Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. Today I'm excited to share an interview and a conversation I had with Megan Teerlink from, she has a podcast called Getting Mindful with Megan. Megan's been on my podcast a couple times.
We have amazing conversations and I love how we pull from different philosophies and modalities and stories and ancient wisdom. We pull it all in together again today on the episode and I think you're really going to love it. So without further ado, let's jump into my conversation with Megan.
Amber: Hey Megan.
Megan: Hi.
Amber: Welcome back. You've been on the podcast like twice.
Megan: Yep, this is number three. This is number three.
Amber: Welcome back to the podcast.
Megan: Thanks.
Amber: Just chatting before I hit record, we're like, let's just let it roll. Do you want to give a little quick intro to people who have never heard of you before?
Megan: Totally. Okay. Hey guys, I am Megan. I am the founder of Getting Mindful with Megan, which is a podcast that I host. We talk all about mindfulness. I am a meditation teacher. I've owned yoga studios. I love fitness, health. I love coaching. I do a lot of coaching. I would love to work with people who are ambitious and working towards goals, achiever mindset kind of type people, but I love to incorporate the spiritual and bring in the yoga philosophy and I'm Christian.
So I'm kind of, I guess you would say like a little bit of everything. I love to bring a little bit of everything in and we do lots of mind, body, spirit work. And so, yeah, you heard me talk, like I like fitness and then I'm like, and I like spirituality and I teach meditation and I'm a coach. So you can see it's like, I like to look at the whole picture of a person.
Amber: I wish women would use this word more because I think you and I both identify with it. But like polymath, I hear a lot of men talk about that and like, but what about a girly word that means just like a polymath is like interested in a lot of different things, right?
Megan: Yeah. I'd say like multi-passionate.
Amber: Yeah. Multi-passionate. But even that is like, I know we're students on a lot of things.
Megan: Exactly. I've always been into like holistic health, but I love to also look at like holistic success and like how to have success without like all the tension or like how to have health without all of the pharmaceuticals. And like, I just love to look like the whole person.
Cause I think that at the root of our best version of ourself is we have to look at the whole self. We can't like try to just build our business and only focus on our business. You know what I mean? And same with like athletics, like you've got to look at your mind also or like whatever you're into. So I just love looking at like the whole picture, I guess.
Amber: Yeah. So what have you been studying recently?
Megan: Okay. Well, so this isn't going to sound like that deep or anything, but I'm obsessed with the book 10 times as easier than two times. That book Amber recommended to me.
Amber: Oh, I was going to say the one that I was like, hmm.
Megan: You recommended it to me and it was so funny because I had just read The Gap and the Gain like six months ago and I had read right before that The Having and I loved The Having, but then I read The Gap and the Gain and it put it in the most simple, easy to digest. It was like the same message almost, but it made it so easy for me to digest and like apply.
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: And so I loved the way that Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, like I love the way they write. And so I loving the book 10 times as easier than two times by them because I feel like they're taking something that I've read in a lot of other places that had felt very ethereal or like very, how do I do that? And they're like, and here's how you apply it.
Amber: Yes. I feel like you're also good at that.
Megan: It's one of my favorite things is to take something ethereal or spiritual, or I always describe it as like, you're like trying to grasp onto it and you're like, can I get it? Can I get it? It's like kind of slipping away. I love to grab onto it and then like regurgitate it in a way that is easy to digest.
Amber: And live. I feel like that's why I've like loved seeing you teach yoga philosophy or meditation because you like bring it into the body or like a practice that they can do. Not just like this concept that's floating around your head.
Megan: Yeah. And I feel like you're like this too, but whenever I read, I always read with the thought in my head, how can I apply this and make it change my life? How can I make this actually meaningful to me? Because I'm like, why would I read all of this if I'm not going to actually apply it? And so something that kind of runs in my head, it's like, how is this going to make my life better? And what can I do to actually apply it?
Amber: How have you done that with 10X is easier than 2X?
Megan: Oh my gosh, this one's so fun. So if you guys are listening and you've never read this book, the idea is that it's easier to 10X and it's specifically for entrepreneurs, but you can put it into anything, you know, but like you can 10X easier than it is to 2X because when you're 2Xing something, you are going to keep a lot of your same habits and lifestyle and everything stays the same. And then it's really hard to just change one little thing.
But if you kind of just get rid of everything you've been doing, it takes courage. It takes commitment. It takes stepping into something completely unknown and new, but it's actually simpler to just go all in on the goal. And so for me, one area that I'm really working on, and it's not been that easy, but it's been fun, is for those of you that don't know me, I've never been diagnosed with ADHD.
And I don't know if I actually have it, but a lot of the things that they talk about, I resonate with deeply. And so my brain often feels revved up. People are often surprised that I teach meditation, but that's why I teach meditation. Because I need it like more than anybody. I have four kids. We're in sports. My husband owns a large company. I run a business.
I have a coaching practice. My kids homeschool half the time. So there's just like a lot going on. And so my brain often feels a little chaotic. A lot of times I feel like, where am I supposed to be? What's going on? Like, I feel a little scrambled in a way. And so one area of my life that I've really been working on is that. That's been where I want a 10x.
And so what I started doing is I started writing very detailed in my planner and committing to my higher self what they would do. And so when I say I'm going to do something, I'm there doing it, regardless of if I want to or like shiny object syndrome. Like if something else comes along that seems better, I'd be like, nope, my schedule says this. This is what I'm doing.
And the reason why feels like a 10x to me is because if I can get this down, my business will grow 10x. I mean, Amber, you know this, but probably like my funny thought all the time, like time. Is there enough time, you know? And so for me, like 10x in my entire life, it's about making enough time. It's about creating the time and letting time collapse and using planning and organization and discipline to do it and devotion.
Amber: Yeah, I love that. I think, too, it's like Robin Sharma has this quote that I love. He's like, as you live your days, so you craft your life, right? You like lasered in on one tactical thing you can do from the book that's going to have a dramatic effect on everything, it sounds like.
Megan: Yeah, and that's one of the things I loved about that book is that it was like essentialism. You've read that book, but it reminds me of a lot of essentialism where it's actually when you 10x, it makes it so that you can only focusing on.
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: There's one path to 10x usually versus 2x, there's like a million different paths. And for me, I get really overwhelmed when there's a million different options. Another little area is in my fitness. I really wanted to 10x my body and my fitness. I've had a baby recently and just ready to like get back into it. And I was like, hey, if I'm 10x-ing, well, then like my fitness schedule becomes very clear. Whereas if I'm just 2x-ing, like, oh, I could take some days off, you know, there's so many options. But if I'm 10x-ing, it's like a clear path.
Amber: So good. So what else? I know you. It's not the only thing that you've been contemplating.
Megan: Okay, you want to get weird? Okay, so I'm gonna get weird. I've been obsessed with polarities. I've been loving learning about like, I don't know if you've heard of the interpolarity practice, but the idea that everything has a pole and that there's a still point in the middle of the tension. And so something I've been really studying is actually laws and grace, or mercy, love, laws and love, and how to find that still point within the two. That's been a fun deep dive I've been on lately.
Amber: Say more. I mean, I feel like you just like opened like the biggest door.
Megan: I think you want to get weird.
Amber: Yeah, we want to get weird. And I know my clients have been talking about this with me, so I resonate. Can we make it real? Maybe like kind of the same principle that we're talking about. Pick one polarity that we can do this with that you feel comfortable with.
Megan: There's so many good ones. One I think that comes up a lot for us is desire and aversion.
Amber: Yeah, okay.
Megan: Would be a good polarity. Or another one that goes with like, they all kind of have like this masculine, feminine energy to them, but like where it's showing up for me is in this like masculine and feminine in business. Because my instinct is to go to the feminine. Like I am spiritual. I'm emotional. My natural pull is to actually swing so far into the feminine. And I feel like over the years, I really judged that because I'm like, I have to freaking do something.
And then I've had times where I would swing on that pendulum all the way over into the masculine, like hustle, grind, go, go, go. And then I'd burn out and then I'd swing back over into the feminine. I've found in business, I'm finding, and it's really fun to like live in this energy, but this still point where it's like acting, doing, but it comes from a place of ease and rest. It's not perfect. Like I still feel myself swinging a little bit, but that's one of the poles that's really highlighted for me right now.
Amber: I think there's a lot of people that resonate with that because I feel like I kind of bridge that gap for a lot of people. Like I have clients who are very masculine, not masculine. If you're not familiar with feminine and masculine energetics, it's like very disciplined, get stuff done, very organized structure.
Megan: In my mind, they're like type A.
Amber: Right. Yeah. Like put it on the calendar, get it done no matter what. They know how to hustle. On the other side of the spectrum, I work with a lot of people who are very feminine. Like you were just saying, they're very intuitive and they don't like plans. And it's more like, we'll see how I feel. And there's totally a place for that. But what I found is if you're on one or the other side of the pendulum, there's a cost. So coming to the still point, like what are the words that you used? I think it was so good. Acting, doing,
Megan: From a place of ease and rest.
Amber: So yeah, because like how I would say for me, the middle is like being, right? Who am I being? And because sometimes that is doing, sometimes it's being still, sometimes it's being value creator. But like the beingness, I don't know. That's kind of where my mind went.
Megan: Yeah. I had an epiphany one day and maybe some of you guys will resonate with this. I do a lot of thought work. Like I've done a lot of coaching over the years and like mindset work. And in my mind before I acted, I felt like I needed to get in the right energy. It was like, I need to get my mind right so that I can act the way that it needs to.
And especially with selling things or like getting on social media and like sharing, oh, people will be able to read my energy. And if I'm like coming from a weird energy, I don't want people to like notice that or whatever. And it was Susie Tucker. She's amazing. And I just love her. And she's been kind of working with me on this. And I had this realization that it's not fake to show up on social media and sell something, even if I feel like crap that day, even if I'm not feeling it.
Amber: For some people listening, if you need to make a sale or you need to make money, it's not fake to show up and sell.
Megan: Exactly. Like it made me realize that actually me in my highest energy, even when I don't feel good, even when I'm like about to start my period, I'm like PMSing or something, even when I don't want to and I'm like emotional and I feel scared or awkward or whatever, my highest version of myself still shows up and leads in this way, even if I feel weird.
And so like you said, a lot of times when you swing on the feminine side, it's like I have to wait till it feels good. And I'm realizing like for me, a balance for that also to lead. And I need a self lead is to show up even when I maybe feel yucky. And then there's this other side of the pendulum where I wouldn't say that to somebody who's super type A.
This isn't the coaching we would give to them, right? Like we would be like, and you are allowed to listen to how you feel. You're allowed to breathe and you're allowed to be still. And so yeah, for me, I'm getting to swing a little bit more into the masculine right now, just because I naturally lean feminine. But I know a lot of people who listen also are going to need to lean a little feminine. It depends on the time of season.
Amber: Well, I think gone are the days that there's generalized advice. I don't think every piece of advice is for you, right? So I really like the polarity practice because it's about knowing where you're at on the spectrum and either way. It's more like understanding yourself.
Megan: Yes, exactly. And I love this idea of the still point and the tension because you've experienced it. There's times like desire and aversion. That's another polarity that I brought up a minute ago. On one end, it's like, oh I really love this. I want this. And the other end, it's like, oh I hate this. But like in the middle there's surrender. There's like, I desire it and I surrender it. You can find the still point.
And that's where to me, it's in the still point that like the magic happens because we get to practice both the surrender and the control, which I think is really fun. I gave this example on, I think it was my last podcast or maybe it was on my TikTok. I can't remember, but I was talking about natural childbirth. And I was saying the number one thing I learned was finding the still point between surrender and control. Because in natural childbirth, you're not in charge. My midwife says mother birth decides.
Amber: Mother birth.
Megan: Mother birth. I'd always be like, what do you think? Like, do you think I'll go early? And she'd be like, she gets this silly eight ball out and we'll shake it and like joke with you. She's like, if I could give you one piece of advice, it's stop trying to control the outcomes because it's about surrender. But I shared that with my first baby that was natural, I didn't do the mindset work because I was young. I didn't even know about it.
And so that was a little bit of a harder labor because I didn't control what I could control. And then with the second one, it went really smooth and it was really fast and I had done the mindset work. And so I controlled what I could control. Then the third one, it was going slow and I expected it to go fast. And so I didn't surrender.
It ended up being my least favorite labor because I was controlling my mind about the pain, but I wasn't surrendered to the experience, if that makes sense. But with my fourth, it was the most amazing birth on the planet because by number four, finally, I learned to completely surrender to the plan. I wanted to have a day birth. So I wasn't up all night and I went into labor at nine o'clock at night.
And that was like an opportunity for me, like, am I going to be able to surrender, you know, and say, you know, I'm not in control, like this is what's happening. And then still control my mind and control what I could control. And then what was crazy is it ended up being nearly pain free. It was the same level of pressure as the rest of them, but I didn't feel the pain the same way because I was able to, with that fourth baby, just let go of whatever's meant to happen is going to happen.
And God's going to be totally in control of this. And then I'd control what I could. And it's going to be the best birth that I can ever experience. And I'm ready for this pain. And actually I'm inviting it and I want it. And like, it was that combo. I feel like that labor, I was able to sit in the still point and then the pain went away. Like it was pleasurable birth, which is crazy that that's even possible. And so I know I've learned a lot about the polarities and finding that middle ground.
Amber: Yeah. Well, and it points to something that I think if you're a control freak listening to this, you bump up to this because there's some things you can't control no matter how well controlled you are.
Megan: Yeah.
Amber: A lot of life.
Megan: That was my labor. It was interesting because I wanted to not get checked because with my last ones, if she checked me and then I was like at a two, I would kind of get in my head. But when I was there, she said, Hey, what do you think about me checking you? And I stopped and I just listened to the spirit. And I was like, let's do it. And then she checked me.
And while she checked me, it dilated me like five centimeters or whatever, one millimeter, whatever, you know, like I went from a three to an eight because she checked me. And so I was so grateful that I surrendered my will in that moment, what I thought was supposed to be in like surrender to God, I feel like, and like tried to just allow.
And then I kept that thought, I don't know, we can like dissect it a little bit, but I kept that thought, like, God's got my back. This is going to be better than I thought. If I just surrender, it's going to be better than I thought and ended up being just the best labor ever. I was done in 45 minutes. It was just magical, like everything about it, but it wasn't what I had planned. You know, I had to surrender my plan.
Amber: Okay, so this is interesting. Let's make this real. Are you ready for this?
Megan: Yeah, let's do it.
Amber: Just a few minutes ago, we were talking about how you're planning out your days.
Megan: Yes.
Amber: So this is where I coach through this a lot with people because this is where they get confused. But you just said you plan out your days and now you're saying to screw the plan.
Megan: And I had a birth plan and I'm glad I made that birth plan.
Amber: Yeah. So what would you call that? Because I think that still point is what you're describing, that it's not black and white.
Megan: It's not black and white. Our human brain hates this. It's cognitive dissonance.
Amber: That's why I wanted you to talk about it.
Megan: Everybody wants it to be black or white. It's right or wrong.
Amber: Just tell me what to do and I'll do it.
Megan: And it's not how it works. And this is a higher level of living. To me, this is what Jesus came and taught, was that it's not black and white, you guys. It's the spirit of the law. And that's, to me, what Jesus was preaching was like, it's not this is the sin and now you're bad if you've sinned. It's like, oh, this lady sinned and we're still going to love her. Like, it's confusing.
A lot of people, especially if you have like a black and white brain or an enneagram one would sometimes they're just like, oh, you know, because they're like, no, it's right or wrong. It's black or white. But I really feel that actually like where our pieces is when we can hold it all. I think of like consciousness almost like I'm going to get a little hippie here, but like I think of consciousness is like a net that holds it all.
When we can hold it all, that's when we can find the still point. So like for me in birth, it wasn't that I didn't have a plan. I totally had a plan. My midwife asked me to write it out even and get very specific with it. I made a plan. And then at the same time, I knew I wasn't in charge. I am not God. God is God. And like before we started talking, Amber mentioned a book that was kind of about the fear in God and like respecting God, like God is God, you know, for me, like I make the plan.
And then I remember I'm not God. That's humility, practice humility. And then also remember that I have God energy in me. And that's also true. And so I've divine DNA, like I can control more than I probably give myself credit for. And so I control what I can, which is my mind. That's what I'm in charge of is my mind.
Amber: That's the stewardship that you have.
Megan: That's my stewardship. Yes. And God has his stewardship. I trust him on his job. I think I'm like co-business owners. Like you have the operator and then you have the CEO, you have the COO and CEO. And like the CEO makes decisions about CEO stuff and the COO makes decisions about COO stuff. And in a good business model, they trust each other. They don't have to like, are you doing that right? I don't think you should do it like that.
So I want God to be able to trust me to control my mind and to control my body and my behaviors. And I want to trust God to control whatever he needs to do that's outside of my control, that it's going to be for the very best in me. So like with the planner, what you were saying, I make a plan and then I surrender it. I'm practicing right now because it's like a moment by moment, living by the spirit, I would say.
I'm practicing knowing, is this me just trying to get out of this right now? Is this me getting distracted or is this me listening to the spirit? And so I can give you an example. The other day, I went to my husband's grandma's house to work because she lives in St. George. My kids are going to school up there. Long story short, I would go to her house. And normally I would go work. I had listed things I needed to do. And I sat down and it just didn't feel right to go work.
I wanted to. I actually was like, I kind of want to like go get my stuff done. But like on my higher self knew that it was going to do more good in that moment to sit with Colton's grandma and let the baby play and us just be, you know? And it was almost like a quiet little God thing where he's like, hey, it's okay. I'm going to show you I do impossible math here. You actually maybe don't even have to work as much and you still might get a client or something, you know, like that kind of stuff happens all the time.
Amber: You've experienced it so much, too.
Megan: Yeah. So for me, it's like learning to make the plan because I'm not type A by nature.
I want to be so bad. Just like more relaxed that way. But I'm like, okay, make the plan, stick with the plan. And honestly, it's like 80 percent of the time, like most of the time I'm sticking to plan, but surrender enough that if the plan needs to change that you are flexible enough and fluid enough to be able to do that.
Amber: Yeah. The way that I think about it is almost like the scientific method. I'm like, okay, this is what I think the plan should be.
Megan: Yeah.
Amber: I mean, this is like a hypothesis.
Megan: This is my hypothesis.
Amber: This is what I think is going to lead to the best result based on what I said I want. And I surrender it if there's something better. I read a book called The Handbook to Higher Consciousness, and he talks about the difference between addiction and preferences. And I think what you're talking about is like it's not that you don't have desires.
It's like you have a preference and you're okay. It's kind of like the way that one of my mentors said it was if a waiter brings you like chocolate ice cream, but you ask for vanilla, you're like, well, well, I did want vanilla, but I'll take the chocolate ice cream. Like, that's fine.
Megan: And I feel like addiction versus preference, like addiction takes away your agency.
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: And there's a level of being compelled or like a compulsiveness to what you do when you're addicted versus a conscious thought, like you're not being like conscious when you have an addiction. There's like a compulsiveness to it. And like I've noticed with my schedule, it's been interesting to watch myself because I'm realizing like, oh, one area is for me. And I know not everybody has this struggle the way that I do. But like for me, my phone is very, very addictive for me.
And so I'm noticing as I do this schedule, this compulsiveness to not do what's on my schedule and go check my phone or go call somebody like a phone, talk on the phone. And I'm like, oh, this isn't my consciousness. This is like autopilot. But towards something unhealthy, it's like getting that third person awareness of like, oh this isn't serving me. This is interesting. I didn't even know that I had this. It's different when you just like have a preference to get on your phone for a minute.
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: Being compelled or like compulsive.
Amber: Well, okay. We talked about this before. This is so interesting. So I read a book about interpreting like the New Testament from Aramant.
Megan: Oh, that sounds cool.
Amber: And one of the things that it talked about was one of the words that they use when Jesus goes into the wilderness to be tempted. The word from Aramant is his lower self. He goes into the wilderness to be tempted by his lower self. Whether that's true or not, I don't know.
Megan: No, I feel this so much.
Amber: But it is very interesting to think about what you're talking about. Like we have a split mind. You and I have talked about this a lot because we have split minds as humans, and there's the mind that's aligned with God, and there's the mind that's like the lower mind of the lower self. The battle a lot of times is with that.
And I think the polarity practice that we're talking about, thought work, meditation, like all of these tools help us know who is speaking, who is saying to go check my phone. But like if you're not aware, you don't expand your consciousness and your awareness, you won't know who is speaking. Versus like bringing the awareness of who is speaking. Oh, like that's not really who I want to be.
Megan: And I think you have to slow down enough to really see that. I think that's one of like the struggles we're seeing in society. I was talking to some moms because I talk a lot about phones and structure.
Amber: You should. It's so real.
Megan: I feel like it's ignored in our culture. Like it's just accepted. Like, oh, we're all just addicted to our phones and it's no big deal, you know, and we're not talking. I feel like some people do, but I just don't think there's enough challenging voices to it because everyone just likes the addiction in a way, you know.
Amber: And you're addicted, so you don't want to like call yourself out.
Megan: Exactly. I was talking to some moms and it's weird. I'm like rushing my kids 24-7 and I don't know why. And I'm like, well, you're on your phones and it's fast. Everything's fast on there. So like you're an autopilot of speed because you're literally everything is so fast on that phone.
And so I think we have to just be aware. But I like what you were saying about finding that awareness. I just think you have to slow down to do it in our society. We're moving so fast all the time. So a lot of the reasons why we're seeing so much violence is like people aren't slowing down consciously looking at their thoughts. They're just reacting to their thoughts.
Amber: Even from like a nervous perspective, because like my favorite leaders of all time, his name is Ken Wilber and he has something called the integral theory, which is how I see the world now, where it's like all of the teachings and the modalities and the ideas can fit into one model basically is what he teaches. And so we're going to look at this from a nervous system perspective because we can look at the phone addiction or going too fast from like a Christian perspective.
Megan: Totally. The nervous system alone.
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: I have a lot of thoughts about nervous system and autopilot.
Amber: I know, but think about what we do when we look at our phones. We narrow our vision and actually that's what you do when you're in fight or flight. You narrow your vision and you look down because you're protecting your body versus when you expand your peripheral. Like this will make you feel better. Go for a walk. And instead of looking down at your feet, look at the horizon. You will feel regulated. It's crazy.
Megan: I know. Walks are number one. I'll say it all day. I'm like outside on a walk, not on a treadmill. You can walk on a treadmill too, but like just the peripheral being able to see and look out.
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: But okay. I'm obsessed with something you were talking about earlier about Jesus going in to be tempted and it's like the lower self versus the higher self. So I found this really interesting in my studies. I was studying Moses in Genesis and also in the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. And in it, he says, I've been called to a great work. So he gets called and then he gets tempted by the adversary.
A lot of it though is like lower brain type of temptations, right? It's like the temptations that the lower brain would offer you. He gets tempted. And then I found this so interesting. He goes through this temptation period and then it says, now you'll be able to move the sea and call upon the mountains or whatever, you know? And he's like, and now you're chosen essentially.
I've heard a lot of times, like there are many called, but few are chosen. I connected the dots that the greats, you know, Moses that I'm reading about in even other religions and other philosophies, you'll see a similar pattern of people feeling called to a work like coaches. I think business owners go through this where they feel this deep inner calling.
And I think then the next step is, okay, refine your obedience, I guess, because there's lots of different language for this, but like overcome the natural man or begin that process, at least, you know, start overcoming these addictions, overriding the lower brain. I guess like in the Brook Castillo world, it's like choosing the prefrontal cortex over the monkey brain or whatever. As you do that, then you're chosen.
And then you have like Jesus after he overcomes the natural man and he's tempted for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness and he fasts, then he's able to start his ministry. That's when he starts performing miracles. And I think it's because at that point, like we talked about earlier, then we're trusted. We earn the trust of God. And then we learn to submit and trust God. And then we have this co-creative magic, you know, almost that CEO and COO where both trust each other equally to just go and do.
Amber: Yeah, that's a really powerful example. I was in a program once that we talked about the phases of what Abraham went through in the Old Testament, like turning away from the calling is kind of like a step that you go through. No, it can't be me.
Megan: And everybody goes through it.
Amber: Everyone goes through it. Like Moses was like, I can't talk. I don't have the words. I don't have the voice or whatever. Like all of us have our own. Like it couldn't be me. I think a lot of life changes when you start to like listen for the voice. And this is why Byron Katie and Brook Castillo thought work becomes so powerful because it's like, is it true?
Megan: Yeah.
Amber: Is that thought true? And who is that thought coming from?
Megan: Yeah.
Amber: It’s lower self. It's like, I don't have the voice or like who am I? My voice was like, I'm just not interesting enough to do this. And it's like, who is speaking? Is it true? It's not true. And then you get to move on and like get the gifts like what you were saying.
Megan: It's good to like acknowledge that we have this, I call it the essential self. We have the narrative mind that's always narrating everything. And then we have the experiential body that's feeling everything. But like underneath, if we can cut through the noise of both of those, we meet the essential self, the true self. And is that person weak? Is that part of you? Like, no, like that's like your soul is always connected to God.
You have unlimited potential and power there. And so like a lot of times when we're saying things like, oh, I'm just not interesting. And we're like, is it true? Our narrative might be like, yeah, it's true. But you have to be able to differentiate who's talking right now. Is this my mind, my body, or is it my soul? And if it's my soul, I want to listen. And if it's my mind or my body, I might want to question it. And my soul's never gonna be like, you suck. It's just never gonna be like that because it doesn't produce good fruit. So it's not aligned with God.
And so it's like, it's a no. And I love, you brought up Moses being weak in the mouth. And I love in that story that Jesus provides him Aaron. God provides him Aaron to be his spokesperson. He gives him what he needs. He's like, oh, you're worried about that? Here you go. No problem. I know for me, my brain thing is like, oh, well, you can't be consistent enough. You can't stick with it.
Amber: If left unchecked, that's a scary thought. You're like, yeah, I might not be able to stick with it. Who is speaking?
Megan: So much of my life that I thought believed that.
Amber: You're like, you're right. I'm not that consistent.
Megan: Do you think God put me here on earth and was like, okay, and your problem is gonna be that you're not gonna be able to stick with anything. And like, no. God's like, you can overcome even your weaknesses with me. And I love in Ether when God's like, we'll make weak things strong.
That's overcoming the natural man is learning how to make those weak things strong. And so that's why for me, you guys, sticking with my schedule right now feels like I'm overcoming my natural self that does not want to be consistent or stick with things that already thinks that I'm not. So showing myself who I can be and who I actually am in my soul, which I'm a leader in my soul.
Like when I really listen in, I hear like you're meant to lead and leaders know how to be stick with things. You know, leaders know how to not get distracted. And so it's something where I feel like I'm like overcoming that. But I say that again, like we said earlier, like knowing that there's some people who control is really easy for them. And for them, learning to let things go would be them overcome. Not sticking to your schedule is overcoming your natural man. You know what I mean?
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: It's definitely not one size fits all. That's why you got to get to know yourself.
Amber: I see this happening just like in self-help development, whatever we're in.
Megan: Yeah.
Amber: I feel like I like bridge the gap between a lot of, so do you. Like I was talking about business and I was talking about personal development. It's all meshed, but that one size fit all doesn't work because we all came with gifts and weaknesses, and that's by divine design. And I don't even mean weaknesses in like a bad way. Like I don't see weaknesses as like this big problem anymore. Maybe I used to, but it's like, I see it as such an opportunity. That's what makes life fun. What is possible? You know what I mean?
Megan: When I think of weakness, it's just the opposite side of my strength.
Amber: Yes. The polarity.
Megan: Yeah. So let's say you felt like before, like your weakness was I'm uninteresting, you know, or like, I don't know, that makes me laugh actually. Cause I feel like you always are sharing the most interesting, like you have like such deep and like juicy thoughts that it's funny that your brain gave you that because that's not true, you know? But it's like, okay, but what's the flip side?
Like, okay, maybe you're not loud and boisterous and like really like in your face, but like you bring such a grounding energy everywhere you go. It's your strength of being very grounding and calming, bringing us all down back. Like, I don't know, just grounding us all that your brain told you was uninteresting. And it's funny, mine's like, oh, you're not consistent. Like you don't stick to things.
But I feel like a lot of times what I bring is like an excitement, a fun cheerleader energy, encouraging, like I bring you up. I'm learning. I used to really resist this in me, but I'm like, oh, this is just this strength being overused. This is my strength of being able to be spontaneous and let things go. Another area of this is that I've noticed is I feel like I have the gift of seeing all sides of the coin. It's very easy for me to find grace for people. I let things go so easy.
I'm like able to see why you would do that. I think it's probably why I'm a coach just because like finding love for everyone in the story is like not very hard for me usually. But the flip side of that coin is sometimes I have a really hard time like with firm beliefs. So like in the scriptures, it says that a double-minded man is unstable in all their ways.
And I've felt that gift of grace in me sometimes swings so far that I feel unstable because I haven't chosen what I believe, decided I'm going to stick. I'm going to hold this one firm because I'm like, well, I could see why this person thinks this and I could see why this person thinks this. And like it makes me inclusive and loving and open. But sometimes it's that polarity, that other side of the coin that I've got to like look on to.
Amber: That's why I think it's like the fruits you have to look at what fruit does this belief lead to?
Megan: Yes. I think this is part of that process from called to chosen. If you want to like look at it like that is learning your gifts, how to temper them and use them appropriately so that you're not falling into like the autopilot or like the unaware, unconscious side of the gift where it's like actually not serving. Like you said, it's not creating the fruit that you were wanting.
Amber: Yeah. And what really helped me with that was reading A Course in Miracles and Jesus is like, it's either fear or love. And so when I look at a belief, it's like, does this produce more love? And it sounds cheesy, but it's true.
Megan: Yeah, it's true. I love A Course in Miracles. I know. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So it's been fun to look at things from this perspective of like, where's the still point, even with my gifts, my gift of grace, but also like I see that on the other side of the pendulum, like a firm mind is really nice to have at times. But a firm mind taken too far on that pendulum can create a lot of problems. And it often comes into judgment, like a lot of harsh judgments if you're too far over there. And so finding that middle ground, I think, has been the work.
Amber: Yeah. And I think that would be like the invitation from today's episode. We didn't know what we were going to talk about really, but I think that's what you can walk away with is like, okay, where am I on the pendulum swinging? How can I come back to the middle or the still point? What does that look like? Which you have to use discernment for. Like, I can't tell you what it is.
Megan: I see a lot of times with people I've coached a lot on this, people who swing into control, that it becomes very fear driven and can feel very compulsive. And I think that's like a lot of times like OCD, like it's obsessive compulsive, you know. And it's because they're like swinging so far into control and it's out of fear.
It's not that controlling your environment is a problem, right? Like it's not bad to keep your house clean. In fact, it's wonderful to have a house that's clean. But if fear is driving it, it's going to create disease in your body. It's going to not serve you. It's the same thing with the other side of the pendulum. Is fear driving your actions or is it love? Are you keeping your house clean because you love the people who live there and you love your home?
Or are you keeping your house clean because you're fearing that your worth depends on it? And if it's dirty, something's wrong with you. And the opposite. Are you not holding your boundaries because you're scared that people won't like you? Or are you allowing somebody to do something because you feel like you want to let it slide because you love them?
Like what you said, it's fear or love. What's driving me? And I think when we slow down, we can become really aware of that and start swapping. And that's why I love in the scriptures when Jesus is like, they're like, hey, we did everything you said. They're like knocking on the door, you know? Hey, we did everything you asked. And he's like, yeah, but you didn't know me.
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: You know, I didn't know you like your heart wasn't in it.
Amber: Yeah.
Megan: And so I think that's why we always have to ask, where's my heart? Am I keeping my schedule because I feel like a failure if I don't? I guess I'm scared of being a failure or am I keeping my schedule because I love God. I love myself and I want to respect myself enough to hold to what I said.
Amber: That's why I named my podcast Abundant Heart, not Abundant Mind.
Megan: Yeah. I mean, that's a whole like I just could talk about the heart. I feel like in coaching, we get really, really fixated on the mind. Me included. I love the mind. It's very important. You can't really drop into the heart until you can kind of know what's going on in the mind.
Amber: Well, I'll throw this in here, too. But I read this and it was like the primary function of the mind is to know God. And I love that line. That we don't experience God or awe or like divine experiences in our minds. It's like a heart experience. You know, it's like embodied. It’s somewhere else. I think that's interesting, too. Like the mind plays a role and it's helpful, but it's not everything. And I think that's been a lot of my work, too.
Megan: Yeah. The visual I have of it because I meditate. You guys know I teach meditation. I do a lot of meditating. And the visual I have of it is like we cut through the mind, the noise. We can still the noise. And if we can still the urges of the body, like all the little urges, that's when we can drop into the heart. And it's when we're able to sit in that heart center and be in that heart center. I think that's where we find God.
And another language for this, because I know this can get a little ethereal, is like being really present when you're really present. And I love C.S. Lewis because he said that the present moment is the point in time in which time touches eternity. It's the time that we he's used the word analogous. But like he says, it's the time where we're on God's time. We're in the reality God has. And so like, if we want to know God, we have to get so present. And that's where we reach it, so.
Amber: I think that's another thing. Like all still points, there's presence.
Megan: Yeah. Oh, 100 percent.
Amber: That hits any still point in any polarity without presence.
Megan: Yeah. And if you think of like my birth example, there was so much pain. It's not that there was no pressure. Like my contractions were the same level as all the other babies. They felt the same. But I didn't feel them the same. And that's why I love talking about presence, because you can collapse time in the presence in the present. You can collapse pain in the present. Like it's just a different reality that we can live in on Earth that is pretty magical.
Amber: Thanks, Megan, for your time. As always, this was amazing. Quickly tell people how they can connect with you.
Megan: Yeah. So I have a podcast. It's called the Getting Mindful with Megan podcast that is a really fun community. I would love to have you guys come hang out with us. We talk all about this kind of stuff, mind, body, spirit. We talk about goals, but we also talk about like divine callings and yoga philosophy and…
Amber: Ancient wisdom.
Megan: Yeah. Ancient wisdom.
Amber: Is that the best place? Your podcast?
Megan: Yeah, that's my favorite place to connect with people. But also I have a TikTok. So if you want shorter form content, come hang out on tick tock. It's Megan Teerlink.
Amber: Perfect. I'll make sure that that's linked to.
Megan: Thank you.
Amber: Thanks, Megan. As always, amazing.
Megan: See ya.
Amber: Bye.
