Episodes
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
#244 From Pressure to Peace: Unleashing Your Mental Wealth in 2024
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
Join Lauren's upcoming Emotional Clarity Workshop on April 3rd, 2024 HERE
In the bustling world of 2024, where the pace of life seems only to quicken, many find themselves trapped in a cycle of stress, routine, and unfulfilled desires. Our latest podcast episode, "From Pressure to Peace: Unleashing Your Mental Wealth in 2024," invites listeners on a transformative journey from the cluttered chaos of their daily lives to the serene clarity of mental wealth. Through the lens of emotional clarity, this episode addresses the pressures we all face and offers a path to a life rich in authentic experiences and connections.
Engaging Storytelling & Key Takeaways:
The Quest for Clarity in a Cluttered World: Imagine a life where each day feels as vibrant and fulfilling as the highlights on your social media feed. This episode starts with many common problems: living a life full of pressures but lacking in emotional connection and daily joy.
The Path to Mental Wealth: Moving beyond the traditional focus on mental health, we introduce the concept of mental wealth. It's a journey to deeper wellness, where listeners learn to reclaim their power and express their lives more authentically.
Navigating Life's Pressure Cooker: Feel the relief as we guide you through practical strategies to escape the pressure cooker of life. From recognizing the signs of stress to taking decisive action to alleviate pressure, listeners will learn to find space in their lives for what truly matters.
Crafting Space for Emotional Clarity: Discover how creating physical and mental space can lead to significant insights into your desires and emotions. This episode provides the tools to carve out this space, setting the stage for profound self-discovery.
From Auto-Pilot to Intentional Living: Break free from the undercurrents of societal expectations and autopilot living. Learn how to pause, reflect, and choose a path that aligns with your deepest values and aspirations.
Making Stress Work for You: Transform the way you view stress. Instead of a barrier, see it as a catalyst for growth and change. This episode empowers listeners to discern which pressures are worth engaging with for their personal and professional evolution.
"From Pressure to Peace" is more than just a podcast episode; it's a gateway to a life of mental wealth, where stress becomes a tool for growth, and daily routines transform into journeys of self-discovery and authentic living. Tune in to embark on a path that leads from today's pressures to tomorrow's peace and clarity.
SEO Keywords: Mental Wealth, Emotional Clarity, Overcoming Stress 2024, Authentic Experiences, Self-Discovery Journey, Wellness Transformation, Personal Growth, Stress Management Techniques.
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Join us on the Lighten Up podcast as I explore Episode 240, where we delve into the fascinating interplay between holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah and the profound stillness of the winter solstice, the year's darkest day. In this insightful episode, I invite you to shift your focus inward during the bustling holiday season, uncovering the beauty of ceremony, reflection, and stillness. We will explore the significance of prioritizing self-connection amidst the various ecosystems that shape our lives, gaining insights from my experiences as an empath and mindfulness advocate. Discover the importance of embracing quiet moments to listen to yourself and maintain an inner connection. Allow this meditative exploration to offer a timely reminder to prioritize stillness and self-care, especially during the festive season. May this episode open a space for reflection and provide the allowance to come back home to yourself. Wishing you a joyful and mindful holiday season!
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
#242 Clearing Mental Clutter: Finding Space for a Lighter Life
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
In this episode, host Lauren Polly shares her personal experience with managing a busy mind, especially during restless nights, and offers practical insights and techniques for clearing mental clutter.
Learning points:
- Recognizing Mental Overcrowding: Lauren discusses the signs of mental overcrowding, such as restless nights, racing thoughts, and physical symptoms like an increased heart rate or sweating. She emphasizes that these nighttime experiences often reflect the overcrowding of our minds during the day.
- Identifying Triggers: Lauren shares how personal triggers, such as a lack of alone time and an overwhelming schedule, can contribute to mental clutter. She encourages listeners to identify their own triggers for mental congestion.
- Mindful Space-Clearing Exercise: Lauren guides listeners through an experiential exercise to clear mental clutter. The exercise involves visualizing the various thoughts and concerns as separate balls or bubbles, and then deliberately pushing them away to create mental space.
- Letting Go of Hyper-Vigilance: Lauren emphasizes the importance of not constantly tracking and obsessing over every thought or concern. She encourages listeners to trust that they can respond when necessary and let go of the need to monitor everything constantly.
- Embracing Presence: By clearing mental clutter and letting go of past and future worries, listeners can experience a greater sense of presence in their daily lives. Lauren encourages the idea that being fully present allows for a more enjoyable and meaningful life experience.
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
#241 The Multidimensionality of Success: Exploring Your True Calling
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
Join Lauren Polly, the host of the Lighten Up podcast, in episode 241, where she delves deep into a topic that resonates with many of us: "Just because you're good at something, doesn't mean it's good for you." In today's episode, Lauren sheds light on this notion and the challenges faced by high-achievers who often find themselves shackled to a specific path or skill, regardless of its impact on their personal happiness and fulfillment. Plus, get a glimpse of Lauren's fresh new look, as she introduces her podcast's brand-new video format! Check out Lauren's YouTube Channel for the video here: Lauren Polly - YouTube
Learning Points:
- The High-Achiever's Dilemma: High achievers often feel compelled to excel in their chosen paths, but this can lead to feeling trapped in roles that don't bring joy or fulfillment. Recognize the signs and discover how to break free from this mindset.
- Multidimensional Living: Every individual is multi-faceted. Finding balance and allowing space for different passions can lead to a more enriching life.
- Overcoming Fear and External Expectations: Society often dictates that we should stick with what we're good at. Lauren challenges this belief and highlights the importance of evolution in personal and professional growth.
- Steps to Find What's Truly Good for You: It's not always about drastic changes. Sometimes, it's about perspective shifts, balancing out what consumes your mental space, and being open to exploring new possibilities.
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
#240 Meeting People Where They Are (Without Losing Yourself)
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
Communications are a building block for your life experience as it colors your feelings, sense of worth, authenticity and so much more.
But communication hiccups happen all the time.
Words get twisted, the message doesn’t land, people take offense when none is intended…. We tend to bump and rub against each other in really uncomfortable ways.
After a while we head into compensation or avoidance mode and our intimacy and self-expression suffers.
What if there was a better way?
Tune in to discover how:
- Open heart/clear eyes mentality can lead to personal and relationship evolution
- How to dump the past communication hiccups to move forward with clean slate
- Common pitfalls of over and under-empathizing (and what to do about it)
- Easy body language, mind-set and communication tools can be used for greater clarity and ease in every circumstance
Tuesday May 09, 2023
#239 Transitions & Shifting Beliefs: Having Ease as You Grow
Tuesday May 09, 2023
Tuesday May 09, 2023
We are evolutionary beings; multi-faceted creatures with tons of curiosity and drive to engage all parts of ourselves throughout our life journeys.
But most of us don’t engage all parts of ourselves at once –
- We shine in one skill set in this job
- We are loved for this personality trait in this relationship
- Our soul is fed in this one way through this one system…
If we aren’t careful, we can lead a siloed existence, never sewing together these experiences into a whole.
It’s this way of living that makes transitions difficult. We judge ourselves for wanting something different. We fight the curiosity that is pulling us to something new. We create drama as a rationale for leaving.
What if there was an easier way? To move freely, to have gratitude for all, and to stitch it all together in a way only we can?
Becoming whole and enjoying the winding path of life is UP for many people right now – including myself. I hope this podcast creates more space and free movement in your world.
Tune into this episode to discover:
- how to transition from a belief system, relationship, or job without drama, judgment, or cutting off all that came before
- 3-stages to learning a new skill – and how that may be leading you transition to new avenues
- the brilliance of “cherry-picking” from every experience you’ve had
- a-ha’s on the big picture of your life journey
- space and lightness to take a step forward on your new path
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
#238 Sharing Is Not Caring: Intimacy SOS
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
How often does a shared experience leave you feeling more disconnected or confused?
When we try to share experiences, we tend to match the other person thinking it will build a sense of intimacy with them. But…
Expectations don’t get met and we feel more disconnected as a result…
Our sense of self and the situation gets muddled by their perspective…
Having our day hijacked by others’ choices becomes way too easy…
And our path forward can become less about authenticity and more about people-pleasing.
What if there was a better way to build relationships and a sense of connection in your life?
Tune in to this episode to discover:
- Awareness exercise on where you may be losing your sense of space, peace, and identity in others
- Why matching emotions is so dangerous to intimacy with others and most importantly yourself
- An easy exercise to “come back home” to you (immediate stress and anxiety fix!)
- In-the-moment tool for connecting to you while you interact with others
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
#237 Being Different at Work & In Life
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Neuro diversity is a hot topic – media coverage and depiction of those with autism, ADHA, dyslexia, etc are leading to more self-identification (aka no formal diagnosis).
Those that have always seen and interacted with the world differently are finally being given a voice.
Mental health media coverage is opening conversations around those of us (myself included) who have always felt and sensed the world differently as well.
It’s becoming more well-known that neuro-emotional divergence is a strength – not a weakness. And companies and societal structures seek us out due to that strength.
If you’ve always felt like you didn’t quite fit in… seeing, feeling, and interacting differently than others do but you're struggling with how to employ it in your life, this episode is for you.
Tune in to explore:
- What are neuro and emotional divergences
- How different doesn’t equal wrong – it just equals being different (and the hidden creative power in that)
- The trouble with stimulus/response communication and how it leads to conscious bias/exclusion for the divergent population
- How to get clarity on how you function from exploring these labels but not get stuck in the negative of them
- Why society and companies need (and are looking for!) those who function differently
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
#236 Compassion Fatigue SOS: Re-Enliven Your Gift of Caregiving
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
What is compassion fatigue? Emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others, often described as the negative cost of caring.
It’s a thing, people! And is occurring more and more after the last few years of collective trauma we’ve experienced.
So how do we caregivers cope with this “negative cost?”
Our greatest joy, and often our professional calling, is caring for others. We’re the helpers, healers, and people-people on the planet… Healthcare workers, teachers, managers, parents, friends…
If you fall into this category and have been feeling burned out, checked out, or just “over it” in general then this episode is for you…
Join me and my special guest, Dr. Adriana Popescu, for an in-depth conversation on the what, why, and most important way out of compassion fatigue.
Tune into this episode to discover:
- How to care for others without carrying them
- Tricks to handle the expectations of the caregiver
- Mindset shift to disentangle from those you are helping
- Simple tool to find your state of power as a healer
- Introspective exercise to re-focus on what drew you to caregiving in the first place
- Energy exercise to equalize the flow of your gift (aka you need to receive too – not just give!)
Dr. Popescu and I are co-facilitating a 6-week virtual workshop on this topic! We being 9/12/22. More information and how to register here: https://www.firebird-healing.com/tools-for-caregivers-to-release-stress
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
#235 Surrender: SOS for Perfectionists
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
We all have situations that we wish would go differently.
While we know we we aren't victims of our circumstances; that we always have choice. And that our actions contribute to what is showing up...
We still get blind-sided when things don't work the way we want them to.
What occurs for you when other's choices impact your living?
When situations outside of your control come calling?
Does your perfectionism and control-tendencies take over?
How much tension are you holding - in mind and body - as a result?
Enjoy these perspective shifts around:
- perfect as is - not as we would have it be
- having true control by surrounding your contrived control
- surprising ways to release held tension, stress and negative patterns
- how surrendering can lead to more personal power
As always, you can connect and explore more with me at www.laurenpolly.com
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
#234 Empathy in HOT Situations: How to not lose your cool
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
When situations heat up are you able to keep your cool?
When an empath is in health, she can see what others see. And she can use that vision to connect, inspire and create.
An empath who is not in health feels what others feel as if it’s her own. The intensity gets overwhelming and she can easily lose her perspective and choice.
So, what do you do when your capacity for empathy gets dialed up to 1000% in hot situations? And you lose yourself in the moment?
I recently had to work myself through this… some surprising info has come to light as a result. I hope it helps you next time you run into a hot head and start to become one yourself!
Tune into this episode to discover:
- #1 muscle to build to handle hot situations
- Key a-ha on why you tend to match other people’s emotions rather than being yourself
- How being pro-active with your emotional bandwidth helps you handle surprising upsets
- Tips to use in the moment to regain your perspective and conscious choice
- And most importantly – how to release self-judgment when your empathic abilities ran amuck
Tuesday May 11, 2021
#233 Difficult Conversations
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Tuesday May 11, 2021
How can you approach difficult conversations without hurting the relationship – or you! – in the process?
Difficult conversations are just that - difficult.
Whether you're speaking to:
- your boss about unfair treatment,
- your spouse about un-met needs,
- your employee about un-met expectations,
- your friends / family about relationship dynamics that no longer work...
These anxiety-provoking conversations can derail quicker than you'd think.
So how do you approach people in a way where you both get clarity, not conflict?
Where both of you and the relationship get to move ahead into smoother waters?
Tune in to this episode to discover:
- A-ha's on the energy dynamic of conflict and how to change it
- #1 trick to diffuse a hot conversation
- How to stop cul-de-sac thoughts leading up to the conversation (aka if they say this, I'll say that)
- Empowerment to ask for these conversations, even if you're nervous to have them
- Practical ways to create clarity, not conflict, to move you forward with ease
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
#232 Strange Times: How to Deal & Thrive No Matter What
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
#231 Finding Your Way (with a Touch of Luck!)
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
What if you aren’t lucky but aware?
We all have those times in our lives with things just fall into place.
We attribute so much of this to luck, happenstance, synchronicity… but what if it went deeper than that?
Your ability to navigate life through conscious choice is ever present – whether you lean into it or not. It’s a different way of living. One of peace, possibility and going with your gut!
Tune into today’s episode to discover:
- A key tool to unlock your conscious choice in every moment
- A tip from Harry Potter on luck, pleasure and being at peace as you navigate ahead
- An exercise in acknowledging where you’ve been lucky before and how to increase this daily
- Surprising ways to lose the stress to create change easier and faster
- A-ha’s on being at peace with where you are, where you’re going and how to get there
Tuesday Mar 30, 2021
#230 Softening in Hard Times: Tricks to Make Change Easier
Tuesday Mar 30, 2021
Tuesday Mar 30, 2021
Feel like you’ve been working hard to change the trouble spots in your life?
Too many times, when life gets hard we respond by becoming hard ourselves. Either in defense/deflection, to push ourselves through or to numb out...
After a while our reaction to life’s ups and downs becomes one of anxiety, hard-work and body-mind tension.
What does it take to reclaim breathing room and perspective around your “problems”? To see your way to the other side of them?
And to learn to navigate avoiding more hurdles in the future?
Tune in to this episode to discover:
- How to change your reactions from anxiety, stress and tension
- Perspective “tricks” to get some breathing room around your problems
- Exercise to relax – right now – and break the stress cycle
- Little-known truths that help you “lean into” the changing nature of life
- Ways to unravel even the most chronic upsets in your life
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
#229 How to Create Your Dreams as Reality
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
“It doesn’t do to dwell on dreams” says Dumbledore
At first when I heard this quote I thought it was the same old warning us dreamers get...
That isn't possible.
Get your head out of the clouds.
You should just be grateful for what you have...
From these warnings most of us think that we are wrong for dreaming of a greater living.
But after sitting with this quote I discovered a different take why it's less than ideal to dwell on dreams.
The “trouble” comes when we dwell too long in that “if only” state and never take the action to bring it about in reality.
Whether you’re desiring a different:
relationship,
business,
creative project or
overall life experience…
What steps can you take today to stop dwelling on those possibilities? And start doing the work to pull them into your life?
Tune into this week’s podcast to discover:
- Why we are too happy to dwell on dreams (and never bring them into reality)
- Clues our fantasies can offer to our creative process
- 3 things to do to get present and build momentum to bring dreams to reality
- #1 thing that stops the creative process
- Keys to building your capacity to have what you are seeking (a hidden roadblock we don’t see!)
- A-ha’s on what you’d like your next step in life to be like – and how to make it so
Tuesday Mar 02, 2021
#228 Protection SOS: Living Open & Strong
Tuesday Mar 02, 2021
Tuesday Mar 02, 2021
Do you feel like you have to protect yourself from life?
So many of us think that we are too sensitive to live open.
Judgments, hot emotions, intense energies, unkind words – all of it can feel like knives cutting you.
We feel raw and exposed so building walls around us seems like the only way to make it through unharmed.
But what if the protection was doing more harm than good? Like blocking you from caring deeply, taking risks, seeing clearly and responding to life in more expansive ways?
Tune in to this week’s episode to discover:
- Why protection doesn’t work
- Hidden causes of mental stress and body tension – and how to release it
- Exercise to discover your strengths of caring, sensitivity and awareness
- Releasing exercise to un-wind and re-connect
- Keys to unlocking your creative power and choice (no matter what is going on around you)
Learn more about Lauren's Quiet Your Mind Taster Program for $27 mentioned in the show here: https://laurenpolly.com/quiet-your-mind/
Tuesday Feb 16, 2021
#227 Holding Your Own: Dealing with BIG Energies
Tuesday Feb 16, 2021
Tuesday Feb 16, 2021
How often do you lose your sense of peace when confronted with big energies?
People can be intense. Whether you are dealing with drama-queens, anger-monsters or your run-of-the-mill judge-y folks…
Holding your own – not losing yourself in their world – can be tricky terrain to navigate.
If you’ve been feeling
- defensive,
- withdrawn,
- stressed or
- depleted
with those in your life; this episode will help you regain a sense of peace and possibilities. No matter what circumstance you find yourself in.
Tune in to explore:
- Powerful questions to ask in the “heat of the moment”
- Keys to stop reacting to others (and reclaim your power)
- Retroactive ways to de-escalate tough situations (for more ease next time you interact)
- How to use your body in intense situations for a greater sense of peace
Apply for a 1:1 complimentary sit down with me to discover what we can create together in a coaching session. Click here to apply: https://laurenpolly.com/apply/
Tuesday Jan 19, 2021
#226 A Proactive Anxiety Tool: Opalescent White Light
Tuesday Jan 19, 2021
Tuesday Jan 19, 2021
What if a simple exercise in the morning was all it took to keep anxiety away all day?
Yes, our reality is anxiety provoking -
Whether it is the:
- constant environmental stimulation,
- living up to expectations at work,
- relationship drama,
- or tapping into "interesting" world events -
Daily life is enough to set your mind racing and put your body on high alert!
So many of us have taken this as a given in life, a necessary evil that we can manage but never quite get rid of.
We've built so many patterns around it that getting triggered into anxiety is way too easy. And finding our way out is way too hard!
This podcast episode explores one of my favorite “out-of-the-box” tools for anxiety relief.
You can do it in the morning to set your day right…
In the evening to help your mind and body quiet for a restful night…
Or in the moment when anxiety takes hold.
It’s a taste of what we’ll be exploring on my FREE live workshop on January 31st – come explore with us for more tools for an Anxiety-Free 2021! Go here to sign up: http://bit.ly/LPanxietyfree
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
#225 Acknowledgement Exercise
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
What if the key to knowing you could move forward was to acknowledge how far you’ve already come?
If everything is changeable then why am I still dealing with this?
I hear this all too often from folks (and experience it myself from time to time!)
We tend to only acknowledge the things in our lives that have changed in major ways.
But we all have those things that linger or that we get snarled on time and time again.
Whether they are born from trauma, limitation or a sense of unfulfillment; these deeper issues can seem hard to shake once and for all.
There is a key though that will free you from these sticky points. And build trust in yourself to take that next step in your journey.
The power of acknowledgement!
Tune in to discover:
- 3-part exercise to acknowledge how far you’ve come
- #1 key in trusting yourself for what lies ahead
- A-ha’s on the tenderest parts of ourselves and the “unchangeables” we live with (and how to have more ease with both)
- Invitation to change through relaxation, honesty and hope
Apply for a 1:1 complimentary sit down with me to discover what we can create together in a coaching session. Click here to apply: https://laurenpolly.com/apply/