Needle in Your Bed

Welcome to the 4th Episode of The Needle in Your Bed Podcast. Today’s interview is with a beautiful woman both inside and out that I met in July 2020. Her story is inspiring. Sandy is a self-made entrepreneur with a very successful business that allows her to work remotely and travel and live anywhere in the world she chooses. She is spiritual, intelligent, kind and gorgeous and she’s worked hard to achieve everything she has in life. Bringing herself and her brother up through childhood trauma, working through several failed relationships and facing her demons to become the person she is today. Takeaways: Listen to your tummy – your still small voice, your gut, your intuition…however it comes to you listen to it If you are in a situation and you know it needs to change – change it. Change your living arrangements, change your location, change your eating habits, change your exercise routine, change your spirituality whatever it is that needs to change for you to find peace, joy, and love of self, change it. There is no easy answer or solution and there will be struggles and self-doubt, but in the end it’s worth it. There will be others that come along to lend a helping hand (like therapists, personal trainers, spiritual leaders, and maybe even interpersonal relationships) but ultimately only you can change you. You don’t have to stick with one mentor or therapist or spiritual leader…. You can learn what you need from each one and take it with you as you grow and become. Sandy reached out to therapists of all different modalities at different times in her life to get what she needed to continue moving forward, she’s read the books, and taken the courses to continue her journey. It doesn’t matter how long it takes – keep moving forward. Even if there are setbacks, look at them, learn what you need from them and keep moving forward. Love yourself enough to become who you are meant to be physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. Sign up for the program, read the book, go to the retreat, join the gym or just start by taking that 1 minute walk. To see pictures of Sandy’s physical transformation you can find them on the Needle in Your Bed Instagram or FB Page @needleinyourbed. Or at Sandy’s Instagram page Defining Luna. Sandy’s story is proof that we can overcome trials, surgeries, childhood abuse, unhealthy relationships and be victorious, she shows that it doesn’t happen overnight and it may take 30 or 40 years but that’s okay…just keep moving in the direction you believe is right for you. Sandy signed up for a program called @wonderwomaninternational in January 2021 and had a coach but it was Sandy that had to put the work in and change her lifestyle, eating habits, and exercise routine (or start one! As she mentioned Sandy started out walking a couple of blocks a day). Her coach can be found at IG @michelleannfitness We all face trials in our lives, its what we do with them that makes us who we are.  It’s our emotions and our habits that create our personal reality and thereby our personality.  We don’t have to stay there and live in the past, we must be the change we want to see in ourselves…even if it’s just walking a couple of blocks every day. Next episode we talk to someone that changed her life so much she went from being the manager of accounting in a lumber company to being a personal trainer – all during the isolation and lockdowns of COVID.

A conversation with a very close friend, Shelley Christianson. We have known each other for 17 years and throughout that time I never knew that Shell was struggling. Shelley is a whirlwind of activity, she’s been the president of her local JayCees and won national awards. She was a successful realtor and then traded that in to be part of a business that became very successful internationally and she still finds time to be a wonderful and supportive mom, step-mom, wife and friend. Her volunteer work has included, raising funds for cancer research through organizing dragon boat festivals, travelling to India with a charity to deliver beds to those in need and training a group of teenage volunteers to be ambassadors during the BC Winter Games. All the time hiding her dark secret, her struggle with mental illness in the form of Bulimia. I find her inspirational in her perseverance and struggle and in her willingness to share her story. This is Shell's story of a 40 year struggle with Bulimia.  If you know someone that has an eating disorder, share this podcast and tag me at @cindymdudley on Instagram.  If you would like to reach out to Shell, join her private Facebook page Beyond Bulimia.

Do you dream of the Christmas from your childhood? Are you disappointed now that you are an adult that things have changed? Do you love a good Christmas story?  Come listen to the reminiscing of my sister, mom and I as we remember our Christmas' past and I discuss how to overcome the push/pull of sharing kids at Christmas time. 

What could be worse than losing a child? Do you ever get over it? How do you recover? How do you move forward in your life? In this episode, Cindy shares her lived experience and some of the knowledge that she has gained through a continuing journey to peace of mind and joy.

Trailer This podcast is about a journey of self-discovery. It’s about the thoughts that keep us up at night…your needle in your bed. It’s about the crossroads, decisions, trials and tragedies that we’ve faced and how we made room to pivot our lives. We’ll explore the joys and the sorrows, the sweet and the shocking. You can expect stories and interviews with people like you and me as well as mentors and inspirational leaders.  Find me on Instagram @cindymdudley or @needleinyourbed