Ep.1 Welcome and Introduction to Grace, Gratitude, & Giggles

Master Emotions to Live Intentionally and Consciously

It's finally here! I'm excited to welcome you to the Grace, Gratitude, and Giggles podcast. In this trailer, you’ll get a sneak peek into what’s to come—lucid life lessons, heartfelt conversations, practical strategies, and inspiring stories designed to help you live with intention.

Join me, Denise Marie Filmore, as we explore emotional mastery and personal growth through the lens of artistic expression, holistic practices, and neuroscience insights.

Get ready for insightful episodes that blend grace, gratitude, and a touch of giggles.

Let’s begin this transformative journey together!

Transcript

Welcome to the “Grace, Gratitude, and Giggles” podcast.

I’m Denise Marie Filmore, your guide on this journey of creating a healthier, fuller, and richer life.

Today, I want to share with you what I do in the realm of emotional mastery, why I chose artistic expression, the holistic approach, and neuroscience insights to enhance the process, and how this journey began.

I lost my oldest son, at the age of 29, and my grandson, at 10 months old, at the hands of a drunk driver in 2016.

However, my journey into emotional mastery began long before my tragic loss.

I was already on a path of self-development, striving to be a better me every day.

This journey intensified when I learned I was becoming a grandmother.

Given the trauma I endured in my past—the bullying, the rape, the sexual harassment in the workplace, and the emotional, physical, and verbal abuse—I knew this path would not be easy.

I anticipated many steps backward along the way.

I knew I needed to change the triggers, habits, behaviors, and everyday emotions in my life that consisted of stress, anxiety, frustration, depression, anger, helplessness, and sadness.

Yes, there were plenty of good times and laughter, but I was barely surviving.

In 2010, I thought, what if I could have more control over my life?

The journey has been long, and I’m still on it, but I’ve learned and accomplished so much along the way. And I have so much to share.

The life-changing event of losing my loved ones and helping my surviving son navigate grief served as a catalyst that deepened my commitment.

I was driven by a desire not just to survive but to thrive and live a life of my choosing.

So, what is Living a Life with Grace, Gratitude, and Giggles?

Grace is embracing elegance and poise in every situation, finding peace in the midst of chaos.

You can also receive grace—being open to kindness, compassion, and unmerited favor—and giving oneself grace, allowing yourself to be imperfect, to make mistakes, and to grow from them.

Gratitude is cultivating thankfulness for every experience and recognizing the value in all moments.

Giggles is maintaining a sense of joy and light-heartedness, even when faced with challenges.

But it doesn’t stop there. Living an audacious, authentic, and intentional life adds another layer to our journey.

Audacious is being bold and fearless in the pursuit of your dreams, stepping out of your comfort zone, and embracing new challenges with confidence.

Being authentic is staying true to your values and beliefs and expressing your true self without compromise. Being intentional is making deliberate choices that align with your goals and values and living each day with purpose and direction.

These principles guide my approach to life and have become the foundation of my teachings.

Now, emotions are complex reactions that involve our mind, body, and behavior.

They are signals that tell us about our internal and external environments.

Emotional mastery is not just about managing feelings but understanding them, learning from them, and using them to create the life we desire.

I use artistic expression, holistic practices, and neuroscience insights to heal, move forward, and live with purpose again.

Artistic Expression allows us to access and express emotions in both verbal and non-verbal ways.

Whether through fine art, poetry, music, singing, gardening, cooking, building, crafting, or dancing, artistic expression can be a healing process that helps in understanding and transforming emotional experiences.

All you need to do is discover what moves you–what creative passions ignite your spirit.

Your passion anchors your purpose. Create experiences. Build layers. Make space for yourself–to BE.

Harness the power of your creativity to heal, to live fully, to enhance your career, to build relationships, to improve your finances—whatever you need, whatever it takes.

And I’m here to guide you every step of the way. Incorporating the holistic approach integrates mind, body, and spirit, recognizing that true emotional mastery involves the whole person.

On my podcast, I will also be teaching about holistic practices such as self-care, using food to improve your mood, and mindset training.

These methods are designed to support your emotional well-being and overall health, helping you achieve a balanced and fulfilling life. Now, here’s the icing on the cake.

By understanding how our brains work, we can better navigate our emotions. Neuroscience provides the tools to rewire our brains for resilience and emotional strength.

I teach women how to create a series of new life experiences and events that take them from where they currently are, emotionally, to how they choose to feel–to rewire the brain, moving them to a place of having the life they choose.

This works in all facets of life: financial, relational, social, nutritional, physical, and mental health, just to name a few.

By intentionally designing and engaging in a variety of experiences and events, you can effectively stimulate your brain, promote neuroplasticity, and form new neural pathways that enhance your personal growth and well-being.

This process helps us break old patterns and establish new, healthier ones that align with our desired emotional state.

While we are on this journey, it’s essential to embrace all emotions, including negative ones.

Negative emotions let us know that something is off.

We need to distinguish between a negative emotion being part of our intuition—a signal that something needs attention—and an impulsive action or reaction behavior.

When we experience negative emotions such as anger, depression, or sadness, we don’t have to live there for long.

We can acknowledge and embrace how we feel and then choose to feel differently. We can pack up, leave, and move into a different space–a different emotion or emotional state—one that will support our personal growth.

Life will certainly present devastating and even debilitating incidents and circumstances beyond our control.

During these times, our brain takes over to ensure our survival through freeze, fight, or flight responses.

The critical phase is what happens after the immediate survival mode.

This is where emotional mastery comes into play.

Having tools and techniques allows us to navigate these events more quickly and heal effectively.

While we can’t control the initial survival response, we can control how we act and react afterward.

Emotional mastery teaches us that we have a choice in how we feel and respond to situations.

We learn to prepare for the unknown, unexpected, and the unimaginable.

This is a powerful realization that brings empowerment. Life happens.

And it will keep happening.

My goal for this podcast is to encourage you to become your best self and achieve greater fulfillment in your everyday moments.

So, I invite you to reflect on your own emotional journey AND to join THIS journey as we navigate emotional mastery together.

By listening to this podcast, you’ll gain the resources and insights to help you create the healthier, fuller, and richer life you've been longing for.

Until next time, my friends, live with grace, gratitude, and giggles.

About Grace, Gratitude, and Giggles

Each "Grace, Gratitude, and Giggles" episode is a journey toward emotional mastery and personal growth.

On the podcast, I blend emotional mastery with artistic expression, holistic practices, and neuroscience insights to provide you with lucid (laughable) life lessons, practical strategies, and inspirational stories to equip women with the tools to navigate life's complexities, not just to survive but to emerge stronger, wiser, and more capable.

 

Disclaimer:

My content is for educational purposes only. Information provided on this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for in-person professional medical advice.

It is not intended to replace the services of a therapist, physician, or other qualified professional, nor does it constitute a therapist-client physician or quasi-physician relationship. 

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call a local emergency telephone number or go to the nearest emergency room immediately. 

If you are having emotional distress, please utilize 911 or the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255.