We Are the Compassionate Revolution

033 | Inner Leadership for Compassionate Leaders: How to Lead From Wholeness Within Broken Systems (feat. Valeyne Grotrian)

What does it look like to lead… without losing yourself in the process? And what if real “leadership” isn’t about proving yourself, productivity, or power — but about awareness, wholeness, and self-trust?
 
In this episode, Molly sits down with Valeyne Grotrian, a former corporate leader, executive coach, and the founder of Agora Coaching, to talk about inner leadership — the kind of leadership that happens within you first before it radiates outward into your leadership practices. 
 
Valeyne explains why so many compassionate, conscientious people often rise quickly into leadership roles… and then quietly burn out under the pressure of overworking and keeping-all-the-people-pleased. Together, they explore how hustle culture and “always-on” expectations can slowly erode our sense of self-trust — and how reclaiming your own wholeness can transform not only your inner world but also the culture around you.
 
This conversation is grounding, expansive, and deeply practical — a reminder that the most powerful leadership doesn’t start with doing more. It starts with coming home to yourself.
 
In this episode, you’ll learn about:
What “inner leadership” really means — and why it has nothing to do with job titles
Why so many compassionate people burn out in leadership roles — especially without boundaries
How being “always on” can become a slow betrayal of your body, your needs, and your self-trust
An example of inner leadership in action: how setting one simple boundary had ripple effects across an entire team
Why Valeyne believes “leaders are healers” — and how leadership shapes culture through modeling
The first step to inner leadership: awareness over effort — slowing down enough to hear yourself again
The courage to be fully alive — even when the world pressures you to stay contained.
 
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Today’s Guest
Valeyne Grotrian is a former corporate leader, executive coach, and the founder of Agora Coaching. She supports value-driven leaders in reclaiming self-trust, reconnecting with their wholeness, and leading from a deeper place — inside workplaces, organizations, and everyday life.
 
Valeyne offers a 6-month one-on-one partnership called Awaken Your Inner Leader and works with organizations through workshops and speaking engagements.
 
You can find Valeyne at agoracoach.com and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
 
*****
 
Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.
 
Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.
 
Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

032 | Healing After Childhood Abuse: How Self-Love Becomes Possible Again (feat. Jennifer Evridge)

What happens after you survive the unimaginable at a young age? How do you begin to face what happened and find a way toward healing?
 
In this episode, Molly sits down with her dear friend Jennifer Evridge, a survivor and truth-teller whose story is living proof that healing is possible — even after years of long-term abuse.
 
Jennifer shares her experience navigating repeated abuse by people in positions of authority, how fear and shame ended up running the show in her adult life, and what changed when she finally began to look directly at what happened — and step toward healing.
 
This conversation is tender, raw, and hopeful: a reminder that the parts of you that were buried for survival are often the very parts that can lead you home to self-worth, self-trust, and self-love.
 
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
The fear so many survivors carry: “If I open up that box, I’ll never stop crying.”
How shame and self-blame can keep people trapped for decades
Why boundaries can become the first real crack of freedom for a survivor
How meditation and inner listening can reconnect you to a loving presence within
How healing can coexist alongside grief, anger, and complex relationships
A powerful reminder: you have a voice inside you that knows the way
 
During their conversation, Jennifer mentions fawning and how Dr. Ingrid Clayton’s work impacted her. You can learn more in Episode 23, Ingrid Clayton: Fawning, Trauma, & the Healing Path Home to Self, where they unpack fawning as a trauma response and what healing can look like on the other side.
 
Today’s Guest: Jennifer Evridge
Jennifer describes herself as “spiritual being having a human experience.” She is a survivor and truth-teller with a background as a successful businesswoman, 911 dispatcher, and criminal defense investigator.
 
She is also the creator of Talk2MeAboutLove: Field Notes from a Spiritual Investigator. Through interviews and reflections, Jennifer travels the world talking with everyday people about their spiritual experiences, awakenings, and inner truths — exploring what it means to be human, to heal, and to live with honesty and love.
 
You can follow Jennifer and Talk2MeAboutLove on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
 
*****
 
Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE – and kickstart your boundaries journey.
 
Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All, and get an illustrated copy of the companion journal for free.
 
Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

031 | Makahiki & the Hawaiian New Year: Rest, Renewal, & Right Relationship (feat. Dr. Melinda Lloyd)

This week, Molly is joined by Melinda Lloyd, PhD — a Native Hawaiian researcher, clinical social worker, author, and coach for the Becoming Boundaried Bootcamp — for conversation on Makahiki – a season of rest, renewal, and right relationship that begins with the Hawaiian New Year.
 
This cultural framework centers on slowing down, reflection, and the intentional pausing of conflict — a radical contrast to dominant cultural ideas of productivity, urgency, and performance. Melinda shares how Makahiki functions as a season of realignment rather than striving, and how Hawaiian worldviews emphasize reciprocal relationship: with spirituality, ancestors, community, the natural world, and the self.
 
Together, Molly and Melinda weave Hawaiian cultural wisdom and history with individual healing and boundaries work — exploring what it means to stop shrinking as a survival strategy, reclaim one’s pride, and come home to yourself. 
 
The conversation also touches on somatic healing, code-switching, and the grief that emerges when identity, language, and culture are forcibly suppressed — alongside the hope found in cultural restoration, community healing, and embodied belonging.
 
Molly and Melinda discuss:
the meaning of Makahiki and how Native Hawaiian culture approaches the New Year
why rest, play, and renewal are essential for individual and collective well-being
how cultural and historical trauma can show up as anger, shrinking oneself, or learned helplessness
how boundaries create the conditions for right relationship — with self, others, and the world
why somatic and community-based healing can release what insight alone cannot
the difference between honoring cultural wisdom and appropriating it
 
Today’s Guest: Melinda Lloyd, PhD, is a Native Hawaiian clinical social worker, researcher, and author. For over 35 years, her work has centered on working with other Native Hawaiian children and families on grief, loss, trauma, and healing.
 
Melinda is a coach inside the Becoming Boundaried Bootcamp, where she supports compassionate people in recognizing that boundaries are a powerful act of self-love and self-care — not something you have to earn. 
 
She is also the author of a three-books series written for her grandchildren – From Puna with Aloha – available through Kindle Unlimited.
 
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In this episode, Melinda mentions the “House & Garden” metaphor from Molly’s bootcamp. To get access to this life-changing boundaries blueprint – along with many other practical teachings and community supports – start your 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly at: www.boundaried.com/path.
 
Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All.
 
Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls: follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or leave a review. Remember: Love is the way!

030 | Attachment Styles Explained: What They Are & How They Impact Adult Relationships (feat. Samuel Ohana)

This week, Molly is joined by Samuel Ohana — a social worker and compassionate human who embodies love.
Together, they explore what it means to love people in a world where people also hurt people… and how we can hold a “both/and”: naming harmful behavior clearly while still recognizing the untouched humanity underneath.
At the heart of this conversation is attachment.
Sam breaks down attachment styles in a way that’s clear, compassionate, and helpful — and how a deeper understanding of attachment styles helped him start understanding everybody better – like “seeing the code written behind the program.”
Molly and Samuel discuss:
believing in the goodness of humanity while making sense of bad things that people do
how attachment styles form when we are preverbal and become our default blueprint for love
what “macro attachment” looks like in our dominant cultural context
why diversity is natural — and why insecure systems try to stamp it out
the incredible power of allowing people be themselves and change their minds about who they are
how to speak up with courage and integrity when someone says or does something hurtful
 
Today’s Guest: Samuel Ohana is a social worker in nonprofit work with a deep love for people, families, and community well-being.
Sam’s work is rooted in compassion, systems thinking, and the belief that secure, loving connection is something we can practice — personally and collectively.
He is also a gender-expansive human and leads a gender-expansive group, holding space for belonging and safety in a time when many in the LGBTQ+ community are under increased stress and threat.
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If overgiving, people-pleasing, or guilt around boundaries has been holding you back, Molly’s Boundaries Breakthrough mini course is currently free.Start here: www.boundaried.com/breakthrough
Step into a 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly at: www.boundaried.com/path.
Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All.
 
Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls like you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review.
See you next week and remember: Love is the way.

029 | A Portal to the Real: The Magic of Live Retreats & a Call for Musicians

This week, Molly shares a special episode recorded from Maui just after the fourth and final live retreat of 2025 — with the retreat magic still swirling in her.
Molly takes you behind the scenes to the intuitive calling that led her to begin offering live retreats in the first place and offers a glimpse into what becomes possible when compassionate people gather in real time and space to do high-level somatic healing work.
She describes her very first retreat in Alaska with a notebook full of carefully planned teachings — and then (in a moment of deep intuition) she threw the whole plan away to allow something more powerful to take shape.
This episode is a love letter to beautiful transformation that can happen in spaces of live community healing — and a glimpse into what’s coming next, including Molly’s upcoming book tour and a call for musicians that align with the Compassionate Revolution.
 
Key Highlights:
how live healing work generates a magical energy and deep tectonic shifts of the psyche
the intuitive nudge that led Molly to start hosting live retreats… and why she threw out her plans as soon she felt the energy of the group
how ancestral survival strategies get passed down — and how they can be released with honor
how Molly is envisioning live retreats in 2026 (including a music and a sound healing element)
a call for aligned musicians who want to build something beautiful together
 
Musicians: If you feel aligned with the heart-led purpose of the Compassionate Revolution and want to join an experiment weaving music into somatic healing work (including recordings and live gatherings), reach out to Molly and her team at support(at)boundaried(dot)com.
 
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For retreat updates, book tour news, and Boundaries resources for compassionate people, visit Molly at: www.boundaried.com.
Step into a 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly at: www.boundaried.com/path.
Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All.
 
Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls like you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review. See you next week and remember: Love is the way!

028 | Religious Trauma, Self-Worth & Boundaries: Healing after Fundamentalism with Christi Byerly

Molly sits down with Christi Byerly, MCC, founder and CEO of Awaken Coach Institute, to explore how religious trauma, fear-based theology, and high-control faith systems shape a child’s identity, sense of worth, and ability to trust. Christi shares her personal story of growing up in a strict fundamentalist Christian environment where obedience, hierarchy, and punishment were normalized – and how that upbringing led to depression, anxiety, and lifelong confusion about goodness, desire, and love.
Together, Molly and Christi unpack the invisible ways spiritual abuse fractures a compassionate person’s inner world, how fear becomes a first language, and why so many survivors struggle with boundaries, self-trust, and worthiness well into adulthood.
This is an episode about waking up from fear and waking into love – reclaiming your voice, your body, your desires, and your right to a spacious, grounded, joyful life.
Molly and Christi discuss:
how hierarchies and obedience-based teachings shape a child’s developing brain.
why compassionate people are more vulnerable to spiritual abuse.
how fear-based theology disconnects us from our intuition, emotions, and desires.
why self-care feels wrong for survivors of fundamentalism.
what it means to move from hierarchy and fear into love and equality.
the spiritual (and beautifully human) process of awakening.
 
*****
 
Today’s Guest:
Christi is the CEO and founder of Awaken Coach Institute, an ICF-accredited coach training school that is, at its heart, a school of love. Awaken Coach Institute trains coaches, healers, helpers, and compassionate humans to listen deeply, grow spiritually, and awaken to their own inner wisdom. Christi has helped shape the journeys of hundreds of coaches and clients. Explore free classes, group programs, Q&A calls, book updates, and Christi's upcoming 2026 Spain retreat at: https://www.awakencoachinstitute.com/.
 
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For boundaries resources for compassionate people, find Molly at: www.boundaried.com.
Step into a 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly at: www.boundaried.com/path.
Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All.
 
Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls like you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review. See you next week and remember: Love is the way!

027 | From The Alchemist to The Great All: Intuition, Integrity, & Books That Save Lives with Publisher Brenda Knight

This week, Molly is joined by Brenda Knight, award-winning publisher, author, intuition-led trailblazer, and founder of Books That Save Lives (a mission-driven publishing house devoted to changing minds, healing hearts, and creating a more compassionate world).
Brenda is the publisher of Molly's new book, The Great All, and a deep force in today’s world of writing and media. Her story is one of courage, intuition, integrity, and following the “omens” that led her toward her purpose.
Together, Molly and Brenda explore the twists, initiations, and inner guidance that shape a life – and the extraordinary ripple effects of choosing compassion over conformity.
 
Molly and Brenda discuss:
Brenda’s extraordinary journey from a dirt road in West Virginia to HarperCollins, and why reading became her portal to possibility.
moments when integrity can speak louder than ambition.
a behind-the-scenes story of Paulo Coelho’s classic, The Alchemist.
how veteran and first-responder stories inspired Books That Save Lives (BTSL).
the birth of The Great All, and Molly’s weird, wondrous, divinely timed idea that wouldn’t let go.
why parables and teaching stories work at a soul-level and why The Great All feels like essential guidance for navigating today’s world.
 
Today’s Guest:
Brenda Knight began her career at HarperCollins, working with luminaries Paolo Coelho, Marianne Williamson, Mark Nepo, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Knight was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year in 2015. Knight is the author of Random Acts of Kindness, The Grateful Table, and Women of the Beat Generation, which won an American Book Award. Knight is Publisher at Books That Save Lives. She also teachers at the San Francisco Writers Conference, Writing for Change and serves as President of the Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. Follow her on Instagram @LowerHaightbk and @BooksThatSaveLives.
 
BTSL includes an invitation to the Heart Wisdom panels in their newsletter. If you’d like to join, sign up at: https://www.booksthatsavelives.net/contact-us/.
 
An extra thanks to Duncan MacLeod, the business side of BTSL! He oversees operations, finance, and fulfillment. He’s also an author, and cares deeply about the BTSL mission. He is the author of Money Magic: Easy and Surprising Ways to Not Be Broke. 
 
*****
 
Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls like you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review. See you next week and remember: Love is the way!
 
For boundaries resources for compassionate people, find Molly at: www.boundaried.com.
Step into a 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly at: www.boundaried.com/path.
Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All.

026 | Taikeya J on Empowerment, Poetry, & Finding Your Voice

This week, Molly sits down with poet, minister, and Abstract Voices founder Taikeya J to explore how poetry – and the stillness beneath it – can reconnect compassionate people to their truth, emotions, and deepest dreams.
 
Taikeya shares how poetry became her sanctuary, how a high school poem about slavery was deemed “too strong” to publish, and how anger, healing, ancestry, and creativity can intertwine in the work of reclaiming one’s voice.
 
What if the doorway back to your voice wasn’t through force… but through tenderness, creativity, and quiet?
 
Together, Molly and Taikeya explore:
why compassion often leads to self-silencing.
how anger can be a righteous, clarifying emotion that signals a boundary violation.
why poetry and creativity create a safe space for emotions that were once shamed.
how ancestral stories and trauma echo in our bodies and beliefs and benefit from having a place to be expressed and heard.
why many compassionate people stop dreaming – and what it takes to start again.
 
Today’s Guest:
Taikeya J is a poetic voice, non-profit leader, change-maker, family historian, minister and faith-rooted creative whose work bridges art, identity, and spiritual healing. She inspires audiences to rediscover wholeness, purpose, and divine rhythm. Taikeya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management and a master’s degree in ministry. She also founded Abstract Voices, a creative movement originally launched as a student poetry organization; it evolved into a dynamic community that bridges artistry, healing, and empowerment through written and spoken expression: https://abstractvoices.com/.
 
*****
 
Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls like you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review. See you next week and remember: Love is the way!
 
For boundaries resources for compassionate people, find Molly at: www.boundaried.com.Step into a 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly at: www.boundaried.com/path.Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All.

025 | Dr. Melanie Griffiths: The Truth About Migration, Borders, & Our Shared Humanity

This week, Molly is joined by Dr. Melanie Griffiths – an academic, lecturer, and migration scholar whose work reveals what most of us never learned: how borders function, why human movement is not something new, and what’s really shaping the stories we’re told about “the other.”
 
Together, Molly and Melanie pull back from the news cycle and ask some big, tender questions: What is migration, really? Who taught us to fear it? And what happens when compassionate people start questioning the stories we’ve inherited about borders, race, and scarcity?
 
Exploring the myths, fears, and power structures that create division, this chat offers clarity and hope.
 
(And, as mentioned in the show, to step into a 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly, visit www.boundaried.com/path.)
 
Molly and Melanie explore:
why migration is a normal part of life on this planet, and how borders are a recent human invention.
how myths of “crisis,” “invasion,” and “not enough to go around” get into our bodies and nervous systems.
links between colonialism, capitalism, race, and today’s migration policies.
how generational trauma, propaganda, and fear-based narratives keep us divided and disempowered.
the role of artists, writers, and creatives in imagining new ways of living together.
how boundaries can be an act of rebellion for compassionate people – helping us stop pouring our life force into abusive systems and relationships.
 
Today’s Guest:
Dr. Melanie Griffiths is an associate professor in Human Geography at the University of Birmingham, UK. She has been researching migration systems since 2007 and specializes in immigration politics and enforcement. She has written on the asylum system, irregular migration, immigration detention, deportation and other topics. Learn more at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/gees/griffiths-melanie.
 
Book Suggestions: 
Hein de Haas. 2023. How Migration Really Works: A factful guide to the most divisive issue in politics.
Nancy Fraser. 2023. Cannibal Capitalism: How our system is devouring democracy, care and the planet – and what we can do about it.
David Graeber and David Wengrow. 2021. Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity.
Tricia Hersey (founder of the Nap Ministry). 2022. Rest is resistance: Free yourself from Grind Culture and Reclaim your Life.
 
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Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls like you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review. See you next week and remember: Love is the way!
 
For boundaries resources for compassionate people, find Molly at www.boundaried.com.Step into a 30-day Guided Boundaries Journey with Molly at www.boundaried.com/path.Pre-order Molly's new book, The Great All.

024 | Molly Tucker, PhD: How to Speak Up (When You're Afraid to Say the Wrong Thing)

This week, Molly and clinical psychologist Dr. Molly Tucker – co-author of Saying the Wrong Thing – explore how compassionate people can speak up in emotionally charged moments. You’ll learn about psychological flexibility vs. rigidity, how to assess situational safety, what to try in the moment, and how to repair relationships when you’ve said (or not said) the “wrong” thing.
 
They also introduce a simple challenge: One Bold Thing per week through 2025 – small, values-aligned actions that build courage and change culture. Will you join us?
 
Build the skill (and nervous-system capacity) to speak up – kindly, safely, and consistently.
 
This packed episode covers:
tools for speaking up with courage (and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, or ACT).
why being “afraid to say the wrong thing” is common.
the cost of chronic peace-keeping.
staying in hard talks without shutting down or exploding.
how to gauge situational safety, micro-advocacy at the dinner table, and advocating for a trans family member
ideas for repair after saying the “wrong” thing.
 
Today’s Guest:
Dr. Molly Tucker is the co-author of the newly released book Saying the Wrong Thing: How to Speak Up in Difficult, Controversial, or Emotionally Charged Conversations. (Order and receive a 25% discount with code SPEAKUP25: https://www.pesi.com/item/saying-wrong-thing-156754.) She has been interested in relationships and mental health since the fifth grade when she first was trained as a “Peer Mediator” to help fellow students resolve disputes. That’s when she knew she wanted to be a Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Tucker received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Texas. She then completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System, with a specialty in Advanced Interprofessional Mental Health. Beyond formal training in multiple Empirically Supported Treatments (ESTs), she has also received extensive training in administration and interpretation of cognitive, personality, and vocational psychological assessments. If you're looking to find meaning and engage fully with life, she would be honored to walk alongside you in that journey.
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Thanks for listening to We Are the Compassionate Revolution! If you love the show, please help support it (at no cost) so we can reach more compassionate souls like you: Follow or subscribe wherever you listen, rate it five stars, or write a happy review. See you next week and remember: Love is the way!
 
Check out therapist and author Molly Davis Moon’s website: www.boundaried.com.
Get the Boundaries Breakthrough Mini Course for FREE (limited-time offer).
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