When Shame Teaches You to Go Quiet & How to Get Your Voice Back with Leigh “Gal” Marlar

Healing, Boundaries, and Becoming Your True Self with Sandra Guevara

What happens when you realize you’ve built a life around everyone else — and don’t quite know who you are underneath it all? In this episode, Sandra Guevara shares her journey from growing up in a chaotic home to rebuilding her relationship with her mom, redefining friendship, and choosing a life rooted in authenticity. This is a gentle, real look at what it takes to stop people-pleasing and start honoring who you actually are. In this conversation, we explore how family dynamics, childhood wounds, and unspoken expectations shape the way we show up in relationships — with others and with ourselves. Sandra talks about leaving home young, feeling unseen, learning to set boundaries, and slowly finding her voice again through healing work and tarot. You’ll hear about: * Rebuilding a strained mother–daughter relationship from resentment to best-friend energy * Moving from people-pleasing and “doormat” patterns into clear, grounded boundaries * Why friendships shift as we grow — and how to navigate those changes with more maturity * Seeing jealousy and triggers as mirrors, not proof that something is wrong with you * The reality of healing: messy, cyclical, and still worth choosing * Sandra’s Authentic AF group container and her upcoming “Who Am I?” workshop If you’ve been questioning who you are outside of your roles, relationships, and past, let this episode be a soft nudge back toward yourself. Connect with Sandra: * TikTok: sandraguevara_ [https://www.tiktok.com/@sandraguevara_?_r=1&_t=ZT-91LhNWHkvEF] * Instagram: sandia4lyfe_ [https://www.instagram.com/sandia4lyfe_?igsh=N2NvMWVzeDViZGR3] → Connect with me on Instagram: @brooklincbuchanan [https://instagram.com/brooklincbuchanan]

Starting Over at 30: Finding Purpose, Faith, and Second Chances with Elijah Donnelly

Change doesn’t always look like progress. Sometimes it looks like starting from scratch, staring at the unknown, and saying, “Maybe this time, I’ll do it differently.” In this episode, I sit down with Elijah Donnelly — storyteller, writer, and creator of Learning at 30 — to talk about what it really means to begin again. From walking away from a decade-long film career in Los Angeles to enrolling as a college freshman at age 30, Elijah’s journey is one of humility, faith, and quiet courage. In this episode, we explore: * What it’s like to “start over” in adulthood and rewrite your story on your own terms * The lessons Elijah carried from 10 years in the film industry — and how storytelling continues to shape his path * Learning to trust divine timing and see setbacks as redirections * How faith, vulnerability, and second chances can create a life that actually feels aligned * Why it’s never too late to make a new choice — and what it takes to follow through when pride and fear try to hold you back If you’ve ever felt behind or questioned whether it’s too late to change your path — this conversation is your reminder that timing is never wrong when your heart is ready to listen. Connect with Elijah Donnelly * 💼 LinkedIn: Learning at 30 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/learningat30/] * 📝 Newsletter: Learning at 30 on Beehiiv [https://learningat30.beehiiv.com/] → Connect with me on Instagram: @brooklincbuchanan [https://instagram.com/brooklincbuchanan] → Anchor your Sunday's with The Lighthouse Circle [https://brooklincbuchanan.kit.com/thelc]

When Shame Teaches You to Go Quiet & How to Get Your Voice Back with Leigh “Gal” Marlar

Silence can feel safer than being misunderstood. In this grounded conversation, Brooke and Leigh “Gal” Marlar trace the arc from masking and over-giving to creative honesty—where art becomes a lifeline, shame loosens its grip, and your real voice starts to sound like home. In this episode, we explore how childhood messaging, workplace dynamics, and neurodivergent wiring can train you to perform instead of express.  You’ll hear how Leigh uses art, writing, and gentle self-inquiry to rebuild trust with herself, and how Brooke reframed a viral post into clearer boundaries and cleaner intent. If you’ve ever been told you’re “too much” (or learned to be “less”), this is a soft landing and a nudge forward. You’ll hear about: * Art as regulation, expression, and a path back to yourself * Late discovery of autism/ADHD and releasing shame around labels * The “you talk too much” wound—and why many of us stop sharing * Masks, people-pleasing, and learning to choose yourself without apology * The diamond-in-the-dark metaphor: pressure, timing, and being seen * Generational patterns, clean boundaries, and practicing new responses If you’re holding your breath to stay acceptable, let this be the exhale: one page in a journal, one small tassel, one honest sentence—start there. Links + Resources Leigh “Gal” Marlar — Aurtistic Expressions (art + disability advocacy + creative journals) * Website: www.aurtisticexpressions.com [http://www.aurtisticexpressions.com] * Socials: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580914672388] • LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leigh-marlar-244166364/] • Etsy [https://aurtbygal.etsy.com/] * Mentioned themes: shadow journaling, creative co-working/crafting circles, imagination as practice → Connect with me on Instagram: @brooklincbuchanan [https://instagram.com/brooklincbuchanan]

You Don’t Have to Be Just One Thing — Permission to Be Multi-Dimensional with Dani Rees

In this episode, we explore how Dani followed small breadcrumbs — from college radio and podcasting to yoga, Reiki, and sound — to build a practice rooted in real care and energy awareness. You’ll hear about energetic consent in Reiki, simple protection/grounding practices, and why play and community are medicine for the nervous system. This is for you if you’re multi-passionate, tired of being told to “pick one thing,” and ready to move at the pace of patience and presence. You’ll hear about: * Dani’s origin story: a first “ego death,” media studies, and saying yes to yoga * Her first Reiki session and why consent is non-negotiable in energy work * Everyday grounding: connecting with the Earth, calling your energy back, and simple intentions * Letting yourself be many things — and reframing “higher self” as your most authentic self * Community, play, and tiny daily choices as the real path forward * Dani’s current offerings: chakra attunement kits, Reiki + sound journeys, private yoga, and a new local space in Raleigh, NC If you’ve been pressuring yourself to be singular or “have it all figured out,” let this be your exhale. You’re allowed to be many things — and to grow at your own pace. Connect with Dani Rees — Attuning to You: * Instagram: @attuningtoyou [https://www.instagram.com/attuningtoyou/] * TikTok: @attuningtoyou [https://www.tiktok.com/@attuningtoyou] * Site: Pensight — Attuning to You [https://pensight.com/x/attuningtoyou] * Offerings: Reiki sessions, private yoga, Reiki + sound journeys, Chakra Attunement Kits (tea blends, roll-ons, intentions, palo santo) → Connect with me on Instagram: @brooklincbuchanan [https://instagram.com/brooklincbuchanan]

Exploring Past Lives, Higher Selves & the Mystery of What Comes Next with Christine Hoekzema

In this grounded and expansive exchange, Brooke sits down with Christine Hoekzema, a Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT) practitioner from Michigan, whose work was inspired by the late Dolores Cannon. Christine shares her journey from accountant to healer — and how her fascination with life after death opened the door to helping others reconnect with their higher selves. You’ll hear about: * What a QHHT session actually is and how it bridges science, spirituality, and the subconscious. * Christine’s personal story of losing both parents — and how Dolores Cannon’s teachings reshaped her understanding of death and energy. * Brooke’s own past-life regression experience (including one as a healer in the Scottish highlands) and how those insights continue to ripple through her life today. * The role of curiosity, surrender, and self-responsibility when exploring the unseen realms. * Why being “ready to see” is more important than forcing a breakthrough. This is a heart-opening episode for anyone curious about life’s mysteries, soul lessons, or what happens when we stop fearing endings and start seeing them as transitions. If you’ve ever wondered why you’re here — or where we go when we leave — let this be your reminder: your soul always knows the way home. Links + Resources Connect with Christine Hoekzema: * Email: choekzema@gmail.com [choekzema@gmail.com] * Listed on the QHHT Practitioner Directory [https://members.qhhtofficial.com/members/christine-hoekzema-2/] (Level 2, Grand Rapids + Newaygo, MI) * IG: @cloudviews444 [https://www.instagram.com/cloudviews444/] Books Mentioned in this episode: * Between Death and Life — by Dolores Cannon * The Three Waves of Volunteers and the New Earth — by Dolores Cannon → Connect with me on Instagram: @brooklincbuchanan [https://instagram.com/brooklincbuchanan]