This week Jenny sits down with Vanessa Bennett, LMFT, a licensed depth psychotherapist, author, and facilitator known for her no-nonsense yet compassionate approach to healing. Coauthor of It’s Not Me, It’s You and author of The Motherhood Myth, Vanessa brings her grounding in Jungian and depth-oriented psychology to conversations that help us break patterns and return to our truest selves.

Together, Jenny and Vanessa explore the myths of motherhood and the spiritual journey of embracing all parts of oneself. They speak to the tender balance between creativity and parenting, the courage to let go of perfection, and the grief that naturally weaves itself into the experience of motherhood. The conversation honors both the light and the shadow, revealing how joy and grief are always interconnected.

They also reflect on how societal systems perpetuate shame and disconnection, and how community and conscious dialogue can help dismantle those patterns. This exchange is an invitation to embrace imperfection, find agency in relationships, and continually return home to the self as a lifelong practice.

Episode Resources:

Vanessa Bennett: Instagram / Website

Books by Vanessa

Jenny Substack

Jenny Youtube

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I don’t always know what I want.

And maybe that’s okay.

Mothering my children, tending to a thousand unseen corners of life.

And yes—I’m guilty too. I’ve told mothers to “self care.”

Always from a loving intention…

But I know it doesn’t always land that way.

Because telling an overwhelmed mother who doesn’t even know what she needs to “just self care”?

That isn’t care. That’s another quiet demand dressed up as help.

In a world that pulls us in every direction,

it’s so easy to lose ourselves.

So easy to reach for something, doom scrolling, coffee, wine, a new dress

because when we feel consumed by all of life’s demands,

our nervous system will reach for the next best thing,

even if it doesn’t truly serve us in the long run.

Every teacher I’ve had on this path of motherhood has offered me the same powerful truth:

We must be with what is, not with what we wish was happening.

Because being present to what is gives us the most honest, grounded information

about where and how we can choose to grow.

Yes, sometimes loving and lighting our way through can soothe us in the moment.

But if we’re always bypassing what aches at the root,

it stops being medicine and becomes avoidance.

It’s like trying to grow a garden by pouring on more water and light, then blaming the flower when it doesn’t bloom, without ever tending to the soil beneath it.

So to every touched-out mama right now:

You don’t need to know what you want in this moment.

You don’t need to perfect your way through motherhood, shed the weight, or shame yourself for reaching for that drink.

Maybe the gentlest thing you can do right now is simply notice:

“How is this in service to the garden of my heart?”

Because true growth isn’t found in the rush to fix or perfect.

It lives in the brave, quiet choice to be here with what is—breath by breath.

Each inhale, each exhale, another brushstroke on the living canvas of your life.

And when we truly see what’s here, without wishing it away, we remember what it is to be beautifully, tenderly, messily human.

If these words stirred something in you, come find me on Instagram where I share the imperfect, sacred rhythm of this human path.

Episode Resources:

Jenny Substack

Jenny Youtube

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What if the questions you’ve been quietly asking… were already being answered?

In this episode of Ritual of Wild, Jenny Jimeno shares a heartfelt conversation with Neale Donald Walsch — modern-day spiritual messenger and bestselling author of the Conversations with God series. What was meant to be a discussion about his book Home with God unfolded into something even more alive: a dialogue about faith, listening, and the sacredness of being human.

Neale’s work has touched millions and redefined how people experience their relationship with the divine. With over 40 books translated into 37 languages, his writing continues to inspire deep reflection and meaningful change.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, listen in, and reconnect with what truly matters — however that speaks to you.

Episode Resources:

Neale Donald Walsch

God Talk

The Essential Path: Making the Daring Decision to Be Who You Truly Are

Jenny Substack

Jenny Instagram

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