Podcast Summary: The JOY Broadcast with Ali Mortimer

Episode: The Joy of 'Expanding Through Fear' (Spleen Chakra)
Date: April 28, 2025
Host: Ali Mortimer, Life Consultant & Joy Coach

Overview

In this uplifting episode, Ali Mortimer delves into the theme of expanding through fear by exploring the Spleen Chakra, an energy center focused on survival instincts, intuition, and the balance between courage and caution. Drawing from her personal experiences and teachings from Human Design, Ali provides practical advice on recognizing, understanding, and working with our fears—showing how courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to move forward with it. She concludes with a powerful guided meditation to help listeners connect with and balance their splenic energy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to the Spleen Chakra

[01:00 - 04:40]

• The spleen chakra is located above the right hip, just beneath the rib cage.
• It governs instincts, impulse, survival, immunity, and utilizes all physical senses—touch, smell, sight, sound, taste—for making decisions about safety.
  • “It’s all about your survival instincts…this is why it’s so beautifully linked to your immunity.” [02:50, B]
• Describes how this sense evolved from prehistoric times and is still essential (though it manifests differently in the modern world).

2. Conditioned vs. True Fear

[05:25 - 07:15]

• We are only born with two innate fears: loud noises and falling. All other fears are conditioned through upbringing and society.
  • “All of the other fears that you may feel that you have are actually taken on through conditioning.” [05:29, A]
• Importance of discernment—questioning, “Is that my fear or someone else’s?”
  • “It’s about squeezing all of that out and just saying, is that my fear or somebody else’s?” [05:55, B]

3. Navigating Instinct & Fear: The Push-Pull Dynamic

[06:00 - 10:00]

• Explains the "push-pull" feeling: desire (instinct) pulling you forward and fear holding you back.
  • “It’s the knowing and bringing this awareness to your spleen that’s going to help you recognize that impulsive action…” [06:32, B]
• Shares the importance of recognizing whether the fear is life-preserving or limiting.

4. Personal Story: Facing Fear Head-On (The Bungee Jump)

[07:15 - 10:25]

• Ali recounts her lifelong fear of heights and her decision to do a bungee jump with her family.
  • “I was like, you know what? I’m just telling myself I’m frightened because I’ve been frightened all my life…” [08:53, B]
• She reframed her inner narrative to: “Who would you be without that thought?”
  • “Anytime that little fear came and said, you’re terrified… I was like, no, this is going to be so much fun.” [09:00, B]
• The experience was transformative, bringing a sense of aliveness and demonstrating courage by walking with fear.
  • “It’s not about being fearless. It’s about being able to walk with your fears.” [09:55, B]

5. Making Friends with Fear & The Human Design Perspective

[10:25 - 13:29]

• References Human Design, stating there are seven fear “gates” in the spleen; Ali identifies with many of them.
• Uses 'Flintstones' metaphor: fears are like kids in the back seat, putting their feet down and stopping the car.
  • “You’re either Fred or Wilma…then suddenly these little kids get in the back seat. These are your fears…” [11:55, B]
• Suggestion: Acknowledge and address fears, don’t suppress or let them silently dictate actions.
  • “You face your fears in the backseat and say, come on, kids, tell me what’s going on…make friends with them.” [12:30, B]
• Classic quote: “Another level, another devil—it’s just the same fears, the same echoes are going to be there every single time.” [13:18, B]

6. Healthy vs. Unhealthy Splenic Energy

[13:30 - 16:30]

• Healthy Spleen: A balanced flow of intuition and considered risk; courage with care.
  • “It’s not just about staying alive, it’s about being alive…this is what your spleen can help you do.” [15:08, B]
• Unhealthy Spleen: Dominated by fears (leading to paralysis or impulsiveness); being stuck in "what if" cycles.
  • “An unhealthy splenic energy is when you are literally letting your fears rule roost. They are limiting you, they’re holding you back…” [15:55, B]
• Being fearless isn't the goal—courage comes from moving with your fears, not erasing them.

7. Tools for Supporting Splenic Energy

[16:30 - 20:45]

• Crystals:
  • Snowflake Obsidian (balance); Black Obsidian & Black Tourmaline (protection, grounding, anxiety relief).
    • “I always…take both of these stones whenever I’m traveling…to keep us safe.” [18:20, B]
• Diet and Grounding:
  • Eat whole, earth-grown foods; strive for intuitive, not rigid, balance.
  • Move more, hydrate well.
• Element:
  • Earth — grounding foods, plant-based diet, herbs.
• Cleansing:
  • Sprays with essential oils or herbs (instead of smoke cleansing with palo santo/sage).

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Fear as Protector:
  • “Your fears are just the protectors. They’re keeping you safe. They create such an important part of our lives. It’s not about letting them hold you back. It’s about giving them a voice…” [12:20, B]
• On Aliveness:
  • “There’s nothing more…than doing something slightly terrifying that makes you feel that when you’ve done it, you’re so freaking alive.” [10:00, B]
• On Courage:
  • “Courage is walking with your fears. It’s about being with your fears. It’s feeling the fear and doing it anyway.” [16:03, B]
• On Expansion:
  • “It’s not just about staying alive, it’s about being alive.” [15:08, B]
• On Connection & Growth:
  • “It’s this beautiful ebb and flow of yin and yang, connection and growth, solidarity and freedom…it’s both.” [28:10, A]

Guided Meditation & Practice

[21:09 – 32:15]

Ali leads a visualization connecting to the spleen as both root and branch—grounding into the earth and expanding into the sky:

• Instructions:
  • Sit or lie down, hand on right hip (spleen).
  • Visualize roots grounding you safely to Earth and branches growing upward, reaching for light and freedom.
• Mantras:
  • “I trust in my splenic intuition.”
  • “I listen to the voices of my fears…”
  • “I am brave and courageous.”
  • “I am safe, I am protected, I am whole and I am free.” [29:30 – 32:10, B/A]

Ali’s practical note: Find a tree in your daily life to connect with—nature serves as a living symbolism of grounding and expansion.

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |----------------|--------------------------------------------------| | 01:00 - 04:40 | Introduction to Spleen Chakra: location, function| | 05:25 - 07:15 | Conditioned vs. True Fear; Discernment | | 07:15 - 10:25 | Facing Fear: Bungee Jump Story | | 10:25 - 13:29 | Making Friends with Fear; Flintstones Metaphor | | 13:30 - 16:30 | Healthy vs. Unhealthy Splenic Energy | | 16:30 - 20:45 | Crystals, Food, Grounding for Spleen | | 21:09 - 32:15 | Guided Meditation: Spleen, Grounding & Expansion |

Tone & Takeaways

Ali’s approach is warm, encouraging, and practical. She emphasizes self-compassion, curiosity (not judgment) towards fears, and encourages a sense of adventure. Through stories and analogies, she makes abstract concepts tangible, inviting listeners not just to survive, but to truly thrive and feel fully alive.

Closing Message:
“It’s the ripple of joy—it starts with you and within you.” [33:01, A]

For more daily joy, connection, and support, Ali encourages listeners to share the episode and continue the journey—reminding us all that expansion is possible, even (and especially) through our fears.