Surrendering to the Signs

In this spacious, and deeply nourishing conversation, Laura is joined by leadership coach Nancy Larocca Hedley to explore the subtle art of completion, discernment, and listening to the body as a source of truth. Nancy brings wisdom from the world's spiritual traditions to her work with leaders, team facilitation, and leading in her community.
Together they reflect on how endings are not failures, but sacred thresholds, portals into the next chapter of becoming. From leaving long-held roles and relationships, to closing chapters at work, to making space for creativity, rest, and truth, Nancy shares how honorable closure has become one of her most powerful spiritual and leadership practices.
They talk about discomfort as a doorway, the difference between mental resistance and bodily knowing, the courage to have crucial conversations, and why our lives so often unfold through the unexpected rather than the planned.
This episode is a gentle invitation to slow down, notice what is complete, and trust what is quietly asking to be born.
What You’ll Hear in This EpisodeHow Nancy learned to trust her body as her primary compass
A powerful story of leaving Yahoo after a series of life signs
The subtle signals that tell us when something is no longer ours to do
The Enneagram as a tool for liberation rather than identity
Laura and Nancy’s reflections on the “helper” archetype and self-care
Why discomfort is often the doorway to freedom
Letting go of caffeine, alcohol, and habits that no longer serve the body
The difference between being busy and being available

Resources & Links
The Yamas (particularly non-stealing / right use of energy)The Enneagram (as a tool for ego awareness and freedom)Yoga philosophy and Kriya Yoga lineage (Yogananda, Roy Eugene Davis, Ellen Grace O’Brien)
Visit www.surrenderingtothesigns.com 
Music Featured
The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.
List of Music

Easy to Love - Instrumental Version _Song by Saggie
Fold _Song by nuer self
Echoes of the Forest _Song by Thomas Ben Tov
Wakening_Song by Shai-li Paldi
Were Looking Up_Song by Chris Mason
Almanac_Song by Seth Parson
Same Side - No Lead Vocals_Song by Lemon J

In this deeply human conversation, Laura sits down with her longtime friend Tim Winters to explore the winding, painful, and ultimately transformative journey of addiction, surrender, and recovery.
Tim shares his story with remarkable openness, from a teenage sense of not quite belonging, to decades of alcohol and drug use that slowly narrowed his world, to the quiet, devastating moment when he realized he could no longer save himself.
He recounts the unforgettable car ride when his daughter-in-law drove him, without telling him where they were going, straight to rehab. A moment of fear, resistance, and finally surrender that would change the trajectory of his life.
What unfolds is not just a story about addiction, but about identity, worthiness, masculinity, grief, spirituality, and what happens when we finally stop running and let ourselves be helped.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
This episode is a powerful reminder that healing rarely arrives the way we expect but often exactly when we are ready.
How early shame and identity struggles shaped Tim’s inner world
Why alcohol and drugs became a way to feel connected, confident, and safe
The slow progression from “social” use to silent dependency
Why “just don’t drink today” became a life-saving reframe
How anxiety and depression lifted only after sobriety began
The power of routine, community, and spiritual practice in recovery
How meditation and prayer became unexpected anchors
What Tim wishes people understood about addiction, recovery, and compassion
How small signs and nudges now guide his life in ways they never could before
Resources & Links
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
Father Martin’s Ashleigh House treatment center
Visit: surrenderingtothesigns.com
Music Featured
The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.
List of Music
March the Machine -  One Day - Creative Cut
James Forest - Emergency
Ben Winwood  - Intimacy
Wav Two - Sakura

In this deeply resonant and wide-ranging conversation, Laura is joined by Jana Hendrickson, executive coach, researcher, and global citizen, to explore what it truly means to follow the signs even when fear, uncertainty, and practical logic are present.

Jana shares her extraordinary life journey, from growing up in East Germany with no spiritual framework, to a life shaped by intuition, somatic wisdom, faith, and profound trust in the unseen. Through vivid stories, turning away from Paris at the last moment, leaving a marriage she loved but had outgrown, years of nomadic living, and ultimately finding home. Jana illustrates how the body often knows the truth long before the mind catches up.

Together, Laura and Jana reflect on the discomfort of the “in-between,” the myth of instant clarity, the role of fear as a compass, and the difference between spirituality and religion. They also explore how social media, synchronicity, and shared stories can act as catalysts for courage and how our own brave choices quietly give others permission to make theirs.
This episode is a powerful reminder that surrender is not passive, it’s an active, embodied practice of listening, trusting, and moving forward one honest step at a time.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
Jana’s first profound experience of listening to her body’s wisdom
How “the pull” feels in the body and how to recognize it’
The difference between clarity and certainty and why clarity often takes time
Jana’s journey through divorce, grief, and radical self-trust
Nomadic living, synchronicity, and saying yes without a roadmap
How social media can act as a modern conduit for signs and connection
Why our stories matter and how sharing them gives others courage

Find Jana on Instagram at @iamjanahendrickson or connect with her on LinkedIn. She is currently completing her doctoral research in professional coaching and human development and is passionate about integrating spirituality, philosophy, neuroscience, and somatic intelligence into leadership practice. Jana’s work invites leaders to move beyond performance alone and into alignment, depth, and wholeness.

Resources & Links
World Domination Summit (Chris Guillebeau)
Brené Brown (early speaking work)
Nancy Duarte – The Arc of Storytelling
Marie Forleo’s B-School
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Tony Robbins coaching methodology
David Deida’s work on polarity

Visit: surrenderingtothesigns.com

Music Featured
The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.
List of Music
Maya Pacziga - Winter in Paris
ANBR - Mon Amour
Nuer Self - Indigo
Kyle Preston - Cafe de Philosophie
Jozeque - Seal
Saggie - Easy to Love - Instrumental Version

Welcome to Season Two of Surrendering to the Signs. In this opening episode, host Laura Gates reflects on the deeper meaning behind signs, synchronicities, and, most powerfully, the people who show up on our path at exactly the right moment.
Laura explores how encounters often carry lessons, invitations, and turning points we can only understand in hindsight. From unexpected reunions and uncomfortable interactions to chance meetings on trains and long-term relationships born from unlikely moments, this episode invites listeners to look beyond first impressions and trust that the universe is constantly conspiring on our behalf.
As we step into a new season, Laura offers a gentle reminder that growth doesn’t always come through dramatic awakenings. Sometimes it comes through coffee meetings, missed deadlines, difficult conversations, quiet inner nudges, and moments where listening to the body becomes the most profound act of self-trust.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
Why making it to Season Two is a meaningful milestone
The many forms signs can take, goosebumps, intuition, inner voices, and people
How first impressions can block meaningful connection if we let them
A powerful story of a chance meeting on a train to Glastonbury
Reflections on meeting soul-aligned collaborators, clients, and lifelong partners
How surrendering control opens space for guidance and support
Honoring winter, rest, and seasonal cycles as part of the soul’s rhythm
Resources & Links
Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith
Visit: surrenderingtothesigns.com

Music Featured
The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.
List of Music
Beauregard feat Ryvr - 101
Saggie - Easy to Love
Risian - Undertow
Roie Shpigler- Clarity
Wav Two - Sakura
Family Kush- Heavy Summer

In this reflective season finale, Laura looks back on the conversations and transformations that shaped Season One of Surrendering to the Signs.
She shares what she has learned from her guests, from her own life, and from the unexpected signs that have continued to appear along the way, including the story of a small alleyway in Glastonbury that offered a message from her sister, three years after her passing.
This episode speaks to the journey we are all on: learning to trust our intuition, listening for the messages that guide us, and finding the courage to walk the path, even when we can’t yet see the ending.
If you’ve ever wondered: Why am I here? What is my purpose? How do I follow the signs in my life?
This closing reflection offers comfort, clarity, and companionship for that journey.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
Laura’s gratitude for the people who helped bring Season One to life

Honoring the guests whose stories opened the season’s conversation

The evolving identity of the podcast and why naming the “mystery” matters

Why so many of us hesitate to talk about spirituality or intuition openly

How signs, synchronicities, and subtle nudges guide us toward alignment

A moving story of Laura’s sister Janice and a message that arrived in Glastonbury

Dreams, symbols, and the quiet language of the unconscious

Seeing relationships through the lens of soul contracts and karmic lessons

Reflections on not having children and the unexpected ways motherhood showed up

What Season Two will explore: deeper conversations, more seekers, practical guidance, and spacious truth-telling

Resources & Links
Spirit Babies, Walter Makichen 
The Surrender Experiment, Michael Singer
The Untethered Soul, Michael Singer 
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
The Awakened Mind, Dr. Lisa Miller
Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav 
 The Art of Infinity, The spiritual journey of Albert Einstein by Kieran Fox.
Mind Magic, Dr. James Doty 
Music Featured
The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.
List of Music
Saggie, Steven Beddall & Jenny Penkin - Easy to Love
101 feat Ryvr -  Beauregard
Risian - Undertow
Roie Shpigler - Sakura
Family Kush - Heavy Summer