Can you be intuitive and still make bad decisions? Do you need a daily practice to stay connected? Can you drink alcohol and still be spiritual? And are those strangely accurate tarot readings on your Instagram feed actually meant for you—or is it just the algorithm?

This week, I’m answering your questions and sharing some of my spiritual hot takes. We’re talking about energetic protection, religion and spirituality, psychedelics, purpose, Etsy witches, collective card pulls and the spiritual rules I think we need to let go of.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why energetic protection should come from expansion rather than fear
• How intuitive people can still make bad decisions
• Whether you need a daily spiritual practice to stay connected
• The similarities and differences between religion and spirituality
• Why spiritual practices should return power to you
• My honest thoughts on psychedelics and spirituality
• Why your purpose doesn’t need to be one enormous, life-changing mission
• Why there are no perfect rules for being spiritual

If this episode made you laugh, challenged one of your beliefs or gave you permission to be a little more human, please rate and review The Summit Effect. It helps more people find the show.

Follow along on Instagram: @alannacrawford_

Why can certain full moons and eclipses leave us feeling completely exhausted?

In this episode, I explore Carolyn Myss’s concept of calling your spirit back: reclaiming the attention, time and life-force energy we continue sending toward past experiences, outdated identities and unresolved stories.

I also connect this spiritual idea to what science tells us about learned protection, predictive processing and perseverative cognition—when the body continues preparing for something that is no longer happening.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why some astrological events may feel more significant than others
• Astrology as a mirror—not a mandate
• What it means to live from an outdated version of yourself
• Carolyn Myss’s concept of calling your spirit back
• The subtle ways we give our power to the past
• Why choice is the fundamental power of the human experience
• Why protective nervous-system responses can continue after a situation has ended
• How rumination can affect heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol and heart-rate variability

Summit takeaway:
Your energy is needed here. Your spirit is needed here. Your life is happening here.

*This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical or mental-health condition. Always speak with a qualified healthcare provider about your individual needs*.

If this episode resonated with you, please rate and review The Summit Effect. It helps more people find the podcast and supports the conversations we are building here.

Follow me on Instagram: @alannacrawford_

What if the shoulder is where you feel the pain—but not necessarily where the entire problem began?

Lately, I have been seeing a pattern of shoulder and upper-arm pain in clinic without an obvious injury or clear mechanical onset. When the same presentation appears multiple times, I start looking beyond the painful structure and exploring what might be happening through all three layers: the physical body, the nervous system and the energetic or emotional body.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why the painful structure is not always the primary driver
• How the neck, ribs, clavicle and shoulder blade affect arm movement
• Why I look beyond the physical body when someone’s pain does not match their level of mechanical dysfunction
• How nervous-system state can influence muscle tone, breathing, pain sensitivity and recovery
• The shoulders and arms as tools of protection and action
• What can happen when the body prepares to push, reach or protect—but we suppress the action
• How pain and guarding can reinforce one another
• How I decide whether someone is ready to explore the deeper layers
• The energetic relationship between the shoulders, arms and heart space
• The Heart’s connection to summer, joy and connection in Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Why working through all three layers can offer a more complete understanding of the pattern

Summit takeaway:
Sometimes the body is not holding one specific emotion. Sometimes it is holding the posture of an action it has been preparing to take.

If this episode resonated with you, please rate and review the podcast—and share it with someone who might be carrying a little too much right now.

Connect with me:
Instagram: @alannacrawford_