The Shapes We Take

In this episode, Celeste sits down with Michelle Steiner—writer, advocate, para educator, and photographer—to explore what it means to build a meaningful life while living with a learning disability. Michelle shares how early doubts about her potential shaped her, how she moved from grief to acceptance, and why she now sees her disability as a source of unique insight and connection. From college struggles and career choices to book projects and garden metaphors, this conversation is a gentle, honest look at resilience, self-definition, and allowing our lives to "bloom" in their own time.     Brief Episode Summary Michelle reflects on her journey with dyscalculia and other learning disabilities, the discouraging messages she received growing up, and the long process of redefining success on her own terms. She talks about making Dean's List, finding fulfilling work in schools, becoming a published author, and dreaming up new books that educate and encourage others. Along the way, she reframes disability from a limitation into a different way of moving through the world—one that has opened unexpected beauty, empathy, and purpose.     5 Key Takeaways [0:02:48] – Michelle balances work, advocacy, writing, and book clubs, building a life full of creativity and connection. [0:06:01] – Her book ideas—Chasing Butterflies and a children's book on dyscalculia—use storytelling to educate and empower others with learning disabilities. [0:09:09] – Despite discouraging messages about college, career, and relationships, Michelle chose to pursue her own path and eventually proved those doubts wrong. [0:11:10] – Making Dean's List, graduating, marrying, and working in education reshaped her sense of what happiness and success can look like. [0:19:32] – Michelle defines resilience and success as doing her personal best, focusing on what she can control, and continuing to "bloom" despite challenges.     Featured Quote "Sometimes it's almost like grieving that person who didn't have a disability and didn't have to struggle—but once we process those emotions and accept them, then we come to acceptance, and it's a lot easier." — Michelle Steiner  Resources:   Michelle's Website: michellesmission.com  

In this episode of The Shapes We Take, Celeste speaks with Lorina Manzanita, a PhD student in human sexuality and a sex and relationship coach exploring the intersection of ethics, trauma, and psychedelic healing. Lorina shares how concepts like regulation, imaginal cells, microcultures of coherence, shadow work, and the wounded healer archetype shape her personal journey and professional work. Together they explore what it means to live in a dysregulated world without burning out, how to honor multiple "versions" of ourselves in transformation, and how to build small, intentional communities where people can be unfinished, vulnerable, and still deeply held.   Lorina Manzanita MA, SEP is a Somatic Intimacy Coach and Somatic Experiencing (SE) & Psychedelic Somatic (PSI)Trauma Resolution Practitioner, educator, and PhD student in Human Sexuality. She has been professionally helping people feel comfortable in their own skin since 1998. She loves helping space-holders and professional empaths who struggle with self-abandonment learn how to own their boundaries and desires.     5 Key Takeaways [0:04:38] – Regulation as flexible responsiveness Lorina defines regulation as the ability to flexibly monitor and modify our internal and relational conditions so we can adapt to ever‑changing circumstances without losing ourselves. [0:06:45] – "Microcultures of coherence" as imaginal cells Using the metaphor of imaginal cells in a cocoon, Lorina describes microcultures of coherence as small, values-aligned pockets of people whose shared, heart-connected "dream" can help transform a chaotic world. [0:16:25] – Death of old selves as the price of transformation Leaving a toxic relationship in 2009 felt like a visceral death, but it marked the end of an over-giving, disassociated self and the emergence of a more boundaried, embodied Lorina. [0:25:26] – Codependency, psychedelics, and reshaping purpose A pivotal psychedelic experience helped Lorina say yes to her PhD, letting a freewheeling, anti-institutional version of herself "die" so a new self could emerge in service of deeper impact. [0:31:53] – Integration as the antidote to chaos and rigidity Drawing on Dan Siegel's work, Lorina frames integration—balancing connection and differentiation—as the path from chaotic/rigid patterns (in sexuality, psyche, and systems) toward relationships and cultures that are flexible, adaptable, coherent, energized, and stable.     Featured Quote "Please don't get over identified with the wounded part. Please don't get identified with the healer part. Please don't get stuck in the cul-de-sac of a noun. Get really curious about the process." — Lorina Resources:   Visit www.IntegratingEros.com and sign up for my mailing list to get my mini-course: Nourished: The Neuroscience of Receiving Beautifully   Embracing Your Eros on Amazon: https://a.co/d/03ubGf2o   Main website: www.LorinaManzanita.com Group program: www.IntegratingEros.com Free mini-course: https://integratingeros.com/nourished-mini-course/nourished-welcome  

In this episode of The Shapes We Take Podcast, host Celeste Fernandez sits down with Cynthia Joy Towner, a stroke survivor, speaker, and creator whose life was radically reshaped after a brain injury changed her mobility, motherhood, marriage, and sense of self. Cynthia shares how growing up on the South Side of Chicago, losing her mother young, and surviving a stroke led her from feeling worthless to becoming a woman who lives with intention, joy, and purpose. Through candid stories about grief, resilience, healing, and rebuilding identity, she offers listeners a deeply honest look at what it means to choose yourself, rewrite lifelong beliefs, and see even the hardest experiences as happening for you, not to you.   Cynthia Joi Towner, known as JuuceeJoi, is a stroke survivor, comedian, speaker, and founder of Strength In You. She uses humor, storytelling, and advocacy to challenge how the world views disability—encouraging people to see it as a different ability. Her message is simple but powerful: never give in to giving up on yourself.   5 Key Takeaways [0:02:11] – After her stroke, Cynthia discovered a new drive and sense of purpose, deciding to treat her survival as a second chance at life. [0:04:52] – She learned to reintroduce herself with confidence, embracing her full identity as Cynthia Joy, an "energetic stroke survivor that lives limitless." [0:10:29] – Cynthia reframed hardship as something that happens for her growth, not to her, and teaches others to start with self-love and mindset shifts. [0:13:40] – Grieving her old life—mobility, motherhood, speech, and daily routines—led her to see herself not as disabled, but as having "different abilities." [0:30:00] – Healing, for Cynthia, is an ongoing process of discovery, accountability, and honest reflection on childhood wounds, relationships, and identity. Featured Quote "Whatever it is that you're going through is not happening to you, it's happening for you. You're not being punished, you're being purposed." – Cynthia Joy   Resource Link: https://blinq.me/qlLwFAjBzTdy3oSNMAmC?bs=icl  

In this episode, Celeste sits down with Vedant, a lifelong creative who has wrestled with burnout, hustle culture, and the quiet grief of not becoming who he once thought he'd be. Together, they explore redefining success beyond big-name brands and linear careers, learning to slow down in a culture obsessed with productivity, and honoring the "jungle gym" nature of modern creative paths. Vedant shares how competitive academic environments, generational expectations, and corporate prestige shaped his early definition of success—and how he has slowly unlearned those scripts to build a more flexible, grateful, and self-directed creative life. Vedant Akhauri is a writer and aspiring content producer based in Florida. He has worked on multiple short films, videos, and podcasts. When not editing or working on sets, he usually writes, spends time with friends, or plays video games. His personal podcast is Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri.     5 Key Takeaways [0:03:19] – The pressure to always create and "catch the trend" can push creatives toward burnout, making it crucial to learn when to work and when to simply be still. [0:05:07] – Competitive academic culture and generational "hustle" coding can normalize overwork and delay our understanding of mental health and self-care. [0:08:10] – Modern careers, especially in creative fields, are less like a ladder and more like a jungle gym—there are many valid paths to success, not just big corporations. [0:17:44] – Patience with yourself, starting small, and treating creativity like a muscle are essential for anyone who feels "not creative enough." [0:32:43] – True happiness and success must be self-defined; letting go of society's narrow metrics opens space for gratitude, flexibility, and a more honest life.   "We spend so much time letting other people define success and happiness for us that we forget we're already in a good place." – Vedant       

In this opening episode, host Celeste Fernandez introduces The Shapes We Take as a reflective space for honest conversations about the quiet, unfinished parts of life. Rather than focusing on glossy before-and-after stories, the show centers on the in‑between: the doubts, turning points, and subtle realizations that reshape who we are. Using the metaphor of a life as a piece of sculpture, Celeste outlines the podcast's intention to offer recognition, permission, perspective, language, and spaciousness to listeners who are still "in the middle" of their own becoming. 5 Key Takeaways (00:00) – Growth is usually quiet and gradual, happening in conversations, questions, and reflection rather than in dramatic breakthroughs. 00:45) – The podcast creates space for people who are still "in the middle" of their lives, not at a neat conclusion. (01:20) – Life is compared to sculpture, where experiences, losses, and realizations carve and reshape who we become. (02:05) – The show offers quiet "promises": recognition, permission to be unfinished, perspective on many paths to growth, and language for unnamed feelings. (02:40) – Listeners are invited to slow down, value pauses, and ask themselves, "What shape is my life taking right now?"   "Growth rarely happens in dramatic and cinematic breakthroughs. More often, it happens quietly, in conversations, in questions, in moments of reflection, in a slow realization that something inside you has shifted." - Celeste

In this introductory episode of The Shapes We Take Podcast, host Celeste Fernandez sets the tone for a series of honest, reflective conversations about the moments that quietly reshape who we are. Rather than focusing on polished, hindsight narratives, the show stays inside the "in-between" — the tensions, questions, and transitions that leave us still forming. Celeste invites listeners into a space where uncertainty, growth, and evolving identity are not problems to fix, but stories to explore in real time. 5 Key Takeaways [0:00:12] – A space for honest reflection • The podcast is a home for thoughtful conversations about the experiences that shape who we are. [0:00:40] – Life doesn't move in straight lines • Our lives bend, fracture, and stretch into unexpected shapes, and that's where meaning often lives. [0:01:05] – Beauty in not knowing who you're becoming • Some of the most beautiful parts of us emerge from seasons of uncertainty and becoming. [0:01:40] – A three-phase conversation structure • Each episode moves from the surface, to the tension, to what has been quietly reshaped. [0:02:20] – An invitation to notice what resonates • Listeners are encouraged to show up without answers and simply notice what mirrors their own lives.   "Sometimes the most honest way to understand a life is to ask what shape it's taking now."