The Artist Within Podcast

March MCC | Forgiveness, Boundaries, and Letting Go

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381394/fan_mail/new] Forgiveness can sound like a rule you’re forced to follow, but we treat it like something far more honest: a decision you make so your body and mind can stop carrying what hurts. Our monthly community conversation gets into the real questions people avoid saying out loud. What if forgiving doesn’t mean excusing the damage? What if you can forgive and still leave? And what if the hardest person to forgive is yourself? We talk about self-forgiveness as a mental health practice that supports growth, accountability, and peace. We share simple mantras that help when guilt and regret show up, plus the difference between “I did my best with what I knew” and using the past as an excuse. We also explore how resentment can turn into stress you feel physically, and why forgiveness is often layered, repeated, and non-linear rather than a one-time moment. From friendship betrayals and gossip to workplace conflicts like someone taking credit for your ideas, we walk through boundaries that protect you without hardening you. You’ll also hear a short guided clench-and-release exercise that makes the weight of holding on feel tangible, then shows what relief can feel like in just seconds. If you’ve been stuck between anger and silence, this conversation offers language, tools, and permission to choose a lighter future on your terms. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with your answer: what makes forgiveness difficult for you? Support the show [https://www.phinc-ing.org/invest-in-change] Listen, follow, subscribe, and share! Join us in spreading the message of creativity and empowerment. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more inspiring content.  Website: https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw [https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc [https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590 [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590] Disclaimer: “The Artist Within Podcast” is for educational and informational purposes only. We are not medical professionals, and the content should not be considered medical advice. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your physician or a qualified healthcare provider.

My Plants Are Alive So I Am Too

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381394/fan_mail/new] On this deeply personal episode, I share the truth of what it means to survive, rebuild, and choose renewal. April 16 marks 33 years since the day my life changed forever, and for the first time, I can speak about it from a place of acceptance, faith, and peace. This is a conversation about trauma, resilience, God’s grace, and the decision to define your life by how you rise, not by what tried to break you. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review so more people searching for trauma healing and PTSD support can find us. Support the show [https://www.phinc-ing.org/invest-in-change] Listen, follow, subscribe, and share! Join us in spreading the message of creativity and empowerment. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more inspiring content.  Website: https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw [https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc [https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590 [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590] Disclaimer: “The Artist Within Podcast” is for educational and informational purposes only. We are not medical professionals, and the content should not be considered medical advice. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your physician or a qualified healthcare provider.

FEB MCC | What If Self-Care Is Your Real Job

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381394/fan_mail/new] You can love people deeply and still be running on empty, and that “empty” shows up as stress, anxiety, resentment, brain fog, and burnout that feels normal because it’s been your baseline for years. We sit down for a monthly community conversation with PHInc. to get practical about self-care and self-love, then push the idea further into what we call care of self: the daily, unglamorous skill of restoring your capacity before you pour into anyone else. We talk energy management in plain language by treating you like what you are: a human with limits. If you picture your energy as a battery, cup, or tank, you can start tracking what drains you, what refills you, and where your boundaries actually need to be. We also dig into caregiver burnout and emotional labor, including why supportive roles can quietly raise the risk of stress, depression, and exhaustion when your needs are always last. You’ll hear a simple drawing exercise you can do with a scrap of paper, plus a self-care wheel check-in that covers physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, and professional health. We share honest stories about losing touch with what we want, rebuilding from zero, and using small actions like rest, hygiene, movement, faith, and even a single hug to reconnect with ourselves. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who overgives, and leave a review so more people find these mental health tools and community conversations. Support the show [https://www.phinc-ing.org/invest-in-change] Listen, follow, subscribe, and share! Join us in spreading the message of creativity and empowerment. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more inspiring content.  Website: https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw [https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc [https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590 [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590] Disclaimer: “The Artist Within Podcast” is for educational and informational purposes only. We are not medical professionals, and the content should not be considered medical advice. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your physician or a qualified healthcare provider.

The Moment You Claim Your Past, Your Future Changes

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381394/fan_mail/new] Some stories begin at the bottom of a valley and keep climbing, one deliberate step at a time. This conversation is one of them: a raw, faith-forward journey through complex PTSD, dissociative amnesia, a medical maze that offered more pills than answers, and the stubborn decision to “try” until trying became living. We share how a childhood shaped by war rewired memory, how the body kept the score in nosebleeds and spasms, and how a neurologist’s blunt truth became a doorway to a different kind of healing. We talk about the 2019 moment that changed everything: a sky that formed an eye—an uncanny mirror of a tattoo—offering a clear path when doubt was loudest. Then came the pandemic slow-burn and a year of tests that taught tough lessons on self-advocacy. You’ll hear the tools that made a difference: pattern recognition, tracking symptoms, asking precise questions, and building rituals that calm a frayed nervous system. Faith anchors the work—prayer, routine, and the daily act of reliving and integrating what was once too painful to hold. There’s a plot twist on a school morning: a car crash, an intact child, and a totaled Hyundai that took the hit.  Honoring a childhood vow with a used BMW that symbolized survival, agency, and finally choosing the lane meant for us. More than a material win, it’s a marker that the inner child can lower her guard because the adult is steady at the wheel. If you’re navigating trauma, feeling erased by systems, or just tired of not recognizing your own story, this episode offers tools, proof, and hope. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the moment that moved you most—your words help others find the path. Support the show [https://www.phinc-ing.org/invest-in-change] Listen, follow, subscribe, and share! Join us in spreading the message of creativity and empowerment. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more inspiring content.  Website: https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw [https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc [https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590 [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590] Disclaimer: “The Artist Within Podcast” is for educational and informational purposes only. We are not medical professionals, and the content should not be considered medical advice. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your physician or a qualified healthcare provider.

Compassion, In Practice

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381394/fan_mail/new] Some conversations change how we move through the world. This one starts with a simple idea—showing up—and expands into a working model of compassion you can practice today: presence over fixing, empathy with boundaries, and community care that protects everyone’s safety and dignity. We share why self-compassion is the first step toward sustainable support, then map the bridge from connection to compassionate action. Through four real-life scenarios, we rehearse what to do when a friend keeps canceling, how to respond to a stranger in public distress, ways to help a colleague who unloads every day without becoming their sole outlet, and how to address a harmful mental health comment from family without igniting a fight. Along the way, our team offers grounded tools: assess risk before engaging, name your capacity out loud, ask “Do you want listening or feedback?,” use simple, impact-focused language, and avoid enabling by returning agency to the person who owns the story. We also play with “Compassion in Color,” a creative exercise that surfaces how each of us experiences care—yellow light for warmth, lavender for open-hearted talk, sky blue for steady shelter, gray for endurance together, and red for the lifeblood urge to help. That spectrum becomes a practical insight: different people need different forms of compassion, and together we can cover more ground. We close with a three-time compassion pledge—one act for yourself, one for someone close, and one for a stranger or difficult relationship—turning intention into habits that actually change lives. If this conversation resonates, share it with someone who needs a little courage, subscribe for next month’s topic on building structure, and leave a review to help more people find these tools. Want to fuel the work? Grab a digital dozen in our Krispy Kreme fundraiser and support our documentary and community programs. Support the show [https://www.phinc-ing.org/invest-in-change] Listen, follow, subscribe, and share! Join us in spreading the message of creativity and empowerment. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more inspiring content.  Website: https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw [https://www.phinc-ing.org/taw] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc [https://www.youtube.com/projecthumanincphinc] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/taw_theartistwithin_podcast/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590 [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552201342590] Disclaimer: “The Artist Within Podcast” is for educational and informational purposes only. We are not medical professionals, and the content should not be considered medical advice. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your physician or a qualified healthcare provider.