In Part 2 of our conversation, Carrie continues sharing with us about the impact of our personal narratives and the power of storytelling.

During this second segment, we also discussed the concept of reflecting on the characters in our lives and their relationships to our stories. This is also an important element when it comes changing the plot and rewriting the narratives.

Carrie discusses the importance too of paying attention to themes and motivations in our personal stories. If we are to break the cycles we are in, we must learn to ask questions about the patterned roles that we so often assume and repeat within our family systems.

Carrie speaks to the hope and capabilities that we have within us to rewrite our stories and she remarks that our desired self hinges on one element—the story we tell about ourselves and our potential.

Owning our stories, building healthy support systems, acknowledging our filters, and revising our perspectives are other key factors in changing the narratives in our lives.

When talking about forgiveness, Carrie shares that if we struggle with blanket forgiveness, then we still begin the forgiving process if we are willing to forgive the reasons behind the harm or negative actions committed against us.

Towards the end of our conversation, Carrie openly discusses the importance of staying open to the idea that challenges and crises can so often create opportunities for us to grow, learn, and evolve.

In closing, I want to add that I believe that Carrie is doing very impactful and life changing work. The lessons that she shares in her book and interviews are empowering and transformative. I picked Carrie’s book up one evening a few days before our first interview, and I couldn’t put it down. I read it straight through, in one sitting!! It’s not just great storytelling, personal experiences, and knowledge that she shares. She also offers a lot of tips, strategies, and real-life actionable steps that all of us can follow if we are serious about rewriting our stories.

Connecting With Carrie:

To learn more about Carrie’s background, how to purchase her book, and the work and projects that she is involved with, visit her website: carriekcwest.com

Carrie is offering PerfectWhelm Podcast listeners a 10% discount code for those of you interested in obtaining her ‘Money Rewritten TM workshop. Just Use the code NB73KT to receive this offer.

LI:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-west-46349764/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/story-of-your-life/?viewAsMember=true

FB:

https://www.facebook.com/carriekcwest/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571647474405

IG @storytellers_acad

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

- Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services

- Email: eric@ericslivoskey.com

- I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone

you think might benefit from it.

In Part 1 of this 2 part conversation, Carrie shares about the challenges of her early life growing up in Pittsburgh and the impact that being rejected, ignored, and often abandoned as a baby and young child had on the first narratives and stories of her childhood.

Carrie shares how storytelling and using her imagination to help get her through dark moments as a child was so instrumental for her in finding some level of comfort and building a resilience within herself that contributed to her very survival.

Origin stories contribute to the formation of early beliefs, how we see ourselves, and the roles we take on within our family structures. Carrie sheds light on a narrative in her early life called the “Popcorn Story.” You don’t want to miss this riveting chain of events where a key figure enters into Carrie’s story and quite literally saves her life.

We discuss the harm of repeated stories and how they can become patterned narratives that instill and perpetuate fear, shame, guilt, and unresolved trauma. Carrie talks about the importance of noticing and becoming aware of the repeating stories, questioning the narratives, and making conscious decisions to challenge all of the self-limiting beliefs that hold us back from living our best lives.

At the end of part 1 of this interview, Carrie talks about a very poignant and heart-wrenching event… the unexpected death of her father. She talks about how challenging and life altering this was for her, and how it actually led to several changes and pivots in her life. You will want to listen in for the dramatic words that Carrie’s dad spoke to her just hours before he died. By the way, she had never heard these words from him until that moment.

Connecting With Carrie:

To learn more about Carrie’s background, how to purchase her book, and the work and projects that she is involved with, visit her website: carriekcwest.com

Carrie is offering PerfectWhelm Podcast listeners a 10% discount code for those of you interested in obtaining her ‘Money Rewritten TM workshop. Just Use the code NB73KT to receive this offer.

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-west-46349764/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/story-of-your-life/?viewAsMember=true

FB: https://www.facebook.com/carriekcwest/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571647474405

IG @storytellers_acad

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources:

- Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services

- Email: eric@ericslivoskey.com

- I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.

In this episode, I discuss the recent flooding in central Texas and the heartbreaking tragedy that resulted in several people losing their lives.

Many of those who perished were children, mostly young girls who were part of Camp Mystic, a cabin full of young campers and counselors who were there to have fun, learn about their faith, and draw closer to God.

Setting the stage with some details about my own religious deconstruction and my break away from organized religion over the past 6-7 years, I talk about the realities that the Christian God was divinely hidden or asleep at the wheel during this awful disaster.

I raise questions about the broken promises of God, all the unanswered prayers, and how so many Christians must engage in mental gymnastics to cover for and explain the silence and very troubling distant nature of God.

I define the term Lament and talk about the fact that there are many examples of regular people, prophets, psalmists, and even Jesus himself…who lamented and communicated their own personal heartache through their questions, doubts, sorrow, and tears.

I deal head on with many of the inconsistencies, errors, repeated contradictions, historical and scientific issues, and inconsistencies of the thousands of different translations and interpretations of the Bible. Through manipulation, control tactics, fear based doctrines like the Rapture and eternal conscious torment in hell… many denominations within the domains of high control religion have gone to great lengths to discourage people from asking questions, raising doubts, and/or expressing sorrow and grief over all the suffering and evil in the world.

This episode is raw and many people may find it offensive or too controversial. I point out that difficult conversations must happen, and it starts with being intellectually honest with ourselves about the importance of being free to lament and question God. We are doomed to repeat what we don’t repair.

Experiencing anguish and expressing anger and lament is not unfaithfulness or disobedience. Rather, it is a part of being human. Have you made room in your life or within your faith to express lament?

This flood and the subsequent deaths of these young and helpless Christian campers shows overwhelming evidence of God’s absence, and it is truly heartbreaking that Jesus/God was absent when those young girls needed him the most.

PerfectWhelm Podcast Links & Resources

- Schedule a free discovery call with me to learn more about my coaching programs and services.

- Email: eric@ericslivoskey.com

- I hope you will follow, subscribe, rate, and/or share the podcast with someone you think might benefit from it.