Things That Will Help is a podcast that explores what it’s like to be human, and how to find tools to feel clear, grounded, and happier. Each week, an episode full of rich story-telling and embodied practices that bring the themes Buffy discusses to real life. These stories ahead do not negate the hard or the darkness, but rather point to the lighthouses along the way.
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You are probably managing an impossible soup of lightning-quick news cycles, a daily-changing world, a complex inner life, all while remembering the tasks that make your life run. Are you feeling disconnected or overwhelmed in it? In this episode, Buffy talks to listeners about how slowing down can support the endeavor to regulate our nervous syste…
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This episode begins with a goat named Clover and woodland fairy role-play. You know the phrase, "it takes a village?" Buffy helps listeners deepen their understanding and opportunity around this idea; that we might look for and cultivate the "field agents" in our life that support our families, our goals, and our personal unfolding. 🌱 Learn more ab…
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In this special episode, Alex gives Buffy an astrological natal chart reading. They have wanted to do this for so long, and recently, finally acquired Buffy's birth information! They talk about the intricacies and complexities of Buffy's life and being, and about her hard-won identity as a communicator, writer, and orator. Buffy shares stories from…
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Buffy celebrates her brother Benjamin, who died twenty years ago this week. Benjamin was the catalyst and inspiration for this podcast, which is named after the small book of notes Buffy and her mom found on his bedside table. In this episode Buffy honors the lessons of not only his death but his life. 🌱 Learn more about how to work with/hire Buffy…
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Your energy and your time are some of the most valuable resources you have, and in this episode Buffy speaks to the ways energy currency relates to introversion vs. extroversion. How we can be more awake to the ways we nurture our reserves of energy currency? If each day were a love letter to yourself, how would you construct that day to feel the b…
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Buffy reflects on four years of Things That Will Help and names the power of standing still, looking back, and marking moments in time as a way to measure our transformation. She shares stories of witnessing and being witnessed as ways to invite in wonder, peace, and trust. Marking time, and naming it, is an incredible way to feel the impact of thi…
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Buffy starts the episode with discussing the Bystander Effect, which says that the greater number of bystanders that are witness to an emergency situation or bully, the less likely it is for any one of them to provide help for the person in distress. She uses this as a jumping off point as a call for us to take radical responsibility for our lives,…
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Buffy and Alex are back to talk about April 8's total solar eclipse - this is a powerful time for healing, transformation, and reflection on the ways we want to show up in the world. They discuss practical ways to work with the volatile energy of this current astrological weather, including potentially pausing major decisions, processes that can he…
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Happy Eclipse Season! Buffy welcomes TTWH editor and producer Alex Ammons - who also moonlights as a professional astrologer. Alex and Buffy talks about the two-week period of the eclipse season - which, on this episode air date, we are in the thick of. Eclipses are major moments in the collective and individually, and knowing how to best prepare f…
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This episode is dedicated to the power you contain and the practices that help cultivate your ability to stand more vertical, with less. What if the answers you seek don't lie in trendy workout equipment and the never-ending cycle of "self-help"? We go in to find out. 🌱 Find the accompanying playlist to this week's episode here. 🌱 Learn more about …
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Today's episode explores how we can cultivate joy, health, and happiness without turning our faces away from the pain of the world, which sometimes asks for our attention and other times demands it. Buffy recorded this at a time where a non-binary student was murdered in a bathroom, and where war ravages across the Middle East and beyond. These are…
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How do you make decisions? Swiftly and suddenly? Do you let ideas marinate before you move forward? Buffy's story about Tricia's buggy (southern for "shopping cart") illustrates the wisdom of our desires, and how sometimes pausing can give us the space to hear them truly and clearly. Can we begin to normalize the practice of checking in with oursel…
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Today's episode is a continuation of Episode 126, Ganesh Will Help. Buffy completes the birth story and shares more about the lessons we can learn from this buoyant deity. Ganesh's rich lessons include how to gracefully be in the middle of something, authenticity and intimacy, and how we can ask deeper and better questions about and of ourselves. 🌱…
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How can we help ourselves feel safe instead of bracing for impact? We get curious. Just like we might be if we found ourselves in a new town. Entering a new place - physically, mentally, or emotionally - with a spirit of wonder and curiosity can create a completely different experience than defaulting to old patterns of fear, pain, and anxiety. Buf…
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Buffy tells stories of the Hindu deity Ganesha, or Ganapati. Mythology can be used as a tool to help us see ourselves more clearly, no matter our religion, prayer, or conversation we are having with the divine. This is a human conversation and an invitation into a deeper experience of yourself through the keeper of the threshold, Ganesh, and the wi…
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Calling all worriers! What if you could see how you spend your time in a visual form, like a pie chart? How big of a pie slice would be spent worrying, ruminating, or projecting into the future? Buffy opens this episode with this pie chart image and takes listeners immediately stories that illuminate how getting to the root - the truth - of a story…
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Autumn is a treasured time of year at TTWH, and in this episode Buffy gives some practical tips that will help you breathe life and intention the autumnal transition. Tune in for inspiration around food, practices, and even ways to adorn yourself that help the transition into colder months feel full of purpose. You can visit www.ayurveda.com for a …
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All life, all ears, all heart, all love. This episode is dedicated to Andrew Clark, a dear friend of Buffy's who died last week. Buffy honors his life by collecting and transmitting some of the deepest lessons and wisdoms Andrew imparted over the course of his life and their friendship. May his memory be a blessing. 🌱 Find the accompanying playlist…
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Can "maybe" be a gift, rather than a liability? This is an episode about relinquishing control and deepening trust in the face of endless maybes. It begins with a special guest reading a family favorite book and asks you to consider what ways you could make the "maybe's" sweeter, easier, and more full of trust. "Maybe, just maybe, the world has bee…
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CW: Violence, LGBTQ hate crimes. Buffy opens the episode with the story of Matthew Shepard - a young gay man who was brutally murdered - and about the gentle, magical animal presence at the scene of the crime. This is an episode about being a spacious, compassionate presence for the ones we love. Our kind attention - without judgement, advice, or s…
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Buffy starts with a story about a hilarious toddler misunderstanding and moves towards the topic of visualization. What is it? How can we do it, and how can it move our lives in the direction we believe is true and beautiful? Visualization can help us become more conscious of the waters we're swimming in, and call in more of what we desire towards …
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The Mountain and the Magnifying Glass Will Help
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There are moments in our lives where we to be reconnected to the big picture, and there are moments where we need to look at our feet in order to take the next right step. How do we discern which tools we need? Buffy uses the metaphors of "the mountain" and "the magnifying glass" as different medicines that are available to us when we are feeling l…
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"What distinguishes rage that is harmful versus rage that is sacred?" Buffy moves listeners into this inquiry and will have listeners considering - or perhaps reconsidering- their relationship with rage as a transformative, powerful entity. 🌱 Find the accompanying playlist to this week's episode here. 🌱 Leave a tip in Venmo: @BuffyTTWH 🌱 Become a s…
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Buffy talks listeners through feeling "fragmented," from the tiny ways we feel misaligned to the big broken open moments. And wholeness - the opposite of fragmentation - it's possible. Buffy offers ways to bring ourselves back to wholeness and connection through stories of bandaids, physical pain, and how the method of "stop and drop" will help. 🌱 …
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Buffy responds to a listener's question about friendship: when to repair, when to leave, and how to build your own discernment and nuance for the in-between. 🌱 Find the accompanying playlist to this week's episode here. 🌱 Leave a tip in Venmo: @BuffyTTWH 🌱 Become a supporter of the podcast on Patreon! Patreon members support the production of the p…
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Buffy records on the solstice in an episode that speaks to the importance of discernment in the ways we help ourselves in the name of healing, peace, and harmony. Buffy gets to the heart of "What works for some may not work for others" Listeners receive our favorite 7-year-old wisdom's and a deeper understanding of why having our own personal measu…
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Buffy shares about an ongoing ankle injury and the complicated stories around it, including shame, pain, and neglect. She offers ways to break through the codified stories that we hold in our minds and our bodies. She explores the question, "what is possible for my life if I simply set down old stories?" and invites listeners into a softness with t…
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This episode starts with yellow cake from a box and winds through sourdough bread, marriage and death, in service to the beauty of being able to hold and welcome it all. What happens when we can let ourselves be soaked with the fullness of the fragility and the wonder of life? Otis' wise words captures it perfectly: "It's gonna be emotional, and th…
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In this episode, Buffy provides practical and grounded ways to encourage deep restoration in your life. The tools range from the physical to the mental to the emotional, and each supports more rest. She runs through her suggestions in a list format, and it might be supportive for you to have a pen and paper handy while you listen! TTWH is taking a …
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What does it mean to create beauty in the world? Buffy talks about how often, placing our attention directly in front of us - and being in service - can be some of the most beautiful and important work we can do. Today's episode starts with a story about a man moving rocks from the road to create more safety for other drivers, and initiates a conve…
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This episode is about internal knowing; what happens when it is lacking, and how to more powerfully and purposefully cultivate it. Buffy talks about the liminal space of being in a process (rather than arrived at a destination), and how a balance of structure & freedom can support us in being in listening to the whispers that move us forward. 🌱 Fin…
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Buffy's daughter Coretta uses the term "Last Day" to refer to any day other than today; a day yesterday, last month, last year. This episode is an homage to Buffy's version of Last Day - what Buffy would do on her own final day of life - and includes considerations of mortality. This episode will have you considering what's really important to you,…
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Today's episode is meant to bring consciousness to things you've started but haven't finished. Buffy tells stories of wills and books, plus a personal list of loose ends that might jog your brain about some tasks you could finish that might just feel really good. 🌱 Find the accompanying playlist to this week's episode here. 🌱 Leave a tip in Venmo: …
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Today's episode is about judgement, bringing awareness to the unconscious ways we participate in it and the impact of when we're its recipients. In which situations does judgement serve? Are there gifts we can find in being judged? Buffy gives practical tips on how to stay anchored in your own truth so that you become more and more unshakable in th…
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Buffy starts the episode with the acknowledgement of the stolen land she lives on (Arapahoe) and brings listeners into a deeper of understanding of why understanding source stories are essential. Today's episode digs deeper into the framework Buffy lays in the Stories We Tell Will Help episode. The book Buffy mentions is Cassandra Speaks by Elizabe…
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Buffy talks about the ways we engage with "preservation" - what do we preserve, and how? When does it serve and when does it hold old stories that we no longer need? This episode helps guide discernment in what we keep and what we leave behind. Buffy tells stories of bath bombs, old stories, 🌱 Find the accompanying playlist to this week's episode h…
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This episode is for people who love someone with an addiction. Buffy talks about the reality of addiction: its impact on the person, their loved ones, and what we can do in the face of it. CW: Addiction, Suicide, and Abuse. 🌱 Find the accompanying playlist to this week's episode here. 🌱 Leave a tip in Venmo: @BuffyTTWH 🌱 Become a supporter of the p…
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"If a tree dies and falls in a forest, eventually, the dark dense material begins to summon new growth. The tiny green life that springs from such an event is called the understory." In today's episode, Buffy describes why this concept of The Understory informs her life's work, and how leaning into the gift of the understory can fertilize the resto…
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There is a specific magic that comes from moving slow; it can't be found in fast, hurried movements. Today's episode is a reminder of the rewards of going slow, and we hope this transmission of slowness encourages you to infuse your own slow into your day. (For listeners who usually listen to podcasts at a sped up rate: a sweet place to start is li…
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Welcome to Season 8 of TTWH Buffy opens this new season by considering the power and the potential of repetition. She tells stories about a very specific toddler ritual, series of yoga shapes, a deep bow, and more, in service to helping listeners consider for themselves how repetition can support and deepen our experience of our lives. 🌱 Find the a…
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This week we're celebrating 100 episodes of Things That Will Help! To mark the occasion, Buffy has put together a list of one hundred questions to call attention to different pieces and parts of your being. Inquiries about the body, ancestors, letting go, creativity, and more abound, all in service to getting you into conversation with yourself. TT…
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"How are you falling?" This is the question that inspired today's episode. Buffy talks about the magic of the fall season, from the shifts in temperature to the ways that learning to literally fall well can support us. She offers things that are supporting her, like getting outside, finding new teachers, and more, in service of you implementing you…
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What happens when we see perceived obstacles as doorways to growth? Buffy gives examples of the ways "unexpected weather" can lead us to places - beautiful places - we did not expect to go. She tells stories of internal and external rearranging, post-bath time changes, and fresh-air walks to illustrate the ways we can change our problems through ch…
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Do your fears have legs? Do you dress them up and bring them into the spotlight? In this episode, Buffy offers the idea of "feeding the good wolf" - and how that is a gift not only to ourselves, but to the world. Distinct from "fake it till you make it," Buffy provides practical ways we can amplify what's good and bright in us. Visit Isha's site an…
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Buffy is back with more beauty marks: AKA, beautiful simple things that make life a little brighter (couldn't we all use a little more of that?). Some things that make an appearance: a throwback organizational tool, products of boredom, an old love story, and more. What are the moments and mementos that are marking beauty in your life? We recommend…
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Today's episode is devoted to those who desire to live a creative life. Buffy shares her own layered process within the creative cycle and invites you to step into your own fulfilling creative life. And, if you don't consider yourself a "creative," take heart: creativity is not limited to artistic practices only. Creativity can reach our families, …
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Buffy begins this week's episode by sharing a tender story about her family to illustrate the theme of ceremony, and why it matters. What can repetition, intention, and ritual add to your life? She shares stories of spa nights, frying an egg on a sidewalk, and the small, ordinary things that can bring life-giving meaning to our days. 🌱 Leave a tip …
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We are in a time of deep collective and individual pain. In this episode, Buffy encourages listeners to arrive into their bodies before taking action. This week's episode is a smattering of practices - think of it as a table of tapas - that help you facilitate conscious conversation, look for the magic, and not rush to the next thing before you've …
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Buffy shares simple tips that support the different rivers of her life: physical, mental, spiritual, and community. Bookmark this episode for when you feel your self-care and community-care practices need a refresh. 🌱 Find the accompanying playlist to this week's episode here. 🌱 Leave a tip in Venmo: @BuffyTTWH 🌱 Become a supporter of the podcast o…
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How are you curating your systems of support at this time? These trying times are the very moments your practice prepares you for: times that require bravery, resilience, and openheartedness. How can you stay connected to your creativity and practices of wholeness while maintaining balanced action in the world? Buffy's list of beauty marks at the e…
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