Ep. 1: The Way Back to Self

In episode one, Cheryl explores what it means to find your way back to yourself: the parts we silence to feel safe, the outside validation we chase, and a personal story of faith and intuition that reframed everything.

In This Episode:

• The nursing school lesson that changed how Cheryl sees every person's journey
• Why you are the expert of your own life, even when it doesn't feel that way
• How we quiet the parts of ourselves that make us unique in order to feel safe
• The difference between seeking outside validation and trusting your own inner knowing
• A personal story of faith, intuition, and a message received beside the ocean
• What it really means to be a guide for someone rather than their answer

If this episode spoke to something in you, hit follow so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you know someone who needs a reminder that they're allowed to come home to themselves, send this one their way. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Up with sparkling matches, no more shadows, no regrets, I've been waiting out go. No one's gonna steal my glow. Up and down, I've been low, but I rise with every blow. There's a storm inside my soul. Let it out, let it rise.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Hello. Welcome to Fire and Fairy Dust. It's a long way back. My name is Cheryl Epple, and today I'm going to talk about the way back to self and what does that even mean? In order to try to answer that question, I'm gonna share one of the biggest lessons I learned during my time in nursing school. And even though I no longer work as a nurse, I carry this lesson with me to this day. One of my professors told us as a nurse to always remember that the patient is the expert of them in their care. The patient knows more about their life, their health, their needs, what works and what doesn't than anyone else possibly can. And if I didn't remember that as a nurse, I could possibly become a barrier to, you know, patient care, which obviously I didn't want to do. And I carried that thought process and that, you know, value really throughout my nursing career and will continue to find value in the root of the concept probably the rest of my life. When I worked as a therapist, I would always remind my clients that they are the expert. And I was simply a guide along the way. But the power, the decision-making, the willingness to learn and grow and do the work, and the knowledge needed in order to do that was all theirs. And so to answer the question, what does finding the way back to self mean, is not always a simple one because the answer is highly individualized. It depends on the person. It looks different for everyone. Each person's version of their self is unique, as is the journey that will lead them to where they want or are meant to be, depending on what you believe. But the idea that each person is the expert of their own needs is what drives my work today as well. Although I'm not in that capacity anymore, I'm no longer a nurse, I'm no longer a therapist. The concept I believe is beautiful. And it's also been the thing that I've needed to remind myself of the most along my own journey. And as long as we are living, I don't believe that that journey back to self or learning about ourselves is ever completely done. But if I had to choose just a few words to def what finding the way back to self means, I guess I would choose these ones. For me, finding my way back to myself has meant and does mean trying to connect with my own intuition, my own inner knowing, and get back to my essence. The essence or the self-the part of me that existed before the world changed it or molded it, or told it how to show up, what to eat, what to like, what to listen to, which career to choose, which rules to follow, how to dress, and the list goes on and on and on. We become so used to looking to the outside world for confirmation for everything, really, if you think about it, to know that we're doing the right thing, or that we're good enough, or funny enough, or attractive enough. But often they don't, and that's where the damage is done, because the part of us that doesn't resonate with those things still exists, even though we do whatever we can to silence it. So we know something's off, we just don't know what it is because we muted it. But we do it because when we can see or hear something in the physical world, it helps us believe it because it's right in front of us, right? So if you if you win an award or you achieve a goal and someone says, oh, that's a good job, well, then it must be a good job. But what if no one ever says that to you? Does that mean it wasn't a good job? And sometimes even when people do say in the physical world, we believe it, but only for a moment. Even that can be fleeting. But we don't come into the world that way. As we grow up, we begin to show parts of ourselves that we know to be true. And then based on the response from others, we either increase, decrease, or completely silence that part of us. But we were never meant to quiet the parts of us that make us unique, but we do it to blend in, to feel safe, to not draw attention. And I spent a never a number of months trying to put into words the work that I want to do. Right. I left a career, I left, you know, a profession that I thought I would be in for the rest of my life. And so, in order to do that, obviously, I believe in what I'm doing, right? I wouldn't just do that on a whim. I was obviously guided to do that spiritually, but there's a reason for that as well. And so it was, it was really hard because I'm I was trying so hard to find the words to describe the work that I wanted to do. And I would try to tell people, and they tried to understand, but I what what I had in my mind and what I was shown, you know, spiritually wouldn't come out of my mouth the way that it needed to, in order to help people understand what it is that I'm trying to do. And so I I've always known I want to use my life experience and knowledge and my spiritual gifts to help others. And I, in my mind and in my soul, knew what that looked like. But trying to get that out, that was a process. And so it was hard because, like I said, I knew what it was, but I could not find the words to explain it. And I think now, looking back, that was because my work doesn't really fit neatly into one space. And for a while, it was discouraging and like frustrating. And then I thought, well, what does a person do when the world doesn't have a space for the work they want to do? They create their own space, and so here we are. So let me share how I came to this conclusion because it that in itself was a journey. As most of you know, I'm a medium, like I've said, and I and that comes with some spiritual gifts that I'm so grateful for. In May, I went on a trip. I hadn't planned on going, but I saw the post and I knew I needed to be there. And when I asked my spirit team why, the only answer I got was, you will find out when you get there. That is the answer often. I will I will share that with you. And so, in what has become a typical Cheryl fashion, off I went on a trip by myself with a group of other women who I had never met before and did not meet until I arrived at my destination. Fully on the faith, knowing that when I got there, I would know why I was supposed to go. And I did, and I do. And I could probably do an entire episode on what I learned on that trip with those amazing humans. But for now, I will share just one thing. First, actually, let me explain how one of my gifts work. So I will be talking to someone or doing something, and I'll get some information, or as I sometimes call it, a download of information. Well, this download happened while I was sitting beside the ocean listening to the waves. I looked at the water, and to my left, I saw a lighthouse. And when I saw the lighthouse, I got the download. And it was you're meant to act like a lighthouse to guide others back home themselves. And then I cried like a baby, because that's what I do sometimes. But mostly because to me, that's quite an honor to be able to do that. And yes, I know it sounds cheesy, but it also resonated deeply, and I finally had the words to describe what I'm trying to do. Because I am a guide and a vessel, but I am not the expert. And so my goal is to use my intuition and gifts and all of my previous experience to help others connect with their own inner knowing and guidance in whatever way works best for them. It's like I get to be a tour guide, and I have the privilege of being this guide because I'm familiar with parts of the journey. But once people the people I work with reconnect with their own intuition, they'll no longer need anyone else to show them the way. And that is the point of everything I am doing. Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

They said I never get this far. Now I'm dancing on the stars, every scarb, turn the music up and fly. No chains, no ropes, just hearts that move, no limbs now, just me and the groove.