Get ready for THE TRUE NORTH COLLECTIVE℠ PODCAST: SEASON 4! 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 continue to celebrate these untold stories of everyday people who are fearlessly living their true north and inspiring each of us to do the same.

Today, we are honored to speak with Lindsay Thomas (aka LT), a self-proclaimed “stranger conversationalist” with a shoe addiction, an advocate for all things primal needs - body image, diet culture, digital wellness, and sex positivity - and taking these basic primal needs + speaking to them in context to today’s societal construct. She’s a lululemon humxn who loves brainstorming + working with teams, her mantra is “just like the fucking spoon!”, and she is proud to be one year into recovery from her eating disorder. We talk about being adopted as an adult, knowing how much is enough stuff, the layers of choice, changing your mind, releasing shame, primal needs, having friends you can talk about sex with without it meaning anything, body acceptance, recognizing your recovery needs, recognizing vices, and choosing joy and tapping into the body’s intuition. LT is an incredibly calming WIP full of wisdom along her journey. Enjoy this episode as we unpack some deep and intimate topics. <3

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

**TRIGGER WARNING - the content of this episode includes some ED topics + trauma

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• #amplifymelanatedvoices @dr_cuterus
• #amplifymelanatedvoices @kanoagreene
• #amplifymelanatedvoices @lifeazziknowit
• #amplifymelanatedvoices @narcissismrecoverycenter
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• The Choice by Dr. Edith Eger
• Matilda
• Hip2Health Sea Moss
• Vulva Casting via @lydiareeves_artist
• Music from: https://www.jukedeck.com/

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. There are layers to choice. It’s not a one and done. We have to continue to make the choices we want again and again, either in the same direction or in a new direction. And there is work in choice. Just because the decision has been made, doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing. It will still be messy as you continue to be responsible for that choice as it unfolds. When we make choices, it’s essential to recognize all that we are taking on and committing to with that choice so that we can be at peace with it, or recognize that we aren’t at peace and it’s time to make another decision where we might feel more at peace. Choice is a layered and continuous process.
2. We all have primal needs that we need to be met to survive. And in today’s focus on higher pyramid needs, we often don’t realize that our primal needs are NOT being met in favor of “enlightenment”. But we cannot ultimately ever be enlightened as an individual or a collective if our primal needs are being neglected. 
3. Where do you actually need more support? Where are you trying to tell yourself that you are ok when you actually are not? Where do you need help? The more that we can model getting the help we need and normalizing the need for support, the more we will all be able to get the help we need to heal and recover from the rat race that life has become. We all need support in some areas of our lives. Let this be your permission slip to see the courage and bravery in reaching out for the support you need. You’re not alone. We are all struggling with our own cocktail of coping mechanisms. 

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [0:08] AD: The TRUE NORTH COLLECTIVE is now on text message! This means that you can get on our text update list to be the first to receive info on new episodes, workshops, meetups, etc with our community. Simply go to IG @thetruenorthcollective_ and sign-up via the linktree in our bio. We cannot wait to connect with you via text!
• [2:00] Buying books you don’t read
• [3:00] Being adopted as an adult
• [5:00] Reclaiming relationship with your parent figures
• [7:30] Sleep + change
• [10:00] Settling in + creating your space
• [18:30] How much stuff do you actually need?
• [25:58] AD: That Girl Got Ghosted is live! This is a video series that Jenell created on the road - think bachelorette meets ghost hunter meets catfish. In the most recent episode, Jenell goes to Bisbee, AZ with her Tinder date, Cam, and they visit The Copper Queen haunted hotel. Support Jenell’s creative ventures + watch here!
• [25:00] Welcome, LT!
• [29:00] The layers of choice 
• [32:00] Changing your mind
• [33:30] Releasing shame
• [42:00] Normalizing + humxnizing
• [43:00] AD: Welcome to April’s edition of THE COLLECTIVE all about consistency! In this month’s free community gathering, on 4/15/21 @7:30pm CST, we will continue the conversation we started in our April workshop on 4/1/21. No worries if you couldn’t join the workshop, we will set the stage before opening up the dialogue to have a genuine conversation on how we consistently show up or don’t show up for ourselves. Sign-up here!
• [44:40] Primal needs
• [50:00] Sexual wellness
• [53:00] Having friends you can talk about sex with
• [59:25] AD: If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you know Jenell is pretty obsessed with Whoop, a wearable that tracks your heart rate variability + gives a ton of in-depth data around recovery, strain, sleep. To get your first month of whoop free + a free whoop strap, use this link to sign-up or DM Jenell via IG @jaynelreese!
• [1:00:00] Body acceptance + inner critic
• [1:05:00] Recognizing your recovery needs
• [1:11:00] Vices 
• [1:13:00] What if we are all narcissistic?
• [1:15:00] Just lick the fucking spoon!
• [1:19:40] How do you live your TRUE NORTH in 1 word?
• [1:20:00] Connect with LT via IG @linsantiytherebel