Becoming Me

EPISODE 11 (BONUS) Christmas is just around the corner, everyone seems to be merry - but are they really? Are YOU? What if you don't feel like celebrating this Christmas? Does it mean you are being a Scrooge, a Humbug? As someone who still feels contradictory emotions every time Christmas season rolls around, I made this special episode for everyone who needs to acknowledge that they are less than happy during Christmas. I want to assure you that not wanting to celebrate in the usual way does not mean you cannot welcome the incredible gift that Christmas brings.Come as you are, come even if you're sad, or grumpy, or just want to be left alone. Christmas is for you too!Share this episode via this episode page. TRANSCRIPT  Available here. GLOSSARY FOR THIS EPISODESome terms you may not be familiar with which I use in this episode:Solemnity - Refers to a particularly great celebration for CatholicsEucharist/ Blessed Sacrament - Refers to the round host - the bread that has been blessed and consecrated at holy mass into the Body of Christ. Perpetual Adoration Chapel - Refers to a chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is present, often exposed, for adoration by the faithful, and which is open 24 hours a day. ADDITIONAL RESOURCESBlog: Permission to be Un-Merry this ChristmasSupport the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 10  Many of us encounter people in our lives who cannot understand the new direction we are taking in our lives to know our True Selves. The experience of being alone on this journey can often make us doubt if we are on the right track.In this episode I look at one of the most common reasons beginners on the interior journey get discouraged and offer an explanation of why this struggle exists as well as how we can respond to our loneliness fruitfully.Share this episode via this episode page. CHAPTER MARKERS(00:00:07) - Introduction & Announcement(00:04:11) - Loneliness on the Interior Journey(00:09:40) - STORY: Realising My Soul Missed Me(00:13:37) - When Others Don't Understand(00:18:20) - PRAXIS: Listen. Ponder. Act.(00:20:49) - ConclusionAvailable here.TRANSCRIPT Available here. REFLECTION PROMPTListen.  - As you listened to today’s episode, what struck you?  - What emotions or thoughts came up in response as you listened?Ponder. - What is your default response when you begin to feel lonely or unsupported? Do you run away from loneliness? How do you do that? Act.  - Write a short note or letter to yourself as you would to a dear friend.- Tell yourself that you will always be available to spend time with you.- The next time you realize that you are feeling lonely, read this letter before you do anything to distract yourself.- Spend that time that you've promised yourself, listen to your soul and get to know your neglected inner-self.For full details of this reflection prompt, please see transcript.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESBlog: "The Grace of Loneliness"Blog: "Crossing the Threshold of Loneliness"Quote by Henri Nouwen "From Loneliness into Solitude"Book Section. Henri Nouwen. "Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life". The first section of the book Reaching Out to Our Innermost Self is about the movement from Loneliness into Solitude.Support the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 9  Making the interior journey and living from the inside-out requires us to learn a new way of being and acting. The process of learning to live from the inside-out consist of deep soul work that cannot be done while we are living at the typical “warp speed” of our modern lives.In this episode I explain how “slow is fast, and fast is slow” when it comes to living the interior life and offer some practical suggestions on how to create your own Slowing Down Routine when you need to exit the expressway and enter a more contemplative space for inner life work. Share this episode via this episode page. CHAPTER MARKERS(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:00:55) - Learning to Touch Type(00:07:46) - Dissipated Speed vs Grace and Ease(00:10:57) - Slowing Down and Creating Space(00:14:39) - PRAXIS: Listen. Ponder. Act.(00:17:23) - ConclusionAvailable here. TRANSCRIPT Available here. REFLECTION PROMPTListen.  - As you listened to today’s episode, what struck you?  - What emotions or thoughts came up in response as you listened?Ponder. - What signs might there be in your life that are telling you that you have been moving too fast and that you need to slow down? Act. - Create your own Slowing Down Routine if you don’t have one yet.- Set aside some time and make a date with yourself. Solitude is important for this routine because it is your inner self that you need to reconnect with. - Decide on a venue and a simple activity. Pick a place where you will not be disturbed and where the environment is reasonably quiet and conducive for calming you down.- Choose an activity that you enjoy and does not require you to multi-task, perform or achieve. - If you already have a routine you love for slowing down, then find some time in the weeks ahead to enjoy it!For full details of this reflection prompt, please see transcript.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESWatch this beautiful 10 minute video about Slowing Down by Green Renaissance.Read my blog entry Re-learning How to Slow DownSupport the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 8 It doesn't matter how much we understand conceptually about living authentically. If we do not make space in our overcrowded and busy lives to connect with ourselves and work on our interior journey, there will be no transformation in our life. In this episode, I talk about why it is paramount that we learn how to make space in our lives. I also share about how an awakening to inauthenticity led me to learn this fundamental principle of making space, and how learning it transformed the way my husband and I live our lives and our marriage.Share this episode via this episode page.CHAPTER MARKERS(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:01:31) - The Importance of Making Space(00:10:05) - The Vicious Cycle of Inauthentic Living(00:12:27) - Story: A Marriage Moves Towards Authenticity(00:20:55) - PRAXIS: Listen. Ponder. Act.(00:22:36) - ConclusionAvailable here.TRANSCRIPT Available here.REFLECTION PROMPTListen. - As you listened to today’s episode, what struck you? - What emotions or thoughts came up in response as you listened?Ponder. - How much white space is there in your own life right now?- Is there a sufficient space for you to breathe in between the things that you have to do? - Is there a space that allows you to pause and review and recalibrate?- Is there a space for you to just simply be? Act. - In your calendar block out some time within the next week or month and label it “White Space”. - Resist the urge to make plans for this white space ahead of time and resist the urge to give this block of time away to more productive pursuits. For full details of this reflection prompt, please see transcript.Support the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 7  Fear can be a powerful prison that keeps us from taking the steps we need to know our True Self and to make the changes we need to heal and flourish. But it is not unbreakable. And part of what helps us to break out of the prison of fear is this trio of virtues - Curiosity, Courage and Compassion. In this episode, I share about my first significant breakthrough from the fear of self-knowledge and how Curiosity, Courage and Compassion can give us real practical help in our journey to authenticity and wholeness.Share this episode via this episode page.CHAPTER MARKERS(00:00:45) - Introduction(00:02:37) - Story: Entering the Attic of My Soul(00:09:06) - Curiosity(00:11:14) - Courage(00:12:38) - Compassion(00:16:19) - PRAXIS: Listen. Ponder. Act.Available here.TRANSCRIPT Available here.REFLECTION PROMPTListen. - As you listened to today’s episode, what struck you? - What emotions or thoughts came up in response as you listened?Ponder. - Among Curiosity, Courage, and Compassion, which one comes most easily to you? - Which one do you find the hardest to practice? - Which one do you think you most need to develop for your interior journey right now?Act. - Choose one virtue to grow in for the next month and commit to checking in with yourself daily on how you have fared that day. For full details of this reflection prompt, please see transcript.Support the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 6  To live from the inside-out requires us to first understand how to listen to our own lives speak to us. Most of us allow many voices to guide the direction that our lives take except our own inner voice. In this episode, I share my own story of how I became awakened to the fact that I was not listening to my life speak to me, and the transformation that happened when I began to learn how to listen. In the Praxis section, I share a simple exercise you can begin to use to listen to your own life.Share this episode via this episode page.CHAPTER MARKERS(00:02:29) - Revelation & Awakening(00:09:39) - Burnout(00:15:48) - Meeting My Real Self(00:18:05) - PRAXIS: Listen. Ponder. Act.Available at the here.TRANSCRIPT Available here.REFLECTION PROMPTListen. - As you listened to me tell my story in this episode, what struck you? Ponder. - Choose one thing that struck you most about my story. - Can you connect it with something in you own life story?- What is your soul trying to communicate to you through these emotions?Act. - List down the various circumstances that made up that event on the outer rim of the wagon wheel; include reactions and responses of others to you at this level of exterior experiences.- Express how you feel about what has been revealed during exercise in your journal or through art.ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Download Wagon Wheel Reflection Resource - Parker Palmer. “Let Your Life Speak: Listening to the Voice of Vocation” - Max Lucado. “Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot”- Luke Burgis & Joshua Miller PhD. “Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person”Support the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 5 Do you find yourself easily triggered by the events in your life and feeling overwhelmed by the noise of the world?  In last week's episode, I explained with the help of an analogy using the avocado fruit, the three layers of living life.  In today's episode, I'm going to take a closer look at these three layers of living, how they affect one another and what the implications are for our interior journey.  Share this episode via this episode page.CHAPTER MARKERS(00:00:43) - Recap(00:01:29) - A Closer Look at the 3 Layers(00:04:27) - The Wagon Wheel Analogy(00:07:29) - Signs of Living from the Outside-In(00:13:54) - Story: Maximilian Kolbe(00:16:12) - The Process of Integration(00:17:58) - PRAXIS: Listen. Ponder. ActAvailable here.TRANSCRIPTAvailable here.REFLECTION PROMPTListen. - As you listened to the descriptions of living from the outside-in and living from the inside-out, what struck you? - How did it make you feel?Ponder. - Choose one thing that struck you most in this episode. - Why do you think this point matters to you? - Can you connect it with your own life experience?Act. - Identify something in the outermost layer of your life that is affecting you deeply. - Allow yourself to listen to what you actually feel about this thing. Give yourself permission to feel what you feel and try and name your emotion. - In your journal, write this question down, “I wonder why I feel this way?” - List down whatever might come to mind. ADDITIONAL RESOURCESDownload Wagon Wheel Reflection Prompt More about Viktor Frankl and "Man's Search for Meaning"More about St. Maximilian KolbeSupport the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 4 Do you ever feel like you are pulled in a million different directions, often running like hamsters on a wheel just trying to keep going without falling? Do you often find yourself feeling stressed and tired and emotionally drained? Or do you experience your life as an integrated, harmonious whole? In this episode and the next, I share with you a fundamental principle of growing in authenticity and wholeness - and that is living from the inside-out, or living from a strong and integrated core.  In this episode I explain the importance of living from our core, identify what our "core" is, and help you understand the importance of engaging, strengthening, and living from that core. Share this episode via this episode page.CHAPTER MARKERS(00:02:10) - The Pilates Analogy (00:06:52) - "CORE" Engagement (00:09:32) - The Avocado Analogy (00:14:27) - Personal Story Illustration (00:21:27)- PRAXIS: Listen. Ponder. Act.Available here.TRANSCRIPTAvailable here.REFLECTION PROMPTListen. - As you were listening to this episode, was there any part that resonated with you? - How did you feel as you were listening?  - Can you identify one word or phrase that would describe your feelings as you listened?Ponder. - Take note of the word or phrase you chose to name your experience as you listened to this episode. - Why do you think you feel this way? - Is there any memory or experience in your own life that comes to mind as you sit with this for a while? Act. - If you haven’t already been able to do so, I invite you take a few minutes to try and identify the 3 layers of living in the story I shared in this episode. - Don’t worry about whether or not you get it correct. The exercise will help you begin to exercise the muscles you need to do this for yourself in your own life. Support the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 3 In this episode I talk about the challenge of accepting and valuing ourselves as we are. I propose that the way to becoming the best and fullest version of ourselves cannot be found by running away from who we are or by trying to remake ourselves in somebody else’s image. Instead, the path we need to take is to embark on the quest to understand and learn how to thrive with the unique gift that we have been given in each of our personhood.What if you - in the unique mix of your personality, quirks, talents, interests, life experiences - and even your trials and sufferings - are a gift to this world? What if there is someone who needs you to be who you are? What if YOU are that someone first of all who need your acceptance and love to bloom and flourish? Will you give yourself this chance? Share this episode via this episode page.CHAPTER MARKERS(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:00:38) - Do You See YOU?(00:03:24) - Ever Wished You Were More Like Someone Else?(00:07:04) - Do You Believe YOU Are Worth Becoming?(00:12:39) - PRAXIS: Listen. Ponder. Act.Available here.TRANSCRIPTAvailable here.REFLECTION PROMPTListen. Recall your emotional responses as you listened to this episode. How did you feel? Was there a particular line, word or section that you felt particularly strongly about?Ponder. Choose one reaction you had and start wondering about it. Why do you think you reacted in that way? Can you connect it with some concrete experience or memory in your life? You may wish to find some time in the next couple of days to write or draw in your journal. Act. I invite you to consider writing a note or letter to yourself, as an invitation to friendship. Or, if you prefer, to look at yourself in the mirror and say something sincere and affirming. Try and see if you can find one affirming thing to say to yourself which you can truly mean every day.Support the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.

EPISODE 2 Today’s episode continues from the first episode to introduce Becoming Me. Previously, I had shared a little about my own backstory and why I am doing this podcast. In this episode, I’m going to talk a bit about what Becoming Me is and who it is meant for, as well as how you can make the most out of it for your own journey. Share this episode via this episode page.CHAPTER MARKERS(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:08:16) - Solitude & Community(00:12:38) - ConclusionAvailable here.TRANSCRIPT Available here.Support the showSUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW | SUPPORTSocial Media:Follow Ann Yeong on Instagram or Facebook.Newsletter:Subscribe to Begin Again for Ann's updates and reflections.Support the Show:Monthly Support (starting at USD$3)One-time DonationLeave a Review:If this podcast has blessed you, please leave a review by clicking here.