Begin Anywhere: Less Script, More Presence

What a mysterious episode title :-) Episode 23 comes rolling out a red carpet for reflection on and around relationships. What are they? Who are we in them? What is our relationship landscape or garden? Listen in and join the reflective mood around relationships as a web of life. I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection.   

This episode was inspired by a brief and seemingly insignificant moment earlier today. My view this morning - as I was writing, and reviewing supervision materials - became a metaphor. A metaphor of seeing in our lives and our world, of how and how much we get to perceive, what could be in the way, and what becomes possible when more of the picture becomes visible for us. At some point - deep into my work - I heard the sound of blinds going up. When I lifted my gaze, I saw a more complete picture of what was in front of me. In full color, bigger, moving and full of aliveness. There was something powerful about this change and it reminded me of the impact deeper awareness can have on us and our human experience. And it’s part of my own evolution and purpose as a human being and practitioner of coaching and supervision. I keep wondering with curiosity, humility, and awe - what is there to be discovered when we look deeper? How has all of our life brought us to this very moment of our expression and was is it inviting us to? ********************************************I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection. 

Friction showed up as a door opener for me today. And I used it as such to record another episode and explore how events - small and big - can reveal so much in us and for us. What happens in us when things don't go to plan, when we have no answers, when what we do doesn't seem to yield the results we hoped for? How can we meet the moment as it is and be with it? It was intriguing to bring this topic and a minor irritation and to notice the fog around it dissipate more and more as I could meet it as what it was, and become aware of what was at play under the surface. I hope this episode brings a new perspective or sense of presence for you as you go through your day and week. I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection.  

This episode was inspired by my cup of coffee… When I looked at it this morning, I saw so much:  - the beauty of ritual  - the energy of a gentle and powerful momentum - the scratches of a table experienced thousands of dinners and board games - a cup with a history and lineage, persevering - moments of togetherness and aloneness - the appreciation of being alive - the imperfection of showing up  - the felt sense of being connected to humanity (my own and other people’s)   I saw my life. And the richness of being in and with the moment, truly.   How was your cup of coffee or tea today?I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection. 

This is probably the most imperfect episode I’ve recorded so far! Part of me feels the urge to record it again, part of me is amused, yet another part reminds me that my intention was to show up as authentically imperfect as I am. The theme of appreciation (while not planned) fits perfectly (!) to what I’m sensing: the fear of not been seen as a capable contributor. A fear that many of us (in perception) know and experience. I touch on sources of appreciation and acknowledgement and offer perspectives on feeling seen in the 12 imperfect minutes of this episode. As always, I hope it sparks reflections about your own experiences with and relationship to being seen and feeling appreciated. I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection. 

This episode is about the No’s in our lives. Not the most pleasant topic perhaps. Or maybe it is? I would argue it’s just as significant as a Yes. It can be a re-direction, a point of re-orientation. A gift that may disappoint at first and reveal its beauty soon or much later after. It was a good experience to make space for this reflection. And to let it unfold as a landscape and a path. How has “No” informed you and your path? I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection. 

This episode is about storms. Storms in life. Stoms in nature. Storms in our emotions. Real storms. Imaginary storms. And how the energy and metaphor of a storm lives through us and in us. And here, as always, is an invitation to reflect: What storms are alive in you now? What are they bringing to your attention? I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection.  

This episode comes with a personal story of a forced pause in the middle of completion in the larger arc of becoming. When the body speaks, we need to listen and the wisdom it holds and shares with us (sometimes through in challenging signals) is precious. I’m sharing my reflections on evolution and becoming here and now in February 2026 and inviting you to look at your present moment in life: Who are you becoming? I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of reflection and connection. 

Happy New Year! Here’s episode 1 in 2026, and 15th since the start of the podcast in September 2025. I could easily write “time flies!” and I just did, but this episode is not about speed or time. It’s a short reflection on what is moving me at the beginning of a new calendar year. Intriguing how misalignment, depth, sustainability, and growth emerged naturally. What is moving you as you navigate the first weeks of 2026? I’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of expression and connection. 

“Where is the script?” is a question that has been with me in the last months of 2025. Asked by a voice of one of the learning systems I have been part of it did express what was on the mind of many people this year. Don’t we all crave structure and certainty, especially in times of change and conscious incompleteness that’s a natural part of the learning process? And the truth is a script can be a starting point at best, the leap into more is still up to us.  As we approach the end of 2025, I’m reflecting on growth, uncertainty, and what capacities remain inherently human. This is what episode 14 is about. I’m inviting you to join me in this reflection:·       How do you feel about having a script? Is it something you wanted or followed in certain areas of your life in 2025? ·       What becomes possible when you don’t have one? I’m finishing 2025 with an open question as a source of hope and connection: Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we felt safe expressing more of who we truly are for the sake of more alignment, more fulfilment and more genuine human connections?  

🎧 Episode 13 – Transitions, transitionsI keep catching myself writing November dates in my journal. 😮 But it’s December now… so here’s an episode on transitions.  Clearly there’s something from last month I’m still holding on to — maybe the slowing down through virus infections… the scheduling challenges… the deepening of my work with emotions… the courage to practice newly learned approaches… the human connections across countries, continents and nervous systems… or the revelations and shifts in who I’m becoming, both as a human being and as a practitioner. I’m curious to explore this more in my writing and reflections, and to fully cross the edge into the final month of 2025. I'm inviting you to join me in this reflection:💭 What transitions are you navigating? 💭 What supports you in the transition process?  I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection. 

🎧 Episode 12 – “Why would you do that?”A genuinely asked question, a simple conversation. And tons of reflection and realizations. This is what this episode is about. “Why would you do that?” can be a tricky question. It can also open a door to connecting across differences and meeting each other the way we are and where we are at. I reflect on the context of this question and what known and new awareness it opened for me. Have you come across this question (or a similar version of it)? If yes, how did it land for you? I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection. 

These three words – listening, depth, connection – characterized my last few weeks in painful and beautiful ways. I’m bringing them to episode 11 where I’m exploring insightful constraints, somatic wisdom, and the power of human listening and connection. I invite you to join me in this reflection:💭 What are you listening to right now? 💭 What is the tune, the song, the music that you can perceive in your life now?  💭 What is it pointing you to? 💭 If you were truly listening, how would you live this day, this week, this month? I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection.

This episode is a personal reflection on the meaning of power. What it is, how it shows up, and how our relationship with it can evolve over time. Power has so many meanings. Our relationship to our own power is shaped by our own unique meaning-making of it and our experiences of it. As I explore my own connection with power, I notice how it can feel both expansive and vulnerable. An ever-changing dance between strength and surrender. Power is in many ways about awareness, authenticity, and alignment with our true essence.I invite you to join me in this reflection:💭 Complete the sentence: Power is... 💭 What does it mean to be in your power? 💭 What’s the impact of being in your power?I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection.

This episode is an exploration of identity in motion. The fluid, ever-changing sense of who we are. I found myself reflecting on how much we change, sometimes subtly and sometimes profoundly, and how easy it is to cling to past versions of ourselves.Who am I today? Who are you today? These questions can open space for awareness, compassion, and deeper truth about our essence and how it expresses over time: in our relationships, work, creativity, and presence.When we meet ourselves as we are and where we are at, without the need to fit old definitions, something new becomes possible. New and deeper alignment can connect us to more aliveness and fulfilment. 💭 Who are you today - beyond roles, expectations, or stories of who you’ve been? 💭 What’s ready to emerge when you allow yourself to meet this current version of you with openness?I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection. 

In this episode, emotions come to show themselves. It felt tender and vulnerable to reflect on my own relationship with emotions: how it has evolved, deepened, and softened over time. This episode is a personal tribute to emotions and an invitation to feel our feelings to completion. When we allow emotions to move through us with awareness and permission, they become messengers informing, guiding, and even making way for more possibilities.It’s not always comfortable, and yet it’s profoundly human. Feeling our emotions fully opens space for more aliveness and presence - in life, in leadership, in how we relate to ourselves, others, and what can be next for us in the world.💭 What emotions are asking for your attention right now? 💭 What do they want you to know or take care of? 💭 When you allow yourself to feel, what becomes possible?I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection.

This episode felt more spacious. After days away from the day-to-day noise, it's silence that invited itself to the podcast. As the main character of these 18 minutes. Often avoided and labeled as unnecessary. it can be truly revealing and empowering. When we allow ourselves to pause, to truly listen, something deeper emerges. Silence can become a doorway, a mirror, a bridge to what’s most true and alive within us and around us. I thoroughly enjoyed the way silence kept showing up in it as if to indicate its presence and the possibilities it can open up. I hope you will find bits and pieces that are interesting and inviting more silence, spaciousness, and reflection. Here are some question that might be suportive as you explore the quiet spaces of silence and what they reveal: 💭 When you get really still, what’s the whisper you can hear through the silence? 💭 What’s your relationship with silence, and how has it evolved over time? 💭 If noise were an armor, what does it protect you from? And when you let go of it, what becomes possible? I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection. 

How does it feel to not know? And what does not knowing make possible?  It can feel unsettling, even uncomfortable to let go of the need to know. Beyond the discomfort lies a gift of possibility and creativity. In this episode of Begin Anywhere, I reflect on the stance of not knowing. The attitude that allows more and different knowing to emerge enriching our lives and our world. Often, we rush to find answers or to “figure it out,” to be knowledgeable. I know I have done and I know I still do at times. But what if the richness lies in being with the unknown just a little longer? As a signal of our availability for what wants to emerge.  As always, I'm curious... 💭 What’s your relationship with not knowing? 💭 What can letting go of your desire to know make possible? I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection. 

This episode is about space. Ironically, it turned out to be the shortest one so far. And hopefully filled with enough spaciousness to explore and begin anywhere around the topic of space and choice related to it. As always, no script and some surprising mentions. This time it was the Men's Volleyball Championship 2025. The final match is on September 28, 2025. I touch on space as something we all share, on interconnectedness, on how important space can be and is. And offer you a few reflection questions:✨What does space mean to you?✨ How much space do you give to yourself? How much space do you give to others? How much space do you give to the world around us? ✨ How do you give space? What kind of space do you choose to create and co-create?   I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection.

In this episode of Begin Anywhere, I share my reflections sparked by watching the World Wrestling Championships 2025. Wrestling is more than a sport - it’s a dance of strength, resilience, fairness, and connection. It made me pause and ask: What am I wrestling with at the moment? How and why? Upon reflection, would I choose a different approach? Where am I avoiding “full contact” with life?These questions open a space to look at the tensions, challenges, and opportunities we face every day—with honesty, courage, and presence. I'm offering these questions to you as doors to more awareness and more choice: ✨ What are you wrestling with now? Why is it important? How are you approaching it?   ✨ Where might you be avoiding “full contact” with life?  I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection.

In this episode of Begin Anywhere: Less Script, More Presence, I explore the many shapes of learning—not just the knowledge we gain, but the ways it stretches us, transforms us, and invites us to become more of who we are.Learning can be exhilarating, humbling, and sometimes deeply uncomfortable. It shows up in the big life transitions as well as in the small, everyday moments of awareness.✨ What does learning mean to you? ✨ What have been some of the most impactful learning experiences in your life, and how have they shaped you? ✨ And what are you learning right now?Join me as I share reflections, stories, and an invitation to pause and notice the learning that is alive in your own life today. I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection. 

The theme of preparation kept showing up for me recently—in my mornings, before work calls, during workouts, even in playtime with my daughter. It wanted to be explored. And what better way to do that than with presence and freedom?In Episode 2, I talk about the importance of preparation and how our relationship with it can shift over time. I love being prepared and value the process deeply. But at some point, it began taking more space than creativity and creation.True participation in life happens when we meet the moment with presence—creating from it and trusting the process. Simple, yet often challenging. This episode explores the interplay (and creative tension) between being prepared and being present.✨ Kinisi Flow® even made an unscripted appearance, which felt just right.What’s your relationship with preparation? How has it shaped your experiences? And what, if anything, would you like to change about it?I’d love to hear from you—reach out at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or visit irinapashina.com to learn more about my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator, and speaker.Thank you for joining me on this journey of creativity and connection. 

✨ In this debut episode of Begin Anywhere: Less Script, More Presence, I explore the tender space where endings and beginnings meet. I share a personal story of a recent major ending and beginning and reflect on how presence can help us navigate transitions—whether they’re small daily shifts or life-changing chapters.This episode is an invitation to pause, breathe, and notice what is unfolding in your own life right now. What endings want to be honored? What beginnings are quietly or loudly calling you?I would love to hear your reflections. Please share your thoughts or simply say hello per e-mail at [email protected] or on LinkedIn (Irina Pashina | LinkedIn).To watch a video version of this episode, go to https://youtu.be/dcuC7VQJltYIf you would like to find out more about my work, visit irinapashina.comThank you for joining the explorations and for beginning anywhere.   

Here it is! Announcing the podcast launch felt exciting and daunting. It's an idea that has been lingering for many years. What can emerge when we are fully present and share what shows up? No overplanning. I feel the fear: what if it's not good (enough) and I feel the urge to trust aliveness and what it can spark in the moment. I'll be exploring different topics related to leadership and presence, sharing perspectives and stories, and inviting your reflections. It will always be an invitation - to reflect, to be present, to begin anywhere as imperfectly as it can be and trusting the flow of life. You can watch the video version of this episode here.  I always welcome sharing and would love to hear from you. You can reach me at [email protected] or on LinkedIn (Irina Pashina | LinkedIn) and find out more about me and my work as a coach, mentor, supervisor, facilitator and speaker on my website (Homepage - Irina Pashina). I look forward to what's to come on this exploration of creativity and connection and thank you for joining me!