From the Heart with Rachel Brathen

Welcome to our last podcast of 2025, where, as usual, it’s time for our big Intention Setting Practice. This is our biggest and most sacred practice of the year. We will dance, move, feel into our hearts, and spill it all out on paper. Who do you want to become in 2026? This practice will guide your way there. You will set goals in four different areas of your life (home, mind, body, and soul) and you will also set a clear intention, affirmation, and word of the year for 2026. This is not about ‘new year, new you’. This has nothing to do with who society wants you to be. This practice is all about becoming the most authentic version of you. All you need is a journal and a pen. Let’s dive in! The song Rachel dances to in the practice is called Township Krishna by Krishna Das and can be found here. To do this practice, make sure you have first done Processing 2025: A Ritual to Move On. This will clear the air of anything still lingering from 2025. And, From the Heart Podcast is now on Patreon, where you will find bonus content and ad-free episodes. Available as a support for the Intention Setting Practice, you will find a Guidebook as well as a Bonus Episode: Embodying Your Intentions for 2026 on Patreon.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Somehow we have arrived at the end of another year - and with that, it’s time to say goodbye to 2025. Today’s episode is one of our most popular of the entire year. We are going to process the year that has now passed. Before you can sit down and set your intentions for the new year, you need to ask yourself: what did 2025 bring you? What was beautiful? What was difficult? What lessons do you want to bring with you into 2026? And what are you leaving behind in 2025? This is a very emotional practice that you actively do. You will create space and freedom inside your body, you will meditate, you will integrate big lessons, and you will work through various journaling prompts. So, grab your journal and pen, brew yourself some tea, and settle in for not just a regular podcast episode, but a beautiful practice that will prepare you for what’s to come. Take a journey into the takeaways, the blessings, the friendships, and the love that shaped the past year. From the overall feeling of the year, to what you manifested and created, you’ll move through a detailed timeline of 2025 over the course of this episode. It’s time to put away the past so we can move forward. Don’t forget to tune in next week on December 26 to set your intentions for 2026 in our biggest episode of the year. On top of that, we have some exciting news! From the Heart is now available on Patreon, where you will find ad-free episodes and extra content. Out today on Patreon only is a bonus episode: Processing 2025 - The Embodied Practice where you can continue today’s work in a physical practice. Join the patreon at patreon.com/rachelbrathen. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the internet at our fingertips, are we losing our critical thinking and problem solving skills? And if so, where are we headed as a society if we can’t think for ourselves anymore? In today’s episode, Rachel talks about how to tell the difference between deep integrated knowing versus information we just copied and gathered online. It is imperative that we feel rooted in knowing who we are and where we come from. This episode will help you stand tall, determine resources that help you when you’re anxious, and keep you steady through any storm.  Next Friday is the start of our big end of year practices here on From the Heart. Be sure to tune in December 19 to process 2025, as well as December 26 to set your intentions for 2026. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How many epiphanies will we come to in our lives? How many cycles of the spiritual journey will we go on? Well, maybe that’s the point. In today’s episode, Rachel talks about feeling lost again and again. With her husband away, her to-do list is overflowing, she has lost her voice, her daughter has gotten sick, and her son has the chicken pox. But maybe it’s not about having a perfectly peaceful life all the time. It’s about the moment where we catch ourselves, realize we are off the path, and work toward venturing back. It’s a practice! I’s learning to love the journey as much as the destination. Rachel opens up about it all. And whatever journey you may be on right now, this episode will remind you to keep your eyes on the horizon. You’re living life, and you’re getting there. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your inner critic tells you a lot of things. Usually it’s just trying to keep you safe, but sometimes it’s completely untrue and harmful. In today’s episode, Rachel talks about her inner critical voice and how that is amplified in the online space. Sometimes the voice inside your head can sound a lot like the voices of the trolls online. After considering this, the conversation shifts toward our children. Do we really want to subject our children to everything that the internet brings with it? But how can we find a balance between keeping our children safe and not letting them feel left out among their peers? This is a tricky conversation and probably the biggest obstacle we will face as our children get older. Tune in for some heart felt advice. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices