Terminally Smiling: How Cinder Shine Finds Joy in the Face of Cancer and Pain -- With Cinder Shine
Release Date: 07/31/2025
Your Work Is the Antidote: Slaying the 3 Snakes of Our Time
Channel Your Genius Podcast
In this powerful solo episode, Mellissa Seaman calls on every intuitive entrepreneur, healer, and purpose-led professional to stay the course. In a world that feels divided, fearful, and uncertain, she reminds us that your soul-led business isn’t just personal, it’s revolutionary. Mellissa breaks down the three “snakes” of our time: the cultural forces that threaten to suppress wisdom, compassion, and freedom, and how your work as an awakened leader is the antidote. This is a call to action for all spiritual entrepreneurs to double down, not retreat; to lead with heart, not fear; and...
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The Mind Is Mystical and Science Alone Can’t Explain It
Channel Your Genius Podcast
In today’s episode, Mellissa pulls back the curtain on one of the hottest buzzwords in leadership and coaching today: neuroscience. While corporate and executive programs rush to anchor every insight in brain scans and data, Mellissa challenges the obsession with what can be measured and calls us to reclaim the mystery, intuition, and higher intelligence that science alone can’t explain. Drawing on her years of working with intuitive professionals and grounded mystics alike, Mellissa explores how our fixation on “neural hacks” and logical proof can actually limit human potential. True...
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Why Your Dog Might Be Your Greatest Spiritual Teacher
Channel Your Genius Podcast
What if your dog is more than “just a pet”? In this heartfelt solo episode, Mellissa explores the sacred role our animals play in our spiritual lives as teachers, mirrors, and bridges between the human and the wild. Drawing from her own Apache ceremonial experience, her work with intuitive veterinarian Dr. Vanessa Gafferrer, and her deep connection with her dog Lucy, Mellissa shares how our animal companions help us remember our primal selves, model unconditional love, and guide us through seasons of change and grief. You’ll also meet Louie, the newest (and most mischievous) member of...
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The Spiritual Download Everyone’s Getting (And Why You Can’t Ignore It) - with Ragan Thomson
Channel Your Genius Podcast
In this inspiring conversation, Mellissa Seaman sits down with Ragan Thomson, a global spiritual teacher, healer, and philanthropist, whose work bridges the worlds of divine feminine wisdom, conscious leadership, and global collaboration. From her early life as an intuitive empath to her current mission guiding healers, women, and changemakers into deeper connection with Spirit, Ragan shares the journey of awakening that brought her into her soul’s purpose. Together, Mellissa and Ragan explore how to balance deep spiritual calling with worldly impact, the power of collaboration...
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Easy Autumn Income: The Secret to Making More by Doing Less
Channel Your Genius Podcast
As autumn arrives with its cozy sweaters and golden leaves, many transformational business owners feel the urge to slow down, or even retreat completely. But what if this season actually holds the key to easy money and deeper alignment in your business? In this episode, Mellissa Seaman reveals why fall is not the time to hustle and create new offers, but instead the perfect moment to review, reconnect, and harvest. By tuning into the natural cycles of the year, you’ll discover how to work smarter, generate revenue with ease, and prepare your energy for the magic of winter ahead. In...
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Want More Flow? Start by Connecting With the Land Spirits
Channel Your Genius Podcast
In this episode of Channel Your Genius, Mellissa Seaman guides you into a profound and practical connection with the land and its spirits. At a time when the human world feels chaotic, the earth offers grounding, wisdom, and stability. Through guided practices, teachings from her Apache mama Maria, and her own lived experiences, Mellissa shares how to release anxiety, receive support from the earth, and collaborate with the unseen spirits of the land. You’ll learn how to: ✅ Ground deeply to release tension and anxiety through the “blah” breath and relaxation techniques ✅...
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The Hidden Pressures of High Achievers (and How to Stay Balanced)
Channel Your Genius Podcast
What happens when a professional athlete turns her lived experience into a mission to transform the mental game for the next generation? In this episode of Channel Your Genius, Mellissa Seaman interviews Danielle McDonough — a former Division I and professional hockey player turned Mindset Optimization Coach. Danielle now helps athletes and parents build confidence, resilience, and mental strength that extend far beyond sports. They dive into the hidden pressures young athletes face, the toll of tying identity solely to performance, and the powerful tools that support both athletes and...
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Why People Want to Sit Next to You: The Truth About Being a Transmitter
Channel Your Genius Podcast
You are already a channel. The question is: how is your transmission showing up, and are you being cared for so it can flow? In this episode Mellissa unpacks what it means to be a transmitter (and a double transmitter), why your gift can feel invisible in modern culture, and how a transmitter’s sensitive emanation actually benefits whole communities when it’s nurtured. If you’ve ever felt like people want to “sit next to you” and soak up your vibe without understanding your value, this one’s for you. Mellissa offers practical, tender reframing (and a little business-savvy...
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3 Keys to Thriving in Business While Everyone Else is Burning Out
Channel Your Genius Podcast
Today I’m opening up another behind-the-scenes clip from inside my mentorship, because success in these times can’t be built on strategy alone. Words and copy are important. Mindset and manifestation are important. But neither of them, on their own, are enough. What I’ve been witnessing (and celebrating!) are the breakthroughs that happen when we weave all three pieces together: ✨ Clear and confident words that express your true work ✨ Energetic clarity that dissolves old patterns and resistance ✨ Practical workflow and next steps that your nervous system can actually handle In...
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Who is Qualified to be a Dark Feminine Mentor/Healer/Leader?
Channel Your Genius Podcast
Today I’m opening the doors and sharing a clip straight from inside my Business Mentorship. Why? Because this topic is too important not to share publicly. So many spiritual teachers ask me about integrity, especially when it comes to standing as a Divine Feminine channel and working with what we might call dark feminine wisdom. In this class clip, you’ll witness one of my mentorship students having a profound breakthrough and claiming her authority to guide others through the gateways of the dark feminine because she’s lived it. She’s been torn apart and initiated. And now, she...
info_outlineIn today's episode of Channel Your Genius, Mellissa Seaman is joined by the radiant and irreverent Cinder Shine, author, musician, and longtime wellness coach, who lives and teaches what she calls rainbow resilience: a joyful, grounded philosophy for navigating life, death, and everything in between.
Diagnosed with terminal cancer and still grinning, Cinder shares her hilarious, heartfelt, and deeply real perspective on living fully in the face of pain. From riding motorcycles with brittle bones to being lifted out of a hot tub by trees (yep, really), this episode is a love letter to radical joy, irreverent wisdom, and the power of choosing life even when it hurts.
Her new book Terminally Smiling blends memoir, music, and meaning-making in the face of cancer and transformation. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone facing hard things, and craving a little more light.
Talked about in today’s episode:
00:01:10 – From Knee Pain to Rainbow Resilience
Cinder’s journey from body-positive fitness coach to two-time cancer survivor and joy rebel.
00:05:29 – The “F* You Sundial” and Finding Gratitude
Cinder shares her irreverent tool for moving from hopelessness to joy, even on the hardest days.
00:08:45 – How to Live Fully with a Terminal Diagnosis
What it really means to walk the line between life and death and choose joy anyway.
00:12:33 – Feel Like a Rainbow in the Eye of the Storm
The inspiration behind her new song and how she channels emotion through music.
00:14:38 – Death, Ceremony & the Power of Facing the End
Mellissa and Cinder explore death as a teacher, and what it means to live fearlessly.
00:21:16 – Hot Tubs, Trees, and the Magic of Asking for Help
A story you won’t forget, how nature and spirit literally lifted Cinder when she couldn’t lift herself.
Guest Bio:
Cinder Shine is an author, musician, and irreverent wellness guide who’s been helping people move through pain with humor and grit for over 30 years. A two-time cancer survivor and lifelong joy-seeker, she’s the author of Plus Size Knee Pain Solution and her latest book, Terminally Smiling, a poignant, playful memoir on living and healing through life’s hardest moments. Cinder brings fierce honesty, goofy wisdom, and unapologetic joy to every stage, page, and platform she graces.
Connect with Cinder Shine:
Website: https://www.cindershine.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cinder.shine.ernst
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinder_shine_ernst
Unlock Your Genius with Mellissa Seaman:
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Discover Your Soul Gift: Take Mellissa’s free Soul Gift Quiz to uncover which of the five soul gifts is driving your life's purpose.
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Dive Deeper into Growth: Explore the Channel Your Genius Academy at channelyourgenius.com for personal and professional development resources.
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Stay Inspired: Connect with Mellissa on Instagram @channelyourgenius for ongoing wisdom and insights to help you live your purpose, expand your influence, and thrive in your business and personal life as a WiseWoman.
Keywords:
Radical Joy, Cancer Survivor, Terminal Illness, Rainbow Resilience, Feminine Leaders, Wellness Coach, Intuitive Guidance, Healing, Humor, Death Ceremony, Living Fully, Emotional Resilience, Channeling Wisdom, Spiritual Growth, Embodied Joy, Creative Healing, Facing Death, Life After Diagnosis, Nature as Healer, Grief and Laughter