All designers aim to create environments for their clients that will improve their lives and support their health and wellness. In the execution of those designs, that often focus on functionality and aesthetics, other areas of wellbeing may get overlooked. Taking a broader, more holistic approach to client needs and the connection of the space to the natural environment can produce additional benefits.
In this episode, Gail welcomes back to the podcast Matthew Tenzin, principal designer with Joe McGuire Design, with offices in Aspen, Boulder and Denver, Colorado. Previously Matthew appeared in an episode with the firm’s founder and partner, Joe McGuire. A former Buddhist monk, Matthew has had a lifelong love for creativity and interconnectivity with spirituality and the natural world.
In 2017, Joe and Matthew launched a Holistic Design Consultancy, now known as Home Within, where they focus on offering the healthy, sustainable and energy-balancing aspects of their design process. Matthew explained that their method is to examine the project in the context of five levels of holistic wellbeing in the home, taking a top-down approach. Those are the spiritual and/or sacred level, a wellness vision, symbolic or meaningful level, sensory level and functional level.
Matthew said that normally the energetic level in the home is not addressed in traditional building and design. He explained that spaces contain residual energies from previous inhabitants that can affect the current residents, either for good or for ill. From an energy perspective, the space may be out of balance and require cleansing before any other work is undertaken.
Connectivity is also central to their process. Matthew urged designers to make more of an effort to connect with their clients. “If only the designer could just breathe and slow down for a minute to connect with client, it’s amazing what can come out of that,” he said. Connecting to the natural environment is also essential. “If we can’t connect to the planet and the whole from our home, where are we going to do that?” he noted.
Matthew also talked about how the firm is using a new wellness space they opened up next to their studio and their work with indigenous communities in the rain forests of South America.
Listen to the entire podcast for more details and insights from Matthew.
If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s12e3-shownotes
Mentioned in This Podcast
For more information about Matthew and Joe McGuire Design, go to the firm’s website at www.joemcguiredesign.com.
For more information about their wellness consultancy, Home Within, go to the firm’s website at www.homewithin.com.
Listen to the previous podcast with Matthew and Joe discussing ways designers can break out of the cycle of constant business ups and downs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ZgO8K21sU
Episode Transcript
Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors.
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Welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Matthew. You’ve been with us before, but our listeners might not have heard that episode. So we’re gonna dive right in. So how did you become a designer? Tell us about that. Well, hi, Gail. Thanks for having me back. Of course. It’s wonderful. I always love chatting with you and I’m excited to get to talk a little more with your listeners. So yeah, I became an interior designer in a little bit of an unusual way.
didn’t go to design school, my background was more, I was more interested in fine art. And even though as a kid, I told people I wanted to be an interior designer, I grew up in a very conservative Christian family and community. And I think at the time when I said I wanted to be an interior designer, it was a teacher and I can’t remember which one said, well, that’s what women do. So you should be an architect. And so that sort of planted a seed of.
Okay, well, I’ll explore architecture. And that wasn’t quite my thing. And then I got into painting and that led through a whole creative and spiritual path, I guess, of exploration. When I was living in Chicago, I got to hear the Dalai Lama talk and I went to hear him and got very into meditation, ended up becoming a Buddhist monk for a number of years, for about five and a half years living in retreat.
But I always had a very creative aspect of my being and I wanted to, after my time as a monk, which was an incredible life-changing time, I wanted to figure out how to integrate what I’d learned and express it creatively. I also felt a real deep connection to nature and to the planet and that’s something that’s always been a part of my life and I wanted to find a way to do something meaningful or beneficial to help others feel more connected.
to nature and to the planet because it felt like we wouldn’t do the things we do to the planet if we felt more connected to it. And right after my time as a monk, I met my husband, Joe, in Aspen at a talk by the Dalai Lama. We just happened to be sitting next to each other. And he was an established interior designer in Aspen. He’d been designing homes there for many years at that point. But he also had a background of interest in meditation and
healing arts, he had gone to massage school, he had lived at the Dalai Lama’s monastery and taught English before I was there. And so we had all these overlapping interests and we were really soulmates, know, it was meant to be. And so we started, you know, dating and, you know, became partners in life. And then over a few years, we started working together in design as well after tagging along with him on projects and things. Eventually he got
a number of projects and needed help. And he’s like, well, what do you think about helping me? And I thought, okay, great, let’s give it a shot. And that was 12 years ago. So I really learned through working with Joe, as well as just, you know, so much of it is just intuitive and a part of me, or there was sort of a natural impulse to design spaces, even from a young age. it’s an unusual path.
but I feel so grateful for it. It is so fascinating. And every time I hear you talk about being a Buddhist monk, I just try to imagine what would that be like? Because that is such a different lifestyle than what you have now. And of course, it informs what you’re doing. But and we’ll talk about that a little bit more. But what was that like? What was the difference in how you felt about yourself versus?
now that you’re away from that. What is that like? Yeah, I mean, it’s it’s something that’s it’s really hard to to put into words, of course, because it’s just such a such a powerful experience. It’s just so different from from the way that that pretty much all of us live. I felt really lucky. Like most days I felt like I won the lottery to have the opportunity to fully immerse in nature. For two and a half years, I was
in solitary retreat. So I would go for six or seven months at a time without seeing another human being, including other monks. There were a few of us in little cabins in this remote valley in Big Sur. So we were kind of over a ridge in a valley tucked in near the ocean, but we couldn’t see the ocean. just to have the opportunity to immerse in meditation all day, that connection to nature and to
the web of life, you become very sensitive to things when meditating that much. Wasn’t exposed to any news about the outside world. I would get letters when I would come out for those breaks and I would see my teachers and then go back in. And so to have that opportunity to not be distracted by devices and email and news and all that we have to process on a daily basis.
That was an amazing opportunity. when doing that, become, think, I mean, when anybody meditates, I know you meditate, we’ve talked about that before. We just naturally become more sensitive because we start to slow down and tune into the present moment, which is what meditation is, mindfulness especially, is being aware of what’s arising in the present. And then we start to notice things that we didn’t notice before. And they’ve always been there, but we just didn’t tune into it.
thoughts, our emotions, the breeze, the sensation on our skin, the way we’re breathing, the way we’re sitting, we start to open and sense in a deeper, richer way. And that’s just an incredible opportunity to do, especially in nature, because it opened up this feeling of connection to the web of life. I felt like I was communicating with nature. I would notice that I would have certain prayers or thoughts or intentions.
that would seem to be reflected in nature around me, in the animals, in the plants. And at times on the non-physical level, when you meditate deeply, you start to have connections on a more subtle level and where I was really sensitive to the energy of spaces and places, as well as to non-physical beings that have become kind of a part of my reality. I know a part of most world religions or spiritual traditions acknowledge
the possibility of life beyond the physical body. so that was such an interesting thing to learn about and to experience and to feel was real. so even though I was in solitude, I didn’t feel alone. I felt so much more connected than I had ever felt before. How interesting, because that’s something that you would think, I guess you would, some people might.
assume that you would be lonely because you weren’t interacting with people. But this is a whole different level as you’re describing. So interesting. were moments of loneliness for sure, you that would arise when I think about my family, friends, and just with that craving to be around people and to talk to people. you get used to emotions like that, thoughts like that arising and passing and, and, coming back to
the moment into the beauty and the present and to the sense of connection that I had there with me. Do you think that led to your current passion, which we’ll talk about, and you might talk about that a little bit and just tell us what it is? Yeah, yeah, it absolutely led to that. There was such a just a love for the planet and for nature that arose. was
quite powerful and also a grieving to think of and see what’s happening to the climate and to the biodiversity, to the animals, the plants as humans expand more and more and kind of consume more of the resources on the planet and more of the habitat. I just was feeling a sense of loss of our ability to live in harmony.
with nature and maybe a loss of our sense of connection to it, which I think is actually, we’re wired to connect to the whole, we’re naturally a part of it, and yet we’re not taught that. We live in a worldview that’s so focused on the physical and the material, and doesn’t always acknowledge our energetic, emotional, mental, spiritual selves. And so what became clear as Joe and I started working together was that,
Just as there are those same levels to us, to our being, in the yogic traditions, they talk about the five doshas, the five levels of our being, there are those levels to a home. And we started to notice that it was really important to address all of those levels if we wanted to create spaces of holistic well-being that didn’t just address the material, the physical. We all know what it’s like as designers to dive into a project and everything’s so focused on.
you know, the timeline, the budget, the materials, the construction and the logistics, all of that. And that’s all really important. And there’s so much more to a home than that in order for it to truly feel like home and for it to be a place of health and wellness and balance and peace, a place that restores us and lifts us up and reflects who we really are. So as we really dove into that, we started to notice that
like one of the levels, the energetic levels really not addressed by the design community or the building community. And it’s really important if spaces, even if they’re designed beautifully, if they have something energetically out of balance from former occupants or sometimes there are traumas in a space, sometimes.
Sometimes there’s a history to a space before humans even got there to a place, to a piece of land that’s really important to acknowledge rather than just going in and bulldozing and building a house. those are just examples. are dozens and dozens of things that can be out of balance in a space. Like for example, somebody living there with depression for many years in a particular room or part of a home or the whole home.
it can feel sad the minute you walk in the door, it can feel heavy, but we’re not taught to notice that and to acknowledge that that’s not us. But when a bunch of people are taught to observe how they feel when walking into a space and then stepping back out, you can feel that contrast. It’s like, out here I feel lighter, I feel happier. I walk in here, I feel heavy, I feel sad. That’s interesting. And if everyone…
notices the same thing, which we do with our clients without even saying what we’re observing until afterwards. Everyone can do this. Everybody has this ability to feel the energy and spaces. then it gives people the recognition that, there’s something here that’s not me. If the space feels sad, it’s not something wrong with me. There’s something going on in this space. And what can we do about that? And there are ancient, you know, it’s an ancient science and art of
clearing and balancing the energy of spaces. been done by traditions all over the world. we just don’t have a living practice of that, of our own in this culture, but we can go back to the ancient practices and they really work. It’s amazing. It’s like night and day shift when the energy is cleared and balanced in a space, it doesn’t have to feel sad. And then we can fill it with whatever positive emotions, whatever intentions we have for the space.
So that’s just an example of one level of a home that we find is often ignored. And it’s quite unfortunate because it can, to live in a space that’s energetically imbalanced can lead to physical and emotional and mental imbalances in the people in that space. when they can start to believe it’s them and take it on personally. So yeah. You know, I know this seems like woo woo for a lot of people that are listening, which is totally fine.
But and I think I’m a pretty grounded person, but I’ve had three experiences that I can relate to. one is and I can’t remember if you were part of the our collective at that time, but we were in Rhode Island and I could feel the energy of ancestors there, which I thought was really quite interesting. And I do have ancestors in Rhode Island, which I found through some searches in ancestry.com. And I thought, well, that’s really interesting.
Yeah, and then another time I was at a spiritual retreat and there was a guy in the room sitting behind me that got really angry and the teacher finally confronted him because he was not following the rules for this retreat. And there was no alcohol, no drugs, no nothing, and he had told someone that he had been smoking weed.
in the evenings, which was not okay if you’re there for a meditation retreat. So he got really angry and she made him leave. And she literally said, do not sit in that chair. And I could feel the anger even after he left. And I thought, wow, that is the craziest thing. I’d never really, really thought about that. I that was another example of you’re right. If you’re aware,
you can be very intuitive to the space and you don’t necessarily realize that and even, you know, I shouldn’t probably say this, but I’ll just say a friend went through a very ugly divorce and she was thinking about buying the house from her ex and I said, no, you can’t. The energy is terrible in that house. You cannot do it. And I just think you should let it go. Let him have it.
Yeah, and I mean, sometimes it’s really, yeah, I mean, it’s a, there are big decisions around homes and spaces and, it could be a huge impact to be in a space that, that isn’t energetically or symbolically uplifting for us, know, the symbolic or kind of, we talk about the emotional level and that’s where symbology meaning comes in. That’s, you know, we kind of break it down into these five levels and
And that’s one of the levels that a lot of designers do acknowledge. It’s like we design a home and we think about what’s meaningful to the client. And we really try to bring that into the design. And if a space has a negative reference or memory to a client, if they’re not able to shift that, it might always trigger that emotion, just being there, no matter how beautiful the space is.
And so we found that, you know, energetically, you know, no matter how much you remodel or redesign, if the inner energetics of the space and the land, not all need it. I’m not saying that every space needs this, but, know, there are quite a few that do. And if it’s not acknowledged, then it can, it could maybe just not feel right. You know, it might not feel as welcoming, as inviting, as peaceful as it could.
And so we really start at what we talk about the top level being the spiritual or the sacred. And that’s something that means something different to everyone. We don’t have any preset idea of what that means, but I think everyone has a sense of the sacred in their life. What that is, it might be family, it might be their ancestors, their loved ones, certain traditions, certain gatherings, certain ways of being. But for a lot of people there is.
a spiritual level to their life that is really important to acknowledge at the outset of a project because a home can hold that energy, can hold that intention and can, if it’s designed around what’s sacred for a person or a family, we can bring that into all the other layers. And at the very least, know, what I, what I recommend for designers, you know, who may not feel comfortable talking about these things is to at least slow down enough, just even if it’s like a half an hour.
with the clients. We ideally have at least an hour or a couple hours if it works out depending on the client’s availability and openness to walk the land, their property, to actually be outside the home rather than just starting right off the bat inside if it’s a remodel or if it’s a new build. Like walking the land, walking the perimeter, noticing all the details, the trees, the rocks, the plants, connecting with the place, noticing how it feels.
A lot of architects do this, but acknowledging kind of the more subtle feeling level and opening to the ideas that come in. And then just taking a little bit of time to explore the client’s intention for the project. Because intention is the foundation of everything in life, right? And a lot of times we don’t really, we’re not fully conscious of our intentions when going into something and a home remodel or build is an enormous
We all know what an undertaking it is, what it can bring up for everyone, what a process. It’s a huge investment. To get clear about what the intention is before going into that, sometimes a married couple might not have even talked about that openly and been facilitated in just inquiring into that and sharing what they see for the future of themselves, their kids, their family, future generations.
A lot of times we think so short term and the build and design of a home, we’re creating something to last for years or for generations. And so helping people think bigger, as well as to think about like, is their happy place? We talk about their wellness vision and we actually do kind of a guided meditation or journey where they are able to shift out of their mental, rational, you know,
Timeline, budget, resale value, that brain, which is really important. But to drop out of that into the heart and to go, what do I care about? What do I love? And what makes me so happy in life? What’s my personal vision of wellness? Because the more that we’re given permission to explore that at the beginning of a design project, the more we have the opportunity to bring that into all the other levels of the home.
that can inform the energetics so that we can fill the space with that positive energy of all those emotions that they mentioned, their values, their key words, the things that they wanna live around. We can fill the space with that energy. And then we can move from there into what we call the symbolic or meaningful level or emotional level, thinking about what imagery is really important, what symbolism, what art.
what objects are really meaningful that bring about this vision and hold it, rather than just going, you know, I need to keep this beautiful cabinet because my grandma gave it to me and it’s meaningful, but does it really make you feel good? You know, does it really uplift you? So tuning into that. And then from there, we get into the sensory, which is the aesthetic and how we design, you know, color palettes and the materials around this vision that we’re creating. And then from there into the functional, because, you know,
designing floor plans and spaces around what’s the highest best use or purpose of this space, not just what everybody else does or what’s happened to be on the architects drawings or the way the space is currently configured. And so, so it’s sort of going from the top down rather than from the bottom up. And we find that just even just even taking a few minutes at the beginning, if, if, if, if designers could just breathe.
at the beginning and slow down for a minute to connect with the clients. It’s amazing what can come out of that and that can ripple through a project. So talk to me a little bit about what some of the clients have said that you’ve had this opportunity to address their energy in their homes. What has happened as a result of this? Yeah, I mean, we had a recent experience with a client, a large home in Aspen, very
It’s probably one of the biggest budget projects we’ve had. they, I mean, the email after this work, know, the husband wasn’t quite as involved in it. It wasn’t his thing. And sometimes that’s the case, sometimes not. But he supported it for his wife because he could tell it was meaningful to her that there were parts of the home that didn’t feel right.
her that she was aware of and we were aware of, but you know, it wasn’t something that he was as tuned into or, know, but he wanted this for her. and so we went through the process of working with the energy of those spaces. And a lot of times it might only be part of a home. It’s not like the whole home, there might be certain something blocked or something stuck or out of balance in one part of the home. And so, so we did that process and, and, and we always kind of work from the outside in from
the land, the yard, the environment outward in and connecting with the intention and what’s sacred for that person. it was really beautiful to see how impacted she was by this process and by the experience. mean, she wrote back just saying, feel like I’m living in heaven on earth. I feel like I’m living in my dream home that you acknowledge not just
what’s beautiful and didn’t just design around what’s beautiful, but what’s really meaningful and sacred for us and purposeful. And she really felt that and got that. And it was just really special to get to share that with her as well as to notice how she felt a lot more connected to that home, which was a new home for them. She felt more connected to the land and to the animals.
and to the plants and to the trees. so that’s really part of our vision for this. It kind of goes back to my time as a monk and the times in retreat. I still go on retreat quite regularly and study with various teachers and as well as indigenous healers and teachers who carry that wisdom of living in this acknowledgement that there’s the sacred, there’s spirit or life.
within everything and everyone. So it’s really about, you know, within people’s home, giving them an opportunity to open to that view, that experience of that sacred worldview and feeling connected to nature and to the planet in our home, which it feels really important and timely because we spend so much of our time indoors. First of all, they say we spend over 90 % of our time indoors now.
And the vast majority of that is at home. And if we’re going to connect to the planet and to the whole, and we can’t do that at home, where and how are we gonna do that? I think a lot of people go to, I mean, a lot of our clients who we work with because we really, with Home Within, which is a branch of Joe Maguire Design and where we really dive into this process, we focus on wellness design. We talk a lot about wellness and that wellness vision, which ripples into a lot of times healthier,
choices for the family on a lot of levels. And then a lot of times those healthier choices are healthier for the planet, even though that may or may not have been their initial intention. Tuning into not bringing toxins into their space is actually, you know, that’s a good thing for the community and the planet as a whole. so anyway, we work with our clients in this way through Home Within and it’s see to us, it’s
we see it as this opportunity for people to connect in a deeper way in their home rather than having to go on a big retreat or to just have this experience like people go to high-end wellness resorts and have these amazing experiences of community and connection to nature and living holistically and having their green juice in the morning and going to yoga and then, know, and a lot of people come back from that and go,
Why can’t I live that way all the time? And I think people can. Well, yes. I think, well, essentially, as we have a more complex world, complex issues that we’re dealing with both in life and in business and all the other aspects of our lives, we have to have someplace where we can feel centered and alive and safe.
All of those things are important emotions. So I would imagine that all of those things are things that you’re sharing when you’re talking about home within with your clients. Yeah, yeah, it’s so true. Safety is a key one for people that comes up again and again, when people tune into what they’re looking for and wanting in a home. and that’s
I mean, it just makes sense at this time in the world with so much change and imbalance. People are looking for a refuge for a safe place, a place of comfort and well-being. And yeah, I think with that intention, it just makes sense to think a little bit more beyond just the functional and the aesthetic aspects of spaces. Even though those are so important, I think there are other layers that we can bring in to make a space really
feel nurturing and like home. Well, and I think for you as a business person, I know that’s not your first maybe identity for yourself. But when you think about what you’re doing, it allows you to differentiate your services from probably 99 % of the design firms out there. And, and that is an advantage. But the other thing that’s really interesting about that
is that it’s so rooted in who you are. It’s very authentic to you, your brand, what you’re trying to accomplish. And I can imagine that this is going to be, it seems to be your life work now of what it is you’re trying to accomplish. And you have opened up a space next to your current studio. So talk about that a little bit. Yeah, so earlier this year, a space opened up. We have…
kind of the top floor of a building in North Boulder near our home here. And we had sort of two thirds of it and the other third was being used by a nonprofit that does work on sustainability. We loved having them there and they moved into another kind of co-working space and this space opened up and it’s just a beautiful open space that previously, you know, some years ago had been a meditation center. It’s perfect for
meditation, yoga has views of the hills. And so we were so excited to get to take that space on and our intention for the space and what we’ve been using it for is as our wellness space. So it’s a space not just for our team and for them to have a space to go that’s, it does not feel officey at all. There’s a lounge kind of sitting area with comfortable, sustainable furniture, like healthy, sustainable furniture that
So it’s an opportunity to show some of those things and for our team to get to hang out comfortably if they just need a break in between things to do some stretches on a yoga mat or, but also it’s a space where we can have events with our team that don’t feel businessy, know, where we’re not at a conference table and in front of a screen. And like we’re having a sound bath there next week.
on a weekday morning for our team. That was one of the things we surveyed our team, what things they’d like to use the wellness space more in sound baths were like the highest rated because it’s just so relaxing. I don’t know if you’ve ever done one. Have you done one? have, yeah. It is. It’s really interesting and you don’t think about it because we are energy. So that vibrations that you feel from that. And I know that certainly with mantras and
A lot of the meditation techniques you’re you’re using sound in order to connect. And I think that’s pretty fascinating going. Yeah, it is. I think that’s going to be great. So so we’re we’re using it for that, but it’s also a place for us to hold events for the community. so I teach meditation there. Occasionally I’ve taught workshops on space clearing, kind of introductory level space clearing that can be really helpful to learn. It’s just sort of like a half day workshop.
And then we’re going to be teaching a lot more sharing things around the home within process for people who might want to be guided through that process and how to apply that to their own space or home, regardless of whether they own the home or not, whether it’s a large expensive home or whether it’s a little apartment in the city. We can all learn how to bring these levels of wellness into our space and how to nurture.
those in the space so that the space nurtures all of those within us. so we’re doing a number of different community events. It’s also a space where we focus on the rainforest preservation work that we’ve become really active in, which is kind of a side project. But I was just thinking this morning, Gail, how when we first started working with you, Joe and I at our firm was
quite a bit smaller. were, you we’ve been going through the roller coaster of just the ups and downs and business and it was quite stressful. And, and you really helped us with so much of that, all of that. we’re in a totally different place than where we were. And we’ve learned so much. But one of the things that was so interesting when we first started working together was how you talked about some of your clients who you’d worked with for years and how they were at this place now where they were, they were thinking about philanthropy.
What are they gonna do for their community? How are they gonna give back? What are they gonna do for the world? And you mentioned a number of examples of your clients and really cool things, organizations in their community or around the world that they’ve gotten involved in to give back. And I remember at the time just feeling like, my gosh, that feels like so far from where we are. We’re just in survival mode. We’re just trying to keep the doors open and keep up with all the projects and all the clients and all this stuff.
And we’re in such a different place now. And to be able to, for a while through Home Within, we’re giving back through that work, but wanting to share it more with the community so that it’s not just for people who can afford to hire an interior designer, which is, you know, it’s a smaller group of people. We want to make it more widely available for anybody to learn how to do. But then the philanthropic part of this is that we’ve become
aware of just, you as we tune into healthier and sustainable processes in our business, which is an ongoing and, you know, really challenging endeavor and yet really rewarding. We’ve made progress and we’ve got a lot more to do. But just to realize that we want to give back to the planet. And one of the things that we’ve really found is really important for us is preserving
the indigenous wisdom on the planet. We’ve benefited so much from that in our own lives. Joe and I both have really experienced the gifts of learning from indigenous peoples about how they see nature and feel connected to nature, don’t feel separate from it. And so we’re working with some communities in the rainforest to, some of this is just evolving even very recently and where I’m going to be going down there, it looks like in November.
to meet with a specific community. But we’ve already preserved over 250 acres of rainforest land, and our goal is much bigger than that. But to work with a specific community that is living in harmony with their land and wants help in preserving it, because there are all these challenges to that when they’re so poor and don’t have the ability to resist.
the mining companies and the logging companies and the government that wants to come in and do stuff to their sacred ancestral land. so, yeah, so that’s something that we are getting to do now that I couldn’t imagine years ago. And it really, through building a business that’s stable, that has systems and processes that
where you’ve helped us so much in learning how to lead and be better communicators. And of course, we’re always learning with that. And I feel like we’ve really gotten to a different place where Joe and I are able to be more ourselves in what we’re doing and bring this greater purpose into it. It’s so interesting that you bring this up about the other clients because
You started working with me in 2018, I believe it was June, much different situation than I remember a few tears in the session from both you and Joe and all those things. And a lot of my clients start with tears and because we get down to the heart of what’s important to them. And we want to build the business holistically too, because this is not about just business. It’s really about who you are and how you show up in the world and how you show up as a leader.
And we actually say in our boardroom group that it’s beyond business because when you get to the beyond business, you’re starting to self actualize into your business so that you can give back and that you can get that extra benefit of being that generous person, that generous heart that you bring to the world can be.
shown through your business and the way that you approach things, the way you approach your clients and your team. And as you start understanding the connection between the spiritual level and all of these pieces of your life that really impact other people, you realize, and I think it’s one of the gifts of what I get to do is the ripple effect of what our programs allow people to do is to go and help other people. So
like you doing what you’re doing or like Cheryl Stauffer, who’s doing Asia’s Hope. So building schools for kids in Asia or gosh, we have so many of our clients that are doing so many incredible things for global purposes and also for their local communities. And to me, that is the ultimate expression of a successful business.
is when you’re able to bring that level of, as you say, consciousness into what you are producing, because the result of what you do is not just financial. You have to have financial success in order to be able to do this. So without that financial success, you cannot give back because you don’t have enough. So you have to get beyond that feeling of not enough.
to abundance. And when you get to abundance, then there is so much more to give and you get so much more in return. So I mean, this is a deep conversation in many ways, because when you think about it, a lot of people just think that business is business and it’s not. It’s way, way deeper than that. Yeah, I think owning a business is one of the most potent paths of personal transformation.
Yeah, I mean, it can be right. If not, you know, it might be more difficult, you know, I mean, for us when we, you know, the obstacles that we’ve encountered in our business, as business owners and leaders, it always traces back to us, you know, it always traces back to stuff within ourselves that we’re needing to see and heal and acknowledge and
grow around and shift out of, know, so many of our own limiting beliefs have been revealed in the process of our business. I think it’s really important to understand that we are not alone. We may feel alone sometimes, but we’re not alone. And we have such an impact on other people, whether we realize it or not.
And you bring up something that I think is so crucial for people to understand that who you are, who you are when you show up for work, who you are when you show up at home, who you are when you show up as a friend, it all starts from within. whatever we put out into the world is either positive or negative energy. And that positive or negative energy is going to bring more of that back. if you’re feeling that you don’t have enough, that you are
poor in whatever way you feel poor, then that is sensed by other people. They know that. They feel that. And for those of you who are struggling with your business and really needing to have more business, there is an element that you need to look at for yourself of how are you showing up? Because how you show up is powerful. It’s so powerful that people do not realize.
that the impact is way beyond just what the thoughts in their brain is way beyond that. Yeah, absolutely. mean, a lot of the research around it scientifically even demonstrates, know, one of the types of meditation that I love to teach comes from the HeartMath Institute, and they’ve been around for decades doing research on the energy field of the heart and the power of…
coherence, getting our brain and heart in coherence. And so it’s just about breathing in and out through your heart center and a little more slowly, a little more deeply than you normally do. And you start to drop into the, what they call a parasympathetic nervous system where you’re, it’s the relaxation response. It’s so good for your health and wellbeing on so many levels for mental clarity, for physical energy and stamina. I mean, it’s really how we recharge the body is
recharges by going into the relaxation response. We can’t do that if we’re always wired and stressed and go, go, go in the kind fight or flight mode. But one of the things that they talk about and that the research is so clear about is that the electromagnetic field of our heart is the largest magnetic field in our body, much larger than the electromagnetic field of our brain.
sends out this electromagnetic field that can be felt up to 10 feet away. And they think even further, but the studies show at least 10 feet away. And it’s the way that your heart is beating, sends the signal out about how you’re feeling. It broadcasts your emotions to everyone around you. I know we’ve all experienced that where we can just tell how somebody’s feeling. They might have a smile on their face, but you can tell.
Well, like they’ve done studies, this institute and others, where people, they have somebody sitting with their back to the door, and then they have them wired to detect the response of their nervous system. And then they have someone walk in the room and they have that person generate a lot of anger first. Kind of like what you felt in that retreat you were at. And that person doesn’t even, they can’t even see the person. They have no idea that person is gonna be angry.
They might hear them come in the room behind them, but their whole body responds to that person’s anger immediately when that person walks in the room. And they respond differently if that person has generated more positive emotions. Their body feels it. Their heart actually is what feels it. And so our hearts are connected and just electromagnetically, like we sense and can feel what’s going on in other people’s hearts if they’re contracted.
and worried or if they’re open and expansive and sending out positive emotion. So on that level, it absolutely affects everyone around us. It affects our family, our team, our coworkers who we spend so much time with. I think it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that in a world where everything is made of energy, it looks so solid and physical, but we know these are all atoms with electrons and protons and it’s spinning, moving energy.
that if the electromagnetic field of the heart broadcasts emotion, that that could impact, you know, the field of energy in a space over time. I certainly have found that to be true. And the good thing is that we can shift that, you know, we can we can actually create spaces. Spaces are sort of like little batteries, you know, that we can fill with positive energy, just like our bodies, our energy fields that we can fill with positive energy.
And then we have more to run on, like we can recharge through positive emotion, through gratitude and love and positive emotions. That’s how we recharge. spaces are the same way by filling spaces with positive energy. Like I have a crystal behind me. I love crystals because, you know, as much as they may be seen as kind of symbolic of, you know, new age or whatever, crystals actually do hold energy very effectively.
atomic structure, the molecular structure of crystals holds energy. you know, if you pick up a crystal in a shop, one will feel different from another. And if you pay attention to how it feels and you can clear that energy with your intention and love, positive energy, you can clear it and fill it with positive energy or whatever emotion you want that crystal to radiate. And then it will actually radiate that in a space.
crystals are something that we can, know, beyond just being beautiful and something that can remind us of something, they actually can hold and vibrate energy in a space. so, yeah, so I think, you know, if this is all connected, and that what you’re saying about, you know, being that change that we want to see, you know, that statement, being that in our business, you know, is such a
really important insight. Yeah, and I was saying this to one of my coaching clients today. I said when things are not going well in your business, then the first question you should ask yourself is what am I contributing to that not working the way I would like to see it? And when you can ask that really hard question and be really honest about it, you’ll usually find that there is something
And it’s probably energetic about how you’re feeling about something or what you’re thinking about. Something is not the most supportive of what it is you’re trying to accomplish. So for those people who are struggling to get the right kind of clients that they want to have in the business, then they’re probably not aligned with what it is that other person wants. And so their wants and the other person’s desires and wants are not aligned.
and that’s not going to work for them. it’s kind of, it’s really important to think about that. And if you’re not getting the kind of results that you want from your employees, what are you contributing to that? How are you showing up to that conversation? How are you helping to guide that person to let go of whatever those negative thoughts are that they have that’s keeping them from being a very productive member of your team? Because everyone has things happening.
And we often don’t know what’s in the background. these are all things to think about. I, you and I could sit here and talk for hours about this stuff. I love it. Yeah. One of the things I would say is my gosh, you know, if you haven’t ever meditated, I have been to a few meditation retreats and I would like to go to more. And I think that what I learned through 10 years of meditation now is how critically important it is.
to stop thinking about the real world that we see, and that’s what we call real, but the real world is really what’s up here. So if we can remember that, if we can separate enough that we can just feel who we are and feel where we are, we can make some huge shifts in our lives. And I would say even at my senior age that,
I really feel like the older I get, I’m not going to say the smarter, but I’m becoming more aware of what it is that I can do to shift where I am. And I think we all have that opportunity. So we can either choose to stay in a negative space or we can choose to shift our thoughts into a more positive place in our mental and physical and emotional being.
Those are just a couple of thoughts that you triggered. love that, Gail. I absolutely experienced that. I think we all have had those days where you just wake up in a bad mood or where you’re stressed and you’re just rushing. And that’s, of course, when you spill your coffee on yourself or you pinch your finger or you do the things that make things even worse when you’re in that.
out of alignment and flow state, you know? And so how do we shift back? You know, for me, meditation has been essential for that. I think for most people, what I’ve found through the heart math approach, this is just one type of meditation, but it seems to work for a lot of people. It’s very effective at just dropping out of the head into the heart and just breathing a little more deeply in. Imagine you’re breathing in and out through your heart, just doing that for like,
30 seconds will literally change your state of being. And we all have 30 seconds in the day to shift if we want to and to think of something we’re grateful for. We can add that to just breathe in and receive that gratitude and send it out in and out from our heart. It’s so powerful. We actually start our Monday team meetings with a three minute meditation. Sometimes I guide it and sometimes
You know, we’ve all meditated at this point a lot and sometimes I don’t, but we all choose our focus for the meditation. And it’s just wonderful to come in, you know, on a busy Monday, Mondays are always busy. There’s that energy to Monday, but to show up at the office first thing in the morning, we’re all sitting around the table and we can allow ourselves just to breathe and to arrive, to just listen to the sound in the room, just to breathe in and out through our heart, think of something we’re grateful for.
It’s amazing how that shifts the energy in the team from just like go, go, go, and already thinking about all the things that are, you know, that we need to do, or that may not be going well, that we need to solve. And so that’s really helpful. And then after that, we go around and everybody says something they’re grateful for. If people are not feeling it, they can pass, but pretty much always, you even if people are going through a rough time, they can think of something that they’re thankful for in their life.
And it’s so cool to hear what each other’s thankful for. We learn so much about each other’s personal lives. What we did over the weekend is often a topic of time with family or friends or in nature or with pets. And it’s just, it’s a way to bring more love and care into the field before we start talking about what we’re gonna do for the week. And so that’s really helpful.
But, know, just, I mean, I think starting our day with that, just even for a few minutes on our own, I still meditate every day. there’s rare days where I miss it, but then I kind of, I notice it later and go, my gosh, okay, you know, I’ll find a time later today to do it. Well, yeah. And I do TM, is specific to, you’re supposed to do it twice a day in the morning and the afternoon. The reason you do the afternoon is because you’re clearing whatever happened during the day.
so that you can go into your evening with more awareness and maybe presence and what’s going on. So, okay, so let’s take one of those as one of your takeaways, which is to meditate. I think that’s a good idea. And how about two other quick ones as we wrap up this podcast? I would say thinking about how we impact our lives through our own state of being, that it’s a reflection of
us of our state of being. It’s really reality is like a mirror and it’s constantly reflecting our own state of being and our business is the same as well as our family life, our personal life that when we, think meditation is a great first step. then from there dropping into who do I want to be and really breathing that in and out and being that allowing ourselves to start to, to be who we really are that will.
change everything. It changes everything. And of course we forget and we drop in and out of it and we start to notice the beliefs that we’ve had, you know, that we’ve accumulated over life that tell us we need to be someone else or, you know, do something else than what’s natural or authentic for us. But then we can look into those beliefs and come back to who we are. So I think that’s really a powerful next step. then what I would
think beyond that is just how our intention affects everything, our business, our personal life, and just our projects. so finding ways, just even a simple way with clients to clarify the intention for the project, to clarify the real meaning and purpose and value, it’s such a key. It’s such a key to everything on the project.
And to go back to that again and again as a touchstone is such a powerful and meaningful thing to do and to hold space for a client as they go through what really one of the most significant things in their life is changing a home, remodeling, rebuilding, moving. It’s huge. And so they have an opportunity for, it’s an opportunity for them to think about who do they want to be because, you know, remodeling a home in a way is sort of an identity shift for people.
an opportunity for them to think about who do they want to be and how do we create spaces that reflect who they want to be, not just who they are. Love that. Well, with that, thank you so much for being a part of the podcast again. And you never know, we’ll have to do another one, but I look forward to seeing you on Monday and happy birthday today. Thank you so much. You’re so kind. I hope you have a wonderful. We’ll my best to your team and to Joe and I will talk to you all on Monday. Okay.
Thank you, Gail. All right. See you soon.
