Come with me to St. Maarten and live your best island life!

Are you ready to live your best life? Well, my friend. It starts TODAY.

In this bonus episode, I'm calling your fun forward. It's time to start f**king around a whole lot more, because this is where you will get paid – in all things. Happiness, connection, strong relationships, pleasure, luxury, adventure, money – manifesting all of it starts when you say a huge heck yes to your own fun.

Don't believe me? Well, how's not having fun been working out for you? How is being an overly serious and over responsible perfectionist treating you? How is being in a state of scarcity and lack and fear and imposter syndrome and "I can't" been bringing in the amazingness?

Okay, maybe none of these things are really you, but I'll be so assertive to say that it is most people. And it's time to shake yourself out of this unconscious slumber!

Because when we create our day-to-day lives from that energy, it reinforces the creation of an entire world of people who are building structures and a society that leads us to live in a way that is unsatisfying and all-out unhealthy. We have manifested the world we are in right now. We need to own that, and do something to change it.

I'm not here for creating a crappy world for myself or future generations, and I'm guessing neither are you. So, whether you join Riselle and I at the spectacular Island Girl Awakening Retreat in St. Maarten Jun 4-9 or not, I hope this episode inspires you to start dreaming and to start stepping in.

Because the world needs you to say a lot more hell yeses to your fun.

To join the retreat, go to jenliss.com/retreat and it will redirect you over to Risselle's page. I'll be along for the whole ride with the group, and will be offering breathwork multiple days at the retreat. It's going to be an amazing, beautiful and absolutely transformative experience for all who join us.

Transcript

Jen Liss: 0:05

Hi and welcome to Untethered with Jenless, the podcast that's here to help you break free, be you and unleash your inner brilliance. I'm your host, jen, and in this episode, we're going to talk about how all the magic that is possible for you is just on the other side of one huge hell. Yes, let's dive in. Hey there, unicorn, it's Jen. Welcome back to the podcast for this bonus episode Bonus. So this episode is actually a conversation between Rizelle and I. She was on the podcast my very first episode of 2024. And I have to tell you this is the wildest, coolest, most amazing, exciting and, of course, of course, story from the universe, she and I coming together. We actually met midway through 2023. And as soon as I met her, I was like there is something about that girl, there is something about her, and so we stayed connected and we were occasionally just commenting on each other's Instagrams, and then I had this thought at the very end of 2023. What I believe is possible for so many of us in this lifetime is to have more fun, make more money, because I know that it is a fact that the more fun I have, the more money I make I have proven this to myself time and time again. The more serious I get, the more in lack I get, and the more fun I have, the more abundance love, fun, connection, all things, fun, breathes, more fun it drops in for you. So I had this thought. I declared it on this podcast out into the universe the next day.

Jen Liss: 1:50

I had this thought you know what? I should ask Rizelle if she wants to come on the podcast. I'd really love to have her on the podcast. So I sent her a DM on Instagram. She's like so funny, jen, I was just thinking about you today. I'm like that's wild. So then we go and we have this conversation. She said you know what I was thinking about? You is because I was going to ask you if you wanted to come to this retreat that I am doing and offer breathwork in June. And it was a full body yes for me from the moment that she said it. Because I said you know what I want? To offer breathwork at a beautiful retreat on an island this year. And then, lo and behold, it literally dropped into my lab.

Jen Liss: 2:32

So here's what I want to tell you there is so much magic, there is so much luxury, there is so much amazingness. Maybe you don't want luxury, whatever it is that you want, whatever is magic to you, whatever is fun to you, whatever feels abundant to you. Maybe that's love, maybe it's connection, maybe it's money Y'all we live in a capitalist society. We need money to have the things that we want and to make the impact that we want to make. Even Mother Teresa herself said it takes a checkbook to change the world. Women, women, women Are you a woman who is listening to this podcast? We have got to start accepting receiving, allowing more money, more goodness, more fun and fun. Is money, fun, money, fun, money, have fun, make money. They go hand in hand. If we want to change this world, we have got to start receiving more money and we've got to start having a hell of a lot more fun in order to make it happen.

Jen Liss: 3:27

So this is my call to you it is time. It is time to say a huge hell yes to your fun. What is your brand of fun? You know what my brand of fun is Adventure, going around and having a blast in different parts of the world. I am open, armed, open palms saying yes, more of that. I said yes to that.

Jen Liss: 3:50

For most of my life, my husband and I have traveled a ton, we ended up moving to somewhere we really wanted to move to. And I just continue and I am at this new level and part of this new level is because I did say yes to some really amazing, magical retreat experiences over the past couple of years and it's helping me to see actual possibilities for myself. You go first. You have to say yes to the things that you want to do first. We can't say, oh, it's going to be so great when no, no, no, you have to start doing it. You have to say universe, I want more of this by saying yes and doing it. And that can be in teeny tiny ways and sometimes, if you are ready, if you are saying I am ready, it's got to be a big way. It's got to be a big way and I have done some of those and it has said huge votes and helped me to see possibilities. There are things that I would not have done. This retreat, for example, would not have happened if I hadn't said some huge hell yeses In the past couple of years. I joined this coaching program where I invested a ton. That coach ended up hiring me. That's how I ended up meeting Rizel.

Jen Liss: 5:06

It starts with saying yeses to yourself, starting to see possibilities for yourself. As you see and experience those possibilities as you start to have fun. Other people see those possibilities for you too. They think of you. They invite you. You see what I'm saying. Are you picking up when I'm growing down? If you're one of those people who wants to host retreats, if you want to world travel, if you want to do these things, you've got to start going to them, even in small ways. In small ways. It doesn't have to be going all in on the luxury retreat, but hell yeah, it can be.

Jen Liss: 5:36

If so, I would love to see you at the Island Awakening Retreat June 4th through the 9th on the island of St Martin. I'm going to be there with Rizel. I'm going to be offering breath work. Oh my gosh. She is the tour guide in St Martin. It's what she does for a living. You're going to get that personalized experience by somebody who knows. She knows all the best local spots. She knows all the best local food. She said St Martin is a foodie paradise. You're going to hear all this from her. I don't need to tell you If that is calling on your heart at all.

Jen Liss: 6:07

Please listen into this episode, because this is a magical opportunity to get to be there with her in this beautiful, beautiful place.

Jen Liss: 6:19

I can't even share with you how genuinely excited I am for this and to welcome the women who are coming to this, who are going to say a huge hell yes to start living their best life right now, to say yes to their fun. If this sounds like your kind of fun, this is going to be one of those really, really powerful opportunities to jump in to say yes. We're going to take each other's hands and say it is time for me to start living my best life and we are going to cross over that threshold together with breath work, with soundbaths, with all of the magical, transformative things and with this amazing island experience with a group of people who are your people. They're your people. It's hard to find your people sometimes. It doesn't have to be hard. We just have to say yes to the right things Without further ado. I'm excited for you to hear this conversation with Rizelle and I Enjoy, and I'll see you on the other side. I'm excited to be here and even more excited about this retreat.

Riselle Celestina: 7:21

Yes, absolutely. I think it was when I was on your podcast. We were talking about we should do something together, and then this was like I'm planning a retreat, you should be part of this.

Jen Liss: 7:32

It's a full body. Yes, from the time I met you, I was just there. You know when you meet that connection with somebody. And then you told me about your own love of the Pacific Northwest and I told you about my love of islands. We were just meant to be connected.

Riselle Celestina: 7:50

It was just like it was fate. It was all of that magical unicorn stuff that you always talk about. It's just all the universe aligned for us and it was like, okay, these two people have to do something together. It's true, yes. So now we have the island awakening luxury retreat coming up, and I just wanted to talk a little bit about what the those who are interested in attending can expect. So I thought what better way to do this than the two of us together? So, yeah, so I'm gonna. Should I start, or should you?

Jen Liss: 8:22

I think I should interview you. I want to hear. I want to hear about Saint Martin. I'm sure everybody else does too.

Riselle Celestina: 8:28

Girl, girl, I think you always want to hear about Saint Martin. But okay, yes, absolutely Go away. What is your first question?

Jen Liss: 8:36

My first question is what is your favorite thing about Saint Martin that when somebody comes, you're like you need to see this, you need to experience. What is that thing?

Riselle Celestina: 8:49

Okay, so I think, first of all, this is like so weird, weird, like I'm interviewing you, you're interviewing me. I love it, though.

Jen Liss: 8:57

It's weird but perfect. It is great and great for your listeners because they're going to get to hear a different perspective than what they would get otherwise.

Riselle Celestina: 9:05

Exactly, it's true, that is so true, and you're coming in with those questions that a lot of people who have never been to Saint Martin probably has as well. So this is actually great. Yeah, the first thing that I would say that I love about this island, that I cannot wait for somebody to experience, is the fact that it's two nations, one island, but still one people. It's one island, one love, one people, but at the same time we are half Dutch, half French, and I think that brings in so much with it. We say in our tagline a lot of times when you hear any kind of promotional event concerning Saint Martin, we'll say it's a lot of European but a whole lot of Caribbean.

Jen Liss: 9:49

Oh, best of both worlds.

Riselle Celestina: 9:50

So it's got, yes, best of both worlds, I think. Where else can you stand on a tropical island in the middle of the Caribbean? And you can have one foot in France and one foot well, it's not exactly Netherlands because of our status, but we'll explain more about that later but you'll be standing in two places at once.

Jen Liss: 10:11

That's way cooler. There was at one point here in the States where I stood in Arizona and Nevada at the same time. I would much rather be in Saint Martin standing in those two locations.

Riselle Celestina: 10:22

I think that would be a little bit more interesting and much more tropical than that. Yes, it's so true?

Jen Liss: 10:26

Okay, I have to say. Here's my next question. It seems like you are legitimately living your best life. I see you on Instagram, I see your videos. It seems like you are living your best life. Why are you so excited to bring other people to the island of Saint Martin to help them live their best lives?

Riselle Celestina: 10:46

Because if I'm doing it, anybody can do it, and especially with we've all had our share of issues of really terrible moments, bad timing, all of that stuff that we had to learn to kind of like, adapt, but not only adapt, accept and then transform. And I think I just love sharing my home and that is something that I've been doing for so long as an Island tour guide and I've been given advice on my YouTube channel and on my Instagram, like you said, and on my blog. I've been doing that for so long. But I also want I feel like this place is the perfect place to help someone get over whatever is holding them back and teach them or show them how to live their best life.

Jen Liss: 11:34

Yeah, why is that? What is it that then in luxury for sure?

Riselle Celestina: 11:40

I know exactly, and this place is just so magical on its own. What better background than a tropical island in the middle of the Caribbean?

Jen Liss: 11:48

It's so true. What makes St Martin so special?

Riselle Celestina: 11:53

So Martin has a lot of things to make it special, but I think that is the one thing is, like I said, that duality that it has, that we have so much European but are still very much Caribbean. But I think it also has beautiful beaches. It's got so many beautiful beaches. We say we're 37 square miles, we're a tiny pack in the ocean, but we are also. We have also 37 beaches, so it's one beach for every square mile and we have oh my gosh, the food here is just phenomenal. I am so spoiled wherever I travel. It's hard to please me when it comes to food because my bar is set high.

Jen Liss: 12:33

Same as a Portland foodie.

Riselle Celestina: 12:35

Oh, exactly, exactly. So you understand what I'm talking about. But when you travel, you go to another destination, I was like, oh, I want to try to cuisine. I'm like, okay, yeah, no, so I get that a lot. But, yeah, I think that is another thing that makes a Martin special, and that is one thing that we're incorporating definitely into the retreat is we are definitely going to have some gastronomical experiences out of this world. We're having a private chef at the villa that is booked for this retreat. We have a private chef, but besides the private chef, we are also going to be going or visiting some of the best restaurants on the island. So I think that is such an important part of it. Food is just so important.

Jen Liss: 13:18

So if we're talking about living your best life, there's got to be good food. Like, don't even give me my best life with that. Good food is going to be there Exactly.

Riselle Celestina: 13:26

But I think another thing also is the exploring that we're going to be doing, and exploration is just also another part of travel exploration, discovering new places and so, say, margins. Location is so close to other beautiful islands in the Caribbean, so we're going to do a little day trip to where I am currently recording this from, which is Anguilla, and if you have never heard from Anguilla, oh my gosh, google it and then go back to me. It's just, it's perfection, it is just perfection.

Jen Liss: 14:01

Have one conversation with Rizal about Anguilla, and I'm already dreaming of it and I have not been there yet.

Riselle Celestina: 14:08

Oh my gosh, I call it my happy place. This is where I feel my most grounded, with the exception of Samaritan, of course, but it is definitely one of my favorite islands to visit, and it's only 30 minutes away from Samaritan. That makes it so much more special. I can quickly come here whenever I really need to. So I think that is another one of those things that I really wanted to share. Because it's my happy place, I am sure it's going to be everyone's happy place too, so a day trip to Anguilla definitely has to be part of this retreat.

Jen Liss: 14:39

If, when you've done a visualization, you have ever pictured yourself on an island, on a beach, you're actually going to physically get to go. It sounds like to that visualization that you've had of the beautiful beach. You're going to literally live that visualization.

Riselle Celestina: 14:55

Yeah, anguilla is known for its beaches. It really is known for its magical, beautiful beaches. Anguilla has that image that you have of the Caribbean or of the South Pacific Islands when you're thinking like complete, powdery white sand and this, like layer of different colors of blue, like this clear water going into turquoise, going into royal blue, going into darker blue. That's what Anguilla offers and it's like Completely. And their beaches are never crowded. We can easily find ourselves, just us with our little group, when it's retreat, on the beach by ourselves, or at least a section of the beach by ourselves. It's that amazing.

Jen Liss: 15:41

So beautiful. As somebody who supports people with their nervous systems as well, I have to say, because you made that note about groundedness, being grounded in nature, especially near water, in the sand, there is no better place to have a transformational experience genuinely except maybe here at Waterfalls in Portland, oregon. Both of those places are so freaking good for transformation because water is. It's changed, water is actively changing landscape, and so being around water is all such good things. It's healing. It legitimately is natural healing for your body. So it's the perfect from my perspective, it's just the perfect location. And then you get to add the adventure and fun, and adventure and fun is also so healing. So I just had to note that, because you said that groundedness, which is so important, what have we not talked about? About this retreat that you're like?

Riselle Celestina: 16:37

everybody just needs to know how good this is going to be there is so much because I think the one thing why we call it a luxury retreat is that you are going to be completely pampered as well. So, once you're here in San Martin, all of the ground, transportation is going to be taken care of. You're going to be picked up, taken to a beautiful villa with a fantastic view. This villa is just out of this world. I love this villa so much, and the name of this villa is called the wellness villa. Like how appropriate, right, and we're going to be taking. You're going to be taken to the wellness villa, we're going to be introduced to other people that are as excited as you are to be there and we are going. I think it's just being in that space, being on a new location. I think all of that is so empowering as well. The reason why I started doing what I do is because I want to empower women through travel, and I think this goes perfectly well with this retreat. You are going to feel so empowered by the time you step a foot into this beautiful villa and then, from there, all of the itinerary that we have planned is just going to be mind blowing. So, yeah, I think that's another special thing about this retreat that I'm still looking forward to.

Riselle Celestina: 17:53

But I have a question for you. Okay, yes, I want to know what exactly, because we already said that you're going to be part of this. You are already in the process of booking your trip. You're coming down to San Martin for the first time, but I am putting you to work. You are going to be doing something other than just enjoying this retreat has to offer. You are also going to be blessing, I might say, because after experiencing what you do myself, I can say it's a blessing. You're going to be blessing us with some of your talents as a breath worker. So can you tell us a little bit more about what we can expect when it comes to bratwork?

Jen Liss: 18:37

Yes for sure. First of all, I have to say how much this entire how you describe the retreat why I want to be there, why I want to come and have this amazing opportunity to be part of this thing that you are putting together, is that your mission to empower women to travel really touches my heart. Travel has long been something that I am passionate about and in fact, I take my nieces and nephews, when they graduate high school, on a trip because I believe in the power of travel and how much it transforms us. So I'm so down with your message and everything about this and simultaneously, I'm all about people living their most brilliant, best lives. So all things are matching up and that's what I do with bratwork.

Jen Liss: 19:20

I help people through breathwork, through transformational breathwork, through meditation, to reprogram the stories that exist within them that are stopping them from living their best lives.

Jen Liss: 19:31

That's what I do, and it helps you to reset your nervous system Physically, like we're talking scientific, at the biological level. You can go in and reprogram things and have this huge transformational experience that moves energy and shifts energy. My goodness, to do it in this luxury way is like saying a huge heck yes to everything that is possible for you. Doing it in the location of luxury and pleasure and wonder and magic and travel and adventure is saying yes to everything. Yes and more. Thank you, universe. So we can go into the nitty gritty of bratwork, but that's why I'm so genuinely excited about this opportunity to do this with you and to help people really call it in, because doing it in this whole new experience is saying this is something that I'm ready for. Bring me more of this. So if you're somebody whose dreams of going to islands, living on an island, being on islands, like living this magical life, this is it, y'all.

Riselle Celestina: 20:37

Oh my gosh, it's so, so true, and I'm so excited for you to be here, for you to be actually sharing this with us not only bratwork, but you are also a life coach. So I think the two of us together it's going to be amazing in helping transform people's lives, help them live a better life, help them live their best life. That is what both of us have as our ultimate goal and it's our purpose. Both of us have that purpose to help people grow, empower, etc. I think that is another thing that is so magical about this retreat. So, jen, thank you so much. One last question to you what is the one thing that you are looking most forward to about being here for this retreat?

Riselle Celestina: 21:23

Well, giving you a huge hug after that, yes, obviously One thing that a lot of people nobody knows this but we have never met in real life before. We've had like numerous Zoom calls and conversations, but we haven't met yet. So that is going to be a really one thing that I am definitely looking forward to as well. But, yeah, what is another thing that you're looking forward to?

Jen Liss: 21:47

Our souls have met, but we have not physically met yet and we're going to get to meet in the physical and it's going to be amazing. So that's number one. Can I say three things? You're like, what's the number one thing? And I'm like, give me three. I can't stop at one, st Martin, because you make it look just like everything, and I know that it's because you love it so much and you're so excited to welcome people. It's what you do. You're a travel coach and motivational coach. You help people to really enjoy the beauty of this island that you love so much. So of course I'm super excited for that. And then I'm super excited to meet all of the people who are coming and saying yes to themselves for this amazing experience. Can I mention one thing about breath work that I didn't dive into and why it's so powerful to do it there? Yeah, I want to get a little bit science just real quick.

Jen Liss: 22:42

Your nervous system can only handle so much joy, can only handle so much joy. We have a capacity for joy. So, just like when something negative happens and you freak out, we've all had like your day doesn't go as planned and you start to freak out and you start to panic and you feel your nervous system freak out. Your nervous system also does that on the other end of the spectrum. You've got both sides. You have a capacity for negativity and you have a capacity for joy. And here's the thing we can expand that window on both ends. You can expand your capacity to hold yourself poised in negative situations. You can hold yourself poised in joyful situations. But you have to allow yourself to experience joy, true joy, true pleasure, true bliss. You have to let yourself experience your desires for your nervous system to understand that it's okay. You have to signal safety. It's okay for me to be in this magical place and have this magical experience. Like I am safe to accept this much abundance.

Jen Liss: 23:45

So when you go and you do breathwork, we're reprogramming your nervous system in real time to say, yes, this and something better. That's what we're doing with our breathwork is going in and telling your nervous system this is beautiful, I want more of this, this is so luxurious and wonderful and I love it. And so your joy breaker now has moved to a different capacity. It's just like a breaker box can only handle so much current. So you have now upgraded your breaker box and it's going to flip. The next time it flips it's because you have suddenly welcomed in a million dollars and you're living in Paris. You know what I mean. Like it's well, we're living on the island of St Martin, wherever it is you want to be.

Jen Liss: 24:29

And so you're expanding that capacity for joy, and we don't know. We often like that. That's a new concept to most of us. It was a new concept to me a few years ago, but it is so important. It's so important for your abundance and for you to accept all of the good things that you desire in life. We've got to expand that joy. So this is a way to physically do it.

Riselle Celestina: 24:51

Yeah, so well said, and I think when you combine that with meditation and the workshops that you and I have planned, I think it's just going to be an amazing, amazing thing for anybody to experience, really, and I just want to say that it is. You are deserving of abundance, you are deserving of having it all and you are just definitely deserving of being in St Martin and going through this transformation, but not only the transformation, but to having this much fun with like-minded people. You are totally deserving of that.

Jen Liss: 25:26

So true Beautiful.

Riselle Celestina: 25:29

Yeah, thank you so much for your time, jen. I'm so happy we did this.

Jen Liss: 25:32

Thank you, I'm so, I'm so happy to talk to you anytime, and especially about talking about going to an island, gosh, are you?

Riselle Celestina: 25:42

kidding me. I'm so excited. I'm dreaming of this retreat. Literally I am. I'm so excited for it. Yeah, so I think that's it. Thank you for listening, and we're going to see you into my tin soon.

Jen Liss: 25:56

Oh my gosh, I would love to see your magical unicorn self at this magical retreat. If this sounds like it is for you, hit me up. You can send me a DM. I'm untethered Jen on Instagram. All the links are in the show notes. But you can also go to genlesscom slash retreat and it will take you right to the page where you can submit an application to be one of the people who is at this retreat. So if that sounds good to you, I hope to see you there and I will see you tomorrow for another interview episode of Untethered with Jenless. Until then, you just keep shining your magical unicorn light out there for all to see. I'll see you next time.