Frankly Speaking with Tyra G

Some particular words to establish our common thought space today are offered by noted Karmic astrologer Dora Jones, and I quote:

"Each of us comes into life with a promise, a gift, a passion, and a deep, heartfelt desire.

The promise is not just a concept; it's a journey of self-discovery. It's what you have come to life to master, overcome, resolve, or heal some aspect of your consciousness. As you face your life's experiences, you can fulfill this promise. Your responses to your experiences determine whether you fulfill or break the promise you have made to yourself.

The gift is not just a talent; it's a unique expression of yourself. It is the cornerstone of self-determination and self-actualization. The gift constitutes your talents and abilities, the unique things you do as only you can do them. The gift is enhanced or diminished by how you do what you do and how you share the things you do naturally or well with others.

Passion represents those things you pursue for sheer joy, making you feel alive, meaningful, valuable, and worthy. Most of us are frightened away from or talked out of our passion, making us think it is inappropriate or useless.

Heartfelt desire is what you most want to experience in life. Some want love, others wish for acceptance, and most want both. However, it can be difficult not to lose our identity or integrity in pursuit of heartfelt desire.

You may only have been aware of your life's true meaning and purpose today. So, put this message on your mirror as a daily reminder.

This week, my guests walk individually and collectively in their self-discovered promises, gifts, passions, and heartfelt desires. Together, their stories combine history, mystery, and hope. Because of their specific areas of expertise, they are producing this show as a team, as only they can, so I will become a part of the listening audience.

Meet Dr. Tyler Nolting, who will further introduce himself and the team.

There is a saying I read somewhere that stated, "if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." This journey called life seems necessarily codependent.

What if you believed the most outstanding service you could offer in life is to be a light on the path? Your affirmation might say,

"Today, I am devoted to shining the light of compassionate support and service on those who may be in need."

Since 1947, when it first opened its doors as an adoption and children's service agency, Catholic Charities has served the needs of the vulnerable, regardless of their faith, on behalf of the Catholic Church in the northern part of Virginia.  

I welcome to the table Mr. Ron Riggins, Chairman of the Board of Catholic Charities, with an extraordinary servant's heart to first add his personal story to the Frankly Speaking Human Library and then excite us with the "why" and the core values that embody and empower Catholic Charoites of Arlington. Hear how they serve and transform men, women, and their families, who come for assistance.

Listen and be surprised, inspired, and perhaps get involved.

"If man is to survive, he will have learned to take delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear."

"A man either lives life as it happens to him, meets it head-on and licks it, or turns his back on it and starts to wither away."

"Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate but take a special delight in ideas and differences in life forms. […] If we cannot learn to enjoy those small differences, to take a positive delight in those small differences between our kind here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity almost certainly out there."

― Gene Roddenberry

My guest this week on Frankly Speaking with Tyra G' is Christopher Derrick, one of the writers on Picard, The Eighth Main series set in the Star Trek universe, and a current writer on The Equalizer television series. Christopher creatively walks us into how AI will reshape stories in entertainment, how living outside your comfort zone can positively impact your creative abilities, and other insights for "consumers" of Hollywood entertainment.

Take a  listen, learn stuff, and be inspired. Then share

The drive to do what you’re good at is instinct. It is what you were created to do. Human instinct in action is pure joy. It’s like a work of art in motion. Your instinct will draw you to the unique expression of your gifts. You can only be fruitful out of your own understanding of and connection with what is in your core.  It is the urging inside you that tells you to make your move now, to reach out now, to hold back until later, or to never give up. Instinct must merge with a purpose to give you a life that fulfills your destiny. And all gifts must be given a place of expression in order for Destiny to unfold. And no matter how gifted you are, you need a place of expression. That place is Destiny.

Hatched many moons ago, Caroline Zarinelli was soon given the name “Carrie Canary with the Red Red Shoes” for her zestful love of singing, dancing, and signature red Keds. As time passed, the little whippersnapper began writing and directing neighborhood musicals (in the back lot behind her house) which led directly to her do-not-pass-go-or-collect-$200-drumroll-please...degree in Theatre!

After decades in the school house and studying what is now called "Arts Integration" at Harvard’s Project Zero, Boston Arts Academy, Opening Minds Through the Arts, and Arts Integration Solutions, Mrs. Z has returned to her cottage to create, coach, host Cottage Kids, and produce Blanket Theatre shows.

This evening, you are invited to sample a few of the creative gifts that are embodied in Caroline's destiny.

Take a listen and let me know what you think.

Iyanla Vanzant, Life Coach, and Author offers the following in her 2000 book Until Today.

"Shhhh! Don't tell that story again. Do not talk about how so many bad people wronged you. Please do not talk about him, her, or them unless it will make you feel better right now. Hush! Don't utter another syllable about the pain and losses that have left you broken unless you are ready to recover right now. Stop! Dragging yourself back there, reminding yourself about how bad it was for you then unless it is relevant to what you are doing right now. Each time you think about talk about, or remember then, you put that energy squarely in the middle of your life right now.

"You must acknowledge how you feel about everything you have experienced. However, it would be best not to tell the story in a manner that makes you feel bad right now. Tell me what you learned! Tell me how you have healed! If you look at your story, there is probably a great deal you can use right now to move forward.

Join me and Dr. Bernadette Anderson as we look behind and beyond these words into a path of Healing, Health, and Happiness. You may learn something new about something old.

Take a listen. Be inspired, and share.

“America is an idea. It is a culture of tolerance. All different colors and religions can live in coexistence. All can contribute positively. This idea must be a leader in the world. This idea must be preserved. If anything happened to this idea, it would be very bad for the rest of the world.”—Zaheer Iqbal, immigrant from Pakistan

Author Margery Leveen Sher sets the stage for our conversation in the following words. “This book tells some of the continuing stories of immigrants to our country. The American Dream is not dead, and it is certainly not a myth. It is a vision that millions of people work toward every day. It is a vision that gives hope to people around the world who are suffering persecution. The American Dream vision is not something to be cynical about: it is a vision for which to fight and push for everyone who is starting anew as an American immigrant, as well as those who have suffered persistent poverty in this country.”

Meet a few determined, undefeatable, and amazing immigrants through their personal stories. Be inspired! I certainty was.

Click below

We begin Women’s History and Appreciation Month celebrating phenomenal women who walk into this space through many doors. They willingly share their stories authentically and often vulnerably in order to pay forward what they have learned and to celebrate each other.  Thank you, ladies!

Irish author C.S. Lewis says,

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You Too? I thought I was the only one.”

As a result of the women who have agreed to join me at the table, many friendships, although virtual will be forged.

Author and life coach Iyanla Vanzant says, “Life will accommodate you in any way that you choose. Life is always listening to the silent requests of your heart and mind. Life is always surveying the landscape of your heart, gathering the bits and pieces of the emotions buried there. Life is always monitoring the activity of your tongue, checking for ruins and sacred elements. Life knows that your mind, heart, and mouth will produce the requests of your consciousness even when you are most aware of it.

Until today, you may not have realized that life is answering your requests. You may not have believed that you have the power and the right to ask life for more than you already have right now. Just for today, be devoted to creating a life of positive, joyful requests. Create them first in your mind. Next create them in your heart. Then speak to them into existence. Be sure to remember what you have created. If it does not show up, check your counter requests.

Repeat after me, Today I am devoted to creating and requesting what I truly desire to experience in life."

I met today’s guests a few years ago, each on a separate occasion where their stories were shared, inspired, and begged for more.

Please welcome Ms. Kari Galloway and Ms. Helenia Bragg to the Frankly Speaking table. Their stories embody lessons not taught in school and affirm the belief that what happens to you is not who you are.

Click below, be inspired, and share.

Rob Bell in his 2016 book How to Be Here, reflects,

"That question the blinking line in your mind or on your mobile device asks is: Who are you to do this? It can keep you locked up for years, living in fear and doubt, looking over your fence or your shoulder, and comparing yourself with the people around you.

But the first word about you is a gift, and you’re here, breathing, and you get to participate in the world's ongoing creation. Creation is exhausting, exhilarating, draining, and invigorating, and it’s also a mystery because everybody sits down to a blank page. Or a business plan. Or test or experiment or meeting or deal. Or a child or job or life. Especially those who have done it before.

The more you do the work, the more you build muscles. From shaping metal to forming paragraphs to arguing a case to doing research to making spreadsheets to arranging the parts for the violins to play to organizing staff to raising a child---you can acquire skills and then improve on them as you do the work year after year. This growing technique and expertise can help you create, build, and act more easily and excellently, but it cannot help you avoid the blank page.

This is true for rocket scientists, actors, and doctors, and it’s also true for parents, people who work in restaurants, and your insurance agent. No one has ever lived your life with your particular challenges and possibilities, no matter who you are and whatever work you do.

This quarter, we have an umbrella theme: Reflect, Restore, and Reposition.  These three terms allow us to dig deep into each concept individually or explore all three as part of a process or a journey. Today, we are going to do both.

I have two guests at the table today who will share how they individually and together successfully understand that some things do not fit in a lab; they will talk to our hearts, beyond where answers only move us one level down toward to understanding, to a place where hope and faith are built into the GPS.

Take a listen, Be inspired, and share!

There is a moment in Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" when a woman named Celie smiles and smiles and smiles. That was the moment when I knew this movie was going to be as good as it seemed and was going to keep the promise it made by daring to tell Celie's story. It is not a story that would seem easily suited to the movies.

The film is based on the novel by Alice Walker, who told Celie's story through a series of letters, some never sent, many never received, most addressed to God. The letters are her way of maintaining sanity in a world where few others ever cared to listen to her. The turning point in the book, and the movie, comes after Celie's husband brings home the fancy woman he has been crazy about for years - a pathetic, alcoholic juke-joint singer named Shug Avery, who has been ravaged by life yet still has an indestructible beauty."--Roger Ebert, Movie Critic

Grab your favorite snack, sit back, and listen to movie clips wrapped in authentic conversations and new perspectives. Be entertained.

Karmic astrologer Dora Jones believes, And I quote;

“Each of us comes into life with a promise, a gift, a passion, and a deep, heartfelt desire.” The promise is what you have come to life to master. You have promised to overcome, resolve, or heal some aspect of your consciousness. As you face your life’s experiences, you are given the opportunity to fulfill this promise. Your responses to your experiences determine whether you fulfill or break the promise you have made to yourself.

The gift is what you have come to give to life. It is the cornerstone of self-determination and self-actualization. The gift constitutes your talents and your abilities. The unique things you do as only you can do them.  The gift is enhanced or diminished by how you do what you do and how you share those things that you do naturally or well with others.

Passion represents those things you pursue for the sheer joy of it- those things you do that make you feel alive and meaningful, valuable, and worthy. Most of us are frightened away from or talked out of our passion. We are made to feel it is inappropriate or useless.

The heartfelt desire is the thing you most want to experience in life. Some want love. Others want acceptance. Most of us want both. We face difficulty not losing our identity or integrity in pursuit of heartfelt desire.

My guest of the week, Ms. Quay Holland, WELLTH Coach and Rebalance Strategist, walks us through her process of addressing each of the above attributes. This week, we included an authentic role-play exercise to demonstrate her healing process with her process.

Take a listen, learn things, be inspired, and share.