218 | Mundane Magic: How to Use Science and Spirituality to Hack Your Brain and Get Stuff Done with Molly Donlan
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What if your spiritual practice didn’t require another elaborate ritual, expensive collection of crystals, or unchecked box on your already-overwhelming to-do list? In this episode of Wild & Waking, I’m joined by Molly Donlan—author of Mundane Magic: A Lazy Witch’s Guide to Hacking Your Brain, Building a Daily Practice, and Getting Stuff Done and co-host of the Demystify Magic and Science of Reiki podcasts—to explore how we can weave magic into the ordinary tasks we’re already doing every day.
Molly shares her journey from deeply skeptical nonprofit advocate experiencing chronic pain and burnout to Reiki practitioner, witch, spiritual teacher, and bestselling author. We talk about the science behind Reiki and magical practices, how the nervous system shapes our everyday experiences, and why understanding what is happening inside our brains and bodies can make spiritual practices feel even more potent. We also explore what it means to question the labels and cultural conditioning surrounding witchcraft, magic, and spirituality and give ourselves permission to decide what these practices mean for us.
At the heart of Molly’s work is a beautifully simple idea: your spiritual practice does not need to become one more thing you feel guilty about neglecting. Mundane magic invites us to transform washing dishes, folding laundry, mopping floors, clearing clutter, and tending our homes into accessible rituals for mindfulness, intention, nervous-system regulation, and connection. These practices are designed for real people, real schedules, and even the squiggliest ADHD brain days—when your energy is low, life is chaotic, and the bar needs to be low enough to trip over.
Together, we unpack why discipline and self-criticism rarely create sustainable change, how perfectionism and purity culture can sneak into spiritual spaces, and why making something simpler does not make it less meaningful or magical. This conversation is an invitation to stop performing your spiritual practice, release the pressure to do it all, and begin noticing the sacredness already woven through your everyday life… because when you learn to find a nugget of magic in the mundane, your entire life can become a ritual.
Meet Molly:
Molly Donlan is a Reiki Master Teacher, crystal healing expert, yoga teacher, co-host of the Demystify Magic podcast, host of the Science of Reiki podcast, and bestselling author of Mundane Magic who has dedicated her life to helping others unlock the transformative power of energy work and alternative healing modalities. With a background as an advocate for survivors of sexual violence and as a former skeptic of all things woo, Molly emphasizes the importance of trauma-informed care while teaching through a blend of science and spirituality. Her approach is lighthearted and grounded in practicality, because life is stressful enough and these practices are meant to reduce the stress of life, not add to it!
In this episode, Mundane Magic: How to Use Science and Spirituality to Hack Your Brain and Get Stuff Done with Molly Donlan, we cover:
How Molly evolved from a skeptic of all things “woo” into a Reiki practitioner, witch, spiritual teacher, and bestselling author
The science behind Reiki, energy healing, mindfulness, and other magical practices
Why understanding the nervous system can make spiritual practices feel more accessible and effective
What “mundane magic” means and how to find magic in everyday life and how to turn washing dishes, folding laundry, cleaning, decluttering, and other household chores into spiritual rituals
ADHD-friendly spiritual practices designed for low-energy days and “squiggly brains”
Why discipline, shame, and self-criticism rarely create sustainable habits or meaningful change
How novelty, intention, and dopamine can make dreaded chores easier and more enjoyable
The ways perfectionism, capitalism, patriarchy, and purity culture can infiltrate spirituality
Why your spiritual practice should support your life instead of becoming another place to perform
Deconstructing cultural beliefs about witchcraft, magic, darkness, and what it means to call yourself a witch and how choosing your own labels can become an act of authenticity, identity reclamation, and personal power
How retraining your brain to notice moments of magic can change the way you experience your home, relationships, work, and everyday life
Giving yourself permission to grow publicly without needing to appear fully healed, certain, or “finished”
How finding supportive spiritual community can become a catalyst for self-discovery and personal growth
If this conversation sparked something for you, share it with a friend who might need it too.
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Emily is a speaker, facilitator, and host of the Wild & Waking podcast, creating spaces for women to unravel conditioning, reconnect to their truth, and rise in alignment with who they’re becoming.
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Episode 214 | Living Ritual: How to Infuse Each Day with Purpose and Spirit with Tracee Stanley
About Wild & Waking:
Wild & Waking is more than a podcast—it’s a sacred return to who you’ve always been.
This space is for the woman standing at the edge of everything she’s outgrown. The one who’s checked all the boxes, followed all the rules, and still feels the quiet ache for something more honest. More alive. More hers.
She’s begun the unraveling—of roles, expectations, identities that no longer fit. She’s remembering the voice beneath the noise, the rhythm beneath the hustle, the truth beneath the performance. She’s reclaiming her joy, her intuition, her fire. And she’s rising—not as a version of who she was told to be, but as the truest expression of who she already is.
Hosted by soul expansion coach Emily Reuschel, Wild & Waking is for the spiritual entrepreneurs, coaches, rural changemakers, and conscious leaders dismantling old paradigms and creating new ways of living, leading, and becoming. Through raw conversations, deep reflections, and embodied wisdom, we explore what it means to awaken a life of abundance, authenticity, and purpose.
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