 When we model stepping into our aligned power, we grant permission for future generations to claim theirs.

    Please Rate and Review This Podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Connect With Brenda

    A Gift: Meditation to Feel Better https://www.brendawinkle.com/feelbetterWaves of Joy Podcast Linkedin: Brenda WinkleIG: @brendawinkle Facebook: Brenda Winkle Empowerment, LLCWebsite: https://www.brendawinkle.com/

    Connect With KJ & #BlissBeginsRetreats

    Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to recover your creative design. Next Retreat: May 30 - June 5, 2023IG: @MusingsOnOther Web: https://blissbeginswithin.com Book a free Hello Call with KJ: https://blissbeginswithin.as.me/HelloCallEp 79 Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • This week's episode is less of an interview and more of an intimate chat between KJ and her friend Lilian Wee.

    Moving away from home and relocating to a new place of residence thousands of miles away can be extremely challenging and lonely. Adjusting to a new culture, falling in love, and navigating relationships all in the middle of a world health crisis? This could be the breaking point for some folks, but not for Lilian.

    Leaving her home in Singapore to live and work in Houston, Texas (while in the offshore energy & shipping industry!) became the invitation for Lil (as her friends know her) to step into her resiliency and create a community for other immigrants, nomads, and transplants to connect on themes of finding roots and "home" from wherever they are in the world.

    Compassionate considerations:

    ⭐ Choose relationships that help you create a sanctuary or home.

    ⭐ Asking for support via therapy is a form of self-compassion and advocacy and can be done without shame

    ⭐ COVID practically force-clarified how people defined home: connectivity, community, safety

    ⭐ Assess whether you’re embracing or isolating

    ⭐ Self-care & resiliency practices = committing to time with self in nature, with beloved animals, meditation, breathing and yoga, and a nap!

    ⭐ Self-care is intentional and attainable

    Please Rate and Review This Podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Connect With Lilian
    Linktr.ee: resilient_and_rooted
    IG: @heartopenconvers_asians
    Pod: Heart Open Convers_asians

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to recover your creative design. Next Retreat: May 30 - June 5, 2023IG: @MusingsOnOther Web: https://blissbeginswithin.com Book A Hello Call with KJ: https://blissbeginswithin.as.me/HelloCallReceive alerts for upcoming Creativity & Healing Gatherings - Newsletter Episode Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • In the official Season Four Kickoff, Jo Dodd and KJ share stories of their own experiences about how difficult and overwhelming it can be as a woman, let alone a mother, thriving in a working environment that’s rigid, fast-paced, and insensitive.

    A mum of four, an author, speaker, and coach, Jo has published three children's books as well as a one-of-a-kind picture book for mums called 'Dear Mama Bear with the F*cked Up Hair.' This book, which tells an authentic, poignant, dark, sometimes humorous story of motherhood, is based on Jo's journey of silently battling depression for over a decade.

    Within the past few months, Jo has pivoted her business to focus on perimenopause and menopause awareness. Jo has launched her own podcast Dear Peri and Meno Pause and is building a community called MenoShine, where she encourages women to learn, laugh and lead their way through midlife while changing the stigma associated with mental health and menopause.

    Compassionate Considerations:

    Do you experience physical symptoms indicating emotional distress?Two things you can do to manage overwhelm immediately:Physical space disruptionReleasing feelings through tearsSpeaking to ourselves in the present tense signifies embodiment (vs. future or past tense which implies detachment or denial from the current situation)People pleasing and martyrdom are actually the cause of physical and emotional sicknessAre you able to communicate and ask for what you need from your support network?

    Connect With Jo

    Website: https://livinginjotopia.com/ IG: @livinginjotopia Book: Dear Mama Bear With The F*cked Up HairPodcast: Dear Peri & Meno Pause

    Please Rate and Review This Podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to recover your creative blueprint. Next Session: May 30 - June 5, 2023IG: @MusingsOnOther Web: https://blissbeginswithin.com Book A Hello Call with KJ: https://blissbeginswithin.as.me/HelloCallReceive alerts for upcoming Creativity & Healing Gatherings - Newsletter Intro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • In the Season Four Premiere, KJ checks in with you all on the day she leaves to host her second Bali Creativity Recovery Retreat. After a varied, expansive 2022, this new season greets 2023 already brimming with rich conversations between artists, healers, and visionaries... Welcome back to the Stories of Astonishing Light!

    Compassionate Considerations:

    - How long has it been since you've truly dropped in and listened?

    - When have you last intentionally let things be?

    Episode Mentions:

    Poem by Morgan Harper Nichols from All Along You Were Blooming

    Fall in love with the art of living.
    Fall in love with letting things be.
    Fall in love with listening.
    Be still in the sun, where the winds ever-gently blow,
    knowing it is here,
    in moments like this,
    you are living,
    and you will grow.

    Please Rate and Review This Podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to recover your creativity. Next Session: May 30 - June 5, 2023Instagram: @MusingsOnOther Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com Book A Hello Call with KJ - https://blissbeginswithin.as.me/HelloCallBe notified about upcoming Creativity & Healing Gatherings - Newsletter Intro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • In the Season Three Finale, Mai-kee Tsang and KJ contemplate their efforts in unsubscribing to the culture of urgency. Here is a compassionate conversation between friends who've experienced Othered pressures and seek trauma-informed care for themselves and fellow guides in the wellness space.

    Mai-Kee is a SUSTAINABLE VISIBILITY® Mentor, ICF Certified Trauma-Sensitive Leadership Coach & Podcast Guesting Strategy Trainer. She helps underestimated and underrepresented humans in business take an intersectional and trauma-sensitive approach to visibility, so they can feel safely seen while they grow their businesses.

    Compassionate Considerations:

    Do you exercise agency over who gets to witness your work?A Trauma-Sensitive Approach to conversations begins with curiosity How might we preserve capacity and integrity as space-holders (coaches, therapists, podcasters, healers, speakers)?

    Enjoying the podcast? Please leave a review for this podcast if these stories have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Resources

    Connect With Mai-Kee

    Website: www.maikeetsang.comIG: www.Instagram.com/maikeetsangConverse with Consent Workshop OfferFree Gift: www.MaikeeTsang.com/25Experts

    >> Ep 75 background music is "Seashell" Composed & performed by KJ Nasrul
    >> Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ

    Want to work with KJ? Only three (3!!!) spaces remain in all of 2022 to work with KJ in an intimate container of replenishment, rediscovery, and release of familial stories so that you can continue healing others. Creativity VIP Day

    Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com Work With KJIG: @_KJcreates_ @AdopteeSociety Recover your creativity in an intimate 1:1 Intensive or Small Group CREATIVITY VIP DAY Join KJ & Norman in lush Bali, Indonesia for a 5-Day Creativity Retreat! Clubhouse @kjnasrul Facebook

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • After an unexpected and adventurous 6 month hiatus, KJ and her beloved listening gallery The Stories of Astonishing Light Podcast returns today!

    We're in Ultra Celebration Mode because KJ brings her friend and colleague Lauren Bryson, Certified Nutritional Consultant, back to SOAL to chat about the premiere of Lauren's new podcast Go Play In The Dirt! Listen in as Lauren shares her wealth of knowledge and witness the way these friends jam about the impactful connection between nutrition and mental health.

    Considerations:

    The impact of nutrition in healing from complex trauma is vast. How might one prepare for a big transitional event (i.e. a move) through the lens of nutritional wealth? What we ingest in our bodies informs how (if?) we healthily respond to stress.


    Want to work with KJ? Only three (3!!!) spaces remain in 2022 to work with KJ in an intimate container of replenishment, rediscovery, and retelling of familial stories. Find out more here >>> Creativity VIP Day Retreats

    Enjoying the podcast? Please leave a review for the podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. Let KJ know what you've missed and what you'd like to hear more about! https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Resources

    Go Play In The Dirt Podcast Lauren Emerson Wellness Lauren on Instagram EWG.org Environmental Working GroupJoin KJ in an intimate Intensive CREATIVITY VIP DAY Join KJ & Norman in Bali, Indonesia for a 5-Day Creativity Retreat! Ep 74 background music: "Butterfly" Composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    The Website Glow Up: https://blissbeginswithin.com Work With KJ - Psychology Today IG: @MusingsOnOther @AdopteeSociety KJ on Facebook & Twitter

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • "We are being held in all moments.”
    ~ Erica Skone-Rees

    KJ welcomes her friend and creative collaborator Erica Skone-Rees to the Astonishing Story Gallery today. Erica is a mindfulness & meditation teacher, chronic illness warrior, and healing arts practitioner. For the last 3 and 1/2 years, she has navigated recovery from mold toxicity and Lyme disease which required her to identify and embrace her own resourcefulness. Erica is dedicated to living her full potential, at her highest vibration; her Heart's Work is to empower others to do the same.

    Compassionate Considerations:

    Your pain may reveal your purpose. Invite your discomfort into a dialogue, and request it impart its wisdom upon you. Even on your darkest days, you can find joy. Create space with nonjudgmental observation and pauses to embody wise action; to become responsive instead of reactive.

    Episode Mentions - Erica Skone-Rees:

    Web www.WovenPathWellness.comInsta: @Woven_Path_Wellness *Mention this podcast ("SOAL") and receive 30% off a group or class! Ep 72 background music is composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Please leave a review for this podcast if our stories have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within
    Only three spaces left in June to work with KJ 1:1 in an intimate experience! Rediscover your creativity while replenishing and re-narrate your familial stories so that you can continue sharing your medicine with the world.

    Schedule a chat with KJ here >> Healing Our Healers and Creativity & Compassion Days

    IG: @_KJCreates_ & @BlissBeginsRetreatsWeb: https://blissbeginswithin.com Join us in Bali to recover your hidden creative artistry Receive invitations for monthly creative gatherings https://bit.ly/BlissBeginsList Clubhouse @kjnasrul Facebook & Twitter

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • Showing up messy, showing up [40 minutes!] late, showing up Real. This is what Self Care looks like for KJ- sitting with streaky mascara in her car outside her massage therapist's studio, holding a Live Instagram #mondayswiththemuse session.

    After this solo show, stay for a sneak listen from next week's guest Erica Skone-Rees of Our Woven Path Erica is a mindfulness guide, chronic illness warrior, and healing arts practitioner. She guides us into the present with an invitation to arrive wholly.

    Considerations:

    How do you practice self-care? Do you prioritize time and spaciousness to honor rest, reset, and self-compassion?Are you engaged with the surrounding Creative Intelligence? Do you like the IG Lip Ring Filter? Because KJ sure does.

    Want to work with KJ? Only one space in May remains to work with KJ 1:1 in an intimate container of replenishment, rediscovery, and release of familial stories in order to continue uplifting others. Bookings in June and July are beginning to fill up! Reach out to sign up for Healing Our Healers and Creativity & Compassion Days

    Enjoying the podcast? Please leave a review for this podcast if our stories have astonished you as well. Your words and thoughts are the fuel for this little listening gallery. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Mentions

    Pop Up Creativity Workshop: Rediscover Your Hidden Healing Artist 4/30/22Creatives' Coworking Cohort is Opening its Doors on May 8th! DM Suzanne & KJ to sign up! Join KJ in an intimate 1:1 Intensive or Small Group VIP DaysMeet Erica Skone-Rees of Our Woven Path Ep 72 background music is "Seashell" Composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Work With KJ - Psychology Today IG: @MusingsOnOther @BlissBeginsWithin @AdopteeSociety Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com KJ on Clubhouse @kjnasrul KJ on Facebook & Twitter

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • Author and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) Karen Sprinkel Ancelet joins KJ today in a conversation about bridging our highest identities so that we can truly thrive even while there is suffering.

    Dear friends for over fifteen years, KJ and Karen "Sprink" explore evidence that healing IS possible. In her work, Sprink acts as a witness to the process and offers direct guidance for how to help one attain the life they want to live with ease and wisdom.

    Compassionate Considerations from this Story:

    Our healing and self-nourishing can be embodied every day. To begin opening up to deep uncovering/recovery, take 30 seconds. We are conscious, phenomenally-minded mammalsRest is an integral part of the whole healing process.

    Please leave a review for this podcast if our stories have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Mentions:

    Web karensprinkel.com
    TheThrivingSelf.comYouTube: The Thriving Self LinkedIn Facebook Dr. Peter Levine and Somatic Experiencing Multiple Intelligences (Gardner) Ep 71 background music is composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within
    Three spaces are available in May to work with KJ 1:1 in an intimate experience of replenishment, rediscovery, and release of familial stories so that you can continue sharing your medicine with the world.
    Sign up to chat here >> Healing Our Healers and Creativity & Compassion Days

    IG: @_KJCreates_ @blissbeginsRetreats Web: https://blissbeginswithin.com Receive invitations for monthly creative gatherings https://bit.ly/BlissBeginsList Clubhouse @kjnasrul Facebook

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • Question: How sexy are the topics of healthy dirt and regenerative agriculture?
    Answer: SO VERY.

    Especially as we realize how 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 we are: healthy, diverse soil > 𝓃𝑜𝓊𝓇𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹 planet > enriched humans > optimal 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 ⁣​​​​​​​​

    Lauren Bryson, Certified Holistic Nutritionist, returns to the show to launch the Quarterly Wellness Check Sessions (stay tuned for a sassier name) with KJ!

    Some Nourishing Niblets from today's conversation:

    Everyone is creative, everyone can cook and be responsible for the nutrients you ingestAsk: What time has elapsed between picking the vegetables from their vines and their arrival in my body? Harness your Big Kid Energy: be curious, be playful, and be adventurous.

    Here’s your homework until our next Quarterly Wellness Check:

    Plant a treeGo play in the dirt

    Please leave a review for this podcast if our stories have astonished you as well. Your words and thoughts are the fuel for this little listening gallery. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Mentions:

    Website www.laurenemersonwellness.comIG @laurenemersonwellnessFB https://www.facebook.com/LaurenEmersonWellness/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-bryson/Kiss The Ground (Netflix Documentary) The Biggest Little Farm ( Indie Film)Green Thumb Gang (FB Group)Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Book)Ep 70 background music is composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within
    Three spaces are available in May to work with KJ 1:1 for a day in an intimate experience of replenishment, rediscovery, and release of familial stories so that you can continue sharing your medicine with the world.
    Sign up to chat here >> Healing Our Healers and Creativity & Compassion Days

    IG: @MusingsOnOther @BlissBeginsWithin @AdopteeSociety Creatives' Coworking Cohort is Opening in MAY! DM Suzanne & KJ to join! Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com Receive invitations for monthly creative gatherings https://bit.ly/BlissBeginsList Clubhouse @kjnasrul Facebook &

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • "The Wounded Healer is not someone who was wounded and is now healed. It is someone who continues to courageously break open the self and ego as a means for deep integration." ~Kim Krans, Archetype Deck, HEALER Card

    Dearest Ones, how do you as highly sensitive people, healers, and caregivers (because we all give and care for someone else) hold your grief?

    KJ returns after spending more than a month in her childhood home caring for her mother who became suddenly, frighteningly ill.

    Compassionate Inquiry:
    1. How do I make space to breathe and nourish?
    2. How do I handle the changes from a child to a caregiver role?
    3. How can creativity and self-compassion be lifesaving?
    4. How do you decide how you'll spend your time and with whom?

    KJ discovered she holds a need to connect with other Healers for regeneration, grieving, and releasing untold stories that emerged with becoming a caregiver.

    Want to work with KJ? Only three spaces are available for April and May to work with KJ 1:1 in intimate containers of replenishment, rediscovery, and release of familial stories in order to continue uplifting others. Reach out to sign up for Healing Our Healers and Creativity & Compassion Days

    Enjoying the podcast? Please leave a review for this podcast if our stories have astonished you as well. Your words and thoughts are the fuel for this little listening gallery. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Mentions

    Jen Morris' (Spotlight Listener) SOAL Episode: Well Rounded Creativepreneurs Creatives' Cohort is Opening its Doors very soon! DM Suzanne & KJ to sign up! Help For The Helper by Babette Rothschild Ep 69 background music is all composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Work With KJ - Psychology Today IG: @MusingsOnOther @BlissBeginsWithin @AdopteeSociety Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com Join KJ in 1:1 & Group VIP Days KJ on Clubhouse @kjnasrul KJ on Facebook & Twitter

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • “I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.” - Hafiz

    Concluding part two of the conversation about attracting, visualising and accepting gifts, Beth Hewitt introduces us to her methodology including the strengthening of her intuition with the aid of Oracle Cards she uses in her work.

    Beth Hewitt is a Spiritual Performance Coach, Speaker, Author, and Hostess of the Visualise You Podcast, where she shares the transformational stories of people who have taken a leap to follow their soul calling. She is a gifted intuitive.

    Story Points:

    It can be difficult when we're not willing to let go of our preconceived ideas and Shoulds We'll use these words all of the time without recognizing we are sabotaging ourselves Enhance your active listening skills. There is a transformation in being heard & understood. Pay attention to your defensiveness. Defensiveness is a protectiveness and reminder of compassionate inquiry. Beth's Self-Compassion and Replenishment practices include: Surrendering to the flow, detaching from the outcome, and morning meditation to set the tone of the day

    Episode Mentions

    The Visualise & Thrive Membership doors will open again soon! Join KJ in The Club! Visualise You Facebook Group Website: BethHewitt.com Podcast: Visualise YouEp 68 background music is all composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Work With KJ - Psychology Today IG: @MusingsOnOther @BlissBeginsWithin @AdopteeSociety Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com Receive alerts for upcoming Creativity events with KJ here https://bit.ly/BlissBeginsList KJ on Clubhouse @kjnasrul KJ on Facebook & Twitter

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • In a return after a hiatus, KJ FINALLY connects with her dear friend, Beth Hewitt with this intimate two-part conversation. Beth is a Spiritual Performance Coach, Speaker, Author, and Hostess of the Visualise You Podcast, where she shares the transformational stories of people who have taken a leap to follow their true soul’s calling.

    Manifesting for the first time at just four years old, Beth specializes in gratitude & the power of visualisation. She helps people move from being unfulfilled to passionately and purposefully living life with clear intentions.

    Story Points:

    Knowing from a very young age that our work would be NON- TraditionalUnderstanding that we are gifted, intuitive beings alreadyThe majesty and miracles that happen when flow and intuition work in tandem

    Episode Mentions:

    The Visualise & Thrive Membership is OPEN NOW! Join KJ in The Club! Visualise You Facebook Group Website: BethHewitt.com Podcast: Visualise YouEp 67 background music is all composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Work With KJ - Psychology Today IG: @MusingsOnOther @BlissBeginsWithin @AdopteeSociety Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com Receive alerts for upcoming Creativity events with KJ here https://bit.ly/BlissBeginsList KJ on Clubhouse @kjnasrul KJ on Facebook & Twitter

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • KJ and her friend, illustrator and author Dingding Hu welcome community over competition by meeting a couple times a month to churn on seedlings of ideas and current experiences. Hailing from China, Dingding is currently based in New York City and she specializes in drawing bubbly characters as well as serendipitous storytelling all of which can be found at her studio and site Hu Is Hungry.

    KJ and Dingding discovered the riches of consistent jam sessions as artists, Asian women business owners, trying to form safe spaces for all of us “Weirdo Kids” (coined in KJ and Dingding's first Story Exchange, Episode 43) to gather and riff on concepts that build up instead of tearing down.

    Compassionate Considerations

    Curiosity and collaboration may be the antidote to fears Seek reframe opportunities in all feedback (or any "Unsubscribes")Flip the negative self-talk by noticing the overwhelming evidence supporting The Good that you already do

    Please leave a review for this podcast if our stories have astonished you as well. Your words and thoughts are the fuel for this little listening gallery. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Mentions:

    Hu Is Hungry Weekly Newsletter Monday Mimosas Instagram @HuIsHungryThe Artist's Way by Julia Cameron Receive Notes for upcoming Creativity events with KJ https://bit.ly/BlissBeginsList Ep 66 background music is all composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Work With KJ - Psychology Today IG: @MusingsOnOther @BlissBeginsWithin @AdopteeSociety Want to join our Podcast Creator's Winter Cohort? Contact Us here: All The Things Podcast with The Magical Cartographers is LIVE! Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com KJ on Clubhouse @kjnasrul KJ on Facebook & Twitter

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • "Who am I to do this?" This isn't an interview, but rather a super casual jam session between friends, fellow artists, and podcasters about the fascinating and ever-hovering topic of Imposter Syndrome (IS). KJ and her friend, the gifted land and seascape photographer Margaret Soraya wonder: Is the pervasiveness of IS due to it having been labeled? Is it across cultures, genders, and all professions?

    Takeaways & Ponderings
    1. Is Self Awareness is key?
    - Knowing boundaries and knowing what is uncomfortable?
    - Having the conversations out loud and often will invite increased self-awareness

    2. Gain confidence from doing
    - Movement invites momentum and un-sticking
    - What happens when resources aren't available to take action?

    3. Imposter Syndrome reveals our harsh self-talk
    - We are harshest on ourselves with comparison and evaluative/critique
    - Would we speak so cruelly towards our best friends? Towards a child who is learning?

    Please leave a review for this podcast if our stories have astonished you as well. Your words and thoughts are the fuel for this little listening gallery. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Mentions:

    Website https://www.margaretsoraya.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/margaretsoraya/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/quietlandscapes/Podcast: Quiet Landscapes with Margaret Soraya Receive alerts for upcoming Creativity events here https://bit.ly/BlissBeginsList Ep 65 background music is all composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Work With KJ - Psychology Today IG: @MusingsOnOther @BlissBeginsWithin @AdopteeSociety Join us for our Wellness Series on Self-Care! Email us at: [email protected] to join our Podcast Creator's Winter Cohort? Contact Us here: All The Things Podcast with The Magical Cartographers is LIVE! Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com KJ on Clubhouse @kjnasrul KJ on Facebook &

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

  • KJ invites friend and SOAL fan-favorite Lauren Bryson, a certified holistic nutritionist, back to the show to usher in 2022 with a tantalizing topic: nutrition and gut health to support overall physical and emotional health.

    Lauren understands the therapeutic value of real, nutrient-dense food and she recognizes the impact the environment, chronic stressors, and mindset have on our whole health. She created Lauren Emerson Wellness, to guide clients 1:1 on achieving their health goals. She is also a wellness facilitator with Bauman Wellness and teaches kids cooking classes with Kids Cooking for Life.

    Some nourishing niblets from today's conversation:

    70% of our immune system is located in our gut Feed your [sexy] microbiome with sexy nutrients (oh hiiiii, sauerkraut!) Self Compassion means advocating for and prioritizing our own immunitySelf Care equals proactive nourishment by getting outside and playing in the dirt!

    Please leave a review for this podcast if our stories have astonished you as well. Your words and thoughts are the fuel for this little listening gallery. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

    Episode Mentions:

    Website www.laurenemersonwellness.comIG @laurenemersonwellnessFB https://www.facebook.com/LaurenEmersonWellness/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-bryson/Want to join our Podcast Creator's Winter Cohort? Contact Us here: Meet The Magical Cartographers on All The Things Podcast Ep 64 background music is composed & performed by KJ NasrulIntro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

    Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

    Work With KJ - Psychology Today IG: @MusingsOnOther @BlissBeginsWithin @AdopteeSociety Join us for our Wellness Series on Self-Care for the New Year! Email us at [email protected] for more information. Website: https://blissbeginswithin.com Receive love notes & invitations for creative gatherings https://bit.ly/BlissBeginsList KJ on Clubhouse @kjnasrul KJ on Facebook & Twitter

    Support the Show.

    Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
    - Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
    - Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com