Gracefully Unraveled Podcast Podcast Por Kelli Lynch arte de portada

Gracefully Unraveled Podcast

Gracefully Unraveled Podcast

De: Kelli Lynch
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Gracefully Unraveled is a mother's journey to finding God in the beautiful chaos of motherhood. Host Kelli Lynch uses her own stories of imperfection as a catalyst for honest conversations about ego, identity, and divine consciousness. Rooted in open-hearted faith, she stitches together wisdom from diverse authors and spiritual teachers, science, scripture, and of course lived experience, to help you nurture the soul beneath the surface—becoming less reactive, more conscious, and truly empowered through grace. Tune in for relatable stories, light humor, and practical inspiration to live authentically, unspooling the binds of “mom” as a title and reclaiming your truest self.

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Ciencias Sociales Crianza y Familias Cristianismo Desarrollo Personal Espiritualidad Higiene y Vida Saludable Ministerio y Evangelismo Psicología Psicología y Salud Mental Relaciones Éxito Personal
Episodios
  • Interlude: Identity, Ego & the Mom Who’s Tired of Running on Autopilot
    Dec 12 2025
    This special Interlude episode of Gracefully Unraveled takes a deeper look at identity, ego, and the invisible pressures modern mothers carry. Kelli breaks down these big ideas using a blend of psychology (Freud’s id/ego/superego), spiritual teaching (Ram Dass), and relatable humor.If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, disconnected, or like you’re living life on autopilot, this episode helps you understand why—and how to reconnect with your truest self.Perfect for listeners interested in motherhood, personal growth, self-discovery, mental health, and spiritual development.Follow for new episodes every other week and bonus reflections in between.And, for more weekly inspiration, you can follow @GracefullyUnraveledPodcast on social media:🔗Facebook🔗Instagram<>"There we were, women in our thirties. Educated, married, mothers, women who have careers, who manage homes and oversee companies. And there we were, utterly resigned to lives that feel overly busy and pressurized, disconnected and exhausted." — Shauna Niequist, Present Over PerfectWelcome to this week’s episode of Gracefully Unraveled — and our very first Interlude. This series within the podcast is something a little different. Less story, more soul school. These are episodes where I pause our usual rhythm to dive deeper into the big ideas and concepts that inspire the regular episodes. And today, we'll be exploring the often-misunderstood words — identity and ego.These words are foundational to this podcast and how we navigate our experiences with motherhood. And while the teachings I share today won’t be exhaustive, my hope is to bring a variety of voices over time — offering both spiritual and psychological insights — so we can begin to trace the common threads of wisdom that stretch across science and tradition, helping us make sense of our own becoming.So let’s slow down and get curious — not just about the definitions, but about the deeper implications of how we see ourselves, and how we live.How many of you can relate to that quote from Shauna Niequist's book, Present Over Perfect? One day you wake up to find yourself crouched, balancing on one heel on top of a box (anyone else seen that TikTok challenge?), but in this version, you're holding a baby with your left arm, and typing on a laptop with your right — wondering, How the hell did I arrive here?We all have an unconscious mind that operates on autopilot. Sometimes it's helpful — like warning us to run from a bear. Or... wait, are you supposed to run from a bear? Or only certain bears?Nevermind, in the context of Niequist’s quote, we — especially as women — often find ourselves impulsively chasing ideals, meeting social norms, or even pushing back against them, only to pause one weekend and realize we don’t remember when or how we signed up for all of this. And while gazing out the window, coffee in hand, we think to ourselves, Why do I still feel so disconnected? And, what I am disconnected from anyway?Let’s begin with Sigmund Freud — the founder of psychoanalysis and a foundational figure in the world of psychology. Freud believed that the human psyche was composed of three core elements: the id, the ego, and the superego.The id represents primal urges and instincts. It operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. At the start of life, he noted that id is the dominant force — impulsive and entirely unconscious — focused on seeking pleasure and avoiding pain--the driving energy beneath all our behavior. The superego is the internalization of societal, cultural, and parental values. It imposes guilt, ideals, and moral standards. And over time ego emerges to temper the instinctual needs of the id with the high expectations of the superego, all while navigating the demands of the external world.Freud once compared this dynamic to a horse and rider. The id is the horse — powerful, instinctual, wild. The ego is the rider — trying to steer the horse without getting thrown off. Freud saw identity as emerging from this tension — not something static, but rather something shaped and reshaped by inner forces and social interaction.But for many — including myself — this psychological map lacked depth. It left me thinking, okay, but where's the rest? And that's where spiritual teachers like Ram Dass step in to expand the terrain.Dass, once a Harvard psychologist himself, defined identity and ego as structures of mind that organize the universe around the illusion of separateness. The ego acts as a steering mechanism for a separate self, much like Freud’s “rider.” But where Freud emphasized managing impulses, Dass encouraged a conscious disidentification from the ego. He equated the ego with intellect — the head — and pointed to the heart as the seat of intuitive wisdom and unconditional love.The tension between head and heart, according to Dass, is where spiritual evolution occurs. We don’t destroy the ...
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    8 m
  • How Your Brain Shapes Your Reactions as a Mom (Ep.6)
    Dec 5 2025
    A bead spill in Target. A child pushing limits. A mom instantly flooded with embarrassment. Sound familiar?In this episode, we explore why these everyday moments hit us so hard — and what neuroscience, cultural expectations, and spirituality reveal about the emotional load mothers carry.We break down:🧠 How your brain predicts emotions before you choose them📊 What the Good Mother Myth is — and why it triggers instant shame💛 Why we feel watched, judged, and responsible for perfection✨ How to rewrite your reactions through identity in ChristIt’s a mix of relatable mom stories, practical insight, and spiritual grounding to help you shift from reactivity to presence.Motherhood isn’t about performing — it’s about transforming. Let’s unravel the pressure together.Thank you for listening! Please Subscribe, Rate and Review to help me reach more mommas!💖And, for more weekly inspiration, you can follow @GracefullyUnraveledPodcast on social media:🔗Facebook🔗Instagram<>I was in the store shopping recently when I overheard a mom tell her young child, “You want a toy, right? Then you have to behave.” And listen… as moms, how many of us have been there? Trying to convince — or let’s be honest, bribe — our kids to do the right thing.I have definitely been there. And, if you know anything about an Enneagram Eight… well, taking an Eight child shopping is a death match. Mine will clown and act out all over that store, subconsciously believing it’ll get him to the toy aisle faster. And when it instead results in a 'no, why would I reward you for this behavior', he acts shocked and turns to negotiation and applied guilt.But enough of my pity party; let’s get back to my role as mom observer.Sure enough, a few aisles later I end up in same vicinity as this mom again, but this time I hear a crinkle…a ripe...and then the unmistakable sound of what had to be a thousand tiny beads plinking off the cart and scattering across the floor. Followed by the mom’s desperate voice: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”Yep. That’s motherhood.I didn’t even have to see her to know exactly how she felt. Because as a mom, I felt it with her.“You’re listening to Gracefully Unraveled — a podcast about the honest, soulful, and sometimes edgy journey through motherhood. I’m your host, Kelli Lynch, and every other week I explore how this path reshapes us — not into someone new, but into a deeper awareness of who we are. Through reflection, spiritual wisdom, a little research, and just enough comedy to stay sane, we’ll navigate this messy, beautiful unraveling together.”Wouldn’t it be nice if we could reach a mental space where the bead grenade in aisle 12 actually made us laugh — instead of causing our whole body to tense up while our brain debates whether to scream or cry?Kids see hilarity in these moments. But we — the adults — instantly shift into embarrassment, fear, frustration, maybe even anger. Often before we’ve even stopped to ask:Did my child chew through the package or was it actually defective and an unavoidable accident?So where do these automatic reactions come from?Why are they so fast?And what do we do when we don’t like the mom we become in those moments?Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, author of How Emotions Are Made, explains that our brains have “multipurpose networks” for making all mental states like emotions, thoughts, perceptions, and memories - and these networks don’t react in real-time as much as they predict what's going to happen.According to scientific theory, she notes that our brain uses past experiences, and current sensory input to guess what’s happening and how we should respond.So when the beads hit the floor, your brain fires:loud noise →public setting →broken item →people watching →parent responsibility →“This is bad.”But, if we all trusted Shakespeare we'd know that there is nothing good or bad, only thinking makes it so. However, most of us aren’t quite that evolved. Yet.Dr. Barrett further explains that the brain does this because prediction is metabolically cheaper than waiting. Our brains are expensive organs that consume a significant portion of our metabolic budget — so it’s more efficient for them to guess in advance and then correct, rather than wait and react. And if we perceive something to match the brain’s prediction or we reject the evidence that suggests otherwise, the brain doesn’t bother evaluating it any further. It just runs with the guess, because that saves energy. In short: we don’t always see the world as it is… we see it as we believe it to be.When it comes to parenting, we don’t show up as blank slates.We carry:memories of our own parentscultural messages about what “good moms” should look likejudgement we’ve absorbed from TV, social media, and other momsour own insecurities about being “enough”All of this sits on standby, ready to inform the brain’s ...
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    11 m
  • The Mom-Friend Void: Why Motherhood Feels Lonely and How Faith & Science Explain It (Ep.5)
    Nov 21 2025
    Motherhood can feel lonely, overwhelming, and spiritually disorienting—so why does a show like Sweet Magnolias hit us so hard? In this episode, Kelli explores why moms long for community and how motherhood reshapes friendships, faith, and identity. With insights from psychology, neuroscience, and scripture, you’ll learn why connection is essential for mental health, why faith often gets harder (and more real) after kids, and how your longing for deeper relationships is actually a sign of spiritual growth—not failure. If you're craving sisterhood, support, or a renewal of faith, this episode is a gentle, hope-filled invitation back to yourself.Thank you for listening! Please Subscribe, Rate and Review to help me reach more mommas!💖And, for more weekly inspiration, you can follow @GracefullyUnraveledPodcast on social media:🔗Facebook🔗Instagram<>How many of you are fans of Sweet Magnolias, the Netflix series? If you’re like me, you probably watch that show with a quiet sense of longing — wishing that the town of Serenity were real. Because if it were, I’d have my bags packed, my kids buckled in the car, and Google maps set.But then the TV clicks off… and real life comes rushing back. The baskets of unfolded laundry. The half-solved math homework. And seasonally appropriate, the cooked pumpkin in the fridge I had every intention of baking with - 3 days ago. And perhaps like me you feel this pang — this subtle ache — because the world you just watched feels nothing like the world you’re standing in.Today we’re exploring that ache. That longing. That discontent that gets stirred up inside you.Because something about that community — the friendships, the faith, the family dynamics — hits a tender place in a mother’s heart. And maybe it’s not about wanting their lives… but about wondering why those things feel so rare in ours.If you’ve never watched the show, here’s the quick version: Sweet Magnolias is set in a small Southern town called Serenity. It follows the intertwined lives of three women navigating motherhood, careers, heartbreak, and faith — supported by a community that shows up, prays together, feeds each other, and holds one another upright.And as you listen today, I want you to give yourself permission: It’s okay to long for those things.Welcome back to Gracefully Unraveled — a podcast where we explore the sacred messiness of motherhood, identity and ego. I'm your host Kelli Lynch, and every other week I’ll be exploring how motherhood reshapes us — not into someone new, but into a deeper awareness of who we are. Through personal reflection, spiritual insight, a dash of data and whole lot of honesty- let’s unravel with intention and kindness together.The true hallmark of the Sweet Magnolia's show is the friendship shared between these 3 amazing women - but for some mommas, that sense of friendship, so tight it feels like sisterhood - seems like a distant past. so why do once-stable friendships seem to unravel after becoming a mom?Because, motherhood reorganizes more than your schedule — it reorganizes your identity. That includes your relationships. Research published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships shows that women often experience a significant contraction in social networks after childbirth, largely due to expectations that mothers prioritize home life over social connection. And this isolation is not accidental but also not fully intentional. What we accept as maternal instinct is often mixed with societal conditioning.And to complicate it further, friendships that once felt effortless, now require more energy, planning, childcare, and vulnerability then we feel equipped to manage. Some sociologists have actually referred to early motherhood as a period of role engulfment — when one identity eclipses others, sometimes unintentionally. And where that leaves a lot of mommas, is lonely - and according to popular researcher and author Brené Brown, loneliness and disconnection are the worst heartbreaks of all.Now I of course realize this may not be the experience for all. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 55% of women report having between one and four close friends, while 36% say they have five or more. But, I would wager to guess that the number would decrease if we added a "women with kids" filter - because the harsh reality is that if given a moment to breath - moms are more likely to prioritize self-care and sleep over socializing, and next thing you know - a bestie becomes a fond memory.Based on my own experience and what I've witnessed - despite connection being biologically crucial, many women quietly retreat into motherhood assuming that sacrifice was just part of the deal.But here's a truth bomb, friendship is a 2-way street. And sometimes variable personality styles can work against each other during transitions like marriage and motherhood. Things like introversion, avoidant tendencies or even ...
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    13 m
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