The Healing Circle with Christine Higgins

Listener note: 
This episode discusses emotional exhaustion, the toll of absorbing other people's negative moods, and the journey of overcoming a people-pleasing mentality. The conversation includes personal reflections on childhood boundary struggles and processing heavy grief during client sessions. Please listen with care and feel free to pause or step away whenever needed.
Have you ever walked into a room and instantly felt a shift in the tension, even though no one said a word? Or left a simple social gathering feeling completely drained and exhausted for no obvious reason?
In this episode, host Christine Higgins breaks down the psychological and energetic reasons why sensitive people unconsciously absorb other people's emotional baggage, and why society mistakenly labels this trait as a weakness. Christine shares her raw journey from being a childhood "people-pleasing door mat" to becoming a grounded shamanic counselor. You will learn how to identify your own instinctual gifts (like clairsentience and clear knowing), alongside practical, daily habits to protect your personal space, set firm boundaries, and stop letting other people's bad days ruin yours.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:53 Redefining sensitivity as a strength
1:43 Growing up as a door mat without boundaries
3:22 Re-framing sensitivity as your greatest gift
4:42 Fine-tuning intuitive gifts in early life
5:37 What are Clair gifts and how we use them
7:01 Turning up the volume dial on your intuition
7:30 Clairsentience and a tense coffee shop encounter
9:45 Learning to separate your emotions from others
10:15 Claircognizance and the instinct of clear knowing
11:57 Clairaudience and recognizing the calm inner voice
13:03 Clairvoyance and a message from a lost son
15:35 A warning flash before a family breakdown
17:48 Understanding Clairaliens and Clairgustance
18:59 Why intuitive nudges feel subtle rather than dramatic 20:48 Daily rituals to protect your energetic bubble
21:49 Using crystals and body positioning for protection
22:52 Purifying your energy with salt scrubs and swimming 23:48 Final reminder you are not sensitive you are magic
NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY
Welcome to The Healing Circle podcast, a grounded and soulful space for a healing journey through real-life conversations. Each week features live shamanic counselling sessions and conversations with brave souls navigating emotional change, identity shifts, grief, and soul-level transformation. This space is for those seeking healing, clarity, emotional guidance, and spiritual awakening.

JOIN THE HEALING CIRCLE
Step into a safe, grounded space and receive a full shamanic counselling session. You can choose to be on camera or remain anonymous. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8q2W3Xwirf9ZYxbYRJKTKMFM9ybIyimkAkUyJoRUxxvMbGQ/viewform
💬 Prefer a private session? Join me for intuitive energy healing and discovery calls. No pressure, just gentle guidance when you are ready.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE
▶️ Subscribe here: @embodiedenergywellness💌 Website: www.embodiedenergywellness.com📱 Follow Christine on Instagram: @embodiedenergywellness

Listener note: This episode explores financial stress, inherited money beliefs, family anxiety patterns, and personal experiences of marital betrayal and divorce. Please listen with care if these topics feel sensitive for you.
Why does money create so much anxiety, even when we're getting by?
In this episode of The Healing Circle, Christine Higgins is joined by Laura Medcalf of The Barley Moon to explore the hidden money stories that shape our lives. Laura shares how leaving a secure teaching career uncovered deep fears around financial security, leading her to trace those anxieties back through generations of family experiences.
Together, they discuss scarcity mindset, inherited financial trauma, people-pleasing, navigating the cost-of-living crisis, and the importance of creating a life and career that feels safe for your nervous system.
This is a heartfelt conversation about healing your relationship with money, finding gratitude in uncertainty, and shifting from survival mode into purposeful living.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
00:50 Welcome and introducing Laura Medcalf
01:40 The career break reality check and business launch panic
03:06 Balancing business goals with the financial pressure of six children
04:58 Recognizing the family safety net vs the fear of absolute rock bottom
06:01 Christine’s lunchtime meltdown and the lingering fear of money
06:53 The modern cost of living crisis and regular "beans on toast" weeks
09:41 Social media pressure and keeping up with the Joneses 10:34 Sourcing Dior runners in Morocco and modern price gouging
12:51 Inherited scarcity: Tracing tax anxiety back to childhood memories
14:55 Generational financial trauma: Affairs, bank ruptcy, and starting over
16:11 Breaking the loop: Ending a marriage to protect the children
18:44 Christine’s story: Mental health blocks, business success, and healing blocks
20:17 Pushing through fears vs stepping back into a safe job 22:11 Why your business acts as an energetic reflection of your mindset
23:44 Breaking the constant wheel of money anxiety through gratitude
26:59 Retaining self-worth and holding vision for future goals 28:13 Shifting household language from "we can't afford it" 29:21 The real root of the meltdown: Over-mommying and lack of boundaries
32:15 Chronic people-pleasing and learning to say no
33:43 Step one to healing your relationship with money: Easing the pressure
35:21 Flipping the script from making money to helping others
NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY
Welcome to The Healing Circle podcast, a grounded and soulful space for a healing journey through real-life conversations. Each week features live shamanic counselling sessions and conversations with brave souls navigating emotional change, identity shifts, grief, and soul-level transformation. This space is for those seeking healing, clarity, emotional guidance, and spiritual awakening.

JOIN THE HEALING CIRCLE
Step into a safe, grounded space and receive a full shamanic counselling session. You can choose to be on camera or remain anonymous. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8q2W3Xwirf9ZYxbYRJKTKMFM9ybIyimkAkUyJoRUxxvMbGQ/viewform
💬 Prefer a private session? Join me for intuitive energy healing and discovery calls. No pressure, just gentle guidance when you are ready.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE
▶️ Subscribe here: @embodiedenergywellness💌 Website: www.embodiedenergywellness.com📱 Follow Christine on Instagram: @embodiedenergywellness

CONNECT WITH GUEST, LAURA MEDCALF
Instagram: @thebarleymoon

Listener note: This episode shares deeply personal stories involving childhood trauma, emotional disconnection, abuse, mental health struggles, and parental estrangement. Please listen with care, and feel free to pause, step away, or return when it feels supportive for you. 
What happens when you are mourning someone who is still walking this earth? In this deeply personal solo episode of The Healing Circle, host Christine Higgins opens up about one of the most painful, silent, and misunderstood forms of human suffering: ambiguous grief. Whether it stems from addiction, estrangement, mental illness, or emotional disconnection, grieving the living carries a unique layer of shame and a complete lack of a roadmap.
Christine shares her raw, firsthand experiences navigating this complex grief in two major chapters of her life. First, she reflects on her childhood relationship with her father, witnessing his severe mental health decline, and the complicated wave of relief that accompanied his eventual passing. Then, she opens up about her own "dark night of the soul" when her daughter moved out and stopped speaking to her. She talks about the painful truth that parenting has no manual, why she had to completely let go of control, and how an unexpected walk on opposite sides of the street during COVID-19 slowly brought them back together.
Tune in for a comforting conversation on how to stop abandoning yourself while waiting for others to change, how to love someone while holding firm boundaries, and how to find peace within your own healing journey.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 
0:54 Grieving someone who is still alive 
2:10 Growing up with a father struggling with mental health 
4:06 A warning from the spiritual realm before his passing 
5:44 Navigating the complicated feeling of relief in loss 
8:42 Only healing others to the depth of your own healing 
9:24 The painful reality of parent child estrangement 
10:44 Surviving the dark night of the soul 
12:56 Parenting without a manual and admitting our mistakes 
14:54 How COVID forced an unexpected path to reconciliation 
16:48 Releasing control and letting them go in order to grow 
18:44 Learning to love someone while keeping your boundaries 
NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY
Welcome to The Healing Circle podcast, a grounded and soulful space for a healing journey through real-life conversations. Each week features live shamanic counselling sessions and conversations with brave souls navigating emotional change, identity shifts, grief, and soul-level transformation. This space is for those seeking healing, clarity, emotional guidance, and spiritual awakening.

JOIN THE HEALING CIRCLE
Step into a safe, grounded space and receive a full shamanic counselling session. You can choose to be on camera or remain anonymous. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8q2W3Xwirf9ZYxbYRJKTKMFM9ybIyimkAkUyJoRUxxvMbGQ/viewform
💬 Prefer a private session? Join me for intuitive energy healing and discovery calls. No pressure, just gentle guidance when you are ready.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE
▶️ Subscribe here: @embodiedenergywellness💌 Website: www.embodiedenergywellness.com📱 Follow Christine on Instagram: @embodiedenergywellness

Listener note: This episode shares a personal journey of overcoming deep-seated self-doubt, people-pleasing, and the emotional aftermath of challenging relationship dynamics. Please listen with care and feel free to pause or step away if these topics feel activating.
Guest Ciara shares her inspiring evolution from a place of chronic people-pleasing to grounded self-worth. After spending years prioritizing others’ needs over her own and losing her sense of self following a breakup, Ciara embarked on a transformative five-year journey of inner work, meditation, and shadow work.
Hear how Ciara shifted from "tunnel vision" to seeing the bigger picture of her life. She recounts her life-changing experience in Bali for yoga teacher training, the difficult process of setting boundaries that led to shifts in her social circle, and the "aha" moment of realizing how she was seeking external validation while neglecting her own needs. Now a former Miss Dublin and current Dublin Rose contestant, Ciara discusses the power of reclaiming your confidence and living a life with no regrets.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:50 Welcome guest Ciara: A full-circle moment
2:42 The people-pleasing trap: Forgetting “Little Ciara”
4:10 Understanding self-love vs. just speaking about it
5:05 Shadows and breakups: Finding identity in the dark
5:50 Beyond face masks: Defining “deep” inner work
7:07 Facing the shadow: Lessons on jealousy and shame
8:42 Relationships as teachers: Moving out of the victim mindset
11:03 Mirroring value: Realizing how we treat those closest to us
12:10 Shamanic perspectives: Soul retrieval and the “Spirit of the Eagle”
13:15 The observer vs. the absorber: Navigating overwhelm
14:41 Reclaiming lost confidence: From childhood to “soul loss”
16:52 Why the healing journey isn’t easy
17:34 The power of boundaries: Learning to say “enough is enough”
18:34 The Rocking Chair Test: Living a life with no regrets
20:54 Stepping out of the box: Navigating culture and judgment in Ireland
22:36 Tolerated vs. Celebrated: Finding your true cheerleaders
23:58 Miss Dublin and the Dublin Rose: Pushing past the comfort zone
26:13 The social media stigma: Debunking the “influencer” routine
28:59 Final words of wisdom: Choosing happiness over “what if”
30:38 Lessons from a grandfather: A content life without regrets
32:00 Closing: Good luck at the Dublin Rose
NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY
Welcome to The Healing Circle podcast, a grounded and soulful space for a healing journey through real-life conversations. Each week features live shamanic counselling sessions and conversations with brave souls navigating emotional change, identity shifts, grief, and soul-level transformation. This space is for those seeking healing, clarity, emotional guidance, and spiritual awakening.

JOIN THE HEALING CIRCLE
Step into a safe, grounded space and receive a full shamanic counselling session. You can choose to be on camera or remain anonymous. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8q2W3Xwirf9ZYxbYRJKTKMFM9ybIyimkAkUyJoRUxxvMbGQ/viewform
💬 Prefer a private session? Join me for intuitive energy healing and discovery calls. No pressure, just gentle guidance when you are ready.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE

▶️ Subscribe here: @embodiedenergywellness💌 Website: www.embodiedenergywellness.com📱 Follow Christine on Instagram: @embodiedenergywellness

Listener note: This episode explores the deeply personal roots of unhealthy attachments and childhood trauma. The content may be activating for those who have experienced domestic or family-related trauma. Please listen with care, and feel free to pause, step away, or return when it feels supportive for you.
Christine dives deep into the "energetic golden cords" that bind us to others and the childhood origins of unhealthy attachments. Drawing from her own journey of seeking validation outside her family home following her father's mental health struggles and physical abuse, your host explains why we often cling to people who make us feel anxious rather than celebrated.
You will learn that an attachment isn't just about a person - it’s a survival strategy and a nervous system loop your body uses to feel safe. Christine provides five gentle, actionable steps to begin shifting from a state of "clinging" to a state of internal safety, helping you release the fantasy of what a relationship could be and embrace the reality of what it is.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro00:50 Why we give ourselves away to others02:15 The Golden Cord: Protecting your energetic exchange04:20 Is it love or a nervous system loop?06:10 Christine’s Story: Trauma and the search for external validation09:20 Regulate before you react: How to interrupt the loop11:30 Mirror work and meeting your own needs14:40 The Truth Bomb: Losing the fantasy to find real safety
NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY
Welcome to The Healing Circle podcast, a grounded and soulful space for a healing journey through real-life conversations. Each week features live shamanic counselling sessions and conversations with brave souls navigating emotional change, identity shifts, grief, and soul-level transformation. This space is for those seeking healing, clarity, emotional guidance, and spiritual awakening.

JOIN THE HEALING CIRCLE
Step into a safe, grounded space and receive a full shamanic counselling session. You can choose to be on camera or remain anonymous. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8q2W3Xwirf9ZYxbYRJKTKMFM9ybIyimkAkUyJoRUxxvMbGQ/viewform
💬 Prefer a private session? Join me for intuitive energy healing and discovery calls. No pressure, just gentle guidance when you are ready.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE
▶️ Subscribe here: @embodiedenergywellness💌 Website: www.embodiedenergywellness.com📱 Follow Christine on Instagram: @embodiedenergywellness