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The holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the food, friends, family, quality time, and wonderful holiday scents. However, the traditional holiday candles, glade plugins, and other synthetic fragrances always give me a headache and brain fog. Not to mention the phthalates and formaldehyde that can be released from cheap candles and air fresheners.
In today's episode of the Elemental Evan Podcast, host Evan addresses the hidden dangers of synthetic holiday fragrances and their detrimental effects on health, such as causing headaches and brain fog. He sheds light on harmful chemicals found in products like candles, air fresheners, and Glade plugins, including VOCs, formaldehyde, and phthalates.
You can expect to hear practical advice on switching to healthier alternatives such as beeswax candles, essential oil diffusers, and natural pot simmering. He also discusses methods to detoxify the body and support overall well-being, including clean dieting, detox aids like activated charcoal, and physical activities for lymphatic drainage. Listeners will gain valuable tips on creating a safer and pleasant home environment while maintaining enjoyable holiday scents.
00:00 Welcome to the Elemental Evan Podcast
00:36 Nostalgic Holiday Scents
01:47 The Hidden Dangers of Synthetic Fragrances
02:11 Personal Experience with Synthetic Candles
04:58 Health Risks of Synthetic Fragrances
08:11 Healthier Alternatives for Holiday Scents
09:31 Safe Scent Solutions for Your Home and Car
12:05 Minty Fresh Car Hack
12:36 Natural Home Fragrance Alternatives
12:58 DIY Holiday Scented Potpourri
14:24 Making Your Own Clean-Burning Candles
15:38 Eliminating Synthetic Fragrances for Better Health
17:10 Detoxifying Your Body from Synthetic Fragrances
20:49 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
What's going on, everybody.
2
:You're listening to the elemental Evan
podcast designed to provide you with
3
:a simplified and holistic breakdown
of health and wellness topics.
4
:So you can walk away from these episodes
ready to apply this knowledge to your
5
:life and take control of your health.
6
:This is your host as always Evan Roberts.
7
:And I'm so happy to have
you all here as always.
8
:It's just truly a pleasure to have
you tuning into the podcast and
9
:hopefully getting some beneficial
information that can help you
10
:in many ways in your own life.
11
:And today's episode is going
to be all about the holidays
12
:because we are right there.
13
:They're at our doorstep.
14
:And one of my favorite things, when
it would come to the holidays as a
15
:kid, it's complete nostalgia for me.
16
:Is the different aromas and cents that
would come around during this time.
17
:Right.
18
:We think of things like cinnamon,
clove, peppermint, pine, right?
19
:Like these, all these different
kinds of beautiful sense that.
20
:Uh, come around during this time.
21
:And typically for me as a kid growing
up, I loved to smell the different
22
:like hand soaps and candles that people
would have going during this time.
23
:It just really created the
mood and the ambience for me.
24
:And, uh, you know, I love getting
into someone's bathroom and.
25
:Rubbing up the hands with some
of the apple cinnamon crumble
26
:type style dish, or a hand soap.
27
:Uh, that was like my favorite thing.
28
:And you just smelling all good and send
them any for the rest of the evening.
29
:Yeah, that was truly one of my favorite
things is I love the holiday sense.
30
:But.
31
:And I'm sorry, I'm going to take it here.
32
:Unfortunately.
33
:The typical manner in which we get
a lot of these aromas and cents
34
:is not the best way possible.
35
:Now don't worry, of course, with all
of these episodes, I finish these off
36
:with, um, ways in which we can do better
for our health and our wellness and
37
:still enjoy those little things in life.
38
:Like these beautiful holiday sense.
39
:So first off.
40
:For me personally.
41
:When it came to recognizing how
these different candles and different
42
:synthetically fragranced, uh, products
were affecting me was that one time I was.
43
:At my house.
44
:And I had a candle from someone that
was given to me for like a holiday and
45
:so figured why not light it up and, and
let it burn while I was doing some work.
46
:Well about.
47
:Um, 30, 45 minutes in.
48
:Maybe no longer than an hour.
49
:I really started noticing that I was
getting a pretty killer headache and
50
:I just had some serious brain fog.
51
:And, uh, you know, I figured
maybe I'm just like dehydrated.
52
:So I was pounding a bunch of water
trying to figure out what was going
53
:on, but nothing was taking care of it.
54
:Um, and then.
55
:Probably a couple hours later because I
was letting that candle really burn and
56
:burn off that top layer, which by the
way, For those of you who burned candles,
57
:if you ever have that issue where your
candle starts to tunnel, like you don't
58
:burn all the wax on the sides and you end
up burning through a candle, but there's
59
:all this wax leftover on the sides.
60
:Typically, what you have to do is
actually burn the candle longer
61
:on the first time you light it.
62
:So you want the entire surface of
the candle to be wax melted, wax.
63
:Sorry.
64
:You don't want any of it
to be still saw, uh, Solid.
65
:So you want to burn it to where
it's all completely liquid.
66
:And when you do that, It
allows for it to burn.
67
:Uniformly.
68
:So anyways, that's just
a little aside here, but.
69
:Anyways.
70
:The main point.
71
:Uh, so I was burning that candle and I
had burned it for a while so that I could
72
:get that nice even burn on the candle.
73
:But then what I noticed is once
I killed that candle, literally
74
:like 30 minutes later, I was fine.
75
:I no longer felt I was actually
even a little bit nauseous.
76
:Um, my headache went away.
77
:Brain fog was kind of going away as well.
78
:And so I kind of started to put two
and two together, but then I really
79
:dove in and started looking into some
research on, you know, some of these
80
:synthetically fragrance products
like this candle definitely was.
81
:And then started kind of figuring out
why, or if this was causing this brain fog
82
:and nausea and headache and sure enough.
83
:It absolutely was the cause.
84
:And, um, I even really lit
the candle at a later date.
85
:Try to all over again.
86
:Um, I was not in a very well
ventilated room and, uh, yeah,
87
:when that thing got to burning.
88
:Uh, once again, like 45 minutes
in, started to get a bit of a
89
:headache, the whole reoccurrence
of the symptoms occurred.
90
:So put the two and two together
and definitely found out that
91
:that was the cause of the issue.
92
:So ended up throwing that away.
93
:And in looking deeper into why.
94
:This would be causing these symptoms.
95
:It's because a lot of these really
cheap candles, as well as, and not just
96
:candles, but anything scented really.
97
:So you can think of the little car
freshener, that little pine tree that
98
:you put up on the rear view mirror
of your car, or even, uh, colognes
99
:and perfumes or those Glade plugins,
like anything that's giving off.
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:Any kind of a scent.
101
:Needs to be thoroughly examined before
you use it for yourself, at least if
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:you're concerned with your health and
especially if you're someone who deals
103
:with migraines and headaches, right.
104
:And even if you're just, like I said,
concerned with your health, because there
105
:are other things that these synthetically
fragrance products can be doing to us
106
:that we might not notice right away,
such as messing with our hormones, which
107
:I'm going to get into very quickly here.
108
:But.
109
:When it comes to the synthetically
fragrance products, candles, the
110
:air fresheners, Glade plugins,
all these, what they have in them
111
:could be a variety of things.
112
:But some of them could be the VOC
is so volatile, organic compounds.
113
:So these are chemicals that are
released into the air and can be
114
:hazardous air pollutants or carcinogens.
115
:We also have formaldehyde, which.
116
:Yes.
117
:Formaldehyde is more common
than you think in synthetically
118
:fragrance products as well.
119
:A lot of the things that
you purchase online can be.
120
:Having really high levels of formaldehyde.
121
:Uh, a good way if you purchase something
and it has a weird plasticky sent
122
:to it, put it outside in the sun.
123
:Uh, let it like literally heat
up and cook off a lot of that.
124
:Uh, that's one way of getting rid of that.
125
:But when it comes to a scented
product, like a candle, obviously
126
:we're not going to do that.
127
:Um, so formaldehyde is
a common occurrence.
128
:Um, and then we also have things like
Plates which are hormone disrupting
129
:chemicals and can cause estrogen
and progesterone imbalances and can
130
:also affect our testosterone levels.
131
:So those satellites are the things
that can be really messing with.
132
:Your, uh, hormone levels.
133
:You also have a bunch of
different, crazy, hard to name.
134
:Chemicals in these products, things like
a benzene, toluene saline, ethyl benzene.
135
:Xylenes like all these once again,
hard to name, weird sounding things.
136
:And typically.
137
:When you count, pronounce something.
138
:It probably shouldn't be in things that
are, you know, you're inadvertently
139
:consuming, which, uh, through the
candles, we are breathing these things in.
140
:Uh, so we don't want to have a bunch of
random, weird chemicals in our candles.
141
:In fact, we don't want the
base of our candles to be a
142
:petroleum based substance, right.
143
:The best form of.
144
:Uh, base for a candle
would actually be bees wax.
145
:So we're going to now shift from
the issue, which is all of these
146
:poorly made, synthetically
fragranced products are having.
147
:Serious impacts on our health.
148
:They can mess with, Not only our
hormones, but also they can cause these.
149
:Headaches and these migraines, they
can also irritate your eyes, your
150
:nose, your throw, and cause just
a bunch of other health problems.
151
:So we really want to move away from
those and move to something healthier.
152
:Now, like I said, I'm not going to
be the Grinch here and steal your.
153
:Uh, super great smelling
Christmas over here.
154
:Um, kind of allow you to
still have your sense, but.
155
:I want us to be able to do it in a
healthier way and in a way that's not
156
:going to cause all these crazy health
problems and create a bunch of brain
157
:fog and headaches if you're like me.
158
:Um, so.
159
:What we can do is first off.
160
:Starting with.
161
:Synthetically fragranced products.
162
:First off you can purchase a more
expensive product, typically is how it
163
:goes, but it's done in the right way.
164
:So when it comes to candles, this would be
something like a bee's wax base and then
165
:a essential oil added in for fragrance.
166
:That would be a very clean candle
in terms of trying to set our
167
:house for the holidays or whatever
purpose you want to use it for.
168
:And as well, you can also find candles
that use essential oils that are still,
169
:you know, really in the holiday spirit.
170
:You can find things with like cinnamon.
171
:Uh, clove, you can find it
with peppermint or pine.
172
:You can find all the different kinds
of sense that you're looking for
173
:during the holidays in essential oils.
174
:So you're really not
missing out on anything.
175
:And it's going to be a much
cleaner way of doing it.
176
:As well, if you use Glade plugins or
any honestly, any Glade product at all.
177
:Toss that thing out, it is
not good for you at all.
178
:And it's constantly just releasing
these nasty chemicals into our air
179
:that we're going to be breathing day
in and day out in a constant rate.
180
:Uh, so you want to get rid of those
immediately and switch it over for
181
:something better like a beeswax
candle, or you could also use a
182
:essential oil diffuser, which is.
183
:Maybe a little bit
easier for people to use.
184
:You don't have to light it.
185
:You don't have to worry about.
186
:Um, you know, uh, uh, open
flame being in your house.
187
:Uh, essential oil diffusers
are very simple to use.
188
:It's literally water and an essential
oil, and then you just plug it in, set
189
:it for a timer, and then it'll diffuse
the central oil into your house and make
190
:your house smell beautiful and nice.
191
:It's a much better alternative
to, uh, the Glade plugins.
192
:And then when it comes to our
vehicles, once again, Do not use
193
:those little, what are they called?
194
:Like Alpine air fresheners or whatever.
195
:The little thing that hangs from your
rear view mirror, those are typically
196
:as well, once again, just like the Glade
plugins loaded with a bunch of chemicals
197
:and just synthetic fragrances that are
not going to be good for your health.
198
:And so the alternative there, which can be
definitely a little bit more difficult for
199
:a car is number one to just keep it clean.
200
:Right?
201
:Like really wipe it down and clean it out.
202
:Well, Uh, I have seen a little
mini car, essential oil diffusers.
203
:I don't know how practical those are.
204
:I mean, they're cool.
205
:And I love the idea and the concept
there, but I don't really see it being.
206
:I don't know, maybe it is something you
could sustain for a long period of time.
207
:I feel like I would purchase it and
probably use it for like a month or two.
208
:And then, yeah, I would just die out.
209
:I probably wouldn't end up
cleaning it or something like that.
210
:So I don't see that as really being one of
the best methods of keeping the car fresh.
211
:Uh, the first thing, once again
is just clean out your car,
212
:keep it as clean as possible.
213
:That's going to help to keep odor down.
214
:And then number two is going to be that
you actually have a car filter for the.
215
:Uh, like internal error of the
car, it's typically located in
216
:the passenger side glove box.
217
:Um, at least that's where it is in
my car and what you can actually do.
218
:I don't know if this is recommended by
car specialists, but what I actually
219
:do is I'll take out that filter.
220
:I dropped some essential oil on
it, so whatever scent I want to
221
:smell and be careful because a
little bit does go a long way.
222
:So for example, I use mint one time,
a mint essential oil in my car.
223
:And when I turned on the, um,
the air, it was super minty.
224
:Like really minty kind of even
like burning your eyes minty.
225
:Um, so you do want to be cautious with
that, but if you put just a couple drops
226
:or maybe even a drop of an essential oil
on that filter and then run the air, you
227
:don't even have to use air conditioning.
228
:You can just turn on the air
like the fan itself and it will
229
:pump in that sent into your car.
230
:So that's one way you can do that as well.
231
:But really focusing here on the house.
232
:I think, um, we want to move away
from these Glade plugins and these,
233
:uh, really poorly made candles
and move into something better.
234
:So those are the options that we have,
or at least the ones that I've found.
235
:So using a, uh, essential oil diffuser or
making your own candles can be a good way.
236
:And then one more that I'm going to
add in there is that you can also,
237
:uh, I don't know what they would call
this, but essentially you get a pot.
238
:Put some water in it and you
can do some orange peels.
239
:You can do some cinnamon
sticks, um, clothes and nice.
240
:You can throw a bunch of different
herbs and spices into this pot and
241
:bring it to just like a gentle simmer.
242
:And it will error rate into the rest
of the vet, the house, and specifically
243
:the kitchen and make it just smell.
244
:Super, super nice.
245
:I've done this a couple times.
246
:Um, you do have to keep an eye
on it over time, which can be a
247
:little bit of a pain in the butt.
248
:And as well, cinnamon sticks are
not always the cheapest option.
249
:So, you know, this may be is just like
a specific thing you do when you're
250
:having friends and family over and you
really want to make the house smell nice.
251
:There's a bunch of
different recipes online.
252
:You can look up and it's super simple.
253
:Once again, it's, it's a pot with some
water and whatever kind of ingredients
254
:you want to put in there that bring
that, uh, holiday smell into your home.
255
:For me, it's cinnamon sticks.
256
:Primary.
257
:Primarily that's the big one and
then like a lemon or an orange peel.
258
:Uh, it just compliments
each other really nicely.
259
:So.
260
:Those are really good options to make your
house smell nice on the frequent basis, I
261
:would definitely use the incense or sorry,
the essential oil diffuser, and then as
262
:well, the, uh, The properly made candles.
263
:And as well, I think what's
awesome is with candles, you
264
:can actually make these at home.
265
:So they have home kits that you
can purchase online that use
266
:bees, wax and essential oils.
267
:And you can just make
your own candles at home.
268
:It's much cheaper, you know
what you're putting in there.
269
:So it's definitely a clean burning
candle and what's even better is
270
:you can make this during the holiday
season with friends, family loved ones.
271
:And especially if you have kids,
like that's, they're the best.
272
:So to make these candles with
it's such a great activity.
273
:Of course, be careful
you're handling hot wax.
274
:So maybe don't let the kids obviously.
275
:Uh, handle that, but what's really fun
is you can go pick out the essential
276
:oils that you want to use, and
everyone can craft, craft their own
277
:candle the way they want it to smell.
278
:Um, It's just a really fun and
enjoyable exercise or project to do.
279
:Uh, with your friends, family
loved ones, especially the kids.
280
:And then everyone gets to go home
with a candle that burns nice and
281
:clean and smells delicious as well.
282
:So then you're not missing out on
all those holiday feels and vibes.
283
:Right?
284
:We want to make sure that we can
still enjoy all the things that
285
:we're used to enjoying, but just in
a much healthier and cleaner way.
286
:And this is one way to do it.
287
:So.
288
:Definitely.
289
:If you are a person who deals with
a lot of headaches, migraines, brain
290
:fog, anything like that, I would
highly recommend that you look in your
291
:house and as well, your workspace.
292
:And make sure that you do not have
any kinds of synthetic fragrances.
293
:And this can also come in the
form of perfumes and colognes.
294
:So if you are wearing a certain perfume
or cologne, That could also be the
295
:cause of the brain fog or the headaches
or migraines or irritation of the
296
:nose or the eyes or any of that stuff.
297
:So, Um, my recommendation would
be to stop using all fragrances.
298
:Uh, possible for, you know, maybe
a week straight and just see if
299
:you feel better when you do that.
300
:This doesn't mean that
you have to smell bad.
301
:You can still, you know, take a
shower and hopefully use a, um, a
302
:very clean bodywash something that
also maybe just uses essential oils.
303
:And then as well, if you're putting on
a deodorant, you can put on a unscented
304
:deodorant, or you can just find a much
cleaner type of deodorant if you really
305
:want to get down to the root cause
you might want to cut everything out
306
:that has a synthetic fragrance in it
and just see how you feel after a week
307
:and then slowly add things back in.
308
:But for sure, if you.
309
:You have synthetic Lee fragrance, candles
and Glade plugins and all those things.
310
:Get rid of those.
311
:Like, they're definitely not going to be
benefiting you and then switch over to
312
:one of these cleaner forms of a fragrance.
313
:That's going to not only smell
just as good, but it's going to
314
:be much better for you as well.
315
:And then as well, if you're a person who.
316
:Has been surrounded by a ton of synthetic
fragrances for like a majority of
317
:your life, or especially if you're
in any of the cosmetic fields, like
318
:a hairdresser or makeup artists,
anything like that, I would highly
319
:recommend that you do some form of
detoxification because you probably have
320
:a lot of that built up in your body.
321
:And so some of the best ways to de.
322
:Detoxify the body are two for number
one, support the liver, the liver.
323
:Literally cleans the blood.
324
:So doing things like taking gludethyon,
uh, is a great way to support the liver,
325
:eating very clean, a lot of dark leafy
greens, uh, with a lot of bitters, uh,
326
:a lot of bitter greens in there as well.
327
:Um, making sure that we
are as well taking binders.
328
:So things like, uh, activated charcoal,
things like chlorella chlorella is
329
:one of my favorites because it has
a ton of core fill in it along with
330
:a bunch of other things as well.
331
:Well, that are really good for you.
332
:Uh, but it's just literally a
micro-algae, but the chlorophyll
333
:content in that chlorella is able
to bind to heavy metals in the blood
334
:and help remove them from your body.
335
:I've even heard that they help
to remove mycotoxins as well.
336
:So that's one of my favorite things.
337
:I take that daily, um, on, I do
the chlorella from energy bits.
338
:That's my favorite one.
339
:It's the highest quality one that
I've personally found as well as
340
:their spirulina that's energy bits.
341
:They are in the description of
today's episode with a 20% discount
342
:code just for being a listener.
343
:So please feel free to check them out.
344
:They're a great way to help detoxify
your blood and to help out the liver.
345
:But other ways of detoxifying
the body are also found in things
346
:like sauna in exercise, right.
347
:Really getting the body to sweat, moving
the body, draining the lymphatic system.
348
:Right?
349
:So, uh, when you move the body,
you help your lymphatic system
350
:to drain and to move, uh, because
it's not able to move on its own.
351
:So you literally have to move your body
to help move that lymphatic system.
352
:Um, of course you can get a
lymphatic massage, but, uh,
353
:both are doing the same thing.
354
:Uh, you could even do rebounding.
355
:So literally jumping on a trampoline.
356
:That's a great way to also
move the lymphatic system.
357
:Uh, what else?
358
:Um, Those are definitely going
to be some of the main ones
359
:drink a lot of water as well.
360
:Of course, that should go without,
um, needing to be said, but that
361
:will help to flush out the body
and just really trying to focus on
362
:getting all of that bad out of us.
363
:Um, as well, sorry, if you are a
person who's typically constipated,
364
:um, making sure that you are trying to
have some regular bowel movements, so
365
:eating a lot of fiber, um, you know,
as well, like whatever works for you,
366
:if you, uh, maybe some coffee or.
367
:Some Yerba Mateo can help you to
go whatever it is, do something to
368
:help remove that, um, uh, remove
all of that waste from your body.
369
:You don't want that sitting in
you for a long period of time.
370
:And, uh, these are just different ways
in which we can detoxify our bodies
371
:from not only all the bad stuff from the
terribly scented, uh, Glade plugins and,
372
:and terrible candles and all that, but as
well from a lot of the foods that we might
373
:be eating, some of the pesticides things
that can build up in our body as well.
374
:So.
375
:That's a great way to detoxify a
highly recommend detoxifying in
376
:general, most like just living normal
life with all the pollutants in
377
:our air and our water and our food.
378
:Um, it's just a good idea to
typically do a detoxification process,
379
:maybe once a year here and there.
380
:Uh, anyways.
381
:But definitely if you struggle with
migraines and all that, and you've been
382
:around all these crazy scented things,
I would highly recommend doing a detox.
383
:So that's going to do
it for today's episode.
384
:Sorry.
385
:I've gone on a bunch of different handguns
in today's episode, but really bringing
386
:it back to the main core thing here.
387
:I love the holiday sense that we have in
the candles and all the various things.
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:But they're definitely not always the
best made and the best for our health.
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:So we need to find alternatives and,
uh, I'm just going to re highlight them.
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:It's an essential oil diffuser.
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:It is the burning of the pot,
the water on the stove top with.
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:You know, whatever we want in there,
cinnamon nutmeg, clove, whatever sense
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:you want to, to smell on your house.
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:Uh, as well, we can also make our own
candles in home or purchase a better
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:quality candle with a base of bees wax
and using some form of like essential
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:oil as the scent for the candle.
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:So that's going to do
it for today's episode.
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:I hope you all enjoy.
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:I hope you still find a way to enjoy
the beautiful smells of the holidays
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:without all of the bad side effects.
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:Um, Um, hopefully you get to use something
that I've mentioned in here, please.
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:Uh, if you want to make some candles
check out, I'm sure they have them on like
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:Amazon and just type in like bees wax.
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:Making candle sets.
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:Sure it'll pop up and it's a
great way to also spend some
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:quality time with the family.
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:So.
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:Anyways, y'all thank you for
joining me on today's episode.
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:I always appreciate it.
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:I hope you're leaving with some
beneficial, um, practices that you can
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:implement into your life after hearing
this episode and have some fun with it.
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:Have some holiday fun.
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:I'm enjoying making some candles
with, uh, family, friends, loved ones.
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:And like I said, especially with
the kids, uh, yeah, that's going
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:to do it for today's episode.
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:Uh, I've got some awesome guests coming
up on the next couple of episodes.
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:So stay tuned for those.
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:I'm super excited for them.
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:Uh, really great.
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:Information coming from both of
the guests coming onto the show.
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:And honestly, it's just an
opportunity for me to learn as well.
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:So I get super excited about having
guests on this show, and I know you're
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:going to have a ton of takeaways from it.
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:So stay tuned.
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:Uh, to check out those episodes.
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:And if you are already subscribed
to the show, please subscribe.
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:It'll make sure that you don't miss any of
those episodes coming up, especially with
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:some of the most awesome guests coming on.
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:Uh, you definitely don't want
to miss these upcoming episodes.
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:And if you haven't already please leave a
rating and a review and share this episode
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:with a friend, family, or loved one or
anyone that can benefit from this podcast.
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:It helps us spread the message of
the show and help people to find it.
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:So.
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:Thank you all very much.
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:I appreciate every single one of
you and so good to have you here.
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:Listening, tuning in.
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:If you have any questions, you want to
hear more about anything, please reach
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:out to me on Instagram, elemental.
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:Evan is where you can find me.
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:And I'm always happy to hear what y'all
have to say about the show, what you're
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:enjoying or what you want to hear more of.
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:So anyways, Uh, I hope you have
a beautiful rest of your day.
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:Um, enjoy the holidays as they're
coming up and yeah, let's get after it.
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:Y'all much.
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:Love.
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:Have a good one.
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:Peace.