personaljournal

Conversing about the walls we put up to the world. It is interesting to ponder about the lens through which each of us see. Let's focus on Truth. Discover how you manage your relationships. Lay down your burdens. Learn to rid yourself of your worst vices. Imagine the self you live with every day, but at a genuine peace and gratefulness. Come with me on the journey to walk closer with God and live through the lenses of Jesus instead of our own.

In this final episode of Season 4 of The Discomfort Practice, Betsy looks back at some themes that arose over the course of the year+ it has spanned, before taking a brief hiatus to prep the launch of Season 5 in March 2024.

What she found in looking back was some striking themes - the greatest of which was love. This has woven its way into many episodes, including:

Episode #76 with Kim Polman, founder of Reboot the Future, whose ethos is based on the Golden Rule

Episode #84 with Daze Aghaji, who talked about creating change from a place of love
Episode #86 with Pilar Garrido, Minister for the Economy in Costa Rica during the Covid-19 pandemic
Episode #110 with Dr. Terence Lester, a public policy advocate for people experiencing homelessness

Betsy’s own solos have focused a lot on love, with a couple of favourites linked below:

Episode #82 On loving all parts of yourself

Episode #98 A love letter to introverted moments

Betsy would love to hear from you. Get in touch via any of the platforms listed below to let her know what you have found helpful, uplifting or positively challenging, as well as what you’d like to hear more about or hear an interview with in Season 5.

Connect with Betsy:

• Betsy on Instagram

• Betsy on email

• Betsy on Linkedin

Rate, Review, Learn and Share

Thanks for tuning into The Discomfort Practice! If you enjoyed this episode, please drop us a five star and written review, follow and share how it has benefited you. Don’t forget to tune into our other episodes and share your favorite ones on social media! Be sure to come back for Season 5, launching in March 2024.

In this solo episode, Betsy journeys her way through a personal question at the moment: 'What am I meant to be a channel for on this earth? What is meant to come through me?' It's a very personal question, and there are no wrong answers. She talks about experimenting with being a channel for love, and how that has transformed her life in just a short span of a few months.

As with most of Betsy's solo episodes, she leads listeners through practical steps to uncover their own answer to the question she's pondering. What 'special sauce' are you meant to bring to whatever is meant to flow through you? And what is that 'thing' you already probably channel into this collective existence?

Settle yourself in and prepare to enjoy this brief, meaty episode.

Connect with Betsy:

• Betsy on Instagram
• Betsy on Linkedin
• Betsy's website

Rate, Review and Share.

Thanks for tuning into The Discomfort Practice. Please subscribe, follow, like, and/or drop her a five star and written review. Share this episode with others and help spread the word and grow our audience. Don’t forget to tune into Betsy's other episodes and share your favourite ones on social media.

In this episode, Betsy talks about a subject that is near and dear to her heart (and her life): living magically. She talks about her own experience of having created a life that is full of synchronicity, support, ease, alignment and, well, MAGIC.

As is her way, she encourages others to 'let things be magical' and talks about how she has learned to stop getting in the way of letting life and the good things that are meant for each of us flow. She also talks about the importance of trusting the timing of things you might want to happen - or to manifest.

Listen to Betsy's insights on the ways she has found greater flow in her life, by creating practices and consistency over the years so that she can trust her intuition, know what she truly wants and trust that what is meant to come to her will and what is not meant for her will leave.

So get yourself a cup of tea or take a walk, press play and hear all about Betsy's 'Mariah Carey Approach to Manifesting,' and why the phrase 'HOW is not my problem' is part of unlocking the greatest gifts life has sent to her lately. 

Connect with Betsy:

• Betsy on Instagram

• Betsy on Linkedin

Rate, Review and Share.

Thanks for tuning into The Discomfort Practice. Please subscribe, follow, like, and/or drop me a five star and written review. Share this episode with others and help spread the word and grow our audience. Don’t forget to tune into Betsy's other episodes and share your favourite ones on social media.

In this solo episode Betsy revisits a topic she loves to talk about: how her changed relationship with ease - and having greater ease with being at ease - has positively impacted her work, her productivity and her understanding of the world.

She shares why she's become evangelical about helping others to create more ease in their lives, stepping away from the conditioning that 'the grind is the thing' and examining their own relationship with NOT choosing ease. 

Maybe you can relate to this: Is hardship, struggle, feeling like you've worked really hard perhaps an 'existential kink' for you? Do you feel you don't deserve magic, or abundance, or pleasure in your life unless you've worked for it?

Betsy walks you through how to create a 'Week of Ease' for yourself, as an experiment and as a way to step back and observe your relationship with ease. She shares how scheduling naps and weekly date nights by herself has helped her to recalibrate her natural un-ease with ease, and helped her to build it into her life as a habit.

So settle yourself in, get comfortable to get uncomfortable, and step on The Discomfort Practice train with Betsy. We promise this one's a good one...

Connect with Betsy:

• Betsy on Instagram

• Betsy on Twitter

• Betsy on Linkedin

Rate, Review, Learn and Share

Thanks for tuning into The Discomfort Practice. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow, like, and/or drop me a five star and written review. Share this episode with others and help spread the word and grow the audience. Don’t forget to tune into our other episodes and share your favourite ones on social media.

This one is a bit of a chuckle, friends. I recorded it in August 2023, on the day I was marking seven years of living in Spain. I reflect on seven year cycles and who I've become over the past seven years. Who I've rediscovered I am, as I've let go of conditioning that kept me from being my truest, most powerful version of myself.

In that seven years, the UK left the European Union in the most ill-conceived divorce in a while. I got married and left my marriage, in one of the best-conceived ideas in a while.

As I wade into the discomfort of getting more personal on this podcast, this one felt like it hit a sweet spot. I danced on the edge of my own discomfort, as I shared from the heart, no filter, about myself. But it also felt freeing.

So may you find some 'moments' for yourself as you listen. Some messages that resonate in your soul. Some moments that make you smirk or laugh out loud. Some truth about yourself as I share my truths about myself and who I'm re-becoming in this time of rapid change and change in consciousness. Some will step up to a higher consciousness and some will not. But if you're here listening to this, you're with me. We're stepping up...

Listen, subscribe, rate and share. More heartfelt requests on that below.

Connect with me:

• Betsy on Instagram

• Betsy on Linkedin

Rate, Review, Learn, and Share

Thanks for tuning into The Discomfort Practice! If you enjoyed this episode, please drop me a five-star and written review, follow, and share. Get in touch! And don’t forget to tune into our other episodes and share your favorite ones on social media.

This is episode 100 of The Discomfort Practice! I reflect back on how focusing on discomfort as a path to wisdom and finding my own superpowers has reshaped my perspective since launching the podcast in October 2020.

Join me for a guided exercise in which you have the opportunity to reflect on what uncomfortable circumstances you've experienced over the past few years and gain a perspective of gratitude for them.

As a 'birthday gift' for episode 100, I ask you to please subscribe, like, leave me a 5-star and written review and SHARE an episode with someone to help me reach new ears.

Thank you for listening and I look forward to having you join me for the next 100 episodes.

Get in touch:

• Betsy on Instagram

• Betsy's website

• Betsy on Linkedin

I sat down to intentionally record this episode without any notes and with minimal preparation, because I felt strongly this was a message that needed to come through me. It's one I needed to articulate and it's something someone out there needs to hear.

The message is this: turn off the external noise so you can hear yourself and tap into your own wisdom.

I've been given wise counsel and channeled messages from intuitives three times in the past month to 'cut out the external influences for a while in order to gain clarity and confidence in your inner knowing, to set loose your creativity to do what you need to do in the world.' And one of those intuitives (@lisaintuitiveguide on Instagram), without knowing anything about me, told me what it is I am meant to do in the world. And it is EXACTLY what I do in the world, though you might not know it from the official wording of my website.

So I've done a cull - of emails I'm subscribed to, of social media accounts I follow - and am still circling what this 'diet' from external influences is meant to look like. But in having to un-subscribe / unfollow those external influences that flow to me every day, I began to realise a) how many there are and b) how much I want to rely on them for confidence in my own intuition. My own 'knowings.'

So this episode is me planting a flag at the beginning of a process of creating quiet - of turning off all of the radio noise - so I can hear my own voice. My own intuition. My own knowings. And if that lands for you, I invite you to do the same.

Reach out and let me know if you're going to do the same. I'd love to hear your process and share mine. Feel free to connect and to share this episode with others.

Learning how to harness the energy of this life! This episode I am conversing with the thoughts of my own. Who even am I to claim such power in this life? Accepting confrontation from God. Why wasn't there instructions that came with this super computer we call our brain? For we are only human, all we can do is have faith. Otherwise, death may just be the only thing we are able to cling to. Remember your faith, it may just save your life. 

The journey ends for Black Seinfeld on FM radio. Bashtin, Gio, and Intern Mike reminisce on their stay at 99.5FM WBAI. Thank you WBAI for allowing 23 year old kids to live out their wildest dreams and speak on FM radio. The future is looking bright. Stay tuned for more BS. 

If you’ve listened to some of my recent solos and interviews, you’ll have picked up that I'm on the cusp of entering a new stage of life. I’ve packed up my life in Barcelona, put my things in storage, finished up my academic year as a Professor and am headed to Mexico on a one-way ticket in just a few days.

The preparation for leaving one stage of life and stepping into the next has gotten me thinking a lot lately about transitions and nature and my place in the whole rhythm of things. And, during the deep discomfort and anxiety that has come up as I’ve been in the deep discomfort of not knowing what comes next, of a big transition, I haven’t been the nicest or happiest or most serene version of myself. It's been interesting to observe and it’s gotten me thinking about a snake shedding its skin. As a Wyoming Kid, I have always been taught that, during seasons when you know rattlesnakes are shedding their skin (which they do regularly), do whatever you can to avoid them because they’re scared and blind and MEAN. They can’t see very well, so they’re more likely to strike. But then I started learning more about the process of a snake shedding its skin - and WHY it sheds its skin regularly - and it all started to feel like a very relevant personal metaphor for big moments of transition.

So settle yourself in and consider how this metaphor might be relevant for you, and be sure to listen to the end, when I share one of my favourite poems of all time, Desiderata by Max Ehrman. 

Don't forget to like, subscribe and leave a 5-star and written review on this podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps me to reach new listeners and, hopefully, to reach someone on exactly the right day with exactly what they needed to hear. Let me know what you think of this episode and others!

Expressing more on how to manage the weight of life. Attempting to walk through this maze of thought in order to become more articulate and disciplined in my faith. I discuss the concept of duality and the topic of knowing God versus being naive of Him. These are just my thoughts in the moment so that I may learn how to understand more clearly as I find my way through this life. 

Coming closer to Truth. Remembering that simple does not equal easy. In this episode I try to engage in the thought of realizing when God is trying to tell me something. Learning to let go of the flesh of my old self and become lethal with a routine in order to unlock my truest human self and strength. Here I am God, for you. Excited to have more conversations with others soon! Working on getting some guests in the studio for some really impactful conversation. Stay tuned. Peace and Love, Joel.

Learning to articulate more of the direction in which this podcast is going. Taking notes on how to follow down a path closer to the Truth. Decoding our brain puzzles! We all are experiencing life together. Let's discover who we are and who we are meant to be. This is As We Know It. Here is to coming home. Peace and love, Joel.

We're back again! I know I say this every time. Today is essentially a push for me to get back into recording and conversation. Expressing recent thought and learning what direction to take this podcast. Thank you for listening! Here's to a revival from within and learning how to strengthen my relationship with God. 

As with all of my solo episodes of The Discomfort Practice, in thise one I share what’s on my mind just now, and it’s the most personal I’ve gotten yet. In fact, I even get a bit weepy.

I talk about walking into The Void - the shapeless, undefined unknown in which all things are unclear. It’s a bit anxiety-inducing at times, but it’s also the place where evolution and transformation take place. I don’t know when my time in this current iteration of The Void is going to be end, but I am certain that I will flow out of it when I or whatever is being shaped for me is ready. 

So click ‘play,’ settle in for a few breaths with me and take a brief moment out of your day to listen, to feel, to let this land with you. And if you yourself are in The Void, know that you’re not alone. We are going through a collective awakening, so there are many of us there. And it’s going to end well…

Connect with Betsy:

• Betsy on Instagram
• Betsy on Twitter
• Betsy on Linkedin

Rate, Review, Learn, and Share

Thanks for tuning into The Discomfort Practice! If you enjoyed this episode, please drop me a five-star and written review, follow, and let me and others know what you got out of it. Don’t forget to tune into my other episodes and share your favorite ones on social media!

In this episode, we discuss bipolar disorder and the importance of raising awareness and understanding around mental health conditions. Our special guest is Lotte, the owner of Designs in Mind in Oswestry, who shares her experiences with bipolar disorder and how it has impacted her life.

We have a great conversation about the Designs in Mind Community and how it has helped Lotte manage her bipolar disorder and connect with others who understand the challenges she faces. Lotte is very open and candid about her experiences, and the host shares some of their own experiences with mental health as well.

Overall, it was a thought-provoking and insightful conversation, and we hope you'll tune in and join us for future episodes of "Happy-Go-Lucky At Heart."

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