Today is what many call the Lion’s Gate Portal, and I love the invitation that today brings.

(And if you’d rather listen, I recorded an audio version of this Special Session 3 for you too. You’ll find it a little further down.)

In very simple terms, Lion’s Gate is viewed as an energetic window for expansion, conscious creation, and stepping into a greater expression of who we really are.

August 8 is considered the peak, with the symbolism of Leo season, the Sun, Sirius, and the numerology of 8/8 all woven together.

Eight is associated with power, abundance, infinity, self-mastery, and manifestation.

And there’s another interesting little layer this year.

2026 reduces to 10 → 1, and in numerology 1 represents beginnings, initiation, and creation.

So for me, what wants to be played with today is the energy of:

Expansion + Creation + Possibility + Potential

And most importantly…CHOOSING.

Choosing more of who we really are and what we are ready to experience.

Which, of course, fits so beautifully with everything we’ve already been playing with here inside The Joy Experiment.

So today I want us to play with one question:

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Have you ever noticed that the more you try to make life happen, the harder everything seems to feel?

What if the very thing you’ve been searching for isn’t another strategy, another book, or another piece of information?

What if the secret to living in flow is remembering something you’ve always known?

In this episode, I invite you into a completely different way of experiencing life.

As I sat outside on the grass recording this podcast, a hummingbird appeared within seconds, dancing from flower to flower, while the breeze moved through the grass and the sun found its way onto my face. I delighted in the perfection of how nature and the Universe were mirroring back to me what I was experiencing in my own lived, realized state... that life is constantly moving with us, supporting us, and loving us.

Together, we explore what it gets to look like when we stop trying to force life and instead consciously choose presence, ease, joy, and flow. As we expand into more of the truth of who we really are, flow isn't something we have to create... it naturally becomes our way of being, and life begins responding in the most beautiful ways.

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking...

"I know life can be everything I've dreamed of...so why can't I seem to get there?"

...this conversation is for you.

I hope it reminds you of the truth of who you really are and inspires you to begin dancing with life in a whole new way.

If you're ready to experience more ease, more joy, and more flow in your own everyday life, I'd love to invite you into The Joy Experiment. It's where we consciously practice these ideas together and discover what becomes possible when joy becomes a way of being instead of just an occasional experience.

Experience The Joy Experiment

I'd love to welcome you inside.

With so much love,

Jennifer 💜

Let’s Connect:

💟 What was your biggest takeaway from today's episode?

I'd truly love to hear what resonated with you, what you're exploring, or what shifted for you. Share your thoughts in the comments below. Some of my favourite conversations—and many future podcast episodes—begin right there.

Leave a comment

💟 If someone came to mind while you were listening, would you share this episode with them? You never know who might need this reminder today, and one small share can make a much bigger difference than we often realize.

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WOOHOO!! 💜

I’m so excited you’re here, and I’m truly honoured that we’re walking this journey together.

In this session, I share a very personal experience from that invited me into an even deeper experience of choosing myself, choosing joy, and returning to the truth of who I really am.

One of the things I kno…

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Welcome to the very first private podcast for The Joy Experiment. 💜

I recorded this audio from my pool, which feels so perfect because that is one of my absolute joy spaces.

So here I am, sitting in my joy, doing this first private podcast for you, with the chipmunks going wild behind me, and honestly, it just …

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A conversation that didn’t go as planned. An unexpected bill. A room that feels heavy or off. A family situation. A community meeting. The worries of the world landing in your body in a way that leaves you feeling reactive or out of sorts.

You can be so committed to consciously choosing your life, listening to your body, trusting what you know, and then suddenly find yourself pulled into the noise, trying to remember the truth that felt so clear only moments before.

That is what this episode is about.

I share what I was noticing in my own life the week before I recorded this podcast, when contrast started showing up around money, family, community, responsibility, and the energy I could feel moving through the people and spaces around me.

Fear, judgment, perception, and other people’s energy grabbed on a little more than usual, and it took me a hot minute to centre myself again, especially with Mike, my husband, deep in it too.

We talk about what it means to awaken inside a very real, everyday life, with marriage, motherhood, children, family dynamics, business, finances, home, responsibility, and the sensitivity that so many of us experience. Life keeps inviting us to choose who we really are, even when the world around us has taught us to live by rules that were never truly ours.

For a long time, I didn’t understand how much I was taking in from other people, my family, the world, and the energy around me. I didn’t always know where I began and where everyone else ended.

I have a feeling you know what this feels like too.

You may be able to sense what is possible for your life while still learning how to stay connected to that inner knowing in the middle of everything.

In this episode, we explore presence, perception, sensitivity, contrast, the way life communicates with us, and how the moments that feel the loudest can become some of our greatest teachers when we are willing to become curious about what they are showing us.

A quick note before you listen...

You’ll hear me mention Lavender near the end of this episode, so I wanted to give you a little update.

She isn’t open just yet.

Lavender is the weekly live women’s circle I am creating for sensitive, intuitive, aware women who want a steady place to show up exactly as they are, ask honest questions, be witnessed, receive guidance, and be supported as they practice living from their inner knowing in their bodies, relationships, choices, energy, and everyday life.

I can’t wait to share more with you soon, including the official start date. If Lavender already feels like something you’d love to be part of, simply comment Lavender below and I’ll connect with you personally.

Right now, though, I am so excited to share that The Joy Experiment is officially open here on Substack.

Inside The Joy Experiment, we’re exploring one simple but powerful question:

What changes when we consciously choose joy everyday?

Together, we’re experimenting with bringing more joy into the way we move through our days, the way we listen to our bodies, the way we create, rest, play, and respond to life.

And then we pay attention.

What changes?

Do we feel clearer?

Steadier?

More connected to ourselves?

Do our days begin to feel lighter, more alive, more honest, and more free?

That is the experiment.

If this episode sparked something in you or speaks to you, I’d love for you to join me inside The Joy Experiment and explore it with us.

Join the Joy Experiment Now

With so much love,

Jennifer 💜

Let’s Connect:

💟 If this episode resonates with you, I’d truly love to hear your reflections, insights, questions, or experiences in the comments below. Some of the most meaningful conversations and future podcast topics will come directly from this community and what we’re all exploring in real time together.

Leave a comment

💟 And if you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, or share it so more beautiful humans can find this space too.

Share

They were the kind of dreams that linger after waking, carrying a sense that something within them wants your attention, even if you cannot yet name it.

I lay there for a few moments, feeling into them, knowing I wanted to sit with whatever was there before the day began to pull me elsewhere.

So instead of reaching for my phone, opening my laptop, or diving into the long list of things that always seem ready to be done, I grabbed my journal, a blanket, and a little shopping bag my sister-in-law made for me, and headed outside.

There is a hill on our property that I love sitting on. For the last couple of years, it has been covered with dirt from our renovations and house projects, but recently it has started feeling like itself again. The grass is growing, the space feels open, and there is a quietness there that allows me to hear myself more clearly.

I spread out my blanket, settled into the grass, and began unpacking my journal and pen—and that is when a dime fell out of my bag.

I laughed immediately, because of course it was a dime.

If you know me at all, you probably know that dimes have become a bit of a thing in my life.

Years ago, when I was first opening myself to the possibility that angels, guides, and unseen support systems might actually be real, I was talking with a man who would later become a client. I had just found a dime, and he casually smiled and said, “Dimes are your angels saying hi.”

I have never forgotten that.

What I find fascinating is that I cannot tell you whether that statement is objectively true, nor do I feel any need to prove it. I simply know that something inside me smiled when he said it and recognized the truth in this new awareness.

Ever since then, every time I find a dime, I smile.

For years, they would show up every now and then, just enough to catch my attention and remind me of that conversation and knowing that was instilled within me.

Over the last six months, however, they have been appearing with such frequency that I have actually started collecting them.

Dimes show up on walks, in the pockets of my car doors, after I have been asking questions, while I am contemplating decisions, and sometimes in places where I have no logical explanation for how they got there.

And while part of me is perfectly happy to laugh and acknowledge that perhaps I simply notice dimes more than other people do, another part of me has come to appreciate that maybe the explanation matters far less than the feeling and the knowing that comes along with it.

Because every single time I find one, I feel supported and taken care of in a beautiful, gentle way.

Finding one doesn’t take all of my problems away in one fell swoop nor make decisions on my behalf, and it certainly doesn’t make life suddenly effortless or cause every challenge to magically disappear.

Rather, what it does is ground and centre me, reminding me that there is something far larger than myself co-creating with me.

I remember that I am in relationship with life, and that there is so much more happening than what I can see with my physical eyes alone.

As I sat there holding the dime, my dog Ginger wandered over and stretched herself out beside me, and a few moments later Leo, our cat, joined us too. I had not called either of them or invited them; they simply arrived and settled in around me as though they had received the same invitation I had.

The sun warmed the grass beneath us, the dreams were still moving through me, and my journal sat open on my lap. As I sat there, I found myself reflecting on how often support has shown up for me over the years and how many different forms it has taken.

I could see it in the doves that have appeared during significant moments of my life, especially after my father passed.

I could see it in the repeating numbers that seem to catch my attention exactly when I need a reminder, in dreams that arrive carrying messages I am ready to hear, and in the wisdom that flows through my journaling when I become quiet enough to listen.

I could see it in conversations that has changed the direction of my life, in books that seemed to find me at precisely the right moment, and in strangers who unknowingly said exactly what I needed to hear.

I could see it in nature, in animals, in music, and in those moments of knowing that arrive before my logical mind has caught up.

The more I sat with all of this, the more I realized that what has changed over the years is not the amount of support available to me, but my awareness of it.

The support has always been there.

It was there during the seasons when I was struggling, anxious, overwhelmed, and so deep in breakdown that I genuinely could not see a way forward. It was there when I felt lost, disconnected from myself, and uncertain about where life was leading me. It was there when life was asking me to trust before I had any idea how.

It was also there during the moments of pure joy, freedom, expansion, and flow, when life felt magical and I could feel myself co-creating with something far greater than myself.

Looking back, I can see that support woven throughout every season of my life, including the ones where I could not see it, feel it, or even imagine it was present.

I have known for many years now that I am supported by something far greater than my human mind and ego can fully comprehend. Through my awakening journey, through my relationship with spirit, through the countless experiences, signs, synchronicities, and moments of knowing that have shaped my life, I have come to trust that deeply.

What continues to excite and amaze me, however, is how much more visible that support becomes as I embody more of who I really am.

The signs become clearer and the nudges feel more obvious.

The timing often feels almost impossibly precise, the conversations become richer, and my relationships feel more alive, more playful, more connected, and more deeply woven into my life.

It feels less like discovering something new and more like deepening into a conversation that has been unfolding my entire life.

And perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts of slowing down enough to pay attention.

As our awareness expands and our relationship with life deepens, we often find ourselves noticing just how many ways guidance, encouragement, wisdom, reminders, and little winks of support have been woven throughout our journey.

What once may have seemed ordinary can begin to feel deeply personal, meaningful, beautifully alive, and, dare I say, magical. Because for me, it often feels exactly like that.

The dime that fell out of my bag that morning was one of those moments.

One of those little winks from the Universe that arrives at exactly the right time and leaves me smiling as I remember just how supported, connected, and loved we truly are.

And there is a quiet comfort in knowing this and in recognizing that support has never been something we needed to earn or become worthy of, nor something that arrives only after we have figured everything out. It has always been woven into life’s experiences.

I know this is one of the reasons I love journaling so much.

When I sit down with a journal, I become available to myself in a different way. The noise begins to quiet, any anxiety that might be looming softens, and the need to do other things gently falls away.

In this present and aware space, I often hear the messages that life has been speaking to me much more clearly.

The answers are not always what I expect or arrive in the ways I imagine, yet over and over again I find myself amazed by how much wisdom is available when I slow down enough to receive it.

The signs did not create the support. The signs helped me notice it.

If you have ever found yourself seeing repeating numbers, noticing meaningful coincidences, receiving messages through dreams, feeling supported by nature, or experiencing those moments where life seems to be getting your attention in ways that are difficult to explain, I recently recorded a companion podcast episode called Signs, Synchronicities, and the Support All Around You.

In the episode, I share more stories about dreams, dimes, journaling, animals, intuition, and the many ways I have experienced life communicating through the ordinary moments of everyday life.

Listen to Episode 3 Now

One of the things I love most about these conversations is that every person seems to have their own unique language with life.

For me, it includes dimes, doves, dreams, repeating numbers, journaling, and nature—and so much more.

For someone else, it might be music, art, their body, a feeling they cannot quite explain, or the same message appearing through different people until it can no longer be ignored.

What matters to me is not convincing anyone that my symbols should become theirs, but rather extending an invitation to become curious about your own, because life has a beautiful way of speaking to each of us in a language we can understand when we are willing and available to listen.

Perhaps life has been speaking to you for much longer than you realize.

If you enjoy these reflections on intuition, self-love, awakening, embodiment, signs, synchronicities, and learning to trust your own inner knowing, I would love to welcome you into this community.

As I sat there on the hill that morning with my journal in my lap, my dreams still moving through me, the dime resting in my hand, Ginger stretched out beside me, Leo nearby, and the warmth of the sun wrapping itself around all of us, I found myself smiling at how beautifully life continues to surprise and delight me.

As I began writing, insights from the dream started to surface. Pieces that had felt scattered while I was sleeping began to gently weave themselves together, helping me see things more clearly and offering answers to questions I had been quietly holding. Awarenesses that had been just beyond my reach seemed to settle into place, and I found myself feeling grateful for the space I had given myself to listen.

As I sat there journaling, reflecting, and allowing the morning to unfold, I found myself deepening into a conversation that has been unfolding throughout my entire life, one that continues to become richer, more alive, and more magical the more attention I give it.

I have known for many years that I am supported by something far greater than my human mind can fully comprehend. What continues to expand is my awareness of that support, my relationship with it, and my appreciation for the countless ways it weaves itself into everyday life.

The more I pay attention, the more I notice. The more I notice, the more alive the relationship and the signs and synchronicities become. And the more alive this relationship becomes, the more I find myself moving through life with a sense of wonder, curiosity, trust, and appreciation for the beautiful mystery of it all.

And perhaps that is why I still smile every time I find a dime.

Because somewhere along the way, a simple little coin became part of a much larger conversation between me and life itself.

With so much love,

Jennifer 💜

(ps. See the dime on the Journal 😜💜)

• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ─── •

About Me:

Hi, I’m Jennifer,

These are some of the roles and identities I choose to play within and expand through in this life — mother of 4, wife, business owner, podcast host, deep thinker, writer, speaker, facilitator and consciousness explorer — though I don’t define myself by any of them. At my core, I see myself as spirit having a human experience, uniquely me, here to be the love that I already am and to love deeply, grow endlessly, and explore what it truly means to live consciously, authentically, and fully in everyday life.

I’m endlessly drawn to deep conversations, consciousness, spirituality, creating your reality, and the unfolding journey of remembering who we really are beneath all the labels and conditioning.

More than anything, I love creating spaces where intuitive, sensitive, self-aware women can reconnect more deeply with themselves by remembering and reclaiming the truth of who they really are, exploring life more deeply, and moving toward lives that feel more joyful, peaceful, aligned, and free on all levels.

I believe this journey is deeply personal, beautifully unique for all of us, and something we were never meant to navigate alone.

I’m so grateful you’re here.

• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ─── •

Let’s Connect:

💟 If this article resonates with you, I’d truly love to hear your reflections, insights, questions, or experiences in the comments below. Some of the most meaningful conversations and future podcast topics come directly from this community and what we’re all exploring together in real time.

Leave a comment

💬 And if you enjoyed this article, please like, comment, or share it so more beautiful humans can find this space too.

Subscribe now

In this episode of the Reclaim Your Real Self podcast, I open a very real and unfiltered conversation about signs, symbols, synchronicities, dreams, animals, numbers, nature, and the many ways the Universe, our higher selves, and our unseen support systems communicate with us every single day.

I share personal stories about dimes appearing at the exact right moments, dreams carrying messages, journaling as a doorway into deeper clarity, the support I feel through my animals, and the subtle but powerful nudges that guide us when we are willing to listen.

This conversation is woven with the understanding that we are spirit here having a human experience, and that there is so much more support available to us than we have been taught to notice.

This episode is for the sensitive, intuitive, aware woman who already senses there is more happening beneath the surface of everyday life and wants to deepen her trust in the signs, support, and magic that are already surrounding her.

If you have ever found yourself seeing repeating numbers, receiving the exact message you needed at the perfect moment, feeling deeply supported by nature, animals, dreams, or your own inner knowing, this conversation will definitely support you to deepen into the remembering of the truth that already lies within you.

Listen to the full episode here

Stay tuned for the accompanying Substack article, where I'll be diving deeper into this conversation. 💜

With so much love,

Jennifer Van Hezewijk

• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ─── •

About Me:

Hi, I’m Jennifer,

These are some of the roles and identities I choose to play within and expand through in this life — mother of 4, wife, business owner, podcast host, deep thinker, writer, speaker, facilitator and consciousness explorer — though I don’t define myself by any of them. At my core, I see myself as spirit having a human experience, uniquely me, here to be the love that I already am and to love deeply, grow endlessly, and explore what it truly means to live consciously, authentically, and fully in everyday life.

I’m endlessly drawn to deep conversations, consciousness, spirituality, creating your reality, and the unfolding journey of remembering who we really are beneath all the labels and conditioning.

More than anything, I love creating spaces where intuitive, sensitive, self-aware women can reconnect more deeply with themselves by remembering and reclaiming the truth of who they really are, exploring life more deeply, and moving toward lives that feel more joyful, peaceful, aligned, and free on all levels.

I believe this journey is deeply personal, beautifully unique for all of us, and something we were never meant to navigate alone.

I’m so grateful you’re here.

Let’s Connect:

💟 If this episode resonates with you, I’d truly love to hear your reflections, insights, questions, or experiences in the comments below. Some of the most meaningful conversations and future podcast topics will come directly from this community and what we’re all exploring in real time together.

Leave a comment

💟 And if you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, or share it so more beautiful humans can find this space too.

Share

Join Jennifer Van Hezewijk’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

💟 And if you want the to receive my new Video gift to you called “Freedom Activation”, Subscribe here, it would be an honour to have you as part of this growing community of women loving and supporting each other.

This statement is not meant to be an affirmation you need to speak to yourself until you finally believe it (although it could be). It is designed to be an activation for you. And what an activation does is wake up your cells and your telomeres so they start singing, “Yes, she’s remembering, now we can come online and really start helping her know this truth.”

Because the truth is, you being worthy and enough is the most natural thing about you. It is as obvious and steady as your breath, because the fact that you are here, in this life, means you are worthy and always have been… no matter what.

This article is a companion to episode two of the Reclaim Your Real Self podcast, You Were Born Worthy.

The episode is the spoken transmission.

What is a transmission, you might ask?

For me, a transmission is what happens when I connect with my higher self / perspective and allow what wants to be shared to come through in real time. I do not script or plan beyond a few notes or ideas to begin the conversation.

Through the frequency of my voice, energy, intention, gestures, specific words, perspectives, stories, tones, we awaken something that is already present within us. It is meant to activate a deeper remembrance of the truth we already carry, helping us reconnect with what we know at a cellular level but may not yet be fully living, embodying, or expressing in our everyday lives.

A transmission is different from teaching information. The intention is not simply for you to hear the words with your mind, but to feel and activate the vibration within your body, your heart, and your being.

It is a full‑body experience (especially if you are aware of this and become really present while you listen and feel into it) and is meant to sit with you quietly, to travel with you into the corners of your day, and to keep opening this conversation about who you really are and what it means to live from that truth in a real human life with kids, dishes, money, emails, and a phone that always seems to be lighting up.

If you prefer to listen first, you can press play on the full episode of You Were Born Worthy on the Reclaim Your Real Self podcast.

You Were Born Worthy Podcast here

Remembering who you already are

Many of the women in this community are deeply aware. You have taken courses, read books, listened to podcasts, maybe even led circles and/or have your own business supporting others in your own special and unique way only you can.

You know a lot.

You have seen your own patterns.

You have touched the places where you abandoned yourself and you are doing the work to come home.

And still, there are days when something as simple as an unanswered message or a comment from someone you love can touch a very old place inside you and the questions rise again, whether it is conscious or subconscious:

Am I enough.
Does my presence matter.
Is my voice too much.
Am I falling behind.
Am I doing this life the way I’m supposed to.

These questions show you where you are still not fully reclaiming your “enough-ness.” They absolutely show how much you care, and how deeply you want your life to feel aligned with the truth you already know inside.

In my first podcast, I share a moment when I stood on stage speaking at a colleague’s seminar and said out loud, in front of a room full of women, that I love myself. And I meant it. I knew it. I felt it deeply. I also chose to say it because I wanted the women watching and listening to hear what was possible for them too, and in that moment I hoped the remembrance of self-love that already lived within them could be activated and brought forward into their own awareness.

If you want to dive deeper into this than…

Listen to Podcast One Here

That self‑love declaration to the world opened something even deeper for me.

As soon as it was spoken, life began inviting me into a deeper layer of what loving myself actually looks like on the days when I do not feel particularly put together or wise or “on purpose.” Loving myself in the middle of a conversation with my daughter. Loving myself when money feels stretchy. Loving myself when my body is asking for rest and there is still a long list. Loving myself when I am not sure what the next step is in my business or my relationships.

This companion piece is about walking that deeper layer with you.

What “born worthy” feels like in everyday life

“Born worthy” can sound like something that belongs on a beautifully designed quote card, and at the same time it is one of the most practical truths you can live from.

It lives in very simple, very human scenes.

You might be in your kitchen, chopping vegetables while your child asks you a question, the laundry machine hums in the background, and your mind is also holding a conversation you had earlier that day. Part of you is here in the room, and part of you is walking through an old situation from years ago, wondering if you got it wrong, wondering if you should have known better.

You might be standing at the counter looking at a bill, feeling the familiar wave of “I thought I had this handled by now,” noticing that quiet pressure inside that says you should have figured this part out already, that you should be further along.

You might be reading a message on your phone, feeling the urge to explain yourself more clearly, change your words, or make yourself smaller because you do not want to be misunderstood or take up too much space.

You might be lying in bed at night, looking back over your day, and your mind is scanning for the places you could have done more or done it “better.”

The quiet revolution begins when another layer of knowing is allowed to be present within these moments. A deeper awareness that reminds you that your worth is not determined by how much you accomplished today, how perfectly you responded, how many people you supported, or whether everything unfolded as you hoped.

Your worth was never dependent on any of those things.

It was already there before the day began, remains present throughout every experience, and is still there when your head finally rests on the pillow at night.

The knowing that before you did anything, before you made any decision, before you loved or disappointed anyone, before you created a thing or earned a dollar…

you were worthy.

You arrived as spirit in human form. A unique expression of infinite consciousness, here to live, to feel, to explore, to remember. That has never changed, no matter how many stories were laid on top of it.

When you begin to live from “I was born worthy and that has always been true,” the same moments begin to open in new ways.

Letting life show you your own worth

One of the things I love about this path is how life plays with us.

Sometimes the reminders come in very quiet, ordinary ways.

A stranger smiles at you in a grocery store at the exact moment you were questioning whether anyone sees you.

A friend sends a message right as you are thinking of her.

A piece of music comes on that makes your whole body exhale.

Sometimes they come dressed as challenges.

A conversation that asks you to speak more honestly.

A financial situation that asks you to trust your ability to create and receive support.

A relationship moment that invites you to honour what you really need instead of what will keep the peace.

And sometimes they come as these sparkling little synchronicities that make you feel held and seen by something bigger.

That is what happened for me as I pressed “publish” on this second episode of the podcast — it was live for the world to see, and any doubt or worry that was trying to rear its untrue words my way was quieted by the reminder of how supported and loved I really am, because the exact time was 5:55 p.m.

The episode is about remembering our inherent worth.

All my podcasts, articles, teachings, and support will always come back to and be about self‑love. Because it is always about lovingly choosing ourselves and honouring the truth that has been there since before we were born.

And there, at the very moment it went live, was this clear, simple, repeated number that has always felt like a language my etheric team uses with me.

And 5:55 on the dot as this episode entered the world felt like a loving nod from all of them.

For me, it felt like life and the Universe was confirming what I already knew:

That this conversation matters — a lot.
That you matter and that the women you are speaking to matter.
And that this remembering is supported by the entire Universe.

Self‑love is also allowing yourself to be supported in this way.

Your own signs might look different. Numbers, birds, songs, dreams, repeated phrases, a feeling in your body, a softness that comes over you at a particular moment. The form is personal. The message is the same:

You are loved.
You are loving.
You are lovable.

And your life keeps finding ways to show you.

And next week I will be dropping my third podcast all about signs and support from the Universe. Stay tuned.

Choosing yourself inside your own life

One of the most grounded, practical ways I have learned to live from the truth that you already are worthy and enough is what I shared in the episode as “Jennifer Hour.”

Many years ago a facilitator invited me into the idea of giving myself one hour a day that was just for me. At that time my days were full of four young and energetic children, home, responsibilities, business, money, and the constant quiet labour of holding so many moving pieces together.

One hour sounded both delicious and almost impossible.

So I began in the way that was real for me.

Sometimes five minutes.
Sometimes fifteen.
Often in water, because water is where my body feels the freest. Floating in our pool, sitting in the hot tub, letting warmth and weightlessness tell my system: you are held, you get to let go, and you get to include you in your own life.

At first, the guilt came with me.

The thoughts about what I “should” be doing.
The sense that someone might need me (or actually see me taking time for myself… what?).
The very old pattern that measured my value by how much I could carry, fix, smooth over, or hold for everyone else.

And slowly, as I kept choosing myself in these small, very human ways, a new relationship with myself began to form.

I saw how deeply I had equated love with self‑abandonment.

How much I had placed myself at the very bottom of my own totem pole.

How automatic it had become to check in with everyone else’s needs long before my own.

Bringing myself back to the top was not about ignoring anyone. It was about including myself and, along with it, my body, my needs, my joy, and eventually my voice — all of it leading to a deep and reverent knowing and embodiment that I get to, and choose to, live a fully free, honest, vibrant, fulfilling, and sovereign life.

Your version of this might look completely different.

It might be three breaths in your car before going into work that eventually leads you to more self‑care.
It might be a slow cup of tea at the window while the house is still quiet.
It might be a walk around the block without your phone.
It might be music in your headphones while you fold laundry.
It might be five minutes of writing whatever is moving through you onto a page.

The form is less important than the message you are sending yourself:

I am here too, and my presence absolutely matters, along with my inner world, and my entire life is allowed to fully feel like the me I know is inside, waiting to burst out and love this life.

Every time you choose yourself in this way, you are not taking away from anyone. You are returning to the woman who knows who she is, and everyone in your life feels that.

Allowing yourself to be accompanied

So much of what I share inside Reclaim Your Real Self comes straight from my lived reality. Raising four children, including twins. Building a home (twice). Creating a business. Navigating money. Loving people. Being loved. Feeling deeply. Meeting my own edges. Letting go of identities that no longer fit. Remembering, again and again, that I am spirit here in human form and that my worth has never actually been up for debate.

I know you carry a lot. I know you feel a lot. And I know you hold so many responsibilities that nobody ever sees.

And I also know that something in you is tired of living as if you have to earn your place here.

You were born worthy. You are still worthy, and you will remain worthy, no matter what happens — ever.

If something in you relaxes or releases, then I have done my job.

To you I say: welcome home, back into the truth of who you really are.

When you subscribe for free on Substack, you receive each new podcast episode and the deeper written pieces like this directly. You also receive my Freedom Activation video as a welcome gift — an experience you can return to whenever you want to reconnect with the freedom, truth, and love that already live inside you.

Subscribe for free, receive your Freedom Activation, and stay close to every new episode transmission that flows through.

Subscribe now

If you haven’t already, you can press play on You Were Born Worthy and let it move through your system while you walk, cook, drive, sit in the sun, lie in bed, or pause between tasks. Let the words meet you where you are.

We are remembering together.

You Were Born Worthy Podcast here

• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ─── •

About Me:

Hi, I’m Jennifer,

These are some of the roles and identities I choose to play within and expand through in this life — mother of 4, wife, business owner, podcast host, deep thinker, writer, speaker, facilitator and consciousness explorer — though I don’t define myself by any of them. At my core, I see myself as spirit having a human experience, uniquely me, here to be the love that I already am and to love deeply, grow endlessly, and explore what it truly means to live consciously, authentically, and fully in everyday life.

I’m endlessly drawn to deep conversations, consciousness, spirituality, creating your reality, and the unfolding journey of remembering who we really are beneath all the labels and conditioning.

More than anything, I love creating spaces where intuitive, sensitive, self-aware women can reconnect more deeply with themselves by remembering and reclaiming the truth of who they really are, exploring life more deeply, and moving toward lives that feel more joyful, peaceful, aligned, and free on all levels.

I believe this journey is deeply personal, beautifully unique for all of us, and something we were never meant to navigate alone.

I’m so grateful you’re here.

Let’s Connect:

💟 If this article resonates with you, I’d truly love to hear your reflections, insights, questions, or experiences in the comments below. Some of the most meaningful conversations and future podcast topics come directly from this community and what we’re all exploring together in real time.

Leave a comment

💟 You’re also always welcome to connect with me over on Substack Notes, where I share additional reflections, everyday awarenesses, and conversations between podcast episodes and articles.

💬 And if you enjoyed this article, please like, comment, or share it so more beautiful humans can find this space too.

With so much love,

Jennifer ✨

I share a pivotal moment where I declared out loud to the world that I love myself, and how life immediately began inviting me into a deeper, more embodied layer of self‑love and worth in my nervous system, my relationships, my body, and my everyday choices.

In episode 2:

• We explore what it really means to remember that you were born worthy.

• How your body speaks when you forget that truth or don’t believe it.

• The very human habit of reading meaning into everything and much more.

• A very real life example of a conversation I had with my eldest daughter Ericka about allowing life to be easier.

I also introduce you to what I call “Jennifer Hour” and how putting myself at the top of my own totem pole has quietly shifted so much in my world.

And the beautiful part is that you get to create a version of your own “Jennifer Hour” for yourself, one that is aligned for you and that meets and supports you exactly where you are right here and right now.

This episode is an invitation for you to keep meeting yourself in new ways, to let these stories and reflections sit alongside your own…

and to let the remembering that you were born worthy move gently through your day.

I hope you enjoy both the podcast and the article.

With so much love,

Jennifer 💜

• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ─── •

About Me:

Hi, I’m Jennifer,

These are some of the roles and identities I choose to play within and expand through in this life — mother of 4, wife, business owner, podcast host, deep thinker, writer, speaker, facilitator and consciousness explorer — though I don’t define myself by any of them. At my core, I see myself as spirit having a human experience, uniquely me, here to be the love that I already am and to love deeply, grow endlessly, and explore what it truly means to live consciously, authentically, and fully in everyday life.

I’m endlessly drawn to deep conversations, consciousness, spirituality, creating your reality, and the unfolding journey of remembering who we really are beneath all the labels and conditioning.

More than anything, I love creating spaces where intuitive, sensitive, self-aware women can reconnect more deeply with themselves by remembering and reclaiming the truth of who they really are, exploring life more deeply, and moving toward lives that feel more joyful, peaceful, aligned, and free on all levels.

I believe this journey is deeply personal, beautifully unique for all of us, and something we were never meant to navigate alone.

I’m so grateful you’re here.

Let’s Connect:

💟 If this episode resonates with you, I’d truly love to hear your reflections, insights, questions, or experiences in the comments below. Some of the most meaningful conversations and future podcast topics will come directly from this community and what we’re all exploring in real time together.

Leave a comment

💟 And if you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, or share it so more beautiful humans can find this space too.

Share

Join Jennifer Van Hezewijk’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

💟 And if you want the to receive my new Video gift to you called “Freedom Activation”, Subscribe here, it would be an honour to have you as part of this growing community of women loving and supporting each other.

Subscribe now

This just happened.

We had a visitor in our bedroom this morning.

Completely unexpected, completely fascinating, and if I am being honest, one of those moments that feels far bigger than the actual event itself.

Doves have always been my favourite birds.

They have carried deep meaning for me for decades and began showing up in my life after my father died. Over the years they have become one of those symbols that instantly catches my attention and gently invites me back into the present moment.

For me they represent freedom, trust, peace, presence, guidance, and a hundred other things that would quickly turn this article into a chapter in a book all on their own.

This morning I had been sitting outside in the sunshine simply enjoying the beautiful start to the day, feeling into what wanted my attention this week within my work and business and allowing myself to be present with what wanted to be created and shared.

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Mike (my husband) came outside to join me and we started talking about my first podcast episode that I launched last week.

I had been listening back to it earlier and sharing some of my thoughts with him.

I told him about my concerns with it being so raw, real and unscripted.

There is no polished intro nor fancy opening or closing music.

There is no carefully crafted script designed to make me sound more intelligent, professional and prepared or more anything.

What there is, are pauses and moments where I am searching for the next word. There are also a few coughs and gulps and places where I can literally hear myself settling into the conversation and finding my flow as I go with real, honest, lived awareness and insights.

As we were talking about it, Mike asked if I could edit some of those parts out.

I smiled and said I could.

I just don’t want to.

Because something has shifted in me.

For many years I carried an undertone of energy, and a deep-seated belief that things needed to be ready before they could be shared. That they needed to reach a certain standard before they could be seen. That I needed to somehow become “more” before what I had to offer was valuable enough to put into the world in a grander way.

A lot of that comes from feeling like we aren’t safe to be truly seen by the world.

I have done loads of inner growth and work on the theme of safety in my life and its ever-unfolding nuances that show up when I least expect or ask for it.

These days I feel differently though. It's not that I am not a little scared of being so vulnerable and showing up as authentically as possible, it's that I know I want to (not need to… but want to) because I keep asking for more in my life.

So with all the inner work I have welcomed in and shifted through, I have learned to be nerve-sighted (nervous and excited at the same time) and to let those nerves come along for the ride while saying yes anyway.

And these days I am far more interested in being real than being polished and worrying about whether I am doing something right or wrong from another person's (or industry's standards).

I am far more interested in connection and creating community where honest conversations, awarenesses and shifts get to be had, while supporting others in finding their own real, raw and vulnerable truth and voice as well.

These days, sharing what I am actually living feels way more important to me than creating an image of who I think I should be, along with carrying the worry that somewhere, someone (well, probably many someones) might judge me as being too woo-woo, too out-there, too honest, or too _____________; fill in the blank with a thousand things someone could and might think.)

The truth is that my work has always been about remembering who we really are, reclaiming our Real Selves, and learning to live from that place more fully. About becoming more conscious. About learning to trust ourselves. About loving ourselves enough to be who we are while we are still growing, still learning, still expanding, and still figuring things out.

So I recorded the podcast with a few ideas in my head, pressed record, and followed wherever the conversation wanted to go.

And it felt really good as well as really scary along with being exciting and freeing, another beautiful and very real step in my own becoming.

Listen to the episode here

As I listened back this morning, I could still hear little whispers floating through my awareness. Familiar questions that many of us know so well.

Will people listen?

Will anyone care?

Will what I have to say really resonate with people?

And as those thoughts drifted through, I found myself responding the same way I have learned to respond to them over the years.

With love, gentleness and with understanding. Because those parts of me, who were trying to keep me safe, were scared too. Scared to be seen and heard and wondering if she would die or be persecuted in some unknown way if she hit send and put it out into the world for all to see and judge.

And feeling safe is what I talk about in this first episode of Reclaim Your Real Self.

And then, as the thoughts drifted by and tried to take hold somewhere… anywhere…. I reminded myself of something I know deeply.

I create my own reality.

I choose who I am being.

I choose what I create.

I choose what I believe.

There has never been this version of me before.

There has never been this exact moment before.

There has never been this exact combination of experiences, wisdom, awarenesses, questions, growth, joy, grief, love, curiosity and life lived before.

And if I am the only person who ever listens to that first podcast episode, then it was still worth creating because I got to hear it and learn from it and grow and expand through it.

I got to remember, become and reclaim more of my Real Self because of it.

And that matters a lot!

So with all of that fresh in my awareness, Mike headed inside.

A few minutes later he called me upstairs.

Apparently while he was putting on his work socks he had noticed something perched on our bedroom curtain rod watching him.

A dove.

And knowing exactly what doves mean to me, he immediately called me up.

And there it was.

Sitting peacefully on the curtain rod as though it belonged there.

Completely calm, completely present, and completely magnificent.

Outside the window its mate was softly cooing, patiently waiting nearby.

We opened the windows as wide as possible and watched.

The dove knew exactly where it wanted to go.

Its first attempt landed it behind the curtains on the windowsill, then it flew back up to the curtain rod and paused for a moment almost as though it was taking one last look around.

Seeing if it was safe to fly, and it took one last breath and then it effortlessly flew through the open window and back into the morning sky.

I wasn’t able to capture that part on video though… And honestly, I think that was exactly how it was meant to be.

Some moments arrive simply to be witnessed and to be experienced because they belong entirely to the people who are there to receive them.

We stood there watching as it flew across our property and perched itself where I could still see it (that I did capture on video).

And as I sit here on my porch writing this article several hours later, I can still hear the doves softly cooing.

In fact, while writing these very words, one just flew directly in front of me and landed on the nearby rooftop of our gazebo.

Of course, that made me smile immediately because that gazebo carries its own story.

My father helped us build it decades ago before he passed.

Over the years it has been moved three different times around our property as our lives changed, our needs changed, and our vision for our space evolved.

Different locations, different seasons and different versions of us… of me.

Yet somehow it has remained exactly what it has always been.

A place for gathering, shade, rest, connection and a place that feels like home.

As I watch the dove perched on the rooftop, I find myself reflecting on how much life feels the same.

We are constantly moving and growing, expanding, changing and evolving into our next becoming of who we really are.

Entire chapters begin and end. Businesses grow. Children grow. Relationships evolve.

Dreams evolve. We evolve and expand and create more.

And yet there is something underneath all of it that remains beautifully steady when we remember how supported and taken care of we truly are. There is a knowing, a presence and a truth within us that always knows who we are.

The gazebo has moved three times and is still the gazebo. The dove can soar through fields, forests, rooftops and skies and still know exactly where home is.

And I know we are not so different. I know freedom always includes movement, growth and becoming.

And I also know that the real meaning of home has never been a location at all. Because home is something we carry within us. It is us.

As I sit here listening to the cooing, feeling the warmth of the day and reflecting on this morning, I am struck once again by how generous life and Creation can be.

The dove in the bedroom, its mate supporting it as it disappeared and reappeared again, the dove flying by and sitting on the gazebo and the cooing that continues as I write along with the timing and symbolism of it all.

The reminders hidden within ordinary moments where life is constantly speaking to us, for us, as us.

The universe keeps giving and giving.

And this morning was once again one of those beautiful gifts that reminded me how supported and loved I always am. And perhaps that is part of why this experience wanted to be shared, so that these beautiful doves could remind you too of how supported, loved and cherished you truly are.

A reminder that we are guided, and that we are fully free, along with a nod and wink from the Universe to continue sharing our voices exactly as they are… raw, real and unscripted.

A reminder to trust ourselves enough to open the window and fly.

And of course, for me a beautiful and elegant reflection and experience that feels so connected to the launch of my podcast.

Because both seem to be asking the same thing of me.

Trust yourself and share anyway.

Let yourself be seen, allow life to meet you where you are, and keep going. And the best part is, by me sharing with you this message and story, you are reminded that life meets you right where you are as well loving you fully along every moment of its expansion and remembrance of how absolutely beautiful and cherished you are.

So if you feel inspired, I would love for you to come along for the journey.

My new podcast, Reclaim Your Real Self with Jennifer Van Hezewijk, is now live here on Substack, as well as Spotify and YouTube, and with a little grace from the technology gods, Apple Podcasts will hopefully be joining the party soon as well.

It’s a space where I will be sharing exactly what I am living, learning, questioning, exploring, embodying and discovering as I continue this fascinating adventure of being spirit in human form and creating a life that feels increasingly free on every level.

I would love to have you here.

And if you decide to listen, I would love to hear what resonates for you too.

Listen Now

• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ─── •

About Me:

Hi, I’m Jennifer,

These are some of the roles and identities I choose to play within and expand through in this life — mother of 4, wife, business owner, podcast host, deep thinker, writer, speaker, facilitator and consciousness explorer — though I don’t define myself by any of them. At my core, I see myself as spirit having a human experience, uniquely me, here to be the love that I already am and to love deeply, grow endlessly, and explore what it truly means to live consciously, authentically, and fully in everyday life.

I’m endlessly drawn to deep conversations, consciousness, spirituality, creating your reality, and the unfolding journey of remembering who we really are beneath all the labels and conditioning.

More than anything, I love creating spaces where intuitive, sensitive, self-aware women can reconnect more deeply with themselves by remembering and reclaiming the truth of who they really are, exploring life more deeply, and moving toward lives that feel more joyful, peaceful, aligned, and free on all levels.

I believe this journey is deeply personal, beautifully unique for all of us, and something we were never meant to navigate alone.

I’m so grateful you’re here.

Let’s Connect:

💟 You can listen to my first episode here.

Listen to My Podcast here

💟 If this article resonates with you, I’d truly love to hear your reflections, insights, questions, or experiences in the comments below. Some of the most meaningful conversations and future podcast topics come directly from this community and what we’re all exploring together in real time.

Leave a comment

💟 You’re also always welcome to connect with me over on Substack Notes, where I share additional reflections, everyday awarenesses, and conversations between podcast episodes and articles.

💬 And if you enjoyed this article, please like, comment, or share it so more beautiful humans can find this space too.

With so much love,

Jennifer ✨

I am so excited to officially launch my first solo podcast here on Substack and welcome you into this new chapter of Reclaim Your Real Self.

If you happened to listen to the OG podcasts I recorded years ago with my daughter Ericka… welcome back. 🤍
Those conversations still hold such a special place in my heart, If you’re curious about where this all began, you’re welcome to explore some of the original episodes I recorded with my daughter Ericka on my website or on YouTube while I work on bringing them over here on substack for easier access.

Both my website and YouTube are very much a work in progress and are not fully updated with my new (and improved 😉) mission, vision and new look and feel just yet—but they’re part of the journey, and more fun, aligned things are coming soon there and here.

This is a relaunch of Reclaim Your Real Self as a solo podcast with me, and it feels deeply aligned and, honestly, very overdue in the best possible way. I’ll be showing up more consistently here, as my vision and mission to assist during this time of great awakening are becoming clearer every day.

Who this podcast is for

This podcast is for intuitive, sensitive, aware women who:

• know there is more available for them in this life

• have already begun their inner work journey and know, deep down, they’re meant for more than how life looks right now

• and feel a gap between what they sense is possible and what their day‑to‑day life feels like and is reflecting back to them.

Whether you’ve done the work, read the books, taken the programs, or you simply know there’s more and want grounded conversations with someone actively embodying this in real life, and you still find yourself wondering:

“Why isn’t this fully showing up in my real life yet?”

You are in the right place.

In this first episode, I share about…

• The gap between awareness and lived reality

• Nervous system safety and feeling safe to be seen and expressed

• Freedom and sovereignty on both soul and practical levels

• Sensitive women navigating real life (kids, partners, money, homes, work)

• Awakening while raising children, building relationships, building businesses, and simply being human

• Creator consciousness and embodied living

• Reclaiming your voice and truth in everyday conversations and choices

• Allowing life to reflect the deeper knowing that already lives within you

I also share personally about what my real life looks like right now—raising four children, building a house, navigating money and business, honouring my nervous system, and continuing to choose freedom in the midst of it all.

What you can expect moving forward

This podcast will evolve naturally in real time, responding to what is showing up and being called forward in the here and now.

You can expect:

• Solo conversations and reflections with me

• Rabbit holes into timelines, new realities, energy, consciousness, and awakening

• Collaborative guest conversations with others walking this path

• Occasional conversations with my daughter Ericka and my other children, when life invites them to join

More than anything, this is a space for honest conversations about what it actually looks like to live as your Real Self — embodying my spirit in human form while navigating real everyday life: the exhaustion and the ecstasy, the mundane and the magical, and everything in between.

I’m so grateful you’re here at the beginning of this next chapter with me.

Here’s to remembering that it is our birthright to live in joy, harmony, abundance, health, true freedom and so much more amazing beyond your current imagination within your lived reality in your everyday life.

With so much love,
Jennifer 💟

Subscribe now

• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ─── •

About Me:

Hi, I’m Jennifer,

These are some of the roles and identities I choose to play within and expand through in this life — mother of 4, wife, business owner, podcast host, deep thinker, writer, speaker, facilitator and consciousness explorer — though I don’t define myself by any of them. At my core, I see myself as spirit having a human experience, uniquely me, here to be the love that I already am and to love deeply, grow endlessly, and explore what it truly means to live consciously, authentically, and fully in everyday life.

I’m endlessly drawn to deep conversations, consciousness, spirituality, creating your reality, and the unfolding journey of remembering who we really are beneath all the labels and conditioning.

More than anything, I love creating spaces where intuitive, sensitive, self-aware women can reconnect more deeply with themselves by remembering and reclaiming the truth of who they really are, exploring life more deeply, and moving toward lives that feel more joyful, peaceful, aligned, and free on all levels.

I believe this journey is deeply personal, beautifully unique for all of us, and something we were never meant to navigate alone.

I’m so grateful you’re here.

Let’s Connect:

💟 If this episode resonates with you, I’d truly love to hear your reflections, insights, questions, or experiences in the comments below. Some of the most meaningful conversations and future podcast topics will come directly from this community and what we’re all exploring in real time together.

Leave a comment

💟 You’re also always welcome to connect with me over on Substack Notes, where I share additional reflections, conversations, and everyday awarenesses between podcast episodes and articles. ⟡ ↓ ⟡

💟 And if you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, or share it so more beautiful humans can find this space too.

Share

With so much love,

Jennifer✨

The other day, my daughter Ericka texted me and asked if I wanted to meet her at Starbucks for a little co-working session near where she was staying.

At first, I almost said no.

I already had a different plan for my day, and my mind immediately started listing all the practical reasons I should stay home and stick to what I had originally intended to do. But more often than not these days, I’ve been practicing something different. Instead of automatically saying yes or no from habit, I’ve been asking myself a deeper question:

What feels aligned right now?

Not what makes the most logical sense or what I “should” do, but rather what feels like the next natural, expansive yes.

One of my mentors, Sara Landon, uses the phrase “choice-less,” and the first time I heard it, something inside me instantly understood it. To me, it means the aligned choice feels so clear and natural that once you quiet the mental noise, the answer is already there waiting for you.

It feels light, open, and natural. Even when your mind argues with it, there’s still a deeper knowing underneath it all.

So before responding to Ericka, I paused and checked in with myself.

Underneath all the thinking, there was a very clear yes. So I chose to listen to that instead.

And honestly, I’m so glad I did.

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We ended up spending the entire afternoon together. We worked for a while, talked for hours, and eventually made our way down to the lake for a sunset walk.

The evening felt beautiful from the moment it began.

The tulips were glowing brilliant shades of red and yellow. Sailboats drifted slowly across the sparkling water. The air felt soft and calm, and everything around us seemed to invite us into more presence.

As we walked, our conversation naturally deepened into the kinds of things we both love talking about — awareness, healing, perspective shifts, energy, and the stories people carry without even realizing it.

At one point, Ericka asked me a question...

“How do we actually change the story once we become aware of it?”

And immediately, I realized that so much of it begins with the questions we ask ourselves.

The questions are what help us shift, realign, and literally create our next reality from the here and now.

And later, an even deeper nuance came through for me in response to her question:

“The awareness IS the shift.”

That’s the moment everything begins to change.

Because the moment you can see a story clearly, you are no longer completely trapped inside of it unconsciously reacting from it.

You become the observer and then the witness instead of the automatic participant. And to witness yourself means you’re watching your thoughts, reactions, and decisions without judgment. You’re simply becoming aware of what’s happening in real time instead of immediately getting pulled into the story.

And that awareness creates space.

And space is magical. Space gives you time and moments of pause to become aware, to reflect, and then to decide and choose differently — or to surrender and allow what’s available to reveal itself to you. Space for you and space within you.

Most of us are living from stories we created years ago without realizing how deeply they still shape our lives.

Stories about what’s possible for us, about love, money, worth, visibility, safety, joy, freedom, and especially stories about who we are or aren’t.

Most of these stories were formed during moments when we were simply trying to make sense of something painful or confusing, and because we were trying so hard to understand what something meant, we often created definitions about ourselves and our lives that quietly became the lens we started seeing everything through afterward.

Something hurt, or felt unavailable, or felt unsafe, or disappointed us deeply enough that we made a decision about what it all meant, and then over time that decision slowly hardened into a story we didn’t even realize we were still carrying.

Ericka and I were talking about this during our walk because she had recently realized she had made a decision about something she thought she absolutely needed to do. Somewhere along the way, she had unconsciously attached her identity to that decision so strongly that changing her mind started feeling like failure instead of freedom.

Through our conversation, asking more empowering questions, and reframing what the decision actually meant, she began to see how much meaning she had attached to it. The decision itself wasn’t what was keeping her stuck. It was the identity and definition she had unknowingly created around it and what she believed it meant about her as a person. Somewhere along the way, she had placed herself inside a box built from that meaning,

and simply becoming aware of it began opening the door back into freedom and possibility again.

That’s why awareness is so powerful.

Because once you can see the story, you can begin separating yourself from it.

You can begin asking different questions.

And during our walk, that’s exactly what we started doing.

We noticed how often the mind defaults to limiting questions:

Why is this happening to me?
Why can’t I figure this out?
What if this goes wrong?
What if nothing changes?

But the moment we shifted the questions, the entire energy shifted too.

What if this works out beautifully?

What if life is supporting me here?

What if this awareness is leading me somewhere important?

What if I get to experience this differently now?

As we talked, I could literally feel both of us becoming lighter.

The conversation became playful, expansive, light, and freeing. It was one of those moments where life opens up so clearly and you can deeply feel that this is how we are always meant to live, connected, open, and fully alive, rather than trapped inside inherited beliefs of restriction, lack, limitation, and not being enough.

We started imagining life as an endless buffet of possibilities where we actually get to choose what we want to experience more of.

And honestly, I think this is especially important for sensitive and intuitive women because, in my experience and in so many conversations I’ve had over the years with clients, I’ve noticed how often we deny ourselves the very things our souls crave most. We hold ourselves back from joy, ease, rest, pleasure, freedom, expression, visibility, and expansion, often without even realizing we’re doing it.

Somewhere along the way, many of us absorbed the belief that life is supposed to feel heavy with responsibility, guilt, sacrifice, and struggle. Even if we never consciously chose those beliefs, they live so deeply in the collective consciousness that we often inherit them without question, accepting a version of life where happiness only gets to appear in brief fleeting moments.

But what if life was never meant to feel that way?

What if the reason those things feel unavailable isn’t because they truly are, but because somewhere along the way we learned stories that made them feel unsafe or out of reach?

What if life is constantly inviting us back into choice?

What if every experience is helping us become more aware of what feels aligned for us and what doesn’t?

What if even the painful moments are helping us clarify what we truly desire?

By the time the sun began disappearing, we both felt lighter and clearer, like something inside of us had shifted simply because we were willing to see things differently and open ourselves to new possibilities.

And honestly, I believe that’s one of the deepest forms of self-love there is. The willingness to stay present with yourself long enough to truly see the story.

The willingness to become aware instead of staying unconsciously trapped inside old patterns.

Because once you can see the story clearly, its grip begins to loosen.

And from there, something new becomes possible.

That, to me, feels like real freedom.

The kind of freedom that unfolds during sunset walks, honest conversations, playful expansion, and simple moments of awareness that begin changing the way we experience ourselves and our lives.

And honestly?

I think that’s where the real magic lives… recognizing that true freedom begins the moment we lovingly see the stories we’ve been carrying clearly enough to begin choosing differently.

I am so glad I said yes.

• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ───── •• ───── ✧ ──── •

About the Author:

Hi, I’m Jennifer. I’m 52 years old and currently navigating this wild, beautiful, expansive human experience right alongside all of you.

I’m a mother, wife, friend, business owner, podcast host, consciousness explorer, sensitive soul, and deep thinker — and over the years, I’ve learned to embrace all the different roles and identities I move through in this lifetime.

At my core, I’m deeply curious about what it means to live in alignment with who we truly are. I’m drawn to honest conversations, awareness, emotional truth, spirituality, embodiment, perspective shifts, quantum physics, personal growth, freedom, and the unfolding journey of becoming more fully ourselves in real, everyday life.

More than anything, I love supporting intuitive, sensitive, and self-aware women as they reconnect with themselves and create lives that feel more expansive, joyful, authentic, and free. I believe there’s no one right way to navigate this human experience, and I’m passionate about exploring the many ways we can move through life with more ease, grace, flow, love, and trust in ourselves.

Through sharing, supporting, experimenting, exploring, and growing together, I love walking alongside women on the path of self-realization and embodiment — creating space for deeper connection, greater awareness, and a life that feels genuinely aligned from the inside out.

I’m so grateful you’re here.

Let’s Connect:

💟 You can also listen to my new podcast, Reclaim Your Real Self, for deeper reflections, real-life conversations, and additional perspectives that continue unfolding alongside these written pieces.

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💟 If this article resonates with you, I’d truly love to hear your reflections, insights, questions, or experiences in the comments below. Some of the most meaningful conversations and future podcast topics come directly from this community and what we’re all exploring together in real time.

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💟 You’re also always welcome to connect with me over on Substack Notes, where I share additional reflections, everyday awarenesses, and conversations between podcast episodes and articles.

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With so much love,

Jennifer ✨

I went to bed excited. Happy I had finally done it after all the research and learning about what Substack is all about.

And then I woke up with pain from a diverticulitis flare.

Because my body is highly sensitive, of course this got my attention right away. Not just because of the physical pain, but because I know this pattern in myself. I know what happens when I step into something that matters to me and feels true, something that is asking me to be more visible and take up more space so I can shine my unique brilliance into the world unapologetically.

I can know I am doing the aligned thing and still have a body that responds like something is wrong.

I have had many moments in my life where something feels right, where I know I am being called forward, where I feel the truth and excitement of the next step, and yet my body responds with tension, pain, hyper-awareness, contraction, emotion, or a sense of wanting to pull back.

I know I am not the only woman who lives this way.

Especially sensitive women. Empathic women. Intuitive women. Awakened women.

Women who feel everything. Women who know a lot before there are words for it. Women who can feel what is meant for them even while another part of them is bracing.

You can know something so clearly. You can feel what is meant for you. You can feel the life that is there for you, the expression, the work, the peace, the beauty, the deeper embodiment of who you really are.

And then your body reacts and or has long standing symptoms or disease.

I think this is one of the hardest parts for women like us.

Because when the body and mind are screaming, we often think it means something is wrong. That we are wrong and that we should stop. That maybe this is not the right path after all.

But that is not what I see happening.

When our body is screaming at us, it is telling us something important. The issue is that we have often been taught to think the body is wrong, or that it is trying to tell us we are on the wrong path, when a lot of the time it is actually being hypersensitive and protective and trying to manage perceived stress the best way it knows how.

That feels really different to me.

It means the body is not something to fight with and be angry with or try to override. And it is also not something I want making every decision for me… believe me, I have been there and done that and worn the t-shirt.

It means I get to listen and to pay attention. I get to care for what is happening. And I also get to remember that expansion can feel unsafe to a body that has learned to associate visibility, truth, or change with stress.

That is a big part of my life, and it is a big part of the work I care about.

Because so many women already know. Their spiritual knowing is there. Their intuition is there. Their truth is there.

But the body (and mind) has not fully caught up yet. Their everyday life has not fully caught up yet. Their internal and external world is still learning how to hold and show what their spirit already knows is the actual truth.

This is why embodiment matters so much to me. I know the word “embodiment” is floating around the internet as the new buzzword. But I’m not trying to jump on that bandwagon. That’s not why I am using it. I am using it because it reflects our actual lived experiences, and it’s literally what we need to do to create the freedom we want in our lives. Embody our real selves, who we really are, so that the body does not constantly feel like it’s being attacked and stay in survival, fight-for-your-life mode.

So the questions here are...

Can your body hold what your spirit knows?

Can your nervous system hold more truth, more visibility, more peace, more joy, more love, more receiving, more expression-more you?

Can your everyday life hold the woman you really are, the woman you really came here to be, so fully and exponentially that you actually, literally get to be free from the inside out and from the outside in?

This is where my genius zone lives. It’s what lights me up and where I play and create from and support and hold space for you.

Because I definitely do not believe sensitive women (or any women for that matter) need to put any more pressure on themselves. And I definitely do not believe their sensitivity is the problem. Rather, it is their superpower if they know how to guide it and utilize it.

I think many of us need support in learning how to be with ourselves differently.

How to be gentle and honest and truly loving with ourselves. Holding ourselves and our body in reverence no matter how it is speaking (or rather—screaming) at us.

We need to create more spaces where our bodies, our minds, our nervous systems, our subconscious, our fears, and our beliefs get to shift naturally and more joyfully so we can begin to learn that what is true is also safe.

That being seen is safe.

That speaking is safe.

That taking up space is safe.

That living from and as the truth of who we really are is safe.

Or at least, to begin... (if this is all still fairly new to you) safe enough that we stop abandoning ourselves every time discomfort shows up.

That has been a huge piece for me.

There have been so many times in my life where discomfort would have stopped me before. Pain, emotion, vulnerability, fear, uncertainty, old belief patterns that weren’t really mine to begin with. Any of it could have been enough to make me go quiet, shut something down, or disappear back into the familiar and comfortable.

I choose not to live that way anymore. I choose this way of being over and over again until my body, mind, and spirit are fully aligned with the truth of who I really am and why I am here.

I choose to keep becoming a woman who can stay fully present with herself in expansion. Who can listen to her body with so much love and understanding. Who can honour what is real without making it mean she has to shrink or change or worry or feel guilty, or… or… or...

And who can keep choosing the life that is calling her forward while bringing both her body and her mind with her with a lot more ease, grace and flow.

That feels like real freedom to me.

Concrete and real, lived freedom that can be experienced right here and right now. Real freedom in the body. Real peace from the mind’s constant survival repeat patterns. Real freedom in daily life. Real freedom in how we speak, choose, move, love, rest, create, and live.

So this is part of me introducing myself here.

I care deeply about supporting the space where a woman knows, but is still learning how to live what she knows with a lot more peace and harmony -and fun!

I care about the woman whose sensitivity and highly aware body has made life harder a lot of the time, but who is also seeing that her sensitivity is not a flaw but rather a gift that she gets to ebb and flow with.

I care about the woman who can feel more is calling her forward and does not want to keep stopping at the edge of her own life and expansion.

And I care about creating spaces where that woman feels met, understood, and supported in a way that is real and lived.

This is where I want to meet you, and this is what this space on Substack will be about.

And if you are here reading this, and you know this feeling too, then I am really glad you are here.

With so much love and reverence,
Jennifer

I know I do and I’ve noticed something else,

Women are incredibly skilled at camouflage.

Not the obvious kind like camo uniforms or laying quiet in the grasses.
But rather, the quiet, everyday kind.
The “I’m here… but not fully available for this” kind.

Sometimes it’s about not being bothered.
Sometimes it’s about not being seen.

Sometimes it’s about needing a minute that’s actually yours.

Most of the time…
it’s a little bit of all of them.

So I started naming them.

Because once you see them… you can’t un-see them.

Couchaflage™
Blanket up. World off.
If I can’t see you, you can’t see me.

Mommaflage™
Bathroom. Door closed.
Maybe the shower’s on, maybe it’s not.
Hands on your head because life just happened.
Five minutes. That’s all I need.

Shirtaflage™
Oversized shirt. Hair up.
Nothing about me is open for interpretation today.

Workaflage™
“I’m just finishing something.”
No one needs to know what.

Crowdaflage™
You’ve contributed one solid sentence.
Timing was perfect. Delivery was strong.

That’s your quota.

Partyflage™
You’re done. Completely done.

But your partner just found their person
and settled in like they live here now.

So you grab a drink…
and hold it like it’s your only responsibility

and honestly… you’re crushing the role.

Phoneaflage™
Looking at your phone like something very important is happening.
It isn’t.

Kitchenaflage™
You head to the kitchen for a break.

And immediately get handed something.
Asked something.
Pulled into something.

You came in here to disappear…
and somehow got promoted.

Caraflage™
You pull into the driveway.
Turn the car off.

And then just sit there…
like the car is a waiting room
and you’re not ready for your name to be called.

Laundryaflage™
You start folding.
Someone calls your name.

You keep folding.

Shoppingaflage™
You went in for one thing.
You’re still there.

Sickaflage™
Bed, a good book and a locked door.

Errandaflage™
You didn’t need to go.
You just needed to leave.

And then there are the ones that don’t look like hiding at all…
but still carry that subtle pull of needing a reason.

Hot-tub-aflage™

It’s 3pm.

The first beautiful day in what feels like forever.

Everyone’s around. Husband. Brother-in-law, kids.
Life happening.

And I’m in the hot tub… drink in hand…
exactly where I want to be.

And still noticing the part of me
that wants to explain it and still doing it anyways!

I’m actually going to say this out loud…

These are brilliant.

All of them.

Every single one of these little ways we step back for a minute,
take a breath,
create space right in the middle of our lives…

that’s us taking care and loving of ourselves.

That’s us knowing what we need.

That’s us staying in our lives
and still giving ourselves what matters.

There’s nothing small about that.

There’s nothing to hide in that.

They’re the ways we’ve figured out
how to keep going and to stay steady,
how to feel like ourselves…
even when everything is happening around us.

And honestly…

We need more of this.

More noticing what works.
More taking the minute.
More giving yourself that space consciously and unapologetically.

Because it all counts.

If you have one, I want to hear it.

The real ones.
The oddly specific ones with examples.

Or the ones you didn’t even realize you were doing.

With love,
Jennifer