"My deep emotional struggle has been a secret, hidden behind the façade of dependability. I’ve been busy making sadness wrong and I was not sure how to talk about it."

Exposing the Cracks that the Light May Come In

Hey guys this Sarah Mastriani-Levi and I wanted to take a few minutes to speak to you from my heart about what's been happening with me, about what's been going on with my podcast and what’s been occurring in my business over the past few months.

I usually don't share a lot of personal stuff on this platform. Although, most of you know that I will share personal anecdotes from time to time to support your processes. But this time, I wanted to let you know a little bit about the authentic and human side of what's been going on lately. I hope it will encourage you and give you support that you're not alone in what you're going through.

These past few months have been tough for me emotionally, psychologically, physically and spiritually. I have felt like I’ve gone through some challenges that have happened, if for no other reason, then to slow down my pace.

For all of you, who personally know me, being an extremely driven, overachiever has been a trademark of my personality for the majority of my life. But something has happened… maybe lots of some things…that have begun to shift my perspective.

In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew did some massive damage to my community, and much of the Southern East Coast. We caught the brunt of the storm. We were evacuated from our homes and forced into a “Hurri-cation mode”. Much of my business is online, so fortunately I could operate it from “the cloud” and the hotel where we were staying. However, while we were away there was a massive energy shift that happened in this area.

For me, trees are like souls, and coming back to the storm damaged area was shocking, to say the least. Now nearly five months later, we are still seeing FEMA collecting fallout debris from the storm. As you may imagine, hundreds of thousands of trees were erased from the natural landscape.

It felt like a spiritual emptying out, almost as if there were volunteer souls that bowed out, in order to allow space and light, for new energy, to come into the area. All in all, that would be a really positive thing, but simultaneously there seems to be a grieving process, both of the people and of the land for the changes that have happened and continue to evolve here. There's a heavy energy, and what feels like opposition to a lot of the new energy that is flowing in.

Being an empath, I'm very sensitive to this. Honestly, it has caused me to lose my rhythm a little. It has toyed with my productive abilities for my business, and otherwise. All of this has challenged me spiritually and emotionally throughout these past several months. It has caused me to question my relationships and whether I am in the right location or not.

The election season has been overwhelming, surprising and divisive. So much of what I never believed could happen, has…everyday seems like a new surprise, a new twist, a new turn. I feel constant fear and unease in the current political environment. I feel like I’m walking on egg-shells not to accidentally mention my opinion in the “wrong company.” Much of what’s around me believes differently, and I can’t for the life of me wrap my mind around it or support it. I keep asking myself, “is there a chance I could be wrong?” but cannot seem to understand how I could ever think or feel the opposite of what I do. I can’t understand what others are supporting.

Strangely, nearly every project that I had started before October has not come to fruition. That is totally unlike me because I love efficiently finishing projects, more than just about anything else. In addition to all of that, every single project that I tried to launch over the past few months has sent me mixed messages with constant snafus and delays. Nearly every lecture that I was invited to speak at, has had a great reaction online, only to be followed by people who don't show up. That was after the fact that they told me personally that the message and topic I was sharing were excellent and important.

My podcast, which has brought me so much joy, suddenly went through a shift too. The recording software stopped working for all PCs. I shifted to another recording software to record four important and powerful conversations with Jay Wong, Selena Delesie, Kelly Harrell and Toku McCree, only to discover on each one that my voice was barely audible (in spite of successful test runs).

This really shook me up, not just on the technical level of why did this only work great in the test run, but also it was a huge embarrassment considering I had been waiting for months to talk with each of these people. It sent me spiraling…trying to find technical solutions.

I also sunk deep into an energetic rabbit hole of questions regarding the value of my voice and why the universe was stopping it from being shared, on what seemed like every front. Was my antenna aimed at the wrong audience? Was I sharing a message that wasn't welcome? Was what I have to share not of value?

During the following 2 months, I worked to create a program to launch during the last two weeks of December, along with a mastermind course. I designed it so people could read more and sign up on line, on my website. During the third week of December my website “white screened,” so not only  no launch…no one had access to my website for 10 days, as I gathered all of the parts. Essentially, I was invisible.

I scheduled lectures to do an in-person of these programs. Again, tons of interest…and no one showed up.

I have lost my mojo and my desire to explain myself to people, locally. Especially those who are not willing to pay $30 for a workshop that could create a healthy lifestyle change and heal what they are suffering from…but alas… that doesn’t come in a bottle or pill.

I feel like I’m always swimming upstream and I’m tired.

Tons of questioning and self-doubt ensued, as I pushed forward in my creative process. Perhaps I just needed to wait for the stars to fall into alignment for my message to be clear? What did I need to change? How could I possibly feel so connected on some levels and so utterly unheard? It even brought into question the worthiness of the work that I am doing. Although I know that this is a common phenomenon creators go through in the creative process (a.k.a. “the thrash”). I still was full of questions. I felt stuck in the rubble and not sure how to begin to rebuild.

I have gone through a very difficult and depressed couple of months. My deep emotional struggle has been a secret, hidden behind the façade of dependability. I’ve been busy making sadness wrong and I was not sure how to talk about it.

I am so thankful for the joy my kids and my work bring me in the moments between my relentless questioning. I have felt alone on my journey. I have been in the sad state grieving, within my soul, that may not be so different than the trees that were broken and uprooted. I have felt extremely challenged as a single-mother. My kids see their father 1-2 times a year for 10 days. He lives abroad. I do my best to be the support system of two parents, but it’s just me. I attempt to hold it all together and be what my kids need: physically, mentally and spiritually. They are my number one priority. I feel so happy when they are happy…but lately they have been sad too. Lonely and feeling unconnected to their peers on different levels. I try to hold space for their processes.

I feel guilty for feeling jealous of happy families that have two active and loving parents. There is a strangeness in the foreign realization that there are actually couples that enjoy spending time with their partners and families. I feel ashamed to admit that every picture I see of others participating Father/daughter dances tears my heart in two, and brings tears to my eyes. There is no one to play with them on the weekends like their peers’ fathers do. There is no one else around to sign permission slips or to stay home with them should they need to. There is no one else to spilt the driving with when all four kids have activities in four different locations, all at the same time. Who do stay to cheer on…how do you divide yourself?

This parenting thing is a one woman show…My commitment and intensity haven’t really left space for anyone else to join me on this journey. Not that I wouldn’t want it. However, no one seems to be able to dependably show up or keep up, as I would need for them to, to be a part of our lives. This too has been a generator of sadness and solitude. I can’t just will myself out of the situation.

This past weekend I had a strange wake-up call. I was tired. It was 22:00 and the kids were doing their thing, as I was starting to wind down for the night. I went upstairs to say goodnight only to find a big mess, primarily from one of my kids. It was not just in the bedroom, also in the shared family room. There was a box under the craft table that had a couple hundred crayons dumped on the floor. A clear message that it didn’t matter to whomever dropped it. I was annoyed they had fallen and not been collected…I decided I would bend down and pick them up and not escalate with my volume and discourse on the subject.

What followed was the most asinine, unintentionally self-inflicted injury that I have encountered to date. Generally, I have awesome spatial perception and orientation, but this night was definitely different. I bent down quickly, focusing my gaze on the dumped crayons and swiftly caught my forehead on the blunt of a straight back wooden chair. I heard my skull crack from the intensity. I found myself on the floor with the kids all around me, scared and wanting to be helpful. At first I saw stars, and then realized that I couldn’t see out of my right eye. I was worried and in pain. I questioned how this happened and what it symbolized… What am I not seeing that’s right in front of me? Where am I banging my energy because I am trying too hard or too fast?  And yes, I realize that I’m addicted to understanding why?

but the message was there:

Slow down. Rest. Zoom out. Go into the quiet. Soften up the process.

Stop pushing so damn hard.

Drop the harshness of the drive. It’s not helping you to move forward.

Listen to the Universe’s rhythm, rather than trying overpower it.

Take care of yourself. There is no one else who will take care of them.

Parenting has been and always will be my top priority. Second to that is serving others and creating impact through my work.

I have been struggling to know how and when to share about what I’ve been processing for a couple of reasons. The first is that, as a coach, it is not a great feeling to be totally vulnerable and to talk about personal difficulties. The second is the realization that life is series of cyclical hero’s journeys that you may or may not choose to embark upon…and it’s grueling and emotionally difficult to describe the most difficult part of the process while you are in the midst of it.

You can see a diagram of the stages of the hero’s journey in the show notes, if you are not familiar with Joseph Campbell’s work.

Diagram of the hero’s journey 

It is so much easier to share when you are on the other side of an endeavor and you can be encouraging and remind others the arduous tasks of personal development are indeed, worthwhile. When you are at the bottom, lonely, and deep in inaccessible solitude, it is often difficult to see the end. If you’ve been through it or something like it before, then you probably know that there will be an end, but the inability to be more than a player and a witness to your process becomes overwhelming.

There is no set timeline.

I often think of the TED talk by Jill Bolte Taylor, wherein she describes going through a stroke, as a neurological and stroke researcher. She talks about recognizing all of the steps of what was going on…she understood it all, yet she still had a stroke and had to deal with the ramifications of it.

 Click here to listen to the TED talk with Jill Bolte Taylor

I also know… that when you choose to play the game…this game of personal growth and development… you are the one in the arena, subject to anything and everything that may come up…everything you could or couldn’t predict.

I am reminded of this excerpt of Theodore Roosevelt’s speech "Citizenship In A Republic" delivered in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. 

I am voluntarily in the arena…I choose to remain there. It’s not easy. I signed up for the advanced course. I’m here to make a difference…I’m here to create impact. I push forward…not knowing where it will take me.

I recall the words of Zig Zigler, “Go as far as you can see; When you get there, you’ll see further.”

From a spiritual perspective, I know that everything is as it should be. I know that timing is just a human illusion. Yet, from a very human perspective…I often struggle. I know that I do not have to give up on my dream to create impact, to generously give back, to have a voice that matters. I just have to relinquish the timeline that I have connected to the process. I know that I cannot truly accept the “call to adventure” if I have placed my own timeline on the journey.

Albert Einstein’s words remind us that “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.”

I have realized that everything I want to create and share couldn’t possibly come to fruition on the timeline that I created months, years…or even decades ago. Everything has shifted with divine timing that was and is beyond my control or comprehension at times.

The strangeness of the past few months has also brought a different level of podcasts and expression due to my partially inaudible recordings. Over the next four episodes you will hear a different vibe than you may have become accustomed to. As my voice, either wasn’t recorded, or was recorded in limited capacity, I will be featuring excerpts from the greatness of conversations with Jay Wong, Selena Delesie, Kelly Harrell and Toku McCree. I have been waiting to bring them to refinement and release, until I was clear on how to explain what had happened.

The goal of my podcast is multi-faceted and remains the same. As a coach, I want others to hear these amazing conversations that I get to experience. I believe that they are valuable, impactful and important. I honor every one of the guests that I have had on, and will have on in the future, for sharing their amazing stories and messages.

I think the second and primary reason for the podcast’s creation was to give a platform for the voices that are often heard only in private conversations… to show that emotional intimacy is not only an achievable goal… it can happen in one conversation…in one moment…in one synchronized breath.

I feel like I would be robbing others of the opportunity of learning something great, along with me, if I did not share these messages. I wanted to offer them my gratitude for the work they are putting out in the world, inspired by Thich Nhat Hahn’s quote of “How can I love you more?”. As well as the question of how can I help others to love what you are doing as much as I do?

I questioned whether I needed to redefine my business and brand identity, knowing that on some level I wanted to redefine my hustle. I have had numerous conversations trying to gain clarity. Tons of things are in the works and I have had to call on my coaches and guides to help keep me moving forward.

I’m clear that 2017 is the year I desire to become completely location independent. I do deep work with inspired and creative leaders who are invested in their own spiritual hero’s journey. I provide coaching, as well as create courses and services to support their spiritual and physical health and wellness.

I have five courses in the works that are launching soon including:

• Food and the Heroes Journey-How to Fuel Greatness (thank you Jan Black for helping me refine the concept)
• The Hero’s Journey Backpack Crash Course-helping others to understand what they need to have in their spiritual backpack to embark on a true spiritual journey (Riley Temple, Brian Musial and Paul Nattoli, you guys talked me through this one)
• I have a mastermind in the works for people who are suffering from the loneliness and isolation that often comes from being spiritual and creative entrepreneurs (Liz Scully, your guidance is unmatched on this subject)
• I have a year-long program called Your year of Transformation that I've been slowly building. (Peter Rossetti, thank you for your patience and helping me to realize that everything in life is just a design problem that needs a spiritual solution)
• I have updated my Creating a Better You program to be in alignment with the kinds of people who are a good fit for me to work with.

As many of you may or may not know, all good coaches have other coaches and advisors, because they know their value and are willing to pay for good coaching. So, I turned to MY support team of coaches and friends to really try and dig deep to figure out what I needed to shift within me to create my greatest message in the world.

Amongst the others, on my support team I would like to show appreciation for:

• Soness Stevens, my TED speaker coach, for guiding me to connect with ease and grace as I prepare my speech.
• Karen Wright, you have been encouraging and helped me to remember that you can't take on as much as I have as a single parent without it being hard… That it is supposed to be hard.
• Marika Tomkins you have reminded me that I need to continue sharing the human side of my spiritual struggles and to allow it to come out authentically. Without you, I wouldn’t have considered sharing publicly what has been going on in my life.
• Deborah Williams, you have kept me returning to look at the spiritual brilliance of shifting and changing money mindsets.
• Anthony Mattis, you continue to remind me how to lose judgment where I didn't even realize it existed, to always consider that “it's an interesting point of view that I have that point of view” and not wrap any conclusions around that.
• Chris Suddeth, your Energy work has been pivotal in helping me, reminding me that it's OK to express my humor and wit, as well as my sweet side.
• Jacqueline Friel Smith, thanks for helping me to see myself as others see me and capturing that, even when it is difficult for me to see it.
• Laura Petersen, your reminder that “only good will come from this” has been reassuring. Also, bringing up the question of “what am I not willing to see, that if I was willing to see would change all realities?” has be extremely helpful.
• Diana Babauta, thank you for your support and believing in what I do. Thank you for helping me to keep my body in a strong and functional condition.
• Ifetayo White, your loving grandmother energy and powerful spiritual work continues to be an inspiration.
• Nick Snapp, your encouragement and understanding has helped me to connect to the very pragmatic and functional side of getting things done. Your program Real Accountable is a phenomenal resource and I want to see you succeed in serving others through this amazing gift you have created.
• Anna Cragin your positivity and accountability have shown up and allowed me to acknowledge the achievements that I have made. In spite of the fact that my desire to accomplish things is in constant overdrive; You have helped me to celebrate the small wins.
• Moshe Dekel, thank you for helping to keep me healthy, seeing value in my approach to holistic medicine and guiding me when and where necessary.

There have been so many others who have shown up and offered an ear, a word of encouragement, a word of advice. For all of you, I am thankful.

My focus has shifted to the questions of:

• What if everything I’m doing and going through is exactly right?
• How would I approach my work differently?

I lean on the words of one of my heroes Maya Angelou who said,

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

I’ve been trying to be even more attuned to messages from the universe, through opportunities that present themselves. I’ve been examining where, within my spirit I have blocked the appearance of ease and grace from an outdated, limiting belief pattern that everything good needs to come through very hard work (a.k.a. the workaholics constant “fix” of validation).

I am a creator and I won’t stop creating powerful tools and transformations for the amazing clients I have the privilege to work with. I am working and writing all the time, often single-handedly. I actively silence the negative self-talk, daily, to push forward while listening to the cosmic timing. Some days I flow with ease, others I feel like I must power through. But I show up. Every. Damn. Day. In fact, I’ve been sleeping in the “arena” for years. I recognize the need for surrender and I am allowing the light into the cracks. I continue from a place of deep knowing and intuitive inspiration.

Rumi tells us, “the wound is where the light enters you.”

 

And Leonard Cohen reminds us:

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in…

This is Sarah Mastriani-Levi of Mannafest Living signing off from a riff on Simple Change- Creating Impact One Conversation at a Time. Thanks for taking the time to listen.

 

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Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here. Simple Change Theme Music by Hani’el Mastriani-Levi Simple Change Logo by Eden Mastriani-Levi

This podcast was edited by Mannafest Living

"Do you realize that by not giving your body enough water, you are telling it to hold onto old cells and that you don't want a new and fresh body."

Hydration as a Spiritual Act

 

 

Hydration seems to be all the talk these days. With apps, bottles and an entire culture around the subject of getting enough pure water. Perhaps you have even heard of the alkalizing benefits of adding lemon or apple cider vinegar to your water.

There are some consistent issues that I run into with my clients on the subject, and I thought could help you to understand why using pure water and quality fresh products is so important. Truly fresh products have a new energy about them they bring the newness of the day to us.

Sometimes, I hear clients grumbling when I talk with them about the importance of fresh, organic products. I hear them saying, “Is it really that important? If I'm doing the same thing with a similar product, why isn't that good enough?”

Apple cider vinegar, raw and unpasteurized holds the mother culture which creates healthy probiotics and does not contain any preservatives. I often hear about lemon juice in a squeeze bottle and questions of why that or non-organic lemons are not as healthy as fresh organic lemons for alkalizing their water.

People talk with me about the convenience of pre-bottled products, like pre-squeezed lemon juice…and that they already have a pasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar they have had in their cabinet for years.

Clients tell me that their organic lemons go bad much quicker than the non-organic lemons even when they're not cut. They are surprised when I tell them that is a good sign of a quality product. Within 2 to 3 days anything fresh begins to spoil.

Why is that? Because anything fresh living loses its life energy force within three days and the only way to keep it for longer use to add preservatives.

Sometimes they continue to question me why they would want to buy anything that has that short of a shelf life? In the United States, we have grown accustomed to food lasting for a very long time after purchase.

I talk with them about the importance of renewing and not preserving. What do I mean by that? Every cell in our body, given a healthy environment, will renew itself within a maximum of 13 years. So, that means that every single cell of your body is nothing of what it was 13 years ago. Only your spirit remains and the memories of your experiences.

By eating food with chemicals and preservatives we are causing ourselves to be preserved (think ninth-grade biology lab organs preserved in formaldehyde). Okay okay so not all preservatives are quite as strong as formaldehyde but I think you get the picture would you rather preserve your cells or would you rather get brand-new ones all the time because you're giving fresh energy to your body through fresh foods.

I hope this helps to explain why it is so important to continue to nurture bodies with fresh pure water. Alkalizing ourselves essentially slows the aging process and does not allow sickness to develop, by helping us to create new cells more rapidly. One such way to do that is through use of fresh organic lemons and raw apple cider vinegar with the mother culture.

I also constantly get questions regarding how much water we should be taking in. The general formula is your body weight in pounds divided by two, equals the number (in ounces) you should be consuming.

 

Do you realize that by not giving your body enough water, you are telling it to hold onto old cells and that you don't want a new and fresh body? Lack of proper hydration puts it into survival mode and it signals, hormonally, for your body to hold on to fats, as well, because you are not going to give it what it needs to stay healthy. Weight gain is often due directly to not drinking enough water.

So, as you dive into your new year I want you to think about the spiritual process of renewing your cells not preserving them, and hydrating in order to give your body a consistent message that you will take care of it. From that message, it will learn it does not need to hold onto excess fat or old cells because you're committed to giving it enough hydration and pure organic produce with high life energy to nurture it along the way.

Hydrate and regenerate, it’s the key to creating a new and better you.

 

Connect and Follow Anna Gatmon

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Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here. Simple Change Theme Music by Hani’el Mastriani-Levi Simple Change Logo by Eden Mastriani-Levi

This podcast was edited by Mannafest Living

"Bliss lies in the feeling of gratitiude, for others, in giving without expecting anything in return."

Brittney Hiller is a wife, massage therapist, yoga teacher, group facilitator, and spiritual creative; in addition to all of that she’s the author of a new children’s book, The Little Laughing Yogini. She is also one of the most joyful people I know.

It turns out that it wasn't always that way. She wasn't always able to celebrate the small victories. She wasn't always able to recognize the "small signs" that were put in front of her to see. Brittney takes us on her journey that has brought her to an understanding that "[people] are more powerful than they believe they are." She reiterates that we need people in our lives to help us to overcome obstacles...we can't do it alone.

Yoga is a path that changed Brittney's life. It all started with a high school dance class where she experienced yoga for the first time. Brittney said that from her first savasana (final resting pose), she was hooked. She had envisioned herself going away to an intensive in Hawaii to get her yoga teacher training certificate, but doors opened to enable her to get it locally.

She found herself practicing yoga on her porch and in the silence the idea of the outdoor yogini came to her. She developed her own outdoor practice and quickly wanted to share it with others. Her dream of having a studio without walls became a reality as she began teaching outdoor classes on the dock at Theravista. At some point she realized that people who had yoga memberships were not going to give up their memberships to come play outside. She knew she had to find a way to offer her own style or genre of yoga. Enter laughter yoga.

Brittney went to Atlanta to become certified in laughter yoga. She loved the child-like playfulness and the aerobic work out that comes from each class of laughter yoga. By receiving her certification she found her way back into studios. She found a way to incorporate both laughter and meditation into every practice.

From laughter yoga, Brittney suddenly had another revelation regarding the next step to take on her path. Away on a romantic anniversary get-away in the woods, in the quiet stillness between waking and restfulness...she had a story come to her. Although she didn't want to get out of bed at 6 AM on vacation, she got up and wrote down the vision that was being told to her. From that very dreamy "download" birthed The Little Laughing Yogini, a children's book about a little girl who goes into the forest, meets her friends, teaches them laughter yoga and ultimately finds her bliss. The Little Laughing Yogini doll was created as a tactile for of the girl in the book to help children be both comfortable and comforted by the ideas in the book.

Through each story that Brittney tells, we see there is a recurring theme of dropping the hustle and the direction comes in the silence.

 "Bliss lies in the feeling of gratitude for others, in just giving without expecting anything in return."

Brittney has found other creative ways to share her message through forms such as Chair Yoga Classes, Reiki Infused Yoga, Little Yoga Playshops, and Monday Morning Meditations to make yoga and meditation accessible to everyone. All along she had been asking for signs that she was moving in the right direction and one by one she received the...mostly in an entirely different form than she had imagined.She encourages others to "Get aware...and stop trying so hard to find answers" they will come in the stillness.

Brittney closes out the episode with an incredible story of giving. She talks about the greatest gift she has ever given and how it enabled her to realize that true bliss is only found in unconditional giving. She shares a moving and vulnerable story of self-realization and taking responsibility for the events that are handed to us.

A Simple Change that Brittney recommends is:

• Practice Self-Love by daily looking in the mirror and telling yourself "I love you"...until you believe it is true. Create that "soul connection."

Yet another episode of inspiring stories and full of loving wisdom from the simple changes that shift the way we look at the world and the impact we create.

To learn more about Brittney Hiller and The Little Laughing Yogini, please contact her at [email protected] or visit her at the website: www.brittneyhilleryoga.com

Books Mentioned in the Podcast

Your Erroneous Zones: Step-by-Step Advice for Escaping the Trap of Negative Thinking and Taking Control of Your Life 

by Wayne W. Dyer

The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham by Esther Hicks

The Little Laughing Yogini by Brittney Hiller et al.

Foundations of Flow  by Brittney Hiller -Free Ebook

Sources Mentioned in the Podcast

Theravista

Martha O'Regan

Marty Crocker

Giftivism

Brittney's Guide to Meditation

Brittney Hiller Yoga on Periscope

Chair Yoga

Reiki Infused Yoga with Chris Suddeth

Laughter Yoga

Children's Yoga

Little Yoga Playshops

 

Connect and Follow Brittney

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Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here. Simple Change Theme Music by Hani’el Mastriani-Levi Simple Change Logo by Eden Mastriani-Levi

This podcast was edited by Mannafest Living

Martin Lesch is a husband, musician, songwriter, phenomenal pianist, and teacher, in addition to being fully committed to preserving the art and culture of jazz music.

There are a lot of people who love jazz music and kind of idolize the life of the creative artist/ musician, so I feel that his willingness to be open and vulnerable about both the joys and struggles on his path will be extremely insightful. During this conversation we discuss creating, as a legacy of caring about community. We delve into tough subjects like the creative process, addiction, dealing with death and questioning everything. He also discusses his decision to create a new CD Journey through Jazz and to sell it on iTunes.

Martin has always had an interest in music. He tells stories of playing the piano from before he was old enough for lessons (starting around 4 years old), simply making up his own melodies and asking his mother what she thought of them. He began taking lessons at 5 and had both good and bad teachers until his tween years, when he finally found a great teacher. That teacher was a stand out because he did two things: asked Martin what kind of music he liked (and let him play that), as well as "taught him music theory from the get-go."

Parallel to his childhood interest in music and the arts, he describes growing up in New York City with a family that had some very interesting theological metamorphoses. He describes how his thought patterns changed and were shaped with deep conversations with family and extended family members.

Martin grew up playing music and went through  Berklee music school. He was writing, performing and constantly on the road. He had the opportunity to perform with exemplary musicians from all around the world.

He spent an extensive time in China, and Europe, as well as touring all over the United States. His greatest desire was"[He] just wanted to create." During that time his meditation practice grew, as did the depth of his commitment to Buddhism. We discuss how "creativity develops in the quiet, not in the noise."

Music is definitely another language and form of expression. Jazz solos are like improvisational stories. 'Sometimes you get home at the end of a night performing and you feel like you didn't finish saying everything that you wanted to say..." explains Martin. He then sits down on his piano at home and plays a bit more until he has finished "his story" for the night.

 

Martin talks about the Jazz tradition of helping younger players to become accepted into the Jazz community, as well as offering them the experience that they need to fully step into the world of improvisational music. We discuss how Martin extended that invitation to my son Hani'el Mastriani-Levi, after hearing a brief video of him warming up for a sax lesson, in a parking lot.

 

 

Hani’el in the Parking lot: https://youtu.be/8XSRPIHjl3Q

Hani’el’s Debut at Jazz corner link: https://youtu.be/Mn_SNfv7UWo

Martin is vulnerable in discussing the risks of creative to show up fully and the bravery necessary.

 "Being brave is attractive." "The best art is created in an ego-less space." " Jazz enables your art to be a community activity."

He also openly discusses how substance abuse is a huge deterrent to artistic development and progress. We speak about how prevalent it is in the world of art/music and how quickly it can lead you down the wrong path.

Martin spent years writing for others and now he says, "I'm writing every night...just that I'm doing it live on stage." The legacy that he desires to create is not just as a musician, rather as a compassionate person who helped to bring empathy amongst others  in the community.

A Simple Change that Martin recommends is:

• Practice Meditation...every day in some way...to create compassion & understanding in all that you do.

To learn more about Martin Lesch and how you can support his mission of preserving the art of Jazz music and/or to purchase his new album, please contact him at: [email protected] or visit him at the website: www.martinlesch.com

Sources Mentioned in the Podcast

Journey Through Jazz by Martin Lesch  Buy it on iTunes here

Jackson Evans

Christopher Russell

Linus Enoksson

Lessons with Jevon Daly

Jevon Daly Music

Junior Jazz Foundation

 

Here's Moonlight in Vermont off the Journey Through Jazz album 2016

Journey Through Jazz by Martin Lesch Buy it on iTunes here

 

Connect and Follow Martin

Email

Website

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

 

 

Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here.

 

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This podcast was edited by Mannafest Living

Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here.

Today's guest, Natasha Wozniak is a an artist, jewelry maker, philanthropist and committed to bringing awareness to what is really going on today in Nepal.

Natasha describes an interesting childhood in Wisconsin that was rich with curiosity and music. At a very young age Natasha lost her father and began her process of searching out those who were living lives "with meaning." While looking through a National Geographic magazine, she read a story of a man in Nepal who walked three weeks in one direction just to reach a spiritual location that was important to him. That article triggered her curiosity regarding what could be so important that someone would walk for three weeks. 

While in college, she decided to do a study abroad, and in spite of her initial inclination to go and study in Paris, she redirected and chose Nepal. While in Nepal, she connected deeply with the people that she encountered in the village where she was staying. There were about 100 villagers. She said that she felt the warmth, love and support that she had been deeply craving in her teen years, since her father's passing. She always maintained some contact with her Nepalese friends along with a very clear desire to give back to them. 

When the earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, 2015, and Natasha heard that the village she had once lived in was being called the epicenter...she sprung into action trying to determine how she could best support the people. Many people want to help in situations such as these, yet feel confused if their contributions will reach the actual destination. Natasha had a direct connection and someone, on site, who could offer real footage of how donation dollars we being put to immediate usage. 

When the earthquake hit, Natasha had no way of realizing how deeply it would affect everything in her life. She has since traveled there several times and is leading groups who would like to visit. Natasha has been highly instrumental (nearly single-handedly) in organizing fundraising efforts and took on the personal responsibility of doing everything possible to rebuild the village. She has even allowed her jewelry making business, take somewhat of "a back seat" as she is putting all of her efforts in to rebuilding not only Rainaskot, but two other villages that were badly damaged in the area. 

Natasha is fluent in Nepali and is able to communicate fluently with officials and villagers in Nepal. She and her local colleagues were asked by local coordinators to create a plan to quickly rebuilt permanent homes. This was the ultimate goal of disaster recovery. They, however, have taken it a step further, by not only rebuilding the homes, but also creating an infrastructure for additional income for the villages, by creating "guest rooms" in each home.

Her current mission is to both help villagers in Nepal to rebuild their homes but also to provide them economic development opportunities through customized plans, whether through tourism, agriculture, crafts or manufacturing.

To learn more about Natasha Wozniak and how you can support her efforts to rebuild Nepal one village at a time and each village one brick at a time, please contact her at: [email protected] or visit her at the website: www.fundforlamjung.org/ There is a large "donate" button that will lead you to a direct donation page.

Sources Mentioned in the Podcast

 

Natasha's Jewelry business

National Geographic Documentary on Earthquake in Nepal

Connect and Follow Natasha

Email

Video of the work in Rainaskot

Facebook-Fund for Lamjung

LinkenIn

 

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This podcast was edited by Mannafest Living

Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here.

Today's guest, Nick Snapp is a family man, engineer, coach, speaker and host of the Make It Snappy Productivity Show Podcast in addition to being the productivity specialist and podcaster at Inspire Me Solutions.

Nick, being trained as an engineer initially felt that he had to chase the corporate lifestyle. He enjoyed the people in the corporate world, but he always knew that there was something missing. As years progressed, he realized that environment wasn't for him. In his experience, he would find a lot of people who were depressed and stuck doing the "corporate thing" which led him to answer his calling of becoming an entrepreneur.

February 2015 was Nick's turning point and also the time when he decided to pursue the "entrepreneurial thing." He started his business with LEAN SIX SIGMA studies for products and companies. The job required more time spent away from his family, which he could not afford, so he got a coach to find some solutions. A program in L.A. made him identify what he was good at and what accolades he had always received in the past and they were all about PRODUCTIVITY. Since then, he has been hitting it hard in the productivity space.

Nick views productivity as "working on the right things and spending your time working on your best activities. Defining what those best activities are, is the most productive thing that anybody can do".

Getting involved in this productivity line got Nick thinking about every moment of his life. He came to know that your time really matters as an entrepreneur and on the outset you are the only person accountable for what you are getting done. When he first started, he was struggling with procrastination with his website; he just could not get it together. Later on, he finally decided to build the website at all cost in two weeks with the help of stickK.com. StickK.com is a helpful online tool that asks users to sign Commitment Contracts, define their goals, acknowledge what it’ll take to accomplish it, and leverage the power of putting money on the line to turn that goal into a reality.

As an entrepreneur, Nick is not afraid to push limits on what he feels that he can do. He started experimenting with coaching on air, with having panel answering questions from listeners and even with his wife or kids on, doing commercials. He’s never been afraid to execute whatever he feels is solid and consistent with his message and brand that adds value to people , however possible.

The majority of Nick's clients are parents who feel overwhelmed, lacking focus and feeling distracted. Nick also experienced that previously ,which led him to learn productivity. Nick wants to inspire and help people live their lives where they want to, do things that they want to do and help them get their time back.

Nick also developed a group coaching program, as he believes that the clients support each other. It’s a group with a common mission and similar mindsets to help each other.

Some Simple Changes that Nick recommends:

• " Getting around people that think like you."

• " If you have an idea, it's going to sit our there in “idea land” until you set a date and commit and you tell people what you are doing."

To learn more about Nick Snapp and how you can get your time back, to spend more time doing what you love, please contact him at via email: [email protected] or visit him at his website: www.makeitsnappyshow.com

Sources Mentioned in the Podcast

Inspire Me Solutions

Make It Snappy Show

Sarah Featured on Make It Snappy Show

Lean Six Sigma

StickK Site

Prison Break Coaching Program

The Productivityist Podcast

 

Connect and Follow Nick

Email

Make It Snappy Productivity Show

Inspire Me Solutions, LLC

Facebook

Make It Snappy Productivity Show Facebook

Twitter

LinkenIn

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This podcast was edited by Wildstyle Media

Deb Williams is an accountant, money coach and podcaster committed to helping others not only identify their money story, but to move through it to a place of prosperity and joy.

Deb takes us on a little journey that led her to the move from happiness into joy. She describes growing up in a home with addiction and then marrying an addict/alcoholic. Only in her 30’s did she truly realizing how dysfunctional the situation was for she and her young children. Twelve step work (with Adult Children of Alcoholics) was instrumental in her understanding the madness that she had grown up thinking was normal. She acknowledges that you never graduate from the program of life.

Deb became a Certified Public Accountant and worked primarily in that world, until she decided to make a shift in the way that she was working and living. Recently she created a new reality of walking and talking differently through a process that took about four years. She reached a stage where she realized that she didn’t have to be the CPA that she thought she was supposed to be. She realized that she was trying to make a statement all along.

Her life shifted by dropping her judgments and “victim mentality.” She no longer needed that to be validated. The “listening” part of addiction work led her to believe that coaching could be a new direction for her own career to shift. Deb describes her process of finding clarity in her direction as being, ”like a puzzle,” where you can only see part of it a time until it all begins to come together. She had to lose everything, marriage, kids leaving home, losing her investments/retirement…until she was ready to shift her lifestyle.

She felt that everything was running simultaneously on different tracks. She says that her fear was based around losing what she thought mattered to her, when really it didn’t matter at all. Community was part of what brought her into a space that enabled her to reclaim her power and “be enough”.  Exercise and a healthier lifestyle increase her awareness on many levels, as she found her own way of doing movement.

Deb has used coaches that have been polar opposites in approach, spirituality and/or ability, in order to hone skills that she knew that she needed, to be successful in the new direction that her life has been taking. She says she is in the process of developing a consistent lifestyle including a commitment to taking brave actions.

She began the company of Financial Karma, which includes a podcast. Her clients learn their financial archetypes and become bravely aware of their money story. She discusses depression and how people use their depression as a mask to hide behind their greatness. Today, she wants to inspire women who are willing to talk about their emotions and the connection to their “big picture” money story. She tries to help others bring awareness and realize their dreams.

Some simple changes that Deb recommends are: "Find an exercise that you are already ready to start doing." "Get out of your own way." “Embrace others and validate them. Use what you know. Be willing to try new things. Be brave…keep getting up and doing things that you believe in…”

To learn more about Deb Williams, please contact her via email [email protected].

Sources Mentioned in the Podcast

Financial Karma Website & Coaching

Sarah Mastriani-Levi's feature on Financial Karma Podcast

Coaching with Mannafest Living

Coaching with Greg Faxon

 

Connect and Follow Deb

Email

Facebook

Twitter

LinkenIn

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This podcast was edited by Wildstyle Media

Emily Alexander is an artist, film maker, mom, daughter and now more than every committed to helping others to do more of what they love. Emily starts her story describing her clear calling to be an artist from a very young age. Although she grew up in what she called "the Conservative South," she describes a huge amount of support from her family and great cultural appreciation. The Arts were nurtured from a young age and an integral part of her upbringing. She, not surprisingly, found herself in art school...followed by film school in New York. After film school she had a job offer in Los Angeles that she felt was to great to refuse. Venice Beach, CA was a wonderfully supportive lifestyle. She led a juicy, and vibrant lifestyle as a film maker and she felt very at home. That was, until she encountered a difficult break-up...which led her back to North Carolina.

Upon her return to North Carolina, she found herself quickly falling back into familial roles and found it difficult to accomplish her initial plan of taking a break at home and then returning to California. She decided to study to be a Massage Therapist and stay close to the home front. Her practice as a massage therapist continued for several years...as she was not only married, but also had a daughter. She said that in spite of her decisions regarding how to make her massage practice resonate with her personal style, she still felt empty. She was making great money, but on some level she felt that she had "sold out on her dream" to be an artist for the security she wanted to provide for her husband and daughter.

Not long after coming to that realization tragedy struck from several angles. She surprisingly lost her mother from a brain aneurysm...followed by losing her daughter's best friend in a drowning incident. The grief caused Emily to spiral into a deep depression that she was unable to pull herself out of, even with medical intervention.

Emily shows great honesty and vulnerability as she describes the intensity of  her personal struggle. She really opens up and allows us to comprehend the mental thought process that led her to checking herself into a mental institution. As a last resort, to help her, she and her doctors decided it would be best for her to go through electroshock therapy. She outlines her trepidation and her grand relief to see that this was in fact a very helpful method/treatment for her.  Emily tells a story of finding a box of broken crayons in the ward that re-opened her eyes to exciting and healing art can be to everyone, but especially to those suffering with depression. From that moment she realized that she needed to do whatever was possible to bring art supplies to psychiatric wards everywhere. She used her personal struggle as a launch pad for helping others.

She’s doing a lot within her community with her own art work, and helping others to learn about how art can help them find their souls and purpose in life.

One simple change that Emily recommends is:  Emily describes a priority/value shift wherein she stopped the process of coveting things...that were just objects...and rather using extra funds to towards meaningful experiences, whether they be solo or shared with others.

To learn more about Emily Alexander and how you can contribute to her vision of bringing art supplies to those suffering with mental illness, please contact her via email [email protected].

Sources Mentioned in the Podcast

Tim Burton

Edward Scissorhands

Venice Beach

Restoring Antique Silverware

Charles and Linda Gupton's "One of a Million Project" featuring Emily

David Foster Wallace- Burning Building Analogy

 

Connect and Follow Emily

Email

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

LinkenIn

Pinterest

*Disclaimer-Neither Sarah Mastriani-Levi, nor anyone associated with Mannafest Living either endorse/support or discredit any medical decisions regarding treatments or methods described here. This episode is shared solely to enable to Emily to share her experiences as a process to rediscovering her life calling/vision.

Simple Change Theme Music by Hani’el Mastriani-Levi Simple Change Logo by Eden Mastriani-Levi

This episode was edited by Mannafest Living

Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here.

Marty Crocker is the wandering yogi, massage therapist, husband, golf pro, and leading the way with an idea he calls gifitivism.Marty describes how a yoga class in college showed up and derailed a previously presumed future in the corporate world. Yoga led him to  develop a consistency in his life. He describes how yoga brought him joy and a desire to share with others, from a place of service. Yoga became his form of meditation and quieting his mind. His practice brought him personal awareness and and understanding of the importance of breath work. 

Through his personal work in yoga, he describes a process of discovering bodywork and his initial resistance to treat others outside of the yoga studio setting. Originally, he would do body work during the time he was teaching, with students rotating to the "treatment" mat throughout the class. He found, and still believes the hands on assistance in yoga leads to a deeper sense of connection, both to the practice and to his students. He talks about connection, not correction, as a place of understanding. 

He has built a long term client base that know they can depend on him. He is reticent to directly define the work that he does with clients, feeling that labels divide and create separation rather than creating a place of connection. Marty explains that because of the clarity he has that massage and yoga are his life purpose, he feels no worries regarding where they might lead him and whether he is "doing the right thing." Even as a pioneer, he describes that there is no questioning if this is the right path for him.

Marty describes the idea of giftivism and its basis of trusting contribution. He says that once you truly understand your personal value, you no longer question if the universe is going to provide for you.He opened a smoothie shop that entirly functioned on a "pay what you want basis." The real challenge for many who embark on or even simply strive to understand this path is to learn giving without any expectation of gain. It is entirely trusting the collaborative process of the universe...creating zero attachment to the outcome. We talk about the flip-side of the coin and the difficulty of many to know how to receive. We touch upon the internal conflict that often arises regarding worth and deserving. 

More than anything, Marty wants to inspire the younger generation by exposing them to this idea of radical generosity. His biggest tip to creating lasting change and awareness is to sit quietly for 5 minutes daily and bring your focus to your breath and your being. Marty's joy is contagious and his generosity will get you thinking about where in your life you can give more and expect less. 

To learn more about Marty Crocker and his inspiring work, please contact him via email [email protected].

Sources Mentioned in the Podcast

Giftivism

Marty's son's work with Giftivism

Pay What You Want Smoothie Shop

Video of Beach Yoga

 

Connect and Follow Marty

Facebook

Facebook Beach Yoga

This podcast was edited by Wildstyle Media.

Never miss an episode of weekly inspiration from Simple Change. Subscribe now through iTunes, or Stitcher, or listen to an episode here.

Charles Gupton is a photographer, videographer, documenter, producer, husband, partner, and seriously interesting individual to chat with. He will ask questions that will make you think, and challenge you to reconsider some of what you were certain of previously.  

In his work (at Charles Gupton Productions), he and his wife Linda, strive to create finished products that are in alignment with the deeper value system of each company. If the client has never defined its deeper value proposition/ message, Charles has developed a unique process to help the clients to learn more about themselves.He describes an in-depth process of quality client acquisition through the use of deeper and more thorough questioning, to truly get to know the client in a way that others have not made the effort to know them.

He also has a podcast called The Creator's Journey, wherein he and Linda help others share stories of personal triumph and redemption. Charles describes his work as having shifted from "results driven" to "process driven" in order to be more present for the journey and the possible solutions that may arise.

Charles will inspire you to approach both business and personal relationships differently by connecting to your natural curiosity to nurture and deepen relationships through real, honest and vulnerable conversations that allow you to show up uniquely and shamelessly as yourself.

 

To learn more about Charles Gupton and his phenomenal work, please contact him via email at [email protected] or on his website www.charlesgupton.com.

Sources Mentioned in the Podcast

Charles Gupton Productions

The Creator's Journey Podcast

Man's Search for Meaning

Connect and Follow Charles

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

LinkedIn