ALL the LINKS: LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

If you're new to the podcast, welcome, and if you listen regularly, thank you!

This is a podcast about rest and recovery.
Two weekends ago, my husband, TD, and I drove to Columbia Tennessee to visit his family. It's always wonderful to spend time with lovely people. And it's beautiful that he still has several aunts and uncles to be able to see, touch and reminisce with.
Before we took the 4 1/2 hour drive, I was feeling some congestion in my sinuses and over the weekend. The congestion lingered so I went to get that checked out when we returned because my nose actually hurt. lol. Apparently, I had some kind of a scratch inside my left nostril. I believe that was the first time for me.

I'm feeling and breathing better and my energy is returning. I've also learned that the body will remind me about things that have happened even when I don't want the reminder. lol

August 7 will be the 10th anniversary of my mother leaving this physical form and earth. Words cannot adequately express how much I miss her being on this journey with me in physical form. Her spirit, kindness, and wicked humor are only a few things about her that make me smile. I know I feel her presence and energy often. it's different when you can reach out and touch someone, though, isn't it?
I remind myself that it's important to remember that grieving like much of life is not a one and done experience. It can come in gentle waves or tidal waves. Part of these life practices is about allowing and and accepting what is and I return to my practice of F.L.O.W. (Feeling Loving Open Willing) which is in essence, surrender.
This excerpt from my book, audiobook, e-book Why Struggle? life is too short to wear tight shoes, Know the stages of grief feels just right for this time.
Know the Stages of Grief
Life is a cycle. We are born. We live. We die. Death is as natural as living. Recognizing and accepting the laws of nature can help us live more in the present moment. As we learn to accept our lives and live without struggling over the inevitable, we can truly appreciate the gift of life.
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance are the stages of grief. The time for each stage is as unique as your fingerprint. Experience the emotions as they arise and be gentle with yourself at this time.
Remember we may also experience grief when we make changes in our lives such as a change in a relationship, moving to a new city or a change in your work environment. A loss is a loss, give yourself
permission to grieve as you feel necessary.
Practice: Remember when someone you loved died and how you felt. Think about the emotions you felt. Were they denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance?
Affirmation: I accept the flow of life. Peace of mind
End of excerpt.

All links - LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

2025 - Week 29 - Practicing Gratitude

Last night in a Zoom for a 12 day healthy reset program I shared some ways to stay grounded and slow down in this fast-paced world. If you listen to my podcast on a regular basis, you may have noticed that this episode is coming out a few days later than usual. That’s because I've decided to slow down even more. I'm slowing down with feeling the need and the pressure of having the podcast come out every week on Tuesday morning. I'm slowing down with the activities I do. I’m slowing down so I can truly savor this one beautiful life I know…right now.

I feel a change coming and instead of going against the change, I'm moving with the flow of what feels just right for me right now. If you listened last week, Episode 29: Practicing Gratitude,
| talked about being routine averse, so the fact that I've done a podcast for close to eight years is pretty awesome in my book. Yes, as my mother would say, baby patch yourself on the back. Lol.

I started this podcast in 2017/2018ish. I continue to learn to embrace change and to trust my inner guidance on what is next. The interesting thing about having an audio podcast is there isn’t usually a place for people to leave comments or connect with the host. I am so grateful for the people that listen to my podcast across all the various platforms and recently I've been enjoying sharing a partial upload to the Insight Timer app and I love that people take the time to leave comments there and other places where they can.

Did you know that only about one percent of the top podcasters make money from their podcast? And the ones who do either have paid sponsorships or ads running on their podcast. Mostly podcasting is indirect marketing for content creators.

All the links: LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

Are you steady? How do you handle routine? You know that everydayness of getting through life. The stuff like getting up, going to work or doing the daily activities we do, cooking, cleaning, keeping the house in order. I know, fun things right?

By nature, I am routine averse. Lol. Simply put, routine is not my friend. Although there are things I do routinely, I don't particularly enjoy them. Yes, I cook, keep the house in order, the maintenance things required in life. Do I enjoy them? Not so much. They feel like obligations and requirements most of the time.

Have you heard the expression?, Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water- after enlightenment, Chopped wood carry water? What that means to me is Being steady in the midst of the Everydayness or routineness of life.

I feel extremely grateful for having my meditation practice. My meditation practice keeps me steady. Practicing breathing and meditation daily keeps me steady. This allows me to start my day from a place of spaciousness, openness, and readiness. The self-awareness I experience simply through my daily time in silence continues to help me expand and grow.

As soon as I realize I am awake, I say thank you out loud. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The simple acknowledgment of being alive another day is a powerful way for me to acknowledge life.

When people ask me, how do you meditate every day, I honestly have no answer other than how do I NOT meditate every day. Because I've done some type of meditative practice since the 90s, it is ingrained in the routine that comes with my daily life.

Humans are creatures of habit. Think about it, when we rise, we likely brush our teeth, tend to our hygiene, meaning we shower, or at least wipe some important parts, lol, prior to dressing, we may have a cup of coffee or tea or a soda, or a glass of water, and then we begin more routines throughout the day.