Live Your Love Story

What's it like at a cozy, (nearly) all-lesbian gathering in Portland, Oregon on New Year's Eve?  We can't speak for all such gatherings, of course, but we tell you about the one we went to in this episode. Join the Email List:  https://sienaandtoast.com/emailsignup Show Notes:  https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/37-newyearseve   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This is...

Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou!  It's Hawaiian for "Happy New Year!" Although we get a little side-tracked with a pro-Kathy Griffin rant, we also manage to stay on topic long enough to cover our favorite aspects of a fresh New Year: a new planner fire crackers (not to be confused with fireworks) traditional Japanese New Year foods and more Show notes:  https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/36-newyear2019 Join t...

Casual conversation about Christmas traditions…that somehow takes a turn into…the bad, and then the worst, times of the year to…break-up with someone (?) Turns out that you never know what you’ll get with the podcast. Show notes: https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/35-xmas2018 Join the email list:  https://sienaandtoast.com/emailsignup   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

In this episode, our conversation is inspired by flipping through the December issue of Oprah Magazine.  It includes interesting presents in "Oprah's Favorite Things" (which in turn kicks off observations about the present state of our society & culture, and the pet peeve of magazine pages without page numbers on them), as well as conversation-starter questions: stuff like our "true feelings" abou...

We get all Martha Stewart on you, talking gift wrap, gift tags, tissue paper, and ribbon.  Unexpected guests like a stalk of celery, and an iron set on low also make an appearance.  We don't have children, but we talk about children, too.  It's all over the place (and yet somehow still organized) in this very gay and geeky episode on Gift Wrap.  Four sections, plus a bonus. Oh, and at the top of t...

In this episode, we talk about Space Clearing and how we do it in our house.  If you've never heard of it, it's sort of like house cleaning, except it's for energy, not for physical grit and grime.  The way we do it, it's quicker and more fun than cleaning house :) Show notes:  http://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/32-spaceclearing Join the email list:  https://sienaandtoast.com/emailsignup Join The So...

Siena's a wiz at organizing all the stuff involved with our gift-giving, especially when we have a bunch of gifts that need to be mailed to Hawaii.  We get all OCD about it in this episode.  Join us for the holiday geek fest as we discuss planning, scheduling, the use of post-its, hostess gifts, a "wrapping station," spreadsheets, and more. Show notes:  https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/31-giftgee...

This is a ‘talk story’ episode.  ‘Talk story’ is a Hawaiian Pidgin English term that means something like ‘chit-chat.’ So in this episode, we talk story about our childhood experiences of celebrating Thanksgiving while growing up in Hawaii (our pre-vegetarian days!) Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Show notes and more links:  https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/30-veg-hi-thanksgiving Join the Em...

Holiday season usually means you’ll be interacting with more people than usual. If you’re a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), an empath, or both, like Siena is, here’s something that can help you conserve your energy during this hectic time. We’re calling it an Energy Protection Bubble. Show notes: https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/29-energybubble Join the Email List:  https://sienaandtoast.com/email...

This episode is being released on the most consequential Election Day of our lifetime.  The reality of our times is discomforting and disorienting, to say the least.  But being here now, in this time in history, is your spiritual assignment. How do you know? Because you're here. In this episode, we offer a spiritual view of history to comfort and inspire you, and remind you of your life purpose, n...

In this episode, we share the two ways to change a paradigm and therefore your life, and how you can get the tools, structure, and support to do exactly that!  In that spirit, we announce The Soul Care Collective BETA-LAUNCH.  Here's a link that will automatically display a discount for you to join during this beta-launch:  http://bit.ly/soulcarebetalaunch The slots available during this beta-laun...

Anybody besides us who’s paced the floor, grappling with a decision to be made? Well, we put our heads and hearts together and came up with four great reminders to help steady the ship, even if you’ve been tossed around, trying to Make A Decision. Here we go. Show notes at https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/26-decisions Join the email list at https://sienaandtoast.com/emailsignup Join the Soul Care...

In this episode, we had fun talking about The Thing that’s up front for us, when it comes to the New Age-y topic of “manifesting.” The Thing is this: the whole point of “manifesting” is Who You Become. Show notes at  http://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/25-manifestingmistake Join the email list:  http://sienaandtoast.com/emailsignup Join Life Club:  http://sienaandtoast.com/lifeclub   Learn more about...

This episode was inspired by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who – as she told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sep. 27, 2018 – felt it was her civic duty to inform them about her being sexually assaulted, in an effort to “to provide the facts…so that you can take that into serious consideration” in determining whether Brett Kavanaugh should sit on the Supreme Court. Her courage, and the stunning impa...

In the book On Tyranny by historian Timothy Snyder, one of the ways to resist tyranny is to “Make eye contact and small talk.” Because “It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It's also how we can help prevent or break down social barriers.   In this episode, we share our gratitude for, and experiences with, the many visitors we've had to Portland, Oregon so far this yea...

Have you heard of labyrinths used as meditation devices? This episode was inspired by our visit to The Grotto in Portland, Oregon. Specifically, their replica of the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France. In this audio, we share our experience of walking the labyrinth and the spiritual messages and metaphors we got out of it.  In our podcast blog, we break down the five specific messages in a...

Is it foolish to believe in miracles? Is denying the mystery and the wonder of life foolish? In this episode, we tell about an unexplainable event that happened for Siena when she was in the 7th grade.  It happened in Honolulu, Hawaii, when her family put her into an all-girls Catholic school for the first time in her life. Podcast blog show notes  https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/21-miracleroses...

Our amazement at and appreciation for the badassery of Fred Rogers and his subversive T.V. show Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. *THERE ARE SPOILERS for the movie "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" in this episode* Episode notes with nostalgic videos that will bring tears to your eyes:  https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/20-mr-rogers Join email list:  https://sienaandtoast.com/emailsignup Join Life Club:  https:...

If we could handle disappointment without getting cynical, playing the blame game, or getting all victimy and weak.  If we could handle disappointment by becoming an even brighter light, a better human being, a bigger inspiration.  Isn't that a better measure of success than the usual 'millionaire, celebrity, and ripped abs' stuff?  (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but we think more wel...

We discuss our experience watching the movie “Crazy Rich Asians.”  (There are a few spoilers in this ep, so beware.) It’s a wide ranging chat about things like: feeling self-conscious about being Asian, feeling not Asian enough and not American enough, comparing the State of Hawaii’s culture with the Singapore culture portrayed on the silver screen, the human tendency towards tribalism, and more....

The larger culture pressures us to achieve, achieve, achieve! Achieving isn’t bad, in and of itself. But it’s just one dimension of success. We could refer to this dimension as 'masculine.' It's a masculine kind of energy, a masculine kind of success. The other dimension, though, is just as critical. It is To Be. And it's just as real.  We can refer to it as a feminine energy of Presence, or Being...

Do you want a good life?  You need a whole and intact soul for that.  A soul that can live the life you were meant for now, before you die.  You need Soul Care.  And to care for your soul, it helps to know for starters, that the language of the soul is energy, feminine and masculine energy. Show notes with pictures :) at https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/16-feminine-masculine Get email encourageme...

Soul: the aspect of you that feels gender, and is a reflection and connection with the Divine, with Spirit. Care: cultivating, tending, caring about. Show notes: with pictures and other stuff :) https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/15-soul-care Get our beautiful email: https://sienaandtoast.com/emailsignup Join Life Club:  https://sienaandtoast.com/lifeclub   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

We're not saying that you should always try to control your feelings, but for those times that you want to take back a little control...we have fun talking about how we relate to this topic. The story involves a Lionel Richie concert, with special guest Mariah Carey. Show notes at https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/14-generate-feelings Join Life Club: https://sienaandtoast.com/lifeclub Get our beau...

Emotions – what we experience as instinctual animal reflex (eg: fear) Feelings – the experience we have because of how we interpret events, emotions, and circumstances (eg: worry) Just because you feel something doesn't mean you need to amplify it. Feelings can further – or – hinder our strength, health, and progress. So it's wise to at least pause and consider whether a particular feeling helps o...