THIS IS A REPLAY OF 2024 - WEEK 23

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This is a podcast about knowing yourself and having sustainable practices.

Developing and sustaining a daily meditation practice for over 25 years helped me gain a deeper level of self-awareness. I have learned that the more I practice the more I gain a level of self-mastery with what I am practicing. Being self-aware and having personal insight allows me to recognize when I need to focus on a specific tool or technique, MORE.

I remember when I was at dinner with a few former colleagues in 2017 and an active shooter entered the restaurant. We were ending dinner when we heard the words, “Everybody down.” I was with three much younger ladies reminding them to breathe and affirming that we would be okay.

Was I concerned as we were underneath the table waiting for more news? Of course. I also had a strong sense that we would all be fine.

As the scene dispersed and the police arrived we found out that the person who instructed us to get down was a retired police officer. Time passed and the shooter was apprehended and we all left to return safely to our homes.

One of the definitions of trauma is a “deeply disturbing or distressing experience.” Yep, I would say it was a traumatic experience. When I arrived home I checked in with TD and I immediately went to my living room and lay flat on my back on the floor. I found a sound vibration recording on YouTube that focused on healing, safety and feeling grounded. I listened to the recording and felt my body begin to release some of that energy and relax.

The next day as I told my brother about what happened he reminded me to rest. After our conversation I felt my body physically releasing some of the stress and I had a very long nap. I also felt achy later that day. I knew I needed help processing what happened so I called the Employee Assistance Program and I was able to schedule counseling. I also called the ladies to suggest they reach out for support via their Employee Assistance Program as well.

This quote from Bessel A. van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, reminds me to be truthful with myself.

“The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves.”

My nervous system was impacted by that experience. I learned a lot in

the therapy sessions about processing trauma and how the book title states, “the body keeps score.” We feel trauma in our bodies and it helps to have ways to release what the body is holding on to.

I have different practices I use to keep grounded, stay centered and to release energy that is stuck in my body. Practice is the opportunity to fine tune our skills so when we are called to use them, we can use them effectively. Here are a few practices I do regularly to reduce stress on my nervous system.

• Emotional freedom technique (EFT) also known as tapping- specifically for trauma or an experience. I found Regulate Your Nervous System After Trauma by Julie Schiffman. Here is a ⁠link⁠.

• Schedule a counseling session,

• Sound vibration meditations to shift the energy in my body - Jhene Aiko’s ⁠Trigger Protection Mantra⁠ is a staple for me to have playing in the background. It’s very soothing and she has several available for different lengths.

Life has unexpected detours ALL the time. In addition to breathing practices, meditation, laughter, and approaching experiences with curiosity helps me practice less judgment of myself and others.

What are some of the ways you navigate life’s unpredictable journey? Leave a comment wherever you are listening to this podcast.

You can also email me at ⁠barbarafaisonllc@gmail.com⁠. And if social media is better for you, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, are best.

All the links: ⁠LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

All the links - LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

This is a podcast about taking five minutes to be present.

May is National Meditation Month so check out my YouTube channel and look for the meditation playlist. There are over 31 meditations out there and you can give meditation a try.

I would say we are back into the business of the” busyness” of life after the pandemic. Time is a premium for most of us and we all have the ability to make choices about where and how we spend our time. When I say that I use my voice to heal, educate and inspire as a voice talent, meditation guide and trainer, I usually get a few responses like:

“I could never meditate, I can’t stop my mind.”

“Meditation is so hard.”

“I don’t have time to meditate.”

“People tell me I have a great voice.”

“I’ve always wanted to be a voice actor.”

“I want to learn to meditate, I just don’t know where to start.”

Meditation is a practice. Think about a snow globe. When you shake it up, eventually the snow settles to the bottom, that’s what meditation feels like. The thoughts in your mind begin to settle more and more with practice. There are still days my mind has thoughts swirling around and around, and other days I feel very settled. It’s still practice.

I really tried to do the 30 minute meditation practice. It didn't work for me. I started doing 10 - 15 minute meditations where I would sit on my own and that worked much better.

Sometimes we just need a place to start. Let’s start where you are.

Breathing is the foundation for a meditation practice. Enjoy this five minute breathing practice that can be done anytime and help with calming your nervous system and focusing on the present moment.
It's a series of breaths. This is audio only it can help you focus more without having your eyes open.

All the LINKS - LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

2025 - Week 19 - Private Bubble

This is a podcast about managing your mind.

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

Life can be overwhelming. Many of us jump out of bed and we are off and running until we fall back into bed exhausted at the end of the day. During the day between emails, texts, phone calls, meetings, scheduling, errands and making decisions all day long, we rarely get to take a moment to ourselves. Listening to the radio or people talking about politics and the news can also send you into various emotional states.

I am very sensitive to sounds, loud noises and chatter. Well, most of life has all those things right? I am continuing to learn how to navigate through situations when I am around any of those things. Here’s the truth. If you are somewhere there will most likely be music, people talking or something going on that you cannot control, right?

So what is helpful to manage all this input that we can’t stop or control? I mean, if you are around people, they will likely be talking. lol

I do my best to stay in my own private bubble. Yep, that’s what I call it. I see myself surrounded by a protective white light inside a bubble. And in that bubble I do my very best to keep my energy contained and my thoughts focused on my desires. This is when using my breathwork and having affirmations, scriptures, favorite quotes or whatever you want to call them come in handy. I call them my Go To Phrases, GTP’s. I take a few deep breaths and I may start mentally saying any of these phrases or another one that comes to mind, depending on the situation I’m in:

• I feel safe and all is well in my world

• Things always work out for me

• I am in the right place at the right time with the right people doing the right thing.

• My timing is always divine

• I can’t wait to see how this will work out - that’s from my friend, Regenna

If we don’t stop ourselves we can easily end up on scary street, anxious avenue or down right depressed circle. It’s important that we learn to manage our thoughts then we can begin to manage our lives and feel like we are the ones creating what we desire. It is time we stop allowing our brain to hijack our lives.

As wonderful as our brain is, it is only as great as our direction. It is easy to become a creature of habit because that is what the brain loves to do. Our brain wants to take the same route to work, eat the same food for breakfast and chill. Scientists used to think the brain stopped growing at the age of 21. Now they know that the brain never stops growing. The brain wants to be guided, studies have proven that “a wandering mind is not a happy mind.” So WE have to guide our mind, and not just during meditation.

When we learn to train our brain, mind our mind, and pay attention to what we think about we are able to manage our lives in different ways. Simple things such as trying a new food, driving a different route home and learning a new language engages your brain and takes it away from its routine. When you do this consistently, the brain adapts. One way to train your brain is to practice affirmations. Affirmations are thoughts that you believe or desire to be true.

To learn more about affirmations, check out 2024 - Week 48 - Your Mouth and Mindfulness!

All the LINKS - LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

This is a podcast about spontaneity.

If you're new to the podcast, welcome, and if you listen regularly, thank you.
I have been a planner for most of my life. Sure I do spontaneous things, however, there's usually a plan in my spontaneity.
I think like most people, I have my routines down pretty good. Most Sundays I do my grocery shopping, come in and cook, and begin to prepare for the week.
I enjoy routine, most of the time. Then sometimes I like to mix it up and do something a little different. I mean, after all, variety is the spice of life, right? Or so they say.
When my husband, TD, suggested we drive out to a nursery to look at flowers on Sunday, I was game. Insert growth moment for me. Let’s just say there have been times in the past when that would have been very problematic. I had my day scheduled, something spontaneous would have thrown my schedule out of the window. I love when I can notice and appreciate my growth.
In Episode 16 I talked about life maintenance and the importance of maintaining things that are important in our lives. And in that moment, the focus was on working on the flowers and updating the yard. At least it was for my husband. Lol.
Off to the nursery we went. The nursery was about an hour away so we took a scenic drive and it was a day date.
We pulled up to the street to the nursery and saw all the cars and police directing traffic, it was very busy and bustling. There were so many beautiful flowers, shrubs, and trees to take in. The line was long, and it moved very quickly. Both my parents were excellent gardeners. I enjoy flowers and plants and know the names of many of them from the years of going with my mother to pick out flowers. I will occasionally dig in the dirt, however, I do believe my brother and niece picked up the planting gene. They both enjoy planting flowers and my niece, April, even makes her own jams, jellies and sauces from her plants.
Walking through the nursery felt relaxing and chatting with the people as we were selecting our lantanas, roses, blueberry and blackberry bushes made me smile and remember my mother’s joy at finding great prices for her plants. See, I told you I remembered some of names of the flowers.
Every day and every moment we are creating new memories. In Episode 13 I shared how to use Go To Memories as a tool, check it out. One of my favorite Go To Memories was returning home after a trip to Boston to see the garden TD had planted. As you drive up to our house at the end of the carport to the left side going toward the back of the house by the deck is where the garden is.
I remember vividly pulling up and seeing the roses, butterfly bushes and other flowers he had planted while I was gone for the weekend. I had traveled for work and due to storms was not able to get out of the area for two days.
Can you imagine that? Planning to leave on Friday and not being able to leave until Sunday?
As life would have it, at that time, April was living in Connecticut, so it ended up being a lovely adventure. It had been my intention to visit her while she was there and I just hadn’t gotten around to it. And then the weather happened and I was grounded in Boston. I took the train from Boston to Connecticut and spent the weekend with her. I also got to see a cousin who picked me up when I returned to Boston for my flight and he took me to brunch and on a brief tour of the Harvard campus.

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 silence.

April is national poetry month.
As I was enjoying some moments of silence, I remembered I had written a poem about it. I hope you enjoy it!
Silence
Silence is the language of God. The Universe, The Creator.
Be still and listen.
Be still and know.
Be still and trust.
Silence holds all the answers.
Silence holds all that you can trust.
Silence is waiting for you.
Will you answer the call?
That is my contribution to national poetry month. I have a feeling I may be reconnecting with the poet in me soon though.
The world is filled with so much noise and so many sounds. I find myself craving more and more silence every day.
A few minutes of silence as a daily practice can reduce stress as we calm our minds and thoughts from a hectic day. Simply take a few minutes before you start your day in line in bed and observe what you hear, how you feel and what you sent check in with yourself and your body before you start the day.
I've recently consciously decided not to use my smart phone for at least 10 to 15 minutes after I wake up to allow my mind, body and spirit to wake up and listen for guidance. When possible I also enjoy the silence of the house without the television or music. Being silent for periods of time will give you a new appreciation for the power of spoken words and sounds.
It took me years to truly understand how powerful silence can be. Now, I relish, crave, and look for ways to immerse myself in silence. Like much of life, learning to be silent is a practice. Regular meditation has helped me become as comfortable with silence as I am with speaking.
Silence can be deafening if you're unfamiliar with it sound. Silence can scare you if you're unaware of its value. Silence can be your friend, if you embrace it.
So let's take a few minutes to just be with the silence.
I'll lead you in a guided silence, practice, and will be in silence for two minutes.
As long as you're not driving, or operating heavy equipment, lol feel free to join me.
We'll settle into the practice by connecting with a few of your senses.
Take a look around you and notice what you see in front of you, and around you. Breathe at your own pace, rate and rhythm. And notice, what do you see?
Next, allow your eyes to close or lower to lessen any external distractions. Continue breathing at your own pace, rate and rhythm, and notice the sounds around you. What do you hear right now?
Beautiful. Now give yourself permission to just be. To allow yourself to be here now. And breathe.
I'll leave you to sit alone in the silence for two minutes and I'll return before you know it.
It's time to return. Before you open your eyes again, just check in with your body and notice how you feel in this moment, right now. If you can name that feeling say it out loud.
Lovely, open your eyes. And bring a big smile to your face. You just did a two minute slice of silence. You sat with your breath and your body in the silence. Pat yourself on the back.

All the links - LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

This is a podcast about fun times.

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

Remember a few weeks ago I talked about the importance of discovering what fun looks like for me now? If not, you can check out episode number 12 called More Fun.

Well, this weekend was action packed with fun and delightful experiences! A few weeks ago, I set the intention, and that is what happened this weekend. I experienced more fun and delight than I have had in a very long time.

On Friday, I went out back out salsa dancing with my salsa crew to celebrate our friends Bonnie and Leticia. In episode 13, Creating Memories, I talked about having fun with my Salsa crew, we've been dancing together for decades. Check it out!

Let me give you a little background on Bonnie. Bonnie is the friend who always takes the time to send you a card in the mail for your birthday. Bonnie believes that your birthday is your own personal holiday. Over the decades that we've been dancing SalsA together, she is going to make sure that we have a great time, and that everyone knows we are celebrating your birthday.

Bonnie is also the friend who when I would have workshops or programs, when she was able to attend, she would be there early, support my efforts, and stay late to help me clean up. That's who Bonnie is. So we wanted to make sure she had as much fun for her own birthday that we have on ours.

You guessed it, we had a blast! We danced, we laughed, we reminisced over previous decades of dancing together, and it was just a beautiful time filled with friendship, fellowship, and fun!

On Saturday, I went to my crochet group Creative Expression Crochet Group for the first time this year because my work schedule didn't align with our meetings until then. There were about 21 people there and we had quite a few new people who had become regulars since my last visit. It was a reminder of how things change quickly.

I so enjoyed crocheting a daisy flower and I made it a purse charm.

Then on Sunday, I had brunch with my husband, TD, and our youngest son, Dewayne. What made this really special was that he invited us to breakfast and treated us. Big smiles!

So the whole concept of having fun was amplified this weekend. If you've listened to my podcast, there is usually some type of practice or activity involved.

I say let's engage in the more fun practice. I mean what we focus on expands, right? So let's focus on being open to more fun, and having delightful experiences.

Will you join me?

ALL LINKS - LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

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

This podcast is about maintenance.

Maintenance is essential to living. One thing I've learned is that whatever is important to me has to be maintained. Health, relationships, finances, home, car, you get the picture, right?

The last few months I’ve cleaned out the refrigerator, the freezer, the pantry, the cutlery drawer, my office and more. Sometimes I listen to a podcast as I’m cleaning/organizing, other times I just clear in the silence.

Going through what felt like a myriad of food storage containers is what inspired this podcast. I asked myself questions like: Do I need all of these containers? Which ones should go in the front of the cabinet? Should I throw this one out? What happened to my smaller containers? Each time I straighten out this particular cabinet, I do my best to make it even more efficient for me when I'm looking for something. There’s a part of me that thinks that if I do that I won’t have to straighten it again. Right? Lol

Maintenance is a required part of life, at least it is for me. The cabinet, the car, my relationships, my finances, you know… all the things. Life requires maintenance. I also recently cleaned out my car and reorganized and released extra napkins, condiment packets and other stuff that I didn’t need to keep in the car. I am very proud that I donated 3 boxes of books to the local library. I admit I have a few things I just can’t seem to though.. Including a laminated map of metro Atlanta. lo

The card I pulled for us today is the

#1 TRUST - I am SAFE and all is well in my world

Press your feet into the floor right now and repeat, “I am on solid ground. All is well.”

Oh, I'm also offering a 25% discount on my card deck with free US shipping. You can order at barbarafaison.com/store, you'll see the card deck there. Use promo code, SHIP25. Thanks for the support.

The Breathe with Barbara LIVE sessions for this April are on Wednesdays, 4/9 & 4/16 from 8 - 9 PM eastern via Zoom. I would love to have you join us. All of the links are in my LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON.

ALL THE LINKS: LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON

If you're new to the podcast, welcome, and if you listen regularly, thank you.
This is an episode about more tools; using self-massage and your breath.
I hope you are discovering ways to connect with your body daily. Checking in with how you feel in your body is a practice all on its own.
If you've been following me on any of the social platforms, you may be aware that I offer something called Breath Breaks. It's usually 1 to 2 minutes where I encourage you to stop during the day, take a few deep intentional breaths, or just be fully present with what is happening in that moment. That simple practice is a great way to learn more about what your body needs in the moment.
If we allow it, life can be extremely busy and active and we can wake up and before we know it, we're going to bed and starting the cycle all over again. This sounds like a recipe for stress to me. In my 2025 podcast episodes 6, 7, 8 and 11 I shared the tools of breath, grounding, gratitude and using affirmations. Be sure to check them out.
The tool for this episode is a twofer. Actually, we use three tools in one practice. We will practice self massage using the calming point, deep breathing and calming affirmations.
Let's take a moment to check in with your body right now. How are you feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally in this moment? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being very stressed and one being very relaxed, what number would you pick right now?
Let’s get ready to settle your body down and tune into the present moment.
I hope you enjoy my Settling Down meditation where you will use a self-massage, breathing and affirming phrases to bring your body to a calmer state. The meditation is 8:37 mins.