I used to think I was broken.

Not in a dramatic way — more in a quiet, maddening way. Like, why do I keep ending up here? Different year, different person, different city — same feeling. Same pattern. Same crash out.

And then I heard a quote by Carl Jung that changed everything: "Until you make your unconscious conscious, it will rule your life and you will call it fate."

That was the moment I stopped calling it fate and started calling it what it actually was — a cycle I didn't know I was in.

The Cycle of Transformation is a framework I discovered three years ago when my neurodivergent pattern-matching brain started seeing the same four stages echoed literally everywhere — in the phases of the moon, the seasons, the butterfly's metamorphosis, the menstrual cycle, ancient archetypes, numerology. When something shows up that many times across that many different systems, that's not coincidence. That's truth.

And when you know which stage you're in? You stop white-knuckling through your life and start actually living it.

Go with the flow? Duh, bestie. You've got your intuition, the tool you need to navigate it.

We're diving into:

• The four stages of the Cycle of Transformation — the Void, the Growth, the Peak, and the Learning — and what each one actually feels like from the inside
• Why the ancient Greek word for butterfly is psyche — which also means soul — and what that tells us about why we're here
• The difference between looping and spiraling, and how intention and intuition are what turn one into the other
• Where I am right now in my own cycle across love, money, business, and my move to New York — and how I'm using this framework to break patterns I've been stuck in for years
• How to figure out what stage you're in and what to do once you know
• Why surrender actually speeds everything up

This episode is for you if:

You're tired of feeling like life is happening to you. You keep ending up in the same situation with different people and different circumstances and you cannot figure out why. You want a framework that gives you clarity without taking away the mystery. You're ready to stop calling it fate and start calling it what it is — a cycle you can finally work with.

The next cohort of Metamorphosis — the six-step process to go from being your own #1 hater to your very best friend in just 12-weeks— begins March 17th. DM me or email me at ashley@ashleybjones.com if you want in.

A Rotten Fridge, Clogged Pipes, and My Initiation into New York City

I five months in near-total silence on my grandparents' home in Topeka, Kansas trusting myself and embracing the quiet nothingness of the in-between. After being sent a blaring sign from The Universe that it was time to leave Denver and move to New York City, I knew I needed to deepen my relationship to myself and nervous system before I did. Then, it was time. Every step of the process of finding a new apartment and planning my trip across the country, I checked-in with my body and waited until it felt warm, light, and gooey before I said yes.

And then I pulled up to my new Brooklyn apartment, walked through the door, and the place was trashed. Literally.

This is my first ever solo episode. I'm pulling back the curtain on the last year of my life. The breakup that broke seriously engrained pattern. The profound boredom that cracked everything open. The decision to stop running away from places and start walking intentionally toward them. And what it actually means to be in the egg phase of the cycle of transformation instead of the cocoon — because they are not the same thing, and the distinction changes everything.

In today’s episode, we’ll dive into:

• The "What Would My Favorite Self Do?" experiment that started as a response to a breakup and became a complete life overhaul
• Why I went to Kansas before I went to New York — and why that was never the consolation prize
• The four stages of the transformation cycle and how they map onto the lunar cycle, the seasons, the menstrual cycle, and the butterfly
• What the void actually feels like from the inside (hint: 50 shades of gray, not in the fun way... but also kind of in the fun way)
• The difference between running away from a place and intentionally walking toward one
• How a rotten fridge, three plumbers, and six hours with Kevin became a spiritual initiation
• What it means to check your body for a "yes" — and what warm, light, and gooey actually feels like
• Why my inner child panicked when I crossed back into New York — and how I handled it
• The ventilator metaphor — and what it actually costs to take yourself off life support
• Saturn into Aries, synchronicities in the street, and the weekend that made the decision for me
• Why talking about the move would have taken me out of it — and what I chose instead
• The caterpillar phase: what it looks like to consume, grow, and stretch without ripping
• How Magnetic Habits Bingo kept me grounded through 305 days of complete upheaval

This episode is for:

• The ones who are mid-void and needed someone to tell them what's actually happening
• The ones who have run away from every place they've ever lived and are starting to wonder if it's them
• The ones whose body is screaming "not like this, not this fast" even when the decision is right
• The ones who have been calling it "the cocoon" when really they've been in the egg this whole time
• The ones whose external world is currently a complete disaster and are desperately trying to find the metaphor
• The ones who are ready to stop settling for relationships and cities and versions of themselves they've already outgrown
• The ones who want permission to do the big thing slowly
• And anyone who’s nosy and just wants to know why I went dark for 3+ weeks on social media

Ready to go through your own transformation?

The waitlist for Metamorphosis — my 12-week group immersion for self-alchemy — is now open! Over three-months starting in March, you'll meet and build unbreakable self-loyalty with your Inner Self, Younger Self, Shadow Self, Higher Self, and Future Self (and Spirit Guides) so you can stop suffering your own worst enemy and start thriving as your own best friend. There are only 13 spots. Want in?

Join the waitlist here: ashleybyjones.com/metamorphosisOr DM me directly to learn more.

Wanna come yap with me about the cycle of transformation or moving insanity?Instagram: @ashley.b.jonesWebsite: ashleybyjones.com

What if play isn't just for kids? What if it's the practice that keeps you tethered to yourself when everything falls apart?

Rachael Renae spent over a decade as a civil engineer, building what looked like a stable life while her creative soul screamed to get out. Then her dad got sick. She moved home. He passed away six months later. And suddenly, she couldn't fake it anymore. So, she quit her corporate job, started making weird paper mache sculptures taller than herself, and discovered that play isn't optional when everything falls apart — it's survival.

This conversation is about what happens when grief cracks you open and, instead of trying to put yourself back together the same way, you let yourself become something new.

We dive into:

• Why matching your mug to your outfit is an act of survival during hard times
• Play and creativity as a tether to your authentic self when everything else is falling apart
• How grief expands your capacity for joy (not just pain)
• The spell book her mom found and the shame of having your creativity discovered
• Closing her stationery business because monetizing joy killed the magic
• Being terrible at stained glass and why that's perfect information
• Jealousy as a roadmap to what you actually want
• Why creativity is human nature—from field hollers to concentration camp art
• Naming your inner child and becoming your own best friend
• Building trust with yourself through tiny daily choices that compound
• "It should feel like the book"—her framework for relationships that feel resistance-free
• The difference between making art to sell vs. making art because you're obsessed

This episode is for: anyone navigating grief or loss, people who dismiss play as frivolous, burnt-out corporate workers who feel that crunchy agitation of "something's not right," anyone who thinks they're "not creative," the ones who need permission to be gloriously bad at things, anyone protecting their joy from monetization, people rebuilding their life from scratch and terrified they're doing it wrong.

Free resources from Rachael:

• Silly Questions for Creative Connection - Deepen your relationships through play
• 80+ Play Ideas + Exercise - Discover your version of play

Rachael's book Paradise Play comes out June 2026

The Juice Box community: Rachael's year-long creative container where you pick a play priority each season and actually follow through. Opens for new members April 2026.

Where to find Rachael:Instagram: @rachael.renae Website: rachaelrenae.com

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Rachael Renae is an artist and creativity hype gal! I help creatives use play as a tool to overcoming blocks, connecting with themselves, and living their big, juicy lives!