From the Heart with Rachel Brathen

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

Today we have an episode of Ask Rachel on the show - and somehow, all the questions beautifully relate and come full circle. In the first question, Rachel openly discusses her relationship with her husband and how they were able to fall deeper in love and grow into a new dynamic in their marriage. She shares an actionable practice that all couples should do every week. Then, she talks about healing from burnout and the single most impactful thing that helped her on this journey - connecting with nature.  All of this ties into the last question: how does it feel to manifest a dream? Going from burnout, mold and the most difficult time of Rachel and Dennis’ relationship, they are now flourishing on their land in Sweden and living in tune with nature. Things have come full circle, and today’s episode will remind you that no matter where you may be right now, life is leading you somewhere beautiful. If you have a question for Rachel, you can call her at +1 720 443 1771. 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

No matter how much we wish it to be so, balance is not something we arrive at one day and remain there forever. Finding balance is a daily practice. In today’s episode, Rachel shares her eternal struggle for balance when it comes to sleep, her diet, and taking care of herself in general. How can we choose the most grounding, loving thing for ourselves? And on the other side of the spectrum, how can we not indulge so much that we take the magic out of those special treats? This episode will help you recognize what you need more of, what you need less of, and how to tune into your nervous system and ground before succumbing to that old story that maybe you just aren’t disciplined enough. A little support can go a long way. Tune in to find it. If you are able to right now, please consider donating to an important cause dear to Rachel’s heart. Click the link here. Link: https://chuffed.org/project/lifeline?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPMTI0MDI0NTc0Mjg3NDE0AAGn-v_qz3-_MEHTuMe3qn7HtmVKxuRlEotWVwuqZL-JAR8zyDjEiDOb6jJTLTE_aem_oXDN5542GeQmfD4IphAQNQ  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

Today’s episode begins with Rachel talking a little bit about their family vacation to Tenerife. It was a nourishing time spent doing nothing but reading and lounging on the beach. And sometimes that is exactly what you need in a vacation. As Rachel goes down memory lane, she starts telling the story of how she fell in love with her husband 15 years ago in Aruba. Their origin story is one for the books! It has it all, from chance encounters to moving abroad on a whim. And here they are all these years later, still more in love than ever. Tune in for an episode that will make you believe in fate, fighting for what you love, and the beauty of coming out on the other side. 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

Today’s episode is a tender one that was difficult to record. Rachel opens up about her fear of death. She discusses how this fear has shaped her throughout her life, from her childhood when it was formed, through motherhood, up until this very moment. And after a traumatic experience in her home and losing her entire flock of chickens - it seems death has been surrounding her a lot lately.  But there is a truth that exists: there is no life without death. How can we navigate the uncertainty of life and still let go enough to enjoy it? How do we know when to listen to our intuition and act versus when to accept that we have no real control? Tune in for an episode that will break your heart open and remind you that while everyone dies - not everyone truly lives. 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

In today’s episode, Rachel opens up about a big, beautiful expansion happening in her marriage right now. For the first time in a long time, Rachel is able to lean more into her feminine side. Her husband has been taking the lead, and she has actually been able to accept letting go of control. How did these changes come about? It wasn’t from nagging or expecting someone else to become a new person - it was from recognizing barriers Rachel had put up over her own heart. Whenever we are struggling with something, we are quick to jump to external factors as the cause. But maybe we can’t rely on everyone else to change, and instead we have to recognize our own patterns in keeping people out. Tune in for a big episode of storytelling and finding change the only way it’s possible - through love.  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

In today’s episode, Rachel has just returned from a Path of Love Retreat, although retreat isn’t quite the right word for it. This is Rachel’s third Path of Love experience, and they have all been the most transformational and healing journeys of her life. She comes home with a newly found understanding of herself and the world. Rachel talks a little bit about Path of Love (but not much because the experience is secret!), and she also shares the lessons she has learned during each retreat. This is a process that will help you shed the layers that your upbringing and society have placed on you since you were little - to return to who you are meant to be. Tune in to hear Rachel’s experience from the heart.  If you are interested in learning more, or in joining a Path of Love Retreat, you can visit pathretreats.com and use code RACHEL. 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