NatAndChat

I believe there are a few core things that we got dialed up on when we were created. Clearly love and fear are two of those things at the top of the list, but near the top is the need to understand and be understood. I feel like I personally have a lot to say about that, so I have tried to just explain the basis for the thought because it's likely something I will return to again. 

This one is about the physical body and how easy it is to mess up the "system" when you aren't aware of what you put in your body and the effects it has. I'm all about perspective for the mind, but perspective...sensible perspective about how your body works is important too. I've had a lot of physical issues throughout my life and I want to share the main thing that helped me with my biggest stru...

Maybe you have someone you want to say this to... (just helping you)

The older we get the less we trust, the bigger the chip on our shoulder, the harder it is to not be cynical. It feels inevitable, but is it? As I always say "Who you are is a choice". This is my internal debate with cynicism and skepticism. 

These are rough waters and rough times. As we do this together, I have realized I need to explore Grace...there is too much benefit in grace for it to go uncaptured and unrealized.

Everything is difficult right now, and if we want our sanity to survive, we need to make the conscious choice to be more flexible. I realize nobody wants to be more flexible because we are busy bitching about how frustrating everything is. But because life is so difficult, you know less right now than you ever have about the struggles of the people around you. This means turning on the light that...

How much do you know about Cortisol? Do you know that it can control all the systems in your body?  It is the fight or flight hormone that should only come into play when we need to stay alive because it shuts everything down in order for you to defend or run. Do you know that cortisol directly impacts your pain, your sleep, your blood pressure, your muscle, your fat, your collagen, your organs, y...

Maybe you can relate...some people have the ability to make you feel more real, more whole, more solid...valid is one way to explain it, but it's really hard to find words because it's such a deep feeling. I call it the validation equation since it's like a formula of Mind x Heart 2 + Years x Genuineness = Validation. What I share here is my best attempt to explain this feeling.

We can change the world, but we can't do it through hateful or violent means. If we truly care about mattering, and we do, the way to show that is through peace, love, and kindness. Adding to the violence is how we make THAT our norm. Unacceptable. Let's change the climate so all violence and harm stands out as what is intolerable. This was a hard one...my heart is heavy with sadness and extra lov...

We affect every living thing…and each other. What we prioritize, what we do, and what we say, is the life we build. What are you building? What are you making? Around you, to you, and for others? Can you do one less thing to cause stress, harm? Can you do one more thing to create benefit? I realized recently when having so much taken away through “quarantine”, that I am but a tiny thing with littl...

I have been spending my year working on recording an audiobook that I wrote quite a few years ago. With that story, the events, and the person on my mind lately, I had a poem appear. I don't usually share poems, but with so much writing in my notebook going on, and so few things getting uploaded, why not share the random poem? I've also decided recently I should gather my poems...and maybe record...

A local podcast: Down in the Valley with Carissa and Kali --wanted to hear about the variety of experiences people are having with quarantine, isolating, and getting or not getting the virus. This is a different listen than what I usually share. :)

Finding balance, understanding balance, feeling...balance is such a pipe dream for me and my friends. I recently thought of a way to break it down and immediately have perspective. As usual, I'm a little surprised by how simple a solution this is. I'm forever finding, the little things are the big things.

Being Open-Minded is the freedom to learn about a million different things. Then it's the freedom to grow from or attach to anything you are drawn to. Being open is contrary to the way most people are told they SHOULD think and WHAT they should believe. Even FEARING learning about things that are "foreign" or "different". The willingness to be open has enhanced my life in ways that have me without...

When I suggested sitting down with my friend Amanda who is a writer, I totally though she would choose a topic "writing related" and she didn't. She wanted to talk about her first passion, which is being a mother. She has three little kids, and although I don't have kids and there is 20 years between us, we both have so much to say on the topic. Interestingly, since we have not been spending lots...

(Adult Advisory on this one.) I'm finding levels of freedom I didn't know I could reach, and I'm doing it by allowing myself to think about and feel some of the traumatic times in my life. We tend to avoid these things for good reason, because "Why would I want to live in the past?" BUT reality is...if you haven't allowed yourself to feel the things from the traumatic times, the past lives in YOU....

Are you familiar with your Aura? You should be. It's an incredibly important "system" that affects/protects every part of your being. It's kind of complicated...so you'd better have a listen. If you try what I explain in this podcast, and you take it seriously, I would be interested in hearing your benefit. nat@natandchat.com

It's easier to insist you are weak in your self talk than to be the only one hearing "I am amazing". Ladies, the self talk we do is so full of lies and reasons so we can insist on the negative being true. I'm here saying: You are lying to yourself in order to not be giving yourself words of praise. Why do we do this? Good effing question. Maybe because if you believed the amazing things about your...

Not that our struggles are universal or generic, but often in our desire to heal or process, we learn that others are feeling similar things at the same time, despite circumstances being different. We can find clarity through one another sometimes, and if not perfect clarity, at least some peace in the realization we aren't as alone as we thought we were.

I’m talking about the convenience of technology causing a shift in personal perception. We all need to pay more attention to integrity, honesty, and follow through, which requires more levels of self awareness than what many show at present. Yes, this is just my world, but the hundreds of people in my week, are a snapshot of generalities. Some things need considering. We all need to regularly ask,...

Life takes us in directions we don't expect. We can think we have a plan, and everything can suddenly change. Stop and listen when that happens oh, because you might be pointed in a different direction that you are meant to go. This is a short story of that happening to me, and the lessons I gained.

I'm not a fan of vulnerability, but I am a fan of honesty and learning. Here's a big realization for me. Life is a puzzle, and the pieces are somewhere on the table...or the floor.

We can make each day easier if we take the lessons we learned yesterday and use them today. Let life help you build a library of information you USE.

Sitting to talk with my old friend Cameron on Creativity and Inspiration is not the typical chat for us. Most of the time when we talk -he tells stories, and I listen and laugh. Since that would be a one sided podcast with my laughter getting annoying, we decided two artists with multiple mediums should find it easy to discuss creativity and what gets us there. We talk about art you are employed t...

I'm thankful for the beautiful, genuine, and rare unicorns out there. Those aren't just words you have to say in November. These words, and this letter are because of a special person who doesn't do anything but continue to be herself...top quality and so beautiful. I'm so glad she exists.