0:04

Welcome to the Stepping into Meaningful Relationships

0:06

podcast . I'm your host , carissa

0:09

Stepp . I'm a somatic , trauma-informed

0:11

coach and narcissistic abuse specialist

0:13

. This is a podcast for you if

0:15

you are looking to improve your most

0:17

important relationship , the one

0:19

you have with yourself , so you can more

0:22

meaningfully and deeply connect with those

0:24

around you . This podcast will

0:26

equip you with valuable tools , tips

0:28

and tricks essential for recovering from

0:30

toxic relationships and guide

0:33

you towards cultivating healthy , fulfilling

0:35

and intimate connections with others . But

0:38

first , let's start with you . I'm

0:40

so excited you're here taking this powerful

0:42

step forward . Thank you for tuning

0:44

in . Now let's get to today's episode

0:47

. Hey

0:51

, hey , everyone . Welcome back to another episode

0:53

of Stepping into Meaningful Relationships

0:55

. In this bonus episode , I

0:57

am going to be giving you the energetic

1:00

forecast , as it relates to relationships , for

1:02

the month of February . I've been doing

1:04

this for the last couple of months and it's been

1:06

super fun for me to do these

1:08

reports and then watch , as the

1:10

month unfolds , how these themes

1:12

start to play out . So I hope that

1:15

you've been tuning in the last

1:17

couple of months and if you haven't , totally fine

1:19

. Even if you were listening to this

1:21

and it's not February of 2024

1:24

, which is when this is being recorded well

1:26

, it's actually being recorded before February 2024

1:29

, in January . But if you're listening to this

1:31

, whenever you listen to it , just know that

1:33

the messages that are in here are for

1:35

you at whatever

1:38

time it is that you tune into it . Number

1:40

one , number two as always , please

1:42

be sure to take what resonates and leave

1:44

the rest . So this

1:46

month , the first card that came out which

1:49

I thought at first was a joke for my guides

1:51

was the Lovers card from

1:54

the Tarot deck . It is

1:56

the sixth card in the major arcana and

1:59

I laughed because I

2:01

felt like it was my guides just being like duh

2:03

. Of course , the theme for February

2:05

is love . We've got Valentine's

2:08

Day , but as I began

2:10

to pull more cards and as the messages started

2:12

to come through , what it felt like was

2:14

this month of February

2:16

is really going to be

2:18

a deeper exploration

2:21

into ourselves

2:23

number one but number two allowing

2:26

us opportunities to more deeply

2:29

fall in love with ourselves . It's

2:31

going to be about self-love

2:34

. It feels

2:36

like the beginning of this month is going to feel a

2:38

little bit like we are waking up from a deep

2:40

slumber . This

2:42

, maybe this month of January has been

2:44

slow for you . Maybe

2:46

you've had a little bit more of an inward focus

2:49

. It feels like come

2:51

February , that energy sort of shifts

2:53

where now we are taking

2:55

some of the things that maybe we were

2:58

healing or recovering

3:00

from the beginning of this month . We're

3:02

going to be integrating a lot of the lessons and a lot

3:04

of the things that we learned throughout that month

3:06

. There's also this element

3:09

of beginning to shift your

3:11

mindset and that could have come from the lessons

3:13

that you are integrating , from the things that you

3:15

have learned over the last few months . But

3:17

it also could be that maybe you're waking

3:19

up and you're realizing that a

3:21

lot of the life that you have created

3:24

or a lot of your experiences that you're currently having

3:26

are as a result of

3:28

you trying to meet expectations

3:31

or live up to certain

3:33

beliefs of other people that have

3:35

been projected out onto you , and

3:38

perhaps maybe you're

3:41

starting to recognize and starting to realize

3:43

this and , as a result , it's sort of launching

3:45

you into a deeper

3:47

exploration and self-discovery

3:50

process of who you are . This

3:52

may have been a process that you have been undergoing

3:55

for quite some time . You may be

3:57

on this healing journey and

3:59

this self-discovery process and you might have been

4:01

on that path for a long time

4:03

, but it feels like in February

4:06

there are some more pieces that

4:08

sort of come into play , where

4:10

maybe you've been asking a lot of questions and

4:13

maybe you've been feeling a little bit lost and

4:15

a little bit confused and you've

4:17

been struggling to understand

4:19

what your next steps are

4:21

and how to get to the other side

4:24

. It

4:26

feels like there's this element of you that

4:28

can see the bigger possibilities

4:30

. You can feel the pull forward of the

4:32

energy that's to come and

4:34

it feels really good and it feels like

4:36

it's full of possibility . However

4:39

, you're struggling to figure

4:41

out how to get there . It's almost like

4:43

you have been locked

4:47

in a dark room and

4:49

the key to get out is actually laying

4:51

right beside you and , if you know the tarot

4:54

deck , this is really reflective of the five of pentacles

4:56

where , essentially , you've been sitting

4:58

in this darkness wondering

5:01

how you were gonna get to the other side of that

5:03

door where all these amazing possibilities

5:05

live , and

5:08

you've spent so much time trying to

5:10

figure out how to get there

5:12

without realizing that

5:14

you've had the answer all along . You're

5:17

being called to ground

5:19

into what you have experienced

5:22

in your life , even if it has

5:24

felt hard , even

5:27

if it has felt unfair , even

5:30

if it has felt traumatic

5:32

, but to use what you

5:34

have learned and integrated those experiences

5:37

into the knowledge and the wisdom

5:39

that you now hold , whether

5:42

that's about yourself , whether that's about

5:44

other people in your life , whether that's

5:46

about how to be in healthy relationships

5:48

with other people , whether that's

5:50

about how you wanna show up on a daily basis

5:53

versus maybe , how you have in the past , and

5:57

using that as a way to inspire

5:59

you to

6:02

figuring out number

6:04

one , what you don't want and

6:07

who you are not , but also

6:10

about what you do want and who you

6:12

actually are . I

6:14

say this a lot , which is , you can't know

6:17

who you are until you know who you are not

6:19

. And

6:21

who you are not is reflected to

6:23

you through

6:25

your relationships and through your experiences

6:27

, because every experience that you

6:29

have , every relationship that you have , provides

6:32

you with an opportunity to get to know something about

6:34

yourself that you didn't know before . And

6:37

sometimes , if we've been in a lot of unhealthy relationships

6:40

, a lot of negativity has been projected onto

6:42

us , and sometimes we take

6:44

that negativity and we create

6:47

a narrative around it . We create a belief around

6:49

it and we hold that belief , or we hold that narrative

6:51

and believe that it means something

6:53

about us . So you're

6:55

being asked in this moment to let

6:58

those things go . It's

7:00

time to shift your mindset . It's time to

7:02

reframe what

7:04

maybe you thought your weaknesses are and

7:07

see them as your strengths . It's

7:09

time for you to take a real hard

7:11

, honest look at

7:13

who you are and learn

7:16

how to self-accept . There's

7:18

a lot in here about self-acceptance accepting

7:21

the good and

7:23

the bad , knowing that it's

7:25

okay to not be perfect , it's

7:27

okay to not have it all together

7:29

, that it's okay to

7:32

make mistakes , that it's okay

7:34

to not have it all figured out , and

7:36

giving yourself the grace and the

7:38

love in spite of it all . So

7:40

where are you hiding your beauty

7:43

, your truth , your real

7:45

, true , raw , authentic

7:47

self ? Because you believed that

7:50

you weren't enough . It's time

7:52

to let that go . It's time to remove

7:55

the blindfold that maybe you've

7:57

had , that someone else placed

7:59

around your eyes , because perhaps

8:01

it is these projections

8:03

that you have taken

8:05

on from other people that haven't been healthy

8:07

that have formed your

8:10

self-belief about who you

8:12

are . It's time to pierce

8:14

the holes in that and to really

8:16

see yourself for how amazing

8:18

you are . It also feels like

8:20

in the month of February , we're sort of taking

8:22

this inventory of okay

8:25

, I understand I've had these experiences

8:27

. I understand that there are these parts of myself

8:29

that maybe I've

8:32

considered unsavory in some way

8:34

in my life , but

8:36

I also know that there are parts of myself that

8:38

I really value and that feel

8:41

very closely aligned with who I am . So

8:44

we're taking inventory of okay , what

8:46

do I wanna keep , what do I wanna take with me

8:48

on this journey ? Which

8:50

parts of myself the good and the bad do I

8:53

want to continue

8:55

to hold close to , love , to

8:57

accept of myself , and

9:00

what are some of the things that are

9:02

not true about who you

9:04

are , that you want to leave behind , that

9:07

are no longer in alignment with who

9:10

you want to be and where you are

9:12

going . Because this month is all

9:14

about you finding your inner light , finding

9:16

your courage , finding your confidence to

9:19

bravely step forward into

9:22

that future , and those possibilities

9:24

that you know exist on the other

9:26

side , that you know are waiting for

9:28

you . And the key that key

9:30

right back to the Five of Pentacles

9:33

card and of course there were other cards that

9:35

came out too , and I can share a

9:37

photo of them if you guys are interested in seeing them but

9:40

the key is self-love

9:42

. The key to making that all happen

9:44

, to manifesting

9:46

your dreams , to becoming

9:48

who you know you are , is

9:51

self-love the

9:54

way to get to self-love is by first learning how

9:56

to accept yourself . So all those little

9:58

things that you judge

10:00

yourself for or make yourself wrong for

10:02

, or that you quietly bury

10:05

and hide away out of shame , bring

10:08

them to light , get curious

10:10

, ask questions , understand yourself

10:12

at a deeper level and then love

10:15

yourself in spite of all of it , and

10:17

know that , even if there are parts of you that

10:19

show up at times when you're not

10:21

feeling safe or when you are stressed

10:23

out , that it is just

10:26

your way of protecting yourself

10:28

, and be grateful for that . Be grateful for

10:30

the fact that your body , your

10:32

subconscious mind , does such a good job at

10:34

keeping you safe . But now it's time

10:36

to show up truly as

10:38

your authentic self

10:41

in all the ways . Stop

10:43

apologizing for it , stop

10:47

feeling guilty for it , stop judging

10:50

yourself for it , and make sure

10:52

you're sitting boundaries with the people around

10:54

you that are making you feel

10:56

less than they're

10:58

not meant to join you on this journey forward

11:00

. So where can you even set boundaries around

11:02

the things that are important to you ? What are

11:04

the things that you value about

11:07

yourself , that you want to protect

11:09

, that you need to set boundaries around

11:11

so that you can continue to

11:14

live your life in integrity with those

11:16

values . Because where we're headed

11:18

next for the month of March and

11:20

going forward is we are

11:22

all being asked to show up

11:25

as our true selves in order to

11:27

do the work that needs to be done in

11:29

this world that only you

11:31

can do when you are showing up as

11:33

who you are . This tapestry that we are

11:35

all weaving collectively requires

11:38

you to bring your strengths

11:40

, your gifts and

11:43

your weaknesses to weave it together

11:45

. So even if there's a little mist

11:47

stitch in the tapestry , or maybe

11:49

the color is slightly off

11:51

, it doesn't matter , because

11:53

it all makes this big , beautiful

11:56

world that we are creating around

11:58

us that much more beautiful . We're

12:00

not meant to be mirror

12:02

replicas of each other . We're

12:04

not meant to be perfect . There's

12:06

nothing interesting and perfect . So

12:09

find your courage , find your confidence

12:11

, discover more

12:13

deeply who you are , and it feels like these

12:16

opportunities to understand

12:19

better who you are are going to happen in

12:21

your relationships . Of course , that's

12:23

typically where we start to grow and learn

12:25

something about ourselves is when it's reflected back to

12:27

us in our relationships . But you need

12:29

to know how to drown out the noise

12:31

right . So turn down the volume

12:33

on your inner critic . When

12:36

you're being projected on . You're being asked to

12:38

use your discernment to understand that when someone

12:40

is saying something about you

12:42

, to you that you're able

12:44

to discern quickly , is that

12:46

true ? Or is it not Right

12:49

, being able to use that prefrontal

12:51

cortex to decide and accept or reject

12:53

what's being said ? But

12:58

it's not just accepting or rejecting it immediately , because

13:00

sometimes we will just resist the things that people say

13:02

to us or about us because

13:04

it doesn't feel good . But

13:07

it's getting curious like , wait a second

13:10

, is that true for me ? Is that true ? Do

13:12

I do that ? Do I behave in that way

13:14

? Is that how others perceive me ? And

13:17

getting curious and allowing that to lead you down

13:19

a path to understand yourself better so

13:22

that you can decide is this really a part

13:24

of who I am ? Is this really how

13:26

I am showing up in my relationships ? And

13:28

maybe you are showing up in

13:30

certain ways that you're not aware of , and so

13:32

maybe that's being reflected back to you for a reason

13:34

for you to take another look at

13:36

it , to see it from maybe a different angle

13:39

, but to use your discernment about whether

13:41

or not what's being shared

13:43

is true to your authentic

13:45

self and if you need to rewrite

13:47

the story of who you are and how you're

13:49

showing up , then this is your opportunity . It's

13:51

almost like the draft has already been

13:53

written . You're now editing the final

13:56

script in some way , so

13:58

you're going back through and you're rereading and

14:00

you're making edits and you're

14:02

crossing things out that don't make sense or

14:04

crossing things out that don't fit

14:07

the story , and you're being given this

14:09

opportunity to cultivate

14:11

more of the things that you

14:13

want to have and that you value

14:15

, and make that a part

14:17

of your personal tapestry

14:20

, right . Make that a part of your personal

14:22

story of who you are and setting

14:24

boundaries around that so that you can continue

14:26

to be that authentic version

14:29

that you know that you are capable of being

14:31

. It also feels like some of this is going

14:33

to happen in a way that might

14:35

be a little bit surprising . There's

14:38

a lot of swirling energy around

14:40

what I'm talking about and

14:42

, of course , even if you just think about unconditional

14:45

love , you would think of it as a circle , right

14:47

. There's no end , there's no beginning , and

14:49

part of this is like you're going to have some of these

14:52

, potentially some experiences

14:54

that feel like you're going in circles or

14:56

feeling like you've revisited this before and

14:59

this is like a chance to revisit it

15:01

in a different way where

15:05

you get to go a little bit deeper . So

15:07

maybe you already feel like you have a good sense

15:09

of self-love for yourself . February

15:12

is going to be an opportunity for you

15:14

to improve the quality of that self-love

15:16

so that it starts to veer

15:18

more towards the unconditional . Instead

15:21

of just loving all of the positive

15:23

and all of the good things about yourself , maybe

15:25

this is your opportunity to learn to love even

15:27

the parts of yourself that you've

15:30

in the past , judged yourself for or

15:32

made yourself wrong for , or that you've criticized

15:34

yourself for . Maybe someone

15:36

else has criticized you for . That's where true self-acceptance

15:39

and self-love comes in , and we're able to

15:41

do that . So I hope this

15:43

month is magical

15:46

and amazing for you . I hope you

15:48

enjoy falling in love deeply with

15:50

yourself , not in

15:52

a narcissistic way , in

15:55

a very healthy way , because

15:58

, if you think about it , if we learn to cultivate

16:00

a deep sense of self-love , we're able to create

16:02

from that place of love as well . And the world

16:05

that we create then around us through our decisions

16:07

, through our actions , through how we show

16:09

up in our relationships and our communities

16:12

, will be very different

16:14

than what has been created in

16:16

the past A lot

16:18

of what has been created in the past , in this world that we

16:20

live in , came from a place of fear , came

16:23

from a place of control . We feel the

16:25

need to control when we are afraid . So

16:27

if we can start to behave

16:29

, act , think , do

16:31

from a place of deep

16:34

love within us , our self-love that

16:37

has a deeper connection to the love of spirit

16:39

, the universal love , then

16:41

what we create together , then

16:43

what we create on our own , is

16:46

incredible . So I wish

16:48

you a month of ease , of love

16:50

, of self-discovery , and

16:53

with that , everyone till next week . Be

16:55

well . If you're hearing this

16:57

message , that means you've listened

16:59

all the way to the end , and for that

17:01

I am truly grateful . If

17:03

you enjoyed this episode and found it valuable , would

17:06

you mind leaving us a review wherever you listen to podcasts

17:08

and sharing it with others ? If

17:10

you'd like to connect with me for one-on-one coaching or

17:12

human design reading , you can find me on my

17:15

website or on social media . Also

17:17

, if you have a topic you'd like me to discuss on a future

17:19

episode , please DM me . Be

17:22

sure to tune in next week for another episode of

17:24

Stepping into Meaningful Relationships .