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This is not just the final solo episode of 2025 — it’s a threshold.

In this deeply personal and heart-led episode of Living an Intentional Life, I take a moment to re-introduce myself — to you, to this community, and to the woman I’ve become after walking through one of the most transformative seasons of my life.

As this podcast marks three years since its ignition, I reflect on who I was when it began, the dreams I carried, the identity I was reaching for, and the version of success I once believed I needed to become. From ambition and visibility to courage and expansion, I share the honest evolution of how my relationship with purpose, identity, and intentional living has shifted — and deepened.

What follows is a raw and grounded reflection on the season when everything appeared to be “working”… and the long, slow unraveling that came after. Financial stress, grief, loss, betrayal, identity collapse, fertility heartbreak, and learning how to keep showing up as a mother while my world was breaking open — this episode holds space for the crumbling that so many of us experience but rarely name.

And yet — this is not a story of defeat.

It’s a story of remembrance.

Through awareness, intentionality, and a return to presence, I share how the dismantling brought me back to the bones of myself — stripping away who I thought I needed to be and inviting me to rebuild from truth, embodiment, and self-trust.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• The evolution of my relationship with courage, success, and identity
• What intentionality truly is — and why awareness is the foundation for aligned living
• How seasons of breakdown often precede our most grounded becoming
• The practices that held me through grief, uncertainty, and rebirth — from nature and journaling to therapy, somatic work, spiritual tools, ceremony, creativity, play, and care
• What it means to live cyclically, honor your nervous system, and give yourself permission to be multifaceted
• Why small, intentional daily actions create profound, lasting change

This episode is an invitation — to slow down, to listen inward, to honor who you’ve been, and to meet who you are now with compassion and curiosity.

If you’ve changed this year…
If you’ve felt the unraveling before the rooting…
If you’re ready to choose yourself again — gently, intentionally, and without apology —
this episode is for you.

Always choose you.
Never give up on yourself.
You are the most important piece of art you will ever create.

✨ From my heart to yours — welcome home.

More from the Podcast :

• Sign up for JANUARY 2026 WORKSHOPS
• PURCHASE YOUR "Fall in love with yourself + your life : 2026 Planner!"
• FREE DOWNLOADABLE GUIDE - Creating a Heart-Centered Foundation
• Follow on INSTAGRAM
• Work 1:1 with Ashley : Book an Intentional Living Connection Call

Music by :

• Tristen Whaley / @t_whales / tristenwhaley@me.com / Spotify

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On this episode of the Living an Intentional Life Podcast, I sit down with Crissy Medina of Medina Fine Pearls for a heartfelt conversation about transforming shame into strength, wisdom, and beauty. Together, we explore how the experiences that weigh us down can also become the source of our most profound growth — when approached with intentionality, self-compassion, and reflection.

We dive into:

• How shame can influence our patterns and decisions without controlling our lives
• Practices for turning difficult emotions into intentional growth and self-awareness
• The power of acknowledging your past while intentionally designing a life rooted in alignment, self-love, and purpose

This episode is for anyone ready to release the weight of shame, embrace their authentic story, and cultivate a life of clarity, intention, and empowered beauty.

About Crissy :

I’m Crissy Medina—teacher, traveler, sound therapist, proud mother, and founder of Medina Fine Pearls. My love for pearls began while living by the ocean on Boracay Island, where I became fascinated with how these living organisms transform a tiny irritant into something luminous, imperfect, and uniquely valuable. That same philosophy guides both my life and my brand: just as a pearl forms layer by delicate layer, our challenges and experiences shape us into who we are—resilient, radiant, and truly one of a kind.

Connect with Crissy :

• Website
• Instagram

More from the Podcast :

• Sign up for JANUARY 2026 WORKSHOPS
• PURCHASE YOUR "Fall in love with yourself + your life : 2026 Planner!"
• FREE DOWNLOADABLE GUIDE - Creating a Heart-Centered Foundation
• Follow on INSTAGRAM
• Work 1:1 with Ashley : Book an Intentional Living Connection Call

Music by :

• Tristen Whaley / @t_whales / tristenwhaley@me.com / Spotify

Send us a text

In today’s episode, I’m sharing a deeply personal story — my story — and the thread that has carried me through every chapter of my life: intentional living.

From studying Africana Studies in college…
to leaving a stable career at PBS to teach English in Tanzania…
to meeting my husband, navigating 3.5 years of long-distance, building a life across continents, and eventually rooting in the mountains…
to starting and expanding my business into photography, coaching, podcasting, retreats, writing, and creating tools for intentional living…

Every shift, every leap, every “yes” came from listening to the quiet voice within — the one that whispers:
Go here. Do this. Trust this.

And that’s the heart of today’s conversation.
Because intentional living isn’t about perfection — it’s about presence, courage, alignment, and trusting the wisdom that rises from within.

In this episode, we dive into:

✨ The Practice:
How intentional living shows up in the small, sacred moments — morning cacao, opening your planner with purpose, setting an intention before the day begins, and creating margin for stillness and gratitude.

✨ The Becoming:
How intentionality has carried me through profound growth, trauma, healing, and reinvention — and how doing “the work” helped me build a life aligned with my values and truth.

✨ The Expansion:
The five biggest benefits of intentional living, especially for the multi-passionate, multi-faceted soul:

1. It reconnects you to your truth.
   You stop reacting and start responding from your center. You hear what’s aligned and what’s not. You choose peace over pressure.
2. It anchors you through change.
   When life shifts — and it will — intentionality keeps you rooted in who you are and what matters most.
3. It brings purpose into the ordinary.
   Magic lives in the small rituals: your breath, your morning cup, your planner pages, your presence.
4. It builds unshakable self-trust.
   Each intuitive decision strengthens your connection to yourself and to the Divine. Alignment, ease, and miracles begin to flow.
5. It allows your multidimensionality to thrive.
   You get to be all of it — creative, spiritual, strategic, relational — without losing yourself. Intentionality holds it all together.

As we close, I invite you to reflect on one question:
What would shift if you created just a little more space to hear that inner voice — and trusted it?

Because that voice has never led me wrong.
And I believe it won’t lead you wrong either.

Here’s to slowing down, tuning in, and choosing to live with intention — today and always. 🌿✨

More from the Podcast :

• PURCHASE YOUR "Fall in love with yourself + your life : 2026 Planner!"
• FREE DOWNLOADABLE GUIDE - Creating a Heart-Centered Foundation
• Follow on INSTAGRAM
• Work 1:1 with Ashley : Book an Intentional Living Connection Call

Music by :

• Tristen Whaley / @t_whales / tristenwhaley@me.com / Spotify