Welcome to THE TRUE NORTH COLLECTIVE℠ PODCAST: SEASON 3! With co-hosts Rachel Bellotti (she/her) and Jenell Riesner (she/her), this is a gathering of un-sugar-coated conversations celebrating the untold stories of everyday people fearlessly finding and living their true north.
In our own search to discover and live from our TRUE NORTH, we continue to meet many interesting, courageous people from all walks of life, doing all sorts of amazing things to live life in their own unique way. Stories from all over the world. Stories with heart. Stories with grit. Stories with plot twists. Stories going untold - until now. This season, we celebrate these untold stories of everyday people who are fearlessly living their true north and inspiring each of us to do the same.
Today, Jenell and Rachel take some time to sit down and discuss identity. We have both gone through a lot of changes, along with the rest of the world as 2020 has unfolded, and we wanted to capture this conversation in real-time. What do you do when your identity starts to change and evolve? When does your past authenticity become your present facade? How do you stay true to yourself as you and the world around you starts to transition into something new? How do you stay anchored in your TRUE NORTH when everything around you looks different? No matter where you might be on this journey, know that you are not alone.
*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+
**note: recorded on 4/29/2020
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- #amplifymelanatedvoices @andrejworldwide
- #amplifymelanatedvoices @iamandco
- #amplifymelanatedvoices @loveoffering
- #amplifymelanatedvoices @dellahickswilson
- The Angry Therapist
- THRIVE – a human development company
- Nate Postlethwait via IG @nate_postlethwaith
- Mark Groves via IG @create the love
- Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer
- Music from: https://www.jukedeck.com/
3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Who am I? It can feel like such an overwhelming and loaded question. Are we layers upon layers of curated facade pseudo selves that we must peel back to find our core? Are we a mashup of contrasts with different levers that automatically turn on or off depending on the environment and perceived need? Are we tapping into some universal vibration depending on what the moment calls for? Whichever it is, it almost doesn’t matter as much as recognizing the potentiality that exists within each of us at any given moment. What if within us, right now and always, we have the infinite potentiality to choose a million+ ways of being and acting. And we just have to slow down enough to not default and instead sincerely connect within and choose what this body, at this moment, in this lifetime truly needs. What if that is who we all are - infinite potential expressing itself through us in physical, linear time, moment by moment? Who’s to say?
- When we can invite curiosity through a sense of presence-based reflection, we can get more information, self-driven awareness, and clues about ourselves to bring us closer to a place of authenticity in this moment vs going onto our default. What do I need right now? How old is the person talking through me right now? Where in my body am I experiencing sensations? What do they have to tell me? What if I was running towards myself, what would I do right now? What do I really want to experience? What is my responsibility in that?
- Having words and language to communicate what is going on for you is key to connecting with yourself and others. Without being able to acknowledge what is going on or have words to describe where you are, what you need, and what is going on, we are at a loss. We can become lost in the unknown - an abyss of unrepresented stuff. We can feel like there is something wrong because we have never known the thing we are going through to exist before. But when we hear another person’s story or words that describe what we are going through all of a sudden we are liberated from our cave of uncertainty and darkness. There are now words to the things we are experiencing and we can do something with them and feel a little (or a lot) less alone.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
- [8:00] Playing with certainty
- [11:30] The layers of who we are
- [13:00] Labels + a curated sense of self
- [19:00] Solid self vs pseudo self
- [22:30] AD: Join THE COLLECTIVE, a monthly gathering of the TNC community to reflect + discuss a certain aspect of authenticity as a virtual group. Sign-up to receive emails to get all the details + to join us on the first Thursday of every month!
- [23:00] Who is Jim Carrey?
- [27:30] Are you running towards yourself or away from yourself?
- [32:30] Nate Postelthwait inner child work
- [34:30] Grieving your past
- [43:00] Reflection + contrast
- [50:00] It never ends + we never get “there”
- [53:00] Being yourself in relationship to others
- [57:00] Power of language + words
- [1:08:00] It’s all f*cking made up
- [1:11:00] We are not alone
- [1:14:00] How do you live your TRUE NORTH as you are finding your identity?