What if one deep breath could reconnect you to a memory, a place, or a part of yourself you've forgotten? In this second episode of Rootward: Letters from the Senses, Stacy and her dear friend and colleague, Seema Sodha, invite you to slow down and explore the sense of smell through voice notes recorded in nature. From a rain-soaked forest in the Netherlands to a humid botanical garden in Athens, Georgia, they reflect on the scents that ground us, the thresholds we all move through, and the practices that nourish us when life feels uncertain.

🌱 In this episode, you'll learn:

• How the scents around us can awaken memories, emotions, and a deeper connection to ourselves

• What a rain-soaked forest in the Netherlands reveals about navigating life's in-between seasons

• A new way of thinking about thresholds and why they can feel both unsettling and transformative

• How the smell of freshly watered plants carries Stacy back to childhood memories of tending to family gardens

• An invitation to reflect on what truly nourishes you during seasons of transition

• Two gentle questions to carry with you on your next deep breath in nature

🌱 Seeds planted in this episode:

• Listen to Seema and my previous episode "Rootward: Letters from the Senses, Sight"

• Read or subscribe to Seema's Substack: Chai with Seema

• Connect with Seema on Instagram

🫘🌱🌿🌷

Are you a sensitive high-achiever who wants to tend to what really matters most from an overflowing [instead of empty] cup?

Book a complimentary, no-strings-attached chemistry session with me here.

Visit my website: https://www.stacyrayekellogg.com/

Let's connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outgrowthegrind/

🫘🌱🌿🌷

Does what you're hearing on Outgrow the Grind resonate with you? I'd love it if you'd share the podcast! And, if you're feeling extra generous, leave a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let's grow!

This episode marks the beginning of a new experimental mini-series, Rootward: Letters from the Senses, where Stacy and her dear friend and colleague, Seema Sodha, exchange intimate voice notes from nature. In this first episode exploring the sense of sight, they reflect on what becomes possible when we slow down enough to truly see the natural world around us and the deeper truths, grief, beauty, and wisdom reflected back within us. Together, they explore what it means to return to our senses, reconnect with the deeper intelligence within, and grow not just forward, but rootward.

🌱 In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Stacy and Seema created Rootward as an imperfect, collaborative experiment rooted in connection rather than performance
• Which late 90s TV show was part of the inspiration for this mini-series
• How the sense of sight can become a portal for grounding, reflection, healing, and deeper self-awareness
• What Seema notices while sitting in a forest in the Netherlands, and how it sparks reflections on ancestry, migration, and belonging
• The difference between constantly moving "forward" versus growing rootward through deepening, integration, and presence
• How nature can hold grief in ways traditional support spaces sometimes cannot
• How Stacy's observations in a botanical garden mirror the many different parts within ourselves, alongside a vulnerable reflection on pregnancy loss, Mother's Day grief, and making space for every part of ourselves without judgment
• The healing power of friendship, voice notes, and being deeply witnessed by another person across distance and difference
• Two gentle reflection questions to help you notice what nature may be revealing about your own life right now

🌱 Seeds planted in this episode:

• Listen to Seema and my previous episode "Cultivating Self Trust When Creating Something New"
• Read or subscribe to Seema's Substack: Chai with Seema
• Connect with Seema on Instagram

🫘🌱🌿🌷

Are you a sensitive high-achiever who wants to tend to what really matters most from an overflowing [instead of empty] cup?

Book a complimentary, no-strings-attached chemistry session with me here.

Visit my website: https://www.stacyrayekellogg.com/

Let's connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outgrowthegrind/

🫘🌱🌿🌷

Does what you're hearing on Outgrow the Grind resonate with you? I'd love it if you'd share the podcast! And, if you're feeling extra generous, leave a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let's grow!

If you've ever felt like you have to shrink your needs to support everyone else, this episode is for you. Dr. Reuben Faloughi joins me to explore how people-pleasing shows up in your life—and how unlearning it can open the door to a deeper, more honest relationship with yourself. This conversation is a reminder that your healing matters. Not just for you—but for all of us.

🌱 In this episode, you'll learn:

• About some of the twists and turns of my previous year
• How your people-pleasing may have started as a survival strategy, not a flaw
• Why it's time to reframe the word selfish as something sacred and necessary
• What it looks like to let go of programming that taught you to put yourself last
• How your values can become a powerful GPS for your healing, choices, and leadership
• What might change when you stop learning on others and start learning from within
• Why tending to your inner world can create powerful ripple effects in your relationships, work, and communities
• What it means to come home to yourself—and why that's not just personal, it's political and spiritual too
• How to notice which patterns and beliefs you've outgrown—and what to do with that awareness
• The connection between personal healing and collective liberation
• A powerful reorientation: You are not responsible for your early programming. You are responsible for what you choose now.
• Your reflection question: What's one belief or pattern that you inherited but might be ready to lovingly let go of?

🌱 Seeds planted in this episode:

• Visit Dr. Reuben's website.
• Watch Dr. Reuben's Ted Talk "The Disease to Please: An Invitation to Selfishness"
• Connect with Dr. Reuben on Instagram and on LinkedIn.

🫘🌱🌿🌷

Are you a sensitive high-achiever who wants to tend to what really matters most from an overflowing [instead of empty] cup?

Book a complimentary, no-strings-attached chemistry session with me here.

Join a free, monthly "Nurture Your Nervous System" call with me and David Andrews! Register here.

Visit my website.

Let's connect on Instagram!

🫘🌱🌿🌷

Does what you're hearing on Outgrow the Grind resonate with you? I'd love it if you'd share the podcast! And, if you're feeling extra generous, leave us a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let's grow!