It’s easy to feel overwhelmed as a compassionate person in the world right now. We care so deeply, and seeing all the pain and injustice unfolding around us hurts our precious hearts.

But when we carry all that pain around inside us – rather than feeling, honoring, and releasing it – we don’t help the world become any better. We just collect more and more pain until we’re dysregulated and at risk of burnout.

More than ever, our world needs compassionate people grounded, regulated, and resourced. This guided meditation supports you in finding steadiness, presence, and calm connection to your body in moments when the world feels too heavy.

This meditation will help you:

• Come back into your body and the generous present moment
• Release the tension you’re holding
• Let your compassionate heart feel – but not keep – the pain
• Infuse love and light into the center of your being
• Allow yourself to simply be as you are right now

*****

Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.

Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.

Thank you to Alan_Frijns via Pixabay for the beautiful background music “Meditation at the River.”

Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

What happens when your life changes in a single phone call?

What are the boundaries of your role as a compassionate parent when your child experiences a sudden, life-altering injury?

In this deeply moving episode, Molly sits down with Stacy Crawford — a mind-body practitioner with an M.S. in education, a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, and the founder of Klear Water Coaching & Wellness — to share the story of her son’s spinal cord injury at the age of 17 and the healing journey that followed for herself and her whole family.

Stacy brings us into the moment everything changed — and what happened in the days, months, and years that followed. Together, she and Molly explore the boundaries of crisis: what is needed in the moments after an emergency, how to help without overstepping your loved one’s boundaries, and the art of loving someone fiercely without losing yourself in the process.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What it’s like to receive “the call” — and how mind-body tools helped Stacy regulate her nervous system in her moment of crisis
• The impact of medical professionals repeatedly telling a 17-year-old, “You may never walk again” — and why language matters in trauma recovery
• How belonging to a community can have such a profound impact on healing
• What ableism is and why it matters
• Fawning, overfunctioning, and the boundary work required to heal after the traumatic injury of a loved one
• The power of learning to respect your loved one’s boundaries during recovery
• Why accepting help is often the hardest — and most important — first step

*****

Today’s Guest:

Stacy Crawford, M.S. Ed., is the founder of Klear Water Coaching & Wellness LLC and a lifelong educator devoted to helping individuals, leaders, and organizations reconnect with clarity, purpose, and their innate potential. With more than 15 years of coaching experience, Stacy brings an integrative approach that weaves mind–body awareness, embodiment, and depth coaching. Her work supports meaningful transformation, helping people cultivate self-trust, rediscover joy, and live and lead with greater clarity, alignment, and authenticity.

You can find Stacy at www.klearwatercoaching.com or follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Also, she and Valeyne Grotrian (from Episode 33!) are hosting a talking circle for women, and you can learn more here.

About Mason:

Stacy’s son Mason Branstrater, now 22, is an entrepreneur, content creator, and public speaker. After years of recovery and finding his purpose, he is committed to making a difference in the lives of others. His work is focused on those with physical disabilities and spinal cord injuries but is meant to inspire all people. Through his channels, he shows the world what is possible for disabled and abled individuals alike.

You can find Mason at www.masonbran.com or by following him on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

*****

Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.

Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.

Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

What does a love-based movement look like in practice?

This week, Molly interviews Minnesotan and narrative specialist Amy K. Thompson to talk about what she’s witnessing on the ground in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Amy holds a doctorate in physical therapy and a master’s degree in community and public health; she’s also a talented musician, artist, and poet. (We are also proud to have her as a coach inside Molly's Becoming Boundaried Bootcamp).

Molly and Amy reflect on the concept of compassionate nonviolence, taking inspiration from great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. They uncover how practices of community care and creative expression can help people metabolize fear and grief into something greater. They also examine the idea that pain (physical, emotional, spiritual, and cultural) is transformed through witnessing, truth-telling, and love.

Remember: Love is not just a feeling, but can be a form of empowered action.

In this episode (recorded January 29, 2026), Molly and Amy explore:

• what’s unfolding on the ground in Minnesota, and how this movement reveals both our historical wounds and deep collective capacity for change.
• why the act of witnessing is a doorway to healing, both individually and collectively.
• what it looks like to show up in the face of fear without losing your center.
• how community gathering can help transmute grief and outrage into love in action.
• Amy’s poem “How to Kill a Poet” and how there are things violence cannot destroy.
• the deeper truth beneath this moment in history: that what we’re seeing in Minnesota is reflective of what’s possible when compassionate people stand together in their power.

*****

Today’s Guest:

Amy K. Thompson has been in the narrative space professionally for ten years, and much longer as an artist, writer, musician, and poet. As a narrative specialist she's traveled the world speaking, listening, teaching, coaching, and facilitating narrative workshops and depth work with clients ranging from beekeepers to professional athletes, grandmothers to first graders – all to do one thing: to feel for the truth, to tell it, to do good with it, and to heal. Her journey into this work was through a doorway of pain, and her heart sings to work with the deep-hearted, soulful persons of this world – activists and creatives and change-makers to do good work while we're here, and find our way back to love. If you are ready to touch your story and let love tell it, she would love to meet you.

Find Amy and learn more about her services at: https://www.storywell.org/.

Amy also shared a couple of ways you can support those in Minnesota right now. You can find a list of grassroots efforts in Minnesota collecting donations HERE. Another neat way to spread the love is by sending a brief message of hope, inspiration or gratitude to folks working on the frontlines, which you can do HERE.

*****

Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.

Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.

Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

Molly was interviewed by Rachel Strong Smith on The Betrayal Trauma Recovery Bookshelf Podcast, and this week we’re bringing listeners part two of that interview! (Part one is available here.)

In this episode, Molly and Rachel continue to explore boundaries through a wider, more spacious lens – one that moves beyond rules, ultimatums, or control and into meaning, symbolism, and self-honoring truth.

Inspired by Molly’s upcoming book, The Great All: A Parable of Hope, New Beginnings, and You, this conversation invites a zoomed-out perspective on boundaries. Rooted in compassion and dignity, the two explore what it means to truly honor yourself and others.

For those navigating betrayal trauma, boundaries often feel confusing, heavy, or weaponized and something you’re told to “set” without ever being taught how to feel your way into them. This episode offers a different entry point.

Molly and Rachel discuss:

• Boundaries as symbols of self-respect rather than defenses
• What it means to honor me / honor you without self-abandonment
• How parables and story can bypass shame and speak directly to the nervous system
• Why boundaries are not punishments, but expressions of truth
• The “compassionate revolution” and choosing integrity over control

This is a reflective, meaning-rich conversation, especially for those healing from betrayal who are tired of black-and-white rules and longing for something more humane, spacious, and soul-honoring.

*****

Today’s Guest:

Rachel Smith Strong understands betrayal trauma because she’s lived it. After experiencing the devastating impact of betrayal firsthand, Rachel found support that helped transform her life from constant trauma, isolation, and emotional suppression into authentic connection and boundaried living. She now helps guide others through their own healing process.

Rachel holds a Master of Science in Social Work (MSW), is a Board Certified Coach (BCC), and is an APSATS CPC-Candidate. In her work, Rachel focuses on boundary development, gaslighting recovery, addiction-related betrayal, emotional exploration, and mindfulness-based healing. The approach blends evidence-based techniques with deep empathy, guiding clients to reconnect with their authentic selves, create sustainable boundaries, and reclaim their voices. Rachel emphasizes that each healing journey is unique and offers both professional tools and heartfelt support to help individuals transform pain into purpose and trauma into authentic strength.

Find Rachel at The Betrayal Trauma Recovery Bookshelf Podcast, sign up for a free consultation with Rachel here, or join her on Instagram and Facebook.

*****

Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.

Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.

Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

Molly was interviewed by Rachel Strong Smith on The Betrayal Trauma Recovery Bookshelf Podcast, and this week we’re bringing listeners part one of that interview – with part two arriving next week!

In this episode, Molly and Rachel explore boundaries through a wider, more spacious lens – one that moves beyond rules, ultimatums, or control and into meaning, symbolism, and self-honoring truth.

Inspired by Molly’s upcoming book, The Great All: A Parable of Hope, New Beginnings, and You, this conversation invites a zoomed-out perspective on boundaries. Rooted in compassion and dignity, the two explore what it means to truly honor yourself and others.

For those navigating betrayal trauma, boundaries often feel confusing, heavy, or weaponized and something you’re told to “set” without ever being taught how to feel your way into them. This episode offers a different entry point.

Molly and Rachel discuss:

• Boundaries as symbols of self-respect rather than defenses
• What it means to honor me / honor you without self-abandonment
• How parables and story can bypass shame and speak directly to the nervous system
• Why boundaries are not punishments, but expressions of truth
• The “compassionate revolution” and choosing integrity over control

This is a reflective, meaning-rich conversation, especially for those healing from betrayal who are tired of black-and-white rules and longing for something more humane, spacious, and soul-honoring.

*****

Today’s Guest:

Rachel Smith Strong understands betrayal trauma because she’s lived it. After experiencing the devastating impact of betrayal firsthand, Rachel found support that helped transform her life from constant trauma, isolation, and emotional suppression into authentic connection and boundaried living. She now helps guide others through their own healing process.

Rachel holds a Master of Science in Social Work (MSW), is a Board Certified Coach (BCC), and is an APSATS CPC-Candidate. In her work, Rachel focuses on boundary development, gaslighting recovery, addiction-related betrayal, emotional exploration, and mindfulness-based healing. The approach blends evidence-based techniques with deep empathy, guiding clients to reconnect with their authentic selves, create sustainable boundaries, and reclaim their voices. Rachel emphasizes that each healing journey is unique and offers both professional tools and heartfelt support to help individuals transform pain into purpose and trauma into authentic strength.

Find Rachel at The Betrayal Trauma Recovery Bookshelf Podcast, sign up for a free consultation with Rachel here, or join her on Instagram and Facebook.

*****

Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.

Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.

Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

What does it look like to lead… without losing yourself in the process? And what if real “leadership” isn’t about proving yourself, productivity, or power — but about awareness, wholeness, and self-trust?

In this episode, Molly sits down with Valeyne Grotrian, a former corporate leader, executive coach, and the founder of Agora Coaching, to talk about inner leadership — the kind of leadership that happens within you first before it radiates outward into your leadership practices.

Valeyne explains why so many compassionate, conscientious people often rise quickly into leadership roles… and then quietly burn out under the pressure of overworking and keeping-all-the-people-pleased. Together, they explore how hustle culture and “always-on” expectations can slowly erode our sense of self-trust — and how reclaiming your own wholeness can transform not only your inner world but also the culture around you.

This conversation is grounding, expansive, and deeply practical — a reminder that the most powerful leadership doesn’t start with doing more. It starts with coming home to yourself.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

• What “inner leadership” really means — and why it has nothing to do with job titles
• Why so many compassionate people burn out in leadership roles — especially without boundaries
• How being “always on” can become a slow betrayal of your body, your needs, and your self-trust
• An example of inner leadership in action: how setting one simple boundary had ripple effects across an entire team
• Why Valeyne believes “leaders are healers” — and how leadership shapes culture through modeling
• The first step to inner leadership: awareness over effort — slowing down enough to hear yourself again
• The courage to be fully alive — even when the world pressures you to stay contained.

*****

Today’s Guest

Valeyne Grotrian is a former corporate leader, executive coach, and the founder of Agora Coaching. She supports value-driven leaders in reclaiming self-trust, reconnecting with their wholeness, and leading from a deeper place — inside workplaces, organizations, and everyday life.

Valeyne offers a 6-month one-on-one partnership called Awaken Your Inner Leader and works with organizations through workshops and speaking engagements.

You can find Valeyne at agoracoach.com and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

*****

Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.

Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.

Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

What happens after you survive the unimaginable at a young age? How do you begin to face what happened and find a way toward healing?

In this episode, Molly sits down with her dear friend Jennifer Evridge, a survivor and truth-teller whose story is living proof that healing is possible — even after years of long-term abuse.

Jennifer shares her experience navigating repeated abuse by people in positions of authority, how fear and shame ended up running the show in her adult life, and what changed when she finally began to look directly at what happened — and step toward healing.

This conversation is tender, raw, and hopeful: a reminder that the parts of you that were buried for survival are often the very parts that can lead you home to self-worth, self-trust, and self-love.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• The fear so many survivors carry: “If I open up that box, I’ll never stop crying.”
• How shame and self-blame can keep people trapped for decades
• Why boundaries can become the first real crack of freedom for a survivor
• How meditation and inner listening can reconnect you to a loving presence within
• How healing can coexist alongside grief, anger, and complex relationships
• A powerful reminder: you have a voice inside you that knows the way

During their conversation, Jennifer mentions fawning and how Dr. Ingrid Clayton’s work impacted her. You can learn more in Episode 23, Ingrid Clayton: Fawning, Trauma, & the Healing Path Home to Self, where they unpack fawning as a trauma response and what healing can look like on the other side.

Today’s Guest: Jennifer Evridge

Jennifer describes herself as “spiritual being having a human experience.” She is a survivor and truth-teller with a background as a successful businesswoman, 911 dispatcher, and criminal defense investigator.

She is also the creator of Talk2MeAboutLove: Field Notes from a Spiritual Investigator. Through interviews and reflections, Jennifer travels the world talking with everyday people about their spiritual experiences, awakenings, and inner truths — exploring what it means to be human, to heal, and to live with honesty and love.

You can follow Jennifer and Talk2MeAboutLove on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

*****

Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.

Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.

Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

This week, Molly is joined by Melinda Lloyd, PhD — a Native Hawaiian researcher, clinical social worker, author, and coach for the Becoming Boundaried Bootcamp — for conversation on Makahiki – a season of rest, renewal, and right relationship that begins with the Hawaiian New Year.

This cultural framework centers on slowing down, reflection, and the intentional pausing of conflict — a radical contrast to dominant cultural ideas of productivity, urgency, and performance. Melinda shares how Makahiki functions as a season of realignment rather than striving, and how Hawaiian worldviews emphasize reciprocal relationship: with spirituality, ancestors, community, the natural world, and the self.

Together, Molly and Melinda weave Hawaiian cultural wisdom and history with individual healing and boundaries work — exploring what it means to stop shrinking as a survival strategy, reclaim one’s pride, and come home to yourself.

The conversation also touches on somatic healing, code-switching, and the grief that emerges when identity, language, and culture are forcibly suppressed — alongside the hope found in cultural restoration, community healing, and embodied belonging.

Molly and Melinda discuss:

• the meaning of Makahiki and how Native Hawaiian culture approaches the New Year
• why rest, play, and renewal are essential for individual and collective well-being
• how cultural and historical trauma can show up as anger, shrinking oneself, or learned helplessness
• how boundaries create the conditions for right relationship — with self, others, and the world
• why somatic and community-based healing can release what insight alone cannot
• the difference between honoring cultural wisdom and appropriating it

Today’s Guest: Melinda Lloyd, PhD, is a Native Hawaiian clinical social worker, researcher, and author. For over 35 years, her work has centered on working with other Native Hawaiian children and families on grief, loss, trauma, and healing.

Melinda is a coach inside the Becoming Boundaried Bootcamp, where she supports compassionate people in recognizing that boundaries are a powerful act of self-love and self-care — not something you have to earn.

She is also the author of a three-books series written for her grandchildren – From Puna with Aloha – available through Kindle Unlimited.

*****

In this episode, Melinda mentions the “House & Garden” metaphor from Molly’s bootcamp. To get access to this life-changing boundaries blueprint – along with many other practical teachings and community supports – start your 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly at: www.boundaried.com/path.

Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All.

Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!