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Changing careers can come with losing an identity that meant a lot to you. As well as not knowing what comes next—and money stress. Carla Contreras joins Mackenzie Belcastro to talk about starting over. She shares what happened when a major career opportunity disappeared, leaving her with no money—and how that forced her to confront denial, grieve her identity as a food stylist, and recognize the gifts she had been overlooking. This is a conversation on trusting your intuition, combining intuition with strategy, navigating major life transitions, and inviting in abundance. Connect with Carla: Substack Podcast Website IG You may also like... ⁠⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — graceful digestion, come home to yourself, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Program "The Art of Working Well"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to reduce stress so you can actually enjoy the career and life you've worked so hard to create ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

If you've been feeling burnt out, or close to it, this ep. is all about coming ALIVE again. You may also like... ⁠⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — graceful digestion, come home to yourself, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Program "The Art of Working Well"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to reduce stress so you can actually enjoy the career and life you've worked so hard to create ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

A gentle reminder for when the going gets tough / you're in a flare (physically or mentally). PS. Apologies for the quieter sound/hair brushing sounds. This was very impromptu, but I felt the call to share asap. You may also like... ⁠⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — graceful digestion, come home to yourself, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Program "The Art of Working Well"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to reduce stress so you can actually enjoy the career and life you've worked so hard to create ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

It's hard to believe reducing stress levels is possible when it feels like you've tried everything. We talk about navigating this difficult situation in this episode, as well as enjoying the upcoming Fall season, and not letting life pass you by due to overwhelm from work (and other facets of life). You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — graceful digestion, come home to yourself, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Program "The Art of Working Well"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to reduce stress so you can actually enjoy the career and life you've worked so hard to create ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

There are seasons when everything seems to be happening at once: more opportunities, more change, more responsibility, more difficult relationships, more uncertainty. And when there's a lot going on, it's easy to tip into feeling overcome by overwhelm. But this is the year of the Fire Horse. We're being initiated into a faster energy, and we're meant to learn how to finally hold it. The truth is, you can. Regardless of your past, you can learn to move through a fuller season of life while staying well. In this episode, I’m talking about super accessible nervous system regulation you can pull on to navigate daily stress. This isn't just about upping physical rest. This is about totally changing your relationship with your thoughts and your perception. Because your circumstances matter. Your body matters. Rest matters. But so does the lens through which you experience your life. We explore: Why doing more doesn’t automatically have to mean burning out How the mind and body influence one another How habitual thought patterns can contribute to stress and overwhelm Why changing your perspective isn’t the same as bypassing reality How to interrupt anxious thoughts and stop the mental spiral The connection between mindset and nervous system regulation Why mental rest can be just as important as physical rest How difficult experiences can become opportunities for growth and inner strength Why highly self-aware people may need more self-compassion—not more self-analysis What nervous system regulation actually means in everyday life If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, anxious, burned out, or like there’s simply too much happening at once, this episode is an invitation to consider a different possibility: You're not here to shrink your life down so that it's super easy. You have drive and passion for a reason. You're here to meet your life with greater capacity, so that you can do the big things you're here to do.

What if the life you’ve spent years building no longer feels like yours? In this conversation, I sit down with Marloes Halmans—former coach, entrepreneur, and creator behind French Country Life—to explore what it means to live in alignment across multiple chapters of your life. After building a thriving coaching business, Marloes began noticing signs that she'd outgrown the life she'd created and that something new was calling to her. That eventually led her and her family to move to the French countryside, close down her business, experiment anew with her creativity, and embrace a new way of living. Together, we explore the nature of intuition, how it arrives in very down-to-earth everyday ways you’ve likely experienced plenty of times, how to start trusting its guidance, manage the discomfort that is bound to arise, and why pushing harder isn't always the answer. If you've ever felt successful on paper but disconnected inside, this episode is for you. In this episode we discuss: Common subtle signs of misalignmentLearning to trust intuition and desire in the midst of uncertaintyMaintaining a healthy balance of feminine and masculine energy — and why that matters when it comes to living into your dreamsHow to stop forcing life and begin responding to itCreating success that actually feels like yoursThe lifelong practice of tuning out the noise and returning to yourself Connect with Marloes: YouTube Website Instagram Cookbook: A Taste of French Country Life You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The answers you're looking for don't often come from doing more, but from creating more space. In this episode, Mackenzie reflects on the importance of slowing down, the spiral nature of healing, and why periods of uncertainty are often invitations to reconnect with yourself. She also shares a few practices that help process emotions, quiet the mind, and clarify the guidance of your own inner wisdom. You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. (Rainer Maria Rilke) This is a conversation about how to go about "living the questions," rather than giving into the mind’s proclivity to spiral into fear. There's a pressure to have everything figured out, and there's also available to us the choice to detach from this pressure, to practice returning to the present moment instead. This ep. is a reflection on resilience, intuition, nervous system regulation, and what it means to trust that clarity can unfold one step at a time. It's a gentle reminder for anyone navigating the unknown and learning to live more peacefully alongside uncertainty. You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Listen to Mackenzie Belcastro in conversation with the writer behind Delicate Hibiscus. Julia has shared her work online since 2019 through a daily writing practice. In this episode, she reflects on the role of devotion in her creative life, from early diary entries to her public work, and considers the relationship between consistency, self-trust, and expression.  As the conversation unfolds, she speaks to periods of withdrawal and renewal, the balance between structure and softness, and the experience of approaching completion on a long-term project. She also addresses the identity shift involved in bringing creative work into the public sphere and assigning monetary value to it, as well as maintaining an authentic voice within an evolving creative landscape. Connect with Julia: @DelicateHibiscus You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Hi angels, in this episode we talk about a few ways to navigate intrusive thoughts (with the help of principles found in ACT). We also talk about expanding our capacity through slowing down and healing — and integrating more of our masculine/yang energy into our lives after a period of leaning mostly into our softness/yin energy. You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

It's not always easy to prioritize yourself. It doesn't even always feel great at first to go ahead and do so. But if you've been feeling unwell or out of sorts, and you've been feeling called to care for yourself, this is your mission. And this episode is for you. You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

You must carve it out. I know it's talked about frequently, but actually doing it — actually spending time with your dreams —that is what changes everything, from your frequency, to your wellbeing, to your relationships, to your life at large. This is your gentle, simple reminder. Carve out intentional time to be with your dreams. You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this episode, I delve into the transformative journey of channeling fear into creative energy and the profound impact of prioritizing what truly brings you alive. Inspired by the music of the past and the wisdom of creative icons, this episode invites you to stop waiting for 'the right time.' Instead, step boldly into the arena of your own becoming, embracing the unknown as a source of magic and transformation. Trust that your inner compass knows the way, and discover how to unlock your deepest creativity by shifting from fear to love and play. You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Hi angels, this episode is about experiences some of us have with "love" that isn't really loving. I share an experience from 14 years ago that was tough, but ultimately taught me a lot, and helped me come closer to myself. I also share about healing from such experiences, and I speak about sacred/spiritual lessons related to such difficult experiences. I do hope this serves. You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Hi angels, in this episode I share with you three journal entries from 6 years wherein I documented my journey from "maybe it's time to pursue my dreams" to "this feels good... but is this all fantasy?" to "wow, I've done it.. I feel so aligned." Finding these three journal entries was so shocking to me—they were the only ones in this journal, all spaced about 6 months apart, as if they were just awaiting being shared here one day. My hope with sharing these is that this will inspire you to lean into your fantasies, your dreams, your glimmers, your "what if" moments. They are not random. They are divine information, divine support, guiding you deeper into your own becoming. You may also like... ⁠⁠Meditations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — come home to yourself, clarity, money, graceful digestion, etc. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 Coaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — to create spaciousness in your body and life, to become who you came here to be ⁠Reiki⁠ - distance energy healing Find me on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mackbelcastro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.