"Look down at your body
whisper
there is no home like you"
- thank you

Rupi Kaur
the sun and her flowers

🌴What would it be like to remember and honor your freest, most uninhibited self? Could reconnection with your ancestral guidance (what I call The Ancient Calm) bring you to your most creative, expressive you?

Today's Tiny Astonishment finds KJ musing on two accessible practices that help her remember her creativity, just in time to honor May, the month of Mental Health Awareness and AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage.

🌴Also: Join KJ in remembering, resetting, and recovering creativity in Bali! Grab your spot now, only two rooms remain for September's Session, and December already has a nearly full waitlist!

Episode Mentions:

- The Sun, Mary Oliver, from Devotions
- Evensong excerpt, Kathryn Le Grice from Song Of Ojai
- Original Instructions, Asha Frost from You Are The Medicine

Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

• Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to nourish and recover your creative voice. Next Retreats: February 12 - 18, 2024 (3 spots left!) and May 7 - 12 2024 (only ONE (1!!) spot left unclaimed and they are filling up quickly)
• IG: @_KJCreates_
• Web: Bliss Begins Within
• Book a FREE Hello Call
• Ep 83 Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul
• SOAL Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

Please rate and review this podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well >>> https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

Support the show

Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
- Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
- Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

Welcome back to the second part of an extremely vulnerable conversation in which Meghan "Meg" Thomas - podcast hostess, and breathwork teacher - talks to KJ about the discovery that she is donor-conceived. She opens up about her journey of reclamation now that she has learned the truth.

Meg shares what happened once she decided to "Click Connect" after submitting her DNA into 23 and Me, which includes meeting half-siblings. She began leaning into curiosities such as Genetic Mirroring and embracing the potency and impact of unearthing her astonishing story.

Compassionate Considerations

🍃 When in a discovery journey feelings of shame, unworthiness, and insecurity may rise. How do you issue tender care in these moments?

🍃 Words have power. Their intentionality informs our ability to remain open, transparent, and present.

🍃 To stay in a relationship with people who have hurt us means finding ways of shifting toward forgiveness.

🍃 Self Compassion is sitting IN the feelings, not avoiding them.

April 27th is International Donor Conception Awareness Day

Connect With Meg

• Web: Meghan Thomas
• Pod: Emotional Expedition
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/emotional_expedition/

Connect With KJ & #BlissBeginsRetreats

• Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to nourish and recover your creative voice. Next Retreats: February 12 -18, 2024 (3 spots remain!); May 5 - May 12 (1 room left!) & May 28 - June 3, 2024 (only 3 rooms left!) and Sept 5 - 12, 2024 (Rooms are filling up quickly!)
• IG: @_kjCreates_ + @blissbeginsretreats
• Web: Bliss Begins Within
• Book a FREE Hello Call
• Ep 82 Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul
• SOAL Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

Please rate and review this podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well >>> https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

Support the show

Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
- Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
- Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com

In this extremely open conversation, Meghan "Meg" Thomas - coach, podcast hostess, and breathwork facilitator - joins KJ on SOAL to share her deeply personal story publicly for the first time.

Meg and KJ touch on themes of identity, reclamation, and the power of storytelling. Their dialogue serves as a catalyst for further discussions about fertility, adoption, and donor-conceived children. Welcome to the transparent, heartbreaking work of unearthing for reclaiming.

Compassionate Considerations:

🌱 How do you check back and ensure your intuition is correct?

🌱 In order to feel emotions, you move through them.

🌱 The body always knows the truth; even if our minds are unwilling to see it yet.

🌱 Permission to feel all the emotions including shame, betrayal, grief, and anger.

🌱 Ingredients for shame: secrecy, silence & judgment. The antidote is transparency and the willingness to dialogue.

🌱 Be brave enough at this moment, to take the next action.

🌱 Self-compassion includes allowing you to uncover your medicine for yourself (which is medicine for The World).

April 27th is International Donor Conception Awareness Day

Connect With Meg

• Web: https://www.meghanthomas.com
• Pod: https://www.meghanthomas.com/podcast
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/emotional_expedition/

Connect With KJ & #BlissBeginsRetreats

• Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to recover your creative design. Next Retreats: May 30 - June 5, 2023 (only 1 room left!) and Sept 23 - Sept 28, 2023 (Limited spots, filling up quickly!)
• IG: @_kjCreates_ + @blissbeginsretreats
• Web: https://blissbeginswithin.com
• Book a free Hello Call: https://blissbeginswithin.as.me/HelloCall
• Ep 81 Background Music: Composed & Performed by KJ Nasrul
• Intro & Outro Music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

Please Rate and Review This Podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

Support the show

Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
- Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
- Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com