Hello beautiful souls! Stephanie is a happiness expert. Throughout her studies she’s found what happiness is and what happiness isn’t. Today’s episode takes you deep into happiness so that you can bring the MOST of it possible into your own life. I’ve followed @newhappyco since the very beginning and I’ve long wondered, “Who creates these magnificent images of joy and love and abundance?” I pictured an office building filled with graphic designers all working hard on each concept, but today I found out that Stephanie Harrison is the sole creator of all these images, and I’m even more amazed. I’ve also often wondered if she is an energy healer, because the way she uses art to describe the energies of everyday life makes me feel something deep within my being. And she is! If you don’t follow @newhappyco on Instagram, go over and follow it right now. I promise you, you will become a happier person because of Stephanie’s work… and all the questions she answers in today’s episode.

To learn more about Stephanie Harrison’s work:
StephanieLHarrison.com
[IG] @newhappyco
Stephanie’s book New Happy is available at all major book retailers

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TRANSCRIPT

Julie Jancius: Listen in for messages from this episode.

Stephanie Harrison: This other pressure of, oh, you have to be perfect and you have to figure out all of your tools and your strategies and your modalities and all that kind of stuff and then you can help people. But no, no, that’s not the case. Like, we’re all imperfect and worthy and we’re all helping each other all the time and we should do more of that. And that’s how we’ll experience more happiness.

Julie Jancius: Hello, beautiful souls. You’re listening to the Angels and Awakening podcast. I’m, your host and author, Julie Jancius. Did you know that you can listen to this show everywhere podcasts are found? It’s true. Now I have three free gifts just for you. First gift, I give away a new reading each week to a person who’s left a five star positive review of this show, then submitted it to me using the contact form@theangelmedium.com. Contact I hope I’m calling your number next. Second gift if you’d like a new daily angel message, join me on Insta at angelpodcast. Third free gift. If you’d like to know the name of one of your guardian angels so that you can work with them even more closely, go to the homepage of my website, theangelmedium.com, and submit your contact info at the very top. I’ll email you back personally with the name of one of your angels. Okay. As we begin the show, I want you to feel the presence of your angels surrounding you. And just know that the loving, positive messages you resonate with today are messages for you from your angels and loved ones on the other side. Hello, beautiful souls. Welcome back to the Angels and Awakening podcast. I’m your host and author, Julie Jancius and friends. Today we are here with Stephanie Harrison. You have probably seen her stuff on Instagram over on CNN. She’s a contributor. The new happy is your account. Your book is called New getting Happiness right in a world that’s going got it wrong. Oh, does that just reach the heart?

Stephanie Harrison: I love the way you say it. I’m going to have to hire you to do all of the voiceover for the book. That was beautiful. Oh, my goodness.

Julie Jancius: I’d love to. I love to. Stephanie, welcome to the show.

Stephanie Harrison: Thank you so much for having me. I’m truly grateful and excited to be here with you today.

Julie Jancius: Yay. Okay, I have to ask you this because if people don’t understand your work and I really see you as an artist with this message that is just reaching millions, if not, you know more people. Do you have any energy healing background? Because I feel energy from every single one of your posts.

Stephanie Harrison: Oh, thank you. Yeah, I do, actually. So I have been trained in, in Reiki in the past, and it’s something, that has always been a real passion of mine, and I’ve always engaged with many practices for well being and spiritual health, and it’s always been a big part of my life. So thank you for saying that. The fact that you feel that means a lot to me.

Julie Jancius: You can feel it in every single one. So you have a visual post a lot of times with shapes or different things that goes along with something that you’ve written. And every single time I see the shapes, I just feel energy. I feel it very palpably. Like when people are reading and they’re reading something very descriptive or moving, they’re feeling it within their heart, and I am just looking at shapes and the way that you color them, and you’ll say, something to the effect of, like, when you bring in more joy, right? And you’ll show more bubbles colored in, you just feel this overwhelming feeling of, okay, I don’t have to be perfect, but if I take these little micro steps every day, it’s going to help me feel more joy. Do you feel it as you’re creating it?

Stephanie Harrison: Yeah. And I’m so touched that you feel that way. I can’t even describe what that means to me. Thank you so much. I do. You know, I think it’s probably similar to many people who are creators in any form, whether that’s, you know, through a medium like writing or speaking or storytelling or any form of making. I think that the. The pieces that I’m always the most proud of and the ones that seem to actually resonate the most with other people are the ones that are actually more. Feel like they’re channeled through me than anything else. You know, they’re not something where I’m. I’m having to sit and think a long time about it. There are ones that eventually take a while to come together. And I think part of the interesting approach that I try and take with the artwork is we’re trying to communicate these ideas that are actually grounded in science most of the time, and these scientific studies and this broader message that you mentioned. And so having that kind of empirical or messaging grounding and then trying to consider how we communicate that through, as you said, a simple shape or a specific color or a movement of a form in some way, at the end of the day, the ones that are the most exciting are just have that feeling of pure creativity of something coming through you rather than being of you in a way.

Julie Jancius: Describe some of them that. I mean, your stuff just resonates with so many people, but you know, better than I would like which ones, like, have done the best. Describe what some of those look like visually and what you’re trying to convey with that message.

Stephanie Harrison: When I think about the pieces that people seem to connect with the most, they’re always the ones that are about reassuring people that they’re not alone and that give them a sense that they are connected to others in some way. And so I think that when there’s a piece that can visualize, hey, this is how it feels to be really overwhelmed. And when you feel overwhelmed, it’s totally okay that this is what it feels like to you. One of the pieces that is the most popular is this one of, a whole bunch of big, messy, colorful circles all kind of splayed out across the place. And then beneath it is the same circles, but all shrunk down to a row. And they’re all perfectly ordered. They all are kind of more manageable. And the text, associated with it, it has to feel like this. It has to feel messy and hard and complicated before it feels like this. Something understandable or digestible or clear or something that makes sense to you or to others. And it’s pieces like that, I think, that help people to recognize that it’s okay that you feel this way. We’re all actually feeling this way. It’s just not visible.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, for sure. Go over there to Instagram and I’m sure you’re on TikTok. That the same one, right?

Stephanie Harrison: Yeah.

Julie Jancius: New happy co. And look up what we’re talking about as we’re talking about it, because it’s just going to give you a real great visual. So let’s kind of go back to the beginning. What is happiness to you? Were you always happy? And how did you find your own happiness?

Stephanie Harrison: I think that the question you’re asking is really at, the heart of everything that I do. The first answer is no. I was not always happy. I was very unhappy, and I had no idea why. There was nothing I could specifically point to that said, oh, you know, here’s something that means that you should be unhappy. And in many ways, that moment of recognizing that, hey, all of these things that you were told to do that would make you happy are actually not working for you. That’s what led me to want to actually really understand what true happiness happiness was. And when I say true happiness, I mean something different than I think we traditionally talk about. It’s something where it’s a state of being. It’s a state that can include difficult times and experiences, but that’s reflective of a greater sense of contentment and moments, of joy and a sense of purpose. And I think that’s really what we’re all searching for. I think that we all want to have a life that is a happy one. But because we’ve been given this set of instructions by our world that leads us astray, it becomes really difficult. So, ultimately, that personal unhappiness is what led me to want to study happiness and well being. So I ended up going to get a degree in positive psychology. And while I was there, I ended up writing this thesis, arguing that our society had gotten happiness all wrong and we needed something quite different. And that was really the beginning of, all of the work that I do today.

Julie Jancius: That’s so amazing. And I love that progression that you followed. How did it transition from the thesis to, was it initial Instagram account or blog?

Stephanie Harrison: It was actually a newsletter. So I started a newsletter back in 2018, and it was just a weekly email that I sent out to people. You know, I think the first one went to a handful of people, and most of them were put on the list with their consent, because they were my friends and family. so I started, you know, just sharing some of these ideas in the hopes that somebody else would find them useful. And, ultimately, I kept the newsletter going for about, a year and a half, two years. And then I ended up leaving my full time job at the time to focus on building the new happy into a broader movement in the summer of 2020. And that’s when I started making the artwork as a way to help communicate these messages in a different way, because I knew that I wasn’t getting, I wasn’t feeling transformed by most of the work or the content that I was consuming as a user. I felt, okay, this is good. It’s a start. But how do we actually reach people in a way that maybe will provide them with new insights and new tools? And I think that when I think about the artwork, the goal is really to give people every day a moment of. Of connection with themselves and with others, to recognize that there is something you can do today that might help you. A perspective shift or a tool or a strategy. And when you do it, it’s going to help you not only in the moment, but in the long run. And ultimately, as I shared with you earlier, I think that it helps people to realize they’re not alone. And having that recognition is so important.

Julie Jancius: Especially right now, for sure, when it comes to happiness. What, I found personally, in my own experience of life is that, you know, you, not every day, might not be happy. I had to figure that out through an inpatient stay at the hospital. But they showed this video while we were in there, and most of it are people who had a boss who was just too demanding and wanted too much. And, you know, it’s all normal people who are kind of inpatient, learning how to care for themselves mentally, emotionally. And it was the first time that this question was posed, what is happiness? Do you feel that you’re supposed to be happy all the time? Is that actually possible? Would life really be what it is if you were happy? Twenty four seven. And it gave me the biggest, deepest, aha. moment of what am I actually working towards? What do I actually want? How do I actually define happiness? Because it obviously is not what I thought it was before.

Stephanie Harrison: Yeah. Wow.

Julie Jancius: Do you think most people understand that happiness isn’t 24/7 or do you think that most people are searching for it to be a constant state of their lives?

Stephanie Harrison: I feel that I had a similar moment of awareness. That was a huge aha. Moment for me as well, because I personally thought, yeah, there’s a time when I’ll be able to be perpetually, permanently happy forever. And the messages that we’re told by our society are that, hey, if you can be perfect, if you can achieve XYZ goal, if you can be completely independent and self sufficient, then you will get there. You’ll get to that permanent state of happiness. No, I certainly don’t think that’s possible. I don’t think we should be aiming at that. I think that, as you said, every single life, every single human life will have experiences of suffering. And those moments of suffering are often what lead to our sense of meaning. They’re what help us to find our purpose, that what, they’re what help us to connect with other people. So how could we ever eliminate those when those outcomes are actually one of the greatest sources of happiness?

Julie Jancius: Friends, guess what? We’re hosting two live in person events, an in person angel reiki school and an in person spiritual retreat. The first event is the weekend of June 1 in Oakbrook, Illinois, where I’m teaching the Angel Reiki school. This is where you get certified in mediumship, angel messages, and energy healing all at once for a limited time. When you register for the Angel Reiki School in person. You’ll also get my eight week online angel Reiki school. Visit theangelmedium m.com. Get certified for details. You’ll also find that link in the show notes. It’s theangelmedium.com get certified. The second live in person event this year is a spiritual retreat, the weekend of October 4 in Oakbrook, Illinois. The spiritual retreat is different in that it’s for your own personal growth. The spiritual retreat is all about your own personal healing, your journey, reconnecting with yourself, learning to connect with your angels. And I’m going to talk about all new angels that I’ve never talked about before anywhere. This spiritual retreat is going to leave you with more personal peace, purpose, clarity, and confidence than ever before. Learn more@theangelmedium.com retreat that’s theangelmedium.com retreat. So just to recap, we have the in person spiritual retreat October 4 for your own personal healing and growth. And the in person angel Reiki School June 1 is where you become a medium, angel, messenger, and energy healer all at once. Links to details are in the show notes. I can’t wait to meet you and hug you in person from an energy healer perspective and with an energy healer community listening to us, one of the biggest, I think, blocks to our own happiness are these pressures that we put on ourselves that we don’t even realize are there these perfectionists, or I have to have it all, or I have to be happy 24/7 or, you know, this take care of yourself, take care of yourself, take care of yourself. I gotta too many things to just, balance. And one of the things that I just love about new happy company is it really makes people aware of the pressures that they have on them in a way that I don’t think people were aware before. Can you kind of talk about that a little bit?

Stephanie Harrison: So generous. Thank you. I think that obviously the art, is heavily informed by my own personal experiences and witnessing of the world. And if there’s one thing I can relate to, it’s feeling that sense of pressure that you just described of being perfect, of having to do it all, of getting life all together, all of these things. And I think that it really comes back to this idea that there are contingencies on our self worth, that we’re not acceptable exactly as we are. And the world gives us all of these contingencies, these things that we have to do to show that we’re good enough. And if there’s one message that I would try to impart upon people as they’re thinking about true happiness. It’s that there’s no condition for your worth. You’re worthy because you’re alive. You’re worthy because you’re a human being, and there’s nothing that you need to do or to change or to acquire in order to prove that you’re worthier than you are at this moment in time. And with that recognition, we can then start to shift into the true sources of happiness, which is sharing that self with the world, using it to help other people. And I also don’t think. I don’t believe that we have to wait to feel completely worthy or acceptable in order to do that. In fact, it’s actually the act of sharing ourselves and of opening ourselves up to others and offering our unique gifts that helps us to continue to realize just how worthy and wonderful we really are. And so, it’s almost like there’s been another sort of pressure added, right? Like, you have to this other pressure of, oh, you have to be perfect, and you have to figure out all of your tools and your strategies and your modalities and all that kind of stuff, and then you can help people. But no, no, that’s not the case. Like, we’re all. We’re all imperfect and worthy, and we’re all helping each other all the time, and we should do more of that, and that’s how we’ll experience more happiness.

Julie Jancius: Yeah. Well, and what I get, too, is, I got a couple questions for you on this. But when I tune into and what I feel coming off of your artwork and your words is what all spiritual teachers are talking about, that there is a way to just be and to be present. I call it just being in oneness, which you talk a lot about, that connection. We’re all connected. We’re all one. And when you’re in this state of energy, of just being, there are no pressures. There’s nothing around you. You’re just your pure soul self energy. And that’s the point at which I think that people can best tune in to their own intuition and who they are authentically. And I guess my question is, do you do that intentionally? Like, do you do Reiki? in advance? I don’t think that there are a lot of healers who they just are themselves, and they are that oneness, and through it, it just pours into the work. I think you’re just such a wonderful channel. But I’m wondering, is it channeled, or do you have a spiritual practice you use in advance. How do the ideas flow to you?

Stephanie Harrison: I, don’t do anything special. The one thing I’ve noticed over and over again is that it’s ironic, given the message of my work. But whenever I find myself thinking too much about myself or my own crap or whatever, how people will think about me or what they’ll judge or will they like this, or blah, blah, blah, any sort of inspiration that I have just disappears. So the only time I can access it is when I’m being fully of service to others. And so one of the unique things that I think the new happy artwork does is most of the pieces are actually made for somebody. Like, I hear from somebody in our community, like, I do weekly community check ins, and people share what’s going on and what’s hard for them. And I’ve been doing that for the entire duration of the account. And so I hear from somebody, I’m, Really. I’m really stressed. I’m really struggling with a, B, and c. And then I think about what would help this person. What do they need? And how might I represent this? You know, this one study I read, or this tool or this approach, and then it comes to me like that. But it only happens when I’m really grounded in a form of service. And I think, to your point, of feeling grounded in that sense of oneness, of connection, because that’s what people need. I believe. I believe that we need to feel that sense of interconnectedness more than anything, really. And if I’m not a part of that, then I can’t participate through my unique offering. I have to walk the talk on that front in that way.

Julie Jancius: That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Okay, so I’m, giving a TED talk in a couple of weeks. by the time that this airs, I think we will have already given the TED talk. But they’re like, bring different quotes and research in. I just got off a call where I had to give the TED talk in advance, and so, can I quote you on this? you said, when I think, what will people think of this, the ideas disappear. The only way I can access the intuition and follow it is to not think that.

Stephanie Harrison: Yeah, of course, I would be honored. Yay.

Julie Jancius: Yay. And I think that that is a big piece that people aren’t talking about. When you worry about what will other people think, you don’t have access to your intuition. You are in a complete fear state.

Stephanie Harrison: Totally. At least for me. I’m not. I’m not able to show the, you know, that I’m trying to be of service to others. And that’s the message at the heart of the new happy. It’s like, you know, we’re here to help each other. And so for me to help, I can’t be thinking about myself in that moment. You know, I have to be. I have to be other oriented so that I can do the very best job that I can.

Julie Jancius: Oh, that’s amazing. I love that because it just. It’s perfect. And I believe that 100%. When you said that you do those weekly check ins, what does that look like?

Stephanie Harrison: So I usually do them on Instagram and do, like, just a question box or open my DM’s or whatever and ask people to share, hey, you know, tell me what’s going on. What’s hard right now, what are you struggling with? And then I try and answer, as many of them as I can publicly, and then as many others as I. As I can privately as needed. you know, it was a lot easier when the account was at a smaller size because I was able to get to everyone at this point, unfortunately, I can’t, just given the kind of volume. But I also find that a lot of what I hear, it’s the same thing, right? People are struggling again, kind of going back to our common humanity. People are struggling with the same things. And so I can pick out, okay, people seem really angry or struggling with that emotion right now. So we should make something to do with that, right? We should cover that in some way. so that’s the other beautiful thing, is being able to pick up on, those common threads of the human experience and how we can support one another through them.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, that’s amazing. When it comes to your book, the new happy, every time an author writes a book, you go deeper. And I think through the editing process, there’s so much more that comes out. What did you go in not expecting that you found everything?

Stephanie Harrison: Writing the book was a whole journey that I was not. I definitely was surprised by so many parts. I expected it to be easier in some ways, and not that I thought it would be easy, but I didnt expect how intellectually challenging it would be, as well as emotionally challenging. and I think that because ive been working on this book and this message for ten years, and so there was a lot of, how do I distill this down into 250 pages of whats most important, then also figuring out how do I make this something where it’s useful that’s always my goal with the work that I do. It should be practical. It should help you. It should give you something that you can use, not something that’s, abstract or disconnected from your reality. And so finding a way to try and translate these very complicated concepts into language and tools that everybody can use, that was a really, really, meaningful and difficult exercise. But the beauty of it was that I feel transformed by making it right. I feel that profound sense of, I’m not the same person as I was before I did this because, to your point, I was able to experience this other level of depth and of immersement in the material. And then being able to translate that obviously becomes something that transforms you, as the translator.

Julie Jancius: Yeah. I’m always so curious when I talk with people about what’s working in their own lives, because there’s all these different tools that we have, and that we talk about as a society much more than before. But what’s really working for you in your life right now, when you have something going wrong or you catch yourself in doubt or. Yeah. What are you. What are you struggling with, Stephanie? And how. How do you use tools to work through it? What’s best?

Stephanie Harrison: I struggle just like everybody else. and I think that the thing that the only real kind of practice I have is love. It’s, like, kind of cheesy as that sounds like, hey, I’m struggling. Okay. I can give myself some love. this feels really hard. Okay. What’s the more loving way to approach it? Just having that as the only kind of thing to come back to has, at least for me, I think I tend to get overwhelmed. I’m a person who’s very sensitive, naturally anxious. I get overwhelmed very easily. Those are just some traits of mine that have been with me ever since I can remember. And when I get in those states, I’m not able to say, okay, I’m going to pull out this five step breathing ritual or go do this complicated habit or something like that. It’s just not really accessible to me in those moments of overwhelm. But what is, is the one word of, like, okay, love. What does love look like right now? And how could I just be 5% more loving if that’s all I can kind of access? And whenever I feel complicated emotions or feel, overwhelmed or stressed or confused about what to do next, it’s sort of the only thing that has really helped clear. Clear through that noise and figure out what the next right step is. And I think that it kind of also goes back to one of my other tendencies, which is I used to be a really type a person, thinking about, heres my life plan, and heres what I want to accomplish, and heres how im going to get from a to b to c, and blah, blah, blah, this very methodical, rational, trying to control my life approach. And then I discovered that that didnt really work, and it was also not really helping me with my happiness. and so I think that it’s also helped me in terms of shifting from thinking about this long term future, which I used to think about constantly all of the time, what will the future be like, and how can I control it, and how can I make it what I want and instead be a little bit more, okay, what’s the next step? Like, what’s the one thing I can do right now? That shift has, like, provided me with a great deal of more peace and contentment, I would say I’m, just.

Julie Jancius: Smiling a big smile because that’s the name of the TeD talk. Your next first step.

Stephanie Harrison: Oh, my gosh. That’s so amazing. What an incredible synchronicity.

Julie Jancius: Yes. That’s so beautiful. Going back, because, you know, when you’re working with a person, who’s gone through this transformation, right, and kind of gotten them to this place themselves, to this place, you think back to where you started and where you started, where I personally started was just a lot of that heaviness, a lot of that pressure, a lot of that I’m not feeling worthy. And you say in the book, that’s the first lie that we tell ourselves, is that you’re not enough. What have you found in your research or your work that can help people actually step into their power, actually step into their worth? Is it that love? Is it that service? Or does it go deeper?

Stephanie Harrison: That’s a great question. I think. I think for something like establishing your self worth, I think there’s sort of two things that I would consider. The first is actually learning to notice the ways in which you are preventing yourself from accessing that sense of worthiness. And so for me, the big realization was, I had this list in my mind of all of the things I had to do in order to be worthy of love. And until I checked off every item on that list, it wasn’t. I wasn’t, I wasn’t good enough. And one day, I finally noticed, oh, the list keeps growing. The list keeps getting longer. I’m not actually making any progress here. And I think that recognizing that I was striving to be perfect and that this was a pursuit that would destroy my life if I wasn’t careful. It’s that sort of moment of, okay, this isn’t working for me anymore, the way that things are going. And then in terms of actually moving towards an awareness of your own worthiness, I think there are so many different paths that you could take in order to do that. obviously, there’s one that’s very spiritual in nature. And recognizing that you are a divine being who has a unique purpose in the world. And that you’re perfect as you are already. And that’s one path that people can take, their path that you can take, which are grounded in honoring your pain and what you’ve been through. And allowing yourself to really sit and be present with all of that. So that you can come together in a sense of wholeness. There is the recognition of your imperfections. And the fact that you will never be perfect. And that, you can embrace yourself anyways. And practicing that in those moments when you make a mistake or when you’re struggling. I think that we all have. I always think that we should all cobble together our own version. Based upon what works for us and our values and what we believe and all of that stuff. And so in the book, I try to guide people through those two steps. And helping them to approach that, but also opening it up to say, however, you can feel that you’re worthy. And to recognize that is the most important thing that you can do. And to your other .1 of the best ways of realizing our self worth is by actually shrinking ourselves and being of service to others, of experiencing transcendence in some way. Shrinking our self focused natural state. And shifting into this awareness of all that we’re connected to. And that oneness that you described, that’s beautiful.

Julie Jancius: I don’t think that we talk about that enough in that way to shrink ourselves, but it is what it is.

Stephanie Harrison: When you come back from a transcendent experience, you, studies show that your brain fundamentally can change. You can have personality shifts that make you more generous. You become more aware of other people and their needs and their goals. You recognize nature and its beauty more. These moments of self transcendence have been highly studied, and they have a profound power to shape us. And the funny thing about it is, our culture teaches us that we’ll feel worthy if we make ourselves bigger and bigger and bigger. And we get all this stuff, accumulate all of this power, and, you know, influence and all that stuff. But actually making yourself smaller is a better way to go.

Julie Jancius: Well, that’s interesting, because, you know, as we’ve come into this culture where people have these big instagram accounts, there are a lot of people who are now starting to talk about how over the last five years, their growth has also led to an unhappiness, that they started out maybe in a transcendent state to create it, but then the work of all of it, other entrepreneurs saying, no, you got to do it this way, and you got to run your business this way, and you got to do this, leads them to a place where they’re now go, go, go. And just burning out again. Have you seen that within your own business? And how are you avoiding, that and really staying true to Stephanie?

Stephanie Harrison: Ive so seen that same pattern over and over again, in others. And I think that well continue to hear more about it, because, as youre saying, I think ultimately what happens is it starts off being a service, and it ends up becoming something thats self focused. And for me, I havent experienced that sort of burnout or any sort of difficulties in that way. And I think that thats because I strive really hard to not make it about me and to make it about others and thinking about, there’s so many stories in every spiritual and religious community about people who start off on this path, and then they gain any sort of power or acclaim, and it ends up really, affecting them and ultimately leading to abuses of that power. And I think that if you are somebody who is striving to teach or to share, you have to make, your greatest value can’t be about yourself. It has to be about the people that you’re serving. And you cannot ever forget that, because if you do, you will be not only doing such a disservice to the people who you’re striving to help, but also it ends up hurting you, as you’re describing. For me, the new happy is not about, it’s not about me. It’s about everybody who looks at it. It’s about the community. It’s about what they get from it. And my job is to serve them. So every day, I just try to wake up and think about how I can be of service to them. And I think that that’s ultimately been what’s protected me against any sort of burnout, despite producing a really kind of a lot of material, a lot of pieces and all of that. It’s because I’m, because of that focus, I think.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, absolutely. You know, when I was working on that second book, what kept coming through is this idea of fulfillment that maybe we even need to change the word happiness, because happiness really isn’t what we’re striving for. When we ask a lot of people, what do you want in that happiness? I hear a lot from people, I want to be full. I want to feel full. I want to feel full of joy. I want to feel fulfilled, within my family and my love that I have for my family and those memories that we’re making and within the work that I’m doing in the world. Do you think fulfillment is the happiness that we’re really looking for?

Stephanie Harrison: Yeah, I think so. I think that, you know, like, I often think that happiness is the catch all word we’ve been given, and everyone applies a different approach to it. Right? Like, because you can be happy eating an ice cream cone on a hot day, right? That’s a moment of happiness. But technically, I think scientists would call it a moment of pleasure or of, Hedonia. Right? It’s not the same. And so once we sort of take the approach you’re describing of how are we using this word, and is it actually accurate and correct, we can start to split it up and think about, well, what do we really mean by the pursuit of happiness and well being? And I do think that feeling full is a beautiful way to describe it, because in my book, I talk about society’s definition of happiness, which I call old happy. And the word I often use to describe it is hollow. So it’s the opposite of that. Right. it’s feeling, that sense that you’re describing of I am full. I am enough as I am. I am living a full life that is filled with the people and the experiences that are meaningful for me. And I know that when I leave this world, that I have made some sort of impact upon them and made some sort of difference. So I think from a kind of. From a word perspective, it’s such a beautiful way to describe it.

Julie Jancius: Oh, yay. That’s amazing. I’m wondering your thoughts on angels.

Stephanie Harrison: Oh, gosh, I don’t have that many, but I would love to hear from you, and would love to learn from you.

Julie Jancius: Well, I just wonder, too, like, what’s your idea of this interconnectedness that we all have and we all share? and I’ll give you a little bit of background. I was watching this documentary last year in 2023, and, scientists were saying they’ve studied it, and there isn’t just one infinity, which kind of blew my mind because when I was a young girl, and you’d hear the word infinity, I would just. It’s hard to wrap your mind around you, like it’s this great expanse, and your mind just keeps going out further and further and further. So I’m watching this documentary, and spirit comes in, and as soon as they said that, they go, every soul is its own infinity. And what God, universe, source? All that is, is infinite infinities coming together because they want to have that connectedness, that oneness together. And I thought that that was just a cool view of it. And I think that angels are these energies that just God universal stacks the deck in our favor. We’re supposed to come back home to our soul self here. We’re supposed to come back to our inner intuition, which is our soul’s voice, and we’re supposed to follow it, because that following of that voice within brings us home to this ultimate fulfillment feeling, which to me is the way that we create our own heaven on earth and make this a different place. So, yeah, I was just wondering if you see it different, if you just kind of. You get cool perspectives.

Stephanie Harrison: That’s absolutely beautiful. I think, you know, hearing you say that gives me goosebumps, because I’ve never. I’ve never thought about it like that. I think when I think about the kind of core, at the core, I guess I would say belief system, at the heart of this philosophy that ive been developing, its that we have to be our individual selves, but were also in connection with others all the time. And ideally, we move closer and closer towards that connection with one another, and we strengthen those, and we are able to see were both unique and were the same at the same time. I think that, this idea of moving towards greater and greater connectedness, and that, to me, is, as you’re saying, like, the fulfillment of any sort of heaven on earth, building this better world. What m I know for sure is we’re not going to build a better world by moving further apart from one another. Right?

Julie Jancius: Yeah. So, in your own life, how do you bridge that connection? How do you. Because we don’t always go towards the connection. Sometimes we resist it. How do you move closer towards it?

Stephanie Harrison: For me, it’s been about realizing that I’m not special in any way. Like, I’m not different from anybody else. I’m the same. And the person walking down the street who I pass is going through and feeling the same emotions that I’m feeling, or they’re feeling the same heartbreak that I felt before. They’re struggling with something that I’ve been through or will go through. And that sense of I’m just another you like looking for those ways in which, we’re so, so similar and so connected in a world that tells us over and over again to emphasize our uniqueness and, to try and find superiority through uniqueness. I think that that counterweight of looking for the ways in which we are so, so alike is actually really important as a practice. And it always makes me feel connected to people when I do that. And at the same time, connected to myself, too, because we’re not separate from one another, really. So that’s one approach. the second is moving towards the pain that I have within me, helps me to also move towards the pain in others. And I think we probably all experienced how hard it is when, when you go through something really hard and you don’t feel like you have people who are there for you or understand you or are able to sit with you in your pain. And the more that I have learned to get in touch with my own suffering, the easier it has become to also be present for others with their suffering and vice versa as well. So, really, I guess if I had to sum it up, it would be anything that kind of pierces the illusion that we’re separate from one another and helps to see those connections as they really are.

Julie Jancius: I like part four of your book where you talk about gifts, and can you talk to everybody in a way that just helps them understand their gifts a little bit more?

Stephanie Harrison: Of course. So, in the book, I argue that every single person has three different types of gifts. And, those gifts are what help to bring us happiness, because they are the expression of our true selves. And they are what connect us to others, and they are what help to create a better and a happier world. So by using them, you’re ultimately creating this, you know, like, win, win, win on every level for well being. Right? And so the three types of gifts are your humanity. That’s who you really are. So what we’re talking about, like, as you’re. As you’re calling it your soul self or your, soul voice, like, it’s. That’s your true core. And when you express your humanity, that usually comes in the form of acts of love and kindness and compassion and patience and thoughtfulness, and all of these beautiful manifestations of your true self, which is good and loving and kind. Then there’s your talents. So, talents are something I think we all probably are more familiar with. They’re the things we think of when we think about art, gifts, your talents can be developed you can find new ones there. They can be anything from as varied as being a writer or a speaker to being, a craftsman or an electrician or a homemaker or a cook. It could be any of those talents and how you choose to express them. And then the third is your wisdom. And your wisdom is what you have learned from your unique life experiences. So, let’s say, for example, that you went through a really hard period in your life, and that experience taught you all of these lessons that you never would have understood otherwise. And now they’ve become a part of you. And something that you can use to actually help other people and to create new services or products or guide others along the same path in their own way. That’s your wisdom. And so by identifying those three different gifts and starting to express them, you will not only experience your own happiness and joy, but also help to make our world a happier place.

Julie Jancius: Oh, I just love how you phrase that and how you’ve simplified it into those three set, like, different steps, because it’s so true. And it goes back to what you were saying earlier, that we’re all just here to serve. And I think that when you look at your gifts from that perspective, that’s how we can shrink ourselves and really see totally.

Stephanie Harrison: It’s so true. When I use any of my gifts, I feel I have an experience of transcendence, right. Because I’m being of service to others, but I’m also growing as a person at the same time. So, again, it’s like, it’s a way to eliminate that false sense of separation between you and me, and instead to realize how connected we are and to contribute and endorse one another’s well being, which ultimately is the only thing that can help us to transform our world into a better place.

Julie Jancius: I’m wondering if there’s any other parts that you feel called to share with the audience today?

Stephanie Harrison: Maybe one thing. We briefly touched on it a little at the beginning, but just to maybe circle back to it a little bit. You can go through challenges and still find happiness. You can experience difficult emotions and still have a happy life. You can struggle and find your life messy, and you can still find so much joy in every day. And I think that having that awareness in our minds of this is possible. My hope is that it gives people the freedom to experience that as well.

Julie Jancius: I like when you say to, chapter 17, in part five, world, we’re waiting for you.

Stephanie Harrison: Oh, thank you. I think about. I love that chapter title as well. I think it’s probably my favorite, message of that chapter is that the world needs you. The world needs you desperately, and we won’t be able to become what we can be without you and your unique contribution. And if you don’t share it, then we’ll never get to experience it. It’ll never help to contribute. And so kind of going back to the small self, one of the reasons why I struggled for many years to express myself authentically and to feel brave enough to post on the Internet or do any of those things was because I thought, well, like, who am I? Like, who am I to think that I can do this? And what, will people, as I said, what will people think about me? What if it’s embarrassing? Like, all of these worries? And then eventually the only thing that got me over it was realizing that all of that was heavily, heavily self oriented, very, very selfish at the end of the day, because it was all about me. And my partner asked me, do you think that what you have to share will help people? And I said, yes, I do. He said, well, then isn’t you not sharing it preventing them from experiencing greater happiness? And that was the final light bulb moment for me of, being like, oh, I’m entirely in my own way, because I’m being too obsessed with myself. And it comes back to what I shared about the artwork. If I’m in my own way thinking about myself and how people are going to perceive me or any of that other stuff, then I’m not in touch with what I’m supposed to be here to do. And so if you know, you’re listening and there’s a dream that you have something that you want to contribute to the world, a gift that you want to share, try thinking about the service that you’re providing rather than about you as the provider.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that there’s, I forget the name of it, but there’s a japanese principle for finding your purpose, and it walks you through. Is it the ikai? I forget how you pronounce it, but they focus a lot on sort service, which I think is a great way. Instead of saying, like, what do you want? Saying, how can I serve? Like, what gifts do I have to be able to share with the world? And one more thing on that, because even though we’ve got this podcast and it reaches so many people every week through the podcast and the radio show, sometimes my egoic mind still comes in when I get done, and I’m like, oh, I should have asked that question, or I should have asked this, or you know, it could have been better. It can always be better. And I was reading Barbra Streisand’s book recently, and she said that she felt that way too, about every single movie that she did, every single just thing that she produced. She always afterwards would feel like, well, it could be better, it could be better, it could be better. And I find that with so many creators and entrepreneurs that that ego. But again, it goes back to what you’re saying. It’s not about you. What you put out was good enough, it’s needed. People are going to find value in it. And my intent is that with every podcast, people take away these just great nuggets of information and they get hope that they need to continue moving forward. Do you struggle with that too? Like it could be better?

Stephanie Harrison: Sure. Totally, totally, totally. And you do such beautiful work with this podcast and all of your work to provide exactly what you’re doing. I think that, as you said, I think it’s an inevitable part of being on a journey where you’re trying to make a difference. So it’s not going to go away. But I think of it as that egoic thing coming up, and then we can split it into two different streams. The one stream goes towards self blame and self pity. Oh, it’s because I’m stupid and I couldn’t figure it out. I didn’t, there’s something wrong with me, blah, blah, blah. And the other goes to, I can make this better the next time because it will continue to help me to be of service to others. And it’s about coming to that fork in the road and saying, okay, like, sure, this wasn’t the best thing that I made, or, I’m not thrilled with how I showed up in that moment. And that’s okay, because I’m a human being, and that is going to be a part of my experience. But I can meet this point in the road, and I can say, I can go down the path of focusing on myself in this moment, or I can go down the path of thinking, what can I do differently next time? Because I can continue to grow and to develop myself so I can show up more and more in my purpose. And I think if we can kind of funnel that feeling away from further feeding the ego into more of being of service, then ultimately that feeling can actually become a powerful source of energy improvement, right. And of helping us to reach people in new ways. so of course I feel that way, and I try really hard to take that one fork in the road, and I don’t always succeed. and then I can just come back to it the next time.

Julie Jancius: Amazing. Amazing. Stephanie, your new book, New Happy, is going to be out when people are listening to this new happy getting happiness right in a world that’s got it wrong. Stephanie, where can people find you and all of your daily posts which I look forward to so much.

Stephanie Harrison: Yes, you can find us on social at ah Newhappyco and on the Internet@thenewhappy.com.

Julie Jancius: Dot beautiful. Thank you so much for being here, being you and for everything that you do for this world. Because, you’ve changed my life.

Stephanie Harrison: You’re going to make me cry. I’m so touched and so grateful to be here with you and you are such a treasure and a wonderful inspiration. I feel so lucky to have the chance to talk to you.

Julie Jancius: Thank you. Friend. Friends, I need your help reaching as many people as possible. If you’d like to support this podcast and help us spread more hope to the world, please book a session with me, join my angel membership or take my angel Reiki school. What’s the difference? If you’d like to know what messages your angels and loved ones have for you, you’ll want to book a session with me. The angel membership is all about your own personal spiritual healing. The membership takes you on a spiritual journey that teaches you how to create your own heaven on earth. And the Angel Reiki school is for those who want to get certified in mediumship, angel messages and energy healing all at once. These are three ways you can help us share a message of hope and love with more people than ever before. Register for one or all three@theangelmedium.com dot that’s theangelmedium.com dot. Now let’s pray together. As we do, I want you to pray in a way where you feel as though everything you want for yourself and the world has already come true and you’re giving thanks. Why? Because this is the best way to manifest. So let’s begin. God, universe source thank you. We’re so grateful that you’ve blessed this world with calm and peace for all. This calm and peace has spread like ripples, soothing the hearts of every soul. Thank you for opening our hearts to abundance, allowing each of us to live our most authentic life and helping us to create our own heaven on earth. We thank you for the love and deep heart to heart connection that surrounds us every day in our relationships. We thank you for the abundance of health and aliveness we feel radiating from every cell in our and our families, bodies thank you for the gift of walking this life with us and guiding us every step of the way. Through your messages. We hear you through our own intuition and we feel you walking right by our sides and we overflow with gratitude. Thank you for financial abundance and abundance of opportunities, miracles, blessings and prosperity in every way. We know that you want us to succeed so that we can show others how you want them to succeed too. Thank you for the boundless love, kindness, empathy and compassion that binds us all together. Thank you for the laughter, fun moments of pure delight that fill us every day, especially today. God universe source thank you for blessing us beyond measure and allowing us to use our souls gifts, talents, skills and abilities to serve the world. We love you. I love you. And in this we pray. Amen. Friends, we’re working on some pretty major things over here and if you wouldn’t mind saying a little prayer that these things come to fruition, if they’re God’s will, we’d so appreciate it. And please add a little prayer in for any specific thing you need right now too. Have a beautiful, blessed day and don’t forget to submit your contact info@theangelmedium.com. If you’d like me to channel the name of one of your angels for you, sending you peace, bliss and many blessings.