Expand and Integrate: How to Successfully Navigate the Unknown
Release Date: 03/11/2025
Be. Play. Love.
Most people don’t think of themselves as creative. We say, “I’m not artistic,” or “I can’t perform,” and leave it at that. But the truth is, creativity isn’t reserved for the select few. It lives in everyone. It’s baked into how we think, feel, dream, and respond to the world. The problem is that most of us were taught to shut it down. We were told to color inside the lines, follow the rules, and keep things appropriate. Over time, we stopped expressing the weird, wonderful parts of ourselves and started believing that creativity belonged only to the professionals. But...
info_outlineBe. Play. Love.
In a world that worships productivity, we’ve traded our inner spark for efficiency and completely lost the creativity that’s vital to flow. For many of us, this disconnection with our creativity goes back to childhood. This is where we were taught not to be weird. Where we were trained to do things in one specific way, and forced to correct ourselves when we didn’t. For years, we’ve heard negative things that have shaped how we feel about our creativity, so no wonder we’ve suppressed it. But without play, coloring outside the lines, and trusting the parts of ourselves that don’t...
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You’re standing in front of a mess…clothes, memories, identities…scattered on the floor. A rod gives out, a shelf falls, or maybe your inner structure does. It looks like chaos, but it might just be intuition telling you: it’s time to release the weight, it’s time to let go. Whether it’s a closet full of old identities, a childhood belief you’ve outgrown, or a lingering fear that you’re still “too much,” life finds ways to show us what no longer fits. But what if that collapse isn’t a failure but an invitation to release, integrate, and reclaim ourselves? It’s a shift...
info_outlineBe. Play. Love.
Creativity isn’t just a skill, it’s a lifeline in a play-deprived society. When young people feel unseen, unheard, and unwelcome, they shut down. Their development gets interrupted. Their story gets cut short. But give them the joy of movement, and a place to express their creativity, and something transformational happens. They come alive. Not because someone told them what to say or how to be, but because someone finally asked: Who are you? And what’s inside you, waiting to be expressed? In this episode, we explore what happens when we stop trying to “fix” kids and instead create...
info_outlineBe. Play. Love.
The power-over / power-under / power-with dynamic isn’t just something we have with other people, it often resides inside us. When we override our emotions, suppress our sensations, and try to outmaneuver our discomfort, we manifest that dynamic. We see it when we push past our sadness, armor over vulnerability, or try to exert power in ways that are loud and forceful instead of connected and quiet. Maybe it’s thinking we need to toughen up and act like a badass in reaction to our sadness. That’s what we think being powerful looks like. But what if the...
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Here’s an uncomfortable or even painful experience many people are having right now. Losing a friendship over differing political views or fundamental values. It hurts…but what if it’s also a window into something deeper? In today’s cultural climate, the divide between people often goes far beyond a simple disagreement or differing opinions. It can reveal a far deeper truth: when values clash, friendships can break. But what does that rupture reveal about how we relate, how we build trust, and how we stay open in moments that hurt? Most of us are taught to manage difficult emotions by...
info_outlineBe. Play. Love.
Sometimes, the danger isn’t real, but our bodies still act like it is. You’re stuck in traffic, someone you love is upset, or a friend doesn’t text back, and suddenly, you’re spiraling. Your heart races, your thoughts scramble, and before you know it, you’re either fixing, fleeing, or shutting down. What’s happening? In a world that constantly pushes us to stay in control, we forget how to stay connected, to ourselves, to others, and to the moment. But our bodies remember. They hold wisdom, intuition, and the capacity to guide us, if we’re willing to...
info_outlineBe. Play. Love.
There are many ways we try to heal. Therapy, meditation, breathwork, movement, and mindset work - just to name a few. These paths are powerful, transformative, and often life-changing. But sometimes, despite all the tools and effort, there are places within us that remain untouched, places our intellect can’t quite reach. We’re exploring one such threshold, where healing stops being something we do and becomes something that happens to us at a cellular level. Where transformation drops from the head into the body through the quiet, mystical intelligence of mushrooms. Journeying...
info_outlineBe. Play. Love.
We all do it. When there’s silence, ambiguity, or the absence of clear feedback, we fill in the blanks with stories. But here’s the problem: our minds don’t reach for generous interpretations. They default to criticism, fear, and doubt. Whether it’s giving a talk, navigating a friendship, or reflecting on ourselves, we often assume the worst, even when reality is far more kind. Evolutionary survival instincts, societal conditioning, and inner critics keep us stuck in fear-based thinking. What if there was a powerful alternative (spoiler alert, there is!) - reconnecting to the...
info_outlineBe. Play. Love.
In our world, productivity and creativity occupy two different buckets. The former is functional, necessary, and purposeful. The latter is frivolous, chaotic, and irresponsible. It should be put on the back burner so that we can focus on “more important things.” As a result, creative expression ends up as an afterthought, something we can only do after the real work is done. The problem is: so many of us end up feeling disconnected from our creativity, cut off from a vital resource for resonance. What if instead of putting off creativity for later, we could integrate it into...
info_outlineAnytime we head into the unknown and want to break past a limit, a question arises inside of us, “is it safe for me to be this big out in the world?”
That’s because if we want something bigger, our ceiling has to rise to encompass that thing and that can be scary. Sometimes we’ll expand into that bigger thing but then shrink back into our familiar shells.
If we don’t make our presence bigger than our fear, this process will keep repeating itself.
What if, instead of expanding and contracting - we could expand and integrate at a new level? That’s where flow comes into play - it’s a way for us to expand our capacity for bigger things with curiosity, instead of contracting ourselves back into the known.
Like a dance where we don’t quite know the routine, the key is to move so that the next step emerges from the flow.
How do we integrate to a new level and not sabotage ourselves? How do we reduce our fear when we’re stepping into the unknown? In this episode, we talk about how to accompany yourself to the next level.
Things You’ll Learn In This Episode
-Find safety in integration not contraction
When we’re faced with the unknown, we can either contract or expand into it. How do we leap into the latter without fear?
-Turn towards what’s wanting to happen
When we’re in the flow (not the fear) of the unknown, life becomes a free form dance. Why do we have to let go in order to find the next step?
-It’s as easy as saying “tell me more”
When we stay in conversation with others, it opens up the flow. How do we learn to go into unknown situations with curiosity instead of contraction?
About Your Hosts
Katie Hendricks, Ph.D., BC-DMT, is a pioneer in body intelligence and conscious loving with over 40 years of experience. Known internationally as a presenter and seminar leader, she focuses on authenticity, responsibility, and appreciation in conscious living. She co-authored 12 books, including best-sellers Conscious Loving and Conscious Loving Ever After and she has appeared on over 500 radio and TV programs.
Sophie Chiche is a seasoned coach and consultant who has worked with thousands of individuals and teams globally. With a focus on helping people live fully expressed lives, she guides clients and facilitates group sessions to remove obstacles and design meaningful lives. Sophie has developed unique methods, mindset shifts, and healing modalities to create lasting change.
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