Hello! We are here. You're in the introduction episode of Souls Undressed. I am Tori Rankovich, I'm your host + I'm so stoked to have you here. I'm going to just drive right into what you can expect in listening to Souls Undressed + you're not going to learn a whole lot about me in this episode because the following episode has lots about how I ended up here + the rest of the episodes that fall in line are really going to teach you a lot about me as a person, so you'll just have to listen in to learn some more there.
Today I'm going to talk to you about who this podcast is for. Who I'm really talking to when I am starting up these podcasts each week + who I hope hears it each week when they turn it on. I am going to talk to you about why I think these conversations that we're not having are so damn important + why I decided to create this space so that those conversations can be started.
I am also going to talk to you at the end of the episode about where you can head after each episode to continue the conversation. I have intentionally created spaces on Instagram and on Facebook and on my website as well to talk more about each of these topics. So, when you hear something, whether you agree, or disagree, I want you to reach out, I want you to write on the Facebook wall, I want you to talk to me, let me know what you think, let's finish the conversation. By finish, I don't even mean finish. I just mean I want to hear your end of it after you've listened to mine. I hope these conversations don't end here because I really want these conversations to spread further than your speakers right now. I am hoping we can start conversations at dinner, we can start conversations on our walk, we can start conversations at ballgames (when we're allowed to go to them again) + really just really be able to dive into hard conversations that have been avoided for so frickin' long.
Every single episode will also begin with a quote from either my 2019 or 2020 vision boards. This has been one of the details that has been concreted in my head for the longest as far as this podcast goes. I would say that is the one thing I really felt pulled to do. I have a lot of people ask about the different quotes that I share + the vision board that I've created + so this is one way that I can really pull that in + kind of "poetically" connect or parallel the topic that we are talking about. That way if you like the author, if it's present, then you can go find them and follow them on Instagram or read their poetry.
So, *ehem*- sorry, my voice is awesome. Also, you're going to notice, I have asked my podcast engineer not to edit out too many things that are in here that are going to make me sound like a "normal person." I know that some people do that to kind of "spice it up" and make it sound a little bit more "professional," but I want you guys to realize we are here to have conversations together that are real, that are unfiltered. Yes, I am going to edit out some sneezes or some coughs or too many "um's," but I am sitting on the floor of my house, in my spare bedroom, on a floor cushion right now talking to you + I want you to feel that way too.
If you are looking for ways that you can move forward from this episode + help someone, if you are somebody that is listening to these episodes + they don't really apply to you in the way that the certain topics have happened to you or that you can directly understand, but you know that there is someone in your life who it has happened to or that has a relation to these topics, every single episode is going to end with a, "How Can I Help?" segment. I have created that because I want this podcast to be a wholesome space for everyone to learn and grow. I think for people who have experienced the different traumas or topics or activities or hardships that they hear about in these episodes are automatically going to connect + kind of feel that community through that, but my hope is that through being able to listen to these topics + then participate in conversation afterwards on the Facebook Page or in the Instagram captions or on stories, that everyone will be able to learn from each other + I think it will be really insightful even for the people who have experience with these topics by learning from the blindspots from the people who don't have that experience are able to express in those groups.
So, today's "How Can I Help?" segment is going to be just based around how you can support Souls Undressed Podcast, however, in the episodes that have to do with those different, harder topics, those segments will be a lot more meaningful, more connected + I think they will be able to really serve you, but I am going to use the segment today to talk about how you can support the podcast just so you can see the full structure of the episode.
Today's quote:
"I understand now that I'm not a mess, but a deeply feeling person in a messy world. I explain that now when someone asks me why I cry so often. I say, 'for the same reason I laugh so often... I'm paying attention.'"
+ I do not have the author for that quote. It was not listed when I saved it, if I do find it, I will make sure that I save it or that I post it with the quote on our Souls Undressed Podcast Instagram Page, but without further ado, let's get to it.
We have so much to dive into, but first up, I want to tell you a bit about what this podcast is + why I've created it. I have a goal of people finding this podcast when they have the drive + desire to really reflect on themselves and find themselves within a train of thought-provoking questions + conversations with themselves + the people in their lives. I really want you to be able to turn on Souls Undressed like when you've just woken up + you feel like crap + you have a lot of things on your plate for today, but it really doesn't feel like it's going to happen. I want you to feel like you have a friend in me in those moments, I want you to be able to turn us on + really just like lay in bed + be like HELL YEAH, Tori, like you are speaking to my heart. At the same time, I want you to be able to turn on Souls Undressed on your drive home from work late at night + to be accompanied by that community + that companionship that comes from talking about the hard stuff out loud. So, yeah, I don't want it to be overpowering, I hope that it is super empowering + it does its job in creating community for you.
What is Souls Undressed? Souls Undressed, for me, is a space of safety + security to really unpack all of the sticky, yucky, not-so-fun-t0-talk-about shit. I think that especially in today's day and age, we get so caught up in what we think is expected of us, or what our parents maybe have taught us how to cope, but I think the biggest underlying factor in my perspective is that we are living on survival tactics of the past + those aren't necessarily what are going to carry us forward. I think we do that as individuals, I think we do that as a society, I think we pass it down generation-to-generation out of the goods of our hearts trying to do good + be good + pass on good, but if we get caught up in history's survival mechanisms, we are never going to evolve and move forward. So, my goal here is to create an open dialogue + create community with you. I've created a Facebook community where we can all come together after a podcast episode + really share our thoughts + ask our questions + create conversations about those topics or about things that maybe you wondered or disagreed with that I talked about. I really want everyone to be able to learn more about these topics, including myself.
The biggest thing to state right off the bat: I am not a podcast who's going to aim to have celebrities and strictly famous, well-known, "dinner table" names. I want to bring people on to Souls Undressed that maybe you know, maybe you pass in the grocery store, maybe you don't know them but HOLY SHIT you can totally understand what they're talking about. My goal is to create that community that already exists in our struggles + in our likeness and our differentness that we don't know exists because we've been "hushed" + made to feel like we can't talk about these things.
I think that the taboo and the stigma that exists in today's society in 2020, whether we're working to get rid of it or not....it exists, + it keeps us from talking about the things that are absolutely necessary + vital for our growth. When we choose not to talk about something that is creating hardship or creating trauma or even creating growth, we are not moving forward as a whole. We are not looking to better ourselves as a human race. We just aren't. We have to be able to reflect + grow + communicate + build off of the things around us + the peoples' experiences around us because I'll hit on so many episodes that this is made apparent, but I'll just say now: like with grief. I have experienced intense grief + in the moment, while I was experiencing that grief for the first time, I was SURE that everyone experiencing grief- was experiencing it like me. I learned really quickly through my family that was also grieving that that shit looks so different from one person to the next + it really made me start thinking about what else looks different. I mean, even as far as what it took for me to cope with my grief to move forward, that was different than everyone else in my family. That is the goal. That is the vision of Souls Undressed. It is to be able to dive into these hard, not talked about, thought-provoking topics + hear them from different perspectives because you know YOUR perspective. Hearing about my experience + someone else's experience + being able to connect the dots to YOUR experience, it then creates these pathways that we didn't realize existed, that we're like "oh shit, maybe this can be handled in different ways," + that's the goal, right? To add tools to our toolbox to learn how to overcome life's issues, right? So, with that being said, if at anytime, you're like, "shit, I could really benefit hearing more in perspective on this topic," please let me know because that is my goal.
I have a giant laundry list of the topics that I think are important to talk about, but again, perspective. I am serving you with this podcast + that is truly the goal. I hope you're frickin' ready to just dive right and in really focus on you + what perspective you have on these hard topics. Maybe you don't feel like you have a perspective + that's really what I'm also excited about. Chances are- someone in your life is affected or is intertwined with the topics that we're going to talk about here. So, even if you see a title + you're like, "hmmm, nah that ain't me, I can't really connect with that," if there is someone in your life who you value, who is connected with those topics, I strongly encourage you to listen. I also want to. be able to have these conversations because through my career paths + my interactions with people, I'm realizing how little we know about other people. The biggest thing that you can't see, through listening to my podcast, but I want you to know + envision + encompass, is that every single episode I record for you, with a guest or without, we are sitting on the floor, criss-cross, ready to go, ready to break down our true, raw, authentic feelings on these topics with you. I say with you instead of for you, because I think with time you will be able to hear your internal voice + at least if you don't have an internal dialogue, you'll be able to reflect on your thoughts with others or on paper. I hope it is going to cause you to think about a few different topics from another perspective. Think of how effective and empowering we can be if we begin to understand circumstances from others' eyes. You know, others' minds, others' trauma points. So, I really cannot wait to just dive the hell in with you guys.
Again, if you have any sort of topics, when you're riding in the car + you're like, "you know what Tori, I want to hear you talk about this," or, "I want to hear from this person," please reach out + let me know. Every episode will have a topic of conversation, it won't necessarily have a guest, but every time we touch on a topic, I am purposefully + intentionally opening up that dialogue with you. So, when you're listening + you have a thought + you want to reflect on it with me, I want you to shoot me a message, shoot me an email, leave a post in the Facebook community, let me know what you're thinking. I'm not throwing these thought-provoking topics + questions out to you just so you can continue to live in your head about it. I mean it is great, if you want to reflect in your head about it, but I really am hoping to promote a shift in perspective + approaches to things.
I think that you guys are going to absolutely adore what I am serving up to you + all of these self-help tips and tricks, relationship, real-life, emotional STUFF that is what I have coming for you. I hope that this space can create that for you.
How I Can Help Segment:
Alright, our very first, "How Can I Help?" segment!
Like I said at the beginning of the episode, this will usually be driven towards helping you serve the people who are affected by the topics that are being spoken about in the episode.
Because today is the introduction episode, I am going to be sharing with you how you can support Souls Undressed + continue to be along for this wild ride. First, I am going to mention that you can leave reviews on whatever area you listen to the podcast on. So, whether you're listening on Apple Podcast, whether you're listening on Spotify, whether you're listening on Breaker, or another host, you can leave a review there + when you do that, that automatically enters you in to win goodies with me. I have decided to create random giveaways that will be drawn from reviews. That's right. So, you listen, you have your own opinions anyway, all I have decided to do is just kind of send my gratitude your way at random for taking the time to do that. By you doing that, I am able to know what you love about the episodes + you're also sharing with other people who haven't listened yet exactly what you love about it so they know what they're getting themselves into.
That's just to go to say, if there's any small businesses that you love + support, reviews go so far. There is nothing that speaks to the authenticity and the level of experience that people are going to get when they invest in that small business. So, just something to consider.
Also, incase you were not aware, we have a Facebook Group to help us create that community and continue this conversation afterwards. You can find that by searching, "Souls Undressed Podcast Community," on Facebook. Or the link is also in the show notes. You can also find us on Instagram @SoulsUndressedPodcast. As well as, the link to show notes if you ever have the desire to read along with the podcasts or just send it along to someone who doesn't have the ability to listen you can go ahead and do that and people can read along with our topics. It was my goal to make this as accessible for you as possible.
If ever you have any questions, any comments, any feedback that can help me make this even better for you + an even safer space for you, please do not hesitate to let me know whether that is on Facebook, whether in email, whether that is a message on Instagram, let me know + I will make it happen. I really hope you guys enjoyed today's first introductory episode. Now, I want you to scoot along + listen to episode 001 about my journey and how I ended up here talkin' to you!
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