From Scotland to Self-Discovery: How Memoir Writing and Holistic Healing Transformed One Woman's Life | Jessa Francis

From Scotland to Self-Discovery: How Travel, Memoir Writing, and Yoga Transformed One Woman's Life.  Jessa Frances opens up about her pivotal trip to Scotland—a true turning point that led her to embrace self-love, personal growth, and the power of community in healing. From memoir writing and nature connection to yoga, Jessa Frances candidly shares how these practices helped her navigate her path of self-discovery and now fuel her passion for guiding others towards empowerment and wholeness.

This episode also shines a light on the transformative power of structured journaling and memoir writing as tools for uncovering self-limiting beliefs and fostering personal growth. By sharing her experiences with creative nonfiction writing and interviewing family members, our host reveals how these practices led to profound insights about self-worth and relationships. Jessa Frances discusses  into practical steps to transform thoughts for positive change, including the introduction of the Empowered Path Network—a virtual community offering holistic health resources. Tune in to explore how acknowledging our thoughts can reshape our habits and lives, promoting mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

Connect with Jessa Frances
Website
Listen in to her storytelling podcast, The Caim Circle Podcast!
Substack
Untoxicated World Website

Chapters

• 0:00 Healing Journey Through Writing and Storytelling
• 17:15 Uncovering Self-Limiting Beliefs for Healing
• 32:03 Transforming Thoughts for Positive Change
• 35:00:00 Journaling to Heal Master Class

Transcript

Rose: 0:00

Everyone's healing journey is unique. My guest today found her healing through writing, through sharing her stories with others. She found a unique way to help others heal through their own storytelling and to help them rewrite their stories. Jessa Frances is a yoga instructor, a writing coach and mentor. She's also an holistic wellness guide and a non-alcoholic beverage consultant. She's a US veteran and mother of three. She loves to support people on a holistic level. She's also the host and creative energy behind the C Circle podcast. The Kind Circle Podcast.

Rose: 0:52

Welcome to Chat Off The Mat, the podcast that explores the transformative journey of healing and self-discovery where energy, spirituality, mind and body intersect. Hi, I'm your host, Rose Wippich, and I invite you to join me and explore ways to invite more holistic practices into your life. I will feature experts and practitioners who provide insights, tips and practical advice. From Reiki to Qigong, Chakra balancing to Shamanism, this podcast will be your guide to understanding how these practices can lead to more harmony and greater energy. Whether you're seeking stress relief, emotional balance or a deeper connection to your authentic self, chat Off the Mat provide you with insights and inspiration. Let's start discovering the possibilities that lie within you. Jessa Frances.

Jessa Frances: 1:47

Hello, hello Hello.

Rose: 1:49

So excited that you're here Me too so we're going to dive right in. Tell us a little bit about your personal journey, especially what has inspired you to want to help others.

Jessa Frances: 2:01

Oh my goodness, Okay. Others. Oh my goodness, okay it. You know, I just recently wrote, of course, a piece where I'm actually co-authoring a book on post-traumatic growth with one of my mentors, adi Shakti of the Soul Work family, and I was sitting down to write this piece for the you know, okay, what is my post-traumatic growth story? When did it happen? And I was, when did the that first step, when did I take that first step?

Jessa Frances: 2:34

And honestly, you could, I could say years ago, but I think the the day that it's really started beating on that more audible drum was I went to Scotland for the very first time and there was something that had always drawn me there to want to go there. It actually painted a picture of the Isle of Skye and I'd been dreaming about it and I got over there. And at this point in time in my life I am feeling very broken. My marriage is crumbling. I feel like a failure as a mother. I have felt like I had lost myself. And I got over there and I just had this just awakening with the experience that I felt over there and I ended up buying myself a clotto ring and making a promise to myself to love myself. And I remember the very first time I mean I'm walking down the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, as if I'm living in like a dream, and then I get to this point where you cross into Holyrood Park and I went from, you know, the pavement onto the field, onto the grass, and I crumbled my knees buckled eyes welled in like my eyes welled up with tears. I was just overcome with this feeling that I can't, even to this day, really describe. It was an unbecoming and a becoming all at once. And I came back from that trip and it wasn't just a few months later and my husband at the time and I said the words divorce and from there everything continued to crumble and fall apart, crumble and fall apart, crumble and fall apart. And I found my healing journey through memoir writing and through a lot of nature, connection and body movement and eventually meditation and yoga, and it's been a continual journey.

Jessa Frances: 4:50

But as I have done this, I have felt so lonely, and I think so many of us, when we're going through these feelings of not understanding ourselves, not knowing what our purpose is, not knowing what we want in life. If you've gone through a divorce or not, you've just gone through any sort of heartbreak. Motherhood there's, you know, life in itself. And I started like just I wanted to help other women, like I just I wanted to. I knew I wasn't alone. Even though I felt alone, I knew that there were other people out there that were dealing with this. I knew there's like billions of people on this planet and I knew that I was not alone, even though I was so isolated.

Jessa Frances: 5:41

And now it has become like part of my mission, and even slightly, you know, I would say, even on a selfish level, like I don't want to be alone. I know they don't want to be alone. I know we can do this in community. I know that this healing work yeah, there's parts of it where you need solitude and silence, a hundred percent, but that doesn't mean that we don't really need to also come together, because love happens internally and externally. You know, and when I finally really figured it out, that my immediate feeling was I have to share, like I was, like I had this literal step-by-step guide that I had created for myself and I was like I have got to help other people with this. This, this is gold, you know, and um, but yeah, it started with that first step onto that field and then yeah, I mean, it's just when you crumble right.

Rose: 6:52

It's rising right.

Jessa Frances: 6:57

It's like the phoenix and the ashes and the rising yes, when you're at your lowest depths, you have to come up. Yes, and I mean I've, I've called um. I started this empowered path community and I it's funny that you said that, because when I was describing it, um, in copy, I was like this is my phoenix, you know this? Uh, I had to crumble, everything had to fall apart, and this is me rising up from the ash so amazing story.

Rose: 7:33

you know, and I I pictured you in scotland and almost walking through a portal and you know kind of shedding and letting go of your old life into something new. And it was the beginnings, you know, like you were coming through a portal or a womb, you know, fresh, into a new world where you're starting fresh, and you were much inspired by the landscape as well. I know we spoke a little before about Scotland and you have a lineage there, so I'm assuming you had some past lives there as well.

Jessa Frances: 8:10

I believe 100%. So I, honestly, at that moment it almost felt like part of my soul had been wandering out there and it reconnected with me and the chills yeah, I, yeah, no, when you were talking, I did too, because I ended up going back and living there for a year. I got my master's degree at the University of Aberdeen in northeast Scotland and I got over there thinking that I was going to see Europe and explore the whole you know country and all of these things, and that was January 2020. And that's when COVID happened and I, of course, I didn't get to do at all what I thought I was going to do, but I did end up renting a car four days out of the week, sleeping in the car, eating in the car, driving all around that country and hiking the hills of Scotland, taking ferries. And I used the fact that I was a journalist and I was a writer because as my escape, because I was at that time trying to start up this Scotland travel blog. But yeah, I was out there alone in silence and nature and writing my memoir Because, for my degree, my degree is in creative writing and what I had specialized in was creative nonfiction, specifically memoir writing and my.

Jessa Frances: 9:45

What I had specialized in was creative nonfiction, specifically memoir writing, and that's the. The difference between autobiography and memoir is memoir is done with a theme, so you can take different times and parts of your life. And I was away from my children for the first time in 12 years and I titled it the Runaway Mother, and it was. I went back into how I was mothered and how I was parented and my experience with you know all of my limiting beliefs as a mother and what I was supposed to be and how I felt like I was a failure and all of this was coming out of me me as well, as you know the pain of losing my marriage, of feeling like I didn't know who I was, of trying to pick up the pieces of myself across the Scottish landscape, just crying and screaming into that beautiful, gorgeous, gorgeous sky out there.

Jessa Frances: 10:45

And it was. It was this incredible, pivotal change shift internally, externally, my life completely. I mean. It was literally like being born again. It was rising from the ash. It was, I mean, but at that point in time, that that was the fire right, that was where I was being burned down.

Jessa Frances: 11:14

And because I, I was doing this deep, dark, powerful swadhyaya, this self-study and self-reflection, and and coupled with silence and solitude. I mean, I didn't even have my phone most of the time because I had to keep it the battery charged in case anything happened, so I didn't use it very much. I was in my own mind and in my own body completely. It was a very profound experience and one that I, I think now my biggest dream is to hold retreats over there and to take other women through this same sort of journey, but in a way that you know you're not wandering alone, like I was. You're wandering in fellowship. When you need time and space, you have it, but when you need a hand and you need guidance and love, like I did, I did need that and I didn't have it, and I want to provide.

Rose: 12:22

Wow, that's amazing. Wow, that's amazing. So reconnecting or integrating with nature is an important aspect of your personal transformation. What are ways that our listeners can invite you know, I would love to go to scotland and it's on my bucket list, so I will ask you where to go and be on your retreat as well. But for people who, um, just need some time out in nature, what is something that they can do to help or invite nature into their own healing journey?

Jessa Frances: 12:54

Oh, this is a beautiful question, one that I absolutely love, so thank you for asking. There are so many ways to connect with nature, and I don't care if you are in Manhattan and downtown New York I used to live there for part time. I mean, even beyond getting out into Hyde Park or into an actual nature scene, you can invite nature in in so many ways. You can invite nature in just by going in, by doing a meditative practice where you recognize that you are nature. You are nature even when you're on the city street and you see the hustle and bustle and the people and what they have built, and that one little tree or that one little flower coming up and poking its way through the concrete. There are ways where it's amazing what awareness does, because, when we are truly aware, we can focus out or we can focus in, we can look so far outside of ourselves that we almost don't even understand where we are in space, and then we can do almost the exact same thing when we come inside, and so we have this powerful ability to use our sense of perception and our sense of awareness to to connect in multiple ways, and so I actually wrote an entire article on different ways that you can connect with nature. Um, I have a sub stack it's just jessaprancissubstackcom and it, uh, it's filled with articles, everything from mindful drinking to mindful living, mindful thinking.

Jessa Frances: 14:48

But you know, having a plant indoors connecting with yourself as nature, connecting with other people and yourself as nature, we are nature, and so often we forget that nature we are nature and so often we forget that we forget that we are animals, you know. And then just the elements. You think about all of the elements. Light a candle, feel the breeze Actually feel the breeze. No gust of wind is the same, you know. And look at the sky. The sky is always available, whether it's cloudy or not, and be intrigued by it. Be intrigued, let yourself really open yourself up, self up to a even a broader or a narrower perception. You know, let it, let it influx.

Rose: 15:50

It's a beautiful thing when you let that happen I think people miss out on this sensory exploration when they're constantly looking down, even when people walk I notice when people are walking outside in my neighborhood they're always looking down You're missing out on the beauty that is surrounding you when you're looking down. And I know personally, the first thing I do when I wake up is I go out in the backyard and I just look around the birds and the trees and just smell. You know, whatever is in the air, whether it's humidity or sunshine, just embrace all those things and have it really tickle all of your senses. That's beautiful.

Rose: 16:36

Yes, you mentioned you have a degree in creative writing and you've said that you've been given purpose through memoir writing, which you mentioned, and that've said that you've been given purpose through memoir writing, which you mentioned, and that it has given you a profound uncovering of self and the way to heal from some of your trauma and wounds. Can you talk a little bit more about that? Because, um, prior to meeting you, have never met anyone or spoken to anyone I've read a lot of books but who really uncovered a lot of layers of themselves and self-awareness of themselves through memoir writing. So give us a little bit more about that.

Jessa Frances: 17:14

Yeah, yeah. So I've been deer-diering it my entire life, since probably I was like nine years old, right, and I didn't realize until even just a couple years ago that the way I had been writing was actually keeping me stuck. It was putting energy into the negativity and the oh woe is me and the pains I was feeling because that's what I sat down and write, thinking that I was going to get it all out of me, right? So I actually have like specific journaling practices that are very, very helpful, but when you're just sitting down and you're just letting your thoughts spill out rather than doing it in a way that is more structured, you can end up keeping yourself in a mindset that you, that is not helpful. And I fell into memoir writing, kind of happenstance. When I first started my creative writing journey, I was poetry and fiction, and then I got forced, because of you know different prerequisites, to take this creative writing nonfiction class and the first thing I wrote was a, because I was thinking, oh gosh, what's interesting about my life? Nothing. But I was like, okay, well, I did get deployed, that's kind of interesting. I could write about turning 21 in Iraq, and so I did in Iraq, and so I did and, as I did, the actual creative writing of it, where I was setting the scene and I was building characters and I was laying out the setting right, I was able to pull myself up and out of the situation and look down upon it in this objective way and I was able to get an entirely different view of that situation that I had been in and I was writing this story and I ended up crying like every other paragraph, because I was like I don't know what to do. Oh my gosh. I never realized that. That's why I felt that way. I never realized that that's what actually was going on with me.

Jessa Frances: 19:28

All of that turmoil was from this and I just I was having epiphany after epiphany because I was, I had allowed myself to look at this, just this one six month stint of my life and then, before I know it, I'm I'm doing that for different time periods and I started uncovering all these different things and so, like we were talking about my divorce, when the word came out and we were going to do this, the word came out and we were going to do this I was so unsure. You know that uncertainty was like am I really going to break up a 14 year relationship. We have three kids together. Like, who am I to do this? And I was second guessing myself and gaslighting myself. I was like I know what to do. I'm going to write it, I'm going to write the story. And so that's when I that was the first time I had actually was like really, I'm going to use this as a tool. And I sat down to write our story and as I did that once again I'm crying, I'm having all these epiphanies, all this.

Jessa Frances: 20:42

And the big thing that that story was telling me was you have no self-worth. You got into this relationship because you have no self-worth. I was like so why, why do I keep staying when I've been so unhappy? Dot dot dot. And it kept coming back like, well, because you don't believe you're worthy. And then I was.

Jessa Frances: 21:07

I had to ask myself the big question Well, why not? Why don't I feel worthy? Why don't I like I was loved, I have two loving parents, I, I I have some trauma in my life, for sure, but what really is making me feel this way? I didn't know. So that's when I had to start at the beginning and I had to write born in 1985 too and talk about my parents, talk about my raising, and in a way where it wasn't just oh, these are the values my parents taught me, oh, this is what my dad did for a living.

Jessa Frances: 21:47

It was painting the picture in a way that I could pull myself out and up out of the situation and look at it objectively and then see, oh, when I saw my mother do that, it made me feel this. When everyone was saying this, I understood it this way. But it was actually this, and I ended up creating bonds with my family because I interviewed my mother, I interviewed my father, I interviewed my grandmother to get the truth, because our you know what's spinning around in our head is not always the truth. And we need to get, we need to uncover that. And that's when you understand your limiting beliefs, where they came from and how to move forward with them. And then that's why I make everything holistic, because, okay, I have my limiting beliefs, I know what they are, I know where they came from, but that doesn't stop the program from running. So then the integration has to start happening the breath work, the body movement, the physical processing, the release, you know. And that's how the program was built, right, yeah that's the hard work and what you did.

Rose: 23:09

You were lucky, fortunate, to have both your parents and able to speak to them. And you know some people are not, and I know I've done a lot of the same work, uncovering the real truths of my trauma, or what I, what my perceived trauma is as a child, but also, you know, coming at it from that and being objective. And when you say objective, I look at it as, like this outside observer, like, okay, what is really happening? What was my mother going through? Why was she like the way she was towards me? It's because, oh, I, I know, I get it now. You know, maybe she had a mental health issues, or maybe she just that's the way, the only way she knew. So then, then that's when that that true healing starts. Just just like you explained, and understanding your self-limiting beliefs, which I feel that it's it's self-limiting beliefs, the feelings of lack of self, of worth, which I feel that it's self-limiting beliefs, the feelings of lack of worth. Women have that a lot, don't you agree?

Jessa Frances: 24:09

Yes, you know, I don't know a single woman that doesn't have one of three limiting beliefs, if not all three of them. We are either ashamed of our body and the way we look. We have this relationship with money, but we have this money story that we're not worthy of any sort of wealth or the love and relationship side of things, where we have been taught a certain thing about how much love we are willing. You know we're capable of having, we're worthy of. You know we're capable of having, we're worthy of having. You know, so we have this. I mean, that's why we end up in relationships that are not good for us and we stay in these relationships that hurt us because, on some level, we don't feel worthy of the love that we really want, the love that we really desire don't feel worthy of the love that we really want, the love that we really desire, right that we are um.

Rose: 25:08

That is our birthright as well.

Jessa Frances: 25:10

It's our birthright. We were born worthy, exactly born worthy and no, it's, I'm sorry, go ahead no, you're fine, it's, it is.

Jessa Frances: 25:19

It's going back and going all the way back to that core, to where you were. You were born full of light and love and worthiness, abundance, capability, everything was. You were born with that. And then society and our parenting and our programming and our fears and everything just sets in over time and blankets that to the point that it almost snuffs it out. But it's not gone and it was never gone and it just takes some uncovering.

Rose: 25:54

It takes a lot of uncovering and a lot of work and, in my opinion as well, I feel that it leads to addictive behaviors. This is my opinion, but you know it could be. You know, not eating to eating, to drinking, to other type of behaviors, to mask all those things, to to, to have this perception of being worthy. You know but, but not. But that's not real, true worth when you're, when you're trying to mask it or when you're having. You know but, but not. But that's not real, true worth when you're, when you're trying to mask it or when you're having. You know, or you're a sex addict or anything like that.

Jessa Frances: 26:30

Oh yeah, cause the things that we want. We want to feel seen, heard and loved and whatever way we can feel seen, heard and loved. And if we don't feel that, we need to numb ourselves. And so we have these vices right, we have gambling, we have sex, we have drinking, we have drugs. We have even people that can be addicted to working out. I mean, there's healthier things that we can do that can actually end up being addictive. But it's this way of numbing ourselves away from that core. But so many of us we think that we're going to find it out there. It's out there. That's something else is going to come to me and and fix me and help me feel loved. But the only person you have to do it yourself right and that's the self-love.

Jessa Frances: 27:22

Sounds really hard, but it gets easier. It does start off difficult, but I have found that it gets easier and easier and easier. It's just like a muscle you flex, but, um, I actually am a non-alcoholic beverage consultant too. Yeah, yeah, I mean like that, you know the universe has your back. And I had been begging. I've been screaming into the universe right, trying like, please lead me in the right direction, please show me where to go, please show me who I am, please, please, help me. You know, and, and I couldn't get a job. I couldn't get a job, couldn't get a job.

Jessa Frances: 28:08

And I was working, um TaskRabbit, which is like this job where you it's almost like Door Dash, but for tasks. People will hire you to do yard work, to help them pack, to pick up their groceries, all kinds of things. And this woman hired me to paint her living room and so I went in and I'm just talking. I was like, yeah, I just got back from Scotland, I have my degree in creative writing, I'm prior military dot, dot, dot, and she says I could really use someone like you. I'm starting up this shop downtown. It's like I'd be happy to help with whatever you need and she's like I could actually use a copywriter and somebody in the warehouse. I was like, perfect, I'll help.

Jessa Frances: 28:51

It ends up being a non-alcoholic bottle shop and it started me. Within just a few months, I was dubbed the director of brand operations and partnerships. I just became kind of a jack of all trades of this store of you know, partnering with the brands, getting to know them, writing for the website, helping the customers, learning about the products, and this whole mindful drinking thing. For me was like oh, this would pair perfectly with my memoir writing programs and my nature retreats that I want to put together. I have these non-alcoholic products and I was like okay, here we go, I'm happy here, this works.

Jessa Frances: 29:38

And then the universe once again shifted. It was like, well, you can't work there anymore, you have to go over here. And so I have. I started on my own consultancy and now you know I'm just bringing awareness of the alcohol-free products and how they, just like the memoir writing, are tools to help us own our relationship with our habits and our thoughts, and you know the way that we show up in the world and the way we want to live our life. And it just became this thing because I screamed into the sky and said universe, please help me. So I highly recommend going out and doing that asking the universe.

Rose: 30:18

Yeah, just go ahead ask the universe, please it cost you. It doesn't cost you a dime. You can ask away.

Jessa Frances: 30:25

Completely free, absolutely. Sky is always there.

Rose: 30:29

Absolutely. I'm a big believer. You need to co-create with your guides, with the universe. And we forget, you know we forget. Oh yeah, I need to ask for this and it'll show up the way it's meant to be, you know. So that's the thing. You just let it, you just ask and forget it, and then it'll show up for you. But yeah, you know, it's, that's a great story. I love that, yeah, yeah.

Rose: 30:58

So, going back to writing, I circle back to writing because I'm realizing how powerful it is only because I've been a writer all my life as well and I've been journaling and having a diary since I was a child and also writing down all the negative things in there and realizing recently, you know, I've got to be a little bit more. I have my positive journal and I have my kind of, like my B-I-T-C-H journal where I'm writing all those you know, because the energy that you put behind words is important. Yes, you know so. So writing, so, so let's, let's talk about rewriting our story. So we've, we've have history of, of things that we want to kind of shed and let go of. Is there a way that we can sit down and and and kind of rewrite our story, or or or ask the universe help in in creating a new story for our, for us. Does that make sense?

Jessa Frances: 31:57

yeah, you rewrite your story. You rewrite your life because you are. We all have a story about ourselves and about the world playing in our mind and our thoughts repeat up to 90% every day. We're thinking the same things, the same thoughts over and over and over. And so, whatever those 90%, whatever that story is about who you are and what the world is, that's your reality. And so if you want that to change, you have to change those specific thoughts.

Jessa Frances: 32:38

Right, and so ask yourself I mean, if you I mean not everybody is cut out for sitting down and writing memoir, I, I, I think everybody is I will say, like, you don't have to be a writer to do memoir writing. You don't, um, anybody can do it. Um, but if you're not ready for that step and you still kind of want to start, right. So here's what I recommend. I recommend that you start a journal specifically with bullet points of what were my repeating thoughts today. You know what patterns are showing up in my normal thoughts today. If you start off the day and you ask yourself questions like what do I want to give today and what do I want to receive today, you know like just starting off your day with this really good intention of this is what I want to put out and this is what I want to bring back in. And also think karma, what you put, this is what I want to put out and this is what I want to bring back in. And also think karma, what you put out is what you get. So you need to make sure that those correlate and then, as you're going throughout your day, and at the end of the day you'll recognize okay, what didn't I get, what didn't I do, what were the things that kept coming up over and over and over and just kind of getting that awareness of okay, here are the negative thoughts that I'm having, here are the positive thoughts I'm having. It starts with your energy, right, so energy goes into thoughts, thoughts go into feelings and then feelings go into your habits which make your life. So, if you're feeling stuck on knowing your energy started the start at the very beginning, look at your life as it is now, look at how you would want it to be, and then think very, you know, just objectively, like imagine yourself as your own therapist and say how would I, you know, how can I tweak this in my habits? And then work backward instead.

Jessa Frances: 35:00

There's all different ways to go in here. I actually have a journal writing masterclass coming out. It's just a how to journal well, 101. Nutrition journals there's, you know. Writing for mental health, writing for emotional health, writing for professional health. You know, there's all these different ways that we can go at it and I've found that I need different things at different times. And having all these different things um can support me, depending on kind of where my baseline nervous system is sitting. Nervous system is saying and um, but yeah, so start um just trying to be aware of your patterns and then write them down. And then write what you want and then keep and don't beat yourself up. That's key when you don't do it. Right things. When you have the ice cream and you wish you didn't have the ice cream, be like. Well, I had ice cream today. It was and and and revel in it. It tasted so good, right.

Rose: 36:15

You're right, because I had some last night. I never have it. It was just a little little piece of ice cream sandwich and then I felt so bad. Afterwards I'm like you know what, I'm not going to feel bad because I never have it and it tasted so good. So that was that Good. I love that. That you brought that up. Yes, you know a little. And having compassion for yourself. You know that word gets tossed around a lot too, but it's so true. Just like you know, go easy on yourself. We beat ourselves up all the time. It's no wonder we don't have any, like you know. I mean, we have energetic bruises. You know we don't have like physical bruises, but we have energetic bruises by constantly beating ourselves up. It's sad. We have energetic bruises by constantly beating ourselves up. It's sad. So stop beating yourselves up. And you know, connect with that, like you said, that joy and that love that we're meant to feel. You know, I love that, your examples of you know and I'm going to put all the obviously all the links in the show notes.

Jessa Frances: 37:21

But I want you to talk about your Empowered Path Network, your membership community to do this in person and working on building up in-person retreats, because that's where I think I'll really, really thrive. But the universe taking me on this wild adventure and has made me kind of a nomad right now, and so I've needed to do a lot of virtual work and so I created a virtual community. It's in Mighty Networks and I wanted it to encompass everything that I am and everything that I want people to have access to. So that's the pillars of holistic health, you know mind, body and energy. So in the Emp path you will find a book club which, uh, you know, we dive into books like how to do the work with, uh, dr nicole para um, with which magic mind um, I, it's james r dodie, he wrote this book and it's all about manifestation. So I find, like the bestsellers, right, the books that you need to do the work, and then we do them together. You know, there's workshops, there's regular meetings, there's a community of people that can get together and actually talk, through their experience, of what they're taking away from these books and share insights.

Jessa Frances: 39:03

And then I have my yoga, which is not just the asana, not just the body movement, right, you've got breath work, you've got meditation practices. You've got the philosophy, all of it in that space. And then I have fitness and nutrition. So you've got in-home workouts, gym routines, recipes, all of the things that you can possibly want for mind, body, energy, spirit, you know.

Jessa Frances: 39:33

And then I do have a space for my memoir writing group, and beyond that there is a small section that is just mindfulness resources. So you've got affirmations, journaling, prompts. You've got all my mindful drinking information about how to um, understand the products, where to find them, get promo codes, different things like that. And then I like to do little conscious cocktail classes and things like that every once in a while. But that correlates really well with my sub stack, because every week I'm writing new articles and those articles are full blown like amazing resources, such as alcohol free wine what's the difference between alternative and alcohol removed and how is it made? Alcohol free spirits where to start and what to know? Hemp products, functional ingredients what to know? Functional ingredients, what to know? All of these different things that the alcohol-free beverage industry has brought forth, this entire new category of functional drinks, and I have all of that information in my noggin and I'm just slowly, week after week, putting it down on paper.

Jessa Frances: 40:56

um, so, yeah, there's the mindful membership, and then there's the. There's the mindful membership, and then there's the empowered fitness, there's yoga, there's all the things, and we meditate every week, every single Sunday I hold sadhana, and it's that ability to move back into the seat of the witness, remind yourself to move back into that seat of love, the original you, and then observe yourself your life from that seat of the witness. And doing that together in community every week, I think is really powerful, beautiful, yeah, I I.

Rose: 41:38

Your website offers all of that information. I'm looking at it now and you have a variety of options for people to explore and to try. I think that's wonderful to create community like that and you offer so much. And I'm really excited about the non-alcoholic beverage because it was a year ago I stopped drinking and you know there's not that much awareness about non-alcoholic stuff. It's everywhere you turn. It's like alcoholic beverage here is just screaming at you everywhere, no matter where you're driving, and there's a truck in front of you that you know it's a vodka truck or whatever, and so you know we need more of that non-alcoholic information to filter through to people who are curious about not drinking or drinking less sober. Curious baby, that's it. Love that. So is there anything else you wanted to share before? I want to, I guess. Yes, you do, because we want to talk about your podcast oh, yes, yes, I actually just started on my own podcast.

Jessa Frances: 42:46

It sounds like I'm doing a thousand things and I am, you are and you have children.

Rose: 42:51

So God bless you and I have children.

Jessa Frances: 42:53

No, I mean, it's funny to me that once you find the things that you really love and then just spark your heart and make you feel alive, it's so easy to do a lot of things, you know, it just gets easy. So, yeah, I, um, I started my own podcast. It was called the empowered path podcast, but I renamed it because there's like 10 the Empowered Path Podcast and I have a symbol, a Gaelic symbol from Scotland that has always just been a powerful symbol for me. I actually have a tattoo with my father with this symbol. It's called a Ciam, which is pronounced C-A-I-M, but it's pronounced Ciam, which is pronounced C-A-I-M but it's pronounced Kiem. It is a Gaelic, scottish symbol for sanctuary and it is. I love the symbol because not only does it represent sanctuary but protection and safety and the understanding that you are loved. That in particular, a sanctuary of love and safety. And whenever you come into a space with me, whether it be virtual or in person or on these retreats and these things that I'm creating, I want you to step inside that Kim circle.

Jessa Frances: 44:17

I want you to step inside that sanctuary and know that you, in this space with me are always seen, heard and loved, and yeah, so it's a powerful meaning for me and I it's kind of taking over, I fall. I love it more and more all the time. So, but yeah, kim Circle, I love it more and more all the time, so, but yeah, kim Circle.

Rose: 44:42

I love that. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. I wish you so much luck with that. I know podcasts can be fun and you know our intention is just to share what we know and love, just like you've been sharing on this podcast what you know, what you love, what you want to share with others and inspire others to go on that healing journey and just uncover their story, share their story, rewrite their story and to heal from that as well. It's beautiful. I want to thank you for being here. This has been wonderful for me and I'm so glad that we've connected. I know so much more about you now and I'm so happy that my listeners do as well, and I encourage everyone to connect with you and to continue to hear about your stories and how you can help others. So thank you, thank you for being here.

Jessa Frances: 45:33

It has been an absolute honor. I am just so happy to have you in my Caim Circle, to know you, and I feel like there will be more in the future.

Rose: 45:46

I do too, thank you. Thank you for that. I'm honored as well. Thank you for joining me here on Chat Off The Mat. I hope these stories have inspired you. If you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with those who might benefit. Your support helps me spread awareness about the power of transformative healing. Stay connected with me on social media. Reach out with your own healing stories or topics you'd like me to explore in future episodes. Your voice is an essential part of this community. I hope that your healing journey is filled with self-discovery, curiosity, resilience and the unwavering belief in the power that resides within you. Until next time, I'm Rose Wippich, wishing you a journey filled with love, laughter and endless possibilities.