How to make the most of Becoming Me

EP 2 | HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF BECOMING ME

[00:00:02] INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Becoming Me, your podcast companion and coach in your journey to a more integrated and authentic self. I am your host Ann Yeong, and I'm here to help you grow in self-discovery and wholeness. If you long to live a more authentic and integrated life and would like to hear honest insights about the rewards and challenges of this journey, then take a deep breath, relax and listen on to Becoming Me. 

[00:00:33] 
Hello, dear listeners. Welcome to episode two of the Becoming Me Podcast previously, I had shared a little about my own backstory and about why I'm doing this podcast. In this episode, I'm going to talk a bit more about what Becoming Me is and who it is meant for as well as how you can make the most out of it for your own journey.

[00:00:56] 
I should begin by saying that Becoming Me is actually more than just a podcast. It is meant to be a digitally accessible companion and coach for you, which you can turn on whether you're commuting or at home, wherever you are. As a resource, it consists mainly of this podcast and a companion blog, which you can find on my website at www.becomingme.sg.

[00:01:19] 
But it also, won't just be a podcast and a blog. If you subscribe to my email newsletter, you will have updates sent straight to your inbox. And you'll be the first to know when I launch events or new resources in the future, which I certainly hope to do Becoming Me, came to be from a deep desire on my part.

[00:01:38] 
To reach out to other people who are also seeking healing and wholeness being on this journey myself, I know firsthand how incredibly challenging making this journey can be. And over the years, I have also often received feedback from other people that my sharing of the experiences that I have on this journey helps them find their way as they make theirs.

[00:02:01] 
So this podcast is just another means for me. To share some of my experiences, hoping that it could help you make your journey a little easier in a world that precious us to put our best foot forward all the time. And we're just increasingly unforgiving. If we do not fit the mold that is expected of us, it has become even more important that there are spaces where we are allowed to stop performing, to be able to listen to the still small voice.

[00:02:35] 
Of our souls for many of the people that I know the voice of their soul has been drowned out by external demands placed upon them for so much of their lives, that it takes a lot of courage and love to re-establish that very important relationship with their own selves. This kind of undertaking is not easy and it is not a journey that I have been able to make alone.

[00:03:02] 
So in some small way, I hope that Becoming Me can help to support more people like you into becoming more confident in making your journey. Every episode of this podcast is distilled from my experiences of making the interior journey myself, as well as what I have learned and observed from accompanying others.

[00:03:22] 
Each episode, we'll focus on just one aspect of making the journey to wholeness and authenticity. I want to try and keep it bite sized so that we're able to break into the topic and make it easier for you to delve more deeply into it on your own. I do not claim to have the answers to the deep questions of your heart, but I've learned that making this journey is less about getting answers than knowing how to let the most important questions in all souls surface and finding the courage to live those questions. Because it takes a lot of courage to live those questions. It is in that listening and living of our questions that we learn to accompany ourselves on this lifelong journey of integration and authenticity.

[00:04:12] 
In this podcast, you will often hear me speaking about becoming whole, and I'll be talking about how being whole is being integrated in body, mind, heart and soul, instead of being fragmented or ignoring and alienating certain parts of ourselves. My personal stories will come from the perspective of my own evolving experience of becoming more integrated as a person.

[00:04:39] 
And my journey is informed very much by my faith as a Roman Catholic Christian. However, the desire for meaning purpose and living an authentic life transcends any creed or religion and Becoming Me seeks to meet each person at the point of that desire. Your journey is yours to make you're welcome to use as much or as little from this podcast as you find helpful to you. 

So, how can you make the most of Becoming Me? The topics that I will speak about on this podcast are meant to be listened to and turned over slowly in your heart and mind. These are not things that can be understood just intellectually. You might be able to grasp certain topics, conceptually, but that will not be of much help to you until you're able to bring it deeper into your heart and find a way to live it.

[00:05:35] 
So, Becoming Me is meant to help you find an access point to your own personal life and journey so that you can start listening to your own life speak to you. So ultimately that is for you to be able to listen to your own life speak to you. 

There are certainly different levels of engagement possible, depending on your needs and your readiness to engage in the various topics that I will be talking about. It could be that you find yourself more drawn to certain episodes than others. And that's fine. That's perfectly fine. Go where your heart draws you. That's really important because sometimes where your heart is drawn could be a clue to where a door to your inner self is more ready to be opened on some topics.

[00:06:23] 
You may feel that it is sufficient to just listen, right? She can just listen casually while you're, you know, doing your own stuff. And maybe you may not fully identify with what I'm talking about in that episode, because it doesn't speak to your personal experience, but other times there could be an episode which you feel resonate particularly strongly with you.

[00:06:46] 
Then you would probably want to take some time in your week to engage more deeply with that topic. The point of this podcast is to companion and coach you to walk your own journey. So be flexible in how you use this podcast. Feel free to find a way that works best for you to provide you with some structure and assistance.

[00:07:08] 
I will at the end of each episode, prompt you with a simple three-step framework. The first step is to listen, right? To listen to the episode, not just to listen to what I'm saying, but also to listen to your own emotional response. What resonates with you? What doesn't, what makes you light up? What makes you uncomfortable?

[00:07:33] 
What kinds of responses are signs that there is something deeper for you to discover? If you delve a little more deeply? 

The second step is to ponder choose one reaction you had and start wondering about it. Why do you think you reacted that way? Can you connect it with some concrete experience or memory in your life? This is a step in which journaling could be a very helpful process. 

And then the third step is to act, commit to one small step that you can take to grow in self-awareness in that particular area of the interior journey. As a final note, in this episode, I'd like to say something about solitude and community.

[00:08:16] SOLITUDE & COMMUNITY 
This journey into authenticity requires us to learn, to hear our own voice in solitude. What I mean by solitude is different from just being alone, right, or lonely. Solitude is when we are able to be lovingly present to ourself. This is something that takes time and practice to cultivate and cultivating solitude will be a theme that will carry throughout this podcast, because it is absolutely necessary for the interior journey.

[00:08:49] 
At the same time, however, it is also impossible to make this journey without the support of a community around us. So by community, I do not necessarily really mean a group of people who know each other, like all know each other and who meet as a group regularly. Right. So that could be the case. Maybe you are already part of a group of friends or maybe a part of a church community that is already supporting each other, um, to grow spiritually and personally.

[00:09:18] 
And that is great. But I want to broaden the definition of immunity here and say that it could also refer to a collection of individually companions that come into our lives at certain seasons to walk with us for a length of time. So some companions may be lifelong companions and some could be there just for a short season.

[00:09:41] 
But in this lifelong journey, right into authenticity and wholeness, no companion who helps us to listen to our lives is insignificant. The important thing is to let people in who have reverence for your interior journey and who do not attempt to drown you out with their own opinions and advice about how you should make this journey.

[00:10:05] 
So I count as my community in this broader sense. Former teachers and spiritual directors that I have had the blessing to be guided by a couple of mentors, a few mature spiritual companions. My counselor, dear old friends who have known me since childhood and above all my husband, who is a dedicated fellow Pilgrim on this journey to wholeness and authenticity.

[00:10:33] 
I also count as teachers and mentors, the many authors whose books have formed me. I have also found that sometimes those I accompany on the journey and whom I helped to nurture also become part of this community that supports me. So don't be anxious. If at this moment you can't think of a single person to start the journey with.

[00:10:55] 
As you begin this journey, you will eventually become aware of other people who are also making the same journey. The more tuned in you are to growing in authenticity and wholeness, the easier it becomes over time to identify fellow pilgrims. I suggest that you look out for people who have been on the journey longer than you have and who are more experienced.

[00:11:19] 
These people can serve as wise mentors, even if you don't talk to them very often every now and then talking to them could shine new light into some area that you're stuck in. And then you can also be on the lookout for people who feel like they're more or less on the same page as you on the journey.

[00:11:39] 
Right? These would be great companions - peers to give mutual, encouragement and support with. Finally, as you walk this journey longer, you may find. That there are others who seek you out because your example has inspired them to start the journey. And these are the ones that you can share your stories and experiences with so that they can begin to make their own way too.

[00:12:03] 
And a big part of making this journey is nurturing others. So often it is when I have the opportunity to share my experiences with someone else. And that I find that I learn more deeply about the journey that I am making myself that brings us to the end of this episode of Becoming Me. I hope that now you're clearer about what Becoming Me is, and whether as a resource, it is going to be helpful to you at this point of your life.

[00:12:38] CONCLUSION
Thank you for listening to this episode of Becoming Me. Now that I've introduced myself, as well as Becoming Me, I look forward to delving into a meatier subject in the next episode with you.

Remember, the most important thing about making this journey is to keep taking steps in the right direction, no matter how small those steps might be. The world would be such a poor place without each of us becoming more fully alive. Don't forget to visit my website at becomingme.sg and hit subscribe. Until the next episode, Happy Becoming!