KNOW-vember: Learning to Channel and Trust Your Intuition

Welcome to KNOW-vember! Throughout the month, we continue to explore what it means to know yourself more deeply. In this solo episode, Chandler maps out why curiosity (not certainty) is the pathway to trusting your intuition, how the body signals truth before the mind catches up, and simple daily practices to strengthen your inner GPS. 

Chandler blends personal stories, neuroscience context, and easy micro-practices (breathwork, curiosity walks, tarot pulls) to help listeners start using intuition for decisions. This episode is designed to help you notice and act on the quiet "yes" or "no" that already lives inside you. 

What You Will Learn

• [00:06:22] Why listening to your inner compass helps you navigate life from your own truth rather than someone else’s roadmap.
• [00:06:46] The idea of “lighting a sparkler every day” — choosing small, repeatable joys instead of waiting for rare fireworks.
• [00:07:23] A working definition of purpose: where what you love and what you're good at meet the world’s needs.
• [00:09:41] Examples of body-based intuition: the gut or stomach knowing before the rational mind does.
• [00:10:25] The neuroscience framing: brains predict the world by scanning past patterns, which is why intuition often feels like remembering.
• [00:11:17] How brief practices that build heart coherence (a few minutes of breath or focused calm) sharpen clarity and steady emotions.
• [00:19:09] Practical November prompts: three deep breaths before decisions, curiosity walks, a daily “Today I realized…” jar, and pulling one tarot card per day.
• [00:22:24] The core takeaway: inner knowing is not about being right — it’s about being real and remembering who you are under the noise.

Resources Mentioned

• The HeartMath Institute
   

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Chandler Stroud

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Mixing and editing provided by Next Day Podcast.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Chandler Stroud: Hey guys, it's Chandler and welcome to the Healing Heroes. I promise you,

[00:00:08] I'm Chandler Stroud, an executive wife and busy mom of two who after years of living with anxiety health struggles and an unshakeable feeling like I should be happier, made a profound discovery that changed everything. Join me on a journey where unexpected paths lead to healing and more happiness. On this show, we will explore unconventional ways to unlock more joy in your own life.

[00:00:38] With the help of my very own healers and trusted advisors, the healing heroes.

[00:00:48] Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Healing Heroes Podcast. I am your host Chandler, and today I am really excited to reflect a little bit and share more about this month's episode theme and how you can tap into what we'll be talking about to help support your own growth throughout the month of November.

[00:01:11] But first. I'd like to take a moment to quickly reflect on our Healing Heroine series and offer a special invitation to our listeners today. I first want to simply acknowledge and think the healing heroines that we've had on the show Thus far. These women are such role models in my eyes, having showed up with incredible courage, authenticity, and grace.

[00:01:40] In each and every episode, and I'm so eternally grateful to each one of them for their time and their willingness to share their story, all in hopes that it might help others listening. So thank you. To all of you, to each and every heroine who has allowed me to interview you, I'm sending so much love as you continue down the path of your individual healing journeys and am just, again, so thankful for your time and willingness to share what you've learned so far with our listeners.

[00:02:18] Next, I wanna offer a special invitation today. If you are a female listener who has used any sort of holistic approach to heal from trauma, tragedy, illness, or hardship, and are ready to share your story, I'd ask you to email me at support@healingheroespodcast.com. That's support@healingheroespodcast.com to let me know.

[00:02:51] Because we'd love to feature even more healing approaches on the show, and I can't think of a better way to teach all of you what exists out there in terms of resources and tools you can add to your toolkit than interviewing other women who have used these practices and approaches to heal from whatever it is they had to face themselves.

[00:03:15] So that is my special invitation today to email us. support@healingheroespodcast.com. If you are ready to share a story of your own and have found one of the holistic approaches, not just that we've used on the show, but really any approach to healing that you think would be valuable for our listeners to know about.

[00:03:37] I invite you to email and we'll see if it makes sense to connect and share more about what you've learned with our listener base. Now getting into the focus of today's episode, with respect to the month of November, I have decided to launch four episodes, one a week, that all ladder up to a specific theme.

[00:03:58] I haven't done this before really, but I think this month is the perfect time to test this out given. The very intense energy we will be feeling throughout the month with the largest Super Moon in 2025 to kick off the month on November 5th and an eventful Mercury retrograde to close us out from November 9th to the 29th.

[00:04:21] I'm coining this month, no, November. As in KNOW Vember, as you'll see in our show notes and on social, if you follow us on Instagram, and I'll be sharing content throughout the month that highlights the importance of going inward to know yourself more deeply and learn how to. Access your intuition by getting curious.

[00:04:45] I'm really wanting to encourage you all to blend the more mystical practices we talk about on the show with some of the more practical things that might come to mind first, as you're thinking about this work. Often we talk about the marriage of these two things on the show already. You've got astrology, human design.

[00:05:05] Tarot, mediumship and other spiritual guidance can be your first step toward really becoming more curious about yourself, seeing your behaviors, what drives you, your actions through a very different perspective and lens, often serving as a mirror for accessing that deeper knowing. I truly believe that curiosity is what builds that awareness, which then builds that trust and cultivates that trust that you need to keep going.

[00:05:36] All of the episodes that we'll be launching in November, we'll touch on practices that support this kind of inward reflection. Starting with the retrograde episode we launched last week with Hero RA and pushing you guys to really think more about what drives our behaviors, our emotions, and more. But I wanna get real with you guys for a second here.

[00:05:59] Why should you care or bother with any of this? I know we talk a lot about tapping into that deeper knowing and your intuition on this show, but why does it matter when you don't know yourself? You are living out someone else's idea of you, someone else's rules, someone else's version of what you should be doing.

[00:06:22] When you can listen to that inner compass, that quiet, yes or no beneath the surface, that's when you can start navigating your life from your own truth. Versus somebody else's roadmap. That's how you open the door to more joy, not the kind of fleeting, good moment or firework experience as our heroine.

[00:06:46] Lauren so beautifully said on the show a few weeks ago, but you can light that sparkler every single day and experience the kind of joy that comes from living in coherence between who you are. How you live and what you give. Because when your passions, what you love and your abilities, what you're good at and your impact, how you serve, all align, that is when you start tapping into and living from your purpose.

[00:07:23] One way many people describe purpose, and I think I most recently heard Sarah Blakely say it somewhat in this way, is your purpose. Really sits at the intersection of where what you love and what you're good at meets the world's needs. Now, purpose alone does not mean effortless, actually quite the opposite.

[00:07:49] Following your inner knowing often means doing the, doing the work, healing what's behind you, and walking the path. That's true rather than easy. When you are aligned, you know where you're going. You know how you're made. You know what you're meant to contribute. You're no longer just chasing happiness.

[00:08:10] You're creating it from the inside out. That was absolutely my experience. In discovering my purpose, what I love and what I'm good at meets the world's needs I am here to serve. That drives me so much so that I left a very cushy, successful marketing career at an incredible company. To start a podcast not knowing if that would enable me to have financial independence down the road, if it would be a success or a total flop.

[00:08:43] I had no idea. I just knew that my intuition, that inner knowing was pulling me, driving me forward, and it wasn't an option not to listen to that voice anymore. It was so loud. And as I said in the first episode of this show, once you see that, once you tap into that kind of knowing. It's always there sort of poking you in the background of your life until you pay attention.

[00:09:08] And so I am so grateful I did, and I'm not on the other end of this yet. I'm still very much in the messy middle, but not a day goes by that I regret my decision to overturn my life and start afresh. So hopefully somebody out there hearing this will take something from that story. But for those wondering, how do I know when my intuition or my inner knowing is really speaking to me?

[00:09:41] Have you ever had that moment where your body just knew before your mind did? Maybe it was a job offer or a job description even that looked perfect on paper, but something in your stomach was saying, don't do it. That happened to me once or a person. You couldn't explain why you trusted instantly. You just did.

[00:10:03] Or perhaps you felt the urge to call someone and it turned out that they really needed you in that moment. That is intuition. It's your inner GPS already reading the situation before your conscious mind catches up and you wanna know something cool. Science is finally catching up to what the mystics and healers have known forever.

[00:10:25] Neuroscientists now say that our brains aren't just reacting to the world. They're actually predicting it. Our brains are constantly scanning for patterns from our past and signals from our body forecasting what's coming next. This is why intuition often feels more like remembering than deciding in the moment, but it's not just your head, and that's an important thing to call out.

[00:10:51] Your body is sending signals too through your heart, through your gut. Through your nervous system. For instance, studies from the HeartMath Institute show that when you intentionally shift into a state of heart coherence or said another way, learning to be present with just a few minutes of breathing meditation or focused calm, your body and brain will actually sync up.

[00:11:17] Your thinking gets clearer, your emotions get steady, and your ability to sense what's right. Sharpens and your gut. It's literally serving as a second brain, the gut brain axis. Is the constant two-way conversation happening through the vagus nerve and your microbiome. Those millions of nerve cells in your digestive system are sending real time data to your brain that shape your mood, your focus, and even your decisions.

[00:11:50] That's why you feel truth. Or danger in your stomach long before your rational mind can explain it. So when you ignore that twinge, that flutter, or even that tightness, or when you rush through a decision without checking. Internally in your body. First, you're bypassing a vital part of your knowing system.

[00:12:14] Your body is signaling to you, guiding you toward the direction that is most right for you, like your inner compass. So the natural next question is, why don't we get those physical tells? All the time, and when we do, why don't we always listen to them? I personally don't believe that we are ever fully disconnected from our intuition.

[00:12:37] I think we're just taught not to trust it, especially as women, as young girls. Curiosity, at least for me, is how I reopened that door. Instead of asking, what do I think about this? I started asking, how do I feel about this? What is my body saying I should do? Because knowing doesn't start with certainty.

[00:13:02] It never does. It starts with that curiosity and the more curious that you can become. About what's happening inside you, your breath, your heartbeat, your gut reaction, the more fluent you become in the language of your own intuition. That's why it's so important to get good at this and practice again and again, though in retrospect, there are countless times prior to my healing journey that that intuition was trying to guide me.

[00:13:31] And sometimes I did listen though. In retrospect, I think my alert system was dysfunctional, if I'm being honest, mainly due to the emotional trauma that affected my nervous system constantly keeping me in a state of vigilance, stress, and fight or flight. And that stress then impacted my digestive function, how I felt in my gut, and on top of that, because I was feeling so uneasy.

[00:13:59] I think I put up a lot of walls around my heart space probably because I felt unsafe without realizing it, and it was so much easier to control, to plan, keeping the peace through people pleasing. There was so much conflict happening within my own self, my own body that. That noise tuned out my intuition when it should be reaching me and speaking to me, and so that's what my healing journey has been.

[00:14:29] Tapping into that and using it more often, not just for the big decisions, but the small ones I'm making all day long. I. And I will say despite all of that, I do recall moments when prior to even beginning this work, my intuition came through and helped me avoid the wrong job or stop me from making a big purchase that I would later regret or even more positively let down some of my barriers for people who just felt safe.

[00:14:58] And I learned to trust into that. And so those are some times that I think my intuition did speak to me despite the noise and the chaos that was happening within. But what I will tell you is that that has completely changed on the other side of my healing journey and doing a lot of the work that I've done over the last two years.

[00:15:18] Now though, I'm listening to my intuition. All day, most days for big and small decisions. It's sort of like having a direct line to your customer service rep versus having to go through this automated system. It's direct, it's clear, it's clean, and it's easy. We can be so good at going inward for the more significant decisions that need to be made, but why not tap into this?

[00:15:44] Inner knowing system, this GPS more often, even for the small decisions like what to have for lunch. Why does so much friction exist in letting intuition lead us? I think often it's the pressure to be perfect. Or fear of the unknown or doing something that feels like a departure from what we know to be the norm.

[00:16:09] Often over rationalizing and ultimately, I think many of us were rewarded for the right answer growing up, not necessarily the true one. Logic asks us what makes sense. But our intuition asks us what feels aligned when your inner truth and your outer choices are operating in integrity. Even when those choices stretch, challenge or scare you, that is alignment.

[00:16:40] It's not the absence of resistance, it's about the absence of self betrayal. That's what's important to remember. When I left my corporate job, it didn't feel easy. My mind signaled to me that it was a bit reckless stepping away from this incredible role at an amazing company in order to take some time for myself, go launch this podcast and do it all without the certainty of financial independence or business success.

[00:17:09] On the other side. It was scary, but while my mind was saying. This, the safe thing would be to stay at your job and stay the course. This is what you've been educated for, training, for working toward your whole career. My body was communicating something completely different and I had a choice. I could do what was easy, accepted and comfortable, or dive off the deep end and go headfirst into this space.

[00:17:43] Was entirely uncertain, not knowing what the future held for me on the other side, becoming a full-time mom and caregiver for my children. All of that was the great unknown. So I only say that because it wasn't the path of least resistance, my choice to listen to my intuition and do this work. Again, I will say it was not the path of least resistance.

[00:18:13] It was the path of deepest resonance. That is what alignment feels like, and it's often not easy, but it's incredible what can unfold when you lean into that feeling and trust it. Just trust it. So with that, how can you start practicing this for yourself? How can you access your intuition and be more in alignment with your truth, perhaps even your purpose?

[00:18:43] My number one piece of advice is to return to your body. Again, use the tools that we talk about on the show to get present. Be open-minded and stay curious about yourself. Don't assume you know yourself and what you want. Challenge your beliefs. Ask yourself questions, and when in doubt, pause. Breathe deeply and simply listen.

[00:19:09] And if that still doesn't do it, here are some fun. November, yes, KNOW Nove prompts and practices that you can try. Take three deep breaths before every single yes or no decision. Even the small ones, like I said earlier, what to order for lunch? Feel the answer. Don't think it. What is your body telling you you want?

[00:19:32] Not your mind. So example, maybe your mind is saying order the salad with grilled chicken, but somewhere deep inside you're saying, I'm just really in the mood for a slice, go get the slice. See what happens. Feel the answer. Don't think it. Give it a try. Try a curiosity walk. Stay with me for a second. I know this sounds cheesy, but truly when's the last time you went for a walk outside without a destination or without a roadmap?

[00:20:01] Just walk out the door. Know you wanna be gone for say, 20, 30 minutes and let your body lead the way. Notice what draws your attention and. Bonus points if you get back and write something down that your experience outside reminded you of from the past. It's surprising what can emerge when you get quiet and spend time in nature like that.

[00:20:25] Another idea you could try, if you are more of a writer, create a November jar. Yes, KNOW. Create a November jar. Each day, simply write down on a small piece of paper, a sentence that starts with today. I realized dot, dot, and finish it however you want. It can be a, an emotional or big realization. It can be something small, something you noticed about your kids.

[00:20:53] Just finish the sentence and do that every day in November, and then on November 30th, look back to see if any patterns emerged in what you noticed throughout the month. My favorite recently that I've been doing each day as needed is pulling a tarot card. If you don't have a tarot deck, I highly encourage you to find one that speaks to you.

[00:21:15] They are so fun to have a round simply to look at play with, and at the start or end of every day, what I do is I pull out a single card and I simply ask. What do I need to know today? You can even look at what the card signifies in the cheat sheet that you get in the deck, but once you do that, think about how that applies to your life and write about it.

[00:21:37] It can be a sentence or two. It can be a whole diary entry. Whatever you need to do. But I find that kind of reflection has been so helpful for me in strengthening my line of communication with my intuition. So that's a favorite of mine that I recommend to anyone interested in picking up a deck of tarot cards.

[00:22:00] And if you're not, I'm gonna plug the last. November episode we'll be releasing, which is all about tarot with hero Kate, and she will be doing a live reading here on the show for all of you. So highly recommend you tune into that one. But the big takeaway here is that this practice of inner knowing isn't about being right.

[00:22:24] It's about being real. It's about remembering who you are underneath all those layers. So throughout November in particular, with all of this astrological energy at play with the super moons and Mercury retrograde, you have what you need and are being supported to go inward and learn how to access that inner knowing and that intuition.

[00:22:50] More deeply and strongly, you are being supported in this timeframe to go inward and strengthen the lines of communication with that intuition, that inner knowing and reflect on how you've grown and where you'd still like to grow into the future. This is a very prime time for that kind of inner work, and that is why we are supporting you in that journey with four.

[00:23:17] Very relevant episodes this month that will help guide you along that path to tapping into what your most authentic self is trying to tell you. And as I said before, I recognize that it is not easy to listen. I know that it is not the path of least resistance. Most times, if you're lucky enough that you tap into something and it is fully aligned with how, what you believe, and how you're living your life day to day now, and you are in service of a cause that you care about, then great.

[00:23:53] You have achieved it. Nirvana. I'm not saying you're done growing, but at least you are living in alignment with what you feel like you should be doing and that. Purpose that is real everlasting joy. I said this in my anniversary episode when I was talking about the key lessons learned from a year of the healing heroes.

[00:24:16] I learned right? Just prior to that release that the ancient Greeks defined happiness as the joy we feel in pursuit of our greatest potential. So joy and purpose are inextricably linked. That is why this is so important. If you want to be happy, if you want to feel fulfilled, grateful, and joyful every day, not just in those high, low firework moments, those celebrations.

[00:24:52] There are a lot of ways to do that day to day, whether it's through gratitude, being present, getting quiet with yourself, tapping into that intuition, all of that will support you in cultivating more joy. But that purpose piece is really important, where what you love and what you're good at intersects with the world's needs.

[00:25:16] How are you serving others and the pursuit of. Giving back and living into that kind of alignment. That is where the joy comes every day. You wake up with this fire in your belly and you just can't wait to go do the work. Because I'm telling you from the perspective of my own life, of course, there are days that what I do feels like work, but for the most part.

[00:25:43] It doesn't, it doesn't feel like work. It's so enjoyable. It is so fulfilling, and I find most days that I pause in just complete gratitude for this life that I get to live now. And I want that for so many women out there, especially those of you who feel stuck, who maybe feel like you're in the wrong role, the wrong job, the wrong company, the wrong career.

[00:26:11] You don't have to be in those spaces if you don't wanna be. You just need to get quiet and hear what your inner compass is saying to you. And as hard as it is, try to listen. Try to listen. So throughout November in particular, with all the astrological energy at play, this Mercury retrograde, I encourage you to go inward and let curiosity lead you home.

[00:26:42] Thanks for listening, everyone, and if you know someone who would find value in this episode today, share it with friends and don't forget to follow the show. You can also visit healing Heroes podcast.com to get resources, meet the heroes, and share your ideas for future episodes. Stay well, and to everyone listening today, remember.

[00:27:07] Be curious, be courageous, and be kind to yourself. You've got this.