[Intro]  Hello, and welcome to my podcast, Empowered to Thrive. I'm so glad you joined me today. I'm your host, Corinne Powell. I help people pleasers find happiness, embrace courage, and experience peace of mind through inner child healing. If you're desperate for change and not sure how to make it happen, I'm here to guide you along the way. 

In this space, you'll find motivation to live a life full of joy and resilience. We will talk all things inner wellness with spirituality interwoven at times. Being a mom to three, parenting will be a topic of conversation for sure. So happy to have you. Enjoy today's episode. 

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Hi friends. I am so happy to be here with you again. And I sincerely hope that today's episode touches you in a super special way. 

With Valentine's Day approaching, I know it can be a really difficult time of year for some people, whether they've lost a significant person that they loved, or maybe you're someone who just doesn't have that person you wish you had. I've been there, and I know that it's not always this amazing day that some people make it out to be.

And so I want to spread a message that you're able to take no matter where you are, no matter what position you find yourself in with Valentine's Day approaching. And just as a side note, if you happen to hear a fire crackling in the background, it's because I'm sitting in my living room right now, not in my office, and I'm recording in front of my fireplace, and it looks super beautiful. But aside from that, let's get to what I was about to say.

I want to talk to you today about a source of unconditional love that I know and I interact with throughout my life, throughout my days. And it has totally changed the way that I go through life. It's made my life so much better. It's enhanced my life. 

The source of unconditional love is something that's available to all of us. Think about the word unconditional.

It's not based on how you act, how well you perform, what you might have done in your past or not, where you might be at right now in your present day. It's unconditional. There is something to that word.

It's super powerful to know that no matter what, there is a source that wants to offer love to you. And I want to tell you about that because I have encountered this source. I have interacted with this source, and it's a super spiritual type of energy, but it's really beautiful.

Unconditional love will never stop loving you. That's great news, right? It means you're safe and protected. You're secure.

It can put your anxiety at bay. So settle in with me for these next few minutes. Slow down the pace.

If you feel like you can, let your guard down and take some deep breaths. By doing all of that, you're healing and restoring your body. And it's important for your mind and your body.

So go ahead and do it. If you feel like you can, I encourage you to. I want you to know that this source of unconditional love sees you and knows you and likes who you are.

Toxic shame wants to make us think that who we are isn't good enough. It actually wants to make us hide. But unconditional love is not looking for you to carry judgment or punishment towards yourself. You get to be whoever you authentically are and still be admired and celebrated. That's so awesome. You are chosen.

You are not tolerated. You are liked, not ignored. This source of unconditional love wants to be around you. You get to choose the energy that you have around you. 

And I want to ask you a few questions to get you thinking. If me talking about a source of unconditional love makes you feel uncomfortable or you start to question what do I mean, I want to begin by asking you, do you have a source that you depend on? What do you name that source, that higher source? And how's it working out for you? Is it serving you well? Do you feel happy, at rest, secure? If you would say, yes, Corinne, unconditional love, that's my source.

Well then I just want to ask, are you allowing yourself to experience it in the fullness that you could? Because goodness is surrounding you. You get to grab a hold of all the goodness that you want. It's a choice, deliberate intention.

Will you grab for the good that's available to you? Or will you choose to carry a perspective? And I know our perspectives are birthed out of our experiences. I'm not shaming you by suggesting you might be carrying a perspective that's not allowing you to grab a hold of all the goodness that's surrounding you. So hear my heart.

I'm only questioning it so that you can think for yourself. Am I really, are you taking advantage of all the good that's available to you? There's so much love. So many people that love you.

There's so many kind people. I hope that you encounter them. You know, when I'm out and about, I will catch somebody smiling or doing a kind act.

Think about it. At the grocery store, that person who says, hey, do you need a cart? And you know, they're trying to help you out. Like they've got one, they're done.

You can use it if you want. All right, put aside COVID and wanting to sanitize everything. Just think about those times when it's been helpful that someone's offered you their cart.

Or just the kindness of a smile. I mean, that can really impact our day and make it a lot better. Somebody asking you how you're doing.

These things matter. But we can choose not to even notice. Or sometimes, because of the energy that we're projecting, we actually don't attract people to come around us with their kindness.

By what we do, we put them at arm's length. And sometimes it can be subconsciously in order to protect yourself from being hurt again. But getting back on track, I take little tangents often, don't I? I want you to know, or I want to remind you if you already know it, that you have full access to a powerful source of strength, peace, and courage.

Love is that. Love offers that. It does that. It allows you to feel strong. Love strengthens you. It creates steadiness inside of you. And it infuses courage within you. It causes a newfound energy to come. Life starts to feel more okay when we're loved.

We even see ourselves through a different lens a lot of times when we know we're really loved. It's a pretty well-known fact. But I love making the reminders.

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Go ahead and look in the show notes if you need more information or want to register. Now back to today's episode. 

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Security creates confidence.

And guess what, love, it disempowers fear. The earth comes alive to love. Creation comes alive to it. And we're a part of that. 

Do you have plants in your home or fish or other animals that actually respond to your loving care? We do. I have plants that thrive.

When I talk to them, I give them attention, I take good care of them, give them the sunlight they need or the water that they need. I used to think I killed plants, and then I started changing my mindset around that. And I said, no, I'm going to cause this plant to thrive.

And it was about five, six years ago. And it was amazing watching it continue to bud, lose its flowers and bud again. We have a fish right now. And I love taking care of it. It responds to the care that it receives. And you and I are like that as well.

On another note, gratitude, it allows us to express ourselves with passion. Being grateful to this source of unconditional love causes me to be passionate. And you know what, the more we are loved by someone, the better we are loved by them.

Because let's face it, not everybody loves well. But when somebody actually chooses to love well, and they do sacrificial things, and they're willing to apologize, and they're willing to work on their selves so that they better our relationship, this enhances the love and it enhances passion. And then there's this byproduct a lot of times, at least in my life, where I feel this overwhelming sense of gratitude for what I have.

My husband has worked really hard to become a healthier version of himself so that in our relationship, he can be more loving towards me. And it's both ways. I also have focused on my inner well-being so that I can show up to the relationship being healthier.

And that's better for him. It's better for me. It's better all around.

But that's caused me to feel a profound sense of gratitude. We have had our tough times. We consistently have tough times, but I'm grateful for him.

I'm grateful for his love. I'm grateful for the steadiness that he brings to our family life. I'm really glad for what we've created.

And I feel super thankful. What's true for the plants, for the fish, for the cats and the dogs, right? That they respond to love. It's just as true for us.

And I guess I'm saying that because sometimes we can see it more when we look at something other than human beings, especially if you've been hurt by human beings or you've been traumatized. And this source of unconditional love wants to show you a different experience than what you've known. So if love and being loved and allowing yourself to let love in feels scary to you, and your initial reaction would be to say, you know what, I just, I'm not there yet.

I want to protect myself. Then I'm only asking that you consider what I am saying. And if you feel willing to just say to this source of unconditional love, hey, I'm open.

I'm open to seeing how you love me. And then let me know what happens. If some freaky things start to happen, but things that make you feel like, oh my gosh, there is a source that is for me.

Corinne talked about a kind, loving source that she's experienced. And I am starting to think what she's saying is true. Please reach out and let me know. I want to hear about it. 

You can always find me on Instagram. You can send me an email at corinne@changeradically.com, but I would want to know.

And if I'm scaring you in any way, I would say it's probably just because you haven't experienced what I'm talking about, because it's not scary in the experience of being unconditionally loved. I hope that you are able to have your own spiritual encounter, that you are able to know in the deepest parts of who you are, that it is a gift to the universe that you are alive. I am so glad that you are alive.

You have so much to offer to all of us here on this globe. And I hope that you will go and be your authentic self, your beautiful, authentic self, and that you'll get to start thriving in life and no longer just surviving. And from my heart to yours, I'm wishing you the best Valentine's Day ever.

I hope that you know that you are loved, very deeply loved. 

[Ending] I want to close out today's episode by thanking you for being here with me.  We've made it to the end, and I hope what I shared has been helpful.

If there is anything I've mentioned that you want to talk about in more depth, I would be so glad to connect with you. You can always find me on Instagram at change underscore radically, or go directly to my website changeradically.com. Of course, within the show notes, there's other ways that you can connect with me. And if there is someone that you think would benefit from this podcast, please share it with them.

To help my podcast get more growth and reach more people, please subscribe, review, and rate it. And until next week, I'm wishing you the very best.