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The Voice of The June Lotus is a space for soft awakenings, honest reflection, and intuitive guidance.
Hosted by holistic life and wellness coach B. Hwanhari, this podcast invites you into conversations that nourish the soul, strengthen self-trust, and support your journey back to yourself.
Whether you're healing through change, reclaiming your voice, or learning to listen inwardly — this is your gentle reminder that you’re not alone, and your truth is sacred.
Each episode offers soulful reflections, grounded wisdom, and practical tools to help you align your life from the inside out.
Come as you are. Leave a little more whole.
Welcome back. It’s been quite some time, so I’m really happy to reconnect with you today. The only thing that would delay an episode release is ... .life all the curve balls it throws our way, but I’m happy you found your way back to this podcast and I hope you’re now fully settled in and ready to begin.
Today’s episode is titled “Life Isn’t What It Seems.” We’re diving into the power of perspective — the lens through which we view life — and how awareness of that lens can transform the way we experience the world, connect with others and realign with ourselves.
Before we begin, I do hope you had the chance to sit with the last three episodes and practice some of the exercises we explored together. Just to recap:
Episode One: The Awakening — What Happens When You Start Listening to Yourself. We explored what unfolds when you tune into your inner voice and begin honoring your truth.
Episode Two: The Practice of Self-Trust. This was a guide to strengthening your confidence through intuition and lived wisdom.
Episode Three: You’re Not Lost, You’re Recalibrating. Here, we reframed uncertainty as a natural phase of realignment and growth.
Each of these episodes built a foundation that prepares us for today’s conversation. Once you start listening to yourself, trusting your path and reframing uncertainty, the next step is to expand your awareness of perspective — your own and others’.
The Lens of Perspective
When I say “life isn’t what it seems,” I mean that we’re all walking around with unique lenses shaped by our upbringing, our relationships, our culture, our environment and our experiences.
Think about it: the way your parents spoke to you, how your teachers treated you, the energy of your neighborhood, the support or lack of support you felt in friendships — all of these moments become building blocks for your personal perspective.
I often see this clearly in my clients. One person might share how warm and nurturing their mornings were as a child — being greeted with love, breakfast waiting, hugs before school. Another client, however, might recall mornings filled with chaos — rushing to get out the door, maybe feeling scolded or pressured.
Now imagine how those two experiences shaped the way they showed up at school. The first child might walk in feeling grounded and ready to learn, while the second carries tension, maybe acting out or struggling to focus. Both children were in the same classroom, but their experiences of the world were completely different.
This is perspective. It’s the lens. And as we grow up, these lenses influence how we parent, how we love, how we work, and how we connect with others.
Why Perspective Matters
Understanding perspective doesn’t mean excusing bad behavior. It simply means we start to see why someone might be acting the way they are. That awareness creates compassion, understanding and helps us avoid being so deeply triggered by other people’s actions.
This awareness is also the foundation of Emotional Intelligence. With compassion and understanding, we can better regulate our emotions and emotional responses.
On a small scale, this can ease tension in your home or relationships. On a larger scale, perspective-taking is what helps us bridge divides between cultures, religions, or even entire nations.
Harmony starts here — with awareness of the lenses we each wear.
Reflective Pause
Take a moment to ask yourself:
What are some of my earliest core memories?
What beliefs did I unconsciously pick up from my family or culture?
Through what lens am I viewing life today?
This is important because our lens impacts everything: the neighborhoods we move into, the partners we choose, the jobs we take, even the way we see opportunities.
If we’re unaware of our lens, it runs our lives. But once we become aware, we gain the power to shift, to update our “prescription,” so to speak.
Practice: Updating Your Lens
Here’s a simple practice you can try this week:
Notice a Situation That Triggers You. Maybe it’s a coworker’s behavior, or your partner leaving dishes in the sink. Pause and ask yourself: Through what lens am I seeing this?
Imagine Another Perspective. What might this look like through someone else’s eyes? What experiences might lead them to act this way?
Choose an Empowered Response. With that awareness, how do you want to respond differently?
Again, this isn’t about excusing others. It’s about freeing yourself from being trapped by your default or initial lens.
Journal Prompts
Here are some journal questions to deepen this reflection:
What are three core beliefs I inherited from my family or culture?
Do these beliefs still serve me today? Why or why not?
Where in my life might I need to “update my prescription” and see things with a new lens or fresh eyes?
How do I want others to experience me? What lens might they be looking through when they interact with me?
The Illusion of Appearances
Another layer to perspective is remembering that not everything people present to the world is as it seems. Social media is a clear example. Someone may appear to have the perfect relationship, dream job, or flawless lifestyle — but behind the scenes, their reality may look very different.
When you remember this, you'll spend less energy comparing yourself to others. It helps you release envy or imposter syndrome. Because the truth is: you’re only ever seeing fragments of someone’s life or story.
And that goes both ways — even we, ourselves, don’t always have full awareness of how we come across, or of our own blind spots.
That’s part of the human experience: continuous learning about ourselves through relationships, situations, and reflection.
Growth Through Awareness
The beauty of perspective work is that once you become conscious of your lens, you have the power to shift it.
You can:
Reframe old stories.
Release limiting beliefs.
Choose to see through compassion instead of judgment.
Step into a version of yourself that’s freer, lighter, and more expansive.
And when you allow space for continued growth, you realize — you don’t have to stay stuck in the same way of seeing forever. You can upgrade. You can become someone who moves through life with wisdom, with clarity, and with an open heart.
Closing Reflection
So as you move through this week, I invite you to:
Pay attention to the lens you’re viewing life through.
Notice how your perspective shapes your choices.
Practice seeing situations from a different angle.
And remember: life isn’t always what it seems. Others are only showing you fragments, and you yourself are still discovering new layers of who you are.
Allow that truth to bring compassion, humility, and deeper human connection.