The Dream Catcher Podcast

5 Signs That You’re Too Hard on Yourself

We have a competitive streak ingrained in us – a desire to race to the top. The quest to be prettier, smarter, braver, and more successful never ends in our modern society.

If we are not careful, our hard-driving ways can erode our self-esteem and drain us. Having this awareness and focusing on what we're doing well, right now, is the first step towards making a healthy shift.

In this episode, you'll learn about the five classic signs of being are too hard on yourself and what you can do to overcome them.

[Interview] Finding our Destiny by Understanding our Soul and Past Lives (feat. Ainslie Macleod)

The great French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, once said that "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience". Many of us do believe that we are on a spiritual journey that involves growth and learning but we face challenges in understanding the purpose of our journey and how we're meant to use our time and energy in a meaningful way.

My guest today, Ainslie Macleod, is an expert at helping people reach this level of understanding. Ainslie is an internationally acclaimed past-life psychic, spiritual teacher, and award-winning author of books such as The Instruction, The Transformation, and most recently, The Old Soul’s Guidebook. He specializes in exploring past lives to reveal your life’s purpose, and has been a featured guest on Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations Series.

As a fan of Ainslie's work, I was delighted to hear his thoughts on various topics about the soul. During our conversation we speak about the role of free will and fate when it comes to our destiny and how past life memories affect our current circumstances. Ainslie also shares his views on popular topics such as soulmates and how young and old souls can work together to create a better world. You definitely don't want to miss this exciting episode!

Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover. Here’s Why.

When determining whether or not we like a book, it’s easy to be deliberate and thoughtful in our approach. But when it comes to judging people, it’s a totally different story.

We tend to instantly evaluate those we encounter based on what we see on the surface. which is the equivalent of judging the book by its cover, without browse its contents.

The truth is that you end up doing yourself a disservice when you prejudge people before getting to know them better. You miss out on potentially enriching friendships and partnerships, and you could even put yourself in harm’s way if you’re too quick to trust.

In this episode, I outline five key reasons why you should not judge people based solely on their appearance, and what you should do instead to see them for who they truly are.

How to be a Leader in Your Life

When most people think of the word ‘leader’, they see images of kings, presidents, CEOs, and other authoritative figures in the social system.

They assume that if they don’t have one of these leadership roles, they are followers by default.
But what if I told you that you are a leader, regardless of which roles you play in your career, family and social life? A leader in your own life.

In this episode, I share some of my thoughts on how you can activate your inner leader by taking charge of your life and making empowering choices.

What to Do When You Feel Stuck in Negative Thoughts

All of us have experienced what it’s like to be caught up in a storm of negativity. Whether it was an offhand comment made by someone close to you, or a specific event that instigated it, you were left feeling depleted.

Dark clouds of doom and gloom envelope up our senses and we quickly lose sight of what’s real and what’s not. And as a society we've become habituated to mask these symptoms with quick-fixes like pills and escapism.

But the only way to clear out the fog of doubt is to shine a light on our thought patterns and gradually shift them. In this episode, I share some guidelines that will help get started on the process of developing a healthy and stable mindset.

[Interview] How to Add Depth and Meaning in Your Life (feat. David Trotter)

Many of us experience moments when we find that our life lacks meaning, depth and purpose. When we're caught up in our emotions it's hard to figure out what's missing and what actions we should take to get our life back on track and experience fulfillment.

David Trotter, my guest today, has been helping people get unstuck for the past 25 years. He’s done this by helping them clarify their goals, and take their lives to the next level through his leadership, speaking, books, and film making. David is the host of Inspiration Rising, a podcast dedicated to inspiring women (and the men who support them) to rise up in life, love, and leadership. He's spent the last eleven years running a successful marketing business, producing/directing four award-winning feature films, and creating resources to make a positive impact on important social issues.

Join us for this conversation where David describes the main issues that we need to resolve to get unstuck in our lives and his recommendation on rituals, techniques and tools such as a life map that we can use to enhance our current circumstances and live a life of love, abundance and meaning.

Why There’s No Such Thing as the Perfect Partner

Many of us grew up being exposed to romantic fantasies. Because of this, we fall into the trap of projecting these idealized expectations on to the people we connect with. Once the passion and intensity of the initial phase of infatuation wears out, we become disappointed with reality.

The good news is that we don’t have to compromise on having the relationship of our dreams - but we do have to compromise on our expectations of perfection.  The perfect partner does not exist. They are merely a construct of your imagination created to fuel fantasies.

In this episode, I’ll describe four things that you can do to accept potential love interests just as they are, not what they could be. You’ll learn how to open your heart to the truth of their story and see them as a whole person – a real person who can love and cherish.

The Importance of Cultivating a Rich Inner Life

In today’s world we’re inundated with information and responsibilities vying for our attention. In addition to that, our society’s culture has become very outward-looking. It’s no wonder that so many people feel disconnected with their inner-self and they feel like they’re living a monotonous existence.

But our days don’t have to be bland and boring. We can instantly shift our outlook from grayscale to Technicolor by simply changing our orientation towards life. We can add vibrancy to our experiences by cultivating our inner world of imagination, feelings and creativity.

In this episode, I share five simple ways to cultivate a rich and vibrant inner world that will greatly enhance your life experiences.

The Difference Between Confidence and Arrogance

Confidence is considered to be a vital quality for success. Consequently, we’re encouraged to ‘fake it, till we make it’ and give others the impression of confidence even if we don’t really feel it within.

This movement has spawned a new generation of ‘posers’, ‘wannabe’s’ and the nouveau riche who give off an unpleasant whiff of snobbery and entitlement. But real confidence is a direct result of self-love that comes from continual growth, introspection, and personal accountability.

Whether you would like to keep your tendency to display arrogance under check, or you’d like to get better at seeing it in others, this episode will help you by giving you a clear idea of the differences between real confidence and the fake kind.

[Interview] Empowering Women to Become Leaders in Their Own Life (feat. Cristina Perelman)

Workplace inequality is a reality that we all face in the modern world. Although women have come a long way when it comes to elevating their place in society, there is still much work to be done. To discuss more about this issue I invited Dr. Cristina Perelman, an author and expert on employee rights and corporate social responsibility.

Cristina has been a sub-specialty physician for 30 + years. During her experience she has witnessed how society devalues women both at home and in the workplace by continually placing more value of women’s looks over brains. This has motivated her to write empowering books that empower women. Her mission is to accelerate the overall equality of the sexes in all areas of life.

In our conversation, Cristina and I look at women's rights and empowerment from a historical, ethical and practical standpoint. She offers advice on how women can deal with unfair work situations, promote themselves in the world with poise and dignity and steps that they can take to become leaders in their own lives.