Undimmed with Cecily Mak

Mark Nicolson has been an executive coach for 35 years. He joins Cecily Mak to reframe the inner critic and self-judgment as a “dimmer.” He believes that judgment is a way we flatten feelings instead of staying present. Trained at Oxford and Stanford and with formal MAPS training and a doctorate in clinical psychology, Mark has helped people prepare for and integrate after more than 300 legal psychedelic sessions.

In this episode Mark explores self-criticism, upper limiting (a concept from Gay Hendricks’ book The Big Leap), high sensitivity, grief and compassion, and how psychedelics support recovery and lasting change. Anchored in the Sixth Awareness of the Eight Awarenesses, Respect: I don’t judge or impose my limitations on others, this conversation is for anyone working on presence, emotional growth, and letting others walk their own path. Mark regularly leads dynamic interactive workshops at Esalen called Designing the Life We Want.

Mark's website, LinkedIn

Mark featured in Rolling Stone, "Inside the New Psychedelic Awakening"

Mark's Eselen Workshop

The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level—A Transformative Guide to Overcoming Fears and False Beliefs for Personal Growth and Success

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

What if your body knows a commitment is costing you before you do? In this episode, Cecily Mak sits down with Sara Szal MD, a Harvard-trained physician and dear friend, for an honest, practical conversation about self-abandonment, relationships, and what it takes to set down what we carry.

Together they explore the Fifth Awareness: Freedom. The Fifth Awareness invites us to forgive, take ownership, and let go as part of the path to freedom. Dr. Szal shares how she was shamed out of being a truth-teller as a girl. She describes how difficult relationships can impact your biomarkers. She explains why a nightly glass of wine works against the cortisol it’s meant to calm, beliefs that allowed her to tolerate an erosion of self, and how a clean yes and a clean no protect our biology.

Cecily also shares a healer’s “relief test” for deciding which plans to cancel. The two discuss self-stewardship versus self-care, how to calm the nervous system without a dimmer, and why no woman should accept “you’re just getting older” as an answer.

Dr. Sara Szal, is a writer, board-certified physician, entrepreneur, researcher, and educator. She graduated from Harvard Medical School and MIT. She is the Director of Precision Medicine and Longevity at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University where she offers next gen executive care. She has written four New York Times bestsellers, and her next book, The Female Edge, comes out March 30, 2027.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraszalmd/
Webpage: https://saraszalmd.com/
Substack: http://saraszalmd.substack.com
Female Edge book presale link
Know your ACE score (Adverse Childhood Experiences)

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

What if the habit you're trying to quit was only ever trying to protect you? In this episode, Cecily Mak sits down with Dr. Richard Schwartz — the creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS) — for a tender, practical conversation about trauma, addiction, and what real healing actually asks of us.

Together they explore the Fourth Awareness: Healing. The Fourth Awareness invites us to seek to understand our trauma without making it our identity. Dr. Schwartz shares the story that sparked IFS more than 40 years ago, why "there are no bad parts," and how the behaviors we use to numb, dim, or self-soothe — alcohol, overwork, perfectionism, and more — are often young, protective parts stuck in the past. Rather than fighting them with willpower or shame, IFS offers a gentler path rooted in curiosity, compassion, and self-leadership.

Cecily also opens up to a live piece of parts work on the mic, and the two discuss recovery, grief, psychedelic-assisted healing with ketamine, and how to relate to the parts of us we'd rather not see.

Dr. Richard "Dick" Schwartz is also the Founder of the IFS Institute that offers training for professionals. He is currently a Teaching Associate in Psychiatry, at Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate. Richard has authored or co-authored more than ten books on Internal Family Systems and related topics, including No Bad Parts and Internal Family Systems Therapy.

Where you can follow Dr. Schwartz's work:
Instagram

Website

YouTube

Dr. Schwartz's newsletter

Where you can learn more about Internal Family Systems:

IFS Institute Website

Leading From Self: Applying Internal Family Systems to Leadership

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Libby Stockstill built the life she was supposed to want: law degree, leadership roles at companies like Vans, Billabong, and Vuori, the "perfect-looking" family. Then a suspected thyroid cancer diagnosis, and a surgeon's careless line about her voice, forced a question she'd been avoiding: are you using your voice the way you always felt called to? The answer was no.

In this episode that dives into the Awareness of Intuition, Libby and Cecily talk about writing in secret under a pseudonym, the sign on the trail that finally made Libby’s decision clear, and why following your intuition is rarely tidy. It's messy, it's inconvenient, and as Libby puts it, there's nothing more empowering than deciding you're worth the cost.

Libby is the Founder & CEO of Some Days, where she blends life and leadership coaching, writing, speaking, and retreats to help people move past what's in the way and live the life they long for. She is also writing her first novel; a midlife coming of age, exploring the idea of what success means and the central question – What if having it all means losing it all? Additionally, her poem, “Under” was just selected for publication in the upcoming 2026-27 San Diego Poetry Annual anthology

Connect with Libby:

@libby.stockstill Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libby.stockstill/

@create.some.days Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/create.some.days/

@soliloquyonimperfectionism Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soliloquyonimperfectionism/

Work with Libby:
Coaching: https://createsomedays.com/some-days-clarity-compass/

Retreat: https://createsomedays.com/some-days-autumn-abundance-fall-retreat-interest-list/

Read Libby's Writing:

https://createsomedays.com/2022/10/07/some-days-i-go-against-the-grain-or-grape/

https://createsomedays.com/2021/12/26/some-days-i-find-athena/

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Seed Health co-founder Ara Katz had to learn that even discernment, taken to an extreme, can quietly become its own dimmer. In this episode, she and Cecily explore how real choice works: not a strategy or a cognitive matrix, but an inner compass that's always recalibrating. On discernment as a survival instinct, the grace of doing nothing, standing in the middle of the tornado instead of fleeing it, and why how you do anything is how you do everything.

Ara's new book, Your Vagina is a Universe, will be released March 9, 2027 and you can follow her on Instagram.

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Episode Description

Cory Muscara left an economics track and a Wall Street internship at 21 after a single meeting made him "feel his soul leave his body." He was ordained as a monk, spent six months in silence in Burma and only years later realized his prized meditation practice had become a sophisticated way to avoid himself. In this episode, Cory and Cecily Mak go deep on the First of the Eight Awarenesses — Clarity: my life is better clear. They explore the surprising truth that a "clear-looking" habit like meditation can be its own dimmer. They talk about spiritual bypassing, the difference between observing an emotion and being in "full contact" with it, the road to a fulfilling life partnership, and fatherhood as a devotional stripping-away. It's an honest look at how clarity really works: as the empowered choice to stop numbing and finally hear your own intuition again.

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

What are you afraid would happen if you were fully engaged with your life?

Season 2 of the Undimmed Podcast explores this question through the framework of The Eight Awarenesses: Clarity. Choice. Intuition. Healing. Freedom. Respect. Time. Service.

The First Awareness is Clarity: my life is better clear. We start there, September 4th.

🎧 Undimmed with Cecily Mak — wherever you listen.

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

In this bonus episode of Undimmed, Cecily shares a short excerpt from the audiobook version of her new book, Undimmed: The Eight Awarenesses for Freedom from Unwanted Habits — shared here exclusively with podcast listeners.

The passage focuses on the Second Awareness, I choose what I consume, and reflects on a period when Cecily was beginning to question long-held assumptions about alcohol, social life, and choice. It’s a quiet, honest moment from early on in the work, offered with openness and care.

Cecily Mak’s new book, Undimmed: The Eight Awarenesses for Freedom from Unwanted Habits, is available wherever books, ebooks, and audiobooks are sold.
For more details and to purchase, follow this link.

Season Two of Undimmed will begin rolling out this spring.

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Cecily returns to Undimmed after a pause that grew into a deeper and more meaningful season of work than she expected. With new conversations set to arrive in your podcast feed next spring, Cecily shares a personal update.

She talks about what this period has held: family transitions, continued healing, and the long, thoughtful process of completing her book, Undimmed: The Eight Awarenesses for Freedom from Unwanted Habits, which will be released in January 2026.

She also shares a moment that moved her deeply. Her son wrote a school speech about alcohol and families and asked her to read it. His honesty reminded her why this work matters and why she continues to offer these conversation

If this episode speaks to you, please rate, subscribe, review, and share Undimmed. You can follow Cecily on Instagram @clearlifejourney, join her Substack community, or visit her website at cecilymak.com for more.

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

On today’s episode of 'Undimmed' Cecily talks with Sunnyside co-founder, Nick Allen, about both of their personal and professional journeys with alcohol. Nick grew up in a household with two parents who struggled with alcoholism before ultimately finding sobriety. While Nick has had his ups and downs with drinking, up until this point has not felt the need to cut alcohol out of his life completely. Disappointed with the exclusively sobriety-focused, all-or-nothing options available, he built Sunnyside as an alternative for those looking to change their relationship with alcohol but not necessarily quit entirely. Nick is on a mission to make managing alcohol consumption as common (and socially accepted) as managing diet and exercise as components of our proactive wellness routines.

Together, Cecily and Nick highlight the importance of making informed choices about alcohol and maintaining open, honest dialogues within families and communities about drinking habits. They both emphasize the value of understanding one's relationship with alcohol and making conscious decisions to improve life quality without necessarily adhering to black-and-white sobriety perspectives.

Check out Sunnyside or follow them on Instagram @joinsunnyside

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Kamelle Mills, a renowned fitness instructor, performer and confidence coach, joins Cecily for an inspiring and deeply personal conversation about resilience, faith, and overcoming life's darkest moments.

In this episode, Kamelle recounts pivotal moments that sparked his transformation from battling alcoholism, eating disorders, and societal expectations to living a vibrant and authentic life he calls 'Living in Fuchsia.'

Along the way, we hear about his early life in Huntsville, Texas, the profound impact of his mother’s affirmations, and the pressures of performing multiple roles, including playing football and hiding his LGBTQ identity.

Whether you're on your own clear life journey or seeking inspiration to make positive changes, Kamelle's story is a testament to the power of resilience, self-love, and the endless possibilities that come with living an undimmed life.

Connect with Kamelle on Instagram and TikTok at @kamellemills and @enbeyes.

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

In this episode of Undimmed, host Cecily Mak is joined by Christine Gutierrez, a licensed psychotherapist, life coach, and expert in self-worth. Christine, the author of "I Am Diosa: A Journey to Healing Deep, Loving Yourself and Coming Back Home to Soul," shares her personal journey from childhood spirituality to confronting her struggles with alcohol and toxic relationships.

As Christine opens up about her teenage and early adult years, she discusses the duality of striving for success while simultaneously engaging in self-destructive behaviors. Her candid account of reaching a turning point, acknowledging her problem with alcohol, and seeking help through AA and other support systems is both inspiring and relatable.

Cecily and Christine explore the significance of community in healing, the challenges of changing social dynamics, and the importance of maintaining integrity and alignment with one's true self. Christine's journey to sobriety and her commitment to empowering women through her work in the Diosa community is a testament to the transformative power of living undimmed.

Tune in to hear Christine's powerful story of resilience, spiritual awakening, and the ongoing pursuit of a life of clarity and purpose.

Connect with Christine:
Instagram: @cosmicchristine
Website: christineg.tv
Book: I Am Diosa: A Journey to Healing Deep, Loving Yourself & Coming Back Home to Soul
Affirmation Deck: Wisdom del Alma

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

This week’s episode of Undimmed features a candid conversation with Dan Harris, former ABC News anchor and creator of the Ten Percent Happier meditation app, podcast, and book. Dan shares his personal journey with cocaine use, sparked by his experiences in war zones and his quest for adrenaline, leading to a panic attack on live television. His path to recovery involved therapy, quitting cocaine, and eventually discovering meditation, which transformed his relationship with his own mind.

Cecily and Dan delve into the complexities of substance use, including the nuanced differences between various substances like alcohol, cocaine, and MDMA, as well as the societal and personal implications of their use. They also explore mindfulness and meditation as powerful tools for understanding and changing one's relationship to substances and emphasize the importance of self-awareness in overcoming addictive behaviors.

Follow Dan: @danharris
Website: https://www.danharris.com/
Podcast: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast
Books: https://www.tenpercent.com/dan-harris-books

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Renowned photographer, creator of the Embody Project, and Cecily’s dear friend, Erica Scott, joins the podcast this week for an intimate conversation among dear friends who have been exploring their relationships with dimmers, primarly alcohol, since they first connected decades ago. In this heartfelt conversation, they cover three primary chapters of their friendship: (1) the years in which they both drank as galavanting single women and later as more settled adults, (2) the years during which Cecily had opted out on her own, resulting in a newfound tension and opportunity for growth to explore between them, and (3) finally, how things are now that they are both living alcohol free. This unfiltered episode also touches on the challenges of being in relationships with others during major life changes, acknowledging judgment, and exploring new ways of relating without trusted dimmers. This episode is an intimate conversation you won’t want to miss.

About Erica Scott:

In her 20+ year career as a photographer, Erica’s work has been published in Vanity Fair, InStyle, W, People, and Us Weekly, and her commercial client list includes Warner Bros, Fox, Sony, Universal, Paramount, the Golden Globes, Wisdom 2.0, Gap Inc, and Airbnb.

As creator and photographer of the Embody Project, which she conducted from 2010 to 2018, Erica invites us all to stand fully in the truth of who we are as diverse yet equally beautiful beings united in our human journey through life. Since its inception, the Embody Project has been seen in more than 25 countries worldwide, and the website has over 500,000 views.

Forever a passionate world traveler, for now, Erica's lens is most often focused on her wedding and portrait clients in the Blue Ridge mountains of Asheville, NC, where she lives in constant awe of the stunning long-range views and with deep gratitude for the magic and mystery of life.

Follow Erica:

Photography Website: https://ericamueller.com
Embody Project: https://embodyproject.com
Instagram: @ericamuellerphotography

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Meditator and author Diego Perez, known primarily under his pen name Yung Pueblo, sits down with Cecily to discuss his undimming process. Like so many of us, Diego experienced alcohol and drugs for relief and recreation in his twenties but after a particularly dangerous experience, found himself searching for a deeper, healthier way of living.

Tune in as Diego shares how meditation brought him to his own version of a ClearLife, the evolution of his close friendships, and his advice for navigating social events alcohol free.

Diego Perez is a meditator and #1 New York Times bestselling author widely known on Instagram and social media networks through his pen name, Yung Pueblo. He has amassed an audience of over 3.8 million people. His writing focuses on the power of self-healing, creating healthy relationships, and the wisdom that comes when we truly work on knowing ourselves. His first two books, Inward and Clarity & Connection, were both instant bestsellers. Diego's third book, Lighter, debuted as a #1 New York Times best seller. He has sold over 1 million books worldwide that have been translated into over 25 languages. Diego's fourth book, The Way Forward, was released in October 2023. Diego is a Co-Founding General Partner at Wisdom Ventures.

Follow Diego:
Yung Pueblo Website
Substack
Instagram
Linktree
Ready
Wisdom Ventures

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden

Welcome to the first episode of Undimmed, A ClearLife Podcast. We’re kicking it off with someone near and dear to Cecily’s ClearLife journey, Jennifer Pattee. Join Cecily and Jennifer as they dive into the choice to live alcohol-free, self-actualization (is anyone else living their Beyoncé life?), and how connection and community are medicine.

Jennifer Pattee is an endurance athlete, Apple-trained designer, and Y Combinator founder who's democratizing access to executive coaching through her new startup, Coach. Featured in Oprah magazine, San Francisco magazine, and at SXSW for her unique approach to revitalizing cities and building community through fitness, she's on a mission to normalize women pushing boundaries so no one calls the next generation of girls’ dreams crazy. Follow her here @jenniferpattee as she bikes from Canada to Mexico this summer.

Please remember to rate, subscribe, review, and share the Undimmed podcast to help this content reach more humans in need of support or inspiration. You can also follow Cecily's @undimmedjourney on Instagram, subscribe to her Substack, or learn more via her website.

Credits:

Host: Cecily Mak
Producer: Joanne Elgart Jennings
Composer & Sound Alchemist: Laura Inserra
Editor: Kai Heartlife
Social Media & Marketing: Megan Belden