Tag Archives: mindfulness

“Self Care?! I don’t know where to start!”

Do you believe you can have the self-care that you want?

Have you had any of these thoughts:

I don’t know where to start.
I don’t know what to do next.
I don’t know how to improve this situation.
How am I going to get where I want to go?
How am I going to feel the way I want to feel when it seems so far away?

It can be overwhelming to imagine changing everything all at once. Especially right now, in this transitional phase between the isolation of the pandemic and resuming some in-person activities.

The pandemic and all the emotions that have come with it are still very much with us and yet things are changing.

You’re making new decisions. You’re getting more social invitations. You’re deciding how much energy you have. When do you need to start saying ‘no’ to people again? (We haven’t had to exercise our ‘no’ muscle in a while!)

The one thing you can do right now

Here’s one simple thing to help move you forward a little bit. One thing to do if you feel stuck, not knowing what to do next.

Start where you are.

Ask yourself:

Where am I now?
How am I doing now?
What am I experiencing?
What’s alive in me right now?

Take the quiz

This fun, short quiz helps you take stock of the areas where you may or may not be:

💞 showing up for yourself
💞 giving away your energy
💞 aligning with your life goals and values

…and come away with an idea of where you’re at.

The place to start is always exactly where you’re at.

The next step

Once you’ve gone through the quiz, take a look at your result.

Are you up in flames? Is the check engine light on? 🔥
Are you feeling great? Are your systems and your routines supporting you? 🥳
How do you feel about your result? What does it feel like in your body?

😞 Disappointment
😢 Sadness
😡 Anger
😄 Excitement
🥰 Pride

Take a moment now to check in with where you’re at and how you feel about it. This might be uncomfortable! That’s ok.

Feeling the discomfort, naming what you’re feeling, breathing through it, and doing the next right thing is building your nervous system’s capacity! You’re doing great.

brown skinned young woman with black curly hair looking up in the sky with her eyes closed with a black background; tag: burnout quiz

Photo by Diana Simumpande

When you’re done

Head on over to our private Facebook group to share your score with us and let us know how this was for you.

What’s Happening at Burnout Proof Academy

It’s been a fairly quiet summer here at Burnout Proof Academy, but we have an exciting book club going right now that you can still jump in on!

red, dark purple, and light purple swirled background with a transparent white rectangle in the middle, black text on top of rectangle reads burnout proof book club untamed; tag: burnout quiz

Who were you, before you learned to be good?

Speaking directly to anyone who relates to putting others’ needs and feelings before your own, Untamed, by Glennon Doyle, reconnects us to the wild inside each of us.

Join Burnout Proof Book Club as we read Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Come create community and grow your support system as you learn and practice what it means for you to quit pleasing and start living.

All you need to do:

Enroll in the course
Purchase and read or listen to UNTAMED
Answer discussion questions for each section of the book
Participate in the Live Discussions or watch the recordings
Receive 1.1 GS RID CEUs!

Click here for more info + instant access

With love and bright focus, Brea (like the sea)

September 2021 Self-Care Workshops

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Fall is an exciting time at Burnout Proof Academy!

We’ve been working on a new way to earn CEUs while getting burnout support and building community, and it will be available first exclusively to members of our Facebook group and email list.

Don’t miss out!!

Join The Burnout Proof Collective private Facebook group here

September 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

Untamed – Burnout Proof Book Club

red, dark purple, and light purple swirled background with a transparent white rectangle in the middle, black text on top of rectangle reads burnout proof book club untamed; tag: september 2021 self-care

Who were you, before you learned to be good?

Speaking directly to anyone who relates to putting others’ needs and feelings before your own, Untamed, by Glennon Doyle, reconnects us to the wild inside each of us.

Join Burnout Proof Book Club as we read Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Come create community and grow your support system as you learn and practice what it means for you to quit pleasing and start living.

All you need to do:

Enroll in the course
Purchase and read or listen to UNTAMED
Answer discussion questions for each section of the book
Participate in the Live Discussions or watch the recordings
Receive 1.1 GS RID CEUs!

Our first Live Discussion was held in ASL and focused on getting to know each other and discussing the prologue and part 1 of the book.

The hour was packed with poignant honesty and real-time revelations, including real talk about:

Our untamed selves (with pictures!) – who we are when we don’t care what others think
Why the term ‘people-pleasing’ might be just another way to beat ourselves up
The movie Frozen, and how our most powerful gifts can hurt us when we don’t know how to harness them for good
What we lost when we learned to please others over pleasing ourselves
Our own ‘snow globes’ – the ways we make ‘snow flurries’ to keep from acknowledging the dragon at our center

When you register, you’ll get instant access to the recording and all the info to prepare for the second Live Discussion happening September 29th, 2021 from 5 – 6 pm pacific.

This is an on-demand, self-paced course worth 1.1 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered, just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access

I can’t wait to spend time with you this month!!

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea

August 2021 Oil Protocol and Self-Care Workshops

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August 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

Burnout Proof Book Club – Encore Live Discussion
Aug 11th, 2021 5:00 – 6:00 pm pacific

We had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

If you are reading along with us but were unable to make the first live discussion, here’s another opportunity!

Join the live discussion to real-talk about:

The ‘yuck’ that’s leftover after handling a problem.
How holding everything in and doing for everybody else keeps us up late at night.
The shame we feel from HAVING emotions.
Taking up a hugging practice.
The struggle of saying what we need or how we feel.
The inbox in our gut where we store our uncompleted stress.
That it’s ok not to be ok.

This is an on-demand, self-paced book club offering worth 1.3 GS CEUs, with a Live Discussion opportunity. Click below to register and get instant access to everything!

Don’t miss the upcoming Live Discussion, happening August 11th 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm pacific. Put it on your calendar now!

Click here for instant access

Connect & Shine | August 2021 Oil Protocol

Summer is the peak of the harvest – bringing fullness of life and emotions.

If you’re feeling energetic and expansive, this protocol can support you in enjoying your people and expressing yourself.

This season can also bring up grief and sorrow. If you’re feeling it, this protocol can help you to remember you’re not alone, to connect with your body’s wisdom, and to express your emotions.

blue sky backgournd with white rays of sun shining in the upper left corner of image with green and white hearts; red and dark green text reads connect + shine august 2021 oil protocol cedarwood | lower belly, grapefruit | solar plexus, spearmint | heart to throat, @brighterfocus, Tag: august 2021 self care

As you apply these oils, bring your attention to your senses:

Inhale the fragrance of each oil separately, and the combinations
Feel your own touch as you apply them to your body lovingly
See the colors of the bottles and the amber drops of liquid
Set intentions with each oil application, grounding yourself in what you know to be true

Invite the properties of each oil to inspire your intentions:

Cedarwood – You are not alone. Identify the supportive people who love you unconditionally.
Grapefruit – Develop awareness of your body and its important messages.
Spearmint – Express yourself with confidence and clarity.

Safety + Efficacy

Dilute essential oils with a carrier oil for increased efficacy and decreased skin sensitivity.
Citrus oils like Grapefruit can produce photosensitive reactions. Use on skin covered by clothing if you’ll be in the sun.
Some oils are hot or ‘spicy’ to the skin, including cassia, oregano, thyme, peppermint, and spearmint. Dilute to decrease this sensation.

May the energy of this season work in and through you. May you enjoy the fruits of your labor and much needed rest. May you know the love that surrounds you, may you connect to your source and to others who help you remember your worth.

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea

July 2021 Self-Care Workshops

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A backyard pool with 2 people in it. on left, a white young teen boy with a green pool floatie around his neck and his eyes closed. on the right, a white woman with a grey hat, orange and blue bathing suit, lying on a purple pool floatie, smiling. Tag: july 2021 self-care

Happy Summer!

So many cities across the country are already getting intense heat.

Here in Portland temps are in the record-breaking triple digits. We got our pool set up and AC units in the windows (houses in Portland don’t usually come with AC), and we’re eating lots of cold fruit and salad.

I hope you’re finding ways to stay cool and safe!

July 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

Healing Interpreter Burnout: Complete Your Stress Cycle

Image description: background image is a teal underwater shot. White text reads, "Growth requires that we step out of our comfort zone and spend time with the discomfort of change, uncertainty, getting it wrong, and trying again" -Brea Cross-Caldwell, VIEWS August 2020. Tag: july 2021 self-care

Image: The Insightful Interpreter

Are you feeling exhausted?

Burnout and emotional exhaustion can have negative impacts on your health, relationships, and work.

It can be hard to know how to rescue yourself, let alone find the energy to take positive steps.

Good news! You don’t have to live like this. A long, fulfilling career is within your grasp. This course can help.

You will explore:

Your stress cycle: what it is, how to complete it, and how it affects you when you don’t
Techniques for self-regulation that you can use during your work day
How to form and integrate new, healthy habits to help heal and prevent burnout

0.35 GS CEUs through The Insightful Interpreter, processed by Interpretek

Healing Burnout Group Study Guide

Get 0.2 additional CEUs for gathering your friends and discussing what you learned in the Healing Interpreter Burnout course.

If you like to learn and grow within community, we have a treat for you! The Group Study option is scheduled to be available for the Healing Interpreter Burnout course through The Insightful Interpreter, the week of July 6th, 2021!

Support for Insecurity and Self-Doubt

Close the Gap in Confidence, Skills, and Self-Analysis for Sign Language Interpreters with a Deaf Mentor

Did you miss the Facebook Live with Shanna Grossinger in our Burnout Proof Collective Facebook group?

Good news: the recording is posted!

Click here to watch now

Burnout Proof Book Club – Encore Live Discussion
Aug 11th, 2021 5:00 – 6:00 pm pacific

We had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

If you are reading along with us but were unable to make the live discussion, here’s another opportunity!

Join the live discussion to real-talk about:

The ‘yuck’ that’s leftover after handling a problem.
How holding everything in and doing for everybody else keeps us up late at night.
The shame we feel from HAVING emotions.
Taking up a hugging practice
The struggle of saying what we need or how we feel.
The inbox in our gut where we store our uncompleted stress.
That it’s ok not to be ok.

This is an on-demand, self-paced book club offering worth 1.3 GS CEUs, with a Live Discussion opportunity. Click below to register and get instant access to everything!

Don’t miss the upcoming Live Discussion, happening August 11th 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm pacific. Put it on your calendar now!

Click here for instant access

The book club survey results are in!!

Text reads: Book Club Survey Results. Image: Arms reaching up holding books. Tag: july 2021 self-care

Book Club courses will return in the Fall with some great picks. We learned many helpful things from this survey, thanks to all who participated!

A few key takeaways:

Wednesday evenings were a clear winner
Imposter syndrome was requested as a topic for reading, and I’m happy to say just about every one of these books will support us there!

And the winner is…..

UNTAMED, by Glennon Doyle
Live Discussions September 1st & 29th, 2021

We’ll be trying out a new format, meeting once to kick off this new read – getting to know each other and discuss first impressions of the book – and then again at the end of the month to discuss the rest of the book, share takeaways, and connect more deeply with each other.

Thanks to those who suggested this new format! I’m looking forward to meeting with you twice!

Get on our email list to be the first to know when registration opens

You selected the remaining books from the survey + your additions in this order:

Second Place Tie
The Body is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love, by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown book cover for The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love. A Black woman lying on a bed of red, yellow, and blue flowers, appears to be nude with blue flowers over her nipples and on her leg.

Third Place
Codependent No More, by Melody Beatty

Fourth Place Tie
Hope in the Dark
My Grandmother’s Hands

Watch for these book club offerings Fall of 2021 and Winter of 2022!

Recalibrate | July 2021 Oil Protocol

This is a time of taking stock and opening to recalibration. Be with yourself in the discomfort.

Locate the gaps between where you are and where you want to be. This requires getting radically honest with yourself about your current experience.

Can you allow it?
Can you name every nuance of it?
And even more, can you feel it and stay with it as long as it wants to move in you – without inflating or stoking the flames?

Apply this protocol and then follow your body as it wants to move: dancing, crying, resting, or punching pillows.

Allow what’s alive in you to be honored and expressed, and allow it to subside when it’s over.

Green background, grey and yellow lettering. Text reads: July 2021 Oil Protocol. recalibrate. In yellow boxes with blue accents: melaleuca > third eye. cypress > belly. cardamom > navel. tangerine > heart + wrists. @brighterfocus. Tag: july 2021 self-care

As you apply these oils, bring your attention to your senses:

Inhale the fragrance of each oil separately, and the combinations
Feel your own touch as you apply them to your body lovingly
See the colors of the bottles and the amber drops of liquid
Set intentions with each oil application, grounding yourself in what you know to be true

Invite the properties of each oil to inspire your intentions:

Melaleuca – between eyebrows – tune into your energetic boundaries and seal the leaks.
Cypress – rub on belly in a circular motion – encourage movement and flow throughout your core.
Cardamom – inside navel – allow deeper emotions to surface and be attended to.
Tangerine – heart + inside wrist creases – activate creative energy to process and move with your emotions.

Safety + Efficacy

Dilute essential oils with a carrier oil for increased efficacy and decreased skin sensitivity.
Citrus oils can produce photosensitive reactions. Use on skin covered by clothing if you’ll be in the sun.
Some oils are hot or ‘spicy’ to the skin, including cassia, oregano, thyme, and peppermint. Dilute to decrease this sensation.

Oil properties inspired by Emotions and Essential Oils: A Reference Guide for Emotional Healing and the teaching of Desiree Mangandog.

Seasonal, astrological, energetic information inspired by Sarah Faith Gottesdiener of Modern Women.

May the fullness of this new season bring abundance to your life. May you recognize it. May you receive it. May you listen deeply to its gifts.

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea. Tag: july 2021 self-care

What Others Think of You is None of Your Business

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Think of a situation where you worry about what others might be thinking of you.

So many of us experience this. This is a big one for me – really caring about how others see me and caring about others’ experience of me. Often that takes me outside of what’s actually mine to control, what’s really my responsibility.

So you’re worried about what others might be thinking of you. What kind of situations does this happen to you in? Maybe in some places in our lives we’re more susceptible to being worried about what someone else thinks of us. Maybe in some situations we’re less concerned about that and we feel clearer within ourselves.

Something to notice in these situations where we’re concerned about what someone else thinks of us is first we don’t get to control what others think. We’re never in their minds, even if we can play a part that might influence them one way or another. We don’t control what others think of us.

I love a saying that I hear often and I repeat to myself often – what others think of me is none of my business.

That’s not our business, what others think of us.

What is more helpful and the reminder I want to share with all of us today is that I am responsible for what I think of me. What I think of myself is what matters more.

✔Am I living up to my values?
✔Am I operating in a way that really aligns with how I want to show up in the world?

That’s what I have control over. That’s what I can do something about. That’s the metric I want to measure and I want to live my life by.

Whose Yard Are You In?

fenced in yard with yellow flowers and green grass with lambs laying on the ground; Tag: what others think of you

Photo by Jalen Hueser

There are two kinds of yards:

My yard >> My thoughts, my feelings, my actions, my words.

These are all things that are mine. These are the things that live in my yard, that are in my domain. These are the things that I’m responsible for.

Someone else’s yard >> Their thoughts, their feelings, their actions, their words.

I can care about someone else deeply, but I can only do it from my yard. If I go over into their yard and worry about:

❌What they’re thinking about me
❌What they’re feeling
❌What they’re doing
❌What they’re saying

Then that means I have abandoned my yard. I’ve abandoned myself. I’ve abandoned my responsibilities. I’m not taking care of me or what I need to be taking care of because I’m over there trying to take care of what they should be taking care of.

If you find yourself in someone else’s yard, don’t worry! All you have to do is go back to your yard and remind yourself, “I’m responsible for what I think of me. What do I think of me?”

TIP: Those thoughts we’re talking about, “what I think of me…” those are thoughts, those are like clouds that pass through our mind. We’re not even really in control of our thoughts! Thoughts come and go. They’re projections of the mind and the brain. What I’m more responsible for, if we want to get really nuanced here with our language, I’m responsible for those thoughts that I attach to, those thoughts that I believe.

I love the sign for believe. Think – marry.

A belief is a thought that I marry, that I attach to. I choose to bring this thought into my world.

I get to choose what thoughts I attach to, what I believe, what I believe about myself. That’s mine to manage, that’s mine to take care of.

brown skinned woman standing near a pink flower tree smiling with her eyes closed, Tag: what others think of you

Photo by James Resly

Final Thoughts

A reminder as you move through your days and weeks (or even just this moment):

Pay attention to what the thoughts are in your mind. Where are you worried about what someone else is thinking of you? Come back to your own yard and ask yourself these questions:

🌱What am I responsible for in this moment?
🌱What do I think of me?
🌱What am I thinking of me right now?

This is a mindfulness practice. This is just noticing where our thoughts go and gently bringing us back to our center. That’s what meditation can be. That’s what any kind of mindfulness practice can be.

Paying attention on purpose to the present moment without judgment.

Sometimes our judgments of ourselves are what we’ll really notice here. When I come back to the present moment and I pay attention to what my thoughts are, I notice — “Oh there’s a lot of judgment against myself right there.”

Can I let that be here too? Can I come back to a place of love for myself even with my human brain that wants to judge? Because that’s what our brains do.

Click here to participate in the discussion and let us know in the comments:

Where does this show up for you?
What is challenging about this for you?
What have you found helps you come back to responsibility for yourself and noticing what you think of yourself and really caring for that relationship that you have with yourself?

You’re Invited

Join our free support community, The Burnout Proof Collective, to connect with interpreters, teachers, and parents who are working on taking better care of themselves too. This is the best way to get personal support from Brea and to go deeper with your self-care!

Click here to join

What are your summer self-care plans?

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Summer Self-Care Plans

The past year has been a doozy!!! As more people get vaccinated, COVID restrictions are lifting, and we are navigating the potential return to more face-to-face time.

Gathering with others in person might be what you’ve hoped and dreamed for, it might be stirring up your deepest fears and anxieties, or you may be feeling both excitement and dread simultaneously. Here’s a helpful article I read this week titled, Advice to the anxious for eventually meeting in person again. I’m definitely in the anxious/excited mixed-emotions camp!

The bottom line is: whatever your reaction to this transition…

You’re normal!!

This is a good time to create or update your self-care plan to support your transition to summer and to ease your nervous system through another shift. Here’s part 1 of a series to help you be with difficult feelings – like the ones you might be having now – and to give you tools to take with you into the summer:

Click here to read Self-Care Strategies for Fear part 1

Summer 2021 at Burnout Proof Academy – What’s on your summer reading list?

We had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

If you are reading along with us but were unable to make the live discussion, the recording is now posted here.

This hour was packed with poignant honesty and real-time revelations, including real talk about:

The ‘yuck’ that’s leftover after handling a problem.
How holding everything in and doing for everybody else keeps us up late at night.
The shame we feel from HAVING emotions.
Taking up a hugging practice
The struggle of saying what we need or how we feel.
The inbox in our gut where we store our uncompleted stress.
That it’s ok not to be ok.

This is an on-demand, self-paced book club offering worth 1.3 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access

Cast Your Vote for Fall Burnout Proof Book Club

Text: What book should we read next? Take our short survey to cast your vote! Image: white distress wall with stack of old books to the right of the picture with a variety of colored pages and binding. Tag: summer self-care

Our first book club was so much fun! I can’t wait until we get started on our next book in the fall 2021. But I need your help deciding which book we’ll be reading next.

Currently tied for first:

Vote for your choice here!

Healing Interpreter Burnout: Complete Your Stress Cycle

Group Study Guide coming soon!

Image: The Insightful Interpreter

Are you feeling exhausted?

Burnout and emotional exhaustion can have negative impacts on your health, relationships, and work.

It can be hard to know how to rescue yourself, let alone find the energy to take positive steps.

Good news! You don’t have to live like this. A long, fulfilling career is within your grasp. This course can help.

You will explore:

Your stress cycle: what it is, how to complete it, and how it affects you when you don’t
Techniques for self-regulation that you can use during your work day
How to form and integrate new, healthy habits to help heal and prevent burnout

0.35 GS CEUs through The Insightful Interpreter, processed by Interpretek

Click here for instant access

June 2021 Oil Protocol

Give yourself over to review, renewal, reflection, and rest, as you cross the threshold from spring to summer.

Slow down.

Give yourself permission to feel the sun on your cheek, the breath in your lungs, even the frustrations and the hurts. Make a deal with yourself to offer patience and curiosity whenever possible.

This oil protocol will serve as a reminder and energetic guide.

light blue background with a white box, rest, release, renew june oil protocol thyme sacrum, wintergreen navel to solar plexis, ylang ylang heart space, basil across back at waist, magnolia heart, throat forehead, frankincense, crown, tag: summer self-care

Thyme – release and forgive
Wintergreen – surrender
Ylang ylang – connect with your inner child
Basil – renewal
Magnolia – compassion
Frank – truth

Dilute essential oils with a carrier oil for increased efficacy and decreased skin sensitivity.

Get 1.65 CEUs for taking care of yourself this month

Leave a reply

Photo of adult, short bleached hair, golden tawny skin tone, wearing glasses and headphones, tattoos on neck and hand, hand on chest, smiling at the camera with tongue playfully out. Tag: may 2021 self-care

Image: Joshua McArthur on Unsplash

May 2021 Self-Care at Burnout Proof Academy

Welcome to May! We’ve been busy creating new burnout support offerings, and are so excited to share them with you.

Burnout Proof Book Club

We had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

If you are reading along with us but were unable to make the live discussion, the recording is now posted here.

This hour was packed with poignant honesty and real-time revelations, including real talk about:

The ‘yuck’ that’s leftover after handling a problem.
How holding everything in and doing for everybody else keeps us up late at night.
The shame we feel from HAVING emotions.
Taking up a hugging practice
The struggle of saying what we need or how we feel.
The inbox in our gut where we store our uncompleted stress.
That it’s ok not to be ok.

This is an on-demand, self-paced book club offering worth 1.3 GS CEUs. If you haven’t yet registered just click below and you’ll get instant access to everything!

Click here for instant access

Healing Interpreter Burnout: Complete Your Stress Cycle

0.35 GS CEUs through The Insightful Interpreter, processed by Interpretek

Why complete your stress cycle?

You might be experiencing burnout. Burnout and emotional exhaustion can have negative impacts on your health, relationships, and work.

It can be hard to know how to rescue yourself, let alone find the energy to take positive steps.

Good news! You don’t have to live like this. A long, fulfilling career is within your grasp. This course can help.

You will explore:

Your stress cycle: what it is, how to complete it, and how it affects you when you don’t
Techniques for self-regulation that you can use during your work day
How to form and integrate new, healthy habits to help heal and prevent burnout

Click here for instant access

May 2021 Self-Care Oil Protocol

Are you growing in new or uncomfortable ways?
Do you feel like you’re shedding an old skin?

orange background. brighter focus logo. text reads: shed the old. oregano | along spine. marjoram | across chest. arborvitae | navel + crown. neroli | heart + inside wrists. @brighterfocus Tag: may 2021 self-care

Oregano – Stop trying to play God. Reconnect to your own and others’ humanity. Sidestep judgement and invite compassion. Accept your imperfections while opening to curiosity and grace.

Marjoram – Connect. Connect with yourself, connect with others. Loving relationships can heal the most painful scars. Invest in them. Open to them.

Arborvitae – Grace surrounds you. Receive it. Rest in it in every moment that you’re able. Soak it up and learn to trust in it.

Neroli – Partner with Life. Believe that it’s on your side. Acknowledge the way it works in you – your feelings and intuitions are a part of Life’s communication network.

May we find peace and growth in the in-between times. May the rain showers and sunbeams remind cleanse and warm us. May we keep reaching deeper inward, and ever toward one another.

I look forward to all the ways we’ll connect in the month ahead!

Signature: With love and bright focus, Brea

2020 Year-in-Review

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Top 9 Photos of 2020

2020 Year-in-Review

Favorite Quote

If we don’t wrestle with anger, we never get to the heartbreak. and if we don’t get to the heartbreak, we don’t get to the healing.

-Lama Rod Owens, Love and Rage

Things Our Family Loved Doing Together

boy with gray sweatshirt and blue sweatpants standing in front of a fireplace with a tv on top holding a tablet, reading, tag: 2020 year in review

Kaden Open Mic 2020

Playing D&D
TV: Bob’s Burgers, Blackish, Ted Lasso
Walks in our new neighborhood
Snuggling on the amazing giant couch
Watching the birds and squirrels, trying to befriend the crows
Singing along to Hamilton (still!)
Re-reading the ‘Shit Kids Say’ list
Playing Superfight
Watching Couper watch ‘his show’ (the fireplace)
Happy Hour with Gramma Patti and Poppy
Monday Night Open Mic
Table Topics questions during dinner
Family Snapchat group
Sharing Daily Sky Pics

Books Read

My goal was that over 50% of my books read this year be written by authors who were not cis white males. I got to 69%! Working on increasing this percentage for 2021.

Are you a book-lover? Connect with me on Goodreads!

Pilgrimage of a Soul, Phileena Heurtz
The Book of Job
Sulwe, Lupita Nyong’o
White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
Change-able, J. Stuart Ablon
Breaking Up With Sugar, Molly Carmel
2020 My Shining Year Life Goals Workbook, Leonie Dawson
Outrageous Openness, Tosha Silver
Fasting, Feasting, Freedom, Kim Smith
Animal Farm, George Orwell
Drop The Stones, Carlos A Rodriguez
The Enneagram of Belonging, Chris Heurtz
The Enneagram of Belonging Workbook
You Were Born for This, Chani Nicholas
The Bright Side of a Broken Heart, Michelle D’Avella
Untamed, Glennon Doyle
Self-Inflicted Wounds, Aisha Taylor
Psalms
How to Be An Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
Let It Out: A journey through journaling, Katie Dalebout
True Self, False Self, Richard Rohr
Prayer: Forty Days of Practice, Scott Erickson + Justin McRoberts
Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle, Emily and Amelia Nagoski
The Little Book of Letting Go, Hugh Prather
Getting to Center, Marlee Grace
You’re a Miracle (and a pain in the ass), Mike McHargue

Most Influential Book I Read

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle book cover. Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. Emily Nagoski, PhD. Amelia Nagoski, DMA. tag: 2020 year-in-review

Get the Cliff’s Notes/warmup version from Brene Brown on Unlocking Us.

Favorite Show of The Year

This was another spot-on recommendation from Brene Brown, heard on Unlocking Us.

Ted Lasso

Most Played Song

You Say, Lauren Daigle

Favorite Podcast

I couldn’t choose just one!!!

Favorite Musical Discovery

The Highwomen

What were your favorites of 2020?

black night sky with a full moon Tag: 2020 year in review

Photo by Neven Krcmarek

Dear 2020: A goodbye letter

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Dear 2020,

Thank you for your lessons.

My 2020 Journals

You taught me:

To listen more deeply – to myself and others.
My needs can be an offering and opening to greater connection.
I am human – I can’t be everything to everyone, and I don’t have to be good to be loved.
Body first, business second. -Kate Northrup
I am not responsible for others’ growth, I’m only here to love them through it.
I cannot tell the future.
I’m willing to live with myself, no matter what. I look forward to living with myself, no matter what.
To live my life, let my kids live theirs, and love them fiercely while doing it.
The best-case scenario is just as likely as the worst. Believe in it.
WHEN YOU’RE STUCK: Drop down into your body. Feel. Listen. Move. Turn it over. Offer it up. Do the work that’s yours to do. Let God do theirs.
I am a human, standing on a dog, standing on a crocodile -Mike McHargue, You’re a Miracle (And a Pain In The Ass): Embracing the Emotions, Habits, and Mystery That Make You You
To pay attention to and care about how I FEEL.
That when I imagine a future where I get sick and die – I’m living into a scenario that is out of my control. When I imagine a future where I keep showing up to what is, with gentleness and care for myself, I feel so much less anxiety. I’m living into a scenario that is within my control.
If we don’t wrestle with anger, we never get to the heartbreak. And if we don’t get to the heartbreak, we don’t get to the healing. -Lama Rod Owens, Love and Rage

Thank you for the joy.

I found joy in:

Deep cleaning – like, on hands and knees with a toothbrush
The Necessary Accessory of 2020
Long baths and lots of oils
Family TV watching: Ted Lasso, Bob’s Burgers, Blackish
Long walks
Exploring my neighborhood
Rhythms + Rituals – the daily chore list, morning meditation, evening gratitude, following the lunar cycle
Playing games – Superfight, Monopoly, Life, Cards Against Humanity
Happy Hours with my parents
Zoom dates with friends + family
Naps
Completing my stress cycle – swamping, jumping, shaking, breathwork
Being home
Watching shows with Chris: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, United Shades of America, Better Things, One Mississippi, Schitts Creek
Naps
Podcasts – Dolly Parton’s America, Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us, Morgan Harper Nichols
Sunday Sabbath and State of the Unions
Activism – writing, texting, calling, giving money
Biden/Harris winning the presidential election

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Thank you for the space to grieve.

I grieved the losses of:

Hugs
Grandma – even though she died in 2019, I felt the loss more deeply this year
Spending time with my siblings and their children
Traveling – to see Chris’ family in Boise, Oregon Country Fair, Brownlee, the beach
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Riah Milton, Dominique Remmiefells
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
John Lewis

oregon state capital building with a smoky, hazy, orange sky behind the building Tag: dear 2020

Oregon State Capitol in Smoke

Thank you for the teachers and mentors.

I welcomed new teachers and mentors:

Rachel Cargle
Morgan Harper Nichols
Colleen Jones
Prentis Hemphill
Sarah Gottesdiener
Marlee Grace
Emily and Amelia Nagoski
Alex Elle
Drew Hart

My 2020 contained so many FFTs (F**ing First Times – thank you, Brene Brown, for this descriptive term) – so much tragedy, loss, confusion, and struggle. It also contained magical synchronicity, unexpected joy, opportunities for rest, and deepened connection.

May we tuck away and integrate the lessons that are ours to carry forward, and may we leave behind what no longer serves us, as we cross the threshold from one year to the next.

car rear view mirror showing a snow capped mountain range in the mirror with evergreen trees lining the road behind the car Tag: dear 2020

Photo by Jack Hodges

If you’d like support as you reflect and process all that you’re leaving behind in 2020, I made you this free Reflection Guide.

I’m wishing you joy, peace, and rest – dear one. Here’s to continuing to show up for ourselves and each other in 2021.

With so much love,

Brea

Merry Everything

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Photo by Caroline Hernandez

Merry Everything

One thing that unites many December holidays – is an honoring and celebration of LIGHT.

Being the darkest time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, we need intentional reminders that the light will return. This year maybe even more so than in other years.

Welcome the returning light

candle light with black background and red and green blurry lights Tag: merry everything

Photo by Davidson Luna

In our family, we’ve been lighting Advent candles, menorah candles, the Christmas tree, and the yule log. This time is always one of deep reflection, grief, gratitude, and the early whispers of coming dreams.

If you’d like some inspiration as you reflect and dream during this transition from darkness to returning light, here’s an annual reflection guide to support you.

My wish for you

Tonight I’m celebrating Christmas Eve with my family, giving thanks for the precious gifts we’ve received and the lessons that have unfolded.

May this time of darkness and the returning of the light assist in opening wells of patience, peace, love, and joy within each of us.

a green limb of an evergreen tree with the sun coming up with a forest and green field in the background Tag: merry everything

Photo by Isham Photos

I look forward to all that the coming year brings, and am so grateful for you as we venture together into 2021.

With so much love,
Brea

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Happy Summer!

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And the winner is…..

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You selected the remaining books from the survey + your additions in this order:

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Whose Yard Are You In?

My yard >> My thoughts, my feelings, my actions, my words.

Someone else’s yard >> Their thoughts, their feelings, their actions, their words.

Final Thoughts

You’re Invited

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Summer Self-Care Plans

Summer 2021 at Burnout Proof Academy – What’s on your summer reading list?

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Cast Your Vote for Fall Burnout Proof Book Club

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Group Study Guide coming soon!

June 2021 Oil Protocol

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Healing Interpreter Burnout: Complete Your Stress Cycle

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Are you growing in new or uncomfortable ways? Do you feel like you’re shedding an old skin?

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2020 Year-in-Review

Favorite Quote

If we don’t wrestle with anger, we never get to the heartbreak. and if we don’t get to the heartbreak, we don’t get to the healing.

-Lama Rod Owens, Love and Rage

Things Our Family Loved Doing Together

Books Read

Most Influential Book I Read

Favorite Show of The Year

Most Played Song

Favorite Podcast

Favorite Musical Discovery

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Dear 2020,

Share this:

Merry Everything

Welcome the returning light

My wish for you

Share this:

Burnout Proof Book Club – Encore Live Discussion
Aug 11th, 2021 5:00 – 6:00 pm pacific

Burnout Proof Book Club – Encore Live Discussion
Aug 11th, 2021 5:00 – 6:00 pm pacific

UNTAMED, by Glennon Doyle
Live Discussions September 1st & 29th, 2021

Burnout Proof Book Club

We had such an amazing time in our first Book Club live discussion! We dove deep into Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

Are you growing in new or uncomfortable ways?
Do you feel like you’re shedding an old skin?