Today I talk about showing up as yourself without any modifications. Without the adjustments you had to make to survive the world we live in. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Share Your Invisible Losses Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

It has been a few weeks since we’ve had a new episode and this one is a short one about self-compassion. I also talk about why I took a break from writing the weekly letter (don’t worry, it will be back soon) and how healing it has been to take a pause from one pursuit to make space for another. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

We wind up 2021 with clips from a few episodes that I loved and that I hope you’ll love, too. You can find the links/episode numbers to the full episodes from each guest below. Thank you for spending time wanting to change your life. Thank you for searching for the truer self that exists within you. Thank you for not giving up on that true self. Don’t you ever stop that true self from coming out. Thank you for listening to the podcast and I wish you happiness, bliss, and peace in the new year. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Things We Mention In This Episode - Episode 107 - Anita Moorjani - Episode 111 - Steven Kotler - Episode 102 - Terri Cole - Episode 123 - Dr. Piero Calvi-Parisetti - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Inside of all of us there lives an identity, a personality that is always hidden. Only a small percentage of people are able to show up in the world exactly as they are because it can take a great deal of courage. So, today, let’s try to express our true selves even if it’s in a small way. Start with one choice to reveal a part of your hidden self. Maybe it’s wearing a color that you love, painting a wall in a color no one else would normally choose, or in any other way that makes sense to you. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Things We Mention In This Episode - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I talk about making sure that in your life, in your relationships, with your family, your friends, and with yourself that you honor the open sea perspective and the knowing that you have because of the losses that you’ve experienced. You are not here to settle. You are here to live the life that you’re supposed to have. “What a shame finally to reach the open sea, but settle for a modest jug of water!” - Excerpt From: Rumi. “Rumi's Little Book of Wisdom.” I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Things We Mention In This Episode - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

The holiday season is upon us and so are the complex feelings that can come with it. I talk about the contrast of the happiness of the holidays and the pain of loss, anxiety, and worry that can plague so many of us. I also talk about the importance of trusting that we can show up as ourselves without always preparing so much. I want you to try to make space for both sadness and joy during this time. They are two sides of the same coin. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

As you know, I love writing and I’d also love for you to write. I have received hundreds, if not thousands of messages, from people who want to write a book and are looking for information on how to go about it and how to get one published. Before you think about publishing, it’s essential to consider one important thing: the enjoyment of writing and just getting your story on the page. Today’s guest is an amazing fiction writer and poet, Diane Wald. Her book, “My Famous Brain”, was the winner of the Visionary Fiction category from the NYC Big Book Awards, a competition judged by experts from many facets of the book industry worldwide, including publishers, writers, and professional editors. We spent the hour talking about her life as a writer, her struggles when she was teaching and writing, and how she’s had 3 books published in the last 3 years at 73 years old. She truly is an inspiration to any who wants to know how to start and is worried that it is too late to start. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Diane Wald Diane Wald, at age 73, is an award-winning poet and novelist, who has worked as  an English professor, academic dean, and communications director for a national animal welfare organization. She has published five chapbooks, four full-length collections of poetry, and two novels. Three of her books — Gillyflower, The Warhol Pillows, and My Famous Brain — were published within the last three years.  You can connect with her via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: MyFamousBrain.com Website: GillyFlowerNovel.com Book: "My Famous Brain" by Diane Wald Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I had a deep, intentional, and grounding conversation with a sophrologist named Dominique Antiglio. Dominique is a Sophrologist and founder of global Sophrology platform BeSophro, and best-selling author The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology. She specializes in stress and sleep management, anxiety reduction, and burn-out prevention.  This conversation is for you if you feel like you’re living life too fast or if you’re feeling like you’re especially sensitive to the world around you and people don’t seem to understand those feelings. She also beautifully speaks to the idea that we should acknowledge certain relationships in our lives have limits. To know these limits helps us remove the judgment we place on that person and find peace with what that relationship can provide us and what it cannot. It was a fascinating conversation and I hope you enjoy it. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Dominique Antiglio Dominique is a Sophrologist and founder of global Sophrology platform BeSophro, and best-selling author The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology. Dominique specialises in stress and sleep management, anxiety reduction and burn-out prevention. She has been instrumental in bringing the practice of Sophrology into the mainstream (the Guardian calls it the “dynamic young cousin” of mindfulness), with prominent figures like Arianna Huffington publicly praising Dominique and her work. You can connect with her via her website or Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode - Website: BeSophro - Book: "The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology" by Dominique Antiglio - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I talk about stepping into the power of the true self and releasing the grip that fear has on us. What would happen if you didn’t modify who you were so that you could fit into what everyone else expects from you? What would happen if you feared less and lived authentically more? I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Things We Mention In This Episode - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Christina talks about the places she has traveled recently and how important it is to make mindful decisions about returning to places that may hold painful memories for you. With so many beautiful places in the world to visit, why return to the ones that will bring you a lot of loss? I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Things We Mention In This Episode - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s episode is with Dr. Piero Calvi-Parisetti who has dedicated the last 15 years of his life to exploring the data and evidence in our world to see if there really is life after death and death truly is just a doorway. I felt truly connected with him. He cares so much about people that have lost their loved ones and he wants to help alleviate some of that grief by making sure they know that death is not the end. You’re going to be left with less doubt about the survival of consciousness and you will enjoy his in-depth and scientific exploration of the afterlife.  I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Dr. Piero Calvi-Parisetti Scottish/Italian author and speaker Piero Calvi-Parisetti is a medical doctor originally specialising in Public Health and Disaster Management. After working with the International Red Cross and the United Nations in the management of international  humanitarian aid operations,  at the end of year 2000 he took up a late academic career. Until 2015, he has been Professor of Emergencies and Humanitarian Action at Milan University (Italy) and a visiting professor at several other universities. In 2004, a simple anecdote narrated by his wife triggered an intellectual interest, at first, and then a true scholarly passion for psychical research, especially for the study of scientific evidence pointing to the survival of human personality of bodily death. By digesting some 30,000 pages of literature, attending international conferences and study days, interviewing the researchers and even training personally with Dr Raymond Moody (the first physician to write about Near-Death Experiences in 1975), Dr Parisetti became convinced that mind and consciousness cannot be reduced to the activity of the brain, and, in a way which we do not understand, they survive the death of the body. He is the author of five books and the producer of an 8-hour video course on various aspects of the survival hypothesis. He closely collaborates with the Forever Family Foundation, a nonreligious, not for profit organisation strong of over 12,000 members worldwide dedicated to furthering the knowledge of afterlife science among the bereaved.  You can connect with him via his website, or Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode - Website: DrParisetti.com - Book: "Step Into the Light" by Dr. Piero Calvi-Parisetti - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Now and again, I get to have a conversation with someone who is so extraordinary in ways that I didn’t expect even after researching their lives and accomplishments.  In this case, David Richman was exactly that. He discusses the journey he has been on to change his life, change the lives of his kids, to impact the cancer world and inspire cancer survivors to be more connected and get the help they need, to live a healthier life despite his upbringing and the original narrative of his life. If you’re looking to better your life and understand why his book “Winning in the Middle of the Pack” was so impactful to me, this is the episode for you. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About David Richman David is an author, public speaker, philanthropist, and endurance athlete whose mission is to form more meaningful human connections through storytelling. In his first book, Winning in the Middle of the Pack, he discussed how to get more out of ourselves than ever imagined. With Cycle of Lives, David shares the interconnected stories of people overcoming trauma and delves deeply into their emotional journeys with cancer. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode - Website: cycleoflives.org - Book: “Winning in the Middle of the Pack” by David Richman - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s episode is with one of my favorite people in the universe, astronaut Nicole Stott. Her book, “Back to Earth” is out now for everyone to enjoy. We talk about her incredible experiences under the ocean, in space, and how the process of making art with no gravity is strange and magical. Her book is extraordinary and her heart and soul is all about reminding us that we are the guardians of planet Earth, not only for ourselves, but for our kids and future generations. It is so important that we can protect this beautiful space ship that we all live on and that we remember to tap into the feeling of connectivity that lives inside all of us. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Nicole Stott Nicole Stott is an Astronaut, Aquanaut, and Artist who creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with her artwork to inspire everyone’s appreciation of our role as crewmates here on spaceship Earth. She believes that the international model of peaceful and successful cooperation we have experienced in the extreme environments of space and sea holds the key to the same kind of peaceful and successful cooperation for all of humanity here on Earth. A personal highlight from her spaceflight experience was painting the first watercolor in space, which is now on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in DC. She is the founder of the Space for Art Foundation, and co-founder of Constellation.Earth.  You can connect with her via his website and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode - Book: Back to Earth - Website: www.nicolestott.com  - Space for Art Foundation.org - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s conversation is going to feel very different. This is an opportunity for the person who sees the world in a more traditional way to see it in a very new way. My guest today is Paul Selig. He is a channel. A receiver that shares information from guides, who are not here in the physical world, that is insightful and life changing. I believe many of you will be surprised at the intelligence and importance of what Paul’s guides share. In this episode, we talk about his new book “The Kingdom”. All of his books have been channeled and received in a short amount of time, well-written, and already edited. They are direct from the source.  If you are looking to witness yourself and your life from a different place, from what is called the “upper room” where energy is higher, where creation is a fearless experience, then I hope you listen in to this conversation with an open mind. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Paul Selig Paul Selig is considered to be one of the foremost spiritual channels working today. In his nine breakthrough works of channeled literature, including I Am the Word, The Book of Mastery, and the Beyond the Known Trilogy: Realization, Alchemy, and The Kingdom author and medium Paul Selig has recorded an extraordinary program for personal and planetary evolution as humankind awakens to its own divine nature. Paul was born in New York City and received his master’s degree from Yale. A spiritual experience in 1987 left him clairvoyant.  Described as “a medium for the living,” Paul has the unique ability to step into and “become” the people his clients ask about, often taking on their personalities and physical characteristics as he “hears” them telepathically. His work has been featured on ABC News Nightline, Fox News, the Biography Channel’s The UnXplained and Gaiam TV’s Beyond Belief.  Also a noted academic, Paul served on the faculty of NYU for over 25 years and is the former director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College. Paul offers channeled workshops internationally, conducts frequent live-stream seminars and makes his home on the Island of Maui. You can connect with him via his website, Instagram, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode - Book: The Kingdom, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig - Book: Alchemy, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig - Book: The Book of Truth, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig - Book: The Book of Mastery, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig - Book: The Book of Love and Creation, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig - Book: I Am The Word, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig - Website: www.paulselig.com  - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s guest is Jennifer Katz. The author of “The Good Widow.” Jennifer lost her husband unexpectedly 3 years ago after 18 years of marriage.  We discuss how loss changes us, how dating after the death of a spouse is a complex and difficult decision but can be a rewarding one too.  There are some controversial subjects Jennifer and I touched upon during our conversation. Just try to remember that our experiences are unique to each of us and we should seek to be inspired by the diversity of everyone’s choices.  Your journey is your own. Especially after loss. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Jennifer Katz: Jenny, author of The Good Widow, is an adoptive mom and a stepmom living in Western NY. Trained as a clinical psychologist, Jenny is Professor of Psychology at SUNY Geneseo. She teaches about gender, sexuality, and helping relationships, and in her free time, she loves reading, yoga, musical theater, and broccoli. You can connect with Jennifer via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Relevant Links - Official Site: The Good Widow - Book: The Good Widow - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

For those who follow me on Instagram, you see that I often post photographs of the sunrise and I feel that there’s something really special about it. There is some kind of connection between us and the sun, almost some kind of communication. When I am watching the sunrise, I feel that each day gets a fresh start. As if someone is telling me that the day is going to be ok. Everything is better for those few moments. I encourage you to seek out the sunrise tomorrow and see how it makes you feel. - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s guest is someone that you’re going to fall head over heels with. In this conversation, Andrea is transparent, vulnerable, and honest. This is about loss, addiction, being cheated on, and recovering stronger than ever. She found a way out of the corner that life put her in and completely transformed. Andrea is helping every woman get their confidence back (or helping them find their confidence for the first time) and teaching them to take up space without apologizing for it. I felt really connected to who she was and her message and I hope that you will, too. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Andrea Owen: Andrea Owen is an author, global speaker, and professional certified life coach who helps high-achieving women maximize unshakeable confidence, and master resilience. She has taught hundreds of thousands of women tools and strategies to be able to empower themselves to live their most kick-ass life through speaking, her books, coaching, and her wildly popular podcast with over 3 million downloads. She is the proud author of two books, which have been translated into 18 languages and available in 22 countries. Her latest book, Make Some Noise: Speak Your Mind and Own Your Strength came out on August 2021. Andrea is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) from The Coaches Training Institute, a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation, a SHE RECOVERS®️ coach, as well as a Certified Daring Way™️ Facilitator; a modality based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown. When she’s not juggling her full coaching practice or writing books, Andrea is busy riding her Peloton bike, chasing her two school-aged children or making out with her husband, Jason. She is also a retired roller derby player having skated under the name “Veronica Vain”. You can connect with Andrea via Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Relevant Links - Official Site: Your Kick Ass Life - Book: Make Some Noise: Speak Your Mind and Own Your Strength - Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen - Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen - Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s episode is a very special one. I invited my daughters for the first time to publicly share about their loss journey. They share how the loss of their dad was experienced differently in different stages in their lives. They talk about the relationship they have with him now and how it has evolved over the years. How they dealt with sharing their loss with their friends. How it impacted their lives then and now. This is definitely up close and personal. Informal and real. It will feel as if you are here with us.  I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Relevant Links Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s conversation is with Karen Johnson, a healer and writer who spent 30 years of her life working as a judge until her beloved son, Ben, died from an overdose at 27. After that devastating experience, she sold her home, retired, spent 2 and a half years traveling and interviewing shamans, and ultimately became one herself.  This episode is about Karen’s journey with grief and the world beyond. She emphasizes that, while it will take time, we don’t have to be stuck in our grief and our loved ones don’t want us to be stuck as it keeps them from doing their work on the other side. If you want to know how to find the wisdom and energy in grief that can be used to create a new life and how to trust the universe, this is a must-listen. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Karen V. Johnson: Karen Johnson is a graduate of Georgetown Law Center (J.D.), a former Fulbright Scholar in Afghanistan, and holds Masters Degrees in Public Health and Public and International Affairs (MPH, MPIA). Karen is a retired federal administrative law judge and practiced criminal and energy law for more than 30 years. She also is a former U.S. Army officer, Major, USAR (inactive).  Karen was personally trained by Alberto Villoldo and the Four Winds Society, and holds a certification in Luminous Healing from Healing the Light Body School, and is a teacher with the Four Winds. You can connect with Karen via Instagram or Facebook. Official Site: Shamaniclarity LLC,  KarenJohnson.net Book: Living Grieving: Using Energy Medicine to Alchemize Grief and Loss Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

We re-visit a conversation with Nancy Levin and this time with better audio than before! We talk about her divorce and how hard it was for her to walk away from a relationship that was verbally abusive. We talk about boundaries and how important they are in our lives and how to shift out of “people pleaser” mode and into living your life for YOU! If your life feels like it’s not your own. If you are running, if you are busy, if you are rushing through every day of your life and you feel that laughter and smiling is not a part of who you are anymore then I hope you’ll listen to this conversation. I’d love to hear what you think of this conversation and how you see it translating to your own life. Be sure to comment below or connect with me on Instagram to tell me all about it. More About Nancy Levin Nancy Levin is a Master Coach and bestselling author of several books, including Permission to Put Yourself First and Setting Boundaries Will Set You Free (Hay House, January 2020). She was the Event Director at Hay House from 2002 - 2014 and now hosts her own weekly call-in radio show Jump Start Your Life on Hay House Radio. Nancy offers in-depth coaching and training programs designed to support clients in making themselves a priority and setting boundaries that stick. You can connect with Nancy via her website, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.nancylevin.com Book: Jump...And Your Life Will Appear by Nancy Levin Book: Writing For My Life by Nancy Levin Book: Permission to Put Yourself First by Nancy Levin Book: The New Relationship Blueprint by Nancy Levin Book: Setting Boundaries Will Set You Free by Nancy Levin Workshop: Join Christina at The Omega Institute for Life Reentry After Loss Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly inspiration Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I really got the sense that Eric cares so much about the people that he helps work through their grief journey. His daughter passed away several years ago and, since then, he has changed his life completely to be of service to all people who have lost their loved ones and are going through the pain of grief and tragic loss. He tries to help people see that living in survival mode is necessary, but must be temporary. We talked about Greece and how that culture handles grief so differently, survivor’s guilt, signs from our loved ones, dreams, and so much more. He reminds us that part of our healing process is remembering that our loved ones aren’t the only reasons that we’re here living our lives. If you want to experience hope for better days ahead, I hope you listen in. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Eric Hodgdon: Eric Hodgdon is a coach, author and speaker. After losing his 15-year old daughter Zoi to suicide in early 2014, Eric found a way to get back up and through his grief journey, he is sharing the lessons learned so that no one else has to walk alone on their journey. Eric has trained thousands of people who simply wanted to know how to navigate the worst setbacks that can happen to us all. You can connect with Eric via Instagram or Facebook. Relevant Links Official Site: Resilience Leaders, LLC , www.erichodgdon.com Book: A Sherpa Named Zoi Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

On today’s episode I am talking about reentering after a long quarantined year. Why it is important to not assume that you are the same person you were when you went into quarantine. You may think that you are the same because you have been with yourself all this time. It is hard to detect change when you are in constant interaction with yourself. I am going to ask you to consider that you are different. Reentry back to life is going to feel like you have just left a dark room and you walked into a very sunny world without your sunglasses. Even that is a gross understatement of what life reentry is after being in the Waiting Room for such a long time. Enjoy this solo episode and make sure you go out and experiment with something new. Something new and something easy. Sunglasses won’t be enough for the effect of the sun light on your eyes after being in the darkness for what felt like an eternity.  Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

On today’s episode, I have one of my favorite human beings. Steven Kotler has researched, studied, experienced, and presented the information about flow and peak performance in a beautiful way. We talk about how grief, tragedy, and loss is influential in making the impossible happen and creating new realities for ourselves. The flow state is accessible to everyone and is a universal experience. After this conversation, you will understand how flow can benefit you, how grit and resilience are essential traits, and how fear is experienced by everyone (but you don’t have to see it as an obstacle). I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinastars on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Steven Kotler: Steven Kotler is a New York Times-bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and the Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective. He is one of the world’s leading experts on human performance. He is the author of ten bestsellers (out of thirteen books total), including The Art of Impossible, The Future Is Faster Than You Think, Stealing Fire, The Rise of Superman, Bold and Abundance. His work has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, translated into over 40 languages, and appeared in over 100 publications, including the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, TIME and the Harvard Business Review. Steven is also the cohost of Flow Research Collective Radio, a top ten iTunes science podcast. Along with his wife, author Joy Nicholson, he is the co-founder of the Rancho de Chihuahua, a hospice and special needs dog sanctuary. You can connect with Steven via Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or LinkedIn. Relevant Links Official Site: StevenKotler.com Flow Research Collective Book: The Art of Impossible Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Jimmy Choi joins me to talk about his journey from being diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease when he was 27 to the motivational speaker and American Ninja Warrior that he is today. He is an extraordinary human being who managed to step out of an 8 year battle through darkness and mental struggle about a diagnosis that would forever change his life. To say that he is one of a kind would be an understatement. He works hard everyday to outpace his current self and that is the most important thing that any of us can do. This is not just about Parkinson’s. At the end of this hour, you will be inspired and you will go about your day looking out for yourself and wanting to go beyond your comfort zone and overcome your own obstacles.  I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinastars on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Jimmy Choi: Jimmy Choi is a technology consultant and motivational speaker from Bolingbrook, Illinois. Choi was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease at the age of 27, and has since become an active advocate for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Since then, Jimmy has participated in multiple clinical trials to further research for better treatments and hopefully a cure for PD. Physical therapy led him to running and other activities that help him physically and mentally. He joined Team Fox in 2012, and ran in his first marathon that year -- and he hasn't stopped since. In July 2017, he took on a new challenge and competed on NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” to show the world that Parkinson’s will not stop him. Jimmy maintains a very active lifestyle, having competed in over 100 half marathons, 15 full marathons, one ultra-marathon, six Grand Fondo rides, multiple Spartan Races and countless 5K and 10K runs. To date, he has raised more than $240,000 for Parkinson's research with Team Fox... and counting. You can connect with Jimmy via Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter as: jcfoxninja. Relevant Links Parkinson’s Foundation: The Michael J. Fox Foundation Instagram: @jcfoxninja Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Frank White, author and space philosopher, is back for another incredible conversation. Frank and I have become great friends since our first interview over a year and a half ago and since then we’ve been talking about space, humans in space, and the Overview Effect. He has interviewed many Astronauts about their experiences seeing Earth from above and how it has undoubtedly created a cognitive shift in them. We talk about future civilizations, the unidentified objects that are being acknowledged now by our government, and how all of these things help us shift our view of life and reality. Let’s look at our existence from a place beyond this one location. From somewhere that may even be more familiar than being here on Earth. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinastars on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  Frank has also appeared in Episode 15 & 90 of The Dear Life Podcast. More About Frank White: Frank White is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Rhodes Scholar. He coined the term "Overview Effect" and has written three books on the subject, as well as several books on other topics. He advocates the creation of a new philosophy of space exploration and development. You can connect with Frank via his website or Twitter. Relevant Links Book: The Overview Effect - 4th Edition by Frank White Book: The Cosma Hypothesis: Implications of the Overview Effect by Frank White Film: Overview Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I am thrilled to introduce you to today’s guest, Dr. Parker J. Palmer, a prolific author of ten books and thought leader. This conversation felt perfectly timed for me personally, and I can’t wait for you to listen to it too. Parker has such a grounded and clear way of articulating profound ideas and human experiences. One such idea he has coined is what he calls the tragic gap. This is the tension between reality and possibility. He explains how he came to terms with this truth many years ago as a student and was feeling discouragement and despair during the civil rights movement in the 60s. Coming to terms with reality but also being aware of the possibilities if only the world didn’t push back. He describes it as a kind of a death, the death of a dream. So many of us are navigating these tragic gaps in our personal lives and the world at large.  He describes who he calls culture heroes like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela and how they found ways to keep showing up without letting the needs of the world or the tragic gap overwhelm them. Parker suggests that it’s a fact that we are constantly caught between the harsh realities of the world, but it is possible to reframe our lives and the way we experience this gap that can make it more liveable. One of those ways is by coming back closer to ourselves and seeing what our individual role to play in the bigger picture can be. He suggests asking these questions, which I will now be asking myself regularly, Am I being faithful to my gifts? To the needs I see around me and to the places my gifts might intersect those needs? In asking yourself these questions, this helps you stay the course and not get overwhelmed by all of it. We all have a role to play and if we can remain faithful to our gifts, we will keep moving forward.   “Am I being faithful to my gifts? To the needs I see around me and to the places my gifts might intersect those needs?”  ~ Dr. Parker J. Palmer   I asked Parker about how he knows when to quit something because over time, sticking to something becomes more stubborn than resilient if it’s just not working. His answer was perfect. He suggests asking yourself, is this thing I’m doing still life-giving or is it death-dealing? We also talk about what he thinks happens when we die and how he has been intrigued since a very young age about death and where we go. He shares that he has been walking with mystery and questions his whole life, dancing with them even. Toward the end of our conversation Parker shared very candidly about his personal experience of clinical depression, when he decided it was time to write about those experiences and what being able to speak about that has meant to him instead of hiding that part of himself.  The way he describes those moments in his life with such honesty and compassion, both for himself and others experiencing it is something that I hope everyone will listen to. I truly believe that’s how we will save lives. This is one of those conversations that will stay with me for my lifetime. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinastars on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Dr. Parker J. Palmer Dr. Parker J. Palmer is a writer, speaker and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He is founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal, which offers long-term retreat programs for people in the serving professions, including teachers, administrators, physicians, philanthropists, non-profit leaders and clergy. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as thirteen honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, and an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press. Palmer is the author of ten books—including several award-winning titles—that have sold two million copies and been translated into ten languages: Healing the Heart of Democracy, The Heart of Higher Education (with Arthur Zajonc), The Courage to Teach, A Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, The Active Life, To Know As We Are Known, The Company of Strangers, The Promise of Paradox, and On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old. You can connect with Parker via this website. Things We Mention In This Episode Book: On the Brink of Everything; Grace, Gravity, and Getting Older, by Parker J. Palmer Book: A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life, by Parker J. Palmer Book: Let Your Life Speak, by Parker J. Palmer Book: I Don’t Want to Talk About It, by Terrence Real Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

On today’s episode, I welcome New York Times best-selling author and international speaker, Anita Moorjani. I have been following Anita’s amazing work for years, starting with her first book, Dying to Be Me which tells the story of her amazing near death experience when she had a terminal cancer diagnosis and her incredible road to recovery!  We start the conversation from the very beginning and her childhood and talk about her very unique experiences living, as she calls it, between three worlds and existing in three different languages. As well as the early signs of being an empath and developing a very strong inner world and seeing more than others around her. Anita explains that she didn’t always see being sensitive or shy as positive traits, particularly because of the reaction of those around her and the stories her family told. She felt different, outcast, weird. Instead of special and unique. It wasn’t until her near death experience that she realized how special and unique her life was and how everything happened for a reason - nothing was a punishment, it all happened FOR her. She realized that she was the perfect person to bridge religious and cultural differences.  We talk about the very hard loss of her friend to cancer as well as her own cancer diagnosis. Anita believes she needed that experience and diagnosis to finally start taking care of herself and stop being, as she puts it, a people-pleasing doormat. It was after that near death experience that she started to step into herself and and emodied who she truly is.   “Don’t be afraid to take care of yourself first because your light is needed in this world.”~ Anita Moorjani   Anita speaks about her new book called Sensitive is the New Strong and I had to ask her how she embodies this confidence and radiance now. She says it is because she finally realized that her sensitivity and empathy for other is a super power. Not something to feel ashamed of. She developed boundaries instead of putting everyone else first.  She is committed to helping others learn what she has learned, without having to have a near death experience. She believes it’s time for empaths to take leadership roles. The world needs your voice. It’s time to stop hiding so we can change the world. She now sees that her purpose is to take care of herself and everything else is secondary from there. I hope that you will listen as Anita talks about how to interrupt the self-sacrificing behavior so many of us can find ourselves in sometimes. One of the key ways she suggests is to connect to something bigger than yourself - the universe, God, Source, whatever you call it. And also connect with yourself. Anita wants everyone to not be afraid to take care of yourself first because your light is needed in this world. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinastars on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Anita Moorjani Anita Moorjani is the New York Times best-selling author of Dying to Be and What if This Is Heaven and Sensitive is the New Strong.  She is a beloved international speaker and has dedicated her life to empowering people’s minds and hearts with her story of courage and transformation. She recently published a new book, Sensitive is the New Strong: The Power of Empaths in an Increasingly Harsh World.  She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband Danny.  You can connect with Anita via her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.anitamoorjani.com   Book: Sensitive is the New Strong, by Anita Moorjani Book: Dying To Be Me, by Anita Moorjani TEDx talk: Dying To Be Me Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I’m happy to introduce you to Tammy Lally a Certified Money Coach, TED Speaker, and Author of Money Detox. She helps others master their finances by stopping the cycle of their money shame to rewrite their financial future. Tammy works with people to first conquer their emotions around money and then through a comprehensive financial plan. I found Tammy after watching her TedTalk (which I hope you will go and watch) and knew she was someone that I needed to introduce to my listeners. The connection that she is able to make between money and emotions, especially grief and loss is powerful and I also believe life-saving for so many.  She shares the hard story of losing her brother and what a profound impact both his experience and also her experience of grief had on her. His death made her want to understand her beliefs and behaviors around money and life. She feels it pushed her toward finding a higher power and finding answers. She credits a lot of Grace, Faith, and a lot of Grit for getting her through.  We talk about the realization that we both had at points in our own experiences when it became clear that no one else was going to come and save us. When we realized that we have to do the work and stop looking to be rescued. This isn’t the same as trying to do everything yourself and not asking for help (which is very important), but that you also need to show up for yourself. When the strength comes from within it’s so powerful.   “The healing that you can do through the lens of money is extraordinary. It’s one of the biggest healings of our time because we give money so much power. There is so much personal and spiritual growth that can come out of it.”  ~Tammy Lally   Tammy shares openly and honestly about her own money story and the personal bankruptcy she experienced shortly after her brother died. She says that our money story is imprinted on us, like much else, in the first 10 years of our lives and it’s just repeated over and over again unless we break the loop. This imprint happens through the way our parents did or didn’t talk about it, the energy around money when it was talked about, the stories we hear from the media and the way people with or without money are spoken about, and so many other things.  One of the best ways Tammy says to break this pattern for the future is to talk about money with your children. Bringing it into the light is the only way. I hope you will listen to this episode if you are newly grieving a loss. She and I both share our own experiences with money in the first few years after loss and Tammy gives such important advice if you are also in this part of the process. Ultimately, you need to ask for help and allow the help that is being offered to you. Find someone that you trust to talk about what is going on and then receive the help that comes your way. Letting people help you with the basics so that you can be well enough to move slowly from surviving to thriving is so important. Tammy’s work is literally saving lives. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Tammy Lally Tammy Lally is a Certified Money Coach, TED Speaker, and Author of Money Detox. She helps others master their finances by stopping the cycle of their money shame to rewrite their financial future. Tammy works with people to first conquer their emotions around money and then through a comprehensive financial plan. Tammy has 20 years of experience in the financial industry and 30 years of study in psychology, addiction, recovery, and spirituality. She brings a distinctive blend of financial industry experience, psychological knowledge, and spiritual consciousness to her work. Tammy offers a compassionate approach to money and money shame, which is truly powerful in helping her clients achieve transformative outcomes. Her signature "Money Detox" process is a seven-step journey that allows anyone to achieve financial freedom and joy. She works with individuals, couples, groups, and businesses and has thousands of people. You can connect with Tammy via her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.tammylally.com  Book: Money Detox, by Tammy Lally TedTalk: Let’s Get Honest About Our Money Problems Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I’m happy to introduce you to today’s guest Dr. Lise Deguire a clinical psychologist and author of a beautiful and inspirational new book called Flashback Girl: Lessons on Resilience From a Burn Survivor. As I told her in our conversation, Lise is one of my new heroes, and not just for the reasons that you might expect.   In her book, and in our conversation, it becomes clear very quickly that her story can help many people in many different ways. While the events of her life are highly specific, many of the losses (both traditional and invisible) are universal and helping so many people. As Lise mentioned in our conversation, she believes that it is through honest sharing of what we’ve been through that we can connect with and help others best. We talk about her experience as a 4-year-old girl that changed the course of her life forever, as well as the many other losses that happened as a direct or indirect result of that moment. It’s these moments that so many of us can relate to, hard and painful relationships with our parents, the loss of a loved one, teasing and bullying, and even a first marriage that wasn’t right for the long term.  She openly shares that while the people we want and expect to show up for us won’t always be able to, it’s important to notice that there are so many others that are. We also spoke about the idea of a Thriver mindset and whether or not it is something that we are born with or something you can train yourself and learn. She tends to believe it’s a little of both.    “It happens sometimes that the people we think are supposed to be there for us are not going to be. They can’t be, they won’t be, they are dead. But there are also so many others that want to be there for us if we can let them, it’s important that we notice them too.”  ~ Dr. Lise Deguire   Dr. Deguire is not just inspirational, she has this kindness and compassion toward the human condition. I felt it as I immersed myself in her work and it became even more strong when I connected with her in person for this interview. I’m certain that you will feel it to when you listen to our conversation. My hope is that after listening to Lise’s story, you will get the courage you need to Thrive in your life as well. I’d love to know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Dr. Lise Deguire Dr. Lise Deguire is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Pennington, NJ. At the age of four, she was third-degree burned over 65% of her body, a result of both maternal and corporate negligence. Against the odds, she lived through this injury, enduring countless surgeries, extended hospital stays, and while attending different schools, faced loneliness, ostracism, and bullying. She grew up in a dysfunctional family and lost four members of her family to suicide. Despite these life challenges, Dr. Deguire has forged a triumphant path towards love, health, and life satisfaction. She waited 50 years to write her memoir, and tell her story publicly until all of her family members had died. Dr. Deguire graduated from Tufts University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Hahnemann/Widener University. For the past twenty years, she has been in solo practice in Pennington, New Jersey. She is the author of her memoir, Flashback Girl: Lessons on Resilience From a Burn Survivor. She has appeared on NPR, NBC, ABC, FOX, Sirius XM, and numerous podcasts. She is a blogger for Psychology Today and has been featured in Tiny Buddha, Thrive Global, The Elephant Journal, Best Ever You, The Trenton Times, and Grown & Flown. Dr. Deguire writes a blog about psychological resilience issues and is a national keynote speaker. You can connect with Dr. Deguire via her website. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: https://www.lisedeguire.com  Book: Flashback Girl: Lessons on Resilience From a Burn Survivor, Dr. Lise Deguire Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I really enjoyed this conversation with Christine and I hope that you do too! Please comment below or share with me on social media to let me In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to my friend Christine Hassler. Christine has a fascinating and inspiring story, that is ultimately about choosing yourself instead of meeting expectations or what we think we are supposed to do. In her 20s, on the outside, it looked like Christine had it all. She was working in Hollywood, had a successful career and boyfriend, and was hanging out at parties with A-listers like George Clooney. And yet, as she describes it, she was miserable.  Be sure to listen to the early part of our conversation where she actually describes the moment she was speaking with George Clooney at a party and that was a moment of realization for her. Realizing that she was not where she belonged.  In this open and honest conversation, Christine shares what happened after she left that life, and shares that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows after that. There were many hard moments and lessons to be learned along the way. As she says, “it got worse before it got better, but at least she wasn’t lying anymore.” She speaks of her beloved coach and spiritual teacher Mona and the influential role she played in Christine’s life and personal awakening and transformation. Christine shares that she thinks one of the reasons we can stay stuck for so long is because of fear and even if we’re not currently happy, the fear of what it might feel like to change is often too big to take the leap. We can get conditioned to the suffering instead of going through a potentially bigger pain (temporarily) to move toward what is more in alignment. We also talk about her experience with anxiety and depression. How she connected with and healed her inner child, which she feels is key to all of our healing and growth. Christine explains that anxiety is an alarm bell and often our inner child is telling us that a need isn’t being met and is feeling unsafe and abandoned. So it’s very important to find ways to connect with our inner child and help them feel safe.   “With a career, relationship, or any of your dreams, it’s never too late. We’re sold this false timeline of things but there is wisdom and freedom that come with time and aging. It’s never too late for anything.”  ~ Christine Hassler   We also talk about relationships and how it wasn’t until she fully chose herself, was she able to call in and meet a man to be in a conscious relationship with. Until then, as she puts it, her wounded child and teenager were picking her partners and she was repeating old patterns. There is a lot of presence and grounding in where she is today. She seems to have found peace and no longer lives in regret. She explains that of course, she is human, and still experiences disappointment and what she calls expectation hangovers but she is able to move through them more quickly than before.  Christine encourages us to leverage disappointments into learning opportunities by asking, what does this remind me of? In disappointment and grief, there is always so much more going on than what is in the present moment. If we can follow the thread back to past experiences and moments those are the clues to where we have the opportunity for more exploration and healing. Let me know what you think. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Christine Hassler Christine Hassler is a Master Coach, facilitator, and speaker with over 16 years of experience. She is the best-selling author of three books, most recently Expectation Hangover: Free Yourself From Your Past, Change your Present and Get What you Really Want, and is the host of the top-rated podcast “Over it and On With It” where she coaches people live on the show. Christine is known globally for her ability to identify what is holding someone back and compassionately guide them to clarity.  She also works with companies and organizations to increase productivity and decrease the stress of their employees. Christine has a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology and implements elements of NLP, psychology, spirituality, science, and her own diverse life experience into her work.  She’s appeared on: The Today Show, CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, E!, Style, and The New York Times.  Christine believes once we get out of our own way, we can show up to make the meaningful impact we are here to make.  You can connect with Christine via her website and on Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.christinehassler.com  Book: Expectation Hangover, by Christine Hassler Podcast: Over It and On With It, with Christine Hassler Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s guest is not what at all what you might expect when I tell you that he is known as “the funeral guy” and that he owns two funeral homes. Chris Meyer is so full of positive energy and a zest for life, and as he explains during our conversation, he has learned so much about living this way through his work with death and those that are grieving. Chris Meyer has lived many lives already in this one, working as a screenwriter, lawyer, funeral director, author, and so much more. He spoke openly and honestly to me about those different phases of his life, his lessons learned, and how he keeps finding the inspiration and drive to begin again and again. He shared what certain failures in his life have taught him and I thought it was so wise. Chris said that failure is such a huge part of his life and he’s grateful because it means he is continuing to strive. Chris says, “failure brick by failure brick is how we build our home. If you are taking the failure and you’re learning, you have a strong house and a hell of a lot of appreciation.” Chris shares his experience in the funeral industry. He talks about what it was like in the beginning and how it has changed him so profoundly. It is such an intimate experience to meet people in those moments between time and space, and he says that he has received so much more than he has given. It’s been so impactful for him to walk through these times with people and their families and he tells a particularly touching story of a woman that was dying and how she chose him to carry out her plans after her death.   “Death is the greatest reminder of how to live, or start living, your own life.” ~ Chris Meyer   I hope that you will listen to this episode as he shares some of his biggest lessons learned including seeing all of the commonalities and connections that we have when we are grieving and that the grief we feel is a reflection of the love we feel, two sides of the same coin.  Chris wants all of us to remember that tomorrow is not guaranteed and that there is truly no time like the present. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Chris Meyer Chris Meyer is the author of Life in 20 Lessons: What a Funeral Guy Discovered About Life, from Death and The 'Wood and is the CEO of funandmoving.com, also known as FAM. Meyer now resides in Northern California with his best friend and wife of over twenty years and his three unique and amazing sons. Among this, Chris also owns two funeral homes, which served as the inspiration for Life in 20 Lessons which is often referred to as "not a book about dying, but a book about living." You can connect with Chris via his website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.funandmoving.com  Website: www.chrismeyerauthor.com  Book: Life in 20 Lessons: What a Funeral Guy Discovered About Life, From Death, by Chris Meyer Book: The ‘Wood, by Chris Meyer Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

It’s my 49th Birthday today and I wanted to release a special solo episode to celebrate this day with all of you.  I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter 

I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of this week’s conversation with my guest Terri Cole. Terri is a licensed psychotherapist, relationship and empowerment expert, and author. She also happens to be a dear friend of mine. Her new book, Boundary Boss is available as of today and in this conversation, she walks me through the steps using a real-life example of an issue I was facing. The connections she was able to help me make and the clarity I found in this short conversation was remarkable! Terri talks about boundaries in a way that I haven’t seen before. As someone that thought I had strong boundaries, through this book, she defines them in ways that I wasn’t expecting and opened my mind to areas and experiences in my life that are boundary issues I hadn’t seen before.  If you’re familiar with my work and what I call Invisible Losses, you will appreciate the connections that Terri makes to how those losses and past experiences show up in our present relationships and interactions.    “The truth about boundaries is that they are not the blocks to the epic relationships we want.  They are, in fact, the bridge.” ~ Terri Cole   This episode is full of real-life examples and steps from Terri’s book that I’m certain will get you thinking about this in a different way, and hopefully also feel that it’s possible to make shifts in your own life. She highlights that when certain triggers or problems we face feel really big, it’s a good indication that it’s connected to a past experience that is showing up again. She reminds us, and in her book teaches us, how to shift out of the child experience and into our adult self. Terri is truly extraordinary in the way she explains and teaches these concepts. If you’d like to hear more of her personal story and how she went from running a top modeling agency to where she is now, be sure to listen to her first appearance on The Dear Life Podcast right here.  I can’t wait to dive into the exercises in the book and explore these newly defined boundaries. I hope you will join me! I hope that you’ll listen and let me know what you think of this conversation. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Terri Cole Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist and global relationship and empowerment expert. For over two decades, Terri has worked with a diverse group of clients that includes everyone from stay-at-home moms to celebrities and Fortune 500 CEOs. She has a gift for making complex psychological concepts accessible and actionable so that clients and students achieve sustainable change. She inspires over 250,000 people weekly through her blog, social media platform, signature courses, and her popular podcast, The Terri Cole Show.  You can connect to Terri via her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Boundary Boss, by Terri Cole Website: www.terricole.com Dear Life Podcast Episode: Episode 48 with Terri Cole Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I’m so happy to introduce you to today’s guest, Dr. Lisa Shulman. As I told her at the beginning of our conversation, had I found her work when I experienced the loss of my husband in 2006, I may not be doing the work that I am doing now. I thanked her for doing her work and for writing her book Before and After Loss because the way she describes the impact of loss and grief on the brain is truly life-changing for all of us. When I first found her book I thought, how come I didn’t know about this before and how come my community doesn’t know about her? Dr. Shulman and I have a wide reaching conversation about her own experience of grief when her husband died to her research and need to understand, as a neurologist, just what was happening to her brain as she experienced grief or as she calls it, emotional trauma.  Like me, she had much professional experience with grief before her own experience, so she anticipated that she would have an easier time than others because she had been close to the experience, but as she learned you don’t really know how it actually feels until you are walking in those shoes. Dr. Shulman explains why our Survivor self kicks in after emotional trauma to keep us moving through the world, and in many cases, high-functioning. It’s how we continue to go to work, take care of our children, maybe even make big life changes and take risks. It’s in this mode that we start to believe that we’re “ok” and so do the others around us. I had chills when she talked about the depression that comes with grief wasn’t the problem. The real problem as she understood and experienced it was the utter disorientation and loss of self-identity, one of the big invisible losses that I talk about in my book Second Firsts and in my Life Reentry classes. It took a long time for her to unpack and understand that was what was going on. Because, as you know if you’ve experienced the death of a loved one, you’re not only grieving the person that you lost but also the person that you were in relation to them.   “When you understand how the emotional trauma of loss impacts the brain, it normalizes the experience and you feel less alone. We are all having very similar experiences, right down to the kinds of dreams that we have.” ~ Dr. Lisa Shulman   Dr. Shulman explains that it’s the same brain pathways whether you are experiencing the death of a loved one, losing your job, or go through a divorce. No matter the loss, it’s alll tied up in the brain’s evolutionary patterns for our survival in the face of threat. Grief is felt in the same place of the brain no matter what loss you are experiencing. She approached her grief as a neurologist and wants to normalize the experience of grief for everyone. As she explains, when you understand how emotional trauma impacts the brain, it normalizes the experiences and helps us to feel less alone. While of course everyone’s experience is different, it’s also true that we are having very similar experiences, right down to the kind of dreams that we have.  Dr. Shulman wants everyone to know that the experience of loss is a normal response of the brain and that there are extremely powerful, tangible things that we can do for ourselves to promote our healing.  She believes that the more we understand that we can promote positive neuroplasticity for ourselves we can truly being to heal.  I hope that you’ll listen and let me know what you think of this conversation. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Dr. Lisa Shulman Lisa M. Shulman MD is a neurologist specializing in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. In addition to neurology, her diverse background includes training in health policy, nursing, and education. She is the Eugenia Brin Professor of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders and the Rosalyn Newman Distinguished Scholar in Parkinson’s Disease.  Dr. Shulman serves as Treasurer of the American Academy of Neurology and Director of the University of Maryland Movement Disorders Center. She serves on the Board of Directors of both the American Academy of Neurology and the American Brain Foundation. Dr. Shulman is Editor-in-Chief of Neurology Now Books and co-author of the reference book Parkinson’s Disease: A Complete Guide for Patients and Families, now in its third edition and translated in 3 languages.  She is the author or editor of 16 books, 30 chapters, 140 peer-reviewed publications, and 170 abstracts. Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Before and After Loss, A Neurologist’s Perspective on Loss, Grief, and Our Brain, by Dr. Lisa Shulman Website: Dr. Shulman at The University of Maryland Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I’m happy to introduce you to this week’s guest, Debra Silverman. Debra is an author, astrologer, and clinical psychologist. Over the past 40 years of professional experience and private practice, she has specialized in helping thousands of individuals achieve emotional health and wisdom based on their unique personality and the four elements: water, air, earth, and fire. Debra is the first astrologist that I’ve welcomed to the podcast, and I hope you enjoy listening to her refreshing take on how the stars play a role in our lives. As I was preparing for this episode I noticed right away that her world is full of life and she infuses that in the way that she operates in everything. I could sense so much strength and that she has been through a lot and carries so much. This made Debra laugh and she asked who was reading who, she tells me that I have an astrologer’s chat so I guess I get it honestly! Debra shares some of the hard times she experienced with the death of her husband when she was in her 30s and the evolution she has undergone. She says that she doesn’t really understand time, but she does know that as time marches on, there is as she calls it a wisdom cooker effect and we learn and deepen because of all that we have been through.   “There is a gift in trusting time. There is no rush.” ~ Debra Silverman   Throughout our conversation, she reads parts of my chart, so if you’ve ever been curious about why I am the way that I am, this is the episode for you! Some of the ideas she shared were not the first time I’ve been told these things. Apparently 2022 is going to be a very big year for me! Debra explains being an astrologer as a gift of seeing a 360 degree view of a person. That combined with her Masters in clinical psychology, and she is very good at getting a read of a person. Astrology can be an interesting way to learn more about yourself and perhaps practice more self-acceptance and how to work with how we are built, instead of feeling like there is something that needs to be fixed. Debra shares a lot of interesting insights into what various signs indicate and the parts of our charts can impact our lives and personality. I’m grateful for Debra saying YES to life, even after so many hard moments, because of that she has this complexity and depth and also a lightness to her. I’m certain you’re going to enjoy this conversation as much as I did. This is a fun one! I hope you’ll listen and let me know what you think.Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Debra Silverman Debra Silverman is the author of The Missing Element: Inspiring Compassion for the Human Condition. When Debra was just 20 years old, she met an astrologer who blew her mind and changed her world forever. She had officially been introduced to the world of Astrology. It was then that she realized the stars in her own world had aligned just right, and she had found her life’s purpose.  Debra went on to deeply study the mind and body, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology & Dance from York University and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University. Over the past 40 years of professional experience and private practice, she has specialized in helping thousands of individuals achieve emotional health and wisdom based on their unique personality and the four elements: water, air, earth, and fire. Her work with families, individuals, and couples has her standing out in a sea of therapists and coaches.  She has taught at the internationally renowned Esalen Institute, and her work has taken her around the globe, practicing and lecturing in places like New York, Los Angeles, London, Vancouver, Seattle and Boulder, Colorado. You can connect with her via her website, Instagram, Facebook, and on Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.debrasilvermanastrology.com  Instagram: Debra Silverman Book: The Missing Element, by Debra Silverman Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Don Hoffman. Don is a professor emeritus of cognitive sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of the book, The Case Against Reality and has a TED Talk titled, Do We See Reality As It Is? Through his work, Don is trying to answer a big question: Do we experience the world as it really is ... or as we need it to be? In this conversation he speaks about how our minds construct reality for us. We talk about what is beyond space and time and why we should respect theories but also always question them. One part of the conversation that gave me chills was that every time we discover a new reality, another reality will be hidden behind it. Don thinks that there will never be a final theory of everything. The exploration will be endless. No matter how far we go, we’ve only just started. “There will never be a final theory of everything. The exploration will be endless. No matter how far we go, we’ve only just started.” ~ Don Hoffman We also spoke about the current division between science and spirituality and how this work can be the bridge between the two of them. That we can now all (scientists and the spiritual communities) agree that there is something beyond space and time, and we can all now come together to answer the question - What is beyond space and time. And of course, I asked him what he thinks happens when we die. My hope is that we can keep having conversations like this to expand our idea of reality and consciousness. I’ve found the more that I know, the more it helps me in this lifetime. I’d love to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Don Hoffman  Donald Hoffman is a professor emeritus of cognitive sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of the book, The Case Against Reality and has a TED Talk titled, Do We See Reality As It Is? You can connect with him via his website, and on Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: Donald Hoffman  Book: The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes, by Donald Hoffman TedTalk: Do We See Reality As It Is? by Donald Hoffman Podcast Episode: Dear Life Podcast episode #94 with Dr. Bruce Greyson Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today’s guest is Tom Campbell. Tom is a Physicist and Consciousness Researcher that began researching altered states of consciousness with Bob Monroe in the early 1970s where he and a few others were instrumental in getting Monroe’s laboratory for the study of consciousness up and running. He has been experimenting with and writing and speaking about consciousness ever since. There is a stillness about Tom, and deep inner knowing that you will experience when you listen to this conversation. Even though I have spent many years reading about and researching consciousness and time and space, this conversation and Tom’s work has forever shifted and altered the way that I understand and think about these things. Through this vast and expansive conversation, we dive into Tom’s understanding of consciousness and answer some of the BIG questions like, Why are we here? Where do we go? Where does love fit into all of this? And a whole lot more!  I also want to say that it is OK not to agree with some of Tom’s discoveries and beliefs. In my humble opinion the truth about our existence is a multi layered reality. There are many answers that will construct the one truth. So take from this conversation the parts you need to add to your truth.   “We are here to grow up. We’re here to make good choices, and through the quality of our choices we evolve.” ~ Tom Campbell   Tom shares the work that he did with Bob Monroe in the 1970s, his first out-of-body experience, and how he can now have these experiences at will. Tom is a self-described skeptic and explains how these experiences allowed him to see what is fact and what reality, consciousness, and our purpose here really is. We talk about what reality actually is, what those synchronicities might mean, and trying to tell you. I share a story that some of you may have heard already about a rubber ducky and how it continues to show up in my life, the life of my loved ones, and even people I’ve worked with. He explains in great detail what happens when we die and how he knows this to be true, how we remain connected to those that have exited this reality, and how that connection changes as well.  This conversation will stay with me in this life. It is truly extraordinary. You may want to listen to it a few times over because it is FULL of big ideas and concepts. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Tom Campbell  Tom Campbell, Physicist, and Consciousness Researcher began researching altered states of consciousness with Bob Monroe (Journeys Out Of The Body, Far Journeys, and The Ultimate Journey) at Monroe Laboratories in the early 1970s where he and a few others were instrumental in getting Monroe’s laboratory for the study of consciousness up and running. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, and YouTube. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.My-big-TOE.com   Tom’s Event Schedule: www.Mbtevents.com YouTube: Tom Campbell Books: My Big Toe Trilogy, by Tom Campbell Class: The next Life Reentry class with Christina starts on March 30th Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Today, I’m doing something a little different than I have done before. While many listeners are likely familiar with my story and my work, I’m aware that maybe you don’t! So, today I thought that I would “introduce” myself to you in case you’ve been wondering what happens beyond the podcast or how I came to do this work.  Fourteen years ago, I lost my thirty-five-year-old husband to cancer, leaving me with two young girls to raise. I felt lost, frustrated, and alienated by our culture’s outdated “time heals all wounds” approach to grieving. As I’ve described many times in my weekly newsletter and in my first book, Second Firsts, I felt like an alien on earth. I felt like I no longer belonged here and nothing made sense.  I realized that even my training as a grief counselor had not prepared me for what I was feeling and experiencing. I felt like I had also died that day and had to find a way to create a whole new life, and the model for grief that I’d been taught didn't explain that or show me the way out. So, I set out to understand what I was experiencing and the Life Reentry® Model is the outcome of that search. I hope you’ll listen to this episode where I walk you through how, and why I created The Life Reentry® Model through which I have led thousands of people through. I myself practice the principles of Life Reentry daily. It’s more than just a class or theory, it’s a way of seeing and living your life. It was fun to remember the early days of these classes and how we were one of the first using Zoom, well before we all became very familiar with it this past year!   “There is no going back to the person you were before loss. There is only going forward. Being stuck in the in-between, in the Waiting Room, is where we suffer, play small, and repeat old patterns and behaviors that keep us just surviving instead of thriving in our new life. Many people spend years in the Waiting Room, thinking that this is their new life.” ~ Christina Rasmussen   Life Reentry begins with a person stuck between two worlds. This is a place we call The Waiting Room—a psychological space one retreats to after great loss. It is a gap between lives—the life that has been forced into the past by grief and loss, and the new life that has yet to begin. The Waiting Room is not a physical place, but rather a mindset. It’s a holding pattern—safe, comfortable, but inhibitory. It keeps us out of danger, but also out of our life.  After spending the last ten years teaching and educating hundreds of thousands of bereaved people through classes, workshops, and my two books, I made the discovery that it wasn’t the traditional loss of death that kept the bereaved and non-bereaved people in a repetitive cycle of grief, but the invisible, non-validated and untold losses from the earlier chapters of their lives.  I call these Invisible Losses. What I uncovered through my time with people was the multitude of Invisible Losses that kept pulling people back into, and staying stuck in the Waiting Room. I discovered an undercover world of grief. What plagued my class participants and emotionally imprisoned them long term more than anything was these invisible, mistakenly perceived smaller experiences that are not traditionally considered significant. These are the losses that society fails to recognize, mirror back, or validate.  When everything looks the same on the outside, yet everything has changed on the inside, we break. We break in half. This is the duality of loss. In this short episode, I explain in more detail what Invisible Loss means and what they look like in our everyday lives (there are multitudes).    My mission is to bring forth a new way of speaking about and embracing loss and also to help our communities understand that living after loss is equally important as grieving.    If you are feeling stuck in a place between the life you left behind and the life you so wish you can have… If you feel stuck in the Waiting Room but don’t quite know why... If you have gone through something difficult, invisible, untraditional, or a big loss and have struggled to find your way back... If you feel like you should be farther along in processing your grief but just can’t seem to move through it... If you are ready to look at your life, behaviors, and patterns and create a new life and way of being…   I’d like to invite you to join me for my next Life Reentry for Invisible Losses course. Registration is now open for this in-depth and life-changing 8-week online experience. We begin on Tuesday, March 30th. You can find out more information and register HERE. Things I Mention In This Episode Save your spot in the next Life Reentry Class beginning March 30th HERE. Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

In today’s episode, I’m very happy to introduce you to Kelley Lynn. She is an actor, comedian, TEDx speaker, grief coach, and author of the book "My Husband Is Not a Rainbow: the brutally awful, hilarious truth about life, love, grief, and loss." Since the sudden death of her husband Don in 2011, it has been Kelley's mission to help change the conversations we have about grief and loss, and to help others navigate through life after loss with her comedy, speaking engagements, and book. Kelley is so inspiring in the way she lives her life. She has brought all of herself into her re-entry, her life post loss. I’ve been following Kelley online for years and one thing that has always struck me is that she didn’t shut down the comedic, creative, and social parts of herself after Don died. She leaned into all of  it, with the grief too, and took everyone along for the ride. I believe that Kelley is truly an example of how life is meant to be lived after loss. You show up with all that you have, even if it’s painful. We speak about the early days after Don died, and how even that very night, she felt compelled to write and to share what she calls the brutally awful, hilarious truth about grief, loss and love. She shares some of the stories that while painful, are also funny that many of us who have experienced loss can relate to, from the awkward things people say to you, to having to cancel bills and accounts, to dating again after loss. Her advice for plug-ins (the term that I use in the Life Reentry Model for the moments we exit the Waiting Room and begin to re-enter our new life) gave me chills - “Do what hurts the least.” I couldn’t agree more. She shares some of the ways she plugged into life in the early days, and continues to plug-in now.    “Do what hurts the least.” ~ Kelley Lynn   We speak about the idea that tragedy and comedy are two sides of the same coin, and how laughter is just as important as crying when we are grieving and going through something hard. Kelley also shares openly and honestly about what it was like to start dating again, how at first she never thought she would be ready, and how she eventually met her husband Nick. We talk about what it’s like to have “two husbands”, and what works for her to hold love for both Don and Nick. My hope is that this episode encourages you to find your voice, and your own unique way to plug-in to your new life after loss. I hope that it offers inspiration if you are thinking about dating again and you’re not sure. As Kelley Lynn said when I asked her what one thing she wants my listeners to remember about life after loss, “Your life after loss is not over, it’s just beginning. The life that you had, the one that you knew, is over. But this life is a new life and it’s just beginning.” I’d love to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Kelley Lynn Kelley Lynn is an actor, comedian, TED talk speaker, grief coach, and author of the book "My Husband Is Not a Rainbow: the brutally awful, hilarious truth about life, love, grief, and loss." Since the sudden death of her husband Don in 2011, it has been Kelley's mission to help change the conversations we have about grief and loss, and to help others navigate through life after loss with her comedy, speaking engagements, and book. Kelley lived in the NYC area for over two decades teaching comedy and acting, and now resides in her home state of Massachusetts with her husband Nick. Kelley recently married Nick in a covid-safe, no guest wedding ceremony at The Groton Inn on New years Eve - they live streamed the event on Facebook. You can connect with her via her website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.akelleylynnlife.com  YouTube: Kelley Funny Lady Tedx Talk: When Someone You Love Dies, There is No Such Thing As Moving On Book: My Husband is Not a Rainbow, by Kelley Lynn Class: The next Life Reentry class with Christina starts on March 30th Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I’m thrilled to introduce you to today’s guest, MaryLiz Bender. She is one of the people in the space world that can combine space and humans really well. Her documenting and her journalistic storytelling, and the way she captures everything is, I believe, the way that we bridge the worlds between space and the people on earth that ask the question - why should I care? MaryLiz is an example of resilience, creativity, and following your dreams. She also happens to be a dear friend of mine. I am touched and inspired by the way she has navigated some very hard years and the way that she shows up now, using her voice and her talents to serve the greater good. She has performed music on her dream stage in Nashville as a professional recording artist, taught herself coding and programming through the public library while she was couch surfing and homeless, and has now gone on to co-found Cosmic Perspective with her partner Ryan Chylinski, where they connect people to space through story, film, and outreach. Be sure to visit their YouTube page to see some of their beautiful films. She has such a warm and engaging energy about her, and so many amazing stories to share. I hope you listen as MaryLiz shares some of her life stories, including how she went from a hard youth to finding herself standing between Bill Nye and Buzz Aldrin watching her first rocket launch! Just before we recorded our conversation in February, MaryLiz participated in a 6 week mission to Mars simulation which was built on top of a dormant volcano in Hawaii. She shares what she learned during that experience and how it reinforced even deeper her mission to keep the connection between space and humanity, as she says, the exploration of space is the pursuit of what it means to be human.    “It’s not going to be easy, and you don’t want it to be. Easy is boring and you don’t learn anything.” ~ MaryLiz Bender   I am blown away by the way that MaryLiz is in her life today. It’s hard for me to see the losses that happened in her early years. MaryLiz was a recent participant in my Life Reentry Class and she shared some of the way that her Survivor Self shows up and how she has been able to lean into her Thriver Self more and more.  My hope that this episode encourages you to follow your dreams and not be afraid to re-enter your life again and again. Maybe you’ll even find yourself on a rocketship to the moon one day! I’d love to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About MaryLiz Bender  MaryLiz is a futurist composer and space-age storyteller, on a mission to inspire hope, elevate empathy, and unite through experiences of awe and wonder. She co-founded Cosmic Perspective with her partner, Ryan Chylinski, where they connect people to space through story, film, and outreach. MaryLiz founded Zero-G Music to design music for space travel and ensure we take our humanity with us to the stars. As a professional recording artist, she makes music with her bands Twin Limb, Kwieta, and she composes film scores as Star Travel.  Driven by bright visions of the future and inspired by the fact that we “protect what we love,” she aims to help humans fall in love with life and the pursuit of meaning. You can connect with her via her website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: Cosmic Perspective  YouTube: Cosmic Perspective Podcast Episode: Dear Life Podcast episode #90 with Frank White Class: The next Life Reentry class with Christina starts on March 30th Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to the remarkable Dr. Bruce Greyson. He is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and served on the medical school faculty at the Universities of Michigan, Connecticut, and Virginia. He was a co-founder and President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, and Editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies.  Dr. Greyson has been collecting stories of near-death experiences for 45 years and has just published a new book called, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, that documents some of these incredible stories and what they can teach us not only about what happens when we die, but also how to live.  He explains that through his work, he realized just how incomplete our understanding of life and death, the mind and the brain actually was. And while he had peers that did not support his work, he felt it would actually be a disservice to science to not investigate further.   “Paradoxically, becoming less afraid of death makes you live life more fully.” ~ Dr. Bruce Greyson    This conversation and the ideas and perspectives Dr. Greyson shares is truly extraordinary. He has learned that the death of the body is not the end, and that death is often a beautiful, blissful experience. Many people with near-death experiences say that loved ones were waiting for them on the other side. Dr. Greyson says that this shows us we can let go of the fear of dying alone. He talks about what happens to our brain and mind during these experiences, why not everyone has a near-death experience, and how the explanation of what happened is dependent on a person’s cultural and religious background. One of the biggest impacts of Dr. Greyson’s studies and the stories of near-death experiences is not necessarily explaining what happens when we die, although that is remarkable as well. What may be even more powerful is what these stories teach us about living. Most near-death experiencers say that it teaches us about life and how to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. It turns out that not being afraid of death helps us to open up to living life to the fullest. While I know this conversation and information can’t take away the pain and grief of losing a loved one, I do hope it offers some comfort.I hope that you find your way to this book, the stories are truly remarkable. I’d love to hear what you thought of this conversation. Please comment below or share with me on social media. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Dr. Bruce Greyson Dr. Bruce Greyson is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He served on the medical school faculty at the Universities of Michigan, Connecticut, and Virginia. He was a co-founder and President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, and Editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association; he has received national awards for his medical research. You can connect with him via his website. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: brucegreyson.com  Book: After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal About Life and Beyond, by Dr. Bruce Greyson Book: Dying To Be Me, by Anita Moorjani Website: Dr. Raymond Moody Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Dr. Anoop Kumar. He is an emergency physician, mind-body strategist, speaker, and author. Anoop has a very unique way of describing things like consciousness, time, death, and reality in a way that I have never seen before. I was fascinated by his life and how his experience in the physical world as an emergency physician who has seen so much pain and loss and trauma was able to bridge with the other more esoteric side of him. He asks big questions like Who are we? What are we? And what the heck is going on here? These are questions that I know you have asked yourself too. These are the questions that we come face to face with after loss. After the death of my first husband I asked these questions and realized there is so much more to this world than we can think, or feel, or say. Dr. Kumar shares how these questions started forming for him and how the process of integrating these new realizations and understandings of the universe into his reality. As he puts it, he felt like he was walking the line between sanity and insanity.   “It’s ok to question what we call reality. The stories we have been given in this modern culture are extremely narrow.” ~ Dr. Anoop Kumar   We talk about how Dr. Kumar defines reality and why we should raise our standards about what we think is real. He also shares his extraordinary 3 minds framework, which is what he calls his attempt to explain the depth of the human experience. He talks about what he thinks when we die and why some souls reincarnate and others don’t. Dr. Kumar’s mind and understanding of the universe and what it means to be human is truly extraordinary. I hope you’ll listen as he explains the differences between the first, second, and third minds, and how these show up on a societal level as well as individual. Comment below or share with me on social media! Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Dr. Anoop Kumar Dr Kumar enjoys exploring and communicating about the intersection of consciousness and everything else. He is an emergency physician, public speaker, author of Michelangelo's Medicine and Is This a Dream?, and a columnist for Emergency Medicine News. Anoop spent time in India and the United States as a child and grew to appreciate the differences between these cultures. He inadvertently began developing a framework for these differences when his parents exposed him to Advaita Vedanta, which soon became his playground. Against this backdrop, school seemed to be lacking something critical–in-depth knowledge of the nature of being human. This was the seed of Anoop's desire to communicate publicly. You can connect with him via his website, Instagram, and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: anoopkumar.com Book: Michelangelo’s Medicine: How redefining the human body will transform health and healthcare, byAnoop Kumar, MD Book: Is This a Dream? Reflections on the Awakening Mind, by Anoop Kumar, MD Video Series: https://www.anoopkumar.com/videos  Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I want to introduce you to productivity strategist, Mike Vardy. You may be wondering how speaking about productivity fits into the themes we cover on this podcast and let me tell you why I think that it fits perfectly. Because I know that if you are listening to this podcast you have maybe experienced the loss of a child or spouse, a divorce or other relational loss, jobs, income, and so many other things. You have had a lot of tragedy and compounded trauma, especially after this most difficult year. It is easy for us to get stuck in the Waiting Room with anxiety and overwhelm when we wake up in the morning, confronted by everything we have to do. Our survivor self makes it hard to even do the most basic of tasks. My goal for this conversation with Mike was for you to come away from listening with a feeling of empowerment and with meaningful actions that feel easy to do. These actions are what I call plug-ins in the Life Reentry Model, and they are what will slowly move you out of the Waiting Room and into your new life, they are what support you to reenter.   “Time is a part of who we are. Filter your focus, define your day, and make every moment matter.” ~ Mike Vardy   Mike shares some of his best tools and strategies for crafting your time to focus on what is truly important. By crafting your time and discerning where you give your attention, you begin intentionally crafting your life.  From theming your days and looking at everything we have to do as a project, Mike offers very practical and attainable action steps that you can begin to incorporate into your life today. I’d love to hear what you take away from this conversation and if you’ll be incorporating some of Mike’s tips into your days from now on. Please comment below or share with me on social media! Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Mike Vardy Mike Vardy - also known as "The Productivityist", is a highly-acclaimed productivity strategist and the creator of the productivity framework known as TimeCrafting. He's considered to be one of the top thought leaders in the personal productivity and time management space, with over a decade of expertise under his belt. His work has been featured in Lifehacker, Fast Company, HuffPost, Inc., and Forbes. His podcast, The Productivityist Podcast, is a conversational podcast that has been downloaded over 5 million times since its inception and featured guests such as Seth Godin, Brian Tracy, Keith Ferrazzi, and Gretchen Rubin. Mike lives in Victoria, Canada with his wife, daughter, and son. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: Productivityist Free Resource: The Daily Driver Podcast: Productivityist Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

On today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Ashley Jones, the founder of the Love Not Lost Foundation. Ashley shares with us her incredible story of what it was like to lose a very young child to a terminal illness, and how that experience changed her forever, in ways that she did not expect. The way that she describes how her love for her daughter Skylar now has no boundaries and has expanded out into the world is so beautiful and inspiring. What she experienced personally, and also as she began to support others, is that the old definition of grief and the language we use to talk about death and loss are not actually very helpful. In an effort to revolutionize grief and how we support those that are grieving, she created the Love Not Lost Foundation. During this conversation, Ashley shares her own experience of grief and how she has reentered this new life. She realized that no one had taught her how to grieve or given her any realistic expectation of what it would actually feel like. She felt that there are no clearly defined stages of grief, but that it is a fluid and ever changing experience that shifts with us throughout our lives.  We speak about how the old model of grief shows up in the workplace and with our family and friends. Things like getting creative with how managers support employees who are experiencing loss, the importance of language and the words we say and things we do trying to support people but often creating more pain or a feeling of dismissal. If you are a manager or CEO in a company, I encourage you to listen to this episode, or share it with someone that is.   “So often we see death as the enemy, but the enemy is actually disconnection. We want to disconnect from ourselves and each other in our grief, but really that’s the opposite of what we should be doing.” ~ Ashley Jones   Ashley also speaks about what led her to begin offering portrait sessions to families experiencing a terminal diagnosis, and how that evolved into creating an entire non-profit organization that now supports both families that are grieving and also those that want to offer help and love but may not know how.  In this last year, we have all experienced various levels of loss and trauma and it’s important for us to support each other where we’re able and to ensure that the ways in which we attempt to provide support actually has the impact we are hoping for. There is a bigger need than ever for workplaces and organizations to remember the humanness of their employees and to acknowledge what people are going through. Ashley wants everyone to know that grief is a very unique and specific experience for each of us. I’d love to hear what you take away from this conversation and what you think about how Ashley is redefining how we grieve and support those in grief as well. Comment below or share with me on social media! Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook.  More About Ashley Jones Ashley Jones is a friend of grief and an ambassador of love. Her experience losing her only daughter to a terminal illness led her to create Love Not Lost: a nonprofit on a mission to revolutionize the way we heal in grief. Ashley has dedicated the rest of her life to helping people heal and become whole, healthy humans. You can connect with her via her website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn Things We Mention In This Episode Website: Love Not Lost Foundation Grief and Empathy Tools: Support Toolbox Website: How can I love you better? The Heart Beat: Monthly giving program Ashley’s TEDx Talk: How to Heal In Grief Dear Life Podcast: Episode 87 with Jamie Butler Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

There are some people that come by your life and you realize that they are not only special because of what their impact has been on our world, but also who they are as a human.  Since Frank White and I recorded this conversation way back in August of 2019, he has become a dear friend of mine. Just last week I had the extraordinary opportunity to participate in the live broadcast of a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight, where we launched and released more than 100 souls into the universe. It was truly a highlight for me, as someone that has always been obsessed with space to be on that broadcast with so many experts and visionaries that I admire. My goodness, what a different world we were experiencing back in the summer of 2019! We had no idea that in less than a year we’d be in the midst of a global pandemic, economic and social justice crises. That our world would feel unrecognizable in so many ways.  My conversation with Franks feels more timely than ever as the pandemic and other world events remind us of our interconnectedness and interdependence with each other and all living things on this planet. The perspective he provides and the reminder we are all crew members on space ship earth is so important.   “When you can see your life as a larger, whole system it all starts to make sense.” ~ Frank White   When you listen (or re-listen) to this episode I want you to remember one thing, when we are able to have a perspective that is different from our unique point of view. When we can see the world from really far away and when we can see our loss and our grief and our trauma and our obstacles from a very different vantage point those difficulties and tragedies change just a little bit. This shift in perspective can make a world of difference when it comes to healing after loss and tragedy. In short, Frank is about space. His passion and need to understand the feeling that astronauts get when they are up in space and looking down on earth, they feel this awe and connection to everything. He has been mesmerized by that feeling for most of his life and career. His book the Overview Effect has been here in my home with me for years and I actually wrote about the overview effect a couple of years ago and shared it with all of you.  Frank is here to spread light and new bigger perspectives to the world and I am forever grateful for this. And here is your homework for tonight after you listen to this episode. Go outside tonight, and look at the stars! More About Frank White Frank White is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Rhodes Scholar. He coined the term "Overview Effect" and has written three books on the subject, as well as several books on other topics. He considers himself a "space philosopher" and advocates the creation of a new philosophy of space exploration and development.  You can connect with Frank via his website or Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: Celestis Memorial Space Flights Book: The Overview Effect by Frank White Book: The Cosma Hypothesis: Implications of the Overview Effect by Frank White Film: Overview Podcast Episode: Dear Life Podcast Episode #1 with Nicole Stott Physicist and Space Activist: Gerard K. O’Neill Book: The Golden Book of Astronomy Non-profit Organization: Space Studies Institute Organization: Space for Humanity Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly inspiration Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

This week on the podcast, I’m happy to welcome Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy, also known as SARK. If you haven’t yet heard of SARK or been immersed in her magical world, you are in for a real treat! SARK truly creates magic wherever she goes and we started our conversation with me asking her about the first time she remembers using that word. Her answer was truly remarkable and caused me to guess that she was an illuminator and light bringer in a previous life as well, because she knew at such a young age what she wanted to be and do in this lifetime.  SARK has such a beautiful ability to use her work to alchemize the darkest moments of her life into light and illumination. She shares some of the dark moments from her early life and people that showed up in her life at the exact right moments and how her writing and illustrations allowed her to process some really hard topics. I remark on the last time I saw Susan in person and the 8ft tall crayon she carried around that day, it’s no exaggeration to say that she is truly unforgettable. If you are someone that is looking for love later in life, this episode is for you! Susan very beautifully shares her experience of meeting her first love at the age 58. He was a widower when they met and she speaks candidly about her initial fears of dating a widower, and then how that evolved to embracing it and allowing it to add more layers and more love to their relationship. Grief found Susan a few years later when John passed from cancer, and I do hope you will listen as she talks about her experience of grieving deeply while wildly living. It is my wish for you too. We talk about her new relationship with John since he left the physical world and her path to finding new love. I believe deeply that we’re here to love many times and in many ways in this life. We are very different people in each relationship, and Susan’s story is such a wonderful example of that.  “It is possible to grieve deeply and live wildly at the same time.” ~ SARK I’d love to hear what you take away from this conversation and how you think you can begin to live wildly, even when you are deeply grieving. Comment below or share with me on social media! Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. Susan also created a free mini e-book exclusively for the Dear Life podcast community! You can click here to download it. More About SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) is a bestselling author, artist, inspirationalist, and acclaimed teacher and mentor. Her purpose in life is to be an uplifter, transformer, and laser beam of love- she offers that with love through her art, words, and spirit. You can connect with her via her website, Facebook, Instagram,  Things We Mention In This Episode Free Minibook: Alchemizing Losses of All Kinds and Letting More Love In, by SARK Program: SARK’s Private, Magical Mentorship Book: Succulent, Wild Love: 6 Powerful Habits for Feeling More Love More Often, by SARK and Dr. John Waddell  Sark’s Inspiration Line: 1-415-546-3742 Website: Planet SARK Instagram: SARKIFYLIFE Book: The Art and Science of Hand Reading, by Ellen Goldberg Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Danny Gough. Danny is an intuitive coach, songwriter, musician and inspirational mentor. He is also the creator of Class Dynamix, Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists in 2020, maybe you saw the viral video? Class Dynamix is a venture that inspires regular inner-city kids to believe in themselves through Danny’s empowering original songs. Danny shares what that experience was like, and what life has been like after taking that “quantum leap”. We talk a lot about these quantum leaps that we take in our lives and while others may see them as lucky or one hundred percent positive, they can actually be quite difficult and disorienting. Danny is such an authentic and kind soul, which shines through so brightly in this conversation and the work he puts out into the world. We also spoke about his strong connection to the universe, how his meditation practice has allowed him to “let go” and be present and calm in times of potential stress, and his hopes for the the future in such uncertain times.   “Life is all about giving. We’re here to give and to serve and to pour out who we are.” ~ Danny Gough   This conversation is truly heartwarming! I’m certain you’re going to feel like Danny is a good friend of yours after listening to this episode. I hope you will also be inspired to trust in the timing of things, to listen to your internal voice, and to take quantum leaps in your own life! I’d love to hear what you take away from this conversation and the quantum leaps that you have made in your life. Comment below or share with me on social media! Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. More About Danny Gough Danny Gough is an intuitive coach, songwriter, musician and inspirational mentor. He is also the creator of Class Dynamix, Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists 2020 - a venture that inspires regular inner-city kids to believe in themselves through his empowering original songs. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Danny Gough Website: www.dannygough.uk Class Dynamix Website: www.classdynamix.com  YouTube Video: Britain’s Got Talent Performance Stop Bullies Book: As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen Book: Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, by Joe Dispenza Book: Letting Go, by David Hawkins Book: The Power of Now, by Eckart Tolle Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m welcoming Jamie Butler, a natural born medium, is back for another interview. Our first conversation is one of our most listened to episodes of all time. In that episode, we spoke about how death is not forever and she shared one of the most impactful experiences she has had in doing this work which will leave you with goosebumps. Be sure to listen to that if you haven’t already. As I was preparing for this second conversation with Jamie, I recognized how grounded she is while doing such ungrounding work. We spent a lot of time speaking about how it wasn’t always that way and the skills she has had to develop to, as she puts it, choose to be human. I really connected with this idea of choosing to be human even when it is so hard and we don’t always feel free.  Jamie shared how she engages with the spirit world, the boundaries she has in place, and even gave me some advice for the occasions that I receive visitors from the world beyond. Jamie wants to normalize the idea of getting in touch with our intuition and also with loved ones and other spirits.    “We are made up of an energetic body and it cannot be contained in the physical body. We are a piece of the whole and also whole unto ourselves.” ~ Jamie Butler   If you’ve ever wondered about channeling, remote viewing or what the day to day reality of a natural born medium is, you’ll want to be sure to make time to listen to this conversation. One thing she shared with me was that it’s important for those who have transitioned to connect with us as well.  This conversation is truly extraordinary! If you did listen to her first interview, then you will know to listen for the chimes and she is not alone in the studio when we record! If you are interested in exploring your intuition and connecting with the spirit world, her work is so amazing. I’d love to hear what you take away from this conversation and your connection to your intuition and the energy world. Comment below or share with me on social media! Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. More About Jamie Butler Jamie is a natural born Medium, Wholeness Expert, Teacher, Lecturer, and Mom. Jamie’s life goal is to teach people of all ages about the infinite possibilities for healing, joy and success available to us when wholeness living is incorporated into our daily lives. You can connect with her via her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.jamiebutlermedium.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/jamie_butler_medium 5-month mentorship with Jamie: https://jamiebutlermedium.com/jbmentorship/  Live $10 Classes with Jamie: https://www.learnitlive.com/jamiebutler  Book: The Holographic Universe, by Michael Talbot Book: Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, by Robert Lanza and Bob Berman Book: Beyond Biocentrism: Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death, by Robert Lanza and Bob Berman Book: The Grand Biocentric Design: How Life Creates Reality, by Robert Lanza, Matej Pavsic Dear Life Podcast Episode: Episode 28 with Jamie Butler Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Well, here we are, it’s 2021. I know for a lot of you this week is the beginning of getting back to “normal” after the holidays. But if you’re like me, you probably have a lot of conflicting emotions. Maybe you’re feeling anxiety, hesitancy, and maybe even some excitement about what 2021 may bring for us all. In a regular year, this week can feel heavy, never mind the added uncertainty that this time in the world is adding. A lot of you has have lost so much in this last year, and for that, I am deeply sorry. My hope with this solo episode, and for the beginning of a new year, we will start taking the first steps together we will say a prayer. A prayer of hope, a prayer of healing, and a prayer of helping one another to try our best to show up every single day of this new year.   “I hope that when you wake up this morning and every morning, you will remind yourself that you made it this far. And you can make it another day, another week, another month, and another year. ” ~ Christina Rasmussen   Through this podcast, I am excited to continue to bring you, inspiration through the stories of people that have lived their lives and are living their lives with a mission to live fully. People that show up, not only for themselves but for everyone around them. These stories and these interviews will be here to give you hope and inspiration. The goal of Dear Life is to provide examples of people who made it against all odds because this is what I want for you too.  My most optimistic wish is that we will be able to connect not only through a microphone or a computer screen but also in person later this year. Here’s to wishes coming true! Please share this episode and message with others in your life that you think can use it. Please also let me know in the comments below or over on Instagram, what is your most optimistic wish for 2021? Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

It’s the final episode of the year, and I’m the opportunity to pause and reflect. 2020 has been a year unlike any other that we have faced. So many unexpected moments, some devastating, some scary, some surprisingly beautiful. While there is still so much unknown and uncertain about what is to come in 2021, there is some comfort in turning the calendar and beginning fresh. As we head into the new year and take a collective sigh at the relief, I wanted to reflect on the idea of new beginnings by highlighting some past guests that have started over in their own lives, after some very difficult moments. They found the strength to not only survive but to thrive, in spite of it all. My hope is that their stories will inspire you to look ahead to 2021 with hope and promise and that you will begin again.   “I hope that you will use the new year, and this extraordinary moment in time as an opportunity to begin again.” ~ Christina Rasmussen   I would love to hear what some of your favorite moments and episodes have been this year on the Dear Life podcast, please comment below or join me on Facebook or Instagram to share with me there. Things I Mention In This Episode Dear Life Podcast: Episode 70 with Jessie Sheehan  Dear Life Podcast: Episode 59 with Dylan Thomas Slattery Dear Life Podcast: Episode 50 with Natalie Sudman Dear Life Podcast: Episode 11 with Roz Savage Dear Life Podcast: Episode 29 with Elizabeth DiAlto Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

Christina answers the question: “This will be the third year without the foundation of our family. My kids are 27 and 25 and living their own lives and there are no grandkids yet. I’ve struggled on how to remember Todd during the holidays. No one else mentions him, at all. It’s made worse by the fact that he passed on Nov 30. I just feel like hibernating for the entire season.” - Tammy Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

Christina answers the question: “I need to find a way to stop crying. Every day for the past 7 months....the holidays are going to be tough as it will be the first without him. I do the plugins like you suggest but still so many tears. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. Thank you for doing what you do." - Therese Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

Christina answers the question: “This is our first round of holidays without our person. Have plotted things that are different for both Thanksgiving and Christmas so my son and I are not simply staying at home feeling our loss, constantly. This said for the firsts, the anticipation of the event seems to be for me the worst. Event day is pulled together with leaky eyes, recognition of missing our person and getting through the day. I would love to know if this gets easier as years pass, however, I’m beginning to feel nothing really is easier. Things shift. What do you do to remember your person without feeling a crushing sense of loss?” - Katharene Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

Christina answers the question: “This will be my second Christmas without my son, and my birthday is on the December 12th. My question is, How can I stop being forced into celebrating these days when all I want is for them to slip on by? To me, it’s just another day and to me, it just magnifies our loss. I am still demolished and now hide my emotions because it’s just easier for me.” - Marise Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

Christina answers the question: “My life is full of loss and sometimes I believe it will never stop. I lost my daughter in July, she was stillborn. I just found out my brother and sister in law are announcing there pregnancy at thanksgiving dinner. This is a hard question. I know how to act with happiness for them, but how do I deal? How do I get through the holidays knowing they have what I lost?” - Holly Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

Christina answers this question: “I don’t know how to get past the visions of my son fighting for his life last year on December 21-29. I spent that Christmas Day praying for the miracle of all miracles, never to be. And he took his last earthly breath as I had him untethered from life support is on his sister’s birthday December 29th. His only sibling. We as a family are just not looking forward to any of it. The commercials on TV, the decorations, the carols on the radio; our grandchildren are young, so we will have to keep up traditions if we can. My question is, how? Just how. I’ve never listened to a podcast before. Perhaps this is the time to start.” - Cheryl Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

I’m solo on the podcast this week because I wanted to check-in with you as we head into the final days of what has been a deeply felt and unexpected year. I went into recording today’s episode thinking about you, and I’m wondering how you are feeling at the end of 2020? What is your life like? I’ve been wondering how you’ve had to change in the last few months? What was unbearable? What could I say to you today to make you hopeful for 2021? This is not a pep-talk by the way. This is not about a happy ending and how it’s all going to work out. Because it’s not going to all work out the way that you think it should, it never does.  I know that you have struggled, not only because of the struggles that you have faced in your past but because of this added layer of loss has been added, just when you thought you couldn’t carry anymore. Your glass was empty, to begin with, wasn’t it? You didn’t think you could hold anything extra. Then, without any advanced notice, you were handed something new to hold and to carry. Something no one could have predicted While I can’t promise happy endings I’m certain of two things. The first is that 2021 will bring with it less to be afraid of and more to be excited about. Secondly, you don’t need to do any more than you already have. Whatever has happened, or didn’t happen. You are where you need to be.    “You don’t need to do more than you already have. You’ve already done the best that you can, even if you don’t feel like you did. Wherever you are. Whatever happened or didn’t happen in your life this year, you are where you need to be. You are not falling behind and it’s not too late. ” ~ Christina Rasmussen I encourage you to take extra good care of yourself these next few days, and weeks. When you look back, I hope that you will see that you made it through, regardless. Please share this episode and message with others in your life that you think can use it. Please also let me know in the comments below or over on Instagram, how you will be marking the end of 2020. Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

I’m doing something a little different this week and bringing you some of my favorite and most inspiring moments from the podcast this year. It’s been a really hard year. We’ve seen some of the best of humanity and some of the worst this year. Faced some really big fears, and been very courageous. In honor of all of that, I wanted to look back on some of the highlights from the conversations I’ve had this year with people that have done extraordinary things in the face of loss and hardship. As we head into the holiday season that may not be looking or feeling at all like you would wish for, and into a brand new year, where so much still feels uncertain, I hope that you will take some of these inspiring people and ideas with you. I hope that you will continue to look for the magic, the hopefulness, the beauty, and opportunities for connection. One of the main goals of The Dear Life Podcast is to continue to provide a reminder and proof that extraordinary things can come from the hardest moments.   “I hope that you will continue to look for the magic, the hopefulness, the beauty, and opportunities for connection.” ~ Christina Rasmussen   I would love to hear what some of your favorite moments and episodes have been this year on the Dear Life podcast, please comment below or join me on Facebook or Instagram to share with me there. Things I Mention In This Episode Dear Life Podcast: Episode 61 with Alex Jamieson and Bob Gower Dear Life Podcast: Episode 63 with Paul Selig Dear Life Podcast: Episode 65 with Amit Goswami PhD Dear Life Podcast: Episode 66 with Jane Green Dear Life Podcast: Episode 67 with T.S. Harris Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

In today’s episode, I’m welcoming Dr. Jade Teta back for another interview. In our first conversation, Jade and I discussed his personal transformation and how he rewrote the story of his life by unhooking from old patterns, habits, and beliefs.  This time, I asked him to come back to share his vast knowledge of health and wellness. Jade is an integrative physician, author, and expert in the realm of natural health, fitness, metabolism, and self-development. He has spent the last 25 years immersed in the study of strength and conditioning, hormonal metabolism, and the psychology of change and success.  I’m often blown away by how many people can be extraordinary in the world and achieve so many accolades and successes, but when it comes to food it can feel so out of control. I hear so often from people in my community that their health is not where they would like it to be, even if they feel like they are doing all of the “right” things. Particularly those of us with significant grief, loss, and trauma in our lives, as Jade explains this can greatly impact our metabolism and the health of our physical body. Jade is a wonderful teacher and this episode is packed with actionable suggestions and advice to create a flexible metabolism and the health and life that you have been craving. Be sure you have a pen and paper handy when you press play, you’re going to want to take notes! His advice and approach makes me want to cry with joy, because his goal is to make your life easier not harder! The advice that Jade gives is so practical, most anyone can do it. He walks us through the 4 key components of building a healthy metabolism that supports the vibrant life you deserve, and explains why exercise is not nearly as important as you may think (I know I was surprised to hear that!)   “If you are operating from a wrong idea, thinking it is the right idea, you will continue to fail.” ~ Dr. Jade Teta   Jade is someone that walks his talk. He has put in the work and is reaping the benefits in his own life and ready to share with you how he did it. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Dr. Jade Teta as much as I did. I plan to implement a lot of what he shared into my own life. I’d love to hear what you take away from this conversation and what action you plan to take. Comment below or share with me on social media! Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. More About Dr. Jade Teta Dr. Jade Teta is an integrative physician, author, and expert in the realm of natural health, fitness, metabolism, and self-development. He spent the last 25 years immersed in the study of strength and conditioning, hormonal metabolism, and the psychology of change and success.  Dr. Teta currently runs Jade Teta, LLC, and Next Level Human, combining his medical and fitness knowledge with his expertise in self-development and mindset change.  His latest book is a daily meditation on making life changes and based on his 6 Powers.  Human 365 is available on Amazon. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.jadeteta.com  Program: Metabolic Renewal Program: Metabolic Aftershock Program: Metabolic Prime Book: Human 365, by Jade Teta Book: Next Level Tribe, by Jade Teta and Danny Coleman Podcast: Next Level Human with Jade Teta Instagram: www.instagram.com/jadeteta Dear Life Podcast Episode: Episode 77 with Dr. Jade Teta Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

We are about to step into a hard week. Millions of people are not able to be with their families due to loss, due to COVID-19, due to illness, due to divorce, due to many reasons. Whatever the reason is, wherever you are in the world. It can all be so overwhelming. I want you to remember a few things this week to make it easier for you. Please listen to this 6-minute solo episode if you are going to be spending Thanksgiving or the holiday season on your own. To join the free, live zoom calls we will be doing in December, make sure you are a member of The Life Reentry Community on Facebook. Here is where you can joing: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lifereentryc19 Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

NOTE: Please note, this episode contains conversation about suicidal thoughts and attempts. Please take good care of yourself if these topics are triggering or leave you feeling extra tender. If you’re struggling with mental health issues, support is available 24/7 through the Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-8255 and more resources are listed below. In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to a dear friend of mine Erin Matlock. I’m so inspired by people like Erin who have travelled such a long way to create the life they are living now and are also sharing the very raw, real, and difficult moments that they have experienced to get here. The sharing of stories like Erin’s are truly life saving. Erin Matlock is an artist and author with 13 years experience as a consulting strategist in the brain health, neurotech, and mental health markets. An international and TEDx speaker, she boldly challenges the stigma of suicide through deeply personal accounts of survival and recovery. Erin speaks so openly and honestly about her experiences with depression and suicidal ideations, as well as surviving multiple suicidal attempts. While I believe this information is so important to challenging the stigma, guilt, and shame that surrounds the topic of suicide, I do also want to encourage you to take good care of yourself when you listen to this. Know this is a challenging conversation and please seek help and support if you need it (see the links to suicide resources below). During this conversation we explore Erin’s early childhood when she first started to experience the feeling of being different and unable to share her feelings and emotions with others. The way she describes how thoughts and feelings would just replay and “sit” with her gave me chills and I’m sure she put language to what so many people have felt and experienced before.  At the age of 15 she started having suicidal ideations.She shares her reflections on that time and what she thinks her parents could have done then to help her, such as found her support from therapy and also peer groups so that she would have known that it wasn’t just her. She didn’t know at the time that she had options, and how powerful the notion of having options can be. She shares the trauma of being sent to treatment after her suicide attempt and the challenge of families, especially low income, to access support and treatment as well as the stigma of being the person that goes to one of those facilities. Erin talks about the hardest day of her life, waking up in the ICU and coming out of a coma after her last suicide attempt and the thoughts and feelings she had leading up to that attempt and also how it felt to wake up and realize she was still alive. We talk about the people that surrounded her at that time and what a profound impact the small moments I’m so grateful to Erin for sharing these hard moments as this feels like a hidden world because no one wants to talk about it. Erin sharing her story is so powerful at pulling the curtain back so that we can speak more openly about it and help our loved ones.   “I am worth a life that I always thought was reserved for other people.” ~ Erin Matlock   Erin shares the first time she thought maybe she could come back and the promise she made to herself in that hospital bed that was the difference maker. We also speak a lot about the practices and habits that Erin has incorporated into her life now to continue to support her mental health and overall well-being including; exercise, time in nature, the right therapist and the powerful influence of music on changing her state. I asked Erin what she would say to families that have lost someone to suicide, that are often feeling so much anger, guilt, and even shame on top of their grief and sadness. She has such a wise and loving perspective on this. And we talk about the beauty that she is creating in her life now through her poetry and her art. For anyone that feels like they are at rock bottom and in the midst of darkness, whether it’s depression or losing a job or relationship or something else, this conversation is for you. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Erin Matlock as much as I did. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. More About Erin Matlock Erin Matlock is an artist and author with 13 years experience as a consulting strategist in the brain health, neurotech and mental health markets. She is Founder of BRAIN SUMMIT, a life member of Mensa® and a globally recognized mindset coach.  An international and TEDx speaker, she boldly challenges the stigma of suicide through deeply personal accounts of survival and recovery. You can connect with her via her website, Facebook, and Instagram  Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.erinmatlock.com Book: Worth It: Poetry, by Erin Matlock TEDxTalk: The Search for a Happier Brain, by Erin Matlock How to Help Someone in Crisis 10 Things to Say to a Suicidal Person Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I’m solo again on the podcast this week because this moment in time, for our country and for the world is not something I could ignore. I’ve had some comments on my social media telling me to stay in my lane and just stick to talking about grief but I couldn’t stay silent about this. This last week especially, but actually these last four years, have created so much divisiveness among neighbors, friends, and even within families. Many of you are feeling overwhelmed and sad and this is adding to the grief that so many are already facing after loss, the pandemic, and so much more. In this short episode, I share with you how I’m choosing to look at the divide between us and sharing some hope that yes, I think we can overcome this and find a way forward together.   “I do believe that we can find a way forward. I do believe that we can try to help people understand each other. We're still here sharing this journey on planet Earth, and we will get through this. ” ~ Christina Rasmussen   I encourage you to take extra good care of yourself these next few days, weeks, and even months. Perhaps unplug from social media, spend more time in nature, get extra sleep. And of course, let’s take care of each other as well. After all, we are all the collective crew on spaceship Earth. Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

I’m so very happy to introduce you to this week’s guest, author, poet, and blogger Mark Liebenow. Mark is one of the very few people I feel I can truly relate to in terms of his complex journey with grief. There is something about the way he writes that is very healing. His presence and the way he speaks about grief is very rare in my opinion. I was so immersed in his writing when I first discovered him and again in preparing for this conversation. I do hope you will explore Mark’s work and world after listening to this episode. After the unexpected death of his first wife in 2001, he found that the writing he found about grief wasn’t mirroring the complex emotional landscape that he was feeling. He found that the experience of grief made him more whole and able to express his emotions more fully, which has been a gift from this experience but also a regret that his wife Evelyn wasn’t able to experience this side of him.   “Grief opened a door to wholeness and I don’t want to close it.” ~ Mark Liebenow   Mark speaks so beautifully about his journeys to Yosemite National Park after Evelyn’s death, which he also documents in his book Mountains of Light, and how those trips and nature played an integral role in his grieving. He says he began to look at what nature had to say about life and death. He explains grief as a wilderness that has no trails. There is so much that we can learn from it. Grief can be a teacher, a catalyst for change, and even a grace. He explains that while in the woods he noticed that, “nature mourns it’s losses for a moment, and then moves on because change is constant there. The lesson I learned from that is that all of life changes and we have to change with it.” We also speak about his experience dating again after Evelyn’s death and falling in love with his second wife Marcia. He and I both share some of the differences that happen with the new relationship and we wonder out loud what our first partners may think about who we are with now. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Mark Liebenow as much as I did. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. More About Mark Liebenow Mark Liebenow writes about the journey of grief, the wonder of nature, and the wisdom of fools. The author of four books, his essays and poems have been published in numerous journals, and his work has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes and named a notable by Best American Essays. Mark writes a blog for all who grieve at http://widowersgrief.blogspot.com . His account of hiking in Yosemite to deal with his wife’s death, Mountains of Light, was published by the University of Nebraska Press. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram  Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.markliebenow.com Blog: A Widower’s Grief Book: Mountains of Light; Seasons of Reflection in Yosemite, by Mark Liebenow Book: The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life, by Donald Rosenstein and Justin Yopp Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

I’m excited to introduce Dr. Jade Teta to you today because his gifts in this world are so massive and incredible. Jade is an integrative physician, author, and expert in the realm of natural health, fitness, metabolism, and self-development. He has spent the last 25 years immersed in the study of strength and conditioning, hormonal metabolism, and the psychology of change and success. While he is technically in the health industry, it feels more accurate to call it the human industry. During this conversation, we go all the way to the beginning to talk about his childhood and how even in the 2nd grade he found himself running a bootcamp for his friends and living what he calls, his purpose. It’s almost as if his childhood self has been guiding him all along. We also talk about some of the traditional and invisible losses he has experienced throughout his life including the duality of his relationship with his mother and also the end of his marriage. His mother was the first person that saw him and also someone that wounded him.  Jade is not afraid to get candid and I’m so grateful at how openly and honestly he shares about big topics like his biggest regret and biggest pain in his life. I believe that you’ll be surprised and inspired by his response to my question about the biggest pain in his life. I think he has achieved so much mastery of reentry and reinvention and becoming himself, because of the deep pain and heartache.    “Life is about losing yourself to find yourself once again.” ~ Dr. Jade Teta   We spend a lot of time talking about what he has learned from the pain and how he has, as he puts it, turned it into purpose. He explains why he feels it is important to speak openly, and face directly, what we are afraid of in order to prepare for battle with what life has to offer.  One of the key points in the conversation, in my opinion, is when Jade reminded us that we need other people to find the truth and that we can’t possibly know it on our own. Jade is someone that walks his talk. He has put in the work and is reaping the benefits in his own life and ready to share with you how he did it. He wants to encourage everyone to, “Find your fears or they will find you. Confront your demons or they will consume you. Celebrate your failures, knowing only they can lead to future success. Stop being afraid of what stands in your way, because those things show you the way.” I hope you enjoy this conversation with Dr. Jade Teta as much as I did. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. More About Dr. Jade Teta Dr. Jade Teta is an integrative physician, author, and expert in the realm of natural health, fitness, metabolism, and self-development. He spent the last 25 years immersed in the study of strength and conditioning, hormonal metabolism, and the psychology of change and success.  Dr. Teta currently runs Jade Teta, LLC, and Next Level Human, combining his medical and fitness knowledge with his expertise in self-development and mindset change.  His latest book is a daily meditation on making life changes and based on his 6 Powers.  Human 365 is available on Amazon. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,  Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.jadeteta.com  Book: Human 365, by Jade Teta Book: Next Level Tribe, by Jade Teta and Danny Coleman Podcast: Next Level Human with Jade Teta Instagram: www.instagram.com/jadeteta Dear Life Podcast Episode: Episode 19 with Ari Whitten Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

This week on the podcast I am speaking with you about something that cannot be seen, cannot be felt directly, and cannot be acknowledged easily by yourself or others. This thing is also something that prevents you from healing and prevents you from what I call Life Reeentry. It can stop you from feeling joy, can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. I call this thing, an invisible loss. In my life, I’ve gone through big traditional losses, like the loss of my husband and also the loss of my first child. What I’ve learned is, that what makes those things even harder to Reenter from, are the survival mechanisms that we have built inside of us when we were a child and we dealt with something difficult yet invisible. Invisible losses can be experiences like being bullied or rejected, not feeling listened to or heard, when we have found ourselves in situations that were harsh, and left us feeling hurt and uncertain. “Just because the world doesn't see an experience you had as significant, does not mean that it's not. Overcoming the invisible parts of my life that were hard has been a bigger struggle than the bigger, most tragic, and intense events of my past.” ~ Christina Rasmussen   We likely didn’t really talk about those things. We just dealt with them. We buried them inside of us and we created coping mechanisms to survive them. And as the years go by, we use those coping mechanisms to survive work, our bosses, our peers, some of our friends, some of our family members. And then, of course, to survive the bigger tragedies of our lives. We find ourselves in this place where we yet again have to survive. Survive and endure the covid-19 pandemic and all of the visible and invisible losses, political unrest, the climate crises, and more. The details of these events and circumstances and how these feel every day are never talked about and they're never shared because complaining about something that is not considered a big deal is often looked upon as a weakness. I want to share with you that I believe this is wrong and that I believe it is just as important to process and grieve the invisible losses as it is the bigger, more traditional losses. Even the more traditional, visible losses become invisible over time. You may have found that 6 months or a year after a death or divorce or major health crises that no one asks you about it anymore. They have moved on and feel as though you should too. One takeaway from this episode I hope that you’ll consider is that what you may see as the smallest, tiniest moments of struggle in your life are also significant and they deserve to be acknowledged and processed. In doing this, you’ll be able to move through the waiting room and become unstuck in your life. I truly cannot emphasize how important this is. When I started doing my Life Reentry classes in 2010, they were supposed to be for the tragedies of our lives. To overcome and reenter from the bigger events of our lives, yet what I discovered was that what was more difficult to reenter from were these prior invisible dramatic traumatic events that we never talked about. The more seemingly insignificant ones. If you would like to take a class on this, my next Life Reentry class is starting on October 27th, 2020. You can get all the details and register here. Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

I’m solo on the podcast again this week and I want to speak with you about the change that is happening inside of us. The changes that come to us with age, with perspective and with experience. Lately, I’ve been thinking about all of the choices that I’ve made and wonder if they were the right ones. The jobs, the travels, the relationships, all of it. I think that perhaps it comes with age. Looking for the answer to the question, “Did I live myself the right way?” With perspective, I can look back at many of these decisions and choices and know that the woman I am now would choose differently. But, given the chance to choose differently back then, would I? It’s the culmination of all of those choices that have led me to now. It’s been an education.   “I’m more educated about my own life, about the world, and what’s important. We get freedom later in life. We get to unlock all the prisons that we put ourselves in.” ~ Christina Rasmussen   The question I want to ask you today to think about for this week is, Who am I now and what do I need to look at from my past? From this different point of view, answering those questions is so important so that you can choose the right path ahead of you. We get freedom later in life. We get freedom from what we learn from our experiences and choices, the joyous ones and the extremely difficult ones. We’ve earned the right to unlock ourselves from the prisons we have put ourselves in and decide how to move forward. I’d love for you to comment below or continue the conversation on Instagram to let me know what you think and even share some of your experiences if you’re comfortable. Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

I’m solo on the podcast again this week and I’m sharing my thoughts and personal experience on a topic I wasn’t sure I should talk about. I almost didn't want to talk about this because I am not a nutritionist. I'm not a health coach or someone who has studied food in any way, but I am sharing this from my own perspective and my own understanding of food and nutrition and what it means to choose the food we want to eat. This week, I’m talking about my personal experience of going vegan. It was a decision I made almost exactly a year ago and one that I get a lot of questions about. It’s also changed me in a profound way, well beyond just the food on my plate. Food and what we eat is a very personal experience and I wanted to share with you what changed for me and how this past year has gone. I have no agenda to change your diet one way or another, but simply to encourage you to pay attention, examine what you’re being told, and then ask yourself if it fits for you.   “Imagine if we were just free to eat the way we want to eat. I encourage you to make decisions about what you're eating based on a conscious, aware experience versus what we have been told or what we think is expected of us.” ~ Christina Rasmussen   I also talk about some new awareness this shift in eating has brought me around our self-image and how we connect what we eat to the way our body looks and the value we place on ourselves. I share with you the question that I now ask myself every morning about what I would like to eat, and it’s a question I encourage you to ask yourself each day as well. At the end of the day, this is your body in this physical reality we call the 3rd Dimension. You get to choose how to take care of it. I hope that this episode, and my personal experience, gives you permission to put joy and intention back into the way that you eat and your relationship with food. I hope it encourages you to think about the choices you are making and asking yourself if they are still (or ever did) work for you. Imagine if we were just free to eat the way we want to eat. I’d love for you to comment below or continue the conversation on Instagram to let me know what you think and even share some of your experiences if you’re comfortable. Things I Mention In This Episode Book: The OMD Plan: Swap One Meal a Day to Save Your Health and Save the Planet, by Suzy Amis Cameron Documentary: The Game Changers Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

I’m solo on the podcast this week and I’m sharing my thoughts on a topic I get asked about a lot. It’s also a topic that can cause a lot of fear and uncertainty and even controversy! This week, I’m talking about dating and the desire to form a relationship after loss. If you're looking to partner with or to share your life with someone, dating is complex and a lot of people find it really hard to do. It’s understandable to find it hard to put yourself out there again after a death, divorce, infidelity, or break up but I’d like to offer a different view on dating… what if it was easy?   “What if we spend time creating our life, ourselves, and making it the way we want it to be. And then look for someone with whom we want to share that amazing life?” ~ Christina Rasmussen   I share what I’ve learned and come to believe about dating after loss, and why I don’t apologize for my independence or the woman I became in response to what happened. My idea of letting it be easy comes from the idea that instead of looking for someone to build a new life around, what if we rebuilt or created our own beautiful life and then allowed someone to share in it with us? It takes the pressure off, and it allows us to stop waiting for someone to show up for us - we can instead show up for ourselves. If you are looking for a new relationship after a loss I hope you’ll listen. Please also share this with anyone else in your life that you think might benefit from this message. I’d love for you to comment below or continue the conversation on Instagram to let me know what you think and even share some of your experiences if you’re comfortable. Things I Mention In This Episode Sign up for the Second Firsts Message in a Bottle HERE. Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

There are some people that come by your life and you realize that they are not only special because of what their impact has been on our world but also who they are as a human being. This was the first interview I did for the Dear Life podcast. And I remember feeling so nervous not only because it was the first episode but also because I was meeting someone I admired so much. Nicole Stott is someone that has a perspective of the earth and life that only about 500 people in history have ever had the opportunity to experience. Extraordinary, right!? Nicole not only is an astronaut but also an artist who creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with her artwork. And of course it’s important to note that this conversation was originally recorded in May 2019, when the world was a much different place, and the global pandemic we’ve been facing with COVID-19 seemed like the plot of a science fiction movie! However, this conversation feels more timely than ever as the pandemic and other world events remind us of our interconnectedness and interdependence with each other and all living things on this planet.   “There is an undeniable interconnectivity. The impact we have on each other is timeless.” ~ Nicole Stott, Astronaut and Artist   One of the things that I love the most about Nicole is that she is just so down to earth. She spoke about her most challenging, scary, and doubtful moments she encountered during her training for her space missions and also experiencing her first space walk. We also talk a lot about the Overview Effect and what her time in space has taught her about all of our lives here on earth. She is passionate about remembering that, as she puts it, “we are all crew members on spaceship Earth.” Nicole shares why she is feeling hopeful for the future and the need for taking ACTION and personal responsibility, again this message is needed now more than ever! We talked about how she combines her unique experiences on the International Space Station and her love of art and creation to raise awareness about solutions to our planetary challenges and the surprising connection between science and art. I hope it will inspire you in your own life, because it certainly inspired me.   More About Nicole Stott Nicole Stott is an Astronaut, Aquanaut, and Artist who creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with her artwork to inspire everyone’s appreciation of our role as crewmates here on spaceship Earth. She believes that the international model of peaceful and successful cooperation we have experienced in the extreme environments of space and sea holds the key to the same kind of peaceful and successful cooperation for all of humanity here on Earth. A personal highlight from her spaceflight experience was painting the first watercolor in space, which is now on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in DC. She is the founder of the Space for Art Foundation, and co-founder of Constellation.Earth.  To see images of Nicole’s artwork and learn more about her you can visit her website and also follow her on Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: https://www.npsdiscovery.com/  Website: Space for Art Foundation Instagram: Nicole Stott  Wikipedia: The Overview Effect The Nature Conservancy Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you! Please continue the conversation with me on Instagram or Facebook.

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Dr, Rick Hanson Ph.D. Rick describes himself as a neuropsychologist and is also a New York Times bestselling author and Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. His books have been published in 29 languages with 900,000 copies being sold in English alone. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. What all of that comes down to is that he is an expert when it comes to the brain and how it responds to various events and behaviors. This includes grief and loss, which is what we talk about a lot in this conversation. One of the first things I noticed about Rick in preparation for our time together was that he has such a systematic easy to follow approach to his teachings as well as his calm nature. I started our conversation by asking him about where he thinks that calm came from originally to which he credits some of it to his parents.  We also talk about how he explains the process of loss in the brain and why it might be that dealing with loss is harder for some brains than others. Rick shared some of the ways that we can move through loss and grief in a more resilient way including self-soothing, community, meaning making, and finding comfort in knowing that everyone suffers loss.   “There is something weirdly freeing and calming that happens when we locate our own losses within the tapestry of so many torn threads in the human fabric.” ~ Dr. Rick Hanson   Rick shares so eloquently his knowing of the Divine and particularly the feeling of coming home. He talks about what it feels like to come home through your breath and that when you come home to your body and emotions you develop more capacity and ease in all parts of your life. He feels that this process and ability to come home is the bridge between the brain and the deeper, felt sense of knowing we wish for everyone. Rick talks about the idea that all sickness at the core, is homesickness. When we lose someone we love, we can experience a kind of homesickness because we lose the sense of where and who we are and our world literally feels turned upside down.  There is something about the way he brings all the worlds together, scientific and spiritual, that is so profound and helpful. I hope you will listen to this. This conversation helped me to see my own experience of loss in a different way and I’m so grateful. When I asked him what he’d like everyone listening to take away from the conversation, his answer was simple yet so healing and beautiful. It was this, “You are good already.” It’s true. Without striving or pushing or accomplishing or anything else. Just as you are, you are good already. We can lose so much in our lifetimes, but Rick hopes you are able to hang onto this Truth that can never be taken away from you ~ you are good already. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Dr. Rick Hanson as much as I did. Please share it with your friends and family, and be sure to tag me if you share it on social media so that I can say thank you. I’m @christinarasmussen7 on Instagram and @ChristinaRasmussen2014 on Facebook. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Dr. Rick Hanson Rick Hanson, PhD is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His books have been published in 29 languages and include Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture – with 900,000 copies in English alone.  His free weekly newsletter has 180,000 subscribers and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial need. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and is the founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. He loves wilderness and taking a break from emails. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.rickhanson.net  Book: Neurodharma, by Dr. Rick Hanson Audio Book: Neurodharma, by Dr. Rick Hanson Book: Resilient, by Dr. Rick Hanson with Forrest Hanson Program: Neurodharma Online Program Newsletter: Just One Thing Newsletter, by Dr. Rick Hanson Podcast: Being Well Podcast, with Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest Hanson Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Jessie Sheehan. Jessie is an actress, turned lawyer, turned professional baker! I’m very happy to share her story with you. The very first thing that stood out to me was Jessie’s energy. I feel like she could run around the world 3 times before the rest of us wake up. When you listen to this conversation or if you follow her on social media, you’ll instantly see what I mean. Jessie shares her transformation from wanting to be an actress and pursuing that as a career for many years. From there, she became a lawyer and worked in that world. Then, starting as an unpaid granola sorter, she entered the world of food and baking and has not looked back!  I am convinced that no matter the career of choice, Jessie is made to entertain. Her energy is palpable, she is clearly made for this. We talk about how showing her true personality through videos that she has been creating during the coronavirus pandemic have helped to attract people to her and that she is ok with the knowing that she isn’t for everyone.   “Everything comes full circle. Everything happens for a reason. The hustle pays off. If you continue to put your energy out there eventually you will be rewarded.” ~ Jessie Sheehan   She also shares some of the hardest times in her life including her battle with breast cancer, and why she credits baking for helping her through that difficult time. We talk about her thriver self and how she comes back to this part of herself when things feel hard and dark. Jessie is proof that it’s never too late to start over, create a second (or third act), and yes have all of those second firsts. Jessie’s work, books, and baking creations will brighten up your life if you dive into her world. She makes me feel happy! Food is pleasure and at this time in the world, we need this more than ever.   I hope that you enjoy and feel inspired by this conversation as much as I did. I hope that after listening you will connect to Jessie’s story and look for something that maybe you had put off or thought that you were too late or too old to start. Please also share this with anyone in your life that you think could use this message, and of course be sure to check out Jessie’s delicious recipes. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Jessie Sheehan Jessie Sheehan is a professional baker, recipe developer, food writer, and author of The Vintage Baker and Icebox Cakes. Jessie’s specialty is creating old-fashioned American desserts with a modern twist. The Vintage Baker was one of the Washington Post’s Best Cookbooks of 2018, and Jessie has contributed recipes to Better Homes & Gardens, Rachael Ray Everyday, Washington Post, Food Network, and many more. You can connect with her via her website, Facebook, TikTok, and on Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: jessiesheehanbakes.com  Book: The Vintage Baker, by Jessie Sheehan Book: Icebox Cakes, by Jessie Sheehan Recipe: Lemon Snacking Cakes Recipe: Chocolate Snacking Cakes Recipe: Cinnamon Buns Recipe: Donuts Dear Life Podcast Episode: Episode 66 with Jane Green Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Laura Day. Laura is a practicing intuitive and a New York Times bestselling author. I first came across her work many years ago and what struck me most about her was her integrity and her willingness to be fully human, even within the spiritual and self-help world where that can often get bypassed. In this conversation, Laura shares some of the traumatic events she has experienced and how she feels they played an integral role in her honing her intuition. She says she has “ruined her life more times than she can count. She has become someone she detests quite a few times as well.” Her ability to own those truths and also see that each of those moments are also a seed of greatness is truly inspiring. We talk about the idea that life begins again and again and again and again and that loss is the only actual guarantee in all of this. She shares that she feels the human ability to mourn is very important. To mourn the people we were when our loved one was still alive, and the person that has died themselves. Both losses need to be mourned because a lot has been lost, but she reminds us that over time we can still have a new relationship with those that have passed. Laura actually shared one of the ways she connects with her mother, two siblings and others that have died that you may want to try as well.   “You resolve the past by living the present better. You choose the future and secure the future, by living the present better.” ~ Laura Day   We talk a lot about what it means to be mindful and truly present in our lives, as well as the idea that the present moment is truly all that we have and all that is real. And in order to be fully present, it requires bravery and courage because it means that we must also acknowledge that the moment will end and move to our past. Being in the present moment requires us to meet the grief head on. I hope that you enjoy and feel uplifted by this conversation as much as I did. I hope that after listening you will connect to Laura’s tips at the end for finding more mindfulness, ease and presence in your day. May you also find comfort in knowing that you are only physically separated from those that you lost, but your ability to maintain a new kind of relationship and connection does not end. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Laura Day Laura Day is a practicing intuitive and New York Times bestselling author. Newsweek magazine calls her “The $10,000-a-Month Psychic,” adding “When business people need a crystal ball, they turn to consultant Laura Day, the ‘intuitionist.’” Laura’s work has helped demystify intuition and bring it into the mainstream. In her workshops and presentations, she demonstrates the practical, verifiable, and sometimes astonishing uses of intuition in the fields of business, science, medicine, and personal growth. Laura has trained thousands of people and companies to use their brains, perceptions, and “sixth sense” in effective ways to realize their goals. You can connect with her via her website and on Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.lauraday.com Book: Welcome to Your Crisis, by Laura Day Book: The Circle, by Laura Day Forbes Article: Psychic Capital, by Wendy Sachs Book: Grist for the Mill, by Ram Dass Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m so happy to share a beautiful conversation with someone you may think you know well based on his very popular books; Conversations With God. The Conversations with God series has been translated into 37 languages has redefined God and shifted spiritual paradigms around the globe. The messages he has shared through these books have impacted millions of people, including myself. Neale’s work has been so important for me personally, and I know it has felt that way for so many in my community as well. That’s why it was so special to be able to meet the man behind these books. Neale openly shares what changed for him after writing this series of books and why he doesn’t allow his face to appear on any of his 38 published books. It was important for him to note that he is not his books, he is simply the messenger and doesn’t always feel like it’s easy or realistic for him to “walk the talk”. He says that he had the same experience writing the book as those who read it, except he was reading it one paragraph at a time as it came through. During our conversation, Neale speaks about his childhood and how he always felt a strong pull to the Divine and our connection to the universe. His “dark night of the soul experience” during which he was homeless and living on the street for almost a year, and how ultimately it was the best thing that has happened to him. We also spoke about his wife and how meeting her felt like he had finally met his “other”.   “God is talking to all of us all the time. God’s message, wisdom, and clarity is available to every single human being at all times, because it lives inside of each of us. There is no separation. We are individuations of the Divine.” ~ Neale Donald Walsch   Neale shared what he felt was the most important and fundamental takeaway from the Conversations with God series, and that it is found in the first few paragraphs of the first book - We are all having conversations with God and the Divine all the time. It’s not that you CAN have the conversation, it’s that you already ARE! Neale says that organized religions have taught us that we need an expert or someone outside of us to help us get closer to God, but that isn’t true. In his experience and through the messages he has received, Neale wants us to know that God is talking to each and every one of us all the time. The important part is that we need to be open to the messages, nudges, synchronicities and other ways that God is trying to connect with us.  At the end of the conversation, I asked Neale about what he would tell people about dealing with death and with grief. He credits Elizabeth Kubler-Ross for teaching him all he’s ever come to know about grief and his first point of advice is to feel it all. To let yourself feel all of your feelings and honor the relationship you have with grief. Then, when some time has passed, he suggests taking a look at whether you can connect with them and their continued presence in your life. He uses the terms “continuation day” to describe the day that someone dies as a reminder that you will all be together again, your time as close ones has not ended and it cannot end. I hope that you enjoy and feel uplifted by this conversation as much as I did. I hope that after listening you will look for and pay attention to all the ways that God is speaking to you during the day and that you find comfort in knowing that you are only physically separated from those that you lost, but your connection to them does not end. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Neale Donald Walsch Neale Donald Walsch is a modern day spiritual messenger whose words continue to touch the world in profound ways. With an early interest in religion and a deeply felt connection to spirituality, Neale spent the majority of his life thriving professionally, yet searching for spiritual meaning before experiencing his now famous conversation with God. The Conversations with God series of books that emerged from those encounters has been translated into 37 languages, touching millions and inspiring important changes in their day-to-day lives.  Neale has written 38 books on contemporary spirituality and its practical application in everyday life. Conversations with God has redefined God and shifted spiritual paradigms around the globe. In order to deal with the enormous response to his writings, Neale has created an internet platform, www.CWGConnect.com , where the scope and breadth of the CWG messages may be explored and deeply studied, in audio, video, and written form, and where readers may get answers to any questions they may have about the material in the Ask Neale blog. Neale has a home in southern Oregon where he lives with his wife, the American poet, Em Claire ( www.emclairepoet.com ). They have traveled extensively throughout the world, speaking to audiences and sharing the messages of the Conversations with God body of work. You can connect with him via his website, Twitter, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: Conversations with God Foundation Movie: The Answer Man Book: Conversations with God; An Uncommon Dialogue, by Neale Donald Walsch Poet: Em Claire Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m thrilled to introduce you to one of my very favorite artists, T.S. (Tracey) Harris. Tracey has been with me for many years as I have owned a print of one of her paintings (The Floating Girl) that has hung in my office and reminds me to connect with the free parts of myself. Her work has impacted so many people and the images she creates convey such a feeling of impermanence, longing and nostalgia. Tracey has such a beautiful energy and this conversation took many unexpected turns as she shared her story and her journey from childhood to now. She spoke about how art influenced her life and also how her life has influenced her art. As she grew into herself more and connected with her true self, she reflects on how her paintings became bigger and bolder and attracted the attention of a movie director for an Indie Film called The Face of Love starring Ed Harris and Annette Benning. I enjoyed listening to some of the behind the scenes stories of the filming of this movie, including the moment she gave Ed Harris a painting lesson on the set while the cameras were rolling! For Tracey, that experience was a dream come to life, and as she said in the interview, the universe dreamed it up so much better than she could have imagined. It is no surprise to me that the woman that paints these deeply emotional paintings, has such a deep emotional world. We connected over her love of Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay, and how their work and her mediation practice supported her to connect with the universe and her own inner knowing when thing got hard.   “There is a place for everybody. There is a reason for everyone. We are not here as a random accident. We are here to look inward and then express ourselves outward.” ~ T.S. Harris   I have deep respect and gratitude for Tracey for sharing both the exhilarating and joyful moments of her journey, but also the difficult and darker moments. As I mentioned to her during our conversation, sharing those more challenging parts of our lives can literally be life saving for other people. As I listened to Tracey share her hero's journey, I felt so connected to her.  Tracey feels like she is now the person she was always meant to be, but it wasn’t always the case.  I hope that Tracey’s story inspires you to follow your dreams and to keep going even when it seems impossible and to know that you are not alone. Please also share it with anyone else in your life that may benefit from this conversation. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About T.S. Harris You can connect with her via her website and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: http://tsylvesterharris.com/portfolio/ Movie: The Face of Love Book: The Power of Intention, by Wayne Dyer Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m thrilled to introduce you to one of my very favorite authors, Jane Green. First of all, I want to say that I adore her. I love her books, as do so many others since she has 18 New York Times best sellers! However, the reason I wanted her on the podcast is because her life is important. The way she shows up and the choices she has made to live more fully and with intention has been so inspiring for me, and I hope it will inspire you too. I mentioned to Jane that I’ve noticed a shift over the last few years in the way that she has shown up in the world and said yes to herself. We don’t know each other personally, but even on social media it’s been very obvious that she has started to live more inline with who she truly is. When I asked her about this, we had a beautiful conversation about what turning 50 meant to her, how she evaluated where she was at in life and what she truly desired. She spoke about the realization that she had become quite isolated from people and was longing for deeper connections with friends. She also realized that many of the choices she was making in life were to fit in or please other people, much more than they were what she truly wanted or was best for her.   “I’ve stopped focusing on the destinations and the goals and put the focus on the journey.” ~ Jane Green   We talk about the power of gratitude and the relief and freedom that can be found when you start truly saying yes to yourself and make mindful choices and to choose happiness. Jane also honestly shares some of the invisible losses she experienced as a child and how they influenced her as an adult and as a writer, and how she has found a way to be grateful for even the hardest moments. Jane spoke candidly about the loss of her best friend to breast cancer and the profound learning that she came away from that experience with ~ that love is a verb. True love requires action. Wow right? We also talk about the novel that was born out of that personal experience and also about what it means to Jane to write, her process and some of her upcoming releases. I have deep respect and gratitude for Jane for living her life the way that she has, and for sharing her journey with the world. She is such an inspiration to me and I know she will be for you as well. If you have been looking for permission to redefine your life or to start living it on your own terms, consider this conversation the sign that you’ve been waiting for. Please also share it with anyone else in your life that may benefit from this honest, raw, and real conversation. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Jane Green Jane Green is the author of 20 novels including 18 New York Times bestsellers. She lives in Connecticut with a small menagerie of (mostly) grown children who really shouldn't be home, and animals. You can connect with her via her website and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Promises to Keep, by Jane Green Book: The Friends We Keep, by Jane Green Website: www.janegreen.com Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I am so happy to introduce you to Amit Goswami Ph.D. is a spiritual teacher who describes himself as a Quantum Activist in search of Wholeness. I first found Amit’s work when my first husband died in 2006 as I was looking for answers. His many books and ideas will transform how you see not only your life, but also death and time and space. Even during a virtual conversation the energy of love and kindness emanates from him.  This conversation may challenge you and I hope that you will come along with us with a sense of curiosity and possibility. Some of the questions and topics that we cover during our time together include; what is the essence of a person, what remains and what goes when someone dies, and the connection between meaning and purpose in our lives. Dr. Goswami shares his ideas about the healing properties of nostalgia and how it can offer new meaning to old experiences, an idea I’m certain many in my community can relate to and find comfort in. As well as what mediums and channels are actually connecting to when they communicate with the loved ones that we have lost.   “Nostalgia provides new meaning to an old experience. Therefore, it is a healing experience for us. It adds color and new direction to our life.” ~ Amit Goswami Ph.D.   We speak about grief and love and what Dr. Goswami calls non local connection, which is ultimately that intangible feeling we have with some people that we find hard to explain. We also talk about the need for the body and mind to be in constant connection and the importance of allowing our cells to live out their purpose for optimal physical and immune health. This is a mind altering and expansive conversation. Dr. Goswami’s work has been very impactful and influential in my own life and I hope that it opens you up to new ideas and concepts as well. I would love to hear what you learn or take away from this episode, please comment below or connect with me on Instagram. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Amit Goswami Ph.D. Amit Goswami is a retired professor of physics from the University of Oregon where he served from 1968-1997. In 1985, he discovered the solution to the quantum measurement problem and developed a science of experience explaining how consciousness splits into subject and object. Subsequently, he developed a theory of reincarnation and integrated conventional and alternative medicine within the new quantum science of health. Among his discoveries are the quantum theory of the creative process, the theory of quantum evolution, the theory of quantum economics that extends Adam’s Smith’s capitalism into a workable paradigm for the 21st century, and the theory of quantum spirituality based on an exploration of wholeness. In 1999, he started a movement called quantum activism, now gaining ground in North and South America, Southern and Eastern Europe, and India. In 2018, he and his collaborators established Quantum Activism Vishwalayam, an institution of transformative education in India, based on quantum science and the primacy of consciousness.  Amit is the author of numerous books, most notably: The Self-Aware Universe, Physics of the Soul, The Quantum Doctor, God is Not Dead, Quantum Creativity, The Everything Answer Book, and Quantum Spirituality (with Valentina Onisor, MD). He was featured in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? and the documentaries Dalai Lama Renaissance and The Quantum Activist. Amit is a spiritual practitioner and calls himself a quantum activist in search of Wholeness. You can connect with him via his website, Twitter, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Quantum Spirituality, by Amit Goswami Ph.D. Book: The Quantum Doctor, by Amit Goswami Ph.D. Book: Physics of the Soul, by Amit Goswani Ph.D. Book: Biocentrism, by Robert Lanza Book: Beyond Biocentrism, by Robert Lanza Book: Holographic Universe, by Michael Talbot Website: www.amitgoswami.org  Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In this episode, Christina shares a short message intended to uplift you in the morning and start the day right. You can subscribe to her newsletter “Message in a Bottle” to receive special messages like these every Friday morning: Second Firsts - Message in a Bottle Dear Life Podcast

In today’s episode, I am speaking with the extraordinary Paul Selig. I first experienced Paul’s work and channeled messages as I drove through the Berkeley woods in Northern California many years ago. I don’t so much remember the exact words, but the energy of the words has always stayed with me and didn’t want my car ride to end. Paul Selig is considered to be one of the foremost spiritual channels working today. In his 8 books of channeled literature, he has recorded an extraordinary program for personal and planetary evolution. A spiritual experience in 1987, which he describes in this conversation, left him clairvoyant. Described as “a medium for the living,” Paul has the unique ability to “step in” to the people his clients ask about, often taking on their personalities and physical characteristics. We talk about some of his early experiences and how he integrated his abilities into his life and found a way to open to what was coming through him. He shares how the guides speak through him, in what he calls a “freaky arrangement”, and how he doesn’t get to choose what they offer or teach. He considers himself a “radio” for the guides to channel messages through him. Paul shares some messages from the guides about grief and death and also some of what he has been told about this time in history, which is unlike anything humankind has known before. We talk about what manifestation really means and his answer to the BIG question of why “bad” things seem to happen to “good people.   “What is true is always true. It’s not convenient. It’s not going to fix things in the way we wish it would. It is about re-knowing, and reclaiming who we truly are, and have always been.” ~ Paul Selig   I hope that you will listen to the end where you will have a front row seat to experience Paul channeling messages from the guides. It was an extraordinary thing to witness that I described as watching a dance. I will never forget it.  I hope this interview brings you some peace and a deeper understanding that the loved ones you are missing are ok. That grieving is normal and natural, but we need not stay there. The waiting room is not meant to be where we remain, it’s a portal to our new life. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Paul Selig Paul Selig is considered to be one of the foremost spiritual channels working today. In his breakthrough works of channeled literature, including I Am the Word, Beyond the Known: Realization, and Alchemy (August 2020) he has recorded an extraordinary program for personal and planetary evolution as humankind awakens to its own divine nature. Paul was born in New York City and received his master’s degree from Yale. A spiritual experience in 1987 left him clairvoyant. Described as “a medium for the living,” Paul has the unique ability to “step in” to the people his clients ask about, often taking on their personalities and physical characteristics. His work has been featured on ABC News Nightline, Fox News, the Biography Channel series The UneXplained and elsewhere. Paul offers channeled workshops internationally. A noted educator, he served on the faculty of New York University for over 25 years and is the former director of the MFA in Writing Program at Goddard College, where he now serves on the Board of Trustees. He lives in New York City where he maintains a private practice as an intuitive and conducts frequent live-stream seminars. You can connect with him via his website, Instagram, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Alchemy, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig Book: The Book of Truth, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig Book: The Book of Mastery, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig Book: The Book of Love and Creation, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig Book: I Am The Word, A Channeled Text by Paul Selig Website: www.paulselig.com  Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In this episode, Christina checks in with everyone to offer a little bit of reassurance during the uncertain times that COVID-19 has brought into our daily lives. You can subscribe to her newsletter “Message in a Bottle” to receive weekly letters every Friday morning: Second Firsts - Message in a Bottle And you can join the Life Re-Entry COVID-10 Facebook Group here: COVID-19 Support Facebook Group dearlifepodcast.com  

In today’s episode, I’m welcoming back our first repeat guest, Alex Jamieson. However, this time she is also joined by her husband Bob Gower. They have written a new book together called Radical Alignment, and as I mentioned to them during our conversation, I believe it should be required reading for all university and college students, CEOs, politicians, and quite honestly everyone! I think their souls have timed this book with the world’s inability to have a conversation that can solve problems.  In this conversation, I speak with Alex and Bob about how they met and the evolution of their relationship. They share lessons learned from previous relationships and how they broke old patterns to allow this one to be different. They explain how they moved through each phase of their relationship with intention and they agreed that “if something is important, then we are going to talk about it.” They talk about their methodology for having difficult and challenging conversations, and how to engage with loved ones even when you don’t agree. There is a condition though, you can only use this with people who are there in good faith. They have to want to connect with you and be willing to allow a different perspective than their own. We could use more of that in our world right now, couldn’t we? As Bob explains during this conversation, “relationships are people growing machines. You get the support, solace, fun, and excitement only when you embrace the opportunity to learn and become a better version of yourself.” Working on ourselves is great, but the real expansion and growth opportunities come when we are in relation to others.   “When you give yourself over to a relationship, then the relationship gives back to you.” ~ Bob Gower   I hope that you will not only listen to this episode but also watch the video version of it on YouTube so that you can witness the way these two amazing humans listen to and regard each other. It’s truly something to behold. I hope this interview inspires you to have a deeper, more honest conversation with someone in your life. I hope that you are brave enough to not know all the answers and to be open enough to see another’s perspective. This is the way forward, both for ourselves as individuals, and also as a country and even the world. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Alex Jamieson and Bob Gower Alexandra Jamieson is a success mentor, life, and health coach to creative, professional women who want it all. She is the best-selling author of Women, Food & Desire, co-creator and co-star of the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me, and highly-sought-after wellness expert.  Bob Gower helps organizations move faster, create better products, and become happier, more engaging places to work. He is an authority on agile software development, lean theory, and responsive organizational design, and has advised leaders at numerous companies—including GE, Ford, Chanel, PG&E, and Spotify—in creating more effective organizations. He is the author of Agile Business: A Leader’s Guide to Harnessing Complexity and speaks regularly on organizational development and leadership.  Together, they are the co-authors, and married partners, of Radical Alignment. You can connect with them via their website, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Radical Alignment, by Alex Jamieson and Bob Gower Website: www.radicalalignmentbook.com  Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m thrilled to share with you a truly extraordinary human being, John Perkins. My conversation with John felt like a personal gift to me and I’m certain that he is a true gift to this world. In this conversation, he shares some of his incredible and unique life experiences in both the shamanic ways of indigenous people in the Amazon jungle and also as a chief economist at a major consulting firm where he advised the World Bank, United Nations, Fortune 500 corporations, US and other governments. We speak about many of the ideas that he presents in his new book, Touching the Jaguar, and how he bridges those two worlds to present to us a new way of thinking and of living in this world. As John says, our perception creates our reality. So, if we shift our perception, we can shift our reality and the systems and structures we currently assume are the way things need to be. He first had this realization when he was near death in 1969 in the depths of the jungle and a Shaman healed him. Later, as a chief economist he had a realization that many of the economic principles he had been taught, and that he thought he was using to do good in the world, were in fact false and sending our society into unsustainability and chaos. He calls that the “death economy”. In his new book, and during this interview, John makes the case for what he calls a “life economy” and I can’t wait for you to listen to the inspiring vision he has for the collective and for us as individuals!   “Our perceptions create our reality. There are no countries. There is no religion. There are no businesses. There’s nothing until we perceive these things, and when enough people accept the perception, that’s when it becomes reality.” ~ John Perkins   John speaks directly to issues causing upheaval and uncertainty in the world today, namely climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, and the worldwide protests against systemic racism. He acknowledges that all of these are very important issues independently, but also argues that they are all symptoms of an even deeper problem - the “death economy”, which is focused on short term profits instead of long term health and sustainability. John also shares his daily practice that he uses for himself to stay focused and create the world he wishes to see, and also encourages all of us to do it as well. It includes 5 questions he asks himself each morning to make sure he is still on the right track and using his time and energy wisely. It was truly amazing to witness his intensity, youthfulness, and passion. At age 75, he is an inspiration. As John says, “If we do what gives us satisfaction, we’ll always be successful. That is what gives us vitality.” I will take this conversation with me into the future and I hope that you will too. He leads us while standing beside us, and inspires us to go and ask for what we want and to remind us of our power to create the reality that we desire. His message is one of change and also hope and optimism, which I believe we all are needing so much right now. I hope this conversation inspires you to take some kind of action today to walk toward the future that we all deserve. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About John Perkins John Perkins is an author and activist whose 10 books on global intrigue, shamanism, and transformation including Touching the Jaguar, Shapeshifting and the classic Confessions of an Economic Hit Man have been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 70 weeks, sold over 2 million copies and are published in 35 languages. As chief economist at a major consulting firm, he advised the World Bank, United Nations, Fortune 500 corporations, US and other governments. He regularly speaks at universities, economic forums, and shamanic gatherings around the world and is a founder and board member of the nonprofit organizations, the Pachamama Alliance and Dream Change.  You can connect with him via his website, Twitter, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode Book: Touching the Jaguar, by John Perkins Book: Shapeshifter, by John Perkins Book: The New Confessions of An Economic Hitman, by John Perkins TedTalk: An Economic Hitman Confesses and Calls to Action Website: www.johnperkins.org  Website: www.touchingthejaguarbook.com  Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Dylan Slattery. Dylan is someone that has defied all odds and done it with such grace and optimism it’s truly breathtaking to listen to him describe his story. Dylan is a two-time cancer survivor before the age of 27, including a stage four diagnosis with less than 15 percent chance of survival. He has experienced the spectrum of some of the most difficult emotions that life has to offer, from depression, anxiety, addiction, and near suicide and yet he has emerged on the other side with such a strong and resilient perspective.   In this conversation, Dylan shares the mindset that helped him push through, to overcome the odds, and create a life on the other side that no one could have seen coming. He shares his belief that perspective is everything and talks about the importance of who you surround yourself with and how he guarded that for himself even in the ICU. In these uncertain times in our world and the ongoing talk of what the “new normal” will be, Dylan shares his unique perspective that we are constantly moving through our “next normal”. The idea that it’s a constant evolution and movement forward instead of ever moving back.   “Adversity is a universal experience that can not only unite us, but transform us into who we were meant to become." ~ Dylan Thomas Slattery   I hope that this conversation helps you find hope and meaning at a time when that may be harder to come by. I hope that you will listen and share with anyone in your life that you think could use some help in shifting their mindset and looking for the silver lining. As Dylan said, he could have focused on an 85% empty glass, but he chose to look at it as 15% full. Isn’t that a powerful change?  If you are in need of support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Dylan Slattery One of the youngest high-performance coaches in the world thanks to his faith, family, and being a two-time cancer survivor before the age of 27, including a stage four diagnosis with less than 15 percent chance of survival. Dylan Slattery has experienced the spectrum of emotions that life has to offer, from depression, anxiety, and near suicide to coaching championship teams, working with Division 1 athletes, and speaking across the country.  Dylan now shares the mindset that helped him push through, to overcome the odds, and create a life on the other side that no one could have seen coming. You can connect with him via his website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode Podcast: Stage Four 2 On Stage: The Podcast with Dylan Slattery,  Podcast: Dear Life Podcast Episode 23: Chris Norton, The 7 Longest Yards Book: Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America, by Scott Adams  Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In this episode, Christina reads one of her “Friday Letters” to you. This letter is called “The Imperfect Self During and After Loss” and it’s about the mistakes we all make when figuring out how to survive a loss in our lives and why it is important to forgive the imperfections. You can subscribe to her newsletter “Message in a Bottle” to receive letters like these every Friday morning: https://secondfirsts.com/second-firsts-message-in-a-bottle/ https://dearlifepodcast.com

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides in a truly out of this world conversation. If you have followed me for any length of time, you’ll know my fascination with, and goal of one day going to space. Loretta has a similar dream and is on her way to realizing it as she has had a ticket to space since 2005 and expects it to happen in the next couple of years! Loretta currently teaches leadership development and the practice of mindfulness to the staff of Virgin Galactic, and she sees her purpose as building a sort of bridge between the science and space worlds alongside the spiritual worlds. As I tell Loretta during this interview, I truly think she is a magical human being. She has done so many truly amazing things including having studied astrobiology at Stanford and Caltech, conducting research on plant life in the Canadian Arctic with NASA, diving to the bottom of the ocean with Titanic Director James Cameron, and floating weightless hundreds of times as a Flight Director for Zero Gravity Corporation.  In this conversation, we talk about Loretta’s childhood and her personal journey to how she got to where she is now, including the “explorer genes” of her immigrant family. She shares that when she was a kid that she always felt like she was from the future. She speaks honestly about her experience becoming a mother and also having big, audacious dreams and passions, and what it’s been like to navigate her professional world as a woman.  In these uncertain times Loretta shares her unique perspective of what the idea and exploration of space can teach us and help us with life here on Earth. She highlights some similarities between this moment we find ourselves in currently, and what was happening in 1968 during the last wave of space missions. It’s truly astounding!   “What space brings us is perspective. The ability to take a step back and remember what is important; being together, taking care of our homeworld, and finding solutions to our problems.”  ~ Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides   I hope that this conversation helps you find hope and meaning at a time when that may be harder to come by. I asked Loretta at the end of the conversation, what is the one thing she wants my listeners to remember and she left us with this, “You are not alone. You are unique in all the universe, and you have something extraordinary to give to the cosmos. And please have fun while you’re doing it!” If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides Having dreamed of space since she was a girl, Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides works to use the power of space to shift our human perspectives, and connect us with each other and our home planet. Loretta studied astrobiology at Stanford and Caltech, did research on plant life in the Canadian Arctic with NASA, dove to the bottom of the ocean with Titanic Director James Cameron, and has floated weightless hundreds of times as a Flight Director for Zero Gravity Corporation. She currently teaches leadership development and the practice of mindfulness to the staff of Virgin Galactic. You can connect with her via her website, Instagram, and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Websites: SpaceKind and SoulBar and Loretta’s personal site Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In this episode, Christina reads one of her "Friday Letters" to you. This letter is called "Many Stories, Many Homes" and it's about the many losses we experience in our lives but we hide them as the years go by and put them away so we can handle harder losses and stories. You can subscribe to her newsletter "Message in a Bottle" to receive letters like these every Friday morning: https://secondfirsts.com/second-firsts-message-in-a-bottle/ https://dearlifepodcast.com  

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Money Mentor, Denise Duffield-Thomas. Denise has spent the last decade of her life teaching people from all over the world how to think about money and how to make it. In a world where our income is the most uncertain part of our lives we need to have conversations with people who started out in poverty and found their way to the richness of life. Denise and I talk about finding our way to dancing with duality in the midst of chaos and tragedy. Denise shares about how it is important to keep showing up and fighting for what we believe in but it's okay to also be joyful. We also discuss shame and guilt about having enough when other people don’t have much.  My favorite part of the conversation is when Denise felt that it was time to add deeper roots in her life she bought a rose farm where she discovered a spirit that had lived there. She named that spirit Edith, and since then she has tried to create a new relationship with people, herself and step out of her comfort zone every day.  She calls it breaking the curse as she was told that Edith makes sure that people move on from the farm every 3 years. Denise not only plans to break that cycle but also break the cycle of women not making enough money. This is a theme that comes up often in this episode. The idea of breaking cycles. Cycles of women not having access to wealth, negative money mindset, and poverty. She also shares how she talks about money with her children and what a difference slight changes in language can make.   “We need to take morality out of money. Having money doesn’t make you a good or bad person and not having money doesn’t make you a good or bad person.”  ~ Denise Duffield-Thomas   And for those who want to write a book Denise shares some wisdom about her experience of self-publishing her first book and her advice to aspiring authors as well as the shifts that have happened in her own life since she put down roots by purchasing a rose farm and what that experience has taught her. If you want to have the episodes downloaded weekly on your phone make sure you subscribe to the podcast on Itunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to the most. Also I love comments on Instagram about the episodes you love and letting me know what you think of this conversation. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Life Reentry Community’s Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Denise Duffield-Thomas Denise Duffield-Thomas is the money mentor for the new wave of online entrepreneurs who want to make money and change the world. She helps women charge premium prices, release the fear of money, and create First Class lives.   Her books Lucky Bitch, Get Rich, Lucky Bitch, and Chillpreneur give a fresh and funny roadmap to living a life of abundance without burnout. Her Money Bootcamp has helped over 6,000 students. She’s a lazy introvert, a Hay House author, and an unbusy mother of 3. She owns a rose farm and lives by the beach in sunny Australia. You can connect with Denise via her website and Facebook, and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.DeniseDT.com  Audio: Money Blocks Program: Money Bootcamp with Denise Duffield-Thomas Book: Get Rich, Lucky Bitch! By Denise Duffield-Thomas Book: Lucky Bitch: A Guide for Exceptional Women to Create Outrageous Success by Denise Duffield-Thomas Book: Chillpreneur: The New Rules for Creating Success, Freedom, and Abundance on Your Terms by Denise Duffield-Thomas Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to share a truly extraordinary guest, Barbara Karnes, RN. Barbara is an internationally recognized author, speaker, thought leader, and expert on end of life care and the dynamics of dying. Barbara was recognized in 2018 as a Hospice Innovator by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and was named the 2015 International Humanitarian Woman of the Year by the World Humanitarian Awards. In this conversation, we talk about the very personal and holistic approach Barbara takes to some of the most devastating moments in our lives. She shares her feeling that even if we can no longer heal the physical body, there is still opportunity to heal the emotional, spiritual and mental aspects of a person. Barbara shares some of the pivotal moments of her childhood and early adulthood, including challenging family dynamics and a traumatic miscarriage, that have informed her work in end of life care. We also speak about the differences in experience when we lose someone younger vs. when they are later in life. During that part of the conversation I share some of my own personal stories of loss and the new insights I found through Barbara’s insights and thoughts on the topic.   “We are treating diseases that people have, instead of the people that have the diseases."  ~ Barbara Karnes, RN   This is an extremely important conversation at any time, and yet even more so now given what our world is currently facing. Many are dealing with end of life care and the restrictions placed in health care these days because of COVID have made this time of life feel more isolated and lonely. Barbara reassures us that we are never alone at the time of death, and shares some stories to illustrate that idea. I’m certain this conversation will bring you as much comfort as it brought to me.   I can’t tell you how grateful I am for Barbara’s work and this conversation. My hope is that after this conversation you feel you know Barbara and the reasons behind why she does this incredible work. She gave so many gifts during this conversation, including to me personally that I was not expecting. Please share your insights and everything you got out of this one of a kind conversation. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Barbara Karnes, RN Barbara Karnes, RN, is an internationally recognized author, speaker, thought leader, and expert on end of life care and the dynamics of dying. Barbara was recognized in 2018 as a Hospice Innovator by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and was named the 2015 International Humanitarian Woman of the Year by the World Humanitarian Awards. Barbara’s experience as a hospice care provider at the bedside of hundreds of people, and as an administrator overseeing the care of thousands, led to the 1985 publication of Gone from My Sight: The Dying Experience. Affectionately referred to in the industry as the “little blue hospice book,” Gone from My Sight has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, is published in 12 languages, and remains the leading resource on the market today educating families on the signs of approaching death.  In 2015, Barbara’s film New Rules for End of Life Care was featured in film festivals around the world and was the recipient of 10 prestigious film awards. You can connect with her via her website, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.bkbooks.com  Books: End of Life Guidelines Series, by Barbara Karnes, RN DVD Kit: New Rules for End of Life Care by Barbara Karnes, RN Facebook Group: End of Life Care Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I am happy to introduce you to Courtney Broussard.  She is an amazing freelance writer, editor and podcaster. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada right now, but she was raised in San Diego, California.   Courtney was raised by a black father and a white mother. And I've wanted to ask her a few questions about her life, from that point of view. I have to be honest with you, I struggled asking these questions at first because I'm not used to looking at the world or looking at anyone's world from the point of view of their color. But our world right now is trying to understand the spectrum of racism. What does it sound like? What does it look like when someone is being racist? And like Courtney said in our interview, there's this subtext that we all access and communicate from. We have to learn how to spot it, and call it out. In this conversation, Courtney mentions that she was raised without seeing color or ethnicity, but as she got older, the people around her started to look at her differently.  We also talk about the discomfort of these kinds of discussions and that we have to have them, so we can learn and grow and understand the full spectrum of racism and our response to it.    More About Courtney    Her self-titled blog focuses mostly on self-awareness and relationships and her podcast, “We’re All Human” is an honest place where she gets to know people from all walks of life to learn more about the insecurities, struggles, and experiences that we all have in common. You can connect with her on her website: https://courtneydiamond.com.   Twitter and Instagram: @courtneydiamond  Facebook: https://facebook.com/courtneydiamondblog Twitch:https://twitch.tv/courtneydiamond   Things we mention on the episode: "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn

On today’s 10 minute solo episode I share with you my perspective on the protests and riots that are taking place and at the same time mirroring back to us, a community that has experienced loss and knows the pain of not being seen. I hope you spend ten minutes with me as we walk together towards a better tomorrow, honoring black lives and dedicating this week to learning and growing from what is taking place.

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to a truly extraordinary guest, Dr. Joan Rosenberg. Joan’s work around emotional intelligence and resilience is truly life-changing. As we acknowledge in the interview, her latest book 90 seconds To A Live You Love is about even more than that, it’s about connecting ourselves with who we truly are and allowing us to consciously know what we already know. Dr. Rosenberg is a cutting-edge, California-licensed psychologist. She is a best-selling author, two time Tedx speaker has been featured in the documentaries “I Am”, “The Miracle Mindset”, “Pursuing Happiness” and “The Hidden Epidemic”. She’s been seen on CNN’s American Morning, and ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS and OWN networks.   Dr. Rosenberg speaks on how to build confidence, emotional strength, and resilience. She walks us through the “Rosenberg Reset” method and how to sit with the uncomfortable emotions to find awareness instead of avoidance as so many of us do. Dr. Rosenberg also shares some personal experiences from her childhood that included feeling rejected and left out, and how these moments have influenced and guided her to the work that she does now.    “Think, speak, and act, only in the direction that you wish to go..”  ~ Dr. Joan Rosenberg   This is an extremely important conversation at any time, and yet even more so now given what our world is currently facing. We are dealing with so many uncomfortable emotions, often many at the same time, and I truly believe that now is the time to face them and allow them to move through us instead of avoiding them or distracting ourselves from knowing what we know. To move out of the Waiting Room and into the next phase of life, this is the work.  This conversation left me with more ah-ha moments than I can count, I do hope you will take the time to listen and share with those you love. Please share your insights and everything you got out of this one of a kind conversation. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Dr. Joan Rosenberg Best-selling author, consultant, and master clinician, Dr. Joan Rosenberg is a cutting-edge psychologist who is known as an innovative thinker, acclaimed speaker and trainer. As a two-time TEDx speaker and member of the Association of Transformational Leaders, she has been recognized for her thought leadership and influence in personal development. Dr. Rosenberg has been featured in the documentaries “I Am”, “The Miracle Mindset”, “Pursuing Happiness” and “The Hidden Epidemic”.  She’s been seen on CNN’s American Morning, and ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS and OWN networks, as well as appearances and radio interviews in major metropolitan markets. A California-licensed psychologist, Dr. Rosenberg speaks on how to build confidence, emotional strength, and resilience; how to achieve emotional, conversational and relationship mastery; how to integrate neuroscience and psychotherapy; and suicide prevention. An Air Force veteran, she is a professor of graduate psychology at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, CA. Her latest book, 90 Seconds to a Life you Love: How to Master Your Difficult Feelings to Cultivate Lasting Confidence, Resilience and Authenticity, was released February 2019. You can connect with her via her website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.drjoanrosenberg.com Book: 90 Seconds To a Life You Love by Dr. Joan Rosenberg Tedx Talk: Emotional Mastery: The Gifted Wisdom of Unpleasant Feelings Tedx Talk: Grief: A Pathway to Forgiveness Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to a truly extraordinary guest, Natalie Sudman. Natalie is a former archeologist and now currently an artist and author. I immersed myself in Natalie’s world prior to our conversation through her book and other interviews and I was so taken with the grace and eloquence she used to describe and explain her near-death experience.  In this conversation, you will hear the true story of a female civilian employee of the army corps of engineers in Iraq. Natalie was riding in a truck when a roadside bomb destroyed the vehicle. Her body was so severely damaged there was no way she could possibly live. She recounts her near-death experience when she went out of her body to the spirit world. There it was decided that her work on earth was not done. With the help of spirit guides, they repaired her body enough so she could reenter it and live her purpose. We talk about her near-death experience and her vivid account of these beautiful beings that she encountered and the truths she became aware of because of this moment in her life. We talk about how these beings helped her heal her body enough so that she could come back and live her purpose.  I do want to acknowledge that this episode was recorded in early March before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and life changed for everyone. However, I feel that this conversation is well-timed for what many of us are currently working through as we spend time in our homes and reevaluate so many facets of our lives, relationships, and who we are.   “We are all infinite beings having an experience through this body. Death is not an end. It is a transition.”  ~ Natalie Sudman   If you have lost someone and have been curious about what happens to us after we die, if you want to really explore the possibility that you can connect with the world beyond, then this is a conversation that is going to change your life. I encourage you to take notes. Make sure that you step into this little bubble that we created and let her take us into her near-death experience. I can’t wait for you to learn as much as I did. Please share your insights and everything you got out of this one of a kind conversation. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re-enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Natalie Sudman Natalie Sudman holds an MFA and worked as an archeologist for sixteen years before going to work in Iraq in 2006-2007. She is now an artist and author. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.nsudman.com Website:  www.traceofelements.com  Book: Application of Impossible Things: A Near-Death Experience In Iraq by Natalie Sudman Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Sam Morris. Sam was a competitive tennis player, golfer, and ski racer. After spending 15 years in active alcoholism he is now 7 years free of his addiction. He is a men’s mental health coach, an author, a speaker, and a thought leader. I do want to acknowledge that this episode was recorded in early March before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and life changed for everyone. However, I feel that this conversation is well-timed for what many of us are currently working through as we spend time in our homes and reevaluate so many facets of our lives, relationships, and who we are. In this conversation, Sam shares his personal story of feeling like an outsider since early childhood because of severe allergies and what anxiety felt like to him. He talks about how tennis helped ease those feelings and how addiction found him when his tennis career ended. This is a very raw and honest conversation as Sam shares the hardest days and moments during his addiction that were pivotal to him ultimately finding a way to stop looking outward for someone to save him, and instead, find a way to become his own hero.   “The key is to consciously build your life. Find ways to replace the emptiness with fulfillment.”  ~ Sam Morris   This is a moment of great change and collective grief. It’s also an opportunity, on the other side of this, to Reenter Life as a new version of ourselves both as a collective and as individuals. Sam’s advice and insights into ourselves and our behaviours is a great place to start to explore who you are and who you hope to become. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Sam Morris Sam was born and raised in Vermont where he was a competitive tennis player, golfer, and ski racer. After spending 15 years in active alcoholism he is now 7 years free of his addiction. He is a men’s mental health coach, an author, a speaker, and a thought leader, and a huge sports fan; get ready for the sports analogies. You can connect with him via his website, and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: theunbreakablemanproject.com/  Instagram: Sam Morris Book Recommendation: The Untethered Soul, by Michael Singer Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to my friend Terri Cole. Terri is a licensed psychotherapist and global leading expert in female empowerment, meditation, relationships, and well-being. For two decades, Terri has worked with some of the world’s most well-known personalities from international pop stars to Fortune 500 CEOs. As she calls herself, she is a great GPS for women looking to learn about and understand why they are how they are and how to shift patterns and dynamics. I do want to acknowledge that this episode was recorded in early March before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and life changed for everyone. However, I feel that this conversation is well timed for what many of us are currently working through as we spend time in our homes and reevaluate so many facets of our lives, relationships and who we are. In this conversation, Terri shares some of her personal story and how she went from the role of the “hero child” in her family, working through addiction and becoming sober in her 20s, working at a rock ‘n roll agency (including a run in with Sting on her first day on the job!), running a modeling agency and eventually becoming the licensed psychotherapist and relationship expert that she is now. Terri also talks about why it’s so common for women especially to be over give and be codependent in relationships and the 3 questions that we can ask ourselves about patterns we find ourselves repeating to finally start to shift the dynamics and move more toward the life and relationships we desire.   “You are so much more powerful than you know. You have it within you to change anything that isn’t working in your life.”  ~ Terri Cole   This is a moment of great change and collective grief. It’s also an opportunity, on the other side of this, to Reenter Life as a new version of ourselves both as a collective and as individuals. Terri’s advice and insights into ourselves and our behaviours is a great place to start to explore who you are and who you hope to become. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Terri Cole Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist and global leading expert in female empowerment, meditation, relationships, and wellbeing. For two decades, Terri has worked with some of the world’s most well-known personalities from international pop stars to Fortune 500 CEOs. She empowers over 100,000 women weekly through her platform, her signature courses Real Love Revolution and Boundary Bootcamp, online community + popular podcast, The Terri Cole Show. You can connect with her via her website, Twitter, and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.terricole.com  Podcast: The Terri Cole Show Terri’s Free Gift for You: 5 Day Challenge and Real Love Starter Kit YouTube Channel: Terri Cole Real Love Revolution Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to my friend Alexandra Jamieson. I do want to acknowledge that this episode was recorded in mid-February before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and life changed for everyone. However, I feel that this conversation is well-timed for what many of us are currently working through as we spend time in our homes and reevaluate so many facets of our lives and who we are. In this conversation, Alex shares some of her personal experiences with loss including losing an aunt and a grandfather to suicide. Dealing with mental health and addiction among other family members and how she feels those moments shaped her and influenced even her friendships and future relationships. Alexandra also talks about her journey with healing her physical body with food and how her approach has shifted over time. Having been a staunch vegan for many years and then shifting back to eating animal products for health reasons was a big journey and led her to experience more loss as people rejected her shift in lifestyle and many friends and connections were lost.   “I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason. However, I do believe that I can learn something from anything.”  ~ Alexandra Jamieson   This is a moment of great change and collective grief. It’s also an opportunity, on the other side of this, to Reenter Life as a new version of ourselves both as a collective and as individuals. Alexandra shares some of her personal experiences with healing and stepping more into herself. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to re enter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Alexandra Jamieson As the best-selling author of Women, Food & Desire, Getting To Hell Yes, and co-creator and co-star of the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me, and highly-sought-after success mentor and motivational guide for thousands, Alexandra Jamieson has made it her mission to empower womxn to create epic lives–by honoring their desires and kicking shame and fear to the curb. Alex has developed training programs, interactive workshops, retreats, and 1:1 leadership coaching to help individuals reach optimal personal success.  She is also the host of Her Rules Radio, a #1 rated podcast on iTunes where listeners from around the world are educated and captivated by thought-provoking interviews on wellness, success mindset, sexuality, and more. You can connect with her via her website, and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.alexandrajamieson.com  Art: Find out more about Alex’s art here Podcast: Her Rules Radio Book: Women, Food, and Desire, by Alexandra Jamieson Book: Radical Alignment: How to Have Game-Changing Conversations That Will Change Your Business and Your Life, by Alexandra Jamieson and Bob Gower Instagram: @deliciousalex Resources: Suicide Prevention Lifeline Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to my friend Rich German. Rich is a renowned photographer, particularly of what he calls his true loves - whales, and dolphins. He is also the co-founder of the JV Circle in which Rich teaches people how to leverage the power of joint ventures. He is also the founder of Project O, a non-profit whose mission is to help restore, protect and sustain the ocean, the life living in it and all of humankind, now and for generations to follow. In this conversation, Rich shares some of his personal experiences of when he thought he had life figured out, only to have it change dramatically, and often for the better. It’s a reminder that surrendering to what is unfolding before us is the true work that we will do in this lifetime. This includes relationships that did not go as planned but that he ultimately sees as great gifts, leaving his successful real estate career, and how he ultimately found his way to the ocean. Rich talks about the lessons that his time on the ocean and with the whales and dolphins have taught him, particularly the importance of being in the present moment. He also shares the moment that he knew it was time to share his experiences with the world and the great hope he has for the new non-profit organization, Project O that he has started.   “Your life can be one way and then one day, without a plan, something happens and you make a different choice and everything changes.”  ~ Rich German   This is a moment of great change and collective grief. It’s also an opportunity, on the other side of this, to Reenter Life as a new version of ourselves both as a collective and as individuals. Rich shares what makes him feel optimistic about these unprecedented times and what he hopes we will all learn while in this “waiting room” phase. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to reenter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Rich German An avid stand-up paddleboarder, Rich has been paddling off the magical coast of Laguna Beach, California for years now. His greatest loves are the ocean and the life living in it, specifically dolphins and whales. Rich has captured countless beautiful images from his board. Rich garnered international media attention from his close encounter on his paddleboard with a pod of orcas off the coast of Laguna Beach. His story got the attention of some of the leading conservationist organizations in the world including Save The Whales, PETA, Blackfish and Sylvia Earle’s foundation. This led him to start Project O whose mission is to help restore, protect and sustain the ocean, the life living in it and all of humankind, now and for generations to follow. The initial vision is to see the entire coastline of California protected. Rich is also the co-founder of the JV Insider Circle, Rich teaches people how to leverage the power of joint ventures (JV’s). They lead the world’s largest community of JV-minded entrepreneurs. You can connect with him via his website, Facebook, and Instagram. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.richgerman.com  Book: Blue Laguna, by Rich German Video: Paddle Boarder’s Close Encounter With Orcas Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m happy to introduce you to Mike Robbins. Mike Robbins is an author, thought leader and sought-after speaker who teaches people, leaders, and teams to infuse their lives and businesses with authenticity and appreciation. His clients include some of the biggest companies in the world like Google, ebay, the NBA and many more. In this conversation, Mike very candidly shares about some of the losses he has experienced in his own life. Specifically, we go into detail about some of what I call “invisible losses”, like the loss of identity, career, relationships, etc. Mike also talks about the loss of his father and sister and the experience of having a family member with significant mental health issues. Mike was drafted by the New York Yankees out of high school. He turned the Yankees down and instead chose to play baseball at Stanford University, where he pitched in the College World Series. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals out of Stanford and played three seasons of professional baseball in the Royals organization before arm injuries ended his playing career while still in the minor leagues. He talks about the loss of this identity and the experience that ultimately ended up catapulting him to the stage. This conversation feels perfectly timed for the unprecedented times we are all moving through right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. We are all experiencing and grieving multiple invisible losses all at once.   “This is a moment for authenticity. This is a moment for being human. It’s uncomfortable, AND there’s an opportunity for us to learn and grow if we choose it.”  ~Mike Robbins   This is a moment of great change and collective grief. It’s also an opportunity, on the other side of this, to Reenter Life as a new version of ourselves. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to reenter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Mike Robbins Mike Robbins is the author of five books, including his brand new title, WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER: Creating a Team Culture of High Performance, Trust, and Belonging, which comes out May 5th.  For the past 20 years, he’s been a sought-after speaker and consultant who delivers keynotes and seminars for some of the top organizations in the world.  His clients include Google, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Genentech, eBay, Harvard University, Gap, LinkedIn, the Oakland A’s, and many others.   He and his work have been featured in the New York Times and the Harvard Business Review, as well as on NPR and ABC News.  He’s a regular contributor to Forbes, hosts a weekly podcast, and his books have been translated into 15 different languages. You can connect with him via his website, Instagram, and Facebook. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.mike-robbins.com  Book: We’re All In This Together, by Mike Robbins Book: Bring Your Whole Self to Work, by Mike Robbins Dear Life Podcast Episode: Episode 43 - Getting to Know David Kessler Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!  

In today’s episode, I’m welcoming back one of my favorite humans, Courtney Carver. I do want to acknowledge that this episode was recorded in mid-February before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and life changed for everyone. However, I feel that this conversation is well-timed for what many of us are currently working through as we spend time in our homes and reevaluate so much. Simplicity as the way back to ourselves is one of the truest statements that I’ve ever heard and as we self-isolate and the world slows down, we are being called to connect with and embrace simplicity in ways we never imagined only a few short months ago. In this conversation, we talk about Courtney’s new book called Project: 333. It is a challenge that she is asking you to choose in your life by letting go of items from your closet, clothing, and material things. The things that we think are adding to our worthiness and enjoyment of life, but are actually detracting from those things.  When you listen to this podcast I hope you will experience what I experienced when I started reading her new book. You may feel a lot of emotions, maybe some sadness but also some joy and even eurphoia coming back to your life. When we start to let go of the material things in our lives, that seemingly protected us from the pain in the world and from grief and from fear, we realize that we can do life without them and we can maybe even do life better this way.   “We have to stop looking outside of ourselves for validation and love and approval. We have to start looking inside of ourselves and if we can’t find it there, we need to ask for help.”  ~Courtney Carver   This is a moment of great change and if we are able, an opportunity, to reflect on what truly matters and what has been getting in the way of truly living and thriving in this life. If you are needing support during this pandemic, I invite you to join my free Facebook Group that I have created for you. It is so important to me that we are ready to exit the Waiting Room when it’s time to reenter our new lives on the other side of this. More About Courtney Carver Courtney Carver is the author of the new book, Project 333, The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really is So Much More. She shares her simplicity and journey back to health on www.bemorewithless.com and @bemorewithless on Instagram. You can also listen to her weekly on the Podcast she created with her daughter called Soul & Wit. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.bemorewithless.com  Book: Project 333, The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really is So Much More by Courtney Carver Facebook Group: Life Reentry During COVID-19 Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

In today’s episode, I’m joined by David Kessler. David is the world’s most well know expert on healing and loss and you might be able to imagine how excited I was to speak with David. Not only because he is someone that has been in the grief industry for the last three to four decades, but because he worked with one of my personal heroes Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. They worked together on developing what most of us know as the 5 stages of grief. David has just released his newest book all about what he is calling the 6th stage of grief. This stage is all about finding meaning.  The timing of the release of this book and our conversation seems appropriate for the uncertain times and many losses being experienced around the world currently. Please note that this conversation was recorded in early March before the very serious impact of COVID-19 begin to make itself felt in the United States.  Our conversation spans through his own personal journey with devastating losses of his mother, witnessing a mass shooting and also the loss of his son. We talk about what he has experienced since then, and how it has deepend his love for his work and his understanding of grief. We learned that we share a love for flying and his experience working with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. One important distinction he makes is about the need we all have for our pain to be witnessed and the difference between human pain and spiritual pain.   “Fear doesn’t stop loss or death. Fear stops life.”  ~David Kessler   I hope you’ll listen to the whole conversation as there is a remarkable moment around the 40 minute mark that gave me chills and I’d love to hear what you think about it. I also hope this conversation provides you with some comfort. Please share it with anyone else in your life that you feel might be looking for some extra comfort too. Be sure to comment below or connect with me on Instagram and let me know what you think of this conversation. More About David Kessler David Kessler is one of the world’s foremost experts on healing and loss. His experience with people on the edge of life and death has taught him the secrets to living a happy and fulfilled life – even after life’s tragedies. He is the author of five bestselling books on grief. His first book, The Needs of the Dying is a #1 best-selling hospice book, praised by Mother Teresa, and he co-authored the two bestsellers: On Grief and Grieving and Life Lessons with the legendary Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. David’s services have been used by Anthony Perkins, Michael Landon, Elizabeth Taylor, Carrie Fisher, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Marianne Williamson; and his work has been featured on CNN, NBC, Fox, PBS, and Dr. Oz. He’s also a contributing writer for Oprah.com, Dr. Oz’s Sharecare.com, and Anderson Cooper 360. David’s personal experience with grief prompted his professional journey. When he was a child, David witnessed a mass shooting while his mother was dying in a hospital. In 2016, David’s youngest son died suddenly at 21 years old. He shares his very personal journey of loss and healing in his new book called Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. David continues his work in honor of his son. You can connect with David via his website and Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.grief.com  Book: Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief by David Kessler Book: The Needs of the Dying by David Kessler Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter. Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!

Christina discusses the state of the world today and how we can stay connected and ready for life even during the course of our isolation. In This Episode I Talk About: The state of the world during the coronavirus pandemic. How to connect while isolating. The importance of staying ready to re-enter our more normal lives in the future. Fighting the survival self. Things I Mention In This Episode: Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen And it would mean the world to me if you’d leave a rating and review on Apple podcast. I’d love to know what you think of the podcast and how I can make it better for you. Plus Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Please continue the conversation with me @dearlifepodcast on Instagram.

In today’s episode, we have the extraordinary Sam Bennett joining me. She is an actor, speaker, teacher, poet, a creativity and productivity specialist and also the best selling author of Get It Done and Start Right Where You Are. This woman is going to blow your mind!  We talk a lot about her acting years, her very well known actor friends, how she has spent a lot of time doing incredible TV and at the same time experiencing fear and struggled to truly be in the spotlight. We talk a lot about being afraid of success and of truly being seen. We had a lot of fun in this conversation. We talk about life, death, creativity, procrastination, depression and everything in between. Sam is very open and honest about her personal experience of depression, how it shows up in her life and how she moves through life in spite of it. This conversation is for anyone who wants to create something new, who wants to find their way to a brand new part of their identity and to also remember their core self - the self that has been with them forever. If you are going through a transition of any kind and you are about to jump into a brand new chapter, if you want to create something for the world and yourself, then I hope you will take the time to listen. It might just be life-changing.   “Showing up more fully for yourself allows you to show up more fully for your family, for your friends, and for the world.”  ~Sam Bennett   Sam talks about that voice inside of us, that might just be a quiet whisper right now. The voice that says you can do this too. My request of you is to please make sure that voice is being heard and taken seriously. However quiet it is, it is Divine. It is God or the universe talking to you and it’s your destiny. Be sure to comment below or connect with me on Instagram and let me know what you think of this conversation. More About Sam Bennett Samantha Bennett is a writer, speaker, actor, teacher, and creativity-productivity specialist and author of the bestselling, “Get It Done: From Procrastination to Creative Genius in 15 Minutes a Day” (New World Library), which Seth Godin described as “An instant classic, essential reading for anyone who wants to make a ruckus.” Her latest bestseller is, “Start Right Where You Are: How Little Changes Can Make a Big Difference for Overwhelmed Procrastinators, Frustrated Overachievers and Recovering Perfectionists” (New World Library). Sam is the creator of The Organized Artist Company.com, a company Sam founded specifically to help creative people get unstuck, so you can focus and move forward on your goals. She has a gift for authentic marketing, having spent 15 years as a Personal Branding Expert for Sam Christensen Studios. She was honored by some of the best marketers in the world as an Ultimate Marketer Finalist at Infusioncon 2010. As an actor, her work in the theatre includes a long affiliation with the legendary Second City Theatre in Chicago, and in Los Angeles, she’s done extensive work with LA Theatreworks, The Open Fist Theatre Company, and ComedySportz. Her television appearances include The Drew Carey Show, Strong Medicine, Days of Our Lives and Modern Family. Originally from Chicago, and now based in a tiny beach town outside of Los Angeles, Sam offers online courses, in-person workshops, and keynotes. She also makes a heck of a roast chicken. You can connect with Sam via her website and Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Things We Mention In This Episode Website: www.therealsambennett.com Book: Start Right Where You Are by Sam Bennett Book: Get It Done: From Procrastination to Genius in 15 Minutes A Day by Sam Bennett Podcast: The Secrets of Highly Creative People with Sam Bennett Book: Where Did You Go? by Christina Rasmussen Book: Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen Newsletter - Message In a Bottle: Sign up for Christina’s weekly letter  Apple podcast reviews and ratings are really important to help get the podcast in front of more people to uplift and inspire them too, which is the ultimate goal. Thank you!