The Kicked Can Generations Podcast
Join your eccentric Auntie Robin for this monthly podcast In which we will embark on what is called the Hero's Journey, to discover our true authentic self. For this revolution we are going to look at our belief systems, how we respond to things in our lives, learn how to control our emotions, learn how to heal our past trauma, connect back to your authentic self, and learn how to listen to your own inner voice instead of others. We will be utilizing a variety of methods based in Psychology, Cognitive Behavior therapies, Somatic exercises, Breathwork, various meditation, as well as a pinch of spirituality, learning what brings us joy, how to use your emotions as a tool for a better understanding of ourselves.
I am doing this podcast cause this last election I watched as the political parties of this country used our anger and frustration at the world in order to gain power. As a proud card carrying member of Gen X, I can tell you this all started when we were kids and has only gotten worse over the last 50 years. The current administration has several plans that they want to force through during their term. But every force has to deal with counter-force. Yet, Power, TRUE POWER is unmovable and is an ever fixed mark that looks on tempests. Well the tempest lands Jan. 20th, and they want to keep us divided and angry so we don't rise up. But I have radical, bat-shit crazy, revolutionary idea that can change with world, and it starts with you. We have forgotten how to live OUR lives for ourself, and instead have succumbed to programing, ideal and traditions that have been passed down to from previous generations. The true revolution this time needs to start from with in each one of us. We must break from the past programing, and ideals that have been passed on to us. Cause the real reason we are angry is because we no longer believe or want the same things as the Boomer and generations before. It is not who WE are. But WE need to know WHO we are in order to CREATE a new future that Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha and every generation after us can thrive in. This is the last time the Boomers will be in charge, giving us 4 years to figure out what we want for our future. But before we do that. We need to clear out the bullshit programing from the world, our families, our friends, our work. The founding fathers original motto for the United States is a Latin phrase E Pluribus Unum or Out of the Many, One. And that is what I ask of all of you. We need to become ONE, but one with ourselves first. We need to see who are we and what do we believe in, we need to develop radical self love for ourselves, we need to clear out the programing that previous generations have put upon us, to see what we believe in, and to create something that has never done before. So we need to heal ourselves. So We The People, the many, can become one. So lets start a revolution and become one with ourselves. You ready my lil punks?
The Kicked Can Generations Podcast
The start of the Hero's Journey: The path to your authentic self
This new season of the Kicked Can Generations podcast invites you to embark on a profound exploration of the beliefs we were raised with, our trauma/generational trauma and the healing power of self-love. We delve into the courage required to distance ourselves from negative influences and embrace our unique strengths, even amid societal and political chaos.
Have you ever wondered how deeply ingrained beliefs shape your sense of self? Journey with us as we uncover the profound love affair with our authentic selves. Here, we challenge inherited beliefs and embrace self-awareness, learning to set personal boundaries and find joy amid life's challenges. Through meditation, cognitive behavioral strategies, and somatic practices, we aim to retrain our minds and bodies to recognize our emotions and intuition, fostering independence from the need for external validation.
Our adventure doesn't stop there. We invite you to question how cultural and familial influences have molded your worldview. Imagine the life shifts if raised in a different culture, discovering new passions that align with your true self. As we navigate these reflections, keep a "finding joy" list handy for those tough days and remember to be kind to yourself. With support through social media connections, we continue this journey together, seeking inner alignment and understanding the powerful difference between reacting and responding to life's complexities.
KEEP IT PUNK, My Younglings!
Hello my younglings, my little punks. It is I, your eccentric Auntie Robin, calling to order the new Kicked Can Generations podcast into session for a brand new fucking year. I'm just going to call this a new season. So season two, episode one, starts fucking now. Just want to check in with you after a long and probably awkward as fuck Christmas holiday with family and friends. So did you get to observe your family dynamics and possibly find out some of your generational traumas, past history, so that way we know what generational traumas we need to heal? If not, that's okay, you can always do it the next time you visit.
Speaker 1:I'm going to be honest with you. I'm a little scared to kind of start this journey with you, for there is no going back once you start, because this, my friend, is the hero's journey that we're starting. I have been through this journey of discovery myself and I will tell you it is not an easy path. But I told myself at the beginning of the journey you're fucking miserable as hell now, living all in your head. Let's try and do this through your heart and your body instead and see how that works. And if I'm being honest here, it's given me more peace, satisfaction with a little side of frustration, if I'm being honest, and that's because I had no one to talk to to help me figure this out and I felt like I was a fucking freakish, odd pioneer. But now we have each other. But we're going to have to discover more things about yourself than you ever knew there was. You are going to discover your gifts, your abilities and the strength within yourself that is unique to you, even if others have it. Everyone is different and add their own spice or variety to it. There's going to be a lot of times you will need to isolate from others, just so you can feel your own energy and thoughts, free from any outside influences. You may have to lose friends or family members who do not have your best intentions at heart. You are also going to get frustrated at yourself or your life circumstances, but you have to learn how to show yourself some grace and be easier on yourself. The main thing you will learn is the most important thing of all is loving and knowing yourself to the point in which there is nothing and no one will ever have control over you. And that, my little punks, is true power, and this is where we need to stand right now, in our power.
Speaker 1:I know January 20th Trump will be sworn into office, but let's be honest here. If we compare his last term in office, the first year is not going to really accomplish too much. Plus, we currently already have all this infighting right now and just in the Republican Party alone, and this hasn't even officially kicked off yet. So I think we've got a year to do this. So let us commit to working on ourselves this year and really dig deep into finding who we are authentically and let us find our inner peace and what we stand for and what we want in our lives, so that we no longer can be influenced and used by others.
Speaker 1:During this last election season, I saw so many of my Gen Xers, millennials, gen Z, gen Alpha having their anger at the situations of the world that we didn't create, used against us in order for these people to gain political power. But they only have the power of the political structure. They have to force their policies through, which is another reason why I'm not really worried about the trump administration and Project 2025 completely getting through. Some of the policies may, but once again, this is something that we can change at a later date. They can only use force to get this stuff through because not everybody in this country or politically agree with what they want to do. So if you know anything about science, force automatically has counterforce to deal with and will polarize instead of unifies. So little side note. This is why they want us, the people, to be polarized, and how they are doing it. It takes a shit ton of energy to force something into existence, especially when the energy that you are using is that of anger, which is what they want you to be angry, that is the fuel to their fire.
Speaker 1:My younglings, during this past election cycle, I saw you struggle as two political parties tried to polarize all of us, and I feel as if the adults in the room have let us down time and time again, even though I'm one of those, because this all started way back when Gen X was kids, and for that I'm truly sorry. I'm sorry that our parents didn't teach us how to love ourselves and how to process our feelings and when things come up and how to let them go. We old fogies here, we did a huge disservice to you in life and I'm here to make amends. When I went home for the holidays, this amazing clip of Viola Davis came across my social feed talking about how she taught her daughter about loving herself. I bawled my fucking eyes out when I heard what she said to her daughter and I realized this is why I'm doing this, because if somebody would have told me that when I was a kid, I think of how much heartache would have been saved by just saying this, because this ought to be taught to every fucking human being on the goddamn planet. It's one of the most radical ideas that I can share with you. Viola said her daughter's name, but I want you to say your name out loud here. So, and I quote so say your name. Say your name.
Speaker 1:You are the love of your life. You need to have a radical love affair with yourself, be in touch with that inner voice To be aware, when friendships come in and out of your life, what you like, what you don't like, what is crossing your boundaries, what is making you feel bad or what not feel bad, and you honor that, and through that is where the seeds grow. No one ever told me that. No one ever told me that. No one ever told me that I was the love of my life. I just counted myself out If I had to make myself small to build up a relationship, or if I had to sacrifice my needs for others and this is a tough one, especially for women. Don't do that. You are the love of your life. The greatest love affair that you will ever know is when you love yourself. Damn Viola Davis, can you be my mom? Because that knowledge hits hard when you think about that. What would you have been like if somebody told you that as a child?
Speaker 1:So let's get back on focusing on the individuals and let's look at our beliefs and ideologies that have been passed down to us through the ages and see what those actually we still believe in, and get rid of the ones that we don't believe in because they don't align with what we, who we are right now, which is what we're going to do today, as well as we're also going to see what rejuvenates our energy, what makes us happy, what do we like to do that fills our cup. Because we sure as hell are going to have to remember that and keep coming back to it, especially when things get dark, because the revolution is a marathon, it's not a sprint, and if we know who we are, we will stand in our power. And you want to know something and you want to know something. True power is unmovable. It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests. Okay, I'm taking Shakespeare a little out of context there, but damn, he really had a way with words. So January 20th, when the tempest lands, let's create and stand in our own power. Punks, that is my calling to you.
Speaker 1:Okay, so each episode from here on out, we're going to be discussing how to figure out who we are at our core. We're going to peel back the layers. We are going to discover the ooey gooey center that is the Tootsie Pop that we call our soul. We are going to combine psychology, cognitive behavior, some meditation. Trust me, I keep them short because life gets chaotic and sometimes you only have five or ten minutes. I can spare five minutes. We're going to smother in a sprinkling of eastern energy systems from the chakras and the meridian energetics, from acupuncture and the Hindu faith, as well as other religions, including Christianity. We're also going to combine some somatic exercises for our bodies, some breathing exercises, and by combining all this, we're going to help you find out who you are at your core. We're going to help you find your calm and learn how to center yourself in peace.
Speaker 1:Then we will evolve, once we get rid of the things and beliefs we don't want to believe, so we can create something new and plant our own seeds for the future, because that's what we're dealing with right now. These are the seeds our previous generations have planted. They're not our ideals, our principles. So let's plant some new seeds and choke this bullshit out, because they're up in their 60s and 70s and 80s. They're getting tired. They can't sustain the amount of energy that it is need to force this into existence.
Speaker 1:Plus, there's also going to be, unfortunately, a lot of repetition in this healing work. I know boring, but we also have to retrain our brain as well as we have to retrain our overly active nervous system. Who's had to rely on us using our logic when logic doesn't always solve everything like they say it does? It depends on how old you are. It could possibly take a while. I'm over 50 and somehow I've managed to do this in like a year and a half, and I have a shit ton of mental health issues passed down from genetics, like ADHD, depression, anxiety, autism and other shit ton of unhealthy coping mechanisms that I've learned over the years to keep me safe and surviving in unhealthy environments. And now we have to unlearn all of that and if I'm being honest with you, it's gonna take a lot of repetition to convince your brain of this. We're also gonna have to learn how to feel things in our bodies, because our bodies will get the signal first, before our brain reacts to the emotion. So if you can recognize your feelings and emotions in your body first, so you can address those feelings and emotions before it imprints on your brain, this is a useful technique that I just learned.
Speaker 1:Once I cleared out all my human bullshit that has been ingrained in my brain since I started believing the bullshit that the world was trying to sell, I was able to finally hear a little whisper in my head, which you will know is your intuition. Little whisper in my head, which you will know is your intuition. And from there I've been able to speak and hear my ancestors, my spirit guides and a little side notes here your ancestors and spirit guides can always hear you, so feel free to ask them anything. It's only until you clear out your human bullshit in your head, aka the programming, the limited self-beliefs that are stuck in there, that the world wants you to believe. Until you can accomplish that, you won't be able to hear them, and then, when they do speak, it is no joke, a whisper. So you really have to listen to yourself.
Speaker 1:This is where we will discover who we are, and I'm going to teach you how to stand in your power and not need validation from others outside of yourself, and how to behave in a way that has a lot of power behind it to use it in a good and effective manner. So let's ask ourselves some questions. I do have these as a Word document on our social media if you want to print them out for yourself. I was hoping to make it look all artsy and cool but, to be honest with you, I ran the fuck out of time. So that may change later on when I get a second chance to embrace my creative, punk-ass self again.
Speaker 1:But this is where we start discovering who you are at your core, not who you were taught to be over the years. So we're going to look at where you grew up, what you learned from your friends, your family, school work. We're also going to take a look at religious practices. Remember, do not place any judgments or negativity or blaming anyone here. This is not the purpose. The purpose is pure discovery of these beliefs throughout our lives. You are who you are because of the positive and negative experiences in your life. That is what makes you uniquely you. We are here for experiences in our lives so we can learn and grow, and when your core beliefs align, this is going to bring you so much more joy, so much more happiness.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you will discover something that speaks to you at your core that you didn't even know you liked. For example, say, you grew up playing sports as a kid, but then as an adult, you took an art class and you discover you ended up loving it. You can add that to your core beliefs. These questions are to see how much of it matches and what doesn't match with you, who you are. Plus, also be open to the possibilities that there are other traditions, religions, beliefs that may speak to you now than when you did when you were growing up. So are you ready to meet your authentic self?
Speaker 1:And also, if you're having a hard time filling out these questions and you have siblings that are close to your age, ask them for some help. If you're having a hard time remembering, ask them for some help. If you're having a hard time remembering, that's okay. That can happen, especially if your childhood had more complications than it should have, because, oh, the trauma, trauma is real. It's just your brain's way of trying to protect you and keep you safe. Believe me, the other side of this is much brighter and lighter. So shall we begin? I'm going to go through these questions and, like I said, these will be posted on social for you. So if you wanted to print them out, feel free, but I'm just going to kind of go through these questions and fill them out at your own time.
Speaker 1:Okay, first question is what part of the world were you raised? Because, as a kid growing up in the U? S, it's going to be a little different than somebody raised in Africa, india, china, the Soviet union, south America, canada. These are all different ways of being raised and living. They're different. What kind of culture base were you raised in there? Example, did you have culturally rooted customs or behaviors or values you learned from growing up in that area? Was there like a code of manners, certain ways to dress, language, religion, any rituals or art or how you play in that area of the world? Are there certain norms of behavior that you were raised with? Were there laws of morality, a system of beliefs that in that area that you had. This is really to focus in on where you grew up and what beliefs were in that surrounding area. So in this I want you to include from your friends. Also, I want you to include what you learned from your family and also what school taught you.
Speaker 1:I grew up in a lake town in rural Iowa with about 2,000 people, so I had a healthy respect for nature because we would go fishing at the lake. Hunting was also big. I attended church on Sundays and Thursday evenings for Awana and if you know Awana, you know I was taught I needed to respect my elders repeatedly told this, but that one never stuck for me. I respected the people whose words, actions and deeds matched up. There were not a lot of those people in my life, which is one of the reasons why church and Christianity never spoke to me. Those are just a few examples. And also don't forget to include, like what you learned from your friends, which I learned compassion, love and play and fun from your family, respecting your elders and from, like school. You need to know your history or you're doomed to repeat it. Sadly, not everyone on this planet is here to grow and develop, which is why it it repeats, and after 2020 and COVID, it kind of proved that.
Speaker 1:But the next question is what traditions do you agree with that you were raised in? This generally is something that's inherited, established or a customary pattern of thought, action or behavior. Sadly, my family really isn't into traditions per se, except for the holidays, and mostly that involved an obscene amount of food, and on birthdays the one whose birthday it was got to pick out their special birthday dinner and what type of cake they wanted we would just set up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. So what are your traditions? What traditions do you not agree with? What ideals or values were you raised with that you like this could be charity work. Did the teamwork make the dream work Leading by example? What kind of work ethic or what kind of standard value do you appreciate? This to me seems like it's always like a lot of little sayings. Like teamwork makes the dream work, leading by example. Don't cry wolf when something happens, because then people won't believe you. Good words, good deeds, good actions, good life what are yours? Our next question is what ideals or values were you raised in that you don't agree with? Example respect your elders was a huge one. For me, this always depended on the elder that I respected or didn't respect. Hard work always pays off. It doesn't. It just gets you burnt out and not able to enjoy your life, or at least that's what I found out through my experiences. And that may not be for you. You get to decide these things, so what are yours? Next question is how would your life be different if you were raised in a different country, or you were raised by a different family? What would they expect from you? What would you? Be limited by? Use your imagination with this one. Go wild.
Speaker 1:What is a food, hobby or pastime that you discovered you love that was not introduced by your family? An example for me is when I moved to Chicago. I was able to all of a sudden try these different kinds of foods from so many different cultures, and I really discovered that I loved Ethiopian food. I also learned in Chicago how to do strength training. Doing CrossFit, I learned how to do a pull-up. Finally. Now, granted, I did need a band to assist me, but I didn't even know that that was an option as a kid. You just had to do that for your presidential fitness test, and I never could. It blew my mind when I realized oh, you can train yourself to do that. That was something I never realized as a kid, because no adult ever told me that you can actually work on that and be better at it and know how to do that.
Speaker 1:What are yours? Are there any traditions or values that speak to you, but kind of conflict with how you were raised? This one was huge for me because I grew up in the church but I also had a spirit guide as a kid who was a fairy named Pix. I also would talk about my past life as a kid and immediately got told I shouldn't say things like that or they'll lock me away in a loony bin. And back in the 70s and 80s I took that as a threat so I stopped talking about it. It's only now that I realized I only perceived that as a threat. It didn't mean that they were actually going to go through with it, but as a kid I didn't know that. So basically everything I am now, I'm embracing my gifts of intuition, I'm learning witchcraft and how to heal my past wounds.
Speaker 1:So what are some of your conflicts, my punks? Have you found a way to incorporate some of those traditions and those values in your life while still keeping a good balance with your family? And if yes, how did you do that? And if no, then what are some of the ways that you can bring that balance to those traditions and values that resonate deeply within you? Sadly, my answer to this question was I don't want to talk to them about it because they don't agree with it. I'm a grown ass adult and I can do what I want. I don't need their acceptance on that, and that is a valid answer. But do try to come up with something, is all I'm asking. Well, isn't that convenient as we head into our discussion on religion?
Speaker 1:What religion were you raised in or not raised in? Are there any superstitions you were told about your religion? What are some of the spiritual rewards or blessings that were explained to you about your religion? What are some of the punishments that were explained to you about your religion? Are there other religions that kind of piqued your interest growing up or made you feel good or you were curious about? What was it that interested you about them? About what was it that interested you about them? What aspects of other religions really fit or resonate with you?
Speaker 1:Now, this next question is just for fun. It's not open invitation here to become your own cult leader. Okay, but if you created your own religion, what would you include? Are there other parts of other religions that would show up? What are your beliefs, any rituals, ceremonies, laws, sins, philosophies that you would include? This is just a way for you to find out some of your other core beliefs. So dig in deep with us, my punks, and really answer the question honestly. It's a lot, but the more you fill out, the more you'll become self-aware.
Speaker 1:Now, self-awareness can bring in personal accountability and with personal accountability, can often bring shame with it, sadly. Now, to combat the shame, you need to have a buttload of compassion for yourself, and this is hard. Starting out and also obsessing over the way that we are, the negative things that we experienced in our life. It's just us finding evidence that somehow we are broken or we need to be fixed somehow, when that is far from the actual truth. You just need more support in your life, more compassion, and you can get that from yourself anytime, day or night. Sometimes I have to take in a few deep breaths and remind myself hey, you're safe, you're still here. All those things that happened didn't break you. You were stronger than you think my punks, and you got this, and you have to give yourself a goddamn hug. Then, give yourself a goddamn hug. Remember, you got to love yourself first and foremost.
Speaker 1:Now the other important part of this equation is how do we make ourselves happy? What fills our cup, if you will, what feeds your soul? You may want to keep this list at work or on your fridge at home, or even on your phone, because, if you need to pick me up, pull out this list, because the world likes to deplete us, because the world likes to deplete us, our family, our jobs, just life. And during the next four years, this is something you need to do daily, and I do mean every day for yourself. Pick one of these, even if it's just putting on your favorite song and dancing around your office like a teenager at the club. Give yourself that permission to be silly and to have fun. You're an adult, after all. You can bust a move if you want to. The only person who is stopping you is you, okay, so let's get into those questions, all right.
Speaker 1:What cultural experiences from where you lived filled your cup? Are there like certain family relationships or friendships or interactions that you love? What social relationships do you have that make you feel amazing? Are there any time management structures that make you happy? What physical activities do you enjoy? Are there any personal patterns you love doing? If you need an example, I personally love doing this. I give myself 30 minutes of bed, rotting with my cat. In the morning, I write in my journal and I always end up asking myself what do I want to feel that day? What kind of personal living environment do you love? Are there any mental activities that fill you up? What stimulates that mind of yours? Are there any spiritual practices that feed your soul? What personal health choices do you enjoy?
Speaker 1:Even if it's just doing these things for five minutes or making a choice each day to do one thing just for you, makes life so much more enjoyable. It doesn't have to be a huge commitment here. Even if it's just a shitty day at work and you have to put that one dance party song on there, then do it for yourself. I sometimes do a five-minute drawing that never gets completed hardly ever. It's not perfect. It's also because of that. It's helping me decrease my need for perfectionism and trying to be perfect all the time. It's going to get you out of your head and into your body and the world just kind of slips away, even for just that moment. But wow, what a great moment.
Speaker 1:So now you're probably asking yourself great, what do I do with all this? Take a look at your list and ask yourself what is it that I want to keep Because it really does speak to me, and what is it that I need to let go of Because it never spoke to me? And then start making sure your actions and your words follow that belief and remember to keep a copy of your finding joy list, either at work or on your phone, or at your fridge at home. If you're having a bad day, take some time for yourself and do one just for you. I love and adore you, my little punks.
Speaker 1:Like I said, these questions will be on our social media, on Blue Sky and Facebook, and later on it'll be on Insta, but that one might take me a little bit longer, so bear with me as I figure all this out. Plus, you may want to keep a notebook or a journal with all this in so you can reference these things as it comes up Now. Next episode all this in so you can reference these things as it comes up Now. Next episode we're going to talk about how and when we assume it makes an ass out of you and me, how we take things way too personally, how we often misinterpret things, and also we're going to see how we react to situations. Or are we responding to situations? Because those, my friends, are two separate things. You totally kicked ass my punks. And remember to be kind to others, but also be kind to yourself, and I will see you next time. So keep it real and keep it punk.
