Spirit of the Deal

Catch up with Devon and Tamara of the Align and Rise Podcast:

They are here to empower spiritual beings to tap into their fullest potential. They share memories & experiences to inspire and uplift you. Remember you are authentic, unique and there is only ONE YOU!

They are two women who love to chat about all the in-depth experiences, opportunities, and growth that we have navigated our way through.

They love life, and they love growing and they love hearing about other people's perspectives. Their conversations steam from their personal experiences, memories, and knowledge that they have gathered along the way.

They are striving every day to be better than they were yesterday!

Connect with Align & Rise on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/align_and_rise/

Unknown Speaker 0:00 Your journey has been an interesting one up to hear you've questioned so much more than those around you. You've even questioned yourself as to how you could have grown into these thoughts. Am I crazy? When did I begin to think differently? Why do people in general appear so limited as Bob process? Rest assured, you are not alone, the world is slowly waking up to what you already know inside yet can't quite verbalize. Welcome to the spiritual dough podcast, the show that answers the questions you never even knew to ask. But he's the answers to questions about you this world, the people in it? And most importantly, how do I proceed? Now moving forward? We don't have all the answers, but we sure do love living in the question. Time for another head of spiritual dub with your host, Brandon Handley. Let's get right into today's episode.

Brandon Handley 0:40 One, hey, there's spiritual dope. I'm on here today with Devin and tomarrow of the Align and rise podcast. And they're here to empower spiritual beings to tap into their fullest potential. They share memories and experiences to inspire and uplift you. Remember you are authentic, unique, and there's only one you they are two women who love to chat about all the in depth experiences, opportunities and growth that you they have navigated throughout their way. They love life growing and they love to hear other people's perspective. They love to hear other people. So demonstra thanks for having being here

Unknown Speaker 1:21 today. Thanks for having us.

Unknown Speaker 1:24 We're super excited. Thank you. This is our very first interview. On another podcast. We're usually the ones doing the interviewing. So this is really exciting.

Brandon Handley 1:34 Well, yeah, right. Yeah. Well, you had me on and that was part of the conversation. And I think that there was the jet. I said, Hey, how can I support you guys? Right? And you were like, Go big or go home? It wasn't exactly like that. I was like, You know what? Okay, probably was it says, you know, what, if we what if we were on your podcast? Like hell yeah. Right. So it's kind of a no brainer. So thanks for thanks for being on. This is actually my first one where I've interviewed two people simultaneously as a unit got alive and rise here. So I'd be interested to hear your response here. One of the ways that I look at this whole thing that we're doing right, we're sending an amplified communication out to the universe, as it were, and we ourselves are all vessels of creative source energy, whatever, right? We express that throughout whatever we're doing. And sometimes the answers and come conversation that we have, is going to be heard by somebody on the other end, it's just like, wow, I really needed that today, right? And my question to the both of you is, what is that message that's coming through you today that you need to share with the universe?

Unknown Speaker 2:59 When we're both looking at each, usually,

Unknown Speaker 3:03 let's talk first

Unknown Speaker 3:08 just throws me in the spotlight. I think honestly, for us, like, we've had so many incredible opportunities come up on this journey of growth. And we could have thrown the towel in 100 times. But recognizing that we are here for something bigger, and we were created with a purpose, we've understood, throwing in the towel is not an option. We've learned that we are here to serve others. And we were given the opportunity to start podcasting and being able to serve others through that. And I think the biggest message is honestly just to hear what's on your heart, and understand that that is placed there specifically for you, as an individual, nobody else gets that dream that you have on your heart. And just to chase it, and to go after it with as much love and tenacity and enthusiasm as possible. And it's gonna feel hard and it's gonna feel tough, but you just have to keep going.

Unknown Speaker 4:12 Mm hmm. Well, and sometimes like, I think that in that space as well, when you're going through stuff, it's sometimes it feels like the same stuff, kind of repeat it's like, term that I heard was rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. And those are like lessons in life that we get to go through in order to get to the next place where you get to do something different another rinse and repeat until you learn from that and, and what I feel is that it's really nice to be able to, excuse me, get a cough in my throat is to have that with someone else where that person can Be there for you recognize things and very lovingly bring that to you. I just got like that frog in my throat like the worst time was like a tickle. I don't know why

Brandon Handley 5:16 there's never a good time for a frog in the throat must be, let's be clear there so

Unknown Speaker 5:20 well it's like literally it's like feels like it's going into my left eye right now. Anyways, that's a Crazy Frog. Ah, yes, anyways, so that's the other view here.

Brandon Handley 5:30 Yeah, we're gonna be here to help you recover. That's gonna be the first thing we're here for. So I enjoy, you know, the idea that we're here for a bigger purpose, we can satisfy a number of our own personal needs, and even our family's needs. And still, it seems kind of like, we're not giving all that we've got right, we're not feeling as though we're contributing, I think that what you're talking about is the idea of contributing to the greater good and the whole. And, and in a way that you're doing doing it. That's being led by the heart. It's kind of what I'm getting from the both you and then the idea to that. Being able to do it with each other, the way that you two are and having that kind of support mechanism. And I think it was Devin, you were talking about, you know, being able to, you know, basically call somebody out on their bullshit but lovingly, or vice versa. Right, be like, Hey, how do we how do I, you know, I see that you're, you know, sometimes somebody doesn't respond to like, I see that you're struggling? How can I help? And sometimes it's got to be done in another way. But still from a place from the heart. And it sounds like that's what the two of you have found with each other. And you're working. You're scaling that by doing your podcast? Is that fair? Yeah. I love that. Like it's called heartland.

Unknown Speaker 7:09 Yeah, absolutely. And we have realized, we tried one podcast having like, kind of a guideline and a script, I feel like it was a little bit of a disaster. And we have realized that intuitive, that that's us, we we just follow our heart and we listen to our gut. That's what we speak from. We don't have a script, we don't have questions. Even the interviews that we've done, have all just been intuitive and heartless, and that feels so good. And I think that's really helped our relationship where we've come together to have that peace to lean on one another, and to call each other out on those things. And it's honestly, like, I can't hide anything from Devin to try. It's like, okay, like, you're not doing this, tell me what's going on. It's like the floodgates open. And then we just have this like, yes, that's how I'm feeling. I couldn't put it into words, and you felt it and you figured it out. And just having this place of zero judgment of complete, just love. Just knowing that it doesn't matter what we're going through, we're always gonna get through it together. And it's been really cool to have this platform podcasting together, because we get to share those experiences with other people and serve them while we grow at the same time and then share that story of growth. And it's just really been the coolest experience.

Brandon Handley 8:42 Sounds like yeah, I would call it like, acceptance and action. Right, and you to have found, you know, a friendship, a partnership, where it's, you know, you accept each other for who you are and what you're going through, and, and you're helping each other forward in a supportive manner towards towards your dreams, right, the two of you put this podcast together, you were talking, we were talking a little bit before we got going here. You know, how there's been some stumbling blocks in what it is that you're doing, which I want to get to. But what I wanted to really hit on first is like, right, you know, for me, this is my third podcast, right? My first one was on fatherhood, which was cool, no one diver. Second one was on, you know, prosperity, law of attraction type stuff, also great. But then I was like, fuck it, like I'm really just kind of hiding behind this curtain of, you know, like this, you know, Wizard of Oz style, where like, I'm not really talking about what's on my heart, which is spirituality and leaning into that. And since I've done that, it's been awesome. Right? So my question is, you know, what made you to decide spirituality was was was your, your kind of lean in and go forward thing and let's talk about how you found yourselves there.

Unknown Speaker 9:58 That's going to be different quite like that's very, that's looks so different. I would like to I would like to leave this one tomorrow because I think this actually has to be love for you too. I think this actually like my, my spirituality and how I have found so much love and acceptance from Tamara. So like, to kind of give you the backstory, Tamara and I went to youth group together for years. And in high school. Here, as I say, like two I was only in Creston for two years when and started going to church and Tamara joined and she's younger than like a monk. Yeah, she's younger than me. And we were going and so we were like, very much like we got called, like Holy Rollers and stuff. We were part of the Pentecostal church, we were called a lot of things that we found like community, which was great. And then I got married really young at 21 had four kids ended up separating from my x, and I've been separated now for six years. Last God just completely dropped God in every way, don't talk to me about him, I'm never setting foot in another church, I felt very hurt, very betrayed from just like everything that went on in the relationship that I liked. And in that time, Tamara started reaching out to me through Beachbody. And we kind of started talking and then I joined eventually under her and so we started having more of a relationship and, and bringing up our friendship from the past. And what I had found was as I was journeying through like both of us, I would say, really, our spiritual journey both started is about six years ago, for both of us where there was like this. Right, like, like a hard line, like you were talking about line. And that's like your thing lately, tomorrow's like line in the sand. This was like a hard interval is very different places, but a hard line. And we started kind of growing, and probably two years without each other of just growth. And then we really started stepping into each other's life. What I had found was going from the state of like, I was very devout to church and everything for a long time, and then completely losing myself to all of it. Like I went down to the very bottom of the bottom with that, like, I felt very lost, I felt alone, didn't know what I was doing, knew that I wanted to I needed needed spirituality on some level. And I just didn't know what that was gonna look like, because I had lost all of my faith. And through all of everything that I have been through, Tamara has been there and held my hand, watched me cry, loved me, never judged me. She was going to church, he was going, she never judged me. There was not a single time that and maybe she maybe she did, but she let it go, right? If she did have any judgments, but she was there, she loved me. And that created open space. And gave me grace gave me forgiveness, to realize that tomorrow was like the example of what a person going to church should look like. And it led me Not that I'm going back to church, not that I'm stuck. Like, I'm not doing that, um, I found my own spirituality in just believing that God is or the universe or the source energy, whatever you want to call it is around us all the time. But it allowed me to get some forgiveness for myself, and for the people around me because of the scars that were there when I left my relationship. So for me, spirituality is more than just finding within yourself. It's like also the other people that are around you, they get to support you and love you and love like, Jesus love, right? Like, that's, that's what tomorrow. I mean, this is just tomorrow, right? This is one person I've had other people in my life who are very spiritual in different ways, and we're, we're just all connected. And that spirituality to me is like, there is spirituality doesn't see any hard lines of like your, you know, your Jehovah's Witness your Mormon, your Pentecostal your Catholic it, it should never see that it should just be like we are one we are connected. And we need to love each other period.

Brandon Handley 14:39 Like it, you know, really sounds sounds like the six year journey for you. And kind of, you know, this just loss of spirituality. Which I kind of I do want to dig into that a little bit. I love how you guys correct me if I'm wrong, but Beachbody MLM yes or no Yeah, I love how you guys reconnected through like an MLM. Right? Like you always hear horror stories, but this sounds like a good one. And you know, so it was

Unknown Speaker 15:09 really funny because I sent the worst messages back then.

Brandon Handley 15:13 No doubt, no doubt, right? I mean, I think absolutely, that's right. That's part of the path. And trust me, again, I know, right? You're just like, you know, hey, this is what you're supposed to say. I'm sure I'll say this. Everybody's by my shit. You'd be a great salesperson anyways. You'd be great at this. So let's hear a little bit on your side. And then we can kind of unpack some of this stuff.

Unknown Speaker 15:40 Yeah, absolutely. So as Devin was saying, we both grew up in the Pentecostal church, like I went to, I think it was called, like the school or something. It was like church before kindergarten, preschool, basically, but in a church. So like, my grandma grew up in the Pentecostal church, my aunts, uncles, on my mom's side of the family, all very, like spiritual. And that was there, we prayed, we all of the things that of course, like had my years through my teen years, where I struggled and all of the things. But really, the last six years for sure, coming up seven, so my youngest, after he was born, I struggled and hit rock bottom with postpartum, though worst depression and anxiety I've ever experienced in my whole entire life. And for me, I leaned in so hard to my faith and my relationship with God, I'm just becoming closer with him praying, really just leaning on family and reaching out to those family members who were, you know, Christian in my family, who believed in faith, who believed in prayer, who believed in coming together, and just like leaning on all of that. And so I just think it's really cool how, around the same time frame, Dev was literally falling apart and losing her faith. And I was leaning in hard, and like how we both came together to this place where we are now. So that was really where everything kind of started for me. But it turned into not so much just like that. God relationship, the heart relationship with my heavenly Father, it was like, I didn't know who I was. I had no idea what that even looked like, I was a mom, I had these kids, I was struggling, life sucked. I was literally surviving and just getting through my days. And I remember my son was 10 months old, and I was depressed, and I was binge eating. And I was doing all of these things that I thought happiness was somewhere in there. And I remember just like that line in the sand, there has to be more I need to feel more than this. Like this can't just be it for the rest of forever, where I just get up and I just survive through my days. And I raised my kids and I'm unhappy. And that was where I really started seeking more of a relationship inner of who I was. And I started doing that work inside that healing work that working through anxiety, working through the Depression, that I was feeling, letting go of those things. And really, opening up to this whole world of like, who I was, as an individual, I was a mum really young. And I lost that when I became a mom, I was just a mom and I was just a wife and I was just a whatever. And I didn't have this, I didn't know who I was. And so that was sort of my journey back into figuring out who I was letting go of those people pleasing tendencies of worrying about other people's opinions and really, truly just getting to the core of who I am. And that sort of got this direction that I moving in like and it feels so freeing and it feels so good. And just to realize everybody has their own spiritual journey, not one person doesn't look the same. And I've realized like I used to have this very narrow view of it's only the church it's only this is only one way it has to be God it has to be that I've realized like I love hearing like stories from Jay Shetty love Him the whole journey of a monk Buddhism like all everybody has this universal God that they serve. And that that that is love like like Devin said we're we're here to love people. And it doesn't matter where we find that love or what that looks like or feels like to each of us because it's different and different. is beautiful.

Brandon Handley 19:53 I mean look right with without without without those differences, then then it's kind of kind of boring, right? You got this same show, one was going all the way back to the beginning when he talked about was it rinse and repeat same stuff, right, you're gonna see the same thing over and over again. There's no chance for revision or something else, right? I always think about the whole idea that to have like, if you know what tomorrow is gonna be like, it's gonna be kind of easy, right, kind of, like Groundhog's Day. You know, you do like, the great thing about like, knowing that tomorrow is gonna be the same as today, like, Okay, well, since, what, whatever it say it was like, I can make tomorrow better by eliminating some of the things that didn't work and doing more of the things that did. Right. And as for, you know, I kind of talk What I mean is that it's not fun, right? You found yourself in survival mode, like, you know, binge eating and things like that, and looking for happiness not and of course, like, sometimes you think you're happy when you're eating that ice cream, like cookies and cream it's in? I'm happy in this moment. But like you're crying at the same time, like, why is

Unknown Speaker 21:05 your bag of chips at 3am.

Brandon Handley 21:09 But it also it also, you know, sounds like you do, we're stuck in your identity, crisis of identity. You go from you go from you know, kind of school to being a parent, there's no time for you to discover who you are as a person. Right? Because you, you haven't spent that time as an individual. And then now you're giving all that you are and who you are, to like this family and and to your point, you're like, Hey, I'm just trying to find some Hi, how can I be happy? How can I be me? Outside of this cog in the system? Right. It sounds to me like that's kind of where you got caught, right? And then finding, leaning into your spiritual, I was kind of funny, you mentioned, you know, you you were leaning in, and you you were finding your religion in Devon was losing hers, right? It's kind of what was going on. But at the same time, you too, were, you know, able to grab hold of each other again, and just say, hey, you know, tomorrow for us, like, you know, the more I dig into this, the more I'm finding my face. And Devin for you, you're like, the further I get away from it, the more that I find that I need it, and finding you know what work for you. He has figured that out sounds like kind of together, right? And as you're talking tomorrow sounds to me also, like, it's liberating to be connected to spirit, right connected to whatever that looks like for you. And as you're saying, like, everybody's journey is gonna be a little different. I know that after I kind of went through my own awakening experience, like, this is how it's gonna be for you. And this is how it's gonna be. And then you're gonna go up against like, you know, your journey. And oh, and then when you tripped over this hole in the ground, this is where you're going to be I know exactly where you are. Right? And I don't, I can't, right, because your journey is gonna be like you said, 100% 100% your own. So you too. Yeah, lost it. Yeah, pulled it back together. And now like, you've kind of pulled it back together, you've got this platform, what's your intent with it now kind of going forward? And like, what are some of the what are some of the challenges that you're having?

Unknown Speaker 23:34 To do you

Unknown Speaker 23:39 I just feel like I wanted to touch on one more thing. And this basically led to it. So this whole like parenting thing. Devin is really helped me realize, like in that whole losing your identity and finding yourself and like, I still have these moments where I'm like, my kids need me all the time. And Devon's like, they're not gonna die when you're doing the things that you want to do. So, this has been, like a really good lesson for me, but we're a busy family, my kids are doing all the things and I'm running here, and I'm doing this and like, I feel like, this might not come out. Right, but like, they depend on me. It's already not coming out, right? Maybe I want them to depend on me more than they actually do. Maybe that's it, that feels really shitty to say.

Brandon Handley 24:37 Look, I mean, I mean, and that's part of that's part of just saying all right, well, it's it's it's a work in progress, right? It's like identifying that me like, is that true? Right. That's just kind of one of those things that you can kind of go through as an exercise be like, you know, I don't know. Not for nothing to air, but nobody's knocked on your door and like a half hour.

Unknown Speaker 24:58 I know. Right? This is they're fine. They're, they're thriving downstairs. So yeah, just like little thing was we were eating in a podcast today. And then my son needed me. And I was like, Deb, like, my kiddo needs me. And we were gonna meet up in podcasts. And I like, texted her and I was like, I'm like, feeling all the things and I'm sitting in it, and I'm just letting and letting it go. And she calls me she's like, okay, like, what's happening, and like, helped me unpack how I'm feeling. And it was like, I'm trying to cram all of these things in one day. And this is how I explained it. I was like, Wednesday's were, we're typically podcasting days, that's what we did. And then they turned into, like, my only day off. And now all of these other things are piling up, and I'm trying to balance it all and fit it into one day, which is affecting our podcasting. Because, obviously, I can't balance all the things that I was like, that fills my cup. Lately, Wednesday's feel like, you know, when you put a cup in the sink, and you crank the water on and like, the waters just splashing out of the cup, and none of it staying in there. Because it's like, full force, and then you shut the water off and the cups just empty. I pray for water fresh Alex basically.

Brandon Handley 26:19 Yes, like that. I get it. So, you know, you're, it sounds like you're going through, you know, just kind of the growth mode, right, of how to make it all work and how to, you know, this is the thing that you want to be doing. And I think we talked a little bit at the beginning, like, you know, universe is gonna throw like little things that you'd be like, Are you sure that's what you want to do? And, you know, you've got to kind of work through that to show the universe that God however you want to look at it. Right that, yeah, this is the thing I want to be doing. So stop fussing with it.

Unknown Speaker 26:51 Right. It's like the little squirrel on the tree, like throwing nuts. That's it? And you're like, where's this?

Brandon Handley 26:58 So, you know, look, parent parenting, I think is one of those things where, again, yeah, we want them. We, it's a challenge. We want them to want us sometimes more than they actually need us. And even that's a challenge, right? As we're growing, because like, What do you mean, you don't need me anymore? So and again, that just caused you to kind of go back into the womb I identity questions, what am I attached to? Right, just another opportunity to look at your attachments of yourself and all that other. Egotistical shifted, I don't know how to talk to so all good there. But as so look, you got it, you guys are figuring it all out. Right? And you're working it through. So what's, you know, what's on the rise for a line and rise? What are you guys looking to do with this platform? Oh,

Unknown Speaker 27:49 man, we Well, here's the thing. We, we I think that that the really cool thing about doing something that you don't know, is that you constantly get to learn. And so, I mean, we've taken so many pivots, we've turned so many times already, like, we don't know exactly where we're headed. But we we I mean, we, we have some ideas, we have some thoughts about where we're where we're going, but it feels like every time that we do something, you always have something else that's kind of up the ante and up the ante, you know, like, it's like, you know, when we first started the podcast, and, you know, we're learning all these things, and doing all these things and recording that we never knew how to do to begin with. So we do those things. And we're like, Okay, now we're good. And then we're like, we're not interviewing anybody, obviously, we're just gonna do and then now we started interviewing, and now we're being interviewed. And now we're starting to do tic TOCs. And now we're starting to Instagram lives. And so we don't really know. But that's the beauty of just having trust and faith that the universe has your back. And that when you believe that your intuition is always guiding you and that it's never wrong, then you open up freedom and space to constantly pivot and constantly move. And that's kind of I think, and Americans speak for, for herself in this point, that that's kind of where it feels like we're headed is just that we're constantly moving. And we're constantly like, this is one moment that, you know, with the block, shall we call it but it's not even really a block. It's just like, we're there together. We're pointing it out together. She's like, Yes, I see this clearly. Let's move through it. How can I and then so she's figuring out like, Hey, I just got to free up one more day for myself so I can get these things done. And then I can focus on this. Just podcasts on this day, because she wants it and so you know, you're talking about you know the universe saying Oh, do you wanted enough? Well, We want this it just happens that we are two people. And we're both affected. Because it's ours. It's I'm not just finding rise. I'm it's Tamara and Devin that is aligned in rise. So I feel like then a book that we're reading the 12 week year, he talks about accountability. But he said, accountability is never like someone else, you know, you don't get to blame someone else when you don't do something. Accountability is just so that that person can help you measure your goals and make sure that you're staying on track, but it's still yours. You know, we have this tainted view of like, accountability, that that part in this book, really, because I think a lot of times people are like, just keep me accountable. And then if you don't like if you're not like, Hey, did you work out? Hey, did you work out? They're like, Oh, you didn't keep me? No, no, no, no, no, you're accountable for you. I'm here to help you, I'm here to help, you know, guide you, but you still have to go push play, and you still have to lift the weights. And so that's, um, you know, how we're getting over any blocks that we come up, this isn't the first time like that, you know, we've headed over a block and and then we just take a turn, because maybe something may be slowing us down so that we could see this thing over here that we're really interested in. And that's kind of so we're really, I think, just focused on being guided by our own intuition. And, you know, call it spirituality call it whatever. Yeah, that's where tomorrow, I don't know if you have anything else to add. But

Unknown Speaker 31:33 I just want to add that we, I think I started this, like, we had a little woman's conference with our book club a couple years ago. And I kind of started this, everything works out exactly as it's supposed to. And it didn't matter what it was, every time something would happen. We'd feel like there was like a little stone thrown in the way or like a blip in our plan. I would just say that. And I'm really leaning into that right now. Like all of the things that kind of feel tough and a little bit gray and a little bit like where are we going? It like Deb said it's honestly just leaning in trusting the process. And just really trusting that everything works out exactly as it's supposed to.

Brandon Handley 32:18 Really, like Joseph Campbell, follow your bliss kind of thing. You guys are working. Is that what I'm hearing?

Unknown Speaker 32:25 Yeah. We I've never heard of him, but it sounds great. Oh,

Brandon Handley 32:32 that's terrible. I have to boot you know,

Unknown Speaker 32:36 maybe just send me a link.

Brandon Handley 32:39 I guess I could do that. That doesn't seem as aggressive or anything like that.

Unknown Speaker 32:42 Does that make you nicer?

Brandon Handley 32:46 No shock factor there.

Unknown Speaker 32:50 So one thing I do want to add, though, is go ahead if that's okay. Yeah. In terms of like, where we're heading to is we're just like constantly pivoting and moving and what wherever we're supposed to be as where we're supposed to be one of our biggest part of our vision, I guess the biggest part of it. Yeah, our dream is to, again, we have no idea what it looks like. But we see ourselves like speaking on stages, we would love to host a conference, like a mindset conference, where we're focusing on, like, our health and wealth and spiritual, all of the things to do with like, this growth journey, and just sharing tips and tricks and coming together with other people that have things that they can offer to serve other people in creating something really big and fun out of it.

Brandon Handley 33:46 Yeah, let me look, it's kind of like, um, before coming on this podcast, because sometimes speak that out loud, right? Because sometimes we hold these dreams and and we're like, Ah, I'm not gonna tell anybody. Just go eat, see what happens. Not gonna tell anybody this is what I want, though speaking it into a corner, but like, you know, speaking some of that stuff out loud to the people that you know, so they know, right? Like, you know what, I was talking to somebody else that would like to do something similar. How can I connect you guys, right? So I think that, you know, in terms of sharing that type of information, what is your vision? What does that look like for you? And for others that are tuning in? They can they might, you know, a hear your journey and be like, Hey, I would like to start a podcast with a friend and what's that look like? It looks like not knowing what you're doing and then going to do it. Right, which is, you know, that's the first step for a lot of anybody, right? Just make a decision to go ahead and do it. How do you feel, you know, a big part two of all this is now that you feel like you're connected spiritually. You know, how do you how do you feel like You're integrating that like every day sounds to me, like, you know, what was what was your mantra earlier tomorrow? Like, yeah, this is meant to be. Everything works out exactly.

Unknown Speaker 35:11 Works out exactly as it's supposed to. Yeah.

Brandon Handley 35:15 We know, one of the questions I've certainly gotten before is like he without, without, like, definite vision or a plan? Is anybody beating you up on that you know,

Unknown Speaker 35:26 at all? About it having a vision or plan? Well, you know, it'd

Brandon Handley 35:30 be like, what's your plan, you need to have a plan, you gotta have a plan. If you don't have anything that you don't have a target, where are you gonna go? You know, is that anybody? Anything that's come up in your conversations? Are you just again, you know, following following your face?

Unknown Speaker 35:43 Hmm. Well, I remember having this conversation about not having expectations. And that's not like, we don't give a shit. No expectations. It's honestly, and Deb can touch more on this, because I love how she says it. But basically, like, if we have this narrow path of where we're going, there's so many things we're gonna miss out on. Because we're, we have our blinders on. And we're like, this is this one thing that we want. There's so many other things for us. And if we're just like, hey, no expectations, the world is our oyster. We have so many more opportunities to grow and pivot along the way, because we have we see see more opportunities. Mm hmm.

Unknown Speaker 36:27 Yeah, I, we that was our beginning of our year that we started out with the no expectations, like I had done a week in the giant in Book Club. I think it was just me, and maybe one of the other girls, because it's like a massive book by Tony Robbins. And he even says in there, he talks about how so this like, actually ended up playing into our conversation when we started talking about it in January of last year, because I had read the book in November, December. And so it was like, he talks about how like, it's good to get like goals, like you can say I want to live in a house on the ocean. But he said, You don't have to be like, it has to be blue with yellow shutters. And it has to look exact, he's like, it doesn't have to be that specific. And then when you do that, it's like, so limited to like, it has to look exactly like this, or I am not accepting it. And what that just doesn't feel good. So like, we have decided that this like last year, for example, that our our plans are, what they are like we we have this plan to host a conference, our friend owns. She just bought a motel last year, and she's working on creating a retreat center. That's happening, her dreams, and ours are aligning. We've talked about it with her, we've discussed it, we've dreamt we've had these visions, and we've had visions separately, all three of us. And then we share them to each other. We're like, this is what I saw. And this is you know, like. And so there's this beautiful part, that makes me really excited that like, I can only dream up of mostly like what we create, unless we sit down very intentionally, to dream really, really big, which most of us do not do. We know what we know. And we're like, Well, I guess, you know, like, you could say, well, you know, you don't have a car, you're like, Well, I guess I could just like maybe maybe I could just get like a Honda Civic or something. But when you're required to dream big, you're like, you need to ask for like, you know, a McLaren or like a Lamborghini. Or like, it's, we're not. And I think that we get like, held down by that we get held down by the fact that we you know, it's just like just just down here. Just ask for the things down here. But in reality, the universe is like, what do you want, like, just open it up. And then that thing gets to look like however it wants to look. So if Tamara and I are walking on the path, and we see a window open, we can poke her head through, we don't have to commit to fully go in there. But we can like look in and see if it's something that we've won. And then if we don't we just keep going. But we we got to see, we got to see what we liked or what we didn't want or you know, whatever. Um, I think that's the beauty of like spiritual journey is the beauty of like, where our podcast is headed. To this we know that it's headed like this is practice for us. Like all of the stuff that we're doing all the podcasting being on your show, like this is all practice. There was a time when we first started we were so nervous. I'm sure you can relate to that feeling when you first start a podcast you're like, it's like a little jittery and now and I did not like being in front of cameras just asked me I like was not okay with it. And now it doesn't even faze me. You know. So you get used to these things and it's like Okay, so now we know this Now we get to level up again, what's the next step? And what's? So I think that's the part I'm most excited about is like, I don't know what I don't know. So like, as I level up, I get to see the next thing. And then I'm like, okay, like, this is exciting. And then we go through some more growth and it's painful. Yeah, exactly. You know,

Brandon Handley 40:21 right, right now, like you're saying, you know, when you first start off, right, it's kind of scary. And it's also, we we ask for the things we think we can get right? Like, I'll take a Honda, pretty sure I can get a fucking Honda. Like, yeah, but you know, then you're like, but what I really like is a fleet of McLaren. So they can get one like, every different day and different colors and like, and so you know, but we don't we, we've been taught to, you know, kind of, just keep our heads down and, and work hard and flop. Blah, blah, there's no fun in that. There's, it's, it's hard to it's hard to imagine yourself being bigger if you're, you know, always grinding away, right, something along those lines, at any rate, what I like about sorry, that too, is like, you know, you're sharing your stories with the other friend who's gotten the hotel bill in the retreat centers. It's kind of like synchronicity, right. The things that's what's the whole the whole idea of like, you know, what you seek is seeking you type of thing. Yeah, totally. So look, man, I get it, right. No expectations, here's what we want to do. Here's how we want to feel why we do it. This is how we already feel while we're doing what we're doing. We're gonna keep doing it. We're doing something over here. Doesn't feel right. If it doesn't align, we can't rise. I'm gonna run with that. Right? And yes. So thanks for sharing that. Let me get to a part here that I like to get to. Unless there was anything else you wanted to tag on to that last part.

Unknown Speaker 42:01 I'm good.

Unknown Speaker 42:03 Actually, I do. I'm just like a little backstory on like Devin and me and our friend has the hotel. So the three of us actually started a book club together, before we even like, really stepped into this like, journey together. And so yeah, we just like had this little vision of like, oh, let's like start reading some books together. And now we're literally planning, mindset and spiritual retreats. World

Brandon Handley 42:32 domination, that's

Unknown Speaker 42:33 pretty cool. I got world money.

Brandon Handley 42:38 I got that. It's great. And the thing that you're you're seeing is that you're all helping each other to grow. And more than just like a spiritual sense. And I think that's pretty cool. So this is a little part that I like to get to, in regards to do even just this whole podcast space, right? So somebody tuned into this podcast or to tune into your podcasts or on their spiritual journey. It's like a spiritual speed dating session, right? So like, I'm gonna tune in for like, one hour or 30 minutes or whatever, is that this podcast, you know, tickles my spiritual fancy, then I'll keep hanging out. So in that vein, I've actually got two bachelor's, this will be fun. So I'm going to ask a couple of questions related to spirituality. So let's see here. Doo doo doo doo. These aren't that great, but we'll run with them. Bachelot number one, if you're in a bad mood. Do you prefer to be left alone or have someone cheer you up?

Unknown Speaker 43:42 Here's bachelor number one.

Brandon Handley 43:43 Take a choice.

Unknown Speaker 43:47 Your Bachelorette number one? Sure.

Unknown Speaker 43:51 I need to be alone. Definitely alone, like doing some meditating doing some deep breathing. Going for a walk. Like Please don't talk to me. Because I might say something I regret

Brandon Handley 44:07 Fair enough. Bachelot number two.

Unknown Speaker 44:11 Oh, I get the same. Okay. I also, um, I I'm just trying to think here. I think that initially, I definitely need to be left alone, but I do enjoy like a hug after I've processed some things. So then I want someone who like rub my back and give me a hug. But first, yeah, like bath. It's like bath time. It's like bubble bath,

Brandon Handley 44:37 or something. Yeah, no, if I'm here and leave me the hell alone. Yeah, I'm gonna have to process this. Yeah. Let's see. This would be the last one here to do to do tu tu tu. I like to always ask, you know, do you use feel like our current religion is serving us or not? It's rare that won't go to you.

Unknown Speaker 45:07 Yep, she's, she's Bachelorette number one. Like our current religious.

Brandon Handley 45:13 Like, like, you know, it's Christina. Oh, yeah, like, for example, like Christianity is Christianity is organized religion serving. So we're not

Unknown Speaker 45:23 this is a good way. This is how I view juicy. This is how I view so I am not religious, I am Christian. And I feel like the difference is in religion, we are not given a choice. Myself, I view myself as like a Christian who has the choice, I get to choose whether I want to have a relationship with God, in our family growing up, we were never forced to go to church, we had the choice, we had the option if we wanted to, we could, we weren't put in this box of like, these are the rules. And if you do not follow them, like we're booting you out. And so my experience as a Christian has just been being accepted and loved for exactly who I am. In all of my rough moments, and my falling and my stumbling. And all of those things I've just been showed love and grace. And so I am showing that love and grace to other people. And Deb touched on that earlier when we were talking that, and I didn't know that you felt so strongly that love for me like I had no idea. And so clearly in hearing that from Deb, it is serving a purpose for me.

Brandon Handley 46:48 I love it. I love it. Devin, what about you? You lost a religion? Yeah, found it. You found spirituality. So let's do it. Let's talk about what that look like for you.

Unknown Speaker 46:58 So the question is, do I think that religion is what serves

Brandon Handley 47:04 serving, serving, serving, you know, is religion serving like us? Well,

Unknown Speaker 47:12 oh, this is such a hard one. Because I know I know people who are amazing, that are devout to whatever their faith is.

Brandon Handley 47:24 This one's just yes for me.

Unknown Speaker 47:25 Oh, I don't know how to do that without like, I just up my brain, the squirrels are running. And I just feel like I need to think about this for like every single person in the world. I myself, No, I do not think that religion is serving us to the highest purpose. I think that I think that how do I want to word this? We're humans. And we all are like I wrote this the other day in one of my posts that were just like all like balls of childhood trauma, just like walking around in life with these like tainted perceptions that have been delivered to us, religiously, politically, society, cultural, everything. And we carry that and then we think that we're right, and then so we take whatever scripture is. That speaks to us, or that were a part of whatever religious sect that we're a part of, or whatever. And we will sometimes use that to condone behavior or to totally alienate and discriminate behavior as well. And I you can call me maybe like a naive spiritualist. But I have used this so many times in different discussions when we have discussed things that were like push button topics like hot button topics. And I'm like, Can we all just get along? I'm like, if we were just balls of energy floating around in space or heaven, we would not be seeing all the things that we see here on this earth, we wouldn't see those things. We would just see light, and we would see energy. And it wouldn't be what we are framing everything to be around down here on Earth. Everything is framed around these different things. And we think that we're right. And I think when you think that you're right, and you don't leave any open doors to listen to other people. I think that's that is I don't I don't agree with it. I don't I don't like it. It doesn't make me feel good. And I have been in that space before

Brandon Handley 49:57 you so you're saying religion is a bunch of clothes. Doors. I mean, that's what I'm hearing. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 50:04 I a bunch of closed doors. It can be, I think that it very much can be because people get very stuck. They're like, this is what it says. And I'm like, Yeah, but then you talk to someone else. Yes. Okay. And so like that has to do with us just being these balls of childhood trauma of loose like things happening. And we created these perceptions. And that's why we read it that way. Right? It doesn't make it true. It's just your truth.

Brandon Handley 50:33 For sure. For sure. Not it's a course earlier this year. And terminologies was it's a truth, not the truth. Right. So the truth, of course, that Well, ladies, thank you so much. This has been a blast. I appreciate having you on today. Where can people go and find a little bit more, Tamara and Devin on the line and rise podcast?

Unknown Speaker 51:03 Tomorrow, no, she can throw out?

Unknown Speaker 51:08 Well, I'm waiting for you. So

Unknown Speaker 51:12 I know, we kind of have everything grouped together on our Instagram page, which is a line underscore and underscore rise. And we have our podcast stuff linked there, so you can listen to us. And this is a really good reminder to me, I need to link our tic tock there because we just started some fun little tic TOCs. And our little highlight is like can we have three minutes of your time. And we just have three minute little videos on random topics that we're feeling that we just like, pour into and that is kind of like our thing. So that's where you can find this.

Brandon Handley 51:51 Awesome. Awesome. Thanks for having us. Yeah, I

Unknown Speaker 51:56 really hope you enjoyed this episode of the spiritual dough podcast. Stay connected with us directly through spiritual dove.co. You can also join the discussion on Facebook, spiritual dough, and Instagram at spiritual underscore Joe. If you would like to speak with us, send us an email through Brandon at spiritual dope CO and as always, thank you for cultivating your mindset and creating a better reality. This includes the most thought provoking part of your day. Don't forget to like and subscribe to stay fully up to date. Until next time, be kind to yourself and trust your intuition.

Kerri Hummingbird, Soul Guide and host of Soul Nectar Show, is the #1 international best-selling author of "The Second Wave: Transcending the Human Drama" and the award-winning best-selling book "Awakening To Me: One Woman's Journey To Self Love" which describes the early years of her spiritual awakening. Ms. Hummingbird inspires people to lead their lives wide awake with an authenticity, passion and purpose that positively impacts others. She catalyzes mind-shifts that transform life challenges into gifts of wisdom. Her newest book, already a #1 int'l bestseller, is called "Love Is Fierce: Healing the Mother Wound" and describes the most direct path to spiritual enlightenment. Connect with Kerri at: https://kerrihummingbird.com/

Unknown Speaker 0:00 Your journey has been an interesting one up to hear you've questioned so much more than those around you. You've even questioned yourself as to how you could have grown into these thoughts. Am I crazy? When did I begin to think differently? Why do people in general appear so limited in this process? Rest assured, you are not alone. The world is slowly waking up to what you already know inside yet can't quite verbalize. Welcome to the spiritual dough podcast, the show that answers the questions you never even knew to ask, but knew the answers to questions about you this world the people in it? And most importantly, how do I proceed? Now moving forward? We don't have all the answers but we sure do love living in the question. Time for another head of spiritual dub with your host Brandon Handley. Let's get right into today's episode.

Brandon Handley 0:41 Hey there spiritual dope. We are on here today with Carrie hummingbird, Soul guide and host of soul nectar show she's number one International Best Selling Author of the second wave transcending the human drama and the award winning best selling book, awakening to me one woman's journey to self love, which describes the early years her her spiritual awakening, Miss hummingbird inspires people to lead their lives wide awake with an authentic, passionate purpose that positively impacts others, she catalyzes miles just to transform life challenges into gifts of wisdom. Her newest book already number one international bestsellers called Love is fierce healing the mother wound and describes the most direct path to spiritual enlightenment. I think everybody wants that right? Like, do not pass go, just you know straight to the end. Guys pretty funny, you said you know, you're gonna you're gonna let intuition guide. And that's really how we kind of start this whole thing off every time here. And the idea is, you know, somebody out there tune in today is tune in to hear what source is sending through you, since we're, you know, vehicles of Source Energy, right? What what is what's coming through you today that that listener needs to hear

Kerri Hummingbird 2:02 what's coming through loud and clear is slow down, really slow down, slow down, restrain, get still get in nature, put your feet on the earth, put your hand over your heart, the other hand over your belly, and just really be present with this vehicle that we most of us ride. Like it's just a bucking bronco. And we just need to actually be gentle with this, this animals as being that we are in the integration of our spirit with this, this animal, basically, you know, it's an animal. And a lot of times, we're kind of mean to our animals, you know, we don't necessarily feed it that well or take good care of it, we kind of expected to work 12 hour days, and then just be perky at night to have fun. Oh, so we slow down, the things are so hectic. And you know, COVID couldn't even slow us down. It's kind of amazing how even COVID didn't slow us down because we're right back at it, you know, and we need to really heat that heat that message because really what happens is like we get into connection with some deeper vibratory patterns on the planet, when we slow down, we get connected with the heartbeat of this mother that we all share this Mother Earth. And when we get connected with that heartbeat, and that rhythm of the Earth, actually, things are way less struggle. It's way less effort connected from that heartbeat space, that rhythm of the earth. Things can get easier. Life gets easier.

Brandon Handley 3:40 Right? I love the idea of kind of for you sounds like there's almost two heartbeat synchronizations right, first of all, kind of get get in sync with your own heart. What is it a HeartMath Institute, which I think has some really great work done with it. And then identifying Earth as though it were a living being as well. And then kind of getting your rhythm in sync with that. Is that kind of which is that kind of what you're saying?

Kerri Hummingbird 4:15 Yeah, absolutely is set really as if it it is a living being you know, I think most people think the Earth is a floor and they walk around on it. But the Earth is a living breathing being and trees are living breathing beings and plants and animals and and including us. And we have this we have these beautiful technologies, right like we're we're on technology right now. It lets us have a conversation from wherever you are to wherever I am, could be anywhere around the entire world, people could be listening. That is so amazing as such a great product of the mind. And we're listening from a body from a body that has a heartbeat that has lungs that has muscle souls that has senses, you know, awarenesses when we allow ourselves to get out of our minds and into the body, that's actually where the real game is, you know, a lot of people, including my son, you know, both of my sons, especially my younger son, they love the computer games, like, just let me play computer games all day long, I'm happy, they'll just stay in my room and play computer games. And I keep trying to tell them, you know, that's really interesting in your mind, but there's actually like, some really trippy stuff that happens when you get off the computer and get in deeply into your human experience. And into the earth experience. There's some super mystical, amazing stuff that happens in that process that really blows it out of the water in terms of what's more amazing.

Brandon Handley 5:53 What's an example that you'd like to use for them?

Kerri Hummingbird 5:57 Oh, yeah, I love this one that I'm thinking about this time that I was in training with the power path School of shamanism. And I was on a retreat, three days in the woods, you know, no, no food, no brain oriented things by myself with a 10 and some water. And I got bored after the first day, you know, the end of the first day, and I'm like, Okay, what am I going to do now? There's no books to read. There's no, there's nothing brain oriented. I'd already done all the things I set up the campsite, I made my medicine wheel. I mean, I did everything. So now what I did just be so I went and stood up on this rock, I found this rock. And it was like a stage because it was really big. I went up and sat stood up on the stage. And I started practicing Healing Songs. Because in this program, we learned how to sing Healing Songs, like from the jungle and Icaros they call them. So I'm up on there singing the Icaros. And in this acre, I was calling in support like, you know, Bear COME TO ME NOW and Firefly coming to, you know, whatever, I could think of singing a song. And at the end of several verses, I got this little giggle and I thought, you know, I'm gonna innovate hummingbird. And is the moment I started singing in Hummingbird, an actual hummingbird flew through the forest, and hovered right in front of my third eye, about 12 inches away from my third eye. And it stayed there. As my eyes got huge,

Brandon Handley 7:36 some real snow. Like, way, like Alright, what else? Can we you know, did you What else did you call in?

Kerri Hummingbird 7:43 conjuring up? So, I mean, I basically was like, so in other words, you come when I call and it nodded. And then it flew away. Awesome.

Brandon Handley 7:53 That's pretty intense, for sure. Um, it's a hard sell on a couple of boys in the video games, right? What is my guess? Well, again, I think that that's super impactful. They're just not there yet. Right. And I think that that's part of the challenge is, you know, that growth into recognizing just how powerful an experience like that can be. When you're in tune sounds like when you're in tune with the way you were, in that moment, kind of with your heart and the Earth's vibration as well.

Kerri Hummingbird 8:29 Yeah, it's it's a, it's a slowing down. Now. I don't, I don't judge my kids. I mean, they're young, right. And I gotta tell you, my mind was filled up when I was their age. I, I'm not sure there was any space, there was a rock concert going on inside my head. You know, like, all the time. It was so busy and so loud. And I remember I used to have to sit at stoplights. And just to deal with the fact that there was a stoplight. I had to count, like to start counting 1002 1003 1004 Just to get through the fact that I had to wait at the stoplight. That's how impatient I was.

Brandon Handley 9:08 I get it, right. I know that. Geez. I used to drive so fast and reckless. Right? Like I just kind of go anywhere I could as fast as I could traffic, weaving in and out doing whatever. Somebody's slowing down and be like, ah, freaking out. Right? Why is this? And now just like whatever man, you know? Yeah, sure. You know, it's it's, it's, we're slowing down. And that's just that's just what we're doing here right now. Being okay with it. But I totally I totally get it. So let's let's walk through right like kind of how you even found yourself in this space, because I'm sure that you weren't always calling hummingbirds to your to your third eye. All right. So let's let's get to it. Let's let's start off kind of a little bit in the beginning. You know, you're you're deep into spirituality space right now. You're doing Sam Stick you're doing. I'd last time you and I had a quick conversation. You're doing plant medicine, you've got a lot going on, who, you know, who were you before? How did you fall into spirituality? Because that's usually my experience is like most people just kind of like, oh, there it is. Right? And then, you know, kind of rolling into the next piece. And then you know, what's happening now? What's happening now?

Kerri Hummingbird 10:24 Yeah, so Well, I, I was always spending time I was 15, a teenager, I was in psychotherapy, because I was, you know, my parents were very concerned that I was going to have mental challenges because I didn't really rocky early beginning, in my life, the first five years of my life were a little traumatic, between my natural father and my mother's first choice of father who was a violent drunk. And, you know, so the trauma of that experience, and anybody who's listening who's had a similar experience, my heart just goes out to you, because I know how long it's taken me to get safe in my body from that experience, but I was doing psychotherapy to kind of, you know, work on fixing me because I had big emotional swings. And, you know, I kind of prone to some wild behavior, which were all signs of that early trauma, you know, from psycho therapies point of view. So I was trying to do it that way from the mind. And it was okay. I mean, I got some coping skills. But when I became a mother at 30, everything just flew out the window, you know, I was immersed in a darkness that I can't even explain, but it was profound, you know, and struggling to be happy, I wanted to be happy I wanted a child, that was completely my choice, I wanted to have a baby. And I was, I was actually really upset that I was so upset, you know, because I really wanted to have this experience. And when it didn't work out that way, I was in deeper psychotherapy. And then they put me on some pills, because, you know, that's sort of the Western medical solution as well just stop feeling that so here's some pills and make that go away. So I did that, you know, I kind of coped that way for a while. But what I finally realized was that there was a lot of limitation in the dynamic between me and my spouse, because we were playing very traditional roles. And that wasn't working out for me, you know, when I became a mother, those traditional roles, like, they didn't work anymore. When I'm saying that, I mean, like, you know, the whole knight in shining armor thing, you know, I really liked that I liked having that knight in shining armor, and I liked sort of being the Maiden in distress. But when you're the mother, that doesn't fly very well, you know, because somebody has got to take care of the baby. And that was me, you know, that was my job. I mean, I was the one with the breast milk. So you know, it's kind of my job, you know, to take care of this baby. And I couldn't just fall apart, you know, the way I had previously in my life, or run away or get away from it somehow. So that was the beginning of learning how to stay in the conversation and learning how to deepen within myself. And at that moment, what I actually needed was spirituality, I deeply, deeply, deeply needed spiritual connection, I needed to understand that it was okay to open to some bigger support, you know, it was okay to open myself and I and I was subconsciously doing that because I was an artist. So it was always outside painting. So in some way, some part of me knew you need to be outside, you need to be in nature. And I spent hours out there painting, because I just needed to get out and get connected. I didn't even understand what I was doing. I just was kind of doing it. But I remember I used to walk the baby, I take these long walks, because he was so colicky our first child who took the brunt of our synthesis of polarity for a child took the brunt of all that. And I remember walking him, you know, on around the neighborhood. And I would always walk by this center for spiritual enlightenment. And my body would come to a halt.

And my head would turn was look at I would feel a little yearning, like, I think I need to go in there. And then I would have a million reasons why I shouldn't namely, because my partner didn't believe in all that. And if I spent money on that, it'd be an argument is what I would turn away from it and keep walking. Right? So that was also just a big part of my journey. So those motherhood really called me up, you know, it called me up to make a stand. And it took me a while to make it. It didn't actually make that stand until I was my oldest child was going into middle school. And I finally things got bad enough meaning that I was I was really self abusing by holding myself back from my power and my Wisdom in my knowing and trying to fit into that tiny little box that society had made for me of the maiden. And it wasn't working. So I ended up leaving him and heading out on my own and opening to the great mystery. And pretty soon found a teacher that helped me to start to own my feminine and own the fact that whoa, I'm not small and skinny. I'm like, big and expansive. I have this thing called intuition. That's telling me things that he's not getting. I am emotional, because I'm designed that way. And feeling those emotions is actually what gives me the knowledge, the wisdom I need inside to cope with situations. So there is just all this unfolding that happened over the last decade, that has been amazing and tremendous, and has guided me to heal any places where I was holding blame for him, because it wasn't his fault that I was having an awakening.

Brandon Handley 16:04 Yeah, a lot to unpack there. But I mean, you know, a big part of it, right is when the depression state right, or like we getting the medicated thing, when they've seen Western medicine, like you're saying, it's just like, to give you this thing to help you get rid of it as really, you're just cutting off a piece of your own internal guidance, right. And again, that's just my perception was that the way that you were feeling like when you when you kind of got that medication there was like, it's isolation of feelings, or almost like a, like a soft knocking at the door that you just couldn't answer.

Kerri Hummingbird 16:48 You know, for me, I was with the birth of my child, I was drowning in my emotions, and my depression, I was seeing visions of big holes in the floor, like I saw this vision in the shower of a big dark hole opening up in the middle of the floor, like going somewhere in other regions, right. So I was having wild impulses. So for me, it was actually helpful at first to take the edge off that extreme experience. So that I could provide for my child because I needed to be present, right, I needed to be able to be a safe place for this baby. So I had to be on that, I think at first, only because I did not have the training before my motherhood and how to handle my emotions. Now had I been trained earlier, and how to channel my emotional experience, and how to move through waves of emotion while staying grounded and present. And being a safe place. For others. Even though I'm experiencing my emotions, that would have been a completely different experience. And I probably wouldn't have broken down the way I did. Okay, real quick. And if I'd done some healing to

Brandon Handley 17:56 you real quickly, before we move on from that, right? What are some of those tools that if you had had prior to or some of that knowledge, if you're able to share it? That would have been beneficial? Right, that, you know, looking back said, hey, you know, just would have would have been nicer, no sooner?

Kerri Hummingbird 18:15 Yeah, like. I really think that being aware that emotions are a sign that something's out of balance, instead of a sign that you're crazy or broken. Number one, that would have been really great to know that. And because I didn't know that I of course, wanted to suppress my emotions, because I didn't want to be crazy and broken. So I think that's a judgment that collectively as a society, we could start unwinding and untangling that to make emotions normal. And to help each other to feel them. So that's on a bigger level, but at the at the individual level. You know, just listen to my words and hear me when I say you're not broken and crazy, if you have emotions, you're human. And whenever I'm having them now, a lot of times what I'll do is hold myself, so put my hand over my heart, a hand over my belly. If I'm feeling grief, I'll let myself cry. And, and just until it passes, and even if I'm in a like situation where you're not supposed to cry. Like yesterday, I was at brunch with my mom and some big emotion came up because I was reading to her from her her profile, her jinkies profile, and I was having this huge realization about what a blessing she was for me in my life because she was this essence this energy that I needed. And I was reading to her and I was I looked at her and I said, Mom, I just I resented you so much for being exactly this, but this is your design and I just burst into tears. And that's okay with me. I think don't care anymore. If people see me crying, I don't, that is so genuine to cry with that realization and to share that moment with my mom, even though we're out in public at a restaurant. It's just, it's just so beautiful. And I don't judge it anymore. So I think like, feel your feelings. And if other people are uncomfortable with that, well, that's their job, that's their work to do is to get more comfortable with you expressing your feelings. And, you know, if you feel angry, that's one that I tried to, you know, to process without directing it at someone I really, I that's the only caveat I would have is express the emotion and just do your best not to express it at someone, you know, like, like, own that emotion is completely yours. Do your processing with it. For me with anger, I like to you know, I like to go ride off on some country road and just like roar, like a lion, you know, just like, get somewhere and just roar like I'm in the jungle because it's just energy. It's just like fire energy from the will center usually. And so you just need to kind of roar that crap out just like yeah, just like, Release the Kraken?

Brandon Handley 21:10 No, that's a great one, right? I mean, it's just, it's just this kind of pent up energy that's gotten you feeling like one sort of way. And there's a way to release it. And I like what you're saying there not to release it at somebody, but to release it just in general.

Kerri Hummingbird 21:25 Right? Yeah. And it's really hard for men to release anger. I had this client once, who was, um, he was probably like, six foot three, six foot four, big guy, but big teddy bear guy. But you know, he had anger. But he had repressed it all because he wasn't allowed to express his anger in front of his father, right, his father kind of had his thumb on him. And he also wasn't definitely not supposed to express anger at or in front of women. You know, that was just not cool. So when I was coaching him, I had to, I was like, well, you're gonna have to release that anger. So let's try the roar. You know, and he's wearing my house, you know, so he's, he's like, I can't even he couldn't even open his throat to do it. He, like literally couldn't do it. And so I did it for him. I said, I did it first. I was like, Okay, I'm going to do it. So you know, it's okay. And when he felt my grounded power with my own anger, that made it safe, actually, for him to feel his anger, because he knew I could handle it. And I think this is a big message for women. You know, if you want your guys to express their anger in a safe way, then you have to feel your anger and, and really own your anger. And let yourself express that so that you can become a safe place for anger to be communicated. You know, but if you're if you don't own your own anger, and you play that victim role on the triangle, you know, then then there's just no place for authenticity to happen in the relationship.

Brandon Handley 22:55 Like it's a triangle, you're talking like the Drama Triangle, the Drama Triangle.

Kerri Hummingbird 22:59 Oh, yeah, triangle disempowerment triangle.

Brandon Handley 23:02 Got it. Very cool. It's funny. You're bringing up the anger bit, right? I'm going through this book right now. Bringing your shadow out of the dark, right. And I think I just got done doing anger, that the deal is we we all think it's like the bad thing. But again, to your point, if you go back to when you're talking about emotions, they're just showing you something about what you're what's happening. And I think even stronger cases is that we're generally not taught and it sounds like you know, you weren't taught to pay attention to your motion is easy, like, I'm not supposed to have this emotion. Case in point is like, you know, you're you've got your, your firstborn. You want to be happy. You can't figure out how to get happy then there's like this vicious like, kind of cycle of wire and I something's wrong with me, because I'm not happy in this situation. What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me? Right? And that's not it, right? Like, you're just feeling a certain way. And like you said, you're human. And as humans, we, one of the side effects or benefits, however, you want to take a look at it, we feel. And I think one of the worst worst things is we're not taught how to cope with them, like you were saying. And I think you know, getting getting getting that kind of lesson sooner rather than later is very important.

Kerri Hummingbird 24:25 Yeah, and there's a lot of there's a lot of expectation that women place on themselves when they become mothers, like, huge expectations about being perfect and being loving all the time. And always being giving and always being nurturing and always, always, always, and that is an impossible standard to me, because you're a human being. And especially if you don't take care of yourself. I've seen so many women that they just sublimate themselves to the family. Then they bend over backwards doing things everything for everybody. And they get celebrated when they do that, by the way, too. So it reinforces the role of like surrendering yourself or everybody else in the family about yourself. And that actually sets a really bad role model. Because now you're saying to everybody, you know, just surrender yourself completely to everybody else. And don't, don't worry about what's good for you, or to even take care of your own body. And, you know, even get the exercise you need, or even like, either right meals that you need, or get the emotional support that you need, like, completely, leave yourself behind and throw yourself under the bus to be like this corporate employee and go out there and do right You because You love your replicate the model. So I think it's better and it's brave and courageous. And you definitely can take a lot of flack for it. But for those moms who feel courageous, is to start stepping out of those expectations, like, actually get clear, what is a good example? Like, what would be a healthy way for me to live? And then what do I want to teach my kids? Like? How do I want to model healthy behavior, and self care for my kids, and not just what to say it, and then do something else, but actually stick by it, which means you have to have boundaries, and then that teach healthy boundaries to the kids to by your example. And it's when we won't do those things out of fear of not belonging, or being rejected or being criticized? Those are the things that hold us back is that fear? So I think, you know, one of the major realizations I've had about this whole paradigm is how it's a system. So our family systems are based on these expectations of each other, like the knight in shining armor, and I'm going to be the damsel in distress, and you're just going to rescue me, however, then I become a mother. And that just throws the whole thing out the wash, you know, it's like, well, that doesn't work anymore. And now there's this question of, well, how am I getting nourished? Right? And I've seen women all over the map with how they handle that disparity between being a maid and where everything was being rescued for you, and being a mother where you have to do everything. It's like, how do you navigate that? And then what is, you know, what's the masculine in the picture doing? You know? Because, like, how do you react to that? So there's, there's just so much just so juicy in that conversation of that, like, how we each choose to show up and be full humans, in the family, I think is like the answer from our hearts, you know, taking a spiritual journey, looking at our own shadows, as you were talking about owning those shadows, not stepping over anything. If anger comes up, anger is there. If resentment comes up resentments, they're seeing what that has to share with you. You know, for me, whenever resentment came up, it was telling me, Carrie, you're not taking care of yourself. You're not resourced. You needed to slow down and be resourceful.

Brandon Handley 27:58 That makes sense, right? Because you're probably seeing everybody else's fully being taken care of, and getting everything that they need. And you're like, What the hell, right? And he starts to resent all that. That's simply because you're, you've given everything to everybody else, but you haven't given anything to yourself. In a scenario like that. D, you know, so the Thanks for Thanks for you know, talking, I guess about a couple of tools to write about things that you could use right? Before? Before before. Before time's right. And then, you know, so you're walking, you're doing your walks, and you're going past the US on past, like, your spirituality place. Did you ever step into that spirituality? Place? Or is

Kerri Hummingbird 28:43 it never, I never went in. And I just, I must have stopped there, like, I know, 2030 times. And I was standing freeze and just look at it, even though it was getting more and more desperate, I would just look at you know, and I wouldn't go in, it was crazy that I wouldn't go in there.

Brandon Handley 29:01 And you're talking about, you know, kind of this the stand that you took at a certain point. And you also talk about like all these other fears and stigmas about like the society, how they're going to look at you for whatever it is you do. I imagine there was a bit of that as you went through the divorce process. I don't know if that's anything you feel like sharing as part of this process that you went through?

Kerri Hummingbird 29:23 Yeah, absolutely. Of course, everybody in my, in my connection, thought it was insane for leaving my husband because on the outside, it looked awesome. You know, I mean, it looked like I was getting everything I wanted, right? I had somebody that liked to party and have fun and go on vacations and we had a nice house and spent money but we even built me a studio. So you know, like an art studio so I could do my art. Like, I looked like I was just getting it all you know, and then nobody can understand. They're like, why are you leaving this guy? And it was because I I was just in my cage. Like there was this cage for me an elephant dictation in our relationship. And I was also up against my own edges. And I didn't have the tools to process that. With psychotherapy, I was still going to psychotherapy, but it was not, it wasn't hitting the mark, like, there's a depth to spirituality that I found is able to really heal, things that are operating that are totally influencing your decisions in your perceptions, but you don't even know it until you get deep enough. And the mind is not deep enough. So trying to solve it by talking about it isn't really deep enough to go. So a lot of the ways that I was looking at him, a lot of the dynamics that were playing out, were part of my soul's curriculum, it was calling me up to speak my truth. It was calling me up to honor myself, it was calling me up to trust my intuition. And, you know, an almost all the arguments we had were all about those things, you know, it'd be him challenging my intuition, it'd be him challenging my honor to be him challenging, you know, he would just poke poke, poke, poke poke at me, and, and it wasn't able to stand my ground, you know, and I was being called up to stand my ground. So if we look at the bigger picture of the evolution of humanity, we can see that the last, you know, several 1000 years has been mostly guided by the masculine energy, and some would say the imbalance, masculine energy, that patriarchal energy, which is sort of suppressing women's intuition and suppressing the feminine and all of us, really, you know, because that feminine and masculine, they live in all of us, no matter what body we have. So now is the time where we're waking that wild, feminine back up, and this is men, women, whatever gender you are, that feminine, that wild, feminine is being woken back up, and for anybody who's like delivered a baby, Ben, a mother in that capacity, it's really wild, the way it wakes up. It's like, it's like, you know, fierce Mama Bear waking up. And that energy had to come through me. But I was always conflict avoidance. So I wanted to be a pleaser, I liked being the golden daughter, I liked being daddy's girl. And here, I was being called up by the shadows to say, you're not daddy's girl, you're a grown ass woman, you're a mom, you need to stand in your power you need if you don't agree, you need to say you don't agree. If you know, there's another way, you need to say, you know, there's no another way. And you need to hold that even if there's no evidence to support you, you know, from the mind. So that's what I the initiation I was being called toward. And I was too chicken, you know, to do it at the time in that relationship, or just didn't have the tools really, to make that leap?

Brandon Handley 32:49 It makes sense, right? I mean, you've got a lot of these these other spaces in places that were taught, right, and you're trying to think you have these discussions from the mind, and you're getting them from the heart and the gut. Versus and there's really, you know, it's hard to substantiate that. Right. And, and here, he is challenging all that and a loving relationship. We're just kind of supposed to trust each other out. Right. And that can be challenged, too. So you're, you're you're stuck in your cage, like you said, and then you know, you just decided to stand in your power and make the break. Right. I mean, that was more for the benefit of all parties involved, right? As far as I can tell. And it was time for you to just kind of break free of that paradigm.

Kerri Hummingbird 33:38 Yeah, because it wasn't, it wasn't loosening up, you know, it was like getting more and more intense to the place where I was having. I mean, I'd always had a history of having some suicidal ideations, but those got very strong during that period, I had tons of self loathing, I was having nightmares, that would wake me up in the middle of the night with sweats, I was crying all the time, I'd like lock myself in my office, because I worked at home and I would just cry in there. So I knew like this is not whatever this is, is not working. And it's not good for any of us. And admittedly, during that time, for the last two years of our relationship, my self loathing got to the place where I started seeking validation outside of our marriage. So I started having affairs, and you know, short live, like one night or whatever, but it was like that need for some acceptance from some somebody who liked me just the way I was, instead of wanting me to be totally different. So that was, yeah, I was like, I can't go on like that, because that's not at the core of me that wasn't resonating with my integrity, and the person I am inside. So I could see the only reason I was doing that behavior was because of deep deep pain. And if that couldn't be healed through all the work that I've done for 20 years in psychotherapy, and some of the work we've done for a few years in couples therapy Then I had to move on. I mean, there just was I had to make a decision for the benefit of my kids and myself.

Brandon Handley 35:07 And look, it makes sense. Right? You were you were? I think you'd set it up, you know, earlier up against it. All right, I would guess the edges. And you weren't seeing any way out. Right. And I think you would have been operating from a severe place of, you know, like claustrophobic, right? Just kind of lashing out just like just anything else. And you had to get out and do what was right for everybody. And it sounds like, it sounds like you did, right. So I mean, you make the break. And now Now though, like, I mean, look, you're, you're in this space, you've got your courses and books. He's got some seminars, you've got a thing coming up at the end of October, we were talking about the beginning here, which will pass by the time this gets released. But I mean, let's talk about, you know, kind of this journey, how it's led you into this spirituality where you said, you know, there's more depth in here than just from the mind, just pray in the spiritual space, love to hear, you know, a little bit more about that, and, and how you're leading from a spiritual place, spiritual place.

Kerri Hummingbird 36:15 Yeah, so I think that the biggest decision, the biggest thing that's helped my personal growth in a spiritual path has been my heart stop, like when I had that realization that I don't ever want to be here anymore. And I've got these kids, and I've got to stay for them. That was my heart stop. So it was like, alright, that I have to change whatever it is that needs changing, that's up to me, I've got to take responsibility for that. So I can stay on the planet. So a lot of people don't necessarily have that heart of a stop. But I, it was pretty intense. So I knew that I had to do something. So that level of commitment was there. And that whenever anybody has that level of commitment, then the spiritual growth can be tremendous. Like, it's amazing how much can happen in a short period of time. So my journey started 10 years ago, and this part of my journey started 10 years ago, with my decision to leave and my decision to trust this spirit sign that I got that showed me that was the end of the rope. That's it. I followed that I had no idea was afraid, of course, you know, how am I going to support myself? I haven't really worked full time for a long time. I'm a mom, how are we going to work this out? And I just had to take the journey, you know, and I haven't done it perfectly. You know, I've made a lot of mistakes. I've especially when I started messengering. And I started writing my books, I was pretty much called right away to start writing my book that that awakening to me book was started, like within six months of my divorce, actually, like before the divorce was final it started. So that was immediate, like the messenger part of me woke up right after I left. So and then the spiritual aspect just like took off. I mean, I've had mentors that say, my early mentors, they were like, we don't even know who you are anymore. Like you just went like this. You just wow. Like, Pam, you know. And it's that I think it's that passion, that realization of the buck stops with me. Like, no one can save me, but me. So if I want to be here for my kids, I have got to make the choice to heal, and do it now. And that means I've got to humble myself. I've got to ask for help. I got to realize there's a thing or two I don't know, even though I've been a psychotherapy for 20 years, I mean, geez, I don't know something like something should work by now. But, but the thing is, it wasn't a waste. You know, all that time I spent navigating my thought tunnels is like it started clicking when I started combining it with the spirituality when I started combining it with energy healing and ancestral healing and early childhood healing and re parenting myself and all these modalities I've been practicing and learning for the last 10 years. It all clicked, it was like not time wasted. It was just time buffered, it was just buffered wisdom until I was ready to claim it. Right, like

Brandon Handley 39:01 when you're watching a video and it's just like all waiting. And it's like spinning and spinning and spinning. And then it finally just plays and since it's like the show you've been waiting for. And I love the idea of it all just finally clicking right when that spirituality piece kind of drops in. I don't know how to. I don't know how to describe it. It's almost like you know, like watching a water wheel right and unless there's unless the water comes in like that wheels not moving right and then you know, spirituality there it is, right? It's just like starts moving and sets everything else into motion. You're like, holy shit. I guess there's something to this and it's, it's pretty intense. And that's what it sounds like, you know, sounds like sounds like that's what it's been like for you the growth and just kind of the idea of, you know, opening yourself up to it so that it just opens up to you type of thing. What um, you know, so I know that you'd mentioned on your When we're putting this stuff together, you know, what would you describe as the most direct path to spiritual enlightenment? Because I'm curious because you wrote it down?

Kerri Hummingbird 40:11 Yeah. Well, that's why I say it's healing the mother wound. So we all have a mother wounds, because we're all born of a mother. And we're all on earth at this time on the planet. So unless you're just like born in a very unusual circumstance, you're experiencing some aspect of the mother wound. And at the very least, it's disconnection from the planet. It's a feeling of being separate alone. And you know, unguided, right? Like, like, somehow God's way out there somewhere. And maybe there is one or maybe there isn't. And you're here alone, just having to, like, survive, you know, so there's that, I have to do it myself. And all of that is all part of the mother wounds, and, and any ways that any kind of aspect of the feminine gifts that are that have been disempowered, all of those are the mother wounds. So if your intuition is not online, yet, if you're, you know, emotions, if you're not comfortable with your emotions, if, if you have a hard time slowing down and creating stillness and space, all of those are divine feminine gifts. And so it any one of that is also wounding and, and then there's ancestral patterns. So in a mother's body is her consciousness, right? It's her consciousness is happening inside her body. So when a baby starts to grow inside that consciousness, the baby is growing inside the mother's current state of consciousness, which means the baby is learning right away by this osmosis method, about life from the mother's reality. So therefore, if the mother's reality includes feeling disempowered, or not important, or not worthy, or not heard at all, how to speak up, I don't stand in my power, whatever version of that is happening inside that woman, the child is picking all of that up and inheriting that as his or her starting point in reality. So mothers often feel when I when they hear that, that's a deep truth that we all know. And that can provoke a feeling of guilt or shame about however, the conditions were that you were in when you had pregnant the first time, or a second time or third time, however many. And what I want to say to that is, you can let that go because you know, our children chose to come in incarnate through our vessels, at the exact moment that we were going through whatever it was, we were going through, to start them on their journey of discovery. So that they would have all that raw material to work with for their souls curriculum, so there isn't anything out of line. And with more consciousness, we can choose more consciously. And so there's always that beautiful gift of, if you haven't birthed yet, you can, you know, clear some of the ancestral patterns, you know, do some inner work, do some, some reconciliation within yourself in your ancestry to clean up some of that stuff that you don't want your kids to inherit, maybe there's some addiction patterns, or maybe there's some, you know, some conflict between the mothers or the daughters or the sons or whatever it is a father. So you can clear up that by doing your inner work, so that you're not passing that on as a starting point. So there's this invitation. And if your children are already fully grown, and having kids of their own, you can still do your work because as a mother, I know I remember moments of touching my belly when my baby was inside. And because I remember those moments, I can place myself there in the now and I can bring healing from my current awareness to my baby now. Even though it might have been 21 years ago, that he was in there, I can place that love inside me now. And trust that it's gonna find its way through his evolution to help him where he is now. And as I practice that, I've noticed him blossom. So my oldest son, I've noticed, you know, both of my sons, I do this, I put myself back in moments where I remember being with them in my body. And sometimes it's looking at a photograph. Sometimes it's just an embodied memory. And I send love and comfort back to that baby from my current awareness. We can all practice this. This is what the shamans have known for a long time we can be conscious and we can bring healing to seven generations back and seven forward using this method of, you know, fifth dimensional healing work on our children. Mothers are in a great spot to do that because we can remember when they were in inside of us, we can remember holding them. So we have this, this capacity, this direct and body connection with our babies so we can learn a good spot for do family healing work.

Brandon Handley 45:12 That's very cool sounds. I think I remember hearing Gregg Braden, talk a little bit about a similar scenario, right? I mean, energy doesn't really know, time. Right? And energy is kind of at our discretion to direct you know, this, as we talked about before being vessels of creative energy as it flows through us. We can choose anger, we can choose something else, and we can choose like, which direction to send that and same thing with love and healing that you're talking about. So I think that that's, that's a great share, for sure. For sure. Well, is what I like to kind of hop on to right here is the whole idea that this is, look, when people tune in these podcasts, they tune your podcasts in the mind. It's kind of like spiritual speed dating, right? Like, you know, you know, I'm running through like, I'm just curious about like, who am I gonna hang out for a while, because I don't know about you. Like, I can listen to somebody like I'm a big like neville goddard fan or somebody. I've been listening to Swami svare pray Nanda for the past like year, but like, I'm ready for the next guy, right? I'm ready for the next gal guy, whatever. So spiritual speed dating. Let's ask a quick question or two, shall we? Um, to to do dear Bachelorette number one? Who is an artist, right? What is the line between art and not art?

Kerri Hummingbird 46:37 What is the line between art of all I'm going to share this with you? With that I got from Don Miguel done. Jose Ruiz actually, I had this interview with him. And he said, you know, the Toltecs believe that, that your whole life is a piece of art. And I as an artist, I loved that. So I was a two dimensional Canvas artist, I painted acrylics and things like that. I loved creating art. And, and then I became a wordsmith artist, you know, I created books, I channeled texts. And, and it was like, when I ran across this Toltec teaching, I was like, my whole life is art. I like that my whole life is art. So Don Jose said in an interview, he said, you know, how do we not judge each other? He said, Well imagine that you're going into a gallery. And you walk up to this painting, and you bring your paint brushes, and your your paints, and you start painting and correcting someone's painting. You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't sit there with your paid supplies and go into a gallery and start painting over someone's painting. So don't do it to somebody else's life. That's like, you know, so I think that it's that creative expression. You know, true art is however we express ourselves, however, we, we want to express the essence of ourselves, or our passion, or joy or feelings, or whatever's going on inside of us that we want to share with others, that that can express in so many ways, including our just our life, you know, our very being can be a piece of art.

Brandon Handley 48:06 I got it. So you know, self expression would be art. Right? Is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah, pretty much I like it. Let's get one more in, shall we? Hmm. Haven't gone through this list of questions before. Ooh, what lifeless lesson did you learn the hard way?

Kerri Hummingbird 48:31 Pretty much all almost every single lesson. You know, I, I used to beat myself up for making so many mistakes. Because I have I actually I have a sincere desire for perfection. It's in my jinkies chart, I have this fear of, you know, perfection in my city frequency of my purpose. So of course, I seek perfection. And, you know, I used to clamp myself down, you know, trying to not make mistakes, because I didn't ever want to make mistakes because I've got this fear of perfection, you know, the fear of making mistakes. And I started getting really mediocre when I was doing that. You know, my life was super mediocre. And I would say that is learning the hard way. You know, when you start clamping down your life force to not make mistakes. Eventually you're going to make really big mistakes which is clamping down your life or to not make mistakes. Now look, I

Brandon Handley 49:30 get

Kerri Hummingbird 49:31 that falls apart. Anyway,

Brandon Handley 49:33 I get it. It makes sense. I mean, especially as we make these tremendous efforts to not make these mistakes is bound to just kind of ooze out on the side somewhere, but they got he missed. He missed the spots that that makes sense. What um, you know, who would you say with the work that you're doing? Who would you say is your ideal client?

Kerri Hummingbird 49:57 My ideal client is someone who really is Ready to go into their shadows and take a look and see what's in there. And and really like bring the flashlight and learn how to do it with compassion and love and forgiveness and and really wants to melt you know is ready to be more gentle loving and kind with themselves with their spouse with their families ready to heal. And you know, I don't I have this whole thing I'm calling Earth mamas. I invite Earth mamas to come and work with me. And because I'm saying Earth mama, some people make the assumption that that means that I don't work with men or that I don't work with people who don't have children. And that's not the case. When I'm saying that I'm saying because we are on mama Earth, you know, we're on Mother Earth. And if you feel it in your heart, like I love this planet, I want to be a difference. I love my family. I want my future generations to be able to have like ripe juicy peaches and I want them to to be able to see dolphins you know, in in the waves and though and the oceans be clear, if that matters to you, then you're an earth mama and my book you know so I really people that care, you know people that care about this planet and people that want to make a difference and are ready to face their shadows.

Brandon Handley 51:12 Look, I like dolphins and fruit so I feel like I'm gonna so no, that's That's great. You know, and I think that it's super clear when you're ready to start doing the work you'll you'll know when you're there. Sounds like there's the people that you're calling out to where can they come and find more Carrie hummingbird.

Kerri Hummingbird 51:31 My website is Carrie hummingbird.com ke R ri hummingbird calm and you can find my books up there my events and workshops, retreats, all the good stuff, my soul nectar show which you're gonna come on beyond so that's awesome. can listen to Brandon over on Soul nectar show. And yeah, that you can also book appointments, I do healing sessions, I do individual healing sessions. And mostly I do group programs. I really love group programs. They're just so enlightening. When we all teach each other. It's amazing what we can learn.

Brandon Handley 52:02 For sure, for sure we're you know, the human condition is that we're meant to share, right, we're meant to work together. Okay, thank you so much for being on today. Really appreciate you taking the time. Enjoy yourself.

Kerri Hummingbird 52:14 Thank you. I

Unknown Speaker 52:15 really hope you enjoyed this episode of the spiritual dove podcast. Stay connected with us directly through spiritual co you can also join the discussion on Facebook, spiritual and Instagram at spiritual underscore Joe. If you would like to speak with us, send us an email through Brandon at spiritual Co Co. And as always, thank you for cultivating your mindset and creating a better reality. This includes the most thought provoking part of your day. Don't forget to like and subscribe to stay fully up to date. Until next time, be kind to yourself and trust your intuition.

Zane Landin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PositiveVibes Magazine sought to provide a space for people having a hard time dealing with mental health problems, experiencing being lonely, and feeling overwhelmed by the pandemic. Zane is currently an undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona in California. Spring of 2020, he was taking a copy-editing class. Their final assignment was to design their own publication. Zane decided that a magazine dedicated to positivity would be best suited during the pandemic. Zane was inspired by the message and decided to embrace the idea. The magazine began with a small Instagram account in late May to now an international, digital magazine reaching thousands of people looking for hope during these times. The digital magazine has interviewed artists, psychics, mediums, yoga experts, models, chefs, etc. They believe in empowering and sharing powerful storytelling. They want to share the hidden gems in society.

Connect with Zane over at https://positivevibesmag.com/

Brandon Handley 0:00 Hey, there's Spiritual Dope I am here today with Zane Landin. He is the founder and chief executive officer of positive vibes magazine, where he sought to provide a space for people having a hard time dealing with mental health problems experiencing being lonely and feeling overwhelmed by the pandemic. Zayn is currently an undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona in California spring of 2020. He was taking a copy editing class, and their final assignment was to develop their own publication, Zane decided that a publication dedicated to positivity would be best suited during a pandemic. He was inspired by the message and decided to embrace the idea the mag magazine became a small Instagram began with a small Instagram account late May to now international digital magazine reaching 1000s of people looking to for hope during these times, the digital magazine has interviewed artists, psychics, mediums, yoga experts, models, chefs, etc. And you believe in empowering and sharing powerful storytelling. You want to share the hidden gems and societies Zane, thanks for stopping by today. How you doing?

Zane Landin 1:09 Yeah, of course. Thank you so much. Um, yeah, it's great to be here.

Brandon Handley 1:14 So we connected, I believe we connected just kind of doing a little bit of back and forth outreach through Instagram. And we had some good conversations and just decided to try and have you on the podcast. And I'm glad that, you know, we, jeez, I think it's been probably about eight months, I think since we first connected Yeah. So lots lots going on pandemic hopefully coming out of its of its, whatever it's doing. And here we go, we can get into it. So I usually like to start these off with the whole idea that we you myself are just kind of conduits for universal energy, right? We're just here to like Express, kind of whatever we were sent here for, had one guy who was on really enjoyed what he said to he's like, or he would say, it's earth, not our Earth, our home. It's our mission. Right? That was his expression. But you know, the idea is that whatever comes through you today is going to be for our listener on the other end, and today's age, and what is it that you feel like sources sending through you today?

Zane Landin 2:25 I feel the sources sending to me today would be, um, be grateful for what you have. And I think that something that we preach a lot, but we don't practice ourselves. And that we're always wanting more, especially in society that's always about things and rewards. Sometimes it's always nice to see that the rewards are, yourself and what you're grounded in your family, things around you. Even just listening to what's outside. There's a book about, you know, how we don't really listen, and we don't really listen to the earth, or what it's saying to us. And when you go outside, you're always bombarded with all this noise, or traffic or everything. When you when you kind of stop, you can really hear everything, and you feel like at one, and you feel like that stillness. And so I think that really kind of goes into what I'm trying to say about like gratitude, and just being grateful for everything you have. And I understand that people are in really, really hard situations. But I think like finding that one thing that keeps you going and one thing that's positive, I think hopefully can really help you a lot. I hope all that makes sense.

Brandon Handley 3:33 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's a, there's this constant drive, I think that society has put on to us to just go out there, get and then get go get more, more and more. Right. Alright, so you've gotten this thing. Congratulations, you're not done yet. Now you got to go collect the, you know, like, Pokemon, gotta get them all right. And if you don't get them all, then then you know, something's missing from your collection, your life's not complete. Whereas a little bit of what you're saying here is, is Hey, like, be grateful for the things that you've got take a moment, which is even just just yourself, you're saying, right, like, just be grateful for you. I always talk about the whole idea of we have one in 400 trillion chances of being born. And wow, what are the odds, man, that's, uh, you know, so be grateful that you have like this chance of even just showing up and participating in this world with us today.

Zane Landin 4:35 No, yeah. No, I definitely agree. And we even like shared something today on like our, the magazine's Instagram about just celebrating the small victories that you have in your life. You know, like, especially when you see like success stories, you're always like, Oh, they went from zero to 100. You just see the 100. We really don't like to talk about this. Between the spectrum of zero to 100. Horse it's in books and stuff, but like, I wish you could It really talks about how much they really struggled, especially when you see successful people, I don't think love them just, well, I bet you there are some that have had things handed to them. But I think a lot of people have really had these powerful stories. And that kind of goes into the magazine, that's what we want to share. You know, if someone is down in the dumps, or they're really depressed, and they feel that they can't amount to anything, I'm hearing someone who may even have a worse situation than them. Now they're very successful. Seeing that I think, is really inspiring. And that's kind of like what we want. That's what we're all about. That's why we, that's what we interview so many different people, because so many people come from different walks of life, of course, and like they have such such different, you know, inputs and different perspectives, I think that's such a cool thing to see. And something we don't see, you know, we kind of see the same type of people in the mainstream media. And so we always trying to like, find those diverse stories, you know, if it's been a chef, or if it's been something extraordinary, or if it's just someone who is doing something in their local community, anything like that, it's definitely tough to see. And it's not really highlighted in the mainstream media. So that's something i i try to challenge.

Brandon Handley 6:06 Hey, that's pretty, pretty great that that you're doing it. And I love that you're doing it at a younger age, where you're, you just kind of tell my wife a little bit about the story, just how you gravitated towards creating this magazine. And the thing it's been, it's been fairly successful for you. And the idea is that it's kind of like you've never done it before. You just went ahead and did it, you opened yourself up to it, and you opened yourself up to do it in a positive way, just the way that you're saying, right? Yeah. I would say that you're doing it with care with kindness and consideration and compassion and all those things, right, like you said, with opening it to a diverse spectrum of people to be on and share their stories, mining for those gems, as you're saying, and it's just working for you, right? Like the universe is kind of opened up for you and accepted to Yeah, hey, you know, you want to do this. And since since you've never tried it before, right? You don't know what you're not supposed to do. And you're just doing it in a way that's, that is expressive of yourself, right? That that's in alignment with who you are, instead of kind of going through this factory, of, here's how it's supposed to be, okay, you've met all the criteria, you've done all the right things, and congratulations, you're a success. But that's almost like a cookie cutter model. And you're doing it without that cookie cutter model. And that's what I think is really, for me exciting to see.

Zane Landin 7:48 Yeah, I mean, I, I was actually never really the biggest fan of magazines, either, because the ones I saw are always like the celebrity ones, which I was ever super interested in. So I was like, how would I even do something like this? And so I was like, You know what, I'll just run it, like just an online thing. It's a website, the contents there. And I love just putting out features. And that's where it started. I didn't like I said, I don't know what I didn't know. And I think that was better, I think cuz like, No, I just started like a new position. And they told me that, you know, look at the content on the website, and come at it from an objective standpoint. So it's good that you're here, because you're like a member of the public. You know, I'm not biased. So I think actually helped. I didn't know too much about the industry. So it wasn't, I had to do things a certain way. So I think it's actually better sometimes when you, like you say you don't know anything. And you're just coming in as like, just someone who's ready to soak everything up. And that was like the whole point and kind of letting the universe guide you. And what's really cool about this podcast, you know, was how I just happened to stumble upon you. You know, it's so fascinating how like, I just was going through Instagrams going through rabbit holes. And then I, you know, I stumbled upon you, and then we just connected now that I think is great. And, again, what's so interesting about when you start something or when you open yourself up, those experiences are never ever going to happen then. Because if I didn't start it, I wasn't ever going to meet you. Or half the people I have met through the magazine, half all of them basically, because I probably haven't met any of them without it. And so I think what you're saying is like, when you said before about just being present, I think like being open being open to like any opportunity. You know, I think it's so exciting. Who you are now, and who you could be tomorrow was so different, but don't be I wouldn't be scared of it. I think it's, it can be very exciting. As long as you keep living your life in a good positive way. And you're a good person. I don't know, it's, I think it'll be fine. I mean, I'm not gonna downplay when really hard things happen to people. I mean, I understand that but I mean, you know, if you have the feasibility and you have an idea, just go for it. I don't know. I mean, I know that like the magazine didn't didn't take a lot of money. Like it wasn't a lot of money to do this. I know that some people's ideas are huge and have a lot of money. But I think just start off small you know, just you have the idea. Talk to someone who's done it or you Even just start it and see where it goes. And so it's weird how like, universe kind of, kind of like finagle its way in and like, you know, took me on a path I never thought I'd be on. So it's really exciting. And I'm sure you can even speak on that too, with the podcast.

Brandon Handley 10:17 Well, yeah, no, for sure. It's just like, it's, I guess that that's where, where my point of view really comes from is, is, you know, stepping into your one piece and doing it in a way that I thought it was supposed to be done with my first podcast. And then I was like, did a little bit of a shift, I did a second podcast, and it was a little bit more in alignment with who I was. And then finally, I kind of was like, I got to this one is basically kick the doors open, I was like, This is it, man, this is this isn't aligned with who I am. And I'm not going to go search what everybody else is doing. And doing it in this kind of the same way. I'm not gonna leverage a bunch of like, scare tactics and like scarcity mindset stuff, you know, which is like, I know, it all works, you know, but it's just not that doesn't feel good, right? Doesn't feel good to kind of put out there knowing that a lot of the marketing that's being done as a psychological trick, really, right. And it's like, well, that's, you know, I feel like spider man in that sense, you know, with that kind of powerful force, you have to be used responsibly. And I've, you know, so let's talk a little bit about to like, you know, how, how have you gone about? You know, let's talk a little bit about positive vibes magazine, what, you know, what can somebody expect to find when they go there? And you mentioned a few of the different types of people like medium psychics to chefs on there, let's talk about what's criteria. And some of the people that have blown your mind that you'd that weren't anything like you would expect them to be?

Zane Landin 11:55 Well, well, I feel like when you when you, you know, go into the website, and just, I would just say, you know, you know, definitely we are content with an open mind, because, again, they're very different perspectives. I think it's so close when you go on the website, I know that there's like a theme, like we talked about mental health, and that is the theme. That was like the inspiration behind it. But it's, it's definitely gone into so many different places that it's honestly the theme anymore. It's just about spreading positivity. And we try to always ask questions about mental health, but sometimes it just doesn't come up. You know, sometimes the natural conversation doesn't just go that way. And so I think what you're going to see is, you know, stories of positive transformations, inspiration, people who have really experienced some really hard stuff. I mean, I remember we interviewed a celebrity stylist, and, you know, she's just doing her thing with fashion. And then, and then bringing the story cuz I didn't write it when my writers wrote interviewed her, she was like, part of, you know, previously part of gangs. And so for her to come out of that, and transform yourself. And then one of the most meaningful conversations I have was with a medium, and interview, which is so powerful because of what she's experienced. And we really talked about mental health, because she actually talked about suicide a lot. And, you know, the stuff that she had to go through with her family and her son, there's a lot of different things. I just feel it from people, like when I do these interviews, I feel the energy from them. I feel, you know, I sometimes sometimes it's more than others, but I definitely can experience like, I feel their pain. And that's where I feel like I even I even learned the most, you know, like, I remember, I remember in school right now, we have to do a lot of reading, but I'm like, I wish I could just interview someone, like interview an expert for an hour, because that would be where I would learn the most. So I have learned so much from these people. Because, again, so many different walks of life, and they each hold such different like philosophies and things they say to themselves and mantras and how they navigate the world. Some of them have such self doubts before and still and then some people have the most amazing confidence. And it's just so different. And I love how they all just make it work. You know, it's their journey, their truth and I love just amplifying that

Brandon Handley 14:16 for sure, I think one of the one of the coolest things is being able to amplify it right you've got the power of the internet right there at your fingertips and anything that you send out there's it has the has the true capability of being able to hit like I don't know what billions of people for right like, if you you could hit everybody with your voice with their magazine, you have the potential to hit billions of people where else can you do that? I mean, how else could you amplify anything like that? So I think that's pretty amazing.

Zane Landin 14:51 Ya know what I love about you know, I wasn't there when it was my desk but what I do love about you know, nowadays is that media so democratised to the point where like, you can get content from anywhere, not like before, or like I feel like content and like, stuff that was available was stuff that was coming from LA Times, or these big newspapers or these big television shows. But now you see, like all these types of people having television shows, you have all these people doing streaming, I've always been doing podcasts. And so it's like, it's great that people can bring value to others. And people can like create and build their own communities. And in a good way, and they can foster those communities, and they just create something special. I just love that technology and social media and all these different things have changed that

Brandon Handley 15:40 he has no longer, you know, the three stations as a way back in the day, and anybody's invited to participate, anybody's invited to create their audience, anybody's invited to share what's on their mind. And through all the different mediums, you got the podcasts, you've got video, in writing blogs, I mean, any way that you feel like you need to express yourself, it can be done. And that's I love that that's what you're doing to you're not only expressing yourself, you're bringing other people on to express themselves. And you built a true community platform. What, uh, you know, what some of the feedback during COVID that you've heard from creating this platform? Are you having the positive impact that you'd expected to have? Or you want to have? What's some of the stuff that people are saying back to you?

Zane Landin 16:33 Here's the thing. I I don't know, I don't I don't see the impact myself. That's the thing. Like I don't, um, I'll have people say they, they read something, and they loved it. But it wasn't the amount I thought they were. But then I'll have some people I interview. And then we'll connect again, months later, they said, You have no idea how much this has impacted me. And the people who actually read my story. And they read more. So I don't actually know, which I think is great. Because when I do hear it, I'm like, Okay, wow, we're actually doing something right. And I remember I remember, I'm, I remember to hold on to those conversations. And because it is hard, it is kind of hard to just kind of go to, you know, a platform and just say this was so great. I think that's hard for some people. It's hard for me, like if I mean, you know, people I watch content I read. I don't really say I love it. Like I don't go on and comment that I know that sounds really weird. But I just kind of don't I just appreciate it for it is so you know, I don't get the comments. But no, when I do get some, it's always so great. Because like my whole thing is about if I can just really if I if I could impact well, it's not really me. But if the people in the magazine could inspire that one person and change their entire life, that's where I think is the most worth it. And I think the people who are most impacted, you probably never hear about them. I think that's great, because I don't, I don't need to hear about them. You know, as long as they're doing as long as they're taking away from the magazine, or the stuff he put on social media. That's all that's important to me. So I may never know.

Brandon Handley 18:02 And I think that that's okay. It's it's really kind of like a double edged sword. I think we all like to get you definitely like to get validated, right? You'd like to hear that, you know, something's working out like alright, that's fantastic. And just like you said, I'm doing we're doing something, right. So it's good. It's great to hear some of those stories. But it's also really great to hear that you're not attached to that specific outcome to have to continue to move forward. Right for You. Sounds like the momentum and the driver is really kind of internal. And not necessarily external.

Zane Landin 18:38 Yeah, no, yeah, I just I just, you know, they always say you're supposed to remind yourself of your why. And so I kind of constantly do sometimes I feel like it's, Oh, I'm so busy. I can't do this right now. Or am I okay, no, I need to buckle down and do this. Because the why was, you know, to help people who are experiencing loss and just rough times during the pandemic. I know, we're like in this weird phase of pandemic and not pandemic, even though we kind of still are, but it doesn't matter at this point. Because even though that was inspiration, there's always hard times going on and there's always inspiration happening. So magazine one stop after the pandemic, that will just be why that will be like our, our, like, historic moment of why we started it, and always kind of remember it. But it is really interesting how it started from the pandemic. And we're kind of going into this place where it's, it's not the pandemic as much as it was before. And it's, it's kind of interesting to actually go out and tell people what the magazine was like before it was like, just online, everything was online. The world was online. So now when I go around, I tell people, it's pretty interesting, you know, but people have to stay. So it is really exciting. The like kind of like transition phase we're in.

Brandon Handley 19:54 Yeah, we're definitely in a in an awkward kind of space in the world. And it's It's pretty neat to hear that you're going to basically you're continuing it. And it's really a continuation of you initiated something. And this conflict is where you stuck your flag on the moon, basically, right? This is made was, Hey, guys, this is where we stuck our flag on the moon. And as where it started, this is the origin point. And as you continue forward, and you continue to have these positive impacts, you continue to have these great conversations coming on these articles that you continue to produce. You know, where do you see? Where do you see it going for you?

Zane Landin 20:39 Um, um, I'm not, I'm not sure I always, I always say questions like this, and I wish I had a better answer. But I it's kind of like, you know, when we first started, and we kind of just let it go tickets path, I feel like I'm still doing that and seeing like, who reaches out who's going to come like, what's going to be the next experience, it's uncertain. But it's exciting. My only my only goal is I just want to keep growing. I want to share more stories, you know, in whatever way we can. We're always trying new things. We did a podcast follow up, they haven't done an episode for a while, but we're always cranking out the written content. And then I occasionally will do like Instagram lives, I'll interview someone, I think we've done like eight or 10 so far. So we try and provide different content. So it's not just written because I know that not everyone is a fan of reading. And so some people again, right, we're a fan of podcasts or Instagram Live, whatever it is, as long as we're always, you know, regurgitating the positivity in people's lives. That's all that matters. That's all something I know, you know, my dream, my dream really is to actually have like a positive news channel. And that's it. That's all I would want is, you know, I don't know, one hour, two hour segment on just sharing the positive news. I know, I know, local news stations do that. I just wish there was a place where it's just indicates that and it's even talking about positive international news, not even just like United States news. You know, we're talking about kids, different countries are all these things where people are really making huge impact, and actually having an interview with them or something like that, that would be so cool. That would be my dream fighter.

Brandon Handley 22:15 Now that that'd be awesome. For sure. I think that's a great vision. And I think that as long as you kind of keep going in the same direction, and just keep keep it up, right? It's a matter, it's really just a matter of time, so long as you keep it going. What, what would you say is some of the stuff that like you've really big takeaways from so many interviews that you've had?

Zane Landin 22:41 So hard. Um, I think that I think that, like, I think one things I've learned the most, I feel like, it's something I realized before but hearing all the stories all the time, it really kind of reinforces it is that, you know, just trivial, right? Because every single person has such a powerful story to tell everyone, you know, I mean, it's amazing what some people go through and experience, they just don't want to share it. And that's fine. You know, but it's like, sometimes when you talk to someone, and if it's just a random stranger, and then you hear this amazing story for an hour, it's like, that is amazing. And so that's what I hear is that, you know, we're, we're all equals, yeah, we may be treated way differently in society. But you know, back to kind of, I said, the beginning, you know, grounded in our community, like we are, we're all supposed to be here for each other, we're all part of the Earth, we're all we're all sharing the space, we just don't act like we are, um, you know, and so I think that, that's something I would take away is that, and you don't know what people have gone through. And so always trying to be empathetic as much as you can. And I'm saying apathetic, like, like, it's a skill me kind of is, you know, I think you can practice I think you can really tune into it, you know, to really feel what people were experiencing. And so that's like, the one main takeaway I would take from all these interviews is that everyone really has something to share. And I think that we should be encouraging that a lot more.

Brandon Handley 24:11 It's the idea, I think, that you talked about the beginning was, people don't listen so much. Right? Not a lot of listening. And even trying to take that time to listen to the other story. Right, I mean, engaging in somebody else's life to hear their story. I mean, who's got time for that? Right? So and you're making some time for that, though. And I think that when you give the other people an opportunity to truly be heard, to share the truth of their story, and not always in this market T way, right, like, you know, well, what's your brand, saying, yo Tito, what your brand is and you know who's your ideal persona and all this other stuff and a lot of times while that's good to have clarity on all that like, but Who are you? Right? And why should we talk? Right? With, uh, you know, what, what, how much? Um, you know, I think you've gone through some rough times recently, right? Having access to this platform for yourself and having an outlet. I mean, how's that helped us up and beneficial?

Zane Landin 25:21 Oh, yeah. I'm so happy to ask this. Um, so yeah, I'll, so in January, my mom passed away. And so it was a huge shock. None of us were expecting it. Which I think was better. Because I would have wanted to know if that makes any sense. And I wouldn't, and I don't think my mom would have wanted to know, I think it would have been too traumatic to know that she would be leaving us. That's her perspective. I don't think she did. But she would think I'm leaving my family. And I think some people have some guilt from that. And so it helps so much. Because even, I think even like, a couple of days after I was working on the magazine, I know, like, people were like, well, what, why am I working? It's helpful. And what really helped me throughout the time was just being super busy. But I really had the time to reflect on the stories. And then even just going back to like, who I've talked to, even when that medium I talked to, which happened like last year. And so when my mom died is probably like, six, seven months when I did the interview. And so like hearing them again, talk about mediumship. And I'm like, personally, I don't know if this is real, you know, I don't know, I haven't experienced it. But it's not my place to judge, or, you know, assume they're wrong or right. You know, I'm just here with an open mind. And when I hear it, you know, I think about it. And so, you know, when I hear about a bunch of different mediums out there, and who shares these experiences and what they feel, it definitely brings me comfort. Because it's pretty interesting was, I was kind of always interested in spirituality, um, my, like, a lot of people, my family around tarot, and meditation and all that stuff. I know, that's like the cliche spirituality stuff. But it's still really cool to be around. Even when I was young, I think I was like, 14, and I was around that, and I didn't want to dabble into it. It wasn't because I was like, fear the devil. I know that people say that. No, is really because I just didn't think it was for me. And I wanted to do it when it spoke more to me. And so that kind of happened. And so with the magazine kind of drifted me in this path of spirituality and really thinking about things differently. And then even

my birthday was in January, as well on my sister gave me an Oracle deck. And I use it from time to time I'm not like, I'm not hugely into it, where I like study it, but I just flip the cards in reweighed size and eerily accurate. And even if I don't feel that way, there's something there. You know, I think that's important. The most important thing is that, even when if we get a Tarot reading or Oracle reading, and we feel that that's I don't understand this message. Maybe it's not the time for it, then. Or maybe you just need to look at something differently. And maybe you'll see the message. That's why finding that's why I find really great about work cool is even if the message is unclear, it makes you think differently. And think like, Oh, I got this message, I don't understand what it means. But maybe I should, maybe I should tap into this, like, whatever it is that wants me to. Um, so I think that's the one thing that's helped a lot was the magazine, I feel like yeah, without the magazine, I'd probably be really struggling a lot more than I have. Um, it's given me a lot of hope, you know, and sometimes I think of like, it should be like me hope vies magazine, or even peaceful vibes. Because like, sometimes people quit. I think some people have questioned me and said, like, how is the magazine about positivity? When you have a story about someone who's getting gang or something, you know, like, that's like, people say that. And I'm always like, Well, I think as you're looking at positivity is happiness. And they're very, very different. Happiness is just like that emotional feeling you get, and I think it's temporary. I think positivity is like a philosophy, like a way of life. And that no matter what happens, you know, that things will be okay. Or you know, that there's a different place for you or something's coming up and you don't know I think that's better than being happy because, again, happiness is just kind of a feeling. And so I think philosophy is what drives me in that no one no matter what I do, I'm gonna try my best to be positive and of course, it's harder on different days, you know, but like, that's the one thing like my mom didn't necessarily teach me like being positive like not like that, but she was always so positive. And you know, she always said if you don't have anything nice to say, just don't say it. Don't you know, don't like someone you know. And also, she always had such compliments to say about anyone like, she always kind of like, lit up a room, no matter what room she was in. Even if it was the darkest room, she was definitely the brightest light. And yeah, my mom just had really great charisma. And I try my best. So she can listen to me if that makes sense. And so, yeah, thanks for bringing that up. It's great to talk about because even though, you know, death is always around us. I think there's still like the stigma to talk about death. Because I can't imagine why it's incredibly difficult. And there's a lot of people that don't believe there's anything else out there. I definitely believe there is. But I'm always getting judgment and self doubt about it, you know, as normal, because we don't know what we don't know yet. So we never probably will know until we reach that conclusion, or new beginning, whatever it is, whatever death as some people, it is pretty interesting what it is to some people. But yeah, hopefully that answers your question.

Brandon Handley 31:02 For sure, so sounds like sounds like having this as an outlet in the space and where you can refer to where you can have those conversations where you're surrounded by places positive people, not necessarily just positive people. But the these different ways forward, and I get what you're saying, in the idea of, you know, so you had some, you know, gangsters on and off. But it's like the idea of this is where they were, and this has been their path forward. And this is, you know, there's there's think of cheese, what is it? One of the one of the Toy Story minis combat Carl, or Jesse, Jesse always finds a way, if you resolve those, Jesse always finds a way. There's always a way forward, right. And sometimes the those ways forward, aren't, aren't glamorous. When you think about maybe the gangster and delivering the gang life, made for that person, that's it, who's looking at from the outside says, ah, that's terrible. Nobody should ever have to go through. But maybe that's what that person needed in order to give them the inspiration to go become the person that they end up becoming. And for you, you've been able to have people like that around you who've gone through some of these tough times through some of these challenging times. And I've shown you that kind of no matter where you're at, and where you've been there, there's, there's, there's a way you can go forward. And I love the idea that you know about your mom being, you know, the brightest light and you try to carry that forward. I think that's awesome, man. I really appreciate hearing that.

Zane Landin 32:42 Yeah. And then also part of the the why of the magazine was my mom was always, obviously the biggest fan of it. And so, you know, I'm doing it, I constantly remind myself to do it for her as well, she would be super proud to see it. Or she is I tried to, you know, think of her not to say they, they would have they they do you know, I like thinking of it that way. So, yeah, I'm really excited. And you know, also to go back to your question about magazine. I don't know what's gonna happen in the future with the magazine. But you know, I did I do reflect, like, long time ago, and I said, if the magazine just continues one day, you know, knock on what if that does happen? I think that's fine. Because, you know, I created a brand, I created a space for people. It's, it's a memory, you know, and it's still something I believe in, I'm always going to be impacted by those stories. But that's, that's, that's the, that's definitely, like, only the worst outcome. I wouldn't ever want that to happen. But again, we never know what's gonna happen. But what's that quote? You know, don't be sad. It happened. The happy it happened. Wait, no, it'll be sad. It's over, be happy to have it. I like that. Because for sure, no. And that's hard. You know, for people, you know, it's easy to kind of be sad. Um, and it's, I think it's easy to be sad than it is to be happy. You got to like effort into being happy to be honest. And, but I like the idea that, you know, be so happy that it happened and just keep living as if it's still there, or keep living as if the person still there, you know, and always carry on their legacy or whatever it is, you can do that keep them alive. You know, metaphorically even though they are, in a way still live somewhere else. I know it sounds like contradicting myself saying that. But yeah, that's definitely that's what I would say.

Brandon Handley 34:43 What, um, has, has there been like anybody that has tried to, I don't know, offer you payment? You know, have you guys gotten any sponsorship? What's that look like for you? Are you seeking any,

Zane Landin 35:01 um, I've never thought about it. We've had like, some people reach out, but not about sponsorship like money, but they would send us some products and we would post about them. That's always so fun. Um, I know that some people have reached out, someone reached out about being featured and they wanted to, like pay us to be featured, which sounds, it's probably like the only time I would ever be paid for it. So far, and so I'm very, I'm trying to figure out ways to monetize it and make some money from it. And you know, be able to pay the people helping me. Because, you know, we have like students helping and, you know, they're like interns, and they get the experience, but I would love to, you know, pay them one day, and just create more things. You know, I'd love to have like a guidebook. Oh, that'd be so cool. Like, I feel like that's the thing now, like, so many people are create guidebooks, and like, a positivity guidebook would be so fun. And so that would be, that would definitely be something to consider in the future. But again, that's the kind of question like, I don't want the magazine to branch off into other things, where it's not just online content, but what if it's like a book that you can use, like a journal? I feel like I feel like I see some people doing though is like, Oh, I created my own course guide book. It's, I see so many people doing that. So like, I think it's so exciting. And it's like, they can do it. Maybe we can too. So there's so many things to consider and what's what's kind of trending and what people are liking and what's really helping people. So there's always so much to consider when it comes to stuff like this, which I'm sure you are aware of.

Brandon Handley 36:33 I know for sure, for sure. I think that it's great that you're looking, you know, the monetization is I think, you know, obviously, it's great to get paid for I think it's kind of funny, right? That somebody wants to pay be paid to be featured, which is always interesting to write, pay to play. Well, let me let me ask it just so I get to this little spot in the podcast where I like to call it like a spiritual speed dating zines, and it says you have you kind of found your spirituality, you're finding your spirituality through what you're doing right now. And I think that's great. Again, I think this, I think this is cool that you're doing it at such a young age where you're really leaning into it, you're asking yourself some questions where I know, for me, it took me a long time before I even started asking myself some questions. It was just kind of straight and forward and a lot of bouncing around and some other funky stuff happened. But you know, in the end, you know, I kind of landed pretty smack dab in the middle of spirituality and started asking some of these questions that you're asking yourself at this at this younger age. But um, how about spiritual speed dating? Bachelor number one? Whoo, hoo. We talked a little bit about depression, why are so many people depressed?

Zane Landin 37:49 Um, why are so many people depressed? There's so many, definitely so many different answers. I feel like the reason why people are more depressed now is not just a guess. I feel like but people, what gets people down is experiencing them. And so what I mean is, people have had to really had to sit with themselves. And really think about things. I feel like we didn't do that. I feel like, you know, we were always moving. Like we talked about this the beginning, like we're always moving and trying to get more, or things are just always changing. But I feel like with COVID people kind of just were stuck. I feel like that kind of got people depressed, because they had to really think about their life, and what they bring what they bring to the world, because, you know, imagine seeing so many people dying. So since I couldn't submit, I couldn't really relate to the dying thing. Just I mean that just because like I'm young, and I was like, I don't think I'm going to catch COVID and die from it. But I can imagine someone who's in who's in like, their middle, middle age can be like, Oh, my gosh, I'm actually like, high risk for COVID. And so I had to really think about what have I done with my life? And what can I do differently? And that is why you see so many platforms and podcasts and things being made during the pandemic, because people have just shifted, because I think that's one thing that's made people really depressed. I think that there's just so many pressures now I feel like, especially with technology in the media, I feel like that people are have such stretch to be an act of turn away. And everyone's lives are blasted online. And as much as I love social media and technology. It does have this have some bad effects. And so in there's, there's so many different things and I feel like it's such like, I've like it's such a big question. I think recently now, I think some of those are some of the reasons why people were depressed. Um, yeah, I really think so.

Brandon Handley 39:49 That's fair. That's absolutely fair. So many people hadn't really sat with themselves and being locked down, caused you to really just kind of do this introspection? What have I done with my life? What am I going to do with my life? Is what I'm doing with my life, you know, kind of is this my life's purpose? Where should I be doing? You know, all kinds of those things? I think I think that you're right, not since Great answer. Will z where you know, where can people we've been talking about this, you know, magazine, we've been talking about you and all the things that you're doing, where can people go and find out more about you?

Zane Landin 40:28 Yes. So, um, one word, positive vibes, mag calm. That's the website, as well as all of our social media channels. Except for LinkedIn, YouTube, or his positive vibes magazine. But the rest is positive eyes mag, you can find us on Instagram, the website, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, but we're very active on Instagram as our main platform. And we just try to post things every other day we try and bring value to the postings, you know, we'll do we'll explore different topics. I think one of them was detachment, which I thought was very interesting, because like some people don't, some people think detachment is toxic. You know, detach yourself from someone, oh, you're being toxic, you're running away. I don't like when people say that, because like, you're ran away from your problems. Well, maybe some people just need to detach from their problems. You know, even if it's not they're doing like, if they're in this situation, where it's like a new environment, could actually drastically shape them or shift. So they're actually in a better mindset. So they can make better decisions, they can live a better life. And so, you know, we try to talk about that we did a post about experiencing loss, you know, that it's gonna happen to everyone. As long as we can be there for one another and openly talk about loss, I think it will help people more, especially when it's such a shock for some people, including me, but like, if I knew more people that happened to actually, like I said, like, oh, everyone's gonna have to experience that. I just wish he would talk about it more. So I don't want a little tangent anyways. So those are the places you can definitely find us.

Brandon Handley 42:01 Absolutely, St. Now, thanks for sharing, I think that I think that's huge, right? People when they're experiencing loss, they don't necessarily know some of the best ways to express it, go through it, who can they turn to and without, without some type of reference material, like you're talking about without being able to go to another place that has been sharing it and having having these conversations openly the way that you have? I think that it makes it a real challenge because especially as men in western civilization, we're supposed to know kind of stuff over emotions down and loss is one of those things that we're supposed to kind of stuff down, you know, people calling people go, and, you know, we beat on our chest and carry on. So, I don't think that that's always the way sometimes sometimes we're truly impacted and we should be allowed to be impacted, we should be allowed to feel those feelings and sit with them for a minute. And, you know, you know, especially if we think about the loss of your mother, my mother's still around when she goes it's going to be like a true sign of her own mortality that that's the moment that you reflect you're like alright, well, wow, life can be here one day and really gone the next and yeah, am I really living it? To the best of my experience? There's a Insight Timer. Sara Blondin has this amazing meditation called pain being the gateway to the divine. Right? Because I think so often, we shirk away from it, because it hurts because we think it's going to hurt. But there's so much energy inside of that pain that once it's released, there's a there's, um, there's a gateway that's open, right that you can, you can go for you go through that and, and leverage it.

Zane Landin 43:59 That's no, that's really great. I never heard about that. But now I will say my favorite show growing up and still today is avatar. And like, one of the last episodes is one of the main characters has to deal with her mom's death, the whole show, you know, they're always talking about it. And so this one episode is about her like confronting the man who killed her mom. And like one of the characters tells her you know, don't choose revenge, lay your anger out and then let it go is exactly what you're talking about. Because it led to a blossoming understanding for her in a very different way. It wasn't as obvious as I forgive this person actually moved into another person. So it was pretty interesting if this is why I love the show. But you know, I just actually love that there's so there's so interesting.

Brandon Handley 44:51 Zane, thanks for coming on today taking time and stopping over on spiritual dope podcast.

Zane Landin 44:57 Yeah, of course. Thank you so much.

Connect with Kim to learn more about the beauty of using spirituality and your own personal gifts to transcend all the labels and the voices of what you "should" be, to instead be the pure divine being that YOU are.

https://www.soulytransformation.com/about-me

Brandon Handley 0:00 Ready, cool and 54321 a spiritual dope. I'm on here today with Kimberly Hoffman Davis Kimberly has her website soli transformation.com. And she and I got connected, I believe you and I got connected through a man whose faces David sandercock. Right. I was like, oh, man, I'm gonna blank for a second. But David, David had been on the podcast, I said, Dave, man, who do you think would make a great fit for this podcast, he said, Kim would be awesome for this podcast. Kim wants you to do me a huge favor and just give like a high level about where you're at what you're about. And then we can take it from there.

Kimberly Hoffman 0:44 All right. So I am, I dove into this because I spent, you know, 20 years just suffering from PTSD from depression, anxiety, all that gross, nice, and stuff into the spirituality probably about five years ago. And then from there, I learned energy healing. And it took me on this beautiful journey. So now I'm in a CompTIA, records practitioner, and I activate people's primary gifts and their star seed energy. And I also do the energy healing through soul therapy, which is really great.

Brandon Handley 1:20 Awesome, thanks for that. Appreciate that. So I always like to start these off with the whole idea that you and I basically just Source Energy vehicles, right? sources speaking through us to somebody else, and we're just here to deliver that message to that person, whenever that person needs that message. Right? So you're on this podcast, and you're speaking to one of the listeners, what's that message that's coming through you to them today?

Kimberly Hoffman 1:49 That message is definitely that you are so much more than you think you are. You are an amazing and divine being. And it is just incredible. As I laugh about the person that I just walked behind you, and that was for me, I am sure that was for me to loosen up and get into the fun of this. But I mean, dang, you really are just so loved, so seen and so appreciated.

Brandon Handley 2:18 I love that. Because a lot of people don't think that they are a lot of people don't think that they're having an impact. A lot of people don't think that they're seen. And chances are though, you you are you're you're being seen, you're having an impact. And I think that on top of that, it's your choice on what kind of impact you want to have. And I think that the first person that you get to have that impact on is yourself. Right? Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And once you kind of have that impact on yourself and realize that there might be a little bit more to you than, you know, bag of bones, and blood and skin, then then you start you start a kind of a cool, transformational journey. Now, you said that, um, you know that you started this for yourself about five years ago working through some PST, PTSD? What was, you know, what did that look like for you? Like, what were What were you trying to deal with, that led you to the energy, healing?

Kimberly Hoffman 3:19 Oh, man. So with the, with the PTSD, it was coming in, in like, all directions. So I didn't want to get off, up off the couch. I'm a moron. And it was really affecting me in my parenting with my kids, which is the big driving force that set me on that stage. It was like, you know, I'm afraid to go to the store, I'm afraid of what people think of me, I don't want to be seen. I just want to hide in this in the shell, like as small as I could possibly get. And then I saw the impact that that was having on my children. And that was it really opened my eyes to be like, Whoa, what is happening here. So I started digging for self help books. And then that led me into past life regression. And that's where my spirituality started was with past life regression.

Brandon Handley 4:11 So my first first podcast for a was centered around fatherhood, right, and just kind of being a good dad and trying to be the best kind of data that could be and the influence that we have on our children, and how our children are almost like an immediate reflection as to who we are. So it sounds like you were seeing that reflection of who you were. And your children. And you were like, this can't i can't i can't keep doing this. Is that fair to say?

Kimberly Hoffman 4:43 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That is more than fair to say. I saw that big time and my son. Yeah. And it was, it was so sad. Like just that crippling feeling as a parent going. Did I do this?

Brandon Handley 4:58 Yeah, yeah. Any Look, I mean, especially, I think a mother more so than a father, it feels that on a different level. But to see to see that, to see some what you're doing show up in your children, you know, and Eagle, you're not liking it and you're like, Man, that that came for me. I was like, you're just kind of like shit, this has got to change. So you're you're doing you're doing, you're doing the research and you're digging into, you know, the personal development. What was the book? I mean, do you remember the book that was like, hey, past life regression? Let's Let's go.

Kimberly Hoffman 5:37 There. The very first book that I read was many lives many masters by Dr. Brian Weiss. And once I read the first one, I was like, I ordered the next I think five and just bam, bam, bam, read them all.

Brandon Handley 5:54 I mean, it can be that way, right? As you pick up one, you're like, Oh, my God, Where's the rest? And you wrote 20 books? Let me get them all. And then, so then you, you do this, you just past life regression. And what happens next? Well, you know, where where did that take you?

Kimberly Hoffman 6:14 Oh my gosh, that took me on such a journey. So I was so interested read the books, like I said, and then I was like, Oh, my gosh, I want to get one. I want to get a past life regression done to see what comes out. And when I did that, like, it brought up three different past lives. And the one that just it, it seriously took a grasp on me and really got into my skin and underneath and I'm like, Oh, my God, oh, my god. I was I was a young, young woman, and I committed suicide by driving my car to a lake, I drowned myself. And it was because I couldn't handle life. I couldn't handle the world. I felt like it was all just too much. And I was like, Oh my gosh, why is it that I had a past life where I actually went through with it when at the time that I had had this regression done just a few years prior. I was in that space. I was like, I don't want to live anymore. I don't. It's just too hard. And I had that done. And I was like, Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, is this from this past life? Could it be? Am I carrying stuff over into this life? And it's a very good possibility. Going through even further. It became like, yes, part of that was carried into this life, it is a lesson that you absolutely need to learn and how to live a fulfilling life.

Brandon Handley 7:39 Yeah, that's, that's, I mean, it's pretty deep, right? So you go in, you go through this regression, and you're immediately impacted, and you're able to make this connection. And I guess I'd have to ask to, before you even dove into past life regression before you even ventured into going and get it done, where you already be smitten by, like spirituality or anything like that, or what type of person were you prior to? Selling him?

Kimberly Hoffman 8:11 I would say I was a very confused person prior to that. So I grew up Christian, and we went to church every so rare occasion. But I remember being in high school, being a teenager, and I told my mom, I'm like, Listen, I don't believe in God, this stuff is crap. like God would not put you through any sort of this turmoil that I am feeling right now. She slapped me, she absolutely slammed me was like, Okay, well, you know, whatever. And from that point on, I was like, you know, I know there's something out there. I know, there's something greater than what I am. But I just could not attribute it to being this man with a white beard in the sky. And he's like, you know, God, His little gavel of I'm judging you good and evil, and that sort of thing. And it really took me on to like, everything was everything's energy, like everything in our universe is energy. Where do people go when they die? to their souls live on and then it took me into, you know, I believe that everybody's still out there. Like, people don't really die. They're just, they're in the energy consciousness, and then continue on.

Brandon Handley 9:31 So you if you'd already kind of stumbled onto that idea prior to the past life regression is what I'm here. Yeah. So you'd already kind of had this feeling so you went into it already with somewhat of an open mind and an idea of what was available. You just didn't know or have any specifics or kind of any guidance for that. Is that fair? Yeah. Yeah, it is absolutely fair. All right. You go when you get the Past regarding, you know, past life regression, you're like, did you did that have like a therapeutic impact, I guess it has had an impact on your PTSD or help walk me through through that part.

Kimberly Hoffman 10:12 You know, I was really hoping that it was going to have that therapeutic impact on PTSD. And in reality, it kind of made it worse. Because I went down this rabbit hole of what's wrong with me? Why am I not good enough? Like, what I did this in a past life now I'm trying to do it in this life. And it did. But I did take into consideration that from another perspective, I did have a past life where I was a big old burly dude with an awesome beard. And I had a wife and I had a child and I was, you know, going off to start the revolution. And like the 1500s, we were going to go see the king and overtake the throne. And, you know, so there there is that where I was like, okay, just just pull in that strength, pull in that strength. And I just kept asking myself and asking my guides and asking whoever would listen out there in the universe, like, please give me the strength to be that person.

Brandon Handley 11:18 Hello, surgeon reaching out to a higher power. Right? You know, you've got an idea of a core of who you'd like to be of who you been in the past. And a good core. And not every past. Kim has been, you know, in suffering deep suffering or kind of despair. And your you want to you want to be able to bring that past. Kim slash ham forward? Yes, yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I mean, there was some benefits, right? Sound sounds like the first part of it was this. This is, uh, this is not super beneficial. Why did I do this? Maybe a little bit, and then, you know, kind of beat yourself up a little bit. But I mean, you know, eventually it kind of turns occur a curve, where, where's like, Where's the where's the idea that says, holy shit, this is for me. And this is how I'm gonna live the rest of my life. Where's that happen?

Kimberly Hoffman 12:21 Where does that happen? So that actually happened about a year and a half ago. And I was holding my youngest, my little one. And then I was just looking at her rocking her. And I just looked into her eyes. And she looked at me in a gaze that I had never, ever experienced in my life before. And it was like, Oh, my gosh, this child is so special. She's peering into my soul. And she is grateful. And it was in that moment that I just heard, like this message that was, I chose you. And that blew my mind. It completely blew my mind. And I was like, wow, I want to feel that deep connection with other people, too.

Brandon Handley 13:15 Yeah, that's, to me, that's the part where, you know, children are a gift. Right? You know, while while we're changing diapers and not getting a sleep and all this other stuff, we're like, Who the hell said this? Right? Who the hell who knows, the person that came up with like, the children are a blessing, but you know, they're the ones that really help you to if you don't already have the capacity, or if you've never truly loved unconditionally, or felt unconditional love. And I think that that's kind of what you're talking about. You're seeing it, you're feeling it and you're experiencing it. And you're like, how can I How can I do this with like, everybody? What's that look like? So through through and how old was your youngest at the time? She's about a year, year and a half. Okay, yeah, fresh, right? Just Just so you, and then you know, so about a year and a half, you just decide HAVE YOU ARE YOU ALREADY certified? Did you already kind of had you already dove into some of your certifications. Walk me through some of that.

Kimberly Hoffman 14:22 So I had started the process. I'm like a coaching certification. And that was where I wanted to be like, I grew up wanting to go into psychology and wanting to learn about that behavior, human behavior, psychology, all that stuff. It always fascinated me. But I went a different route, and got a graphic design degree, which is totally off topic. But I'd started like a coaching certification because it was like, Well, I don't want to be tied down by all this red tape. So maybe I can help people in this way through a coaching certification and that's In the love and authenticity practitioner certification that I got going through that I started feeling energy more and more, though, and I just I continued on to get an energy healing certification through GLF healing. And then from there, I even took it even further. And I was like, Whoa, whoa, whoa, my gifts are coming in what is this? I mean, that is the point where the craziness and the weirdness though, we can be like, oh, what if people think I'm weird, and I was definitely in that space. And I was like, but I'm gonna keep going. Because I'm so fascinated. And then I got my akashic records. Certification.

Brandon Handley 15:41 Yeah, let's talk about that part. Right. I think that that's, that's a huge part. Would you call that? With the part of your gifts that started flooding in? Would you call that an awakening of sorts? What would you call that? You know, where you notice this transformation that was happening with you.

Kimberly Hoffman 15:58 It was definitely an awakening, absolutely. huge transformation started to take place, going from being I don't want to be seen, I just want to be this small thing in my shell to somebody, please let me be free. And honestly, the person that I needed to let me be free was me, I needed to give myself permission to be free. And once I did, it skyrocketed. It just kept going level by level by level, the gift was coming in full force, because they went through an activation during the energy healing course to get that activated. But the more that I put into it, the more just trusted in myself and trusted in source. The more receptive I became, and the more awakened I became.

Brandon Handley 16:49 And then, when you're sharing some of these ideas with people that are close to you, what's that look like? And you know, is that something again, is are you scared? Is there some is there some system fear in sharing that with some others? Or are you starting to develop this faith in who you are? And you're like, I don't care.

Kimberly Hoffman 17:11 I was definitely scared at first because it was like, you know, this is really woo woo. And people think that you're crazy nuts. Or maybe you belong. And in the crazy house, with a straight jacket on, definitely had my fair share of that programming growing up, and even into wanting to share this, but I was so excited with what I learned and what I could give to people as well, like, gifted them, like the messages that I was gifted by others that I can now gift out to other people as well. I started getting so excited that I would tell my mom and she'd be like, I don't know what you're talking about. This sounds so weird. Like, what what is going on with you what happens used to be normal? No, weird is the side effect of awesome Come on, who wants to be normal and boring. And not too long ago, actually, my brother told me that his his wife is like, you know, your sister's getting really weird. And I just laughed. Because, you know, by a couple weeks ago, I was like, I don't care. You think I'm weird, but you're over there, you know, playing pity party, and I'm over here having the time of my life. I'm more than happy to be weird. And let it all out and help people.

Brandon Handley 18:35 Sure. Sure. I mean, if you can be happy with what you're doing, and you're helping people to get to a place where they're able to have their gifts activated. The way that yours were. And yeah, without, right. Yeah. And and you know, it doesn't really matter. I mean, I guess to you know, if their idea of normal is, you know, what is their idea normal, and then be like, that's good for you. I'm gonna go ahead and keep rolling this way. Right. So, I mean, what does it look like? I guess for somebody to do a Kashuk record session with you? What's or, you know, activating my gifts. Can you activate like, do we have like 15 minutes? Can I get like one of 20 gifts activated? What's happening? How's this work?

Kimberly Hoffman 19:27 So, we'll go with first on like the Akashic Records session, it's very loving, it is non judgmental quick, we're

Brandon Handley 19:38 real quick. Before we get into it, though, what is like if you know the two people I talked to recently, like what is the Akashic right what are the Akashic Records like what is what, what is that? Tell it tell us a little bit about what the Akashic records are and then let's dig into it.

Kimberly Hoffman 19:56 Okay, yes, absolutely. So, the Akashic Records Our it is everything, every thought, every emotion, every action, whether it's future past present. So even if you had a thought that you, you're like, oh, maybe I could do this and you're like, Oh, no, no, no, no, no, that's wrong. It's recorded in the Akashic records. So, this is the infinite super computer, if you go in like the terms of the 3d world, it is like infinite to birth computer. And in terms of if you want to look at it in string theory, it is the connection that is to every dimension, every reality, every possibility, everything is recorded in

Brandon Handley 20:44 no time or space or place. It's just is it everything all all? And is you know, oh, oh, so like, last what I had for dinner night. Like, you should be able to figure that out. I'm not gonna put you on the spot for that. But But uh, and I guess, I think one of the one of the most recently well known people that I'm aware of that they figured tapping into that I can think of two offhand. And that's a once a Tesla, Nikola Tesla. And I want to say like, Edgar is Edgar Casey. Yes. Okay. All right. Yeah, that's the both of that's it for me and Akashic Record knowledge on those two people. So let's talk a little. So, yeah, let's talk a bit about what it looks like to do a session with you on that, what's that look like?

Kimberly Hoffman 21:40 Okay, so what it looks like, it's a place of it's a sacred space. So I create this bubble around us, and it's full of love. It is non judgmental, you will feel like you can just express anything, because I'm able to see it in the records anyway. But what it is, is you just come in, you're like, Okay, I'd like to know, maybe this and this, where am I going? What's my path? Sometimes people ask about their past lives, however it comes, is great. And I always like people to ask two or three questions, have them ready? What What is it that you want to know from the records, and then as we dive through it, more information is gonna come in, because there are answers out there that are always seeking you, for your highest good. So those will flow in as well. So an hour and a half of, hey, let's find out who you really are underneath it all. Who's your divine soul beam? And where do they where are they taking you? Where's your higher self teaching you?

Brandon Handley 22:49 And then this person, you know, there? Are there multiple sessions? Is it kind of one and done follow up sessions? What's that? What's that look like? Or does it go from like an akashic records session to maybe some coaching from the outcomes, I mean, what's that whole process look like?

Kimberly Hoffman 23:10 So it's all going to be individualized for the person. There are people that are like one and done, they got the information that they were looking for. And it was just enough that they were able to step on to the next piece of their life, because they'd already been on this journey for a while. And they knew where they were going. And then I have the people that are like, let's do multiple sessions. Because in this session, we are going to do with level one, and then we're going to do with level two, and then we're going to do with level three, with all of my sessions. There's already coaching built into it anyway. So that is a part of it. And then from there, if people are that interested in having all those tools, that they would like to have them at their disposal, and not have to go see somebody every time is also teach people how to read their own records, and how to ask those questions, how to access, how to get to the heart of it, to the heart of that information that they're seeking, and to be able to pull in the information that's seeking them. So they have all those tools at their fingertips already.

Brandon Handley 24:16 That's pretty sweet. So you're saying you can Are you so I mean? Is it a skill or an ability then I guess to tap into the Akashic records.

Kimberly Hoffman 24:28 It's a little of both. It's a little above. So we actually all have the ability to tap in. We are all divine beings. We are all connected to the records. This skill comes in, in how and what state are you in? Are you ready? Are you ready for that? So the skills are going to come with practice. Making sure that you're really trusting and believing in yourself getting rid of the limit. Meaning beliefs and the programming to get to that point where you have that ability to access, once you're able to access, your ability is going to take off, it's going to skyrocket.

Brandon Handley 25:12 That's fantastic. And so that's something that you'll you work with people to, to get to a place that they can get to with you.

Kimberly Hoffman 25:20 Absolutely, sir, who I want everybody to get there.

Brandon Handley 25:24 I love it. The, you know, who would you say has been your primary clientele? Like, who? Who do you work with most? Who's coming to you? What are you seeing?

Kimberly Hoffman 25:35 What I'm seeing is my primary clientele is a lot of women that are just tired. They have been through the crap relationships, they have been to the crap jobs, they've put themselves out there so much. It's like the people pleaser type that, you know, I've given so much away. Now it's time for me. And then, on the other side of that, I also have been seeing a lot of parents coming through parents that want to be better for their kids, parents that want to be able to access to help their kids to support their kids to be the best version of themselves. I mean, I know a lot of people are starting to feel the shifts, and waking up and they're like, wow, okay. And then they're starting to see that, you know, kids are actually gifted before it shut down. And then once we shut it down as parents, we got to open it back up. We got to create that space.

Brandon Handley 26:35 Now for sure, for sure. That's something that we've certainly been cognizant of, in our children. And seeing a little bit of both ways, right? accidentally sending it down, right? Like, oh, shit, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to kill that forever. I just really wanted to finish my dinner or whatever. Right? I mean, but but they're so sensitive to that. And, and, and the weight that we carry as parents is just so much the measurable, I'm sure you can probably remember a couple of times outside of getting slapped over over Jesus. You know, I'm sure you've got moments in your life where like, you just wanted to really shine and flourish and like your parents were like, they said something that, that just shut it all down, right? There, shut it all down, and you never did it again. Right? You're like, Alright, I'll screw it, I guess I guess I shouldn't have thought that way I should have done it. No, I'll just never do it again. And then, you know, that kind of cuts something off for you. So it's a great point that you bring up right? To be to be aware of how powerful you are as a parent, to know that you can, you can help to nurture that, which takes a significant amount of effort. And it's also really imperative to understand that you can shut it down for life and just an instant. That's it. And trying to get that back open is is a challenge. I mean, I think that can be realized that just trying to reopen yourself right into some of the things in the spaces that you believe in loving. And I know, it's been the same for me, I'm like, Well, why would I step into that? You know, so and so my family said that was a bad idea. And I believe them, those are the authority figures in my mind. Right? That say, Hey, you know, don't do that. I don't act that way. So give me a little bit of, of like, maybe your ideal client, like Who do you want to have reaching out to Who are you trying to reach?

Kimberly Hoffman 28:39 I am actually trying to reach parents at this point. Because I am seeing so many, so many kids trying to deal with not just the external world, like we've had the pandemic and we have all of this stuff going on around us the fear that's coming out and the social media and the just, I mean, how many times you've you've been sitting at the dinner table and your kids like, bone, bone, and it's like, no, no phones at the dinner table, like, go outside, go play and they don't want to go outside. Because what happens if they catch a catch the

catch the earth.

And so I'm seeing so much fear and so many kids like having a really rough time over like the last school year, and everything and parents trying to help them manage this. But at the same time, they're having troubles managing themselves because of all of it as well. So I'm really trying to reach parents at this point, like, you know, let's get you back to your full self. Because I know you don't want to see your kid like this. And once you're back at your full self. We're then going to work on how you can be that support system and how you can help heal your kids. I want to teach parents how to heal energetically the selves and their kids, like here, take these tools, you're gonna heal yourself. And now you're going to be able to heal your kids.

Brandon Handley 30:08 Nice. Nice. Well, awesome. So we're at a point now where I kind of get to the whole idea of this. This is like a spiritual speed dating show, right? So, basically, right now, somebody is tuning in, and they're looking for the next. They're looking for the next spiritual date, as it were, and like to just kind of hit it like that. Right? So the, I'm gonna ask you one or two questions, Bachelor of spiritual Bachelorette number one, I'm sure that I believe you're involved in children. So not saying that you're available. So what are we also afraid of?

Kimberly Hoffman 30:48 Yeah, I honestly think we're also afraid of ego death. A lot of you want to say I'm afraid to die. I don't know what's out there. You know, the Christians are like, well, I could go to heaven, or maybe I haven't done enough and I'm gonna go to hell. But I honestly think people are so afraid of ego death. Because that's the part of us that kind of does that whole, like, Let's protect let's put you in that shell. And ego death means stepping outside the comfort zone, it means no longer fitting the mold of society.

Brandon Handley 31:25 I get when you mean, outside the molds of society. Ego what, what does an ego death look like? What does that mean? So what would that experience be?

Kimberly Hoffman 31:40 You would be, it would definitely be okay, I thought I was the shit at this. And now, I realize that I'm not as much of a shit at it as I thought I was and becoming accepting of who you are without those identities that you used to carry. So imagine it as Okay, I'm married to a veteran. He is more than said I can share his story as many times as I would like, his identity was in I am a soldier, I'm a soldier, I'm a soldier on soldier. Even a decade out, he's, I'm a soldier, I'm a soldier, that was his identity, and to lose that identity, that being part of the ego death is is scary. It is scary, scary. Scary. Because it's like, well, who am I? What do I do? Where do I go? I have no clue. And that was that's what I hear a lot with people and like, trying to release that ego, but the ego is what stands in your way of becoming your full and true potential.

Brandon Handley 32:46 I got it. So I mean, really, I hate to use we're like crisis of identity or, you know, that kind of phrase. But, you know, crisis of identity where the the deal is, is you realize that you're not your identity. Meet this the crisis of the identity, right? Like, I am not my identity. Oh, shit. Then who am I? Right? Where's that? I like that? Okay, that's a good one. Yeah, I like it. Um, dude. That's number one. What is the greatest quality humans possess?

Kimberly Hoffman 33:26 I love this question. But I also don't love this question. So I'll be honest with you. Humans, they possess an amazing quality for love. But they don't use it. So that quality inside if they can break into it is incredible. But a lot of us believe that, you know, misery and suffering are natural conditions or that, you know, man is inherently evil. That's so not true. Man is actually inherently loving and compassionate. And it's, it's a whole change of perspective on it for sure. Like going from we I've been told this my whole life. But no, I mean, man is definitely inherently divine, powerful, intelligent, being full of unconditional love and compassion.

Brandon Handley 34:19 I mean, I have to agree, right? That's what you see, I think when you were looking at your youngest, and I think that that's what we see if we're paying attention, we stop and pause for a second at our children. And we're like, well, how did I become like such a jerk? When, like, he started off, like, this way, right? Or, you know, what happened along the way to everybody? And because I think that, you know, the greatest quality that we possess, you know, it certainly could be love and, you know, I was thinking maybe Divine Love, right? We have that inspiration inside of us. That's, that's a, it's always available. And I think that if you cultivate it to a certain point sense of fan into a flame it could really do do a lot of a lot of awesome things. 100% Oh, absolutely percent. So Well, I mean, is there anything I guess that we didn't hit on that you wanted to share out with us today, Kim?

Kimberly Hoffman 35:18 No, honestly, I just want to tell everybody that I love you all. Y'all are so amazing. And I hope that you can see inside of you what you truly are.

Brandon Handley 35:29 Yeah, thank you for that. I mean, it's it's a challenge, especially because we've been told so many of the different things and Kim's right. Yeah, inside of you. You've got you've got something that once you catch hold of it, and once you see it for yourself, that is really kind of No, it's no return from that, that return. Okay, thanks so much for being on. I appreciate what you're doing. I think it's really cool that you're able to offer the Akashic Record sessions. I think that's great. You're able to help other people to learn how to activate themselves. And looking forward to hearing more about you in the future. Thank you. Thank you, Brandon. truly appreciate you. Oh, you know what, we didn't do Kim. But we didn't tell her people can go find out more about you. Let's do that before we shut it down. So work on where can people find out more about you?

Kimberly Hoffman 36:18 Alright, so you can either go to my website, which is w w w dot soli transformation, calm because I absolutely love puns. It's one of my little quirks. And I'm also on Facebook, solely transformation is my page. And then I'm also on Instagram, at soli, Kimberly. Awesome, Kim,

Brandon Handley 36:38 thanks again for being on today. Appreciate it. Thank you, Brandon.

JESSE HARLESS is a leader and facilitator in the addiction recovery and mental health space. As CEO of Entrepreneurs in Recovery®, he facilitates highly experiential online and in-person events that help individuals and purpose-driven organizations harness their strengths, elevate purpose, and build safety. Jesse holds a MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Rivier University and is a FEARS coach, HeartMath® certified trainer, and bestselling author of If Not You, Then Who?. To learn more, visit www.JesseHarless.com.

Unknown Speaker 0:00 Your journey has been an interesting one up to hear you've questioned so much more than those around you. You've even questioned yourself as to how you could have grown into these thoughts. Am I crazy? When did I begin to think differently? Why do people in general You're so limited as Bob process Rest assured, you are not alone. The world is slowly waking up to what you already know inside yet can't quite verbalize. Welcome to the spiritual dough podcast, the show that answers the questions you never even knew to ask, but knew the answers to questions about you this world, the people in it, and most importantly, how do I proceed now moving forward. We don't claim to have all the answers but we sure do love Living in the Time for another hit of spirituality

Brandon Handley 0:36 here today with Jesse Harless. He is a leader and facilitator in the addiction recovery and mental health space. as CEO of entrepreneurs and recovery. He facilitates highly experiential, online and in person events to help individuals and purpose driven organizations harness their strengths, elevate purpose and build safety. Jessie holds an MA in clinical mental health counseling from revere University and is a fierce Coach heartmath certified trainer and best selling author of if not you, then who? To learn more, visit Jesse Harless calm. Jesse, you know, you and I were just talking a second here, you and I met. It's been about four years ago. And it's just, it's amazing to see, you were saying you just started your journey, how far you've come along now. And even then, I was a fairly heavy drinker, then, at that point in time, and I don't think we I don't think we ended up doing a podcast, we did like an introduction, we had some conversation. What's interesting that I'd like to share with you I mean, it's been it's been nearly four years since I've had a drink. So it was shortly after you and I connected that, you know, I stopped drinking. And, you know, you had some spiritual experiences myself, which led into spiritual dope. So welcome back. You know, it's great to reconnect and you know, love to hear kind of what's going on with you right now.

Jesse Harless 1:57 Yeah, well, congratulations on four years of recovery. That's awesome. And yeah, what a journey I'm sure that's been. And yeah, I'm, I'm grateful to be here. I'm grateful to have this discussion with you. And four years later, it's been it was four years this month, when I started out as an entrepreneur and left my job. So just a

Brandon Handley 2:16 hell of a journey, right? A little a little scary, no doubt, especially especially the past past year or so probably, probably kind of scary for you, in terms of like, how is this all going to work out? I like to start this off with the whole idea, Jessie, that you and I are vehicles for source energy, God energy, whatever, whatever. You know, whatever you feel like that is, and it speaks through us. And if there's somebody on the other line that's listening in on the podcast today, that's going to hear a message that can only be delivered by Jesse through this podcast at this time. What is that message today? Jesse?

Jesse Harless 2:51 Well, I mean, just like anything, I'm living by my heart and intuition, so it's whatever needs to come out today whoever's listening to this, you know, that's what's going to come out and that's how I live I'm an intentional person, intentional man, I set intentions every day and you know, that I let go, you know, it's about who I'm being not what I'm doing. So um, you know, that's really where I'm at today is just letting go.

Brandon Handley 3:16 Of that is, uh, you know, I had a guy when I was doing the follow up for the rest of this podcast who didn't like the word intention. And I really, you know, I really couldn't put a finger on it. Has anybody ever kind of given you pushback or guff using that word yourself?

Jesse Harless 3:38 No, I think if you know the definition, then you understand what it means and you'll understand that it's very powerful word just means what is your deepest desire your primary motivation that's all it is it doesn't have to be spiritual it's just your deepest desire primary motivation so instead of me getting up and and saying oh, I'm gonna get seven things done today and I'm gonna do all this stuff and you know, I'm going to do that anyways. So instead I'd rather set intentions and be like, you know, my intention today is to be present. My intention today is to be here now my intention is to be connected. So that's that's how I look at it as a way to get clear on my primary motivation and deepest desires for the day

Brandon Handley 4:14 right No, that's me that's perfect and and to be honest with you, that was my view. I was like, how can you have a problem with the word intention and there's there's something behind it like there's something kind of like purpose driven. And like you're saying, you've got you following your kind of heart and intuition and you couple that with like, the intention and you've got something really the drive after with that. And also saw that, you know, your heart Master Trainer as well, what's that been like for you to kind of hop into that space? And, you know, are there people out there that might call that pseudo science and then like, what's your reaction been there?

Jesse Harless 4:50 Yeah, definitely. It made people call, you know, eating fruit pseudoscience. So I mean, it's just, you know, it's each his own. And I think, you know, heart math is Something that came into my wheelhouse. After I went to the global event in Mexico, I was a co facilitator, I was invited to go out and meet the founders. And they ran this big global event. So as I facilitated on stage with them, and got to feel out their tribe, and the people who is who are involved over 100 people, I, you know, I said, Wow, there's something to this, let me investigate it. And they have all this technology, they have all this technology that actually, there's a piece of technology called the inner balance, and it actually can monitor heart coherence. So if that's pseudoscience, and I don't know what sciences, because that's backed by 400, peer reviewed studies, the the actual work that they're doing so, you know, if anything, it's more science and math or science I've seen because of the amount of studies they have. So yeah, it's it's a really interesting thing to think about. It's not suffered, we were taught in high school or growing up, but definitely, really something interesting to know that the, the heart in itself can take a memory, and this whole books on this, and the heart has its own nervous system. And I don't think people understand that, and that's okay. But it would be worth maybe researching. So yeah, so I got, I got certified and what's called heartmath interventions program, which is for I'm a clinical mental health counselor. So like, it's one of the things that I've done in a past life, but not really a past life, I just did it for my masters. And so that I did that training, which is for practitioners. And then, and then I went on to do the, what's called activating the heart of teams, which is bringing heart math into companies. And so yeah, it's been quite a journey, it's it's really interesting to use the self regulation techniques. So they're not teaching like meditation or teaching self regulation, which is probably the most important thing we could have ever in the history of the world is learning how to self regulate stress during all this pandemic stuff. And all this stuff we've been through. So yeah, it's it's a really interesting. It's a really interesting business concept. And I think that once you explore that, it's backed in a lot of the science of the heart, when we know about heart brain coherence. It's really much deeper than what I think people understand.

Brandon Handley 7:13 Promise super high level, what is heart brain coherence?

Jesse Harless 7:18 Well, it's a ways for your, your actual physical heart, to start to get into harmony and balance with your actual mind. And the way that can happen is through deep breathing is one of the ways or this conversation, as we didn't accommodate this conversation, we're still gonna, we're gonna feel a sense of like, not exactly flow, but you could call it that might be one way to describe it. And that's coherence. It's like these perfect sine waves. So both of our hearts were connected to the inner balance machine, we would actually see this coherence between both of our heart rate variability. So there's a space between the heart rhythms or the heartbeat. And the space in between the heartbeat is these heart rhythms, you can measure them. And if you're angry and resentful, which you might have been before, when you were drinking all the time, that is, we would have hooked up your heart, or let's say, know your heart, but hooked up your, let's say, with that machine that actually is Bluetooth and connects to your ear. So we would see through your heart rhythms, that you would have this really this rigidity, we would have saw this rigidity in your heart rate variability, because you'd have been angry, resentful, probably a little snappy. But when we're when you're in the flow, and now maybe at times in the morning, during your coffee or prayer, you're you're you're in the state of coherence, and we can actually see these perfect sine waves, which is these perfect waves that are created when you're in this state of heart, brain harmony. So that's the most simplest way there's scientific ways to explain it. But to keep it really simple, there's just the heart and the mind coming into balance and coming into harmony. And you do it all the time. It's happening all the time. But you know, you can also measure it now, which is kind of neat.

Brandon Handley 9:02 And that, being able to measure that does not allow you to figure out ways to get into coherence. And if I'm kind of following a little bit here, that would also help you and your self regulation.

Jesse Harless 9:14 Exactly. It's all about self regulation. Because if you're in a state of coherence, you are regulating your state, your emotional state, your spiritual state, your mental state, it's coming into balance, so that you're actually feeling like, Oh, and by the way, you know, the studies that they've shown is that even your immune system is boosted. When you're in a state of coherence, it can actually boost your immune system, it can really release certain hormones that help boost immunity. So it affects your memory, it affects your performance. So if you want to have higher performance, you want to have greater memory, getting in a state of coherence. This is what athletes do is what CEOs text, you know, tech startup people who are really trying to get out there and make a difference in the world. They'll use these coherence techniques. They're called coherence techniques. self regulation techniques, but they're specifically called coherence techniques. And this is a way for the mind to have like, and some people would say, like, if you're talking about Joe dispenza, and these different people, they would say, you'd have super memory, you know, and Stephen, you know, okay, again, some people would call that pseudoscience. But other people would say, that's changed my life. So it's one of those things where, you know, when I was on the outside of it just kind of looking in, it was kind of like, Well, you know, I don't really know. And then when I was deep inside of it, and having all the studies and reading from all these doctors, and really looking at the work, and then doing it myself for over two years, you know, that's all the anecdotal evidence and actual peer reviewed evidence that I needed to be like, wow, this is something that's happening all the time in teams, high performing teams are in a state of group or team coherence. And that's why that's why they're performing at a high level.

Brandon Handley 10:58 So outside of outside of where I work, I've never heard anybody else really kind of talk about like high performing teams, right? So love to love to kind of touch on what that looks like. From from this perspective, like what's it look like to approach like a large business right now. And I think that I think that we're on like this cusp of of this type of conversation being easier and easier to, to approach like a large business to say, hey, I want to talk to you about your team and your heart mind coherence, and, you know, how that can be beneficial to you? What's the reception like? What's I guess? What's the pitch like for that? And then, you know, what's the, what's the reception man?

Jesse Harless 11:39 Well, I, you know, to back up a little bit. So heart math is not my primary selling tool, you know, so I'm a professional facilitator. So I have been trained in what's called exchange facilitation. And so that's what actually taught me how to actually get in front of people, and actually how to make conversations worth have having happen. And and create a state where there's actual opportunities to experience change, where instead of being the, you know, the, the guru with all the answers at the front, the guy the sage on the on the guide on the side, who's helping people to facilitate conversations worth having that the company is not having. And so coming into a company, that's primarily what I do is I help them tune into their innate resilience. Now, on top of that, as a small segment of the time I have with them, which could be a 60 minute Lunch and Learn or it could be a two hour three hour event, I will bring in something like a heart brain coherence technique, because this is being used by state troopers. This is being used by the US Navy, this is being used by major institutions. So I'm bringing that in at one piece, to teach them how they can self regulate, which is a huge thing for HR. Because with the rise and climb of marijuana, and rise and climb of alcohol use and mental health decline in the workplace right now, which is probably the worst we've seen, there's never been a better time to start to teach self regulation techniques. But that's not the primary reason I'm hired to come in. And my primary reason for coming in is to teach innate resilience, to teach them to start to be able to co create or crowdsource their highest strengths, crowdsource success factors of why they're a high performing team. So that's kind of primarily where I'm coming in. And then when I'm there, it's like sneaking the medicine with the cheese. Now that I'm there, now I'm going to teach them a technique that they're not going to be learning during their nine to five, I'm going to bring it to them as like a heart mass certified trainer or a clinician, because I'm technically a clinician, so I'll bring into teach self regulation, only for a small segment of it. But it can be a significant opportunity for them to start to just practice deep breathing and heart brain coherence.

Brandon Handley 13:51 Gotcha. Let's talk a little bit about the path of like, headed into sobriety, right, like what were some of the what were some of the things that flipped a switch for you got you into wanting to be sober? And what are some of the steps that you took, you know, who was suggested before this Jesse? Right? And, you know, the reason I like to do this is one of the one of the things that I was actually interviewed last night. But similar podcast is like, some people forget where they came from, right? And it's like, well, we're, you know, Justin, you might have been a sinner before you became a saint. Right? And yeah, so who was the center, Jesse versus the st. Jesse, what we're seeing right now. And we're it's transition,

Jesse Harless 14:38 where you got to ask yourself, what is addiction? What does even mean? So we know what the definition of addiction is, which is, diction is, you know, according to gabber, Ma Tei, is anything that you do repeatedly. That causes pleasure in the short term, but has negative consequences in the long term. So when I say that definition of addiction, I just called out about 99% of your audience out there have addiction or probably 100 Because there's something in their life that they're doing that that does have pleasure, maybe they're eating at night, like 11 o'clock at night, they're still eating, you know, food addiction, maybe they're caretaking. Maybe they're people pleasing. Maybe they're all about validation at work. These are all addictions. So, you know, for me my addiction, hold on one second, Brandon's gotta grab a little sip of water here.

Thank you. So, for me, addiction started with trauma, because trauma is the root cause of addiction for most people. Now, when people say think of trauma, they think of sexual abuse, or they think of physical abuse. But that's not just what trauma is. trauma is includes that but trauma could be your best friend moving away when you were nine years old. Trauma could be the divorce your parents had at seven. There's there's many, many different ways that people experienced trauma, which is can be physical, it can affect your nervous system. So for me, when I was a child, my dad left at four never came back, never saw him again in person. And it was also in a car accident, I put him in a coma for 22 days, so so he had brain damage permanently. So at four years old, I experienced significant trauma. And then we moved a bunch of times. So from that point on, it set the stage of how I was going to self regulate my emotions, how I was going to regulate my, you know, my little nervous system. And the reality was, I didn't have a lot of coping mechanisms. So when it up happening is I found things ways to numb out. And then eventually I picked up physical substances, like drugs, like alcohol. But that didn't come to later. That came probably when I my first year of college, you know, I dabbled before that. But when I got that first year of college, that's when I started to really jump into substances and alcohol. And when I flunked out of college, which then added to my trauma, because now I'm the only son to ever attempt college and I failed. I'm the only person in my family to attempt college and I fail. And so now I feel the unworthiness again, which is an addiction and a trauma in itself. Because you can become addicted to your unworthiness. So I actually felt like a piece of shit. And then when end up happening at 20, my father died. And even though he wasn't in my life, when he died, it was my It was the first time I used cocaine. And so that's all it took at 20 was for me to have that experience and chase after that for the next two years, to bring me all the way to a place where I was going to go to prison because of it. So that's kind of what happened to me. That's my story. And then I found recovery at 22. And it wasn't, you know, wasn't like an option. It was like prison or recovery. So I was like, Okay, I'm going to do the recovery, of course, I'm not going to go to federal prison, because I didn't have state level charges was federal. So I'm like, I'm gonna change my life. So 22 got into recovery. And then from there, recovery kept evolving. So recovery, recovery met at 22. And what it means now for 16 years later, almost is different. But some of the fundamentals are the same. So that's kind of the higher level backstory of that.

Brandon Handley 18:07 Yeah, thanks for sharing and and Jesse just because, right? Sometimes some people are still stuck maybe in, in between, right in between, like, hey, maybe I'm going through recovery right now, my life has always been shit. And I've always had this unworthiness. And, you know, I've always been looking for these ways to numb out and I don't know if my lives are gonna turn around. And you're proof, though, of like, you know, how can you take what you went through? and turn it around? and turn it into something useful for others, right? How can you All right, now that you've been through this process, and you figured out ways to regulate, and you figured out some of the signs and symptoms, and you've got a way that you can help people now because of what you've been through?

Jesse Harless 18:54 Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's lived experience, I've helped a lot of men, I've helped a lot of women throughout my last 16 years, I'm very blessed that I was able to do that. But I also learned a lot about addiction. And I learned a lot about myself. So I think that's the key is like, at some stage of the game, you have to take a look at your own deal. You have to look at like, what's really running my life? Am I running my life? Or is my trauma running my life? Am I running my life? Or is my emotional addictions running my life? So that's really where, you know, for me, I had to take a hard look at that later into recovery. I wasn't even able to see a lot of that until later on in recovery, to really understand the role trauma plays, and the way that emotional injuries that had happened in the past was still playing into adulthood. And it was causing me not to step into the mature masculine man, it was still keeping me stuck. It was keeping me in that loop of a wounded spiritual ego. And I see a lot of that happening in recovery. So I think that that's where, for me, that's the stage of the journey I'm in now. I was I wasn't there 10 years ago, but now I'm in that stage of the journey of taking a hard look, that there was no initiation into manhood. There was no You know, steps for me to feel whole and feel like I could step up and do what I needed to do. And now today, I do feel that, and one of the reasons is because I have gotten out of my comfort zone, I have faced a lot of fears. And I've had done, I've done it with a lot of support, because I realized that asking for help was the number one thing that is the wounded masculine, is not asking for help, even in recovery. So that's where, you know, these are things that took a while to come into my wheelhouse, you know, these are blind spots. But once I surrounded myself with certain men, certain people that could understand that and were living that it was like, oh, wow, this is how I want to live now. And that's when, you know, entrepreneurship, and this idea of a new type of freedom started to happen, because I realized that like, Oh, I'm still operating in many ways, from loops that are happening when I was 20. So that's not serving me as a loving adult.

Brandon Handley 20:58 We're talking about like the wounded ego, spiritual ego, in recovery, and people getting kind of stuck in a loop, what's something that you've been able to learn or figure out that can help somebody get get past that?

Jesse Harless 21:11 Well, I think a lot of people are stuck in there. They're like, stuck in ways that they don't even understand like that there is a way out because they're already in recovery. So they kind of feel like this. Is it. Like, I don't think it's better than this, but I'm just grateful. But that's the whole problem. It's like you're, but I'm grateful. It's like, No, you're not. So the reality is you're not grateful. So what are we going to do about it, and part of it is really getting clear of your purpose. When you start to get clear of your purpose, that's when all of these things pop up. Soon as you're like, Oh, I'm going to go write that book. That's when all the boom, that trauma comes up, oh, I'm going to go do this. I'm going to travel here, I'm going to take my family here, I'm going to make this happen, I'm going to start this business, all of a sudden, all these fears come up. And what we can do is we can numb out emotionally, or we can run towards them, ask for help get a coach, talk to someone who's been there, get a mentor, and then go forward towards the fear, feel the fear and do it anyway. So it's kind of like that idea that your fears are the compass to where your full potential is. So so that it's that simple. Like when you if you feeling that way in recovery, and especially if you're not feeling that way, because you're not in recovery, either way, you can actually feel it when you go out and go to do something that you know is going to benefit your life and you can't do it. That's that those are the things that are blocking you from your purpose. And you can say divine purpose, because I believe we all have one of those So, so the that's the compass. And so when I, when I left my job four years ago, this month, I came up against the greatest fears I ever faced, because I realized, like, Oh my god, I was playing it small inside of the company, not living out my true potential. And as soon as I left, and I had to figure things out, it was like, Oh, my God, what did I do, but it was also the most exciting journey of my life. Because I could finally start to see how I was playing much smaller than what I'm capable of. And four years later to, it's still expanding, it's still growing, you know, because when you're on your own now you have to figure out how you're going to make a living without having someone to support and you know, there's nothing wrong by the way with having a job that's I'm not knocking a job I had 18 years, but what I'm saying is, for me, I had to make the jump, because I needed to get that that on the other side of that healing so I could help others and serve others.

Brandon Handley 23:30 But know that that's awesome, right? I think that the idea to have surrounding yourself by some of those strong and encouraging men to get you there. Right? And haven't haven't that kind of support. And then you're talking about that jump to was a have another buddy of mine that I always make the joke of nobody makes their first leap right? It's really, it is very, very matrix II like you know, trying to make that leap from your corporate your corporate gig and you kind of got almost a protection there, right? And then now you're like, Alright, well I'm gonna drop all that I'm gonna try and make this jump and in the movie, of course, you know, he falls and hits his face and it's all kind of bloodied. It's just like it's all in the mind, though. Right? In the matrix, right? Real similar to these fears that you're butting up against the sun was thinking about Jeopardy, that science experiment where you put the penny on top of the water. surface tension never did that. So I mean, basically, you can float a penny on top of water just because of surface tension. That's real close real similar to our fears, right? You can do it. And there's that tension right there on the edge. But right past that edge is where the breakthrough happens, right? everything kind of opens up and that's where the growth is. And it's unlimited, right? I mean, that's kind of the beauty of it. That's what I'm hearing you say to right like it's just keeps growing and growing and growing. Yep.

Jesse Harless 24:50 Yeah. And never and never stops. Really. Because what I thought I hit I, you know, the beginning of this year was one of the hardest times of my life. And you know, I figured out Well, no, the hardest time My life are over there already past those already had those when I was 22. And it happened this year. And I realized that like, Oh my god, there's higher ceilings I can get, I can break through higher ceilings, and that's what happened this year. And it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. So that's where, you know, it's exciting because there is unlimited growth potential. And I think that's what life is about is, is living on that edge. But like not living on the edge, so that, like you're drinking alcohol and doing drugs every day, and you're barely making it by someone I mean, I mean, like living on the edge of like, Oh, I'm, I'm a little too comfortable right now I need to figure out where can I push myself and also take care of myself, you know, put myself first and have the self care needs, so I can serve my family. But also, what is the edge where where can I be today that can help me to really grow. And for me, like, there's always an intention. That's why it goes back to intentions of like, you know, my intention is to live my divine purpose. So what does that mean, exactly. And some days, that could just mean taking care of myself and self care. And I think every day is a good day for that. But some days, it could be like finishing the audio book, it could be doing things that are hard, that take a lot of work. But you know, on the other side of that it's very rewarding, and it's serving people it's serving. My purpose is connected to serving people. So I think, yeah, I think we can we can find a healthy balance between our comfort zone and being outside of our comfort zone.

Brandon Handley 26:28 Yeah, I mean, I've got that written down here actually, is my next question says, I can't cope. What's the finding the right balance of growth? New, how do you keep yourself from, say burnout? Especially as an entrepreneur especially? Or even how do you find like you were saying, The, there was a point where it was pretty scary, divine intervention, but then it's like, it doesn't sound like you're driven by fear. You know, as far as I can tell, you're driven by an abundance mindset. How do you maintain that right? Or what do you do when you catch yourself? In a fear based mindset?

Jesse Harless 27:05 Well, I think that a lot of people think abundance is like having a Ferrari, they don't understand that abundance is simply having food in your fridge abundance is simply having walls, to some, you know, structure of your house to keep you warm, like that's abundance. And I think as soon as we start tuning into gratitude of what we already have, that's when we unlock this energy that we're able to then get more of what we're already seeking, which really is not money. We're trying to seek security, we're trying to seek safety, we're trying to seek love. So that's really where that abundance mindset is really useful is like, instead of me getting up and saying, Oh, I wish I had this. And I wish I had that, which is what's going on a lot of times, even when people are praying. So instead of that, I rather say, Oh, thank you so much that I have that fresh water in my house, and then I have, you know, the food in my fridge. And then I have already what I have like that. Now if I do need my if there are needs and money that is needed to have, it's like, Okay, well, let me ask for help that, instead of like, trying to say that I have it all figured out, let me actually humble myself, and surrender and be able to ask for help and see what happens and not judge with the support comes from. And I think that was the big epiphany and 2021 for me is asking for help. And then allowing the help to come from wherever is going to come from, because anything else is me controlling that as an ego. That's an ego based mindset. So I was able to let go. So abundance is a very powerful shift, you know, from where we might be living in this current moment. But it doesn't mean that we're aiming to be millionaires, it just means that we're being abundant. And in our emotions, we're being abundant, our mental state, we're being abundant, our spiritual state. So that to me is like the shift. And once you start asking for help, be ready, because it's going to come, it might take three months, it's coming.

Brandon Handley 28:56 So I mean, you're also not asking, you're saying that you're letting go the control, right? So the timing? Well, it's great if it happens sooner than later. Sounds like you're also just being open to it and allowing for it to show up when it's absolutely probably most needed. It's probably shows up right then.

Jesse Harless 29:17 Yeah, because it could be a friend calling you out. And you're like, wait, that's not the help I wanted, but you don't get it, you don't get to choose it. And that's my point, you might start asking for help. And all of a sudden someone calling you out on your behavior that you didn't even see. And that's the beauty of it. You can't dictate then what it is and where the Help is going to come from. So it can be unexpected. But that's the whole point of staying surrendered and hoping and open to what is to come and, and that whole idea of surrender is not a word that a lot of men like because they're operating from this wounded masculine idea that they have to do everything themselves. And I did that too. They used to call me stressy Jesse, okay, they used to call me that for a reason. That wasn't like, you know that people really calling me that It's because why I try to control everything. I try to control everything. And I try to do everything I could not to ask for help. Even in recovery, I'm talking about no asking for help, you know, oh, I don't need you. I've already been through all this stuff, like all I can do, I'll just have my own goals. And you know what, that's why, you know, to tie it back to the intentions because, you know, whoever needed to hear the intention talk like four times is coming up. Because here's the thing is I was the gold Master, I would set so many goals, I would crush goals. I have all these certifications that I've done, not just heart math, all these ones. And part of me having those. Yeah, of course, some is just like, Oh, I want to better myself and get more education. But some of that is unworthiness. I was doing it out of a sense of validation unworthiness. And this is what I mean, when you start to ask for help. You might have a friend who's very connected to and knows you. And they start to tell you this, that brother you have, you still feel unworthy? And it's like, Whoa, damn, ouch. And it's true.

Brandon Handley 30:57 Yeah, that's not just that, that's super powerful. As a matter of fact, I was talking to another friend of mine, who's putting putting some of her stuff together. And she she was just talking about She goes, Well, is it gonna matter that I've only been a professional for x, y, z period of time? I'm like, No, I just put yourself out there and start walking towards it. I mean, everybody started at a certain level at some point. And I think to your point, you know, that's someone worthiness, right? I'm not I'm not good enough to do X, Y, or Z, even though maybe I'm really good at it. Already.

Jesse Harless 31:31 Yeah. I mean, it's people way more talented than me, Brandon, way more talented to me. Like I meet people all the time. They're friggin they were professional singers and actors and, and all this stuff. And they're like, yeah, you know, I don't want to write a book. And I don't want to do this. And I'm like, you have like, 10 times the capabilities I have. And I've already on my third book. So what do you even mean, you are more qualified than I ever was. And so this is, this is where I think we have this. And this is where I tie it back to what is addiction? People think addiction is their uncle who's drinking all the time. No, addiction is your emotional addiction to unworthiness. So this is what I mean. And so once we start to see that clearly, we can start to say, Oh, well, then who? How can I ask for help? How can I get some help, so I can start to maintain consistency, accountability, and really go towards these things that I'm avoiding. And, and then that really, on the other side of those things, is where you start to emerge as let's say, the warrior, but the balanced warrior, you're not just being this person who's this tyrant. So I think, you know, these are the lessons I have learned very much later in my recovery, like recently, where, you know, you know, it all just happens in the timing it happens in but you know, this information, could this have benefited me at 18 or 25? And how Oh, my God, yeah. But and so it's all good. It's all good, because now I can take it and really appreciate it.

Brandon Handley 32:54 For sure. You mentioned your divine purpose, Jessie, what would you say that is?

Jesse Harless 33:01 Well, you know, I used to just say purpose, I used to just say purpose all the time. Okay, your purpose, and it's huge. People ask me, what's the number one kit, what's the number one reason people stay in addiction recovery, and I'll tell them purpose, they have some type of purpose. And you know what, like, eventually one day I was like, You know what, it's if you're living your purpose that's divine, like that's divine, it means that like you're actually choosing to live from your heart, not just your mind. And that's simply what it is it's really choosing to every day to live from my heart space, use my mind as a tool, but realize it's not my master and being able to live my life from that heart space. So the divine purpose is simply like you know, I'm choosing to use my strengths, I know what my top strengths are. So using my top strengths, to be able to help people to share their stories in the world and me helping to help them to see their strengths and show them that their story is important. So that's kind of my divine purpose is to help others to share their story in a loving and powerful way and give them a platform to do that. So that's that's what I do as a professional facilitator or as a coach is I help people to do that and then they get to try to figure out what their divine purposes but again, here's what's cool about your purpose exchanges. So you might be like okay, this is my purpose and guess what Coronavirus hits you know guess what something else hits in your life a storm and you know what it's all good and your purpose starts to shift and change and that's cool it evolves so it's to me it doesn't have to be a set in stone thing and never is and never has been for me and But yeah, I am I like to think it's divine.

Brandon Handley 34:42 I look I'm all about it obviously spiritual dope right? Being been in this face and you know the divine is a To me it's a mindset divinity is a mindset right and grabbing hold of that and then allowing yourself to be filled with that. It's a game changer. All right. Speaking of spiritual dope you know I always think about like, the whole idea of sounds like you're you're you're hitting a spiritual dope is having somebody see that breakthrough moment or something like that. What are some other like hits a spiritual dope for you when you're filled with you know, I think you talked about it being being in your flow states what are what's what's something that gets in the flow state or into feeling connected to source?

Jesse Harless 35:30 Well I mean I love nature I'm an earthy person, I love being outdoors. I love doing earthing. I never wear shoes, I never wear socks, you're gonna see me always barefoot every day. 365 even in New Hampshire, you know, like, yeah, I wear shoes when I need to but like I'm barefoot, you know, because I love to be connected to the earth. I live in New Hampshire I have beautiful forest all around me, we got the white far, we got the National Forest not far from me. So I you know, my big thing is connected with nature. So it's connecting with the wildlife, it's just, you know, being outside and, and feeling connected to this, like planet where like these little ants on this planet, we think we run everything, we own everything. And it's like, you know, we got to get humble, because we don't, and, you know, just feeling connected and part of nature feels, you know, puts me in the flow state. So that's kind of the end of in my house, you know, where I'm living. You know, you can see behind me, there's plants everywhere I have plans, I have two big plants right here, I got a huge one back there, that's over 25 years old, all to the left of me is his, his plants. I have a running waterfall, you know. So these are things that just remind me of what's important. And, you know, so another way that I get into the flow state is, is is facilitation. Because what I like about it is I'm not that, like I said, the guru, I'm actually asking questions, I'm asking questions that are inquiring into people's lives or business. And there'll be they can actually take the time to answer the questions themselves, and then talk to each other. So it's really, you know, that that makes me excited, because I don't have all the answers, you know, and I let them crowdsource answers, and then we come up with the best answer together, because the answers that they could come up with a much better than what I could come up, come up with. So it's, you know, collectively, you know, using our strengths together to, you know, come up with solutions. And by the way, I do this in addiction recovery, I do this for states. So the state of Georgia I work with and I help them to come up with so you know, different solutions to crowdsource addiction recovery. So, you know, these are lived experiences that that helped me to be in that flow state. And you know, I would say my book that I just released. Absolutely. I didn't think of myself as a writer until I wrote this last book. And I realized, like, oh, maybe I am a writer. I mean, I don't write every day. But you know, my next book, is the confidence I have to write the next book is because the last book I wrote, when I now I'm doing the audio book, when I'm reading it back to myself, or hearing, I'm like, wow, I actually did a pretty good job with the writing of this book, the actual art of the writing. And so, you know, so guess writing can put you in a flow state to?

Brandon Handley 38:03 Yeah, thanks for sharing that. What's the what's the latest book that your

Jesse Harless 38:07 latest book I wrote is called, if not using who harness restraints to shift from addiction to abundance. Nice,

Brandon Handley 38:15 high level, you know, target audience?

Jesse Harless 38:18 Well, the high level is the beginning of the book. The first four chapters is my story. I literally write it like a memoir. So it starts out as a memoir, because if you're in mental health, or addiction recovery, it's all about stories. It's about hearing that story want to connect the stories. So I started off with the story. And then the final five chapters of the book, or the six chapters, but the five chapters the meat of the book is, is this toolkit, it's a toolkit that I've learned from leaving my job and way before leaving the job. But solidifying when I left the job, I started to learn techniques to become an entrepreneur. And so the entrepreneurial techniques that I learned actually tie into addiction recovery, they actually help each other, they feed off each other. Because if you're an addiction recovery, you're trying to live a self directed life. And a self directed life is what entrepreneurship is about. So you're trying to reach your full potential, you're improving your health and wellness. This is the definition of recovery. And it also applies into entrepreneurship. So the book is like 10 years of things I've learned from mentors and coaches. But it's also recently in the last four or five years learning from mentors like how l rod and john berghoff, and all these different people that came into my direct experience that helped me to see like, Whoa, these are tools we need to be using in addiction recovery. This isn't stuff we can put off because we're looking at what's happening in the world and decline of life of human life with the opioid, you know, issue going on and all the things that are happening, what we're doing is not working. Some things are a lot or is not so. So the book is is if you say the target audience would be for someone who has a family member or themselves are looking to live their best life because I chose instead of writing a memoir, I chose to write a self help memoir, which has a five chapter toolkit, which is called fears actually.

Brandon Handley 40:06 Okay, what's that? What's the acronym stands for?

Jesse Harless 40:10 So fears is focus on your recovery, elevate your recovery, appreciate your recovery, resilience and recovery, self care recovery in the 30 action steps. And within each of those is to me having that, that complete life is to have that abundant life if you're doing those five actions, which is really 30. But if you're, if you're thinking about how do I focus on my recovery every day, your recovery might not be from drugs and alcohol, folks, this is what I'm trying to say here isn't isn't just substances. This is this is could be recovery from caretaking recovery from people pleasing every day. And so how do I stop doing that you do the steps in the book that help you to live your purpose. And that's really where it leads to. And focus, you know, so I won't break each of them down. But but that's what it is, it's a way to, like, what helped me and the men that I've been teaching for over a decade in women, but a lot of men, it's, it's like, how do I do it? And that's what I put in the book. It's like, here's the start. And then from there, you read your next 10 books, but here's a book that's gonna get you started. And, you know, it's just my life experiences.

Brandon Handley 41:15 Not something sounds powerful Jesse, and I think to the author to the extent of separating men and women from the, I think they're interesting, obviously, they're intrinsically different, right? And how this journey goes. And to be able to have somebody such as yourself, you know, that's really tuned in to how the the male processes this and goes through it, and to have somebody lead them through that. I think that's really important.

Jesse Harless 41:42 Yeah, absolutely. And what's ironic is I coach more women than men, but that's just the way it works out in the private practice, but but in reality, when you're in early recovery, and then you're, you know, I left the job, it's like, you go to a lot of these places, and it's, and it's men and women separate. So like, when I was first starting out running workshops, it would be with men. And so and, and then today, I realized, like, yeah, I can run workshops for both. But I can tell you that if I just niche down and start to really focus on men, I'm gonna help a lot of men because a lot of men don't trust their intuition. A lot of men look at things as weaknesses that are strengths. So this is where, like, kind of my heart is, is to help those men

Brandon Handley 42:22 for sure, for sure, and I think that that you probably found right, especially in Western society, is that men are very head driven, right, and you're talking about the heart and head coherence piece, and you're getting them to make that connection and to trust it just a little bit. And I think that that's, I think that's powerful. And I think it's awesome that you're doing this work, Jesse. So let me break this down for you. We've got a little just a little more longer here. And what I like to do here is what I like to call kind of like a spiritual speed dating, just the I'm just gonna pick like one question that this bank of questions and I know there's somebody out there looking for the next spiritual date, you could be it Jesse. All right, let's see, we got um what does it mean to live in the present moment?

Jesse Harless 43:11 Yeah, for me, living in the present moments, everything, I spent most of my life with anxiety which is living in the future. So you know, so living in the present moment I do everything I can to live in the present moment, I'm literally standing on a grounding mat that's connected to the wall right now. So I'm always trying to stay in the present moment. I'm trying to live right here I'm trying to look you in the eye right in this moment, and be with you now. And just just not think just be so that I can just allow whatever is coming out of me to come out of me. I didn't know what I was gonna say today and that's how I like to live my life. So that is the present moment as I can clearly hear that subtleness of intuition and be able to trust it that is leading me in the right direction, trust my feelings, I can't feel my feelings and emotions if I'm not living in the present moment I'm going to be stuck in some type of battle between the future and the past. And I already spent enough time living in the past and I spent a lot of time live in the future so I know when I'm living in the present moment and it's real simple it's it's I can hear my breath I can hear my heartbeat I'm can be with you right here now I can hear him what I'm saying. It's that's me being in the present moment. So being in the present moment is everything for you to start to live as connected to your purpose.

Brandon Handley 44:25 God thanks, Jesse. Thanks a lot. The the What else we got here? Get one more for me to do to do. What is your one wish for World Jesse?

Jesse Harless 44:39 It's a big one. I mean, as a probably a few but I would say one of the big wishes is to understand what addiction really means. And I think if we can start to understand what addiction really means we're going to change the whole world. So I that's my hope is to understand the definition of addiction. And to understand that addiction is not simply your uncle who struggle with alcoholism, your addiction is you So that's going to, we understand that we're gonna have a lot more compassion for people, we're going to understand that people are fighting daily battles every single day, your parents are fighting battles, your cousin, you know, all these people are getting these, these these difficult situations that are stemming from addiction. And so I think for me, it's like, once we start to understand the definition of addiction, that it's not just a generic genetic brain disease, and you're doomed. It's it's as simple as, like, all I keep doing is I keep going back to my unworthiness every day. That's my primary addiction. And so when we start to know that type, that there is social emotional addictions, I think that's going to change the world, because then we're going to band together as a one as a tribe and say, how can we help each other with our addictions? Because we're all numbing out in some way.

Brandon Handley 45:46 Yeah, just Yeah, I think that's powerful. I love how you've you've kind of reframed addictions beyond, you know, drinking and drugs, and really just kind of put it into a space of a couple of places you put it into that resonate with me is is the numbing out? Yeah. Right. And then, you know, the, the unworthiness, you know, kind of loop right, getting stuck in these loops, as an addiction, right, and recognizing those as as addictions. And, you know, if we band together, like you're saying, and kind of act as one against the human act as one against it, right, like I come from, you know, what can we do for the positive outcome? Right? What can we do that? I mean, I think that your your, your group runs through some of you guys, what was it? appreciative inquiry, right, I think that's where I learned from, from from some of them, some of those groups. So what is this positive outcome of understanding the true definition of addiction? And what can we do to kind of break those shackles? Right, break those loops? I love it. I love it. Jesse, where can people go to find out more about you? Who should be working with you? Who should be reaching out to you? Some of that stuff?

Jesse Harless 47:00 Yeah, I mean, if you can find me at my website, Jesse Harless Comm. You know, that's, that's probably the best place is a contact form there, you can grab a copy of my journal, I created a journal to go along with the book that's free, and grab the journal there. So I think that's probably where you can understand more about me who I work with, and what I'm doing in the world, you know, and I don't have a big social media following. I learned that from some of my mentors, so that's actually the most the most, that's not the most important thing. So it's quite unprofessional myself with that. So I mean, if you want to really reach out to me, you need help you need something, you know, go ahead and reach out to me, I respond to every single person. So go ahead and reach out and I'm happy to help.

Brandon Handley 47:38 Jesse, I can't believe you're saying social media presence isn't the most important thing. What did you learn from your mentors? That is,

Jesse Harless 47:44 well, I have a mentor who's very successful in that he has one of the most biggest he has one of the biggest Facebook groups in the world. But I also have one that has no, no social media following, he makes just as much money. So it's not about money. It's about impact. And he's making just as much impact without a social media. So it's really shows me that either way. So that's where our ego wants to be like, Oh, it's the reason I don't have money is because I only have 1000 followers, and I can prove you wrong with that one. So that's so that's what I'm, that's what I thought I was like, Oh, I need to get the funnel. I need to get the emails, I need to do this. But here's the thing is, it's you don't have to do that you can do without that. But it's all about specializing, what do you specialize in who you're speaking to? And having your own platform? You know, and that kind of helps you not to have to create a social media platform if you have your own platform?

Brandon Handley 48:31 For sure, for sure. No, thanks for that response. I mean, I think it's important to hear that right. And it's not just important to hear from random people, you've you've had experience, you know, these people that have, you know, been successful. And I think that we also tend to forget that maybe, I don't know, less than 20 years ago, there wasn't a social media and there were plenty of successful people. Yeah, that's for sure. Right? Right. So Hey, everybody, thanks for checking Jesse out, make sure you go check out his site, Jesse harless.com. And learn more about him. Jesse, thanks for being on today. I really appreciate what you're doing.

Jesse Harless 49:05 Yeah, Brandon, thank you so much for reaching out. This is great. I

Unknown Speaker 49:09 really hope you enjoyed this episode of the spiritual dove podcast. stay connected with us directly through spiritual co You can also join the discussion on Facebook, spiritual, and Instagram and spiritual underscore Joe. If you would like to speak with us, send us an email Brandon at spiritual dog Co. And as always, thank you for cultivating your mindset and creating a better reality. This concludes the most thought provoking part of your day. Don't forget to like and subscribe to stay fully up to date. Until next time, be kind yourself and trust your intuition.

Jenna is an intuitive healer, facilitator, teacher, artist, mother and musician.

She has joyfully led retreats, teen mentorship workshops, private healing sessions, lessons, camps, choirs, conferences, and classes for over 20 years.

​

She loves sharing my joy of love, art, music and meditation by teaching how to build tools toward re-alignment, healing and cultivating creativity.

Connect with Jenna at https://www.acousticvitality.org/jennadalton .

Unknown Speaker 0:00 Your journey has been an interesting one up to hear you've questioned so much more than those around you. You've even questioned yourself as to how you could have grown into these thoughts. Am I crazy? When did I begin to think differently? Why do people in general appear so limited as Bob process? Rest assured, you are not alone. The world is slowly waking up to what you already know inside yet can't quite verbalize. Welcome to the spiritual dough podcast, the show that answers the questions you never even knew to ask, but knew the answers to questions about you is the world the people in it? Most importantly, how do I proceed now moving forward? We don't claim to have all the answers but we sure do love living. The question from time for another head of spiritual dub with your host Brandon Handley. Let's get right into today's episode.

Brandon Handley 0:41 Hey there spiritual Dude, I am haunted today with Jenna Walton. She is an intuitive healer, facilitator, teacher, artists, mother and musician. She's joyfully led retreats team mentorship workshops, private Healing Sessions, less than camps, choirs, conferences and classes for over 20 years. She loves to share her joy of love art, music and meditation by teaching how to build tools towards realignment, healing and cultivating creativity. Jenna thanks for being on. Thanks for having

Jenna Dalton 1:11 me.

Brandon Handley 1:12 Absolutely, I mean I think we've been trying to put this together for like six months give or take Yeah, finally I've been looking forward to connect and just having this conversation. So thanks looking forward to it so I was like to start this off with the whole idea that we're kind of vessels for source energy, right whatever that looks like to you and that you and I'll be having a conversation but whoever's listening they're like they're hearing something completely different right? They're not even hearing what we're saying like and this message can only be delivered through Jenna by source on this podcast to that person right now. What's that message?

Jenna Dalton 1:54 What is that message? Hmm? Love reigns. I mean that's that's kind of where I'm where I'm at right now is I just keep coming back to that to how can I cultivate more open heart How can I get deeper into love? I feel like that is my direct connection to the universe Great Spirit whatever you want to call it that that's that's my direct connection. So yeah, and then just all the fun ways to practice that all the fun ways to play with that. Well, while we're human beings here on this planet

Brandon Handley 2:33 every time I go to like any energy work session throws like your heart is really close off I'm like I know right? Thanks this isn't news but it sounds to me like your heart might be a little bit more open

Jenna Dalton 2:50 because every time I get when they're like wow you need to close that up a little bit you're

Brandon Handley 2:55 you're taking it off for everybody like I saw that guy down the street his heart was like shut down and I'm just gonna step in and fill that guy's you know fill that need so um, and you know, a little bit more to on you for the audience right I love the story you're just talking to a quick second before we got going here was that the whole idea of like, being born on a 355 acre spiritual community right for your first 14 years of life really into music and then like, packing up a u haul and going to the burbs I mean, I don't know if you specifically went to the burbs, but I mean, I can only imagine, right. Right. And like I'm envisioning and you can tell me if I'm right or wrong. I don't I'm just making things up as I go along. But I remember going to a couple like rainbow family gatherings back in the day was anything like that? Or was it like somewhat different? Are you familiar with the rainbow family gatherings?

Jenna Dalton 3:48 Oh, yeah, yeah. It was a little bit like that, except that we had a farm that we had to run and it was somewhat self sustaining. So we had a lot of work to do. There were ditches to dig and cows to take care of and harvesting and planting and gardening and you know, there's endless work to be done. So, so that I would say that's the biggest difference than like, you know, when I would tell people Oh, I lived I grew up in a commune. everyone's eyes kind of glaze over like, like sexual.

Brandon Handley 4:19 I mean, that's the first

Saturdays

Jenna Dalton 4:28 I mean, that's that definitely happened. Yes. But more so at least where I was, it was it really was a group of people who were trying to separate from like patriarchal society, capitalistic society and try something else. And so it was a group of really cool people coming together, spiritually striving, and then trying to figure out how to get along together while we're collecting eggs and cooking you know, we had to cook meals for everybody. We had to feed everyone we had and where I was, there was no city within 80 miles in any direction. So we were in the middle of nowhere. So we really had to, you know, toilet broke, we had to fix it. There was a flood, we had to deal with it, you know, the pipes froze. We had to deal with it. And so there was a lot of hard work to that was cool. It's cool.

Brandon Handley 5:21 You have running water? Yeah, I mean, I remember so I remember growing up. And my mom had some brands that I would go stay the summer with. And like, we had the pump the water, there was no indoor plumbing and what not so I mean, you're kind of living the life of luxury. Yeah, really? It's pretty cool. Okay. And then and then, um, and then you can you talk to me, like, the spiritual, what the spiritual community looked like, I guess, from then perspective, right, as a child to kind of like, your lens back on it. What are your thoughts?

Jenna Dalton 6:03 So growing up, it really was just kind of like a playground? I don't remember there. There definitely was we had a meditation class for kids where they would actually bribe us with little chewable vitamin C's if we sat still for long enough, which I thought now looking back, I find that so funny. So there was there was it was like a playground for me, when I was growing up looking back, I can see Wow, I really embodied a lot of I just kind of like got spiritual teachings in my DNA by being there, which, which I'm very thankful for. And I feel like that's a that's the gift I like to pay forward into the world is that it's not it's never been like a struggle for me to have like a spiritual connection. Or I've never wondered if there's a God, I've never had that. Like, it's just always been there. And so that I feel, I know that I was just the gift that I got from that place. Growing up. I never talked about meditating, or we just did it. We just did yoga, we just did meditation. And it was just part just like we cooked meals or we went to the bathroom. It was just another thing that we did. So it was kind of demystified for me in that way. And it was actually weirder when we came up here and I saw that not everybody did that. That was that was what was weird was when I was 14 looking around going Oh, okay, I am really different. But I didn't really realize it until then.

Brandon Handley 7:32 Yeah, I mean, talk about that, right? Trying to go from this self sustaining spiritual commune, where you know, there's a little bit more togetherness, a little bit more of us as a whole. And then coming into I'm sure like, there was plenty of like materialism to of sorts within that commune. But like, and then kind of seeing on mass with like hyper commercialism and all this other stuff. Prager you wasn't like sensory overload. And then like me having to go to school, I might have been mad.

Jenna Dalton 8:13 I was very angry. And angry You came up here. I mean, ironically, we came up here because there was no High School out there. And the closest High School was 80 miles away. And my brother, my older brother, like, took the bus there everyday left at 5am. And I just did not want to do that. I didn't want to be homeschooled. I think my parents were wise enough to recognize that I needed music and theater in my life. So in that way, I was very thankful that we came up here because I, the cultural piece was very lacking out in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. So that piece was really wonderful for me, but yeah, it was, I think the biggest shock was that, even though like you said these things existed, maybe like humming underneath the surface, it was my first experience with like, sexism, racism, homophobia, just flat out hating somebody for no reason. But that kind of disconnection. I did not experience that in the first 14 years of my life I just didn't experience that. Even in the ranch kids that I was friends with. We they would just that just wasn't there. And so that I think was what was most shocking for me. And I think that's where my anger came from, was that it was like suddenly I realized wow, this world is not the utopian amazing place that I thought it was because that's what my life has been for. For the first 14 years.

Brandon Handley 9:40 Yeah, for sure. So me I gotta imagine a lot of that was romanticized. Right and just kind of came tumbling down. Right. And I also think that too, you know, you're out here you're 80 miles away from any city and you don't have the air And I don't know to be honest with you, I mean, you know, what's the electricity situation like out there for you know you have running water so I don't know like, you know what's like the Wi Fi TV situation like but like, right so I mean, I gotta imagine, right there's like no electromagnetic brain interference right? Right maybe that's why all the teams are mad. Like maybe he's mad because like there's a lot you're like you're just kind of like energy passing through you and it's everybody else's shit.

Jenna Dalton 10:29 Right? Right and it's getting more intense because we have more and more data.

Brandon Handley 10:35 Yeah. gotta turn it up. Yeah. Yeah, yeah Interesting. Interesting for sure.

Jenna Dalton 10:42 I didn't go you know I went to school there are only 30 people in the entire school grades one through eight granted, but not a single person had ADHD, or autism or nobody. And, you know, as a teacher now I'm like, I wonder how much of it was the fact that they were out? shoveling shit and working with cows instead of playing video games and watching shows you know that that I wonder how much of a difference that makes? Sure well,

Brandon Handley 11:11 I mean, you know, I've got a I've got a nine and 11 year old boy, right? And I too, was once a wee lad, that they're like, you need to sit still. I'm like, Well, I don't really think right that we as humans were meant to sit still behind a desk at a young age for like six to eight hours a day. Yeah. And then and then and then the whole idea to have like, oh, and like you're not gonna let them you're gonna take away recess you're gonna take away this and now like, you're not gonna live and burn off all that energy. Right? Who came up with this plan? Yeah.

Jenna Dalton 11:48 As a Waldorf teacher I started every day with jumping rope for half an hour. We just did we just moved partially because of that because I didn't feel like I could ask anybody to sit down in a chair when they're young and exuberant and what they want to do is move and so we would Okay, we're gonna do math with jump roping. We're gonna do spelling with jump roping and then we'll go in and sit down let's exhaust you

Brandon Handley 12:10 brilliant I mean we're jumping so we'll do that jump rope to do yeah. So when you talk about spirituality like kind of always being a part of life and always being feeling can see what I mean. Quick, easy answers like what's what's spirituality mean to you? Right? What's that look like for you internally? And how are you expressing that?

Jenna Dalton 12:29 Um, I think that it's kind of it's a hard question to answer but for me it's just such a feeling of home it's just such a feeling of I'm here I'm comfortable in my skin I'm in a I feel in alignment. Like I feel like I'm in alignment with I don't know what is that with just the flow or just with like, my life is flowing and I'm flowing with it and there's maybe something bigger and I'm a part of it and just that connection and the play between those two things I don't know how else to to describe

Brandon Handley 13:05 that that works right? So I mean, right? And I think that's where the challenge comes for most people you know, someone's like, well this is what spiritual to me. It means right? And somebody else is like, No, no, no, no, no, you're wrong, right? Like, you can't be wrong that's that's that's your inner inner inner presence and if you're in alignment and if I read your story, I would say that you are like you've had such a really cool cool life and I and you have found the places at least you know from reading your bio that you can able to express who you are in alignment with who you are for life that is pretty good, right? Yeah. So I mean let's move forward right from so you got a you got a high school, you're big into music, you know, what does that look like for you kind of going through the high school thing coming out of coming out of the commune and moving us forward?

Jenna Dalton 14:03 Well, you know, initially it was there was a mixed thing there was there was the part of me that was 14 and just ready because when you're 14, your world is expanding, right? And so my world expanded and I loved that piece. I was really excited to live in an apartment complex. The idea of that was like so amazing. They're just little things like that. We have a swimming pool, you know, stuff. And then I discovered choir and theater and just like completely dove into that and discovered the artist in me that was really thirsty. That was something that didn't get a whole lot of playtime out on the farm. And so that was amazing. And and then there was a lot of, you know, I also just really loved like the counterculture. I of course was very attracted to the counterculture kids and, and enjoyed adventuring in that way. So School was just a big, it was a big adventure, I got in a lot of trouble. And you know, just really, really, I really pushed it a lot. But one of the things that I had in my life was this, this nest of like 30 adults who had known me since birth. And were holding space for me even though I was you know, even though it wasn't physically on the farm anymore, they still knew and loved me. And I had and I reached out to them a lot with, you know, because I was pushing my parents away, which is what's normal to do when you're 14 to 18 years old. But I still had all these adults that I could gain that I could gain insight from and my dad connected me with a woman here Jane sad to see her she's amazing yoga teacher, oh, my God, that saved my life in high school. Just deepening my yoga practice. And so finding those connections was really, really awesome appear to so that so it wasn't, my adolescence wasn't as hard as it might have been. I you know, in some ways, it was a lot easier because I did have this, like I said, I had this support network, I had this village, that was kind of at that point, because the farm had kind of dwindled a bit, everybody was all over the country. So there was kind of a network of support there. That, that it definitely felt, I definitely felt that and thank goodness for that. I think it probably saved my saved my butt several times.

Brandon Handley 16:32 Now, you know, jotted down takes a village, right? You literally had a village supporting you. And to have gotten in trouble a lot after again, after coming from this culture of where you were to this other thing I can only imagine like, What do you mean, that's the rule? That doesn't make any sense?

I thought this was the smoking corner. Right? I can't, I can only imagine some of the conversations too. And just trying to try to wrap your mind around it. Right. Coming from, again, probably something that was a little bit more free, in terms of at least your ability to express yourself as you were in, in a in you know, sounds like the supportive people. Right? Yeah. And then and then go on also from a school of 30 in total, to probably like, I don't know, 30 per class, give or take, I mean, yeah. And then a quick question, too. So like, what were your parents done? Like, did they so they they came from the farm, and now they're doing what at the apartment, like working?

Jenna Dalton 17:46 My mom became she's, she's always been a teacher. So she taught there and she taught here. So it was more for her, it was probably less of a shock because it was just more kids to teach. My dad, however, was pretty much for lack of a better word, the guru of this spiritual community. He was the one that led classes led meditations, and he got a job at Nike. So he really had he had quite a hard time you know, that that also might have been part of the me acting out is that my parents were not super there because they were in survival mode. They weren't just like, after 16 years for them of living on a farm they were suddenly in the city and trying to survive how do we pay rent? What do we do? You know, all of the What do you mean we have to have insurance for that? What do you mean we have to pay for Jenna to do this in school? And you know, all of that stuff? So they I'm sure. I you know, my mom the other day even was describing it, how she we've made it through this day. We made it through today. Okay. You know, like, that's kind of where they were at. It was a big, it was a big jump for them.

Brandon Handley 18:57 Yeah, especially, I mean, going from guru to, I don't know, analytics, or whatever it was. Right? Just being like, I'd be mad. I'm mad now. Yeah. So then, you know, you kind of make it through. And you you kind of you start doing some adventuring? Right, let's talk about some of the adventures because I think you got some adventuring stories that Yeah, like I was saying earlier, it sounds like you just kind of flowed from like one spot to another doing your thing. I'm sure there was like some sure there was some stress involved in there somewhere. But for the most part, you're just kind of going with it. So what what do you travel next?

Jenna Dalton 19:44 You know, the way I looked at it is that so you're 18 it's like you want to you want to initiate yourself. We don't have a village that initiate us anymore. And so I self initiated by doing all sorts of things. One of the big things I did was get into Tom Brown's tracker war. And I actually dropped out of college and lived in the woods for about three months with one other person. We killed a deer and use the tide we like we did the whole thing we were like living off the woods, we made moccasins out of the deer hide that we, you know, like it was, we ate squirrels, we really did. And so that was amazing. That was an adventure. And then I came back and found a really cool college to go to that that resonated with me. And that's when I started when I was out in the woods, we went on a week and, and, and teach children how to be in the woods. And that was the seed for me wanting to teach. So yeah, and that was kind of the beginning of that when I was when I was 18. And then that seed just continued to grow and grow as my adventures unfolded. And I, I felt like I was getting an opportunity to touch on a lot of different spirituality, Native American spirituality came in really strong. In Wisconsin, I had white, there was a shaman there. And there was another Lakota woman who taught us a lot of things. And so I felt like this is where I feel like the universe is in touch with me because I was in the flow of the universe. And then suddenly, just all these teachers came out of the woodwork all over the country, literally, I was traveling on Greyhound all over the country. And an African man would start talking to me on the bus and blow my mind spiritually. And then I'd get off the bus. And then there's this Lakota woman who's ready to teach me Native American arts and crafts. I mean, it just really I get goosebumps now just thinking about it. Because I really was like, the universe was just saying yes to initiating me into the world of, of look at how much spirit there is, look at all the different walks of spirituality there are and how they all go to great mountain or great spirit or when light men or whatever you want to talk about. So it was quite, it was quite an adventure full time.

Brandon Handley 21:59 Would you say that you were aware of it being an initiation at the time and feeling that way at the time? Or is this a reflection?

Jenna Dalton 22:06 No, it was just adventure at the time. I go, Oh,

Brandon Handley 22:10 I see what was happening. Right. Okay, now that's got me, that's cool. It's good to know, right? Because again, as we're going through it, and we're young, and we're just adventuring. We don't kind of really catch all the things that are happening, right? And as we look back, we're like, Well, that was really cool. I can't believe uh, for me, I'm like, I can't believe I didn't die. On a list of bad ideas, a whole bunch of them. And wow, you know, something somewhere was looking out for me, right? A lot of times, but so I wanted to hit on the school that you found for yourself that you're able to just kind of have kind of this alternative education, you want to share your school a little bit, right. And I wouldn't even know to look for it.

Jenna Dalton 23:00 Yeah, so this is Prescott college. It's an Arizona, I literally felt this, I found this college because I was with a friend who was looking up conservatories, or something and this book fell off the, into my hands and literally fell off into my hands when she was looking at other things. And it said, How to make a difference in the world college guide. And I was like, Oh, my God, they have this, you know, it was like kind of, it was one of those things. And it was in there. And this place was amazing. Because they let you write your own degree plan. You write a contract for what you want to learn for every class and you hand that into your teacher. So you're saying, This is what I want to get out of your class, and then your teacher looks at it and goes pretty good or no, I'm going to actually be teaching this. How do you feel about that? So you're entering into a contract, and a conscious contract every time with your teacher, every class had 12 students or less, every class had an experiential option. So if you're learning how to teach, you spend over half that time in the classroom teaching, so I had like four years of teaching more than an average bachelor's degree in education would have because of the way they did it at the school. There were I mean, I took African inspired gem and dance or all these different courses that were offered. I took a course called environmental perspectives and whitewater rafting. That was my because I have this fear of water. I was like I'm facing my fear of water. I am going to go whitewater rafting for 30 straight days. And it was awesome. By the end of it. I was captaining rapids so it was like, Yeah, okay, we're gonna do this. And so it just there wasn't a second of that of my education that I regret. There's so many people look back and they're like, What a waste of time college was. And I did not feel that way. I felt like I joyfully pay off my student loans because it's because it was every second that I was there. was unfolding. There was a, there was a spiritual element, an emotional element, a mental element, an academic element to every course. And it was a life changer. It was an absolute life changer. I can't say enough about that place.

Brandon Handley 25:16 That's I mean, it sounds awesome. Yeah, sounds awesome that you were able to find something like that, again. follow your bliss, for lack of better terminology, right? Just kind of follow your path and keep on stepping into something and things kept showing up for you. Yeah, that you were able to do that, right? I mean, being able to skills and spiritual living double minor music, right? Like, I mean, just, it's all of who you already were. It's like, oh, here's a place where I can continue that versus like, Alright, well, I guess, business admin, II, or, you know, this other thing that I'll never use. But these are all things that helped you to the integral and you're becoming?

Jenna Dalton 26:00 Absolutely. And that's where I discovered Waldorf education was at that I was studying alternative methods. And that was one of some older was the one method that openly talks about the spirit of a child, the Solomon child, and how you educate that.

Brandon Handley 26:14 Let's expand on that, right? I know that I mentioned for a moment that, you know, that's something that we looked at ourselves for our kids, because the last year we had an out of school, which to me was like, that's, that was awesome. Thanks, pandemic, and we're setting them back. And look, the school systems have changed since I've been there, they're a little bit better. But at the same time, it's like, to your point, I don't know that they explore the spiritual aspect of that.

Jenna Dalton 26:42 Now, well, they're not allowed, you're actually not allowed to even talk about that openly, you get in trouble if you openly talk about that in, in public schools, that separation of church and state. So that means you can't even talk about the spiritual aspect of a child, you get in trouble. So I

Brandon Handley 27:00 mean, what's it look like at a Waldorf school, then in one word, education, at another

Jenna Dalton 27:05 school, you're required to meditate, if you're a teacher, it's part of your it's part of your what would you call it, your job description is that you hold the children in meditation, and you hold them in sacred space every day. That's part of the job description. And that's huge to me. That's why I chose that route. You know, it has its shadow side, because it's a private school. And so it only serves people who can afford the tuition. And that ended up becoming too much of a problem for me for my self. As far as like being in the, in the whole institution of it was hard for me, because I really wanted, I just, I'm always looking for ways to make whatever I'm offering available to anyone who wants it, regardless of especially regardless of their economic status. So that's the shadow side. But the wonderful side of Waldorf is that they teach through the arts. And in my opinion, the direct pathway to to the divine is through the arts, it's so easy to access. That feeling that I was talking about that feeling of flow and connection and contentment with just what is when one is doing art. And so it's integrated all day, every day, you're doing it all day, every day in the curriculum, and I loved teaching that way I felt, I felt really, I also feel like it was one of the few places that really understood children and how a day should be morphed for them. So as you were saying, sit down, be quiet, have a pencil in your hand at the desk, there's very little time that they spend in their desk at another school if if the Walder school is doing it, right, in my opinion, so there's, in fact a lot of places even have mobile classrooms and the first and third grades where they literally don't have desks, they have these benches that they turn upside down. And they act as you know, balance beams for most of the day. And then when you need to write you have a flat service but other than that, you know, it's it's pretty, it's a pretty awesome program of really honoring the child what I've noticed is that now that my own children are 16 they are looking back going God you you like protected us so much and they're mad at me about that now as teenagers so with that, check them out. I'm just keeping them keep maintaining their childhood so that so the Waldorf education is a lot about like, trying to keep the media out of out of a young child life trying to keep a TV out of the living room trying to make baking and, and rhythm of the day a big priority in the end. And so it's really beautiful. To a teenager, it's stifling, and horrible, you know,

Brandon Handley 29:51 oh, no, no, no, I get I get it now. And you know, absolutely. I mean, so I grew up and so Some backwards places in Virginia that I was very very remote and not being able to I don't know go hang out with all the kids and all the places or even have like a TV at some point it was I was like what the hell is this right this is this is bullshit and and and of course now looking back I'm like wow how lucky was I that was absolutely gorgeous and man who what why don't want to give to like go back there right and have some more of that and and yeah don't you know you don't appreciate as a kid right? One of the things Who am I gonna play with

Jenna Dalton 30:40 greener The grass is always greener yeah

Brandon Handley 30:43 of course yeah i mean you know you're kind of on your journey then like even like take off like you get go out singing around the world, like you know. And you keep you keep going all this stuff. I mean, we probably talk a lot in this area. But one of the things I wanted to draw attention to was the fact that how you and I connected was through this lantern healing. We connected with Liliana. How do I say her last name? I don't know. Zola? Yeah, so we connected we connected through her through I think somebody that worked with her before. And so here we are, but I wanted you what, what kind of work are you doing with Lotus lantern? You know, what brought you to the podcast today. Outside of this? You know, this has been a fun conversation, of course. And, you know, what's up? What are you doing?

Jenna Dalton 31:33 Well, for now, I'm doing a lot, the most, most of what we do at Lotus lantern is energy reading. So you can come here, have us look at your energy system, and look at what's blocked and clearing. So that's that's the magic of what we do in a very, very tight nutshell. And then what I also love about Lotus mentors, we have all these offerings, these workshops, so we have writers retreats, we have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class that's really fun Harry Potter inspired. I do a team group that's kind of like what I was talking about. I want to be that human in somebody's life who can hold space. And so we have a teen group that teens can come and do. Just kind of learn these skills. Liliana has this amazing abcdefg program that really is kind of foolproof and not woowoo which I love having grown up in as woowoo you know it's just really nice to have she really starts with the foundation of grounding, tapping into the earth aligning your energy and having that be the foundation for your spirituality instead of going for that enlightenment or going for that goal of oh she's like it's right here all the juicy and you know all the juiciness of life is right here and we're working with it and so those are the some of the things that we offer and it's it's really really fun working for her she is she is dynamic she's this amazing Latina woman that's just like really vibrant and she brings a humor and a joy to spiritual practice that that I absolutely love and adore that. Yeah, I did it for a while I was like in a Buddhist community or a yoga community and it's so serious and for me I just can't I can't do it I'm too much of a goofball and she is a goofball. And so together we create ridiculous workshops where basically we're like laughing the whole weekend and then we realize oh my gosh, I feel really connected and awesome afterwards so

Brandon Handley 33:40 that was a you know, that was one of the things that when I first saw some of her work she was doing I think the the in the car medium readings or whatever I was like this is so great, right? This is just just like it's fun it's entertaining she's doing her thing and it's really legit at the same time and like this This man is just like it's fun. Right and I don't know if you checked out spiritual like the website or if you checked it out she's like, saying like I'm so over like this is the spiritual thing and it's super serious and like heavy saturated and like be like sometimes I like the curse I like swear like to do all sides sometimes there's some things I like to do that they may not even be spiritual at all right? Or like they may not even like relate to what I'm doing but like I don't care like that's not that's not the point of it. The point of it, I would say is like to find that connection to yourself like you were talking about where is that place that you can connect with within yourself that you call home? Yeah, right. Where is the place that you can go to with somebody like bully II and yourself. You can have fun and feel connected, right? Not like where you're like, we can't talk right now because I'm connecting to God.

Jenna Dalton 34:56 Right?

Brandon Handley 34:57 This is not a good time for me.

Jenna Dalton 35:00 One of my favorite things about the first class, I pick up the leather shoes like I love troublemakers, that I was just like,

Brandon Handley 35:06 that's me, I totally.

Jenna Dalton 35:09 And that's what I love about Lotus lantern healing arts is it's all about whatever's coming up for you, that's what's supposed to come up, whether so let's say you're going totally unconscious, you're even listening to what I'm saying. Awesome. You know, and that's, and that's how I've always taught when I teach. That's how I just love. I love working with what's right here. And so that's really, that's great. Liliana is so inclusive, she is so inclusive, like whatever is coming in, she just greets it with, yes, that's awesome, we're gonna work with that, that's great. And to me, that's true spirituality, if you're, if you're saying I can only meditate when it's dark, and quiet and soft. But it is easier sometimes to meditate like that. But if that's the only time you can touch God, you're gonna be in trouble. Because we live in a loud, crazy world. And if you can touch God, while you're in the loud, crazy world, you're gonna be better off,

Brandon Handley 36:08 what are some ways that you found that you're able to do that,

Jenna Dalton 36:13 um, I think one of the biggest ways so she has all the, we have all these wonderful little tricks. So grounding room, I'm going, I'm walking into a room, and it's crazy, it's a party and as an empath, I could walk into that room. And then like you said, I'm gonna have to fill in everybody's heart spaces that have holes. And that's really bad and dangerous and yucky for me to do energetically, right? So I just go into a room and I grabbed the corners of the room, and I ground it down into the earth, and I just set that intention. And so now I can be in the room. And maybe I'll just like reground, myself, I just set that intention before I go into the space. And now I can go in and have a party and be with people and I've protected myself and I'm mingling and going through and having fun and sharing my joy with people. And in that moment, I'm feeling my feet on the ground, I feel aligned, I can feel spirit running through me. And I'm aware of all of that. And I can use that to just totally be present in a conversation and give the gift of my presence. And those are the skills that I've learned through Lotus mentoring. So that that's kind of what we teach is how to how to be a person and how to survive those moments. When you're like, overwhelmed. Okay, I have this toolbox that I can go to. So those are some of the tools. Yeah,

Brandon Handley 37:35 yeah, no, that's great. So I mean, I guess when you're grounding yourself, is it almost like a lightning rod? For you, were you letting the energy kind of pass through you versus kind of holding on to it is that sounds working for you? Yeah. And I feel it like

Jenna Dalton 37:51 going through like I like to, I like to imagine it coming out from the earth. Going up to the front of me, I like to imagine something coming down from and going down the back of me, and then just keeping that going, like, that's what feels good to me. And again, I think for other people that maybe you have something else that works for you, but that's the one that works for me, because I am a goer and a doer. And I like I like it to be moving. more towards

Brandon Handley 38:18 you got like a vortex kind of running. Okay. So I love that you're sharing what you're doing through Lotus, and through Lilya. But I'm sure that you brought some things of your own with you, what are some of the things that you're owning that you do like that you brought to this? Like, I'm because my guess is she doesn't just take anybody on and be like, Oh, you can just train with me? Maybe she does. But I'm sure that there was something that you brought, which is like, I need to have you with me, what are some of those things?

Jenna Dalton 38:49 I mean, I think you'd have to ask her, but my guess is that, that there is a connection that I have with children and a connection that I have with teenagers. That is very special. A knowledge that I have of where children are at spiritually and that's that's pretty rare in this day and age to have like a there's a lot of people that have like pedagogical understanding of children, but to have an understanding of where somebody at spiritually developmentally is a that's kind of my specialty. So that's something that and then the other thing she says I love is and this was also this is just the artist in me and also the Waldorf training is that I tell stories, I tell stories all the time. So when we're doing a workshop, I'll be like, that's just like grandmother spider who blah blah and then all of a sudden we're all in a kindergarten class listening to storytime. And so that's also something that I like to bring. It's the musician and me the artist in me that like likes to spice anything up with with a picture with an image with an imagination and kind of making life more exciting. That way, I'm not really big on lectures, you know?

Brandon Handley 40:05 I mean, it's, uh, you know, I'm a great storyteller by any stretch of the imagination, but I understand how it's supposed to work. And the deal is you, you don't tell him, you show him, right. And so because storytellers creates that visual and shows shows the story. Teen Spirit, right Sounds Like Teen Spirit 100 Alex, what's that look like for you and being able to kind of suss that out. And being able to tell where where the teams are in their journey, or

Jenna Dalton 40:41 my work with the teams has been magical. I feel like they're teaching me way more than I'm teaching them. Basically, what I'm doing is like holding space and being sometimes the only adult in their life is not telling them what they have to do. So that's my gift that I give them is like, here's a big open space, you're allowed to swear you're allowed to tell me how depressed you are, you're allowed to be anxious, you're allowed to tell me how much you hate your friends. Like anything goes here. So that's my and then if they're giving to me is holy cow. It's really hard to be a teen in the world today. And I am like, I feel like every day I'm meditating and asking for more advice from my guides and my, my inner wisdom of how to help with that, because it's, it is a very intense world to be a teen, if you imagine your own adolescence, and then amplify it by having your social network be there 24 hours a day, seven days a week on several platforms.

Brandon Handley 41:43 Yeah. First of all, I've never get anywhere after that, right? It's like, I mean, I don't know about you, but and my wife and I was talking about the fact that like, if we'd had that shit growing up, like dunzo, right, like, I mean, I can only imagine the stupid stuff that would have posted too late, you know, it'd be just like, any, any anybody else that does it on like, spring break, right? You know, you're like, Oh, right. So, so glad that I didn't have that. Yeah, yeah.

Jenna Dalton 42:15 So that's what I've been. And, and again, I feel like Like for instance, his last group that this last girl's group, the teen empowerment group that they did, what they just kept asking about was how do I deal with toxic relationships? How do I deal with toxic relationships? How do I deal with toxic relationships? So we just really started digging into like, what is that and you know, I teaching them how to be strong enough in themselves that whatever comes at them, they can just go Wash, wash or wash? You know that that's what I'm teaching them. And then they're bringing to me like okay, this time it didn't work. So what do I do then? And so then we talk about it in the circle, okay, what would you do? What would you have done?

Brandon Handley 42:57 Just kind of explore the scenarios with them and just, I guess, you know, again, sounds like you're you're giving them support and encouragement and the empowerment and Wonder Woman Yeah.

Jenna Dalton 43:11 Yeah, we play a lot of games too, which lightens it up so that it's not oh my god my whole life's over because that one friend doesn't like me anymore. Okay, well, let's let's make that into a game and let's face let's play around with it, that person's going to roleplay your friend and now you have the power to make her say whatever you want. And then they you know, so there's only things that we do that we play around with that kind of helps lighten the mood to because that's and that's the gift that I learned from Liliana too is just that you can have a darkest craziest stuff coming at you but if you breed it with a big smile, it's got no power it's got no power

Brandon Handley 43:50 so that's great. That's great. So if you know somebody checking in and checking checking in today right let's do this first we'll do I was liking this to spiritual speed dating somebody checking in on the podcast today. They're looking for the next spiritual speed date, right? Jenna could be you. Bachelorette number one. Let's have spiritual questions. What are we thinking today? What are we thinking today? Oh, you know what? RDS at one? Two? What's the key? Nope, don't like that one. What would you consider to be two major turning points here let's go with the

Jenna Dalton 44:32 E major turning points in my life. First one was moving from the desert to the city major turning. Another major turning point was becoming a mother. That one knocked me on my ass the way in a way I could not even imagine I fell. So in love. I fell so in love. I my whole definition of love changed the second my

Brandon Handley 44:59 absolutely Right. I mean, that's a game changer. game changer. I think that, you know, you've already learned you know, love, you know, love, you know, love. And then you know, you get in your relationship, you know, love, then the kids show up you're like, Oh, this is a whole soft, soft mouse. Right? There's a what you thought it was love was like a puddle. Right now you're now you're in a vast ocean? of it? For sure, for sure.

was asking myself this earlier today? I don't know that I'm still seeking. Or that I found these Gee, would you consider yourself a seeker? Or do you think you found what it was that you're looking for? And you're just continuing to explore that space? Where are you out of that?

Jenna Dalton 45:52 Yeah, I do. I think I've found and I think what my journey is right now is to is to have a daily practice of touching into that found place. But that's my work right now. It's like, I have all the all the tools that I need for being happy. And now I have to use them. That's, that's where I'm at right now. And in the journey. Yeah, that's it.

Brandon Handley 46:21 That's awesome. What do you think, is one or two of your most recently found tools,

Jenna Dalton 46:29 sitting at the base of a tree. That one's been really big, I used to do it a lot when I was little, like, I would just do it. And maybe it's just from living in the city and being kind of confined to our house during COVID times. But I found I need sometimes to just get out and actually be touching, physically touching a tree. I don't know what it is about that. But I just need that reminder of something that's got its roots way down deep, deep in the earth. So that's, that's been one. And I guess the other one is just I don't know how this has happened. I feel like it's an it's an after effect of a lot of spiritual work. But I just don't take things very seriously anymore. And so when stuff starts coming at me, it's just kind of like wonderful growth opportunity, as opposed to Oh, my God, I'm gonna die and my life's over, you know, so. Right. And I again, I don't know exactly how I've cultivated that other than it just seems like the only options.

Brandon Handley 47:36 For sure, for sure. Right? Like, I mean, alright, well, here we go again. Yeah, at least I don't have to wait in line for this ride. Awesome. So this I mean, bend, bend, blast, I think that you've got a lot to share, who, you know, in marketing world, right? And you know, you're always posted a fire niche, or Who's your ideal customer who you really trying to reach out to Who do you feel like you would serve best? At this point,

Jenna Dalton 48:03 I think the person that I would serve best is a pert the person who really wants to take the next steps to connecting to a to a spiritual practice, or a spiritual world. That person that's experiencing stuff and feels like they're going crazy. I'm that person who can say actually, you're not crazy. It's just let's just look at things a little differently. And then you'll see that you're actually really powerful. So I really love I mean, I love working with all people anything you give me a love, but I really love it when people are just taking that first step or a new step into something into the next level. Or maybe it's their first step ever into like, I think I'm gonna start a meditation practice or something. I love that I love working with that person who's who's ready and willing, like I had an experience. I know there's something out there. I want to dig a little deeper. Can you tell me more? And I bet Yes, they yes for me.

Brandon Handley 49:04 So you're setting them up, right? That's perfect. You're setting them up. So they don't crash and burn. There's at least like a little bit of a it's almost like you're setting up the big fluffy bed cows where they just dive into it. Right? All right. Awesome. So I know you've you've got the lowest you're at the lotus lantern site, where should people go specifically to connect with you?

Jenna Dalton 49:27 I have a website that's acoustic vitality.org. So that's where you can get direct contact with me. And yeah, that's it. You'll see I've got my music on there, my art and then all that. If you want to do a healing session or if you want to do a session with your team, I can do all that kind of stuff. So

Brandon Handley 49:49 So I was wondering, do you do any of the energy work remote?

Jenna Dalton 49:55 Yeah, I do all of it remotely. Right. And that right now? Yeah, we don't monetize. We're

Brandon Handley 49:59 gonna take the fix. This broken for sure for sure how do we you know I think he wrote something that was really good too that I enjoyed was to something about you know, rounding the edges right versus you know just kind of will say that it's almost like the skulls of Michelangelo when he's doing the the marble work it's already all there it's just you know, refining it so yeah,

Jenna Dalton 50:27 rubbing off those cabinets those rough edges that we're always doing. Yeah.

Brandon Handley 50:32 Well just so so much fun to have you here. I love the work that you're doing glad that we had the opportunity to connect. Thanks for you know, sticking with the long way. I know like I said that it's been a long time, but I'm really glad that we're able to connect today and

Jenna Dalton 50:47 thank you so much. You're awesome. I

Unknown Speaker 50:51 really hope you enjoyed this episode of the spiritual dove podcast. stay connected with us directly through spiritual dove co You can also join the discussion on Facebook and Instagram and spiritual on Discord. If you would like to speak with us, send us an email to Brandon at spiritual dog CO and as always, thank you for cultivating your mindset and creating a better reality. This concludes the most thought-provoking part of your day. Don't forget to like and subscribe to stay fully up to date. Until next time, be kind to yourself and trust your intuition.

Rich Lewis is an author, speaker, and coach who focuses on centering prayer as a means of inner transformation. He teaches centering prayer in both his local and virtual community and offers one-on-one coaching. Rich's newest book is titled, Sitting with God: A Journey To Your True Self Through Centering Prayer.He publishes a weekly meditation, book reviews, and interviews on his site, Silence Teaches. He has published articles for a number of organizations, including Contemplative Light, Abbey of the Arts, Contemplative Outreach, EerdWord, In Search of a New Eden, the Ordinary Mystic at Patheos, and the Contemplative Writer. ​Rich has been a daily practitioner of centering prayer since June 1, 2014. Centering prayer has been so life-giving and life-changing that he feels compelled to share his journey with others who wish to learn more. Rich resides with his family in Ambler, Pennsylvania. Learn more about him at www.SilenceTeaches.com.

Brandon Handley 0:40 one. Hey there spiritual dope. I'm on today with rich Lewis. He's an author, speaker and coach who focused on centering prayer as a means of inner transformation. He teaches centering prayer in both his local and virtual community and offers one on one coaching, which his newest book is titled sitting with God, a journey to your true self through centering prayer. he publishes a weekly meditation book reviews and interviews on his site. Silence teaches, he has published articles for a number of organizations including contemplated flight, Abbey of the arts contemplated outreach aired world. Much I say that right Earth world,

Rich Lewis 1:17 I don't even know

Brandon Handley 1:19 in search of a new, I can type it but I can't say in search of a New Eden, the ordinary mystic at patheos. And the contemplate of writer, which has been a daily practitioner centering prayer says June 1 2014, saying prayer has been so life giving and life changing that he feels compelled to share his journey with others who wish to learn more rich resides with his family in Ambler, Pa. And to learn more, check them out at his website. Silent teaches that calm, rich, so glad to be on here today. Thanks for joining.

Rich Lewis 1:51 Great, yeah, thanks for having me. I

Brandon Handley 1:52 appreciate it. Absolutely, absolutely. We were chatting a little bit guys, before we got started here, rich and I aren't too far apart. And we can actually talk a little bit about doing this in person. just didn't happen this time. But it's really cool to know that in my mind, there's somebody cool doing cool things that's local, like you are rich. So by that we're able to connect through through this right? It's funny because we go to the you know, we go to this, we connected off of a podcast matching site, and we got hooked up locally anyways. I always like to start these off with the whole idea that that we're vessels for source God, energy, divine creation, and you know, we speak in a way that is speaking to somebody else, right that it's of service to somebody. So you and I are here for somebody who's great as good as can be tuned in to the podcast today. And there's a special message coming through you that can only be delivered through you through this podcast. What's that message today?

Rich Lewis 2:56 I would say a silent prayer. So many people probably don't think of prayer as wordless meditation. But I would challenge people to try a different way to pray rather than their prayer with words. I would encourage them to try silent prayer and see how that can help them and transform them and heal them. Cool. I

Brandon Handley 3:19 mean, let's step into it. Right? So what what is it that got you into new silent prayer? Like what was your journey to finding this space?

Rich Lewis 3:27 Sure. I guess I had always been attracted to silence. I just didn't know what to do in it. I have read books 2011 2012 gentleman by the name of karma Coleman, I read a number of his books. And he talks a lot about silence and how healing and transforming it was. I don't remember him sharing a practice in it. I've since learned he actually does practice centering prayer, but I don't remember reading it in his books. But so I would just sit in silence for one to three minutes. And I didn't really know what I was doing. But I thought well, maybe it's gonna do something for me. But then in late 2013, I was perusing Amazon looking for a book to read. And I stumbled across a book by Amos Smith called healing the divide recovering Christianity's mystic roots. So I began reading the Kindle version. And in the book, he talked about a silent prayer practice he had been doing for about 15 years called centering prayer. So I was immediately intrigued, because now I have a practice that I can do in this silence. So that's how I found silent prayer. And then I literally just reached out to him on his website, we began a back and forth email dialogue. And we're actually friends at this point, and I'll say it's his fault that I wrote the book too, but it's a good fault. But um, so I read about centering prayer in his book, and then I just began reading other centering prayer practitioners books out there and I and really the best way to do it, though is is to begin practicing so I began seriously practicing it in June of 2014. So that's real. So I really stumbled upon It I guess, internally, I knew I needed to do something. I just didn't know what it was. And then it found me in his book on Amazon.

Brandon Handley 5:12 Like, you were already searching for something. Do you have an idea? Like, you know, you're you're already attracted to the silence, you are already practicing this somewhat centering prayer in silence. What was it? You think that led to to even that space? Right? What was it that was making you explore the silence? Then what? What made you? Why do you feel like you were seeking? Do you have an answer? Something that

Rich Lewis 5:42 I think I just wanted to a deeper relationship with God, I think I just thought I wasn't doing all I could do. And there was, there was more to what my current spirituality looked like, and that it lacked depth. And it needed more depth than it needed. It needed more trust and faith in God. So I was just missing something. But I didn't know what it was.

Brandon Handley 6:11 I like that. What What do you feel? So what was your practice at the time that you kind of fell into this?

Rich Lewis 6:21 At the time? I guess I would, yeah, I read the Bible. And I read a lot of books by different I was kind of exploring, so I was reading a lot of different authors, and books on Christianity and on Jesus, and he, some of them just maybe more scholarly in terms of who is Jesus? And what did he do? When did he did he really exist? And what are the what are some of the things that he did? So I was doing a lot of that, and then it was mostly verbal prayer. And it's a time right now in in between churches, but at the time, I was going to the United Church of Christ, which was is a non denominational Protestant church. So I was enjoying it. But I guess I just felt that there was something missing. But I didn't know what it was. I think I was just exploring, like, I'm not completely whole, I'm not completely happy with where I'm at, not unhappy and unhappy with God. But I figured there had to be more depth to this. And there had to be just something more to what I was doing.

Brandon Handley 7:25 You had a strong framework within Christian religion. You were just looking at where could you fill this in? And you found it, you found some of the fill in through your inner inner seeking, right, and then somebody inner seeking, and I think that's really cool that right, you found what it was that you were looking for, in the centering prayer. And through I guess it sounds like you went through Christianity, mythic, mystic roots. Right. I'd love to hear some more on that to just kind of, you know, what that looks like. And sounds like centering prayer was a part of some of the mystic routes. Is that fair to say? Yeah,

Rich Lewis 8:10 I guess it would be because if you're referring to the book, so Amos Smith's book, recovering Christianity, healing, the divide, recovering Christianity's mystic roots. In his book, really, two things jumped out at me one, one was centering prayer and a practice and a lot of talk about silence. And that's silent prayer, went all the way back to Jesus, and then came forward, you know, through the desert, mothers and fathers and just through all kinds of people up until up until the present. And then he and he also talked the other sets. The second thing that jumped out at me in his book was he just talked, he called it the Jesus paradox, Jesus being God and human at once. And that just intrigued me how he talked about that, that it was at once Jesus was God inhuman, and that he wasn't just human, and he wasn't just divine, but he really was both. And then that we, we too are, we have divinity in us. We're not God, but the divine image is within us. And we're human. So like, Jesus, we are human and divine, but with a little D, as he called it,

Brandon Handley 9:15 for sure, for sure. I mean, that makes sense. I mean, I don't think, you know, my personal take would be, you know, there's really no capital letters within the divine when it comes into that, right you either you kind of recognize that spark or you don't, right, and you feel it and it sounds to me like you, you kind of hit on this space through your centering prayer where it just kind of like you said, You felt the word that I was used as numinous and I'm not sure if you're familiar with that word, right? You felt like that kind of overcome and touching? connection, stronger sense of connection with your spiritual self. And then you're like, I gotta go tell everybody about this. Right? You got to let everybody You know, because you found a way that resonated with you. And I also like the idea to, you know, kind of what your what what you seek is seeking you like you were looking for an answer, right? You were looking for something and then you found it and you've really kind of grabbed hold of it, because you've contacted the author and now you're part of like the you're part of a community of the centering prayer thing. Right that I know, I've never heard of it, but it's probably a big part of your world right now. Can you tell me a little bit about what that can be?

Rich Lewis 10:27 Sure, well, centering prayer. So I'll give you some of the history of it. And that'll give you some of the background. So centering prayer was created in the early 1970s. It was actually three Trappist monks, so three Catholic priests. So actually, father, William managers discovered the method in a book called The Cloud of Unknowing. And then because at the time, Thomas Keating, kind of charged him and basil Pennington with, we need to find something for the Christian community. There's Transcendental Meditation going on, but there's really not a silent practice for the Christian community. So father, William manager kind of stumbled across the method in the Cloud of Unknowing of how you do it. So that was in the early 1970s. And then from that point, the three of them really started sharing it with other clergy, and priests. And then they really just began rolling it out to the public. And then in 1984, Thomas Keating, and a couple other folks started what's called the contemplative outreach organization, which is contemplative outreach.org. So that's been around since 1984. And that's really the main centering prayer organization. So if you go to their website, you'll see a ton of resources on centering prayer. And you'll also see, right now, it doesn't matter, because everybody if they're meeting their meeting, zoom, but pre meeting, prior to COVID, you could find a group in your state. So if you lived in New Jersey, you could go to the site, and you can probably find a group that might practice near you. And you could go there, and to maybe their weekly meetings, or whatever frequency you wanted. Or even internationally, you could go in Italy, and see if there's a group in Italy or in Spain or Germany. So the main center in for organizations started, I guess you could say, another 10 ish years after centering prayer kind of kicked off, and began. So that's, I guess, the main communities contemplative outreach, and they began forming chapters throughout all the states and throughout different countries in the world as a way for people to connect with each other. But now you can, you know, connect with with, you could join a zoom group, wherever you want. They're probably practicing centering prayer for a one hour, they might have a one hour meeting, and they're meeting and you could probably join them via zoom. And it doesn't really matter where you live, if they have a zoom link, and you want to join them. So that's, that's a little bit about the community there. Yeah, it's a virtual community now, but it's also an in person community prior to COVID. And probably as things begin opening up, I'm assuming a lot of the groups will start having in, you know, practice, or meetings, without zoom and in person as well, when they're more comfortable.

Brandon Handley 13:13 Chris could tell us a little bit a bit about what those in person ones were like prior to COVID.

Rich Lewis 13:18 I actually never went to some of them. Well, no, actually, I take that back, I did, there was a Episcopal group that I found that met near me. So some of them, some of them were short. And I think there were as simple as 30 minutes in the end, they would meet early in the morning before people went to work. The one I went to was on a Sunday, so it was one hour, and they had a little bit of more community with it. So they before before you had your 20 minutes centering prayer sit there was a reading, and then you talked about the reading together. And then you had your 20 minutes set. And then there was kind of a closing reading and then just some community and discussion before everybody disbanded. But some groups I think will time it and they might do it around dinner or for lunch. So they might actually eat a meal together afterwards. So each group is a little bit different. Some are in and out it's 30 minutes and they're in and out. Some groups have a call it book ends, they have something to do at the beginning and something to do with the end. And they have maybe a little bit more community around it. So when I went to I guess a little bit more community around it and it was a little bit over an hour

Brandon Handley 14:30 and you said was Episcopalian but I mean is it is it kind of it's not as as the practice itself nondenominational or anybody's welcome into this groups.

Rich Lewis 14:38 Yes. Yeah. So then do you think about contemplative outreaches? Yes, I mean, they believe in one in a lot of interfaith dialogue, but to the practice itself is isn't confined to really any group is anybody can practice centering prayer, and these chapters that are all throughout the states in the different countries. anybody's welcome even if The church, even if it's, you know, at a church, it's Welcome to anybody that wants to come, you don't necessarily have to be a member of that church to go to the centering prayer meeting, it just so happens that church link themselves up and put themselves on the contemplative outreach website to say, we have a chapter and we're going to hold our meetings, you know, at the church

Brandon Handley 15:25 a little more inclusive, to be able to just, I mean, churches inclusive, I think in the most part for and they should be. But when you really open it up to everybody like that, to invite everybody into to have this experience and something that can have such powerful impact. Let the way that it's had on you. Having that be open everybody. I think that that's that's wonderful, wouldn't it now. So you know, what would we? What would our practice look like? Let's say I'm ready to start rich, and you start to give me the lowdown I want to I want to start my own practice. What do I need? What do I need to start doing?

Rich Lewis 16:00 Sure. So I gave the histories and I want to say, Well, how do you do this thing called centering prayer. So you, you sit comfortably with your eyes closed. And then to begin your centering prayer sets, you introduce interiorly, we call a sacred word of one, two or three syllables. So you might choose God or ocean or Jesus or some type of short syllable word. And that that really signifies your beginning your prayer, and your opening to the presence and actions of God within. And then during the duration of your sets, you can pick, I guess, they generally suggest you work your way up to so eventually, you're doing a 20 minute set, but in the beginning, maybe you're doing five minutes or 10 minutes, but whatever, whatever suits you when you best you can best handle if you're beginning it. But so use your sacred words to begin your prayer. And then whenever you engage your thoughts, your thoughts and what I mean by that is whatever you begin thinking about what you're doing before your sit, where you begin thinking about what what am I going to do after my sit and what does my afternoon look like, you realize you're no longer sitting with God, you're sitting with yourself and your thoughts in your planning and plotting. So you reintroduce that sacred word, just to bring you back to the present, and you let go of all your plotting and planning. And you basically just do that when needed. So it's not used as a mantra, there are mantra based practices, but centering prayer just uses it when you needed when you engage your thoughts. And the other thing I'll say is it doesn't have to be a word I I quickly discovered I was more of a visual person. So I started you I changed to an image and you can use an interior image to bring yourself back to the present. If you're more of a physical person, you can use your breath and then lastly, some people don't want to close their eyes or they're fearful that they might fall asleep. So they stare at a spot three, four or five feet perhaps on the floor just to keep them centered and focused. But essentially that's that's how you do the practice. And again you're not using the sacred word as like as a tennis racket or baseball bat you're simply using it to come back to the present moment and let go of your thoughts and when you begin engaging them realize you're not sitting with God anymore that you're sitting more with yourself and what you are planning

Brandon Handley 18:18 definitely when you when you get started with you know a practice like this when you first start off trying to dedicate any more than five minutes to something in this super busy world where oh my god I should be doing something else right now right I should I don't have time for this you know five minutes of meditation so are the 20 that you kind of end up at it given whatever you get to like I don't have 20 minutes for that I got this to do I got that to do I gotta go running off so when you introduce this you know can definitely be definitely be a challenge to to get it initiated so thanks for you know, kind of saying hey, looking at it, start small, work your way up. And then as you're talking about the sacred word or the visual and essentially what I'm hearing you you're setting an anchor for yourself for something you can kind of come back to or even like touch base, like a home. Wait there touch base, there's there. I'm back into I'm back into where I need to be. What would you say for you? What are some of the fruits I guess of centering prayer, Ben for you?

Rich Lewis 19:21 Sure. So we I mean, we enter centering prayer simply because we love God and we want to trust God and just trust the process. And then God seems to bless I would say they're unique for each practitioner. So when I look back over the years, and look at how have How have I changed. There's a lot of different ways I've changed. I mean one, I think I'm just more excited to live life. I had an excitement for life, but I think I just have a much more excitement for life. I think I'm more present. And what I mean by that is like during centering prayer, if you think about it, you're letting go and coming back to the present moment. And then because you continuously practice centering prayer day after day, month, after month, year after A year, that let go posture kind of comes with you and your everyday life. So I can let go of things that I don't need to focus on and honed in on what I need to. So I'm more present in my work, I think I'm more present to people. And I'm more present to my daily tasks. And I'm much more confident person, I get I think the center outside of the center pursuits, I noticed kind of nudges to get outside of my comfort zone, and try and do new things. And then I seem to have wisdom for tasks that kind of pop into my head throughout the day, or things that maybe previously kind of, I didn't know how to do what I didn't know how I would, I didn't know how I would complete the tasks. So it's great fruits, for me, great fruits for me, and you probably could ask someone else who practices it might tell you some of the same things. And they might tell you a whole lot of other things that how their life has changed.

Brandon Handley 20:58 But not for nothing. These are great lists for right, bountiful abundant if I could, you know, toss some words to it. The love the let go posture. I think that that's just that's it. That's a great, great takeaway there. We talked about being more confident, where do you Where do you think that's coming from out of this practice,

Rich Lewis 21:19 I would say and that was probably that's probably I got that's one of the biggest things for me because I don't think I was nearly quite know I wasn't much more confident person. And what I mean by that is I'm doing things that would have scared the heck out of me prior to centering prayer, doing a podcast like this, right, the idea of even writing a book that's, you know, almost 300 pages, and the daunting task of writing a book and then not only writing it, trying to get a publisher to publish it. Speaking I've been doing a ton of just speaking in front of small and large groups right now on zoom, but that that scares the heck out of me. So a whole lot of confidence to speak in front of small and large crowds a whole lot of confidence just to write a book that I know is going to take me a couple of years and then after that know that I need to keep pushing because now I got to find a publisher so I guess I'll have persistence so not only confidence but persistence that I'm just going to keep going and this books going to get published

Brandon Handley 22:28 you're stepping beyond currently what you thought was like a safe zone you're expanding yourself you're kind of the idea of kind of letting go and let God to like you know, let let that light your way kind of letting go some of the how, as it were, and just you know I think he talks about at the beginning having you know more more faith right What did you say you know, have you previously lacked the spiritual depth, trust and faith and these are things that you have found through your practice and I think that when you find that for yourself when you find that you're connected deeply with source and spirit and God that you're no longer just doing it by yourself if that makes sense. Right? Like Hold on a second I don't have to do this as like rich does that fair to say?

Rich Lewis 23:26 No, it is it is because because if you think my The title of my book is sitting with God a journey to your true self through centering prayer and that's exactly what I'm doing I'm sitting with God and discover my true self and my and trusting God so that I sit with God then I get up and walk with God and take my true self actions the actions that God and I together are partnering on So prior to centering prayer that you're right i was i was doing trying to do things as rich Lewis after centering prayer I'm doing things rich and God together partnering so i think i think of as I sit with God and then I get up and walk with God it's not See you later God and I'll see what the next set is. No, God comes with me and we partner throughout the day to get what to get done. what needs to get done that day.

Brandon Handley 24:15 Now pass fantastic. And the idea to when you're talking about getting these wisdoms from for tasks that like you just did kind of just up here. Again, letting go and let God but it also I mean, would you correlate that a little bit to the Akashic records, right? Is that do you feel like that's kind of where that comes from?

Rich Lewis 24:36 To say that again,

Brandon Handley 24:38 Atlantic Records, are you familiar?

Rich Lewis 24:40 I'm not familiar. I was gonna Okay.

Brandon Handley 24:41 Yes. I mean, you know, there's there's this I want to say India, Egypt, predates predates Christianity, for sure. But it's the whole idea that pretty much all that can be known exists somewhere already, right. And they They call this like the Akashic field. Right? So real similar, though to kind of what you're doing, like, I don't even know where this wisdom came from just kind of came to me through prayer through connecting with God through source, that type of thing. So real similar, I didn't know if you had made that linkage before or not.

Rich Lewis 25:16 I had not. But I mean, that makes perfect sense. Because there's really all we need is Is there anything you need to do and accomplish is, is there and available? It's just a matter of being open to it, being open to it and seeing it's

Brandon Handley 25:30 for sure, for sure. And you know, to that, to that point in degree, right. If you're not open to it, then you won't see it. Right. So you what you've done too, is you've you've, you've allowed yourself to open up to something, you've given yourself a willingness to see what you wouldn't have seen again, just as Richard Lewis, right, like I'm open to any anything that's possible. I think that that's, that's, that's, that's hard to do. Right? What would what would a like, you know, let's go back to rich Louis 10 years ago, what would he say to the guy that's talking now?

Rich Lewis 26:15 He may be confused, or she does have a lot of questions or say I had a you do, he'd be asking how do you do what I lacked the confidence and I lacked the wisdom, and I need some help. I want what you have, but I don't know how to, I don't know how to do it. And I want to have more confidence and I want to have more guts just to go for things that scare me. So I think that that rich Lewis was afraid to come out of his shell afraid to take chances of afraid to try something new and was worried what other people would think, you know, if I if I tried something, and I look like a fool

Brandon Handley 26:54 that's powerful, rich, I mean, I think that you know, that mean, right there, you kind of sum up, like the just how far you've kind of come along in your own life. And I think that, uh, I think that's super powerful. What I'm, God got a good question there, too. We'll come back to it, we'll get back to it. But so, I mean, I definitely enjoyed I enjoy it. And I think that, you know, you gave us you know, kind of how to get into that space freight and getting there and how we begin the, the, the, the, the contemplated or the silent prayer. What and you mentioned this to you know, sitting with God and your true self what you want to expand on on what you mean by truth. Oh,

Rich Lewis 27:38 sure. So your, your true self, to me is is the person God wants you to be so during centering prayer, that we let you let go, and which can include many thoughts you tell yourself that such as you know, I'm not good enough. I'm too I'm too young to try this, someone more experienced? Should I'm too old to do this, or I'm just no good or I'm a phony. You let go of all the thoughts you tell yourself, and you connect to your true self, which really is God and, and with God, really? You're unlimited. I mean, if you want to trust God, you can move forward with God and with God's power. God, I think God is very patient with us and kind of waits for us. And maybe sometimes, baby nudges us, I don't think he's, he's not. He's not like, super aggressive. I think God's very patiently waiting for us and maybe sometimes saying, Come on, let's get going. But he's going to wait because he knows you're not, you're not quite ready. So your true self is like the person God wants you to be the person God knows you can be. And I connect to it through centering prayer, because I let go of who I'm not and connect to. Once I let go of who I am not that I can begin seeing who I am and what I want to do, and the things that God wants me to do.

Brandon Handley 29:00 Question By the way, so the question was, you know, letting go of how people think about you right? Because you were afraid of that and the answer was just there and what you just said it was you connected to the truth of who you are, and you kind of let that stuff go What does that mean what does it look like for you to start to let some of that go I know that you know we can say it's it's really interesting because it's easier to say once we've gone through it right like I just I just let it go Yeah, I mean No, it's I was with God, I was with spirit and everything was cool. I was like, I just let it go. But I think that that's our hindsight of it now because of where we are versus kind of what it looked like before that before it looked like I don't think I should this is me anyways is like I don't know if that's such a good idea. I don't know if that's so good. I'm terrified. I'm gonna go ahead and do it anyways. But then when you find like, when you're out there speaking in front of these groups when you're jumping on the pod Cast, when you're doing all these other things, you find that you don't catch on fire, you don't explode. And there's not that much to fear. And people are actually in my guess, welcoming you here, like they're hungry for what you're bringing in them. That's, is that what your experience has been like? I mean, let's talk about kind of against stepping through your fear and taking that courage and letting go some of those things that letting go of the who I am not what's that look like?

Rich Lewis 30:26 No, I mean, it's it took the whole process took courage, courage, because, you know, I didn't know, Amos actually kind of he was the one that challenged me to write the book, he thought I had some, we as we had a lot of back and forth dialogue, he thought I had something to say differently than his book. And he's the one that challenged me to write a book. But that the idea of that, you know, was daunting that how am I going to write a book so that I had to kind of, in my mind, but it actually was funny the way he did it, he said, No, come back to me in about two weeks with what what are your thoughts about the Jesus paradox? What are your thoughts about centering prayer? So I came back to him two weeks later, and then he said, there's your chapters go, right. But obviously, I'd never written a book. So I decided just to write one chapter and give it to him, and see what he thought. And then to my surprise, he thought he thought it was good and had an interesting take. And then that kind of gave me the confidence that I could, I think I can do this. But now I gotta figure out well, how am I going to do this? So I, I decided to write the book. The book mostly got written on Saturday mornings from six flute or not, I got up and went to the local Starbucks, put on a baseball cap, grabbed my laptop, got a cup of coffee there and wrote for about three to four hours and Saturday morning. So I could come back home, and then really spend the rest of the day with the family who was just getting up. But they come back to the question is, everything I did was scary. And I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know the I knew the end result. But I didn't know how to get there. But I kind of had to teach myself and learn what's the next step? Because each time you kept you keep taking a step, you know, the path continues to become clear. So I kind of taught myself, Well, how am I going to write a book, I'm going to write it on Saturdays. And then after that, then I had to write a book proposal. Amos kind of gave me a template to use. And then I did the same thing. Saturdays, I wrote, I wrote the book proposal, but then different things like that. And then after doing that, I had to think about how am I going to market the book? I don't know. So I'm going to start listening to some of the people that know. I listen to some podcasts, and I read some books, and how do you market a book, and then I began putting some of that stuff in play before the book started coming out. Then I realized why I need to do podcasts, and I need to do some guest speaking. So he just kind of take the next step. So each step was scary. In fact, even I did, I finished it about a month ago, but I was doing a phase zoom study for anyone, anyone could come. And it was just a week of chapter by chapter each Saturday, from one to two, I did a kind of a summary of one of the chapters in the book, and then, but it made it real informal conversation. But the idea of that scared the heck out of me, and I made myself do it. So everything I've done, I guess you could say I was scared to do, but made myself do it. And then looking back was so glad I did.

Brandon Handley 33:30 who challenged you I mean, didn't do it in a way that said, Hey, come back and read this whole book. He, again, did a little piece at a time. He came up to you and he said, What are your thoughts on these two subjects? And you gave him a couple thoughts. And then he said, Alright, now you can expand on that. And then, you know, you had your conversation back and forth. And, and he found something that for you. And I think the power of having someone in your corner like that, I think is is something not to be 100% glossed over. I mean, obviously you've done the work and you put it all in and you've done all these things, but to have just that extra nudge of support and somebody who believes in you, unfortunately, outside of your family, too, right? Because everybody your house loves you, right? We all know everybody like your lovable guy, right? You know, and so the family already loves you and they already it's getting that outside person to just give you a little nudge, right outside validation. And and you can just begin to always liken it to Oh, ionic propulsion, right? Are you familiar with ionic propulsion?

Rich Lewis 34:46 I'm not on that. So go ahead.

Brandon Handley 34:49 Like I'm not a super scientist, but the idea is that, you know, once you get out of gravity, Earth's gravitational pull and each time you add a little bit of speed, on top of what you're doing, it can be the same thrust over and over and over again. But essentially, it compounds throughout time. And essentially you're going super fast. Because there's no there's, there's no friction in space. So it's really similar to that you got somebody just giving little nudges, and you're not really you're not there, you're not doing anything faster, you're just building upon the speed that you've already got. Right? So it's a little bit like that when you've got somebody like Amos in your in your corner. And then additionally, when you take each one of those steps, you're building up momentum, and you're kind of giving yourself a groundswell and you're finding yourself in this this again, space to 10 years ago, you'd be yearning to get to. So again, I think this is a massive accomplishment for you. And I think that it's an exciting time, because my guess is you're finding a hungry audience, you want to talk to me a little bit about how the audience is receiving this, what some of the response has been, and, you know, how do you feel like you're helping some people?

Rich Lewis 36:06 Yeah, so a lot of what I'm hearing what they liked about the book was one it was, it was helpful, really, for new people to centering prayer. But it was also helpful for people that were already practicing it because it helped them go deeper in their practice. But I guess what they most liked about the book was that I wrote, I was honest, and I shared my journey. And I shared how it has healed and transformed me. And so there's a lot of me in there. It wasn't just a book about God and theology, and how do you do centering prayer, it was a book about, you know, how centering prayer is healed and transformed me and what is, what is a true self, and who is my true self? What are the fruits of the practice for what are the fruits I've discovered, so it was a lot of sharing my journey, and how it has healed and transformed me. And people really like that, because it was written in easy to it wasn't written in an academic style, it was written in a very easy to digest style. So the book that had 14 chapters, and the chapters are fairly short. And then within each chapter, I had various headings. And the sections could be a page to a two pages. So it was a, it was an easy read, and people enjoyed it, enjoyed that. And then at the end of each chapter, I had questions for reflection and answer, which I got a lot of feedback on that it helped them before they moved on to the next chapter, just kind of evaluate what they just read and answer some of these questions for themselves. So they just said it was an easy read for the everyday person. But it was neat, too, because I shared my journey and was honest and vulnerable.

Brandon Handley 37:48 What I like too, about what you're doing there, with you being vulnerable, you're sharing your journey. And you're asking people to stop from going to the next chapter, right? Taking x and doing something that is tangible. At the end, they're doing a little bit of reflection on what they've just read. So that kind of adds a stickiness to it. When you do something like that. Rich, I think that's a really great a good idea. What about your family? What would you say? What would they say, has changed the most about you? or How was the impact on your family life. And because of this,

Rich Lewis 38:23 I would say, I think I'm just more present and more willing more, really there when I'm there instead of being there, but maybe mentally not there. So I think it's helped me be more present when we're enjoying each other's company, and letting go of work and other things so that I'm giving them 100% of me, or as much as 100% of me during that time. And, and the nice thing too is that my wife, she doesn't practice centering prayer, and that's okay. It's not It's not for everybody. But the neat thing was my two of my kids were curious, because I used to practice my second set in the evening, and they would see me going to the basement and they wanted to know what I was doing. So both of them asked me so I invited them both to come down, but they both wanted their own time. So I have to bring them down individually. But they wanted to know what I was doing. So I showed them and then we actually would do it together. So my son was eight at the time, we would do a one minute sit together and that was pretty neat. We would light a candle and then read a verse from the contemplative outreach app which is you use it the time to set the timer for one minute that just said open my heart to your love. We'd read that together then we would do the one minute set up together and then blow out the candle and then just kind of talk and have some fun. And then my daughter wanted to do it too but she he was afraid she'd fall asleep. So she centered with her eyes open and I know I mentioned that earlier. Some people don't want to close their eyes so she kept her eyes open. I got her up to about 10 minutes. She didn't know it because I would say How long do you want to go and she say six or seven minutes and I would just set the timer for 10 because she didn't know what I was setting it for you And then she would she didn't realize she was actually sitting for two pretend minutes. So they got they did it with me. And that was kind of a neat thing that they did it with me and they wanted to learn more. So I said, well, let's come down and I'll show you what I'm doing. And we would practice it from time to time and still do

Brandon Handley 40:19 it and to something you can all do together so that you know, you're actually getting to spend some family time this quality, right? There's not a TV involved, there's not you know, a podcast or a phone, I mean, I'm sure using the app, but whatever, you know, I mean, it's you know, some time where you can just sit there together and you're giving them I would have to say, an advantage right over someone who's never had that experience feel sit down there think focus a little bit and just kind of be in that silence, especially, especially as we move faster and faster and faster and faster. Through throughout the these days. What um, you know, so let's let's do Who Who do you think you would be reaching out to? Who do you think should be reaching out to rich Louis, check out the book, who's your ideal client, as they say, your avatar, if you've been doing your marketing, right, rich? What's that look like?

Rich Lewis 41:16 Actually, ironically, I would say because I do coaching, and I am, I look back now that I look back at the coaching and the types of clients I have, they fall into three categories. So the first type is, is just someone that's brand new to centering prayer. And is, is not a self starter. So they need some help with it. And they don't, they, they just feel they need some help with it. And if they don't get some help, they're never going to do it. So there's that type of person. So brand new to centering prayer and need some help with how do I do it? When do I do it, and just sharing that experience with someone to get them moving. Then the second type of category is people that are already practicing, but they want to add a second set, they want to add more depth to their practice, and relationship with God. And they want to further explore what is this idea of my true self? And who is it and am I acting from it. And then the third type are actually like, priests, clergy, pastors, they come to me and say, I'm taking care of everybody except myself, I need some help with my self care. So I need you to help me start taking care of myself and to hold me more accountable because taking care of everybody except myself. So I've coached some people like that. And some of them have been priests, and some of them are pastors of churches and Episcopal priests, where they're doing, I guess, a wonderful job with their congregations. But they're doing not so wonderful job taking care of themselves. So I'd say all three, just because I've been approached by all three types of people, so the book can help all three, someone new, someone who wants to go deeper, but it can also help someone that already is immersed in God as a pastor, but just not taking good care of themselves.

Brandon Handley 43:07 Yeah, for sure, right? Everybody needs that. Even the caregivers need care. Right? There's a it's a top of their game. So rich, I mean, I think that's great. And it's good that you know who your audiences who you're working with. And again, I was kind of like, look at this is kind of a spiritual speed dating podcasts, right? You know, people are coming through, they're looking for who they resonate with, right? Who do they who do they resonate with? Who can they find that's going to be able to, just like you did pick up your book, read it, and they're gonna be like, wow, rich, you nailed a spot on for me. This is it, you know, and you know, you could be somebody famous, right? So somebody like that, but I also look at it. And I have a bank of questions here. That was like to ask what C to do to do. Well, is spiritual speed dating. apps are number one and spirituality here. Talk a little bit what is our greatest distraction, rich?

Rich Lewis 44:10 I guess our greatest distraction is probably us and believing the thoughts we tell ourselves that aren't true. And throughout the day, I have to take a step back and say, why am I Why am I feeding myself these thoughts that this isn't, who I am, and what I can do and what I've got accomplished, or it's not even something that probably even going to happen? A lot of worry and anxiety. So I would say the biggest distraction is the thoughts we feed ourselves or become anxious and worried about that really don't have any reason to happen. They're probably not going to happen. But we've convinced herself that we need to be wary, we need to be fearful, or we've convinced herself that we're just not confident enough and not the right person for a particular task. So our thoughts really mean our thoughts. What we feed ourselves is our biggest distractor.

Brandon Handley 45:04 Right, amen. And centering prayer is something that can help you with this right? It's something that's helped you throughout time. So rich, I want to say thanks for your answer. I really appreciate you coming on and sharing this practice I certainly wasn't familiar with I didn't know that, uh, I didn't know that tm had a competitor. Right? I thought that that was an interesting instinct, interesting information, right? I mean, Krishna is like, Hey, what do we got for for this? Right? And I think that's pretty cool. The idea that believing those thoughts are not true, right? And what how challenging is to separate the thoughts that we're telling ourselves from the truth. Right? I think that's really powerful, really proud for observation. Rich, where can we send people to connect with you find out more about the book, maybe find out about some coaching if they're looking for it?

Rich Lewis 45:50 Sure. I mean, the best place is just my website, silence teachers calm if if they subscribe, they'll get my free I have a free short ebook on centering prayer if they want to learn more about it. And then if they want to further explore it, they can obviously check out the book which is also on the website. And then for those that if you fall into one of those three categories, in need of coaching and it's something that you feel you can have it we can help you they can feel free to reach out to me. And then as well, many church groups, they they have adult faith groups or prayer groups or or some churches that have centering prayer groups can connect with me and I'll speak with them via zoom these days. I've been doing a lot, a lot of that and I actually have one on Saturday that I'm doing to a Catholic Church in California. So my website silence teachers

Brandon Handley 46:41 calm. Awesome, rich, thanks again for being on today. Appreciate.

Rich Lewis 46:45 Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. I

Unknown Speaker 46:49 really hope you enjoyed this episode of the spiritual dove podcast. stay connected with us directly through spiritual dove co You can also join the discussion on Facebook and Instagram and spiritual on Discord. If you would like to speak with us, send us an email to Brandon at spiritual dog Co. And as always, thank you for cultivating your mindset and creating a better reality. This includes the most thought provoking part of your day. Don't forget to like and subscribe to stay fully up to date and until next time week on your zone and trust your intuition

Meet Jaclyn Johnston and the author of the best-selling book, "Don't Feel Stuck!" she works for world-renowned physicists, and she created Manifest It!®

Learn more about Jaclyn on her website where she has her blog and links to her best selling books that will help you to manifest the life you have only dreamed of here: https://themanifestit.com/about/

Brandon Handley 0:01 Boom here hey there spiritual tube I am on here today with Jacqueline Johnson of the manifested calm Jacqueline I connected, I were just talking to her a little bit earlier about how we connected on Instagram, I really kind of dig everything that you've got going on with your manifestation space and kind of what you're putting out there the messaging. And we felt like it'd be a good idea for you to hop on the podcast and share some of the messaging out and what it is that you're doing and how others can, you know, find that and implement that in their own lives. So Jacqueline, once you give me a little, give the audience a little bit of a background on yourself. And we'll jump into

Jaclyn Johnston 0:39 thanks so much for having me, Brandon. So I am My name is Jacqueline Johnston. And I'm a number one best selling author of the dolgeville stuck books, the series, and I also am the creator of the brand manifested and the podcast show host of the same name manifested.

Brandon Handley 1:05 Awesome, thanks for and again, thanks for hopping on here today. So as you know, right, we're vehicles of source right sources kind of always come in through us and speaks to us to help others out, right? Like the more that we open ourselves up to be of service to others than then the sources kind of like, blows through us. And it's in that vein, right that when you're here and you're speaking to you and I are speaking, you and I have a conversation, but the person on the other end is going to hear something totally different. And it's gonna hear this message that can only be delivered through you today, Jacqueline, on this podcast at this time, what is that message that is coming through safely,

Jaclyn Johnston 1:45 I have to one, like, literally time is an illusion, it doesn't exist. I work with physicists at a university. So I'm really, really anything and everything that you see other people manifest, it can manifest for you as well. And to us soon as you fully surrender to the outcome, and I do mean fully surrender, it just, it just shows up so quickly. Yep.

Brandon Handley 2:22 So when you say fully surrender to the outcome, were you saying

Jaclyn Johnston 2:25 I mean, there's this method that I use, and I call it manifest manifest faster. And I use it by writing into reality. So every single time I write something down that I desire, and I match it with current blessings, or past achievements, with what I want to manifest in what I want to achieve, but I write it down as if it's already happening, or has happened, your brain doesn't know the difference between what's true and what's false. And neither does the universe, because it just responds to you through the boomerang effect. So whenever I write something down, and I just take about five minutes a day to do it, it programs and reprograms. And in helps my brain to understand that you know what this is possible, it was possible for somebody else, so it can be possible. For me, it's like learning how to drive a car, learning an app on your phone. You remember when we were kids, and we were learning how to tire fuse. I mean, really, and truly, you can do this, you just have to give your permission is to give yourself permission to do so. And by writing it down, I have found that it manifests manifest faster.

Brandon Handley 3:47 For sure, so when you're writing these manifests, and you know, when you're when you're manifesting, is it? Is it repetition of something? Or is it the creation of something? Or is it the development of an idea is kind of what's that process look like for you as

Jaclyn Johnston 4:06 part of the process of fully surrendering is training your brain. And so it does involve some repetition, but not to the point where it's all you focus on because then you focus on the need, rather than then just being open. So it's really and truly learning how to appreciate everything that you do have, what you've accomplished so far, and building upon that through the compound effect of each day. And I mean, that's really and truly How do you learn the lyrics to a song that you hear for the first time and you really like it, you set the intention to learn the lyrics to the song and you may not know it after hearing it the first time around, but you do learn it because you set the intention to do so. So It's the same thing when it comes to writing in reality, you set the intention every day, hey, you know, I'm open to this. And I trust the process. And I trust the universe because it doesn't matter when or how it happens. I just know it's a possibility. And then when you mix that with other things in your life or your career, then you're not focusing solely on that particular desire. And it helps you to fully surrender. And then when you fully surrender, the universe just responds so quickly.

Brandon Handley 5:40 I had a full surrender moment this morning. I couldn't find my complaint. Right. And it but it but it was it really is in the same context, because it's a and it was funny because I felt myself in this moment. Like, I can't find it. And like, my chest started to get all tight. Like I wasn't even like, I was like, frantic rain like that. It wasn't a big deal. But it was like, I felt like this panic, I felt like this thing. And I was like, Oh, I'm putting all this like yuck energy. And like finding my phone, I'm like, this sucks. I was like, Alright, well, I guess I won't have it with me, I'll just roll on out. And I turn the corner is like, there was like, right there to my right. And I'm like, and it was like just a matter of just letting it go, just a moment of just like letting it go be like, I would like to have it, I don't have to have it, it would be great if it showed up sooner rather than later. But whatever, we're just gonna roll it, that kind of what we're looking at,

Jaclyn Johnston 6:35 because the it's like with the wave in the the waves in the ocean, you know, there's so much tension that pulls back when the wave comes back into the ocean. And it reminds me also have a bow and arrow, like you're you're stressing out and you're and don't get me wrong, I live with anxiety every single day, and I'm a type a person. So I I'm constantly surrendering and practicing, it's a lifelong journey. But you get better at it with practice. And so you have that tension, you know, mentally in your emotions. You're like, Oh, my gosh, I can't find my phone in your case. And you're just like I need, I need to control this outcome. I need to control the surroundings. I need my phone. And then as soon as you like you said, you just said okay, well, whatever, I'm just gonna roll with it, then the wave surges forward, and you start hanging 10 because then instantly your manifestation or your desire, whatever it is, shows up. And yeah, instantly, that arrow just propelled forward towards the target. And it really and truly is learning how, like you said, to let go and stop controlling the how and the when, and I know everybody hears that all the time. But it really truly is a, a practice. And it's a daily practice. Because as human beings in our society, we're trained to want to control everything around us. Because let's be honest, the unknown is scary. And I had that same experience. Most recently. I mean, I've manifested so many things in such a short amount of time in my life. But most recently, a couple of weeks ago, I gave up gave up but let go and gave into the how and the when of wanting to move to Cincinnati I have right now live in Dallas. And I've been with my boyfriend for four years. And I were you know, we want to be closer together. And I just kept like, feeling frustrated, up until about two weeks ago, because I thought, well, I'm gonna have to find a job. And then, you know, I work at the university with businesses, and I love my job. And I do I love working with them. And once I finally just was like, You know what, I'm not gonna stress about it. It'll come in to play, it'll, all the pieces will come together when it's the right time. And then as soon as that happens, I literally got a phone call from the University of Cincinnati. Also in insight, it's like the College of Medicine, but that's still science base. But yeah, so I got a job offer to work in the College of Medicine to do their accounting, and I got actually offered a lot more money, then I'm getting paid here. And so I realized now every time I realized this, whenever I do manifest anything and everything. I realized that if I just stop trying to control the outcome, then things either manifest exactly how I expect it. Or much better comes to me and it's usually much better, I would say 95% of the time, it's much better than I can, you know, expect or or imagine because honestly, I wasn't expecting the salary increase, like it is and I just felt so blessed in so now everything's happening so fast. And the universe, I mean, it's a boomerang, it just responds, but you got to let go of the control.

Brandon Handley 10:32 That's great. The, the, the, the idea is if I, if I'm, if I'm following this or something better, right. And then I think it's interesting that you've, you're a type a person working in a scientific field and or space. And you're, you're also in this space, you're also in the manifestation space. We know I'm guessing, also that it didn't happen overnight. You weren't always this person. So how did you? What's your journey look like?

Jaclyn Johnston 11:05 Yeah. So when I went to, I went to college at UT Austin. And when I first got there, I thought I wanted to work in physics. And then my senior year, I realized, Oh, my gosh, I really love literature. And I love writing. And I'm an INFJ, and the Myers Briggs, which is a famous psychology test, which basically means I utilize both hemispheres of my brain equally. So you know, some people are extremely, like genius level on the right side of their brain or the left side of their brain. And I utilize both equally, so I'm a little bit more well rounded, and not really genius level in one particular subject. But yeah, so I ended up graduating with an English major and a minor in Communication Studies. But then I ended up in real estate, and I didn't like it wasn't for me, I was doing accounting in it, which is funny, because I don't have an accounting degree. But with my experience, I was able to wind up back in the physics area, doing math all day long. But I also have the pleasure of writing books. So I have three published books now. And I have my own business and my own products, like mugs and journals, and I have the podcast. And I also, you know, write for media platforms. So you know, when you put yourself in a any kind of confinement, that limits you. And so, I believe that because everything exists simultaneously in the universe, then why not have the best of both worlds. And if you, and I know it's hard, because I want to control too. But if you trust the process, it will happen so much faster for you whether it's getting out of debt, I used to be in $29,000 worth of debt. And I got out of it. And I got out of that debt two weeks after I fully surrendered to that. And that was a few years ago. And I mean, I manifested a brand new car of my choosing for free. I got a brand new washer and dryer set for free. And I met my most favorite person in the whole world, Bruce Springsteen. And there's just an i O. And I was single for nine years. And when I say single, I mean, could have checked myself into the convent single, I did not date. And I just decided I'm going to write him into reality. And I did that within 10 months. We've been together for four years, and now we're moving, moving forward in the relationship. And he's a chemist, he's an inventor in chemistry. Yeah. So yeah, why not have the best of both worlds? It's possible. And it's possible for someone else and it's possible for you, why can't it be?

Brandon Handley 14:08 So let's look at just starting small, right? Let's just let's just because, correct me if I'm wrong, but this a lot of this is going to work off of your beliefs, right? What are you willing to accept? And so let's start off in the beginning, how do I start off in this space? What do I need to do,

Jaclyn Johnston 14:30 I always recommend, don't focus on one particular desire. You don't focus on anything and everything that you would like to manifest so that way you're not focusing and creating vibrations of needs and lack. And you can start with smaller goals. And you can start with bigger goals. And you can start with, I don't know like mid range goals. I say just allow it. Anything and everything. And then as you practice each day with writing into reality and shifting, you know what's possible for you, which my my books, my three books that I have that don't feel stuck series, I guide you day by day on how to do this. And I literally put in all of my it's like programs but in a book, and I put in everything that I did for myself and still do for myself into these books. But it's it's that compound effect of the daily practice. So I know some people say, oh, start out with a small goal. Or some people say no, just focus on the one thing you want. And I'm saying why limit yourself just, you know, talk about anything and everything that you're open to. And then as you shift, your self esteem will start to shift. Because let's face it, most people want to believe in something that's outside of themselves. And through my books with the cognitive behavioral training, which is psychology, I literally guide you and teach you how to start trusting yourself more, which in turn is trusting the universe, because we are the same elemental particles that are of the universe. So yeah, as you practice this practice makes progression and progression brings the manifestation. And again, being open to anything and everything. Blessing wise, coming your way, it'll give you a confidence boost, and then over time, you'll start taking manifesting action is how I call it, but it's basically taking action towards your goals. So when you show the universe what you want, because physical action is a much stronger vibration than just thinking something, you know, a thought is just a thought, it's a fleeting moment of feeling a stronger vibration, because you put focus on it. But action action is where it's that and you want something to manifest, write it down, because that's action, right? visualizing. And also just, you know, taking steps and saying, hey, universe, I mean business, I'm showing you what I want. And then you got to, again, trust the process surrender, and it will happen so fast.

Brandon Handley 17:24 Right? So I, you know, here Amir was saying the the idea of, you know, writing it down is an action of itself. And not to limit yourself to just starting small you can you can, anything, right? You're saying anything is on the table? Why not? It's all here. And it's all here at the same time already, is something I'm kind of hearing you say, saying to like, you know, time is an illusion. So what's that look like? Right? What do you mean, it's all here already.

Jaclyn Johnston 17:56 So I like to tell people, if you close your eyes, and you imagine this clear, protective bubble around you, and then outside of it are all of your desires. I'm saying, you know, pop the bubble and let it come to you like it's floating around, you know, but if you keep that separation of, Oh, I don't know, if it's possible for me, then you're just you're just keeping it at arm's length. And so I say pop the bubble, allow it to come in. Don't worry about how it comes to you. Or when it comes to you just be open to it coming to you. And another scenario I like to use is I call it your manifestations are delivered by ups universe Parcel Service. I know it's so cheesy. But you know, when you go online, and you put in an item that you want to purchase, you click it and add it to the cart. And then when you go to check out, you put in your shipping address, and then you hit submit, and then you know that it's on its way to you, you know that it's coming. It's the same process when it comes to your desires. You say, Okay, I want this, and you click the checkout mentally. You put in your shipping address, meaning taking action, like taking steps to make it happen. And then you just trust that okay, well, it's on its way to me, and then as soon as you fully stop trying to control your surroundings, it shows up right away.

Brandon Handley 19:34 I love that. I mean, as you're sitting there talking, I'm like, wow, you can make a fun game out of that and of itself. And while I'm thinking of that, in terms of manifestation, you know, we've been talking about positive manifestation the whole time, right? So this also works negatively, you know. And I guess, you know, we can ask people who are looking for the evidence that it's an accent to kind of like, trace their thoughts back one way or another. Oh, where did that come from? How did that show up in your life? Right? So how do you, you know, for just just to get people started, right? Or even like kind of sharing your story? What uh, how did you get the free car? How did you know that's over your life? I'm curious on the story, just share with the audience like what's Tell us about that one? Yeah. So

Jaclyn Johnston 20:25 I, I remember, I had a is a Honda Civic, and I loved that car so much, the AC was broken. And since I live in Texas, it's super hot in the summer. And I just remember, I would leave campus, it was so hot, and I the windows rolled down. And I, every day, I kept imagining myself in my car with a nice cool breeze in my car, a working AC. And I just kept imagining myself feeling cool. And, you know, it's kind of like when you know, when you start talking about mosquitoes, and how they fly around you, and then they, they bite you, and then you get all itchy. And the more you talk about it, you're gonna start feeling itchy. Or if you have to use the restroom and you start talking about water, then you know, it's that urge. So I just kept telling myself on the drive home every day from the campus, like, Oh, my AC is so cool, it feels so good in here. And all I wanted was an a working AC in my car, it wasn't an old car, it just was a broken AC, that's all it was. And then about, I would say it was like a month later, I got a gift that I wasn't expecting. And I got some money. And I realized, oh my gosh, I can get a car of my choosing for free. And I didn't have to pay a dime for it. And it again, it's that whole, you know, 95% of the time, it's much better than you imagine coming to you. So why limit yourself into thinking that there's a certain stopping point in terms of your desires coming to you, again, I didn't think I would get a new car, or get money for a new car. But I just I was just so thankful that I was focusing on my AC working and then a bigger blessing came. And it's the same thing. I mean, with recently with, you know, vote now moving to Cincinnati and working on our campus affair, you know, I just, I just tried to focus on how thankful I am for everything. But I also imagined myself, you know, experiencing what it is that I want to experience. And like you said it can work in a negative way as well. And I always love to use the bug analogy because yeah, you start filling he I mean even just talking about it, I want to scratch my leg right now even though I know there's nothing there. But you know, your your body is not a solid, it's tiny little particles just bouncing around all the time. So your perception is your reality. We want to think that things are a certain way, but they're really not. And we're the same energy that makes up the universe. And energy just influences itself. So you might as well be the master at it and influence it in a way to where you're open to anything and everything coming to you and things that you want will come to you in a much better way. Well,

Brandon Handley 23:50 Jackie, Jacqueline, I need to plan this out. It's got to be linear. I've got to have a plan needs to be my way. I've got to pay attention to the plan. I've got to act it out. What the hell? How? We're out. Yeah. So what do you say?

Jaclyn Johnston 24:03 I'm the same way my, um, my grandpa is a Sicilian American. And growing up, he taught me everything happens in sequential order. So it again, it's like you're trained a certain way to expect things a certain way. And so you have to practice every day, even if it's five minutes. Take those mental breaks that alarms in your phone to go off so that way throughout your day when you're at work, you hear the alarm and you go, oh, mental break, and you just sit and relax. And you can meditate or you can just sit and write it out or type it on your computer. And just like focus on everything that you're thankful for it can be literally because your coffee tasted extra good that morning, or it could be something even bigger. You know if you had a big bowl I think come your way, but I, I literally focus on how thankful I am that, you know, I have hands that work and, you know, legs that I can move and, and I just build upon that compound effect of, of building and don't get me wrong I love to be in charge I love to take control. And I'm a planner. I'm a huge planner. And that's okay. Because that's what I did. I started looking for places in Cincinnati a week ago, and I thought, Oh, it would be cool to be over here. Oh, it'd be cool to be over here. But I didn't attach myself to it. I just thought, Oh, I'm open to it. Same thing with Bruce Springsteen. I had a dream at night he pulled me up on stage was obviously during dancing in the dark. And in my dream, you know, it was great. It was fantastic. I woke up I laughed. I said, huh, that would be awesome. But oh, well, if it doesn't work out, drove to work that day. And literally I kid you not one month to the day later, I was at his concert. He pulled me up on stage during dancing in the dark. Same thing habit.

Brandon Handley 26:16 I love it. Now what about somebody? Well, Jacqueline, that's great. Sounds like you have a lot of coincidences in your life,

Jaclyn Johnston 26:23 incidences. So yeah, you can call them coincidences. You can call them blessings. You can call them forks, you can literally, like identify it, and symbolize it and have it represent whatever you want it to be your, your, your own limit. Because again, everything exists simultaneously in the universe. we collectively as a society, call a laptop, a laptop, but really, it could be a table.

Brandon Handley 26:57 Right? Like say, it's just like, you know, call it what you need to call it. I'm gonna call it what I'm calling it, and it's working for me. Right? I mean, that's right. That's the gist. And you know, it doesn't have to be just because I come along, and I'm like, well, that's coincidence. That's whatever and like, doesn't sound like you're up for it. Right? I mean,

Jaclyn Johnston 27:15 you get to choose how it represents for you, you get to choose how you want to focus on it. And just because somebody says something a certain way doesn't mean it's actually a certain way. It's their perception. And that's their reality. Because, again, energy is just constantly bouncing around all day long throughout the universe, in colliding into itself, and shaping itself and molding itself. So you get to choose, just like if you were like, say your hand, for example, if you push on the skin on your hand, it moves and changes shape, because you're influencing it, and you're making that decision, but the universe it responds to you. So that's why I say you're your own limit. And you can call it whatever you want. Like in my new book, don't feel stuck with money. I have the reader pick out their favorite song, and change up the lyrics. And you'll change up the lyrics and put money or abundance in certain spots. And so that way, whenever you start hearing your favorite song, you you associate money with a positive thing rather than a negative thing. But it's your choice. Either way, I think it's hilarious. When law of attraction people try to say, Oh, no, you have to do it this way. And I'm like, Who says you have to do it that way. You say it has to be done that way, because that's what you choose for your own reality. But there's all kinds of ways you can manifest. I mean, you don't have to write it down every single time. I like to write because for me, it works. But I type onto my laptop as well. And that totally worth. It's just the whole point is just to get your mind to be more open and more accepting to whatever rather than things being a specific way, shape or form definition.

Brandon Handley 29:11 Fair enough. And I get you know, I guess that if you're just looking at it in this specific way, shape or definition, that's what you're tuning your brain to right. That's what you're tuning your mind to. And that's that's the limitation, right? Those are confinements I believe his words, used earlier confinements to how, how this can show up in your life. And again, you're like, Well, you know, here are the ways I suppose show up. Here's what I see in my mind. This is what I accept as proof that it's working. Whereas he just be like, again, letting it go. Right? Not be attached to the outcome. And chances of it showing up seem a little bit

Jaclyn Johnston 29:51 better. Yeah, because you you literally get what you expect and And that expectations, those are built through what beliefs and beliefs are built through what training to think and focus a specific way. And we go through school and we're taught to learn how to write, and we're taught to learn how to use mathematics. But it doesn't mean that just because most people write with their right hand, that left handed people should write with their right hand, I'm left handed, I was ambidextrous as a child, my pick the lucky one, because everybody else was doing it the other way. It's just a matter of Yeah, keeping your mind open and understanding that there is there's no such thing as time. Time is, is really an it's an observation between event A and event B. And that filler is what time is. But like I said earlier, anybody can have anything they want. And just because you see it happening for someone else, doesn't mean that it can't happen for you, you're a human being just like they are. And just because you see them at a successful point, doesn't mean you can't get there yourself, you just have to give yourself some time and practice and use the compound effect we don't see with our eyes, we see with our mind, our mind is the projector. And our eyes are the screens. And that's how our anatomy is built. So if you can see it and envision it, and like feel good when you visualize it. And the more you do it, the less foreign it feels. And then therefore, you are able to accept it.

Brandon Handley 31:48 How key is attaching some emotion to this?

Jaclyn Johnston 31:54 Well, depending on if you want to, it depends, it just kind of depends on what kind of a outcome for your emotion that you want to feel. Do you mean for someone who wants to be in a positive state like most of the time in attaching to positive feelings? Or do you just mean in general?

Brandon Handley 32:15 So if I am attempting to manifest something and completely brain manifest a saint, I got all those intellect I'm like, Alright, yeah, I want that thing. I want that thing. I want that thing. Give it to me Give it to me, I see it, I see it, I see it. I've written like my man, you know, I've written off, but I'm not feeling anything, right? isn't important. Can I do it with just like just thinking yeah? Or do I need to have some emotion involved? You

Jaclyn Johnston 32:43 can. It's not as strong as an emotion. Because a thought is a fleeting moment. And so you don't have much attachment to it. But a feeling you have a bit more attachment to it. And physical actions are even stronger vibrations. So I'm not saying that you can't just sit on your couch and just think something. And I'm not saying that it can't happen. It can't happen. I mean, there's a ratio to everything in the universe. So everything's mathematics, there's numbers. So it can happen. It's just if you want to happen faster, then you want to envision yourself, doing whatever it is you want. And relishing in that moment and feeling thankful and blessed because the emotion is the stronger vibration.

Brandon Handley 33:36 I got it. Yeah, I've jotted this down, right, yeah, as you were trying to talk and you talked about, like the bow and arrow earlier. Like, it's kind of like, your thoughts are the arrow in this scenario? And your emotions are kind of like what like sends it out? Right? Is that fair? Yeah.

Jaclyn Johnston 33:52 And for me, someone who has anxiety every single day, that that tension is the anxiety for me, it's the stress of, of, Oh, I need, I need to know what's going on. And I need to control because I'm a planner. And yeah, that's true. But I always think like, why do I want to feel that way all the time. So so then again, it's it's a, it's a journey, it's something that you're a student at all your life, because the more you practice it, practice the surrender, then you'll start manifesting things, and then it'll get a little bit easier. But also your desires get bigger, right? Because we always want more. So, exactly. So that's why when, when I say I'm a master at the law of attraction, I'm a master at 99% because we're always wanting more, and it's always learning the growth and expansion through the art of surrendering. So yeah, so the arrow is, is definitely what you want. And the bow is like the union Verse saying, Hey, this is you know, this is me, this is how I operate, here's the bow the framework. And then for me, the tension would be things it in the stress. But as soon as I let that go, it's like, I pop the can have a, you know, one of those bubbly drinks. And it's like, and I feel so much better because I released really, that need to control. And then the, it's just like, boom, there it goes. Arrow arrow has left and it's going in that direction.

Brandon Handley 35:33 Nice. The newest book is centered around what exactly,

Jaclyn Johnston 35:38 yeah, so I just published don't feel stuck with money. And that is all about all the different ways you can manifest money. And I feel like, whether it doesn't matter what the amount is, for me, it doesn't matter. I just want more, right, we always want more money. So I go through different ways to manifest it. Sorry, to make the pun of my brand. But I, you know, again, I mentioned earlier, you know, playing around with lyrics to your favorite song. There's also a kind of a fun exercise in there, about how, especially lately with the pandemic, you know, we're encouraged to wash our hands more often. So I have a fun exercise. That includes being mindful with washing our hands, but also manifesting more money using a hand washing method. I also talk about and we do exercises with house chores. And I know that sounds like how do you manifest money with house chores. But there's all kinds of fun ways to do you think. So this book is it's a little different from the other two books that I previously published, in the sense that, like, I'm mixing it up with different actions that you can take, because I've learned over the last four years that you know, yeah, for me, writing into reality is really effective. But I've also learned there's other ways you can take manifesting action and you can still manifest it.

Brandon Handley 37:18 Awesome. So what's next for you in this journey?

Jaclyn Johnston 37:22 That's a really good question. My podcast has been taking off so I've been collaborating with people who work in Hollywood and like some New York Times bestselling authors. So I'm going to continue doing the podcast it's been fun for me and I have a fourth book that I've already written so I will get going on the editing with that and you know, I'm going to continue working in academia I really love it and I'm going to enjoy living in a whole new city and being with my boyfriend after you know being in a long distance relationship for the last four years. So I'm open to any and every blessing coming my way. And you know, every year I like to write out my goals for the year and then six months into it, I like to look at them mark off what I achieved and then start either modify that same list or start a whole new list and just be open to you know, things happening unexpectedly but in a good way because again, you either get what you want or something much better comes to you and it's for you

Brandon Handley 38:39 nice no I love that I love that I was thinking the idea too that like if you didn't get like one of those things that you really wanted like maybe that was the thing you were supposed to like you know that that it worked out correctly right like I always make the joke that like I'm glad I didn't make a lot of money when I was younger because I probably would have like done some things and you know just wouldn't worked out right like I probably would have done some stupid things right like i mean is that right fair enough fair enough. Well that's like so gets this little part here where I just like to think about this podcast is kind of like this spiritual speed dating show right? Like somebody's gonna show up and like I'm looking for my next spiritual they and Jacqueline you could be somebody who's next spiritual date. Are you feeling up for a question or two? All right. Oh, come on what's going on here so Bachelorette I know you're not a real best spiritual Bachelorette. And maybe you are tied spiritually as well but just go with this right? Um,

do you ask enough questions, or do you settle for what? You know?

Jaclyn Johnston 39:54 I annoy people with all the questions I asked. Because I want to know why.

Brandon Handley 40:02 You go deep, you like to just keep asking you you like to keep asking.

Jaclyn Johnston 40:06 I'm a lot less talking a lot more action. So let's just go to the why let's just cut out the surface stuff.

Brandon Handley 40:14 Fair enough. Fair enough. What would you say is the biggest waste of human potential?

Jaclyn Johnston 40:22 That's, that's a very emotionally charged question for me, because I feel Honestly, I feel like the biggest waste is not being open to learning new ideas and new ways, because that's again, your your own limit.

Brandon Handley 40:45 Yeah, the cellphone posters. So you're saying like the self imposed limits? Just kind of murders? Yeah, for lack

Jaclyn Johnston 40:51 of a better way to use the analogy of, you know, there is no box, throw away the box. And I mean, I know it's cliche, but I agree, there is no box.

Brandon Handley 41:03 Yeah, and that's worked out for you, right? You've seen it, it's showing up in your life. And that's the way it living in life. And it's working out, you know, working with actors, Hollywood, New York Times. That's awesome. Right? So congratulations, like, on your journey. And just like kind of really stepping into it. And, you know, seeing it, I think that I think in for me anyways, I think the word is unfold, unfold has been like the best way to kind of hear people say it all the time. Like, you can go unfold, whatever, you know, but that's how it just kind of happens, right? You start taking that action towards it. it unfolds in front of you. And like just the easiest sense of

Jaclyn Johnston 41:45 it. I had a I had a dog for 10 years, and he was my best friend. And he just passed away a couple weeks ago. And I thought to myself, Oh, my gosh, like, what am I gonna do? You know, I thought, Oh, that's awful. I mean, it really is, has, it's been really hard. And I'm not saying that because you master the law of attraction, you won't go through hard things, we all go through hard things, because energy is constantly moving in all directions. So and that's why success is not a one way direction or a one way street. But I thought, Oh my gosh, you know, my dog died. He was like, my security blanket. And, you know, I was feeling so lonely. And I thought, whoa, I mean, I, I've always wanted to bring my relationship with my sweet chemist, forward and more permanent, where we're in the same city, and we're living together. And he had a dog. And we always said, well, when our, when our pets are alive, we're not going to do it. Because our pets were both really old. And, and then his dog died a couple months ago, and then my dog died. And I was just feeling so much loss. And I kept telling myself, you know, there's a reason for this. And, and, like I said, you know, everything, just like quickly came together. I, the job I'm taking is a creative job. It's a creative position. So I realized now that the reason why not saying that, you know, I would want my dog to die. But it was his time. He was old. And you know, he had cancer. So it was his time. But I realized now that the opportunity that has been placed before me to move across country, and to get a job that has higher pay, and be with my boyfriend every single day and move in together and all that, that, that is really and truly, it couldn't have happened before because it would have just been too much with my sick dog. And it's like we don't understand in a moment, but then afterwards, we're like, Hmm, okay, well, the puzzle pieces are coming together. Like you said, unfolding.

Brandon Handley 44:02 Yeah, no, at all, like the universe synchronized on your behalf. Right, and maybe not, in a way that and again, we don't know how it's gonna happen. Right? We just, you know, if we put faith in it happening for us, right, then then we don't, that's what we do. And then we step back. We're like, all right, yeah. Show me what you got. Right? It's

Jaclyn Johnston 44:25 not that it's a say if you want to be a best selling author, it's not that it

It can't. You're gonna have to read the book. Yeah. It may not happen overnight. Right.

Brandon Handley 45:09 Sure, for sure well Jacqueline this has been a pleasure thank you so much for showing up on where can I send people to find out more about you your books and your endeavors

awesome Jacqueline keep up doing what you're doing I think a lot of people you know they need this and they need it from different people right? It's like they're not all gonna gravitate to the same person. And so you've got your crowd you've got your people you've got your audience that you speak to and a doing a tremendous job with this. So keep it up. Thank you so much what you're doing.

You go Absolutely. Well, so you know, that's well and hopefully that was all right for you. When we hit the things that

From the photographer of the critically acclaimed 108 Rock Star Guitars comes a new collection of beautifully shot guitar photos, documenting the legendary instruments of B.B. King, Kurt Cobain, St. Vincent, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and more than one hundred and fifty legendary rock icons. Armed with a macro lens, an incredible eye for detail, and a truly inspiring vision, Johnson and her guitar art are taking the world of fine art photography on a rock and roll ride. Far from still life, Johnson's work conjures the abstract yet also possesses a very sensual and ethereal aura, illustrating the intimate wear and details of each instrument featured.Johnson's debut book, 108 Rock Star Guitars, received rave reviews and in Immortal Axes, she raises the bar even further, capturing the imagination of music fans everywhere. Each intimate photograph is accompanied by a touch of musical history, an anecdote or great personal storytelling moments, making this stunning book a must-have not only for guitar lovers but for every reader who wants to know more about their favorite guitarists and the instruments they cherish. Additional artists and bands include: Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Peter Frampton, Steve Hackett, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Jimmy Page, Albert Lee, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Lita Ford, Susanna Hoffs, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Malcolm Young, Dave Grohl, Nancy Wilson, Michael Anthony and Suzi Quatro to name a few. Lisa S. Johnson's stunning photos and her body of work have led to collaborations with the Malibu Guitar Festival, Museum of Making Music, and Museum of Design Atlanta. She collaborated with former Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine and author Brad Tolinski for Immortal Axes. Johnson lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with her partner and two boxer dogs. She is also an avid Kundalini yoga teacher on her instagram platform @Cosmic_108.

Connect with Lisa at www.108RockStarGuitars.com and on insta @cosmic_108

Brandon Handley 0:40 It is crucial dope. I'm on here today with Lisa s. Johnson. She is coming here to us by way of a guest you may or may not recall from the game here. with fresh Shaw, that's how you and I connected Lisa and Lisa. She's got a couple of really awesome books, guitar and books that she's put on the winners on all about those two here in a second. And she also does a weekly Kundalini course on Instagram under cosmic 108. But this one should tell us a little bit about who you are. What made you feel a spiritual dove was is a place for you to be right now.

Lisa S Johnson 1:15 Well, hey, Brandon, thank you so much for having me on as a guest today. I really appreciate it. And it was really cool that we did meet through Paresh who I know through Kundalini Yoga, we went through Kundalini Yoga training together. And he's also rock and rollers. So it was interesting that he and I really connected in class before we even know, we were both into rock and roll. So. So that's how things weave together. And that brought me to you spiritual dope, which I love that name. Because it's kind of telling of the times and connecting to the youth generation really, because to say spiritual dope, kind of, you know, get the younger person interested. And we can talk about things spirituality, and things that are going on in the world in more of a hipper way. So it's really fun to take part in that. My background is that I come from a musical family in northern Canada, where I grew up until I was 23. And I was born in California, though, so I have my California roots until age seven, and then lived in Canada, then moved to Florida. And I ended up going to college for photography, which led me to a job for 10 years with the Eastman Kodak company. And I ended up living in Memphis, Tennessee, and going to the Unity Church. And my father growing up told me I was not allowed to date musicians. And so I he was a musician, so and still is. And so I was at the Unity Church picnic, and the guitar player from church asked me out on a date, and I accepted and we started dating. So I called my dad and said, Hey, Dad, I'm, I'm dating a musician. However, he is the guitar player at church, and he owns a vintage guitar store. And my dad being a guitar player said, Hey, if he ever gets in and gets a mandolin, I've always wanted one. And you know, he's not a touring musician. So that doesn't matter. You can you can date him. So that was the beginning of my photographing guitars, because my boyfriend then Hank said, I told him about this request of a vintage mandolin. And he got one in two weeks later, and I said, how much I want to buy that from my dad. And he said, You can't afford it. But if you photograph some guitars, for me, I have to sell that I don't want to sell, I'll trade you for the mandolin. So that was it. And I photographed these amazing vintage guitars for him and I fell in love with my photography for the first time. So I really was drawn into photographing guitars in a spiritual way, because I was going to the Unity Church, which is a non denominational church and what attracted me too, it was that they would always read a passage out of Chicken Soup for the Soul, you know, Joseph Campbell, and, and, and they would relate it to a passage in the Bible. So it wasn't you know, like this indoctrinated you know, where I grew up in the Catholic Church, you know, it was fun, at the end would always sing a song holding hands, the whole congregation, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. And so that was the beginning of my spiritual journey. And at that point, I was probably 2425 Ah, you know, and of course, my spiritual journey did begin when I grew up, I started in the Catholic Church. By the age of 14, I already realized that God was within me, that I didn't need to go to church to be with God. And that gave me a lot of peace. And I always felt God with me and I've always prayed. But then when I found the Unity Church, I actually because it was more of a spiritual feeling. And I they had a bookstore there and I my first spiritual books that I bought was Wayne Dyer, and Louise Hay and Shaco Wayne. And these books really and you know, the first really spiritual book that I read before that even at 18 was thinking go Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. And if you read Shakti, Wayne's creative visualizations, basically, it's the same concept. You know, you, you are what you think, you know, what you speak manifests into reality. And that was Napoleon Hill's whole premise. You know, if you think you're going to be negative and talk negative all the time, that's what you're going to attract. And if you talk positive, and think positive and and visualize your goal, then that's what's going to manifest. And so this is how I've lived my life and manifest in my life since I was 18 years old. So just to conclude, I, I went to college for photography, and I ended up moving to New York City. And I got this job with Kodak. So I was in New York, and then Memphis. And

I ended up shooting those guitars in Memphis. And then I got sent back to New York. And I thought, if I'm going to shoot guitars, I may as well shoot famous ones. So Les Paul played every Monday night at the Iridium room in Manhattan, and I started going down there, and I eventually met him and he let me photograph his guitar. So that was the first famous guitar I photographed. And then 12 years later, he ended up writing the foreword for my first book, 108 rock star guitars. And then I ended up in a car crash in between all this and my neck got jacked. After, after I moved to Las Vegas from New York City. And that led me to a chiropractor who told me that Vikram yoga would be really good for me. And so I started taking their chrome yoga classes became a victim yoga teacher, studied yoga philosophy, read Autobiography of a Yogi, and it totally changed my life. And then, almost 20 years later, I was introduced to Kundalini Yoga. Through the modern day priestess training that I started that I, I took, I'm a modern day priestess as well. And we did Kundalini Yoga every day. So that's how I ended up in the Kundalini, cosmic 108 Saturday morning classes to share the yoga technology and the tools of yoga to help us previously, just in regular times, but now especially even more in these really trying times on the planet.

Brandon Handley 7:25 of the story, I love the journey that you know, I mean, first time, Ed, a musician, of course, is when the dad says no. Right? And that's the that's right. There's your proven out of principle, right out of thinking Grow Rich, like whatever you focus on what manifests sure very. So you know, he's focused on for you was what manifested for you. So he played a part in that. And that, you know, the journey towards photography and photographing these these guitars, right, and cars is going for it. Just saying this is this is what kind of sets my soul on fire, and looking for ways to make that happen. Exact so cool. Yeah. So thanks. Thanks for the background. Right. So what I like to start this off with is the idea that, hey, we're all spiritual beings. Right? And that source speaks through us right now I sources speaking through you, to me, to somebody on the other end, that is listening to this podcast today. What is something what's a message that can only be delivered through you to that person today?

Lisa S Johnson 8:38 Okay, well, I'm just going to go with what channels right through instantly, that's where you got to go. And so mine is via channel, B channel. So ask your higher guides, or whatever God is for you, make me a channel of a higher will. This is how we received the messages from the universe and from our guides and angels, through our, our cosmic antenna, our auric field, which the ark line is a part of our bigger auric field. And so the ark line is the seventh body of consciousness that we have out of 10 light bodies of consciousness, the 3d body, the gross body, that's only one body, we have seven additional. So the Arc Line is, is the seventh body. And it's the way that we send and receive signals to each other, that can be sent even over vast spaces of time, you know, for one country or area or planet to another. And it's important to keep your antenna clean and clear. If it's dirty, it's got a lot of static in there. You can't send your signal and you can't receive signals. So that means I'm not communicating effectively or I can't receive others communications effectively. So this is one of the reasons why we do spiritual work meditation and movements. So that we can clean and clear all of our bodies, including that that radar antenna, the Arc Line. So that is how I would channel something that no one else could receive from any other place other than through me, because I'm sending it through my Arc Line through my channel to your listeners right now. And I have often asked my guys make me a channel of a higher will, so that I can hear and see the unseen.

Brandon Handley 10:32 What is Oh, I think that's fantastic. open yourself up to be a channel to begin with, say, Make me your channel, allow me to be a channel. I've been trying to do this whole thing myself this entire time. What else kind of let it flow through me? What's a way that we can clear tailor my sales of this? Boy, how do I clean my sale?

Lisa S Johnson 11:00 It's easier than you think. I mean, people say I can't meditate. Oh, I can never meditate. Okay, so yes, everyone can meditate. And everyone can clear their channel. And here's how. First of all, you can sit and you have to make meditation, super simple and easy, especially in the beginning. And while you're meditating, you're cleaning your arclight. Okay, so this is the same answer for both things. So first of all, you sit and we you invoke you do an invocation to clear the space, stage yourself, you know, stage the room with Palo Santo or stage what happens. Then you do an invocation, bringing in your guides and teachers, and then you do movements. So for example, one way to clear your Arc Line, your antenna is inhaling and turning your head to the left, and exhale and turning your head to the right, because that's cleaning and clearing the space right in front of your face and to the left into the right. And then if you tuck your chin into your chest, you rotate your head around a big neck circles. This is cleaning the Arc Line, you're going in a circle and it's clean exactly that area in your in your Arc Line in your auric fields. Then we use breathwork inclusively, you know a lot of deep inhaling, exhaling or rectifier pumping the belly and equal pumps. And this is distributing energy in the body and sending your Kundalini energy from the base of your spine, all the way up to the top of your crown chakra. So all of your chakras are getting a burst of energy as you're pumping the belly in. So and then you quiet the mind you do the work, the movement opens the body and allows you to sit in meditation and be more calm. And still, even when you're super calm. You can close your eyes, look into your third eye center, your sixth chakra, and that that stimulates activates your pineal gland, which is your your tool your gland for extrasensory perceptions, and how we can learn to connect and with our subtle body with using extrasensory perception so we can feel energy around us more we can hear what someone is saying without them actually saying it. And all of this clears your archive and your intent just to very quickly, you know, give you a summary of how you how you clear it. So it's through breath movement, meditation.

Brandon Handley 13:29 That's great. So you got a twofer there. Alright, you can do a little bit a little bit of both at the same time. One thing that definitely has been hugely impactful for me this past year has definitely been the breathwork. And it sounds like that's a big part of Kundalini Yoga. We're a couple that with Autobiography of a Yogi, right, is this Kundalini Yoga? associated? Specifically with like I was at the Southeast Asia foundation. Yeah. Through. You went through the priestess

Lisa S Johnson 14:05 training? I did. Yes. So, Yogi, paramahansa Yogananda. He was a Kriya. Yogi. So that's what we do include aleni we do Kriya Yoga. And that means that we do yoga postures from the 84 Classic asanas that Austin as is of your means yoga posture, we do we pull from there. And on top of that, we also always use mantra, meditation mudras. We use our our throat or our throat. To every class, we incorporate these aspects. And this is called Kriya Yoga. So guys like guru Singh, who's been a longtime kodaline Teacher, he also come through lineage of Yogananda, and so to why so I really kind of relate to him in that way. So we're doing Kriya Yoga. But the thing about Kundalini that makes it more advanced is that it's really teaching the science of yoga, and yoga as a technology as tools that we use for self healing. First, we heal the self, then we can heal others, and we heal others through our energetic field. So as we amplify and expand our electromagnetic frequency, through the movement, and the meditation and the breathwork, and all that, we're expanding our electromagnetic field and our auric field gets bigger and brighter and stronger, and more radiant, and more attractive to other people. And it then it starts to just attract all the right people to and it spells all the negative stuff out. And then there's no room for any negative anymore. So even when the worst shit is flying around this planet, right now, you can learn and use these tools to be able to stay calm, in the midst of this chaos that we're in and send your light out in every direction. super big and super powerful. And when we sit and meditate, especially on full moons, and new moons, because these are the the doors of the portals of the planets when the planets line up when the Moon and the Sun and Earth are lining up. And they're lining up with other stars that happen throughout the year. These create portals, we just had the big Lionsgate portal on August 8. And this is a time when energy frequency and vibration funnels into the planet and upward levels, our DNA and our our electromagnetic frequency and our ESP and our overall consciousness on the planet. So right now, we're going through hell. But we're going through hell to get to heaven. Because heavens on the way. And it's on the way, and I know it is because I study the yugas. And that's what Yogananda used to teach the yugas and his his teacher Shri you test guar. He's the one who wrote the book, the science of yoga, and he speaks all about the yoga so we can get into that if you'd like it's just one of my favorite topics.

Brandon Handley 17:18 Well, yeah, I mean, we absolutely get into that we have a lot. I love the concept. And I think I remember like, first of all, you know, Autobiography of a Yogi, what a great book write a really, really great book, fun to read. And so it was like being on that adventure with them as as he kind of goes through his life. And then I think he did talk about it. Did he talk about yoga technology, and there are not likely to finish it up with that.

Lisa S Johnson 17:47 Remember, you remember him specifically saying yoga as a technology? But I bet he did. Because you shriek test suar he saw I'm sure the technology because of these. The the chart of the yoga is that he created and I mean, they they knew the science of yoga. So

Brandon Handley 18:07 Oh, yeah, that's, that's not new to that. No, it's not it's not new to them. And by that, I mean, like, the whole Indian

Lisa S Johnson 18:16 culture, and just like how people are way more advanced than us. 100%

Brandon Handley 18:20 I mean, look, I mean, we're, I mean, we're like crawling, right? And in terms of like, our just general conscious capabilities. That's my thing. Right? I just kind of where we are in terms of, of civilization like that. It's really learn how to as you I think you talked a little bit about harnessing your mind right, and just really getting in there. So you also need to talk about these portals. I want to just hit on. I love Lionsgate, right. Just just I love Lionsgate portal, mostly because of the memes and the social media that come along with it because it's very entertaining. But I think it also offers like, you know, through through the entertainment edutainment, right like it's so opens that up to somebody even if they laugh at it or joka. Like it becomes a seed somewhere. Right. So, what tell us a little bit about more, right if I was about Lionsgate Okay, we'll talk about that. Yeah, sure. Yeah.

Lisa S Johnson 19:24 Well, there is a star named Sirius. I'm sure you're aware of it most. Everybody knows about the star Sirius. It's also called the dog star. And it is the brightest star in the sky. It's the North Star. So the Sirius star in August from July 26 to August 12. The dog star begins to rise in the morning with our son. So there's two suns in the sky. So you may have seen recently a lot of photos with two suns in the sky and people are going What's up, there's two sons. Well, this happens every year because the Sirius star is rising with the sun. So that is in alignment of Sirius that is supposedly a planet where the Syrians come from. And they that planet Sirius is aligned now with our sun, which is aligned with our Earth. So that is creating a shaft, a portal, it's going straight through to planet earth, showering the planet earth with that energy frequency and vibration. What was really extra special this year was that we have the new moon exactly in the path. So with serious sun, moon, earth, so this was especially powerful. Just like on the new moon and the full moon, those are especially powerful times and for us to set intentions. So that's why we do new moon and full moon intention setting and clearings. So, in on top of this, the Sirius star is in alignment with Orion's belt that has three stars. And those three stars were aligned with the tip the points of the three pyramids in Giza. So, I mean, why were the pyramids built? Who built the pyramids? You know, did they build them exactly to line up with, you know, Stargate Ryan, you know, was that how serious came in and maybe maybe people for, you know, whatever you want to call them, aliens. Other other types of beings came down, and were able to access Planet Earth, and maybe they that's how, you know, when we when we send the shuttle off, for spaceships off, it has to coincide in line with, you know, the planets and things moving around in the sky. So it's the same thing, if another entity wants to come on a spaceship to Earth, maybe there has to be certain portals that takes for them to come down. And maybe that's why the pyramids are pointing up to those three stars. So that's what happened on August 8, so July 26, to August 12. That is the portal opening and closing. So begins just like you see, you know, the moon, the moon slowly going from full moon to you know, New Moon, we have that energy shift as well, during that date, but August 8 is the apex of that alignment and the most powerful day. So that's where everyone does a ceremony on August 8, but we really do the work from July 26, all the way through to August 12. To get that full, you know, you can utilize the energy, this is what we have to use to upgrade our consciousness, we need to utilize these tools that are given given to us by God really through the makeup of our cosma cosmos, we're really need to utilize the tools which we've forgotten to use because they've dumped us down with freaking TV with even Disneyland. I mean, it's the dumbing down of our society. I mean, they just finished some state just passed the law that you don't have to be able to know math or read to pass your high school examination. Really. And there's there's no lot of modesty anymore. Every album cover every every video, you see, it's just people wearing hardly anything. It looks super hot and sexy. Hey, yeah, I get it. I see it. But it's not. It's not serving our youth culture. They're growing up thinking what do you want to be when you grow up? Oh, I want to be a rock star.

Brandon Handley 23:40 Well, I always I always make that joke. My own joke anyways about like tipper gore and our board back in the day, right? When they were trying to you know, kind of pull back some like to live crew and and all those other albums. But this isn't really this isn't benefiting anybody. And then it was a freedom of expression man and you know, but really, it's a you know, there's this interjection right injection of just kind of like this, this continues to type and this this. Why would we encourage

Lisa S Johnson 24:20 that? Well, it starts to encourage disrespect or kind of a lack of respect. I think it's

Brandon Handley 24:29 respect even. Yeah,

Lisa S Johnson 24:31 I mean, talk to any kids today about dating, and how to date I mean, it's dating online, they meet online or, and what do they do? They share pictures back and forth. And you know, how many pictures and how kinds what kind of pictures you know, and languaging that goes on online and just the music I mean, last year, the Best Song of the Year, was, like the most vocal vulgar title ever like I can't even I can't even think of what it is right now. But it's like really bad.

Brandon Handley 25:07 Is it that cardi B song? Like fat or something like that? Alright. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting where that's, that's, I agree, right? It's kinda like was, was that gonna be enough? But anyways? Look, it is what it is, in that regard.

Lisa S Johnson 25:29 I'm gonna have to change, things are gonna have to change because I believe you're right, you're breaking down the morality of our whole society. And, hey, pick up my boxers. You can see one of them there. Yep.

Brandon Handley 25:45 But I'm just like you were saying earlier? Do you see like kind of having on the horizon? Right? Are you seeing a change and a shift in consciousness yourself?

Lisa S Johnson 25:55 I am. And I'm hopeful. Because even though things don't seem like they're elevating, I see a lot of things changing. I haven't see a lot of people doing yoga. I mean, of course, I've been in I've been doing yoga and teaching yoga for 20 years now. And the yoga community is a billion dollars, something like a $70 billion business. So there's a lot of people doing yoga, and even if they're not doing meditation, it's the precursor to meditation. Because doing the movement of yoga, if you're going to Chaga class or, you know, Bikram yoga class or vinyasa of some kind, what have you, you're going through the motions, you're doing the physical aspect, just know that that's only one aspect of doing your. So But yeah, I think a lot of people are doing yoga, and that is helping them to find some sense of their body, feeling their body and feeling their extrasensory perceptions. And that over in time is going to lead people to self inquiry. And if that self inquiry expands your consciousness, and we learn how to deal with ourselves and calm ourselves, and then we can learn to deal with the next person in our family, or brother or sister or spouse, whatever, we get to practice every day, the tools of yoga, being patient and compassionate and just with not only with other people, but with yourself. And that transcends to when you go to the grocery store and working with that person at the slow with the tail, and you're in a hurry. And, you know, trying to deal with that emotions, the emotions and the irritation that you have, and, or, you know, watching the news, and you know, seeing the world being Polaroid rise right now. And just learning how to look at it on a macro level. So you don't get all caught up in the details in the micro level in your world and allow it to upset your world and upset your body and upset your body to a point of this discomfort and disease and disease. And, and, you know, I think that's been happening on our planet for a long time. And we're we've got a disease on this planet right now. We're really diseased in more ways than one being personified by a disease COVID right now. And we're polarized on that subject, too. So it could help. We're going to help us through all of that and get to the other side.

Brandon Handley 28:30 That's the cleaner. Yeah. The antenna cleaner. Yeah, that's it right. And get it all get it all situated. I mean, you got to start somewhere. And I think that it's impressive to see just how fast Yoga has taken into the US. Right. And it's been growing, I think at a fairly rapid clip. Understanding is my real low level understanding since I've been in the States, you know, since around 1900, or when whenever Yogananda came over, give or take, yeah, correct. Yeah. Now, I want to use HostIn while you were talking about the serious story, he talks about the Syrians. Was that like, you know, what he's saying there?

Lisa S Johnson 29:15 Well, there's no way that we are the only intelligent and living life in the entire cosmos in the entire Milky Way. Galaxy number one, and then there's something like 100 million, probably infinite number of galaxies, and then every galaxy has like 500 billion stars. I mean, there's just no way we're the only living I mean, at one point dinosaurs rule for planet Earth. Reptiles that didn't speak English that look pretty freakin scary. So there could be, you know, the Draco's, they say is if species. They look like lizards or what have you, and they might just come down on the earth. That would be kind of scary. They might eat people we don't really know. Do I believe they're Pleiadians? Yeah, I do. I think that's a star. And I do think that there are living entities there and why maybe they're the ones coming down here and doing this crop circles, because the crop circles are a, I believe a phenomenon of UFO within me difficult. You've seen recordings of the little white balls that fly around and suddenly and, you know, very quick speed of lightning time, there's this amazing geometrical, perfectly mathematical structure that humans can do. They tried in the middle of the night to do it in the middle. And you know, there's no way I mean, it doesn't it's not a sophisticated and they can tell the difference of the grass. So why they haven't been able to help us out a little bit more? I think because we have to help ourselves out of it. Because otherwise, how is our consciousness going to change, like, what we're trying to get off this planet, so we can just develop another planet and kill the all life on that planet to? Like, you know, I think that we're, we've shot down spacecraft, they need to be careful about how they make any approach into they have to get us to where we're more friendly, and willing to accept them. I understand as well, that there are our races that are already living on the planet Earth, and they've been living in the middle of the earth. And you know, the earth could be hollow. You know, if you look at, if you look at the toric field, a Taurus, it's a circular motion, and it's hollow in the middle, isn't it? So the energy can go around what's what isn't there a hole at the top of Antarctica and the bottom of the Northwest Territories, you know, the top and the bottom of the earth? The note?

Brandon Handley 31:52 No, I feel like that's a Google that. So that leads us

Lisa S Johnson 31:56 to Google Google, Richard bird. Richard bird was a captain and he was up in Antarctica time. And he went on a plane ride. And he got diverted, and he ended up somewhere in Shangri La. And he wrote about it, and he was forbidden to talk about it while he was still in the army. And when he died, his journal revealed it. So there could be something in the center of the earth. And there certainly are other intelligent beings in our soul, our solar in our, in our galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy, and in other galaxies beyond probably the infinite number of planets with living beings.

Brandon Handley 32:36 For sure, I agree. I just want to make sure I caught that, you know. And then last thing he talks about was outside of our gross body, right? Key share a little bit more about that.

Lisa S Johnson 32:51 Sure. Okay, so the gross body, that's the three dimensional body in which we live, it's our vessel is what we came into we birthed into through the top of our head, they say we have the soft spot in your head, that's where your soul enters. That's called the Vindu the sarga. And when we meditate, we can connect with that and actually drip the nectar into the brain and through the body. And one of the things that the breathwork does is helps to hold that nectar in the throat chakra by pumping the the energy up to the top of the crown and keeps that energy here and that helps you to heighten your awareness and your cosmic consciousness. We are we also have, we have 10 bodies of like consciousness. So the first body is your soul. That's the soul body that that comes in through you. It's the heart, it's what speaks to you, it's your inner voice, your soul body, then you have three minds, there's the positive mind that weighs the positive things that are around you in a situation so you have to weigh out is this a good thing? Or is it a bad thing? So that so it tells you that it's a bad thing is the negative mind see the positive mind telling you good things, the negative mind telling you Beware, beware danger danger. And then the fourth body is your neutral mind which is your third eye where it takes the positive and the negative aspects of any situation and weighs them within nine seconds, your your third eye, your fourth body, your neutral mind makes a decision and it will make it if you are clean and clear in your neutral mind through meditation. That's how you clean and clear it. You got to meditate. You can make an accurate decision within nine seconds. Then the fifth body that's that's your physical body. That's your 3d. Then you've got your your sixth body, which this is going to be your your breath because you got to breathe, you got your product body, your lifeforce, then your your seventh body, we have the our climb your auric field. Then you have your rain. To hit body, that's the 10th body. And you have the nice body is the subtle body. And this is the one that helps you to give and receive with the subtle mind and the subtle, subtle body without thinking or saying, without saying anything out loud, you can utilize your subtle energy, you can will your will to, for that person to move a little to the left, so that I can see the guitar player on the stage better, right? You just like you're driving down the road, and somebody's going way too freakin slow. And you're just like Dude, to the right. And then they go through flicker goes on and they move into the right hand lane. This is willing your will through your cell body and speaking your language with your attendants all in unison. So when all of those 10 bodies are balanced, that means your shoppers are going to be balanced too. And then there's an 11th body and it's called parallel use in this and that's what all 10 bodies are aligned. And so my my my neutral mind, where I've made that decision that I want that guy to move to the right works with my subtle body, willing my will and energetically telling him to move and my Arc Line going VPP radar reader reader out you go Whoo, bro. xover. Or I go, you know, I need to call Nancy, I just keep forgetting to call her that I looked down on my phone A minute later, there's Nancy calling. Like, this is how it works. When you're in the nod which crash always is talking about, you know, I'm in the NA, you'll call me up with these stories, you know how something happened. And that's what that is being in the flow. As you said earlier,

Brandon Handley 36:35 your flow state, I think there's an ease with with all that can happen if you allow for it. To write sounds like to me, once you've got these things in alignment, and you allow for it to happen, it happens with ease, actually, these things only happen. Well, they don't only happen when you're in an ease state, but they're less likely to happen when you're deceased. Right. And so there's like this forest, and there's a out of balance of, I guess all of these bodies, I've never heard them all. So it's visually great to hear that and thanks for sharing that. But uh, you know, once you have these in alignment, things you begin to live in a state of ease would be my guess

Lisa S Johnson 37:23 you don't have to do anything anymore. You don't have to do, you just set your intention, and the portals are open, and it flows in. So you don't have to struggle, I got to get this new job, or I have to, you know, I need more of this or that or the next thing. It's just all comes flowing in, in divine timing, one of my favorite Montt affirmations that I've been working with for the last couple of years, and it's so powerful, kind of like preamps, anything else, it's, I am aligned with the highest expression of my future now. So the now is bringing it into the now into the present moment right now, not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow, it's like right now. And I'm aligned with the highest expression of my future, in all ways. So in my relationships, and my health and my finances, in my career, I'm aligned with the highest expression for my future now. So what's best for my future is what I'm what I need to align with. And I'm aligned, I'm telling myself, I'm aligned with the highest expression. So I don't have to say, other mantras and other affirmations that say, I now have the right amount of finances in my bank, I now have the perfect publisher, I now have like, that's a good way for moon ceremonies and something to write it like that. And I've just eliminated the need to have to do that on a daily basis. Because I used to say in the mirror doing near meditations, I used to say in the mirror, my mom long list of, of affirmations, and now I just say I'm aligned with the highest expression of my future now. It's all done.

Brandon Handley 39:07 So right, this is kind of the end in mind, right now. And if you've got that end in mind, right now, then all those other sub things take care of themselves. Right? You don't need that long list, because like, you wouldn't have this one statement. If the rest of these underneath of it. Were kind of already done and

Lisa S Johnson 39:30 working. Yeah. And you know, I do that with the planet Earth too. I do say that our planet Earth is aligned with the highest expression of its future now. So that's my greatest prayer for the planet. And when you say that things in the energetic field start to align. And that's what I love about sacred geometry. I actually brought a couple pieces. This is the this is the flower of life. Most people know the flower of life and this is the blueprint of creation. And within it are all the platonic solids. And like the 64 tetrahedron, you can't really tell. But this actually, when they when you invert the flower of life into a three dimensional, it's, it looks like this, it's there 64 triangles, which there are here in here. And then, you know, Megatron fits into the flower of life as well, which is all different. You can't really see the triangles, but they're in there, the tetrahedrons made up of 13 Circle points. And so if you meditate on these, this is metal strong, the triangle pointing up and down. And then there's one that's pointing back or forward, depending if you're male or female. And this is your your meta Tron or your merkabah, the light spirit vehicle. So you asked about the 3d body, or 3d bodies, our vehicle, it's how we move from A to B and move around the planet. But we can also move it when we're meditating and spiritually and go into the cosmos. And this is actually three dimensional and it spins. So this is only a one dimensional, but it actually is a three dimensional and it spends. So if we look at these sacred geometries, which can also be referred to as a Yantra, with a geometrical line shape, and if I meditate on if I look at it straight ahead, and then I close my eyes, I'm going to see the imprint of this flower of life in my mind's eye. And then that imprints it on to me on a cellular level, it all goes in that implantation goes into me on a cellular level, all my cell cells get a burst of that. That light of the of the sacred geometry, whether it's the Firefly for the Sri entre is my favorite one is the entre for manifestation. And so this is how we get it into us on a cellular level. And this is what they've been doing with TV manipulating us forever, you know, with symbols and signs, and you see that and it goes into our consciousness. And then we get, you

Brandon Handley 42:05 know, what's in there? Yeah, yeah, but we

Lisa S Johnson 42:09 can change it, we can restructure the geometry, and launch

Brandon Handley 42:13 sacred geometry monitors, meditation, taking your attention off of those things, right, that you allow them for so long, and realizing that they're already there. And it's like a garden or some weeding today, right? Yeah. That one's that one's there. We got it. And it's still you know, sometimes like, just like in a garden, you feel like you got all the all the weeds out. But like, you know, you come back with the next day, like, I swear to God, I pulled that thing. Right, it's still there.

Lisa S Johnson 42:43 analogy I know, and then you get to practice. Oh, you know, let me fix that. You know, but that's the start of being aware and consciousness because you've become aware and conscious of it, and then you change it the next time, just like, you don't beat yourself up. If you get into an argument with your partner, you know, or yell at somebody, then you gotta hurry up, I really was kind of out of line there. Now, I'll get another opportunity to practice that in the next time, I'll do better. So you don't beat yourself up.

Brandon Handley 43:09 That's in alignment with the two arrows and Buddhism, right? We talked about the first arrows, that's already there. The second arrow is the one that you deliver yourself. Right? Like, kind of jerk was if you can eliminate it just by the example you just gave. So I think that's a great example. I wanted to go real quick back to two pieces here. First of all, you know, I love your, your, your mantra, slash affirmation, slash prayer, because you pronounce it more like a command, then I'll request is that intentional? Or is that just how you are with it?

Lisa S Johnson 43:51 I guess that's just how I am with it. I didn't notice that. I said, it's more as a command. Well, the affirmation I definitely say as a command. Is that what you mean? I'm aligned with the highest expression of my future now? Yeah.

Brandon Handley 44:05 Absolutely. If I don't get I feel like if I'm not getting in line with that, I might actually get in trouble.

Lisa S Johnson 44:10 Yeah, so I'm telling the universe. Hey, all right. Right. Up here.

Brandon Handley 44:16 So that's also alignment with Um, I don't know if you ever listened to or read Blaine hills? devil Book Three. Oh, no. So he's got one that like was released, like post mortem and even to release it was kind of like, don't do that. And basically, it's talking to the devil, whatever. But and that was talking to him, like how do you talk to what's in versus like, don't ask for it, you command it, you demand it right? Like that's yours by like, you know, the vine right and also other stuff. So as I was just curious, kind of where the command part was coming from. Definitely.

Lisa S Johnson 44:55 Also comes from my teaching with the chrome choudry because I studied For many years, he was my first yoga teacher. And he Bikram yoga class is very commanding. So you've got to get bodies to move in unison. You want everyone moving together and flowing together in a in a Bikram yoga class. And then it's really a moving meditation. Everyone's flowing together. And it's beautiful breathing together. And to get people to move together, you have to be really commanding arms over your head, interlock your fingers, release your index finger stumps cross, no weight in your heels, hips forward, upper body back, no gap between biceps, arms and ears inhales. So long stretch up hold. And then do your right hand side. Like you have to talk like that, to get them to freakin do it on time with you. Then when it comes to Kundalini, we do mantra, and it's different. It's not commanding, it's it's very calming. And like, for example, like I just wanted, I loved your analogy about you know, planting the seeds and growing because there's a meditation that I'm actually doing right now we practice. I'm in my fourth level two training out of five modules. So I'll be a level two Kundalini trading teacher soon. And would they require us to do a 90 day meditation. So you know, it's a challenge, every day you have to meditate is a 30 minute meditation, it's not three minutes, five minutes, 11 minutes, you know, it's 30 minutes that you have to sit and take out if your day doesn't seem like very long, but sometimes it it seems like a long time in the day taking that 30 minutes out anyway, you. It's a commitment, and it gets you to, you get to where you would miss doing a meditation if you didn't do it. So that's good, because you really want to meditate every day in twice a day, if possible. But then you just get to where you're meditating all the time you're driving, you're meditating, we can always be meditating in the background, because we do the mantra, and the mantra becomes like that, you know, you get that song song stuck in your head. That's what happens when you're doing a mantra every single day. And the one that I'm doing right now is a three part.

Meditation for 90 minutes. There's a mudra involved where you interlock your to you put your both hands and Gyan Mudra, which is the thumb and index finger touching, which is the seal of knowledge, the Seal of consciousness, and you interlock them, which now makes sacred geometry the vesica Pisces. So I really love this part of having this as a sacred geometry mudra then there's three mantras. The first one is bond bond, and this one is invoking the Divine Mother, this the spiritual mother, the Adi Shakti, the creator. And then we move into the second mantra, which is don don ROM das guru. And this one is all about making the impossible possible. It's called crossing the crisis. So the world's in crisis right now. So that's why I'm doing this meditation. So we're recreating with the vesica Pisces, this is the symbol of creation, the vesica Pisces so we're creating a new world. So the second mantra is all about making the impossible become possible through miracles and believing in miracles. We see miracles every day. And the more I do this mantra, I'm seeing miracles happen right before my very eyes all the time. It's amazing. Okay, and then the third mantra is heart Hooray, howdy. Which means planting the seed, watching the flow of planting the seed of infinite creativity. Hari Hari Hari Hari is watching the flow of creativity. parkeri hari is manifesting that creativity. And how can a Petit WaheGuru WaheGuru is wow, and being taken from the darkness into the night that light that's what a guru is goo is the dark room with the light. So why he is wow, I'm being taken from the dark into the light Waheguru and I'm watching the beautiful process of how everything is unfolding from the seeding of planting to the flow of the growing of the creation to the manifestation and to the final harvest. So that's where we're at right now on the planet and and everybody that's meditating everybody who's doing yoga, they're planting these the seeds of a new world. Not a new world order, bro, a new world Love and Light and peace and truth and higher consciousness and compassion for each other without any kind of division, you know, just acceptance of each other, knowing the truth of what is right what is wrong so that we are in right relationship and doing right action for ourselves and for our planet and animal kingdom. And when we can find that balance, which I believe that we will because I was talking earlier a little bit about shriek Heswall, he wrote the cycles of consciousness, we have what's called the yugas. And it takes the 26,000 year cycle for a for a full Yuga that goes from the Iron Age, Silver Age, the Bronze Age and the Golden Age. And that's the Age of Enlightenment. And so we have come out of the Kali age and have entered into the the Bronze Age, which is the dwapara Yuga. And that's where we are right now. And we are on the A sending part of that. So the you guys have a 13,000 year, a sending cycle and a 13,000 year descending cycle. So it takes 26,000 years. So we're on a sending we've come out of the dark ages, we've come out of a really dense low level consciousness area. And now there's we're only going to go up now, but like a friend of mine says, gorgeous Sufi he's he's someone you might want to interview some time gone just Sufi, he's cool. He's a recording artists you can check out I'll send you a link to some of yours. He says you could go through hell to get to have so for sure are in hell right now, but on our way to happen.

Brandon Handley 51:12 For sure, for sure. And I think that I think that we're in an accelerated accelerated pace. So we're gonna plug in real quick here, you know, cosmic wantaway on Instagram. Sounds like she might know her stuff a little bit on some yoga and and some of the background and sacred geometry. So I know that that's something I wanted to get more into with you. And I don't think we're gonna have time for that. But I do want to call out the fact that I believe you got some sacred geometry intertwined on some of your book covers, if I'm not mistaken, and you want to toss out, you know, what about what is it about cosmic one away and let's share a little bit about the book so that we can

Lisa S Johnson 51:52 have, okay, so I have two books, the first one came out called 108, rock star guitars. And when you when you first look at the cover, it's, it's it doesn't have a guitar on the cover, it has motifs of guitars on it, and like a guitar headstocks and guitar bodies and but it looks it's all formed in the shape of a lotus flower. And it's all intertwined with the number 108, which totals nine in numerology, one plus zero plus eight. So there are nine, guitar headstocks to go around the flower petals, and around the circumference of the book. And when you first open up the book, the Sri Yantra sacred geometry artwork is inside of it. And it asks the question, why 108 and then I get to infuse the spiritual cosmic message of the number 108 and yoga philosophy. because music is spiritual, you know, music can take you to Nirvana. So I wanted to invoke that cosmic philosophy of 108 into the book. So that's 108 rock star guitars. And now on September 28th, this year, my new book called immortal axes will be coming out. And the cover is similar. It's no guitar on the cover, but there's a skull that has the vesica Pisces sacred geometry in his forehead in the third eye. And his eyes are made up of the diamond inlay headstock on a Gibson Guitar. And that's going around in his eyes and his nose is an upside down Flying V. And then he's surrounded by little guitar bodies with gold. They're all laid and gold sparkles. You know, it's very sparkly, and it's called immortal axes. Because when a musician makes music, he makes it on that wire and wood and that memory of that work is embedded in that wire and wood. And when the artist passes on, the guitar still is holding the notes and holding that music within it. And so that's immortalizing the song memorializing that artists, just like the song itself when it's recorded immortalizes the artists so there are about 47 artists in this book that have passed away. There's 157 artists featured in this book including David Gilmore's $4 million black strap that just sold and Rory Gallagher's Fender super famous Fender Pete Townsend's number nine Les Paul is in this in this book. Peter Frampton wrote the foreword and Suzi quatro wrote the afterword, some very, very happy to present this book to the world and hope that people enjoy it as much as I can as much as as much fun with as I have photographing it traveling around the world.

Brandon Handley 54:46 So one thing you know, for the people that are listening, and don't get the chance to see the pictures and the artwork and the artworks amazing on these these covers, and I love what we were talking I love it for seen pictures but hadn't seen the hadn't seen it in somebody's hands. Book and somebody says the book is large. What's the dimensions on

Lisa S Johnson 55:11 108 rocks in our guitars weighs about nine pounds. And it's let's see, 11 inches by 13 is that you know, a and then the second book is a square book it's 11 and a quarter I think by 11 and a quarter plus the the rock star of the cars one is a red leather leather rat, press press leather rat and this immortal axes is a black cover with gold and silver sparkling motifs on it have guitar motifs on it.

Brandon Handley 55:51 I think the artwork is so cool. And I think anybody would anybody into guitars Classic Rock, rock and roll this face would be you know, this would be such trying to sell. This would be like such a new gift. Something so cool. I love what you've done with it. Give me like one story of like maybe the most challenging guitar to get to, or like the one that you felt like, was like the pinnacle for you.

Lisa S Johnson 56:16 Yeah, well, one of them I have to say is Joan Jett, because you know she's a woman and rock and she rocks really hard and she's paved the way for a lot of women in music. Before even her there was Suzi quatro, Suzi quatro actually paved the way for Joan Jett. And Joan will will say that it was really hard to get to Joan. She's not super happy to have a lot of photographers around. And so I think that was one of the issues that I kept requesting. And they just, they don't really have photographers around, and I usually shoot before after shows. So I finally was getting finished with this book. And I really want to Joan and I've asked several times, because for me, she's the most important woman to have in the book and as a female artist, because she influenced so many. And of course, Suzi quatro, she wrote the the afterword for the book, so I'm just so important to mean, and so amazing that she did that. But finally, I was rounding up, I was just finishing the book, and I really wanted Joan. And I just couldn't not not have Joan. And so I finally realized, you know, I've worked with the heart Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for so many photoshoots and I was there doing a shoot, I think it was it was before the David Gilmore shoot Anyway, it was one of the shoots. And I said, by chance do you guys happen to have a Joan Jett guitar? In the rock hall? And they said, Well, well, yes, we do, actually. And so then I realized, you know, I'm just gonna find out if they'll let me photograph the guitar. They don't have to do B here. It's not before after a show. And so we went back to them and said, Hey, you know, how about just let me photograph the guitar that's at the rock Hall. And she'll do the rest. She'll make all the arrangements. And they said, Yes. So it's

Brandon Handley 58:07 very cool. I just want to give the idea to that. This is a kind of like a life that you follow your bliss, kind of thing. Right? You followed your kind of journey followed your heart, and does this production is a display of that.

Lisa S Johnson 58:26 Yeah, it wasn't easy. I have insecurities just like anyone else. And you know, when you're putting your neck out there for yourself, like, you know, I'm a photographer, and this is my work. You're putting your soul out on the line, you're showing your photos and it's something that you like, it may not be that somebody else likes, you know, so you you get a lot of nose. I've had to hear no, a lot. And then I've had a lot of yeses, and I've had way more yeses than I've had knows. And it was because of perseverance and just not taking no for an answer. I mean, I asked, had to ask Billy Givens people many, many times until I finally met him under the stage at Rolling Stones concert and said, Hey, Billy ever trying to get through to you, you know, and then the next time I requested I got a yes. So and then just saying, like, I don't have Mark Knopfler yet. And he's one of my all time favorite guitar players in the world ever, ever, ever. And I'm not going to give up on Mark even though they've told me no. They've said no. Many times.

Brandon Handley 59:30 Hold now for what's your now for so I think the story is great. I love I love what you've done. I really want to say thanks for stopping Jose. I do have one more question for you today. We'll say a little bit of spiritual speed dating. I figured somebody is on here and they're looking for their next like spiritual date and you could be it. Okay, so that's where we're at number one. What was the specific one? I think it fits what's the relationship between science and Religion.

Lisa S Johnson 1:00:01 It's getting closer and closer. I think that CERN has certainly helped to view the science experiments they've been doing at CERN. Trying to find the God Particle. I think that's been important. And I think that science is finally recognizing, they never get to find. Because you can't see that with your eyes. That's something you have to feel. And science is finally starting to understand that. And I know that they are because even quite a few years ago, they put Ken Wilber on the cover of science and spirituality magazine. I think it was. And he was he's ahead, you know, if you haven't studied Ken Wilber, he's someone really interesting. And I learned a lot from him and and now that's correlating with somewhere. So I mean, yeah,

Brandon Handley 1:01:00 I know. I know. He's on the list. Okay. He's on my list.

Lisa S Johnson 1:01:04 But yes, yeah. Listen to the CD series called cosmic consciousness cosmic with a K. That's all you need to do. Just get that series you can. I think you can download it on iTunes now or cosmic consciousness. Ken Wilber. It's one of the most important things you could listen to. And there you'll see science meatsuit spirits rally and what he talks about. And you can watch shrieve testhorse book, the science of yoga, and that is bringing science and spirituality together, check out what cern is doing. And of course, students at CERN has gotten really weird. So there's some strange stuff going on at CERN, too, but

Brandon Handley 1:01:45 black holes,

Lisa S Johnson 1:01:47 I suppose. Yeah. A lot of stuff has happened over there.

Brandon Handley 1:01:51 Oh, man, that would be cool. That would be cool to know more. Well, he's so much fun. Where should I send everybody to go check out your books.

Lisa S Johnson 1:02:01 Okay, so to check out the books, go to my Instagram, at LS j for Lisa s Johnson at lsj rock photos. lsj rock photos is where you'll find me on Instagram. And there's a link there my link tree that allows you to both of my books, and for cosmic wantaway for yoga classes comm and rock your Kundalini with me every Saturday from 10 to 11am PST, that's Los Angeles time. And it's just a one hour long class from 10 to 11. And we get into all the subjects that we've been talking about. And we do a Korea for about 30 minutes, and we do meditation and it opens with some context around what the class is about and what the meditation will be about. And then we go right into it. And we have a gong bath, or a sound bath afterwards, because the gong is very important. It's the most powerful meditation, it clears the subconscious mind. So we do a gong wrap at the end of every class. So come and rock your Kundalini with me at cosmic 108. It's cosmic underscore 108.

Brandon Handley 1:03:08 And you have made how many Saturdays in a row

Lisa S Johnson 1:03:14 since COVID started so we've gotten a year and a half now, isn't it? You know, started in February or March of last year. So March, April, May, June, July, August. Yeah. So it's a year and five months, every single Saturday, I've only had one class covered for me by one of the teacher and that would be our friend Parrish. He's, he's jumped in when I when I needed him to come and teach a class and he's very fun. Have you taken this class?

Brandon Handley 1:03:41 I've taken a couple of his, like zoom classes. Yes.

Lisa S Johnson 1:03:45 Yeah. Yeah. He's very funny. He's fun. And he's, he's ahead. You know, he really with that Harvard education, his brain like,

Brandon Handley 1:03:54 you know, for sure. For sure. Lisa, this has been so much fun. I'm so glad that we we finally we finally got the chance to put the time and again, I love I think the artworks amazing photography is fantastic. I love the size of them, write your books and just don't Kundalini, I think of bringing that out to the world and letting people do that with you. And that's just on the set. As you said, You're helping so

Lisa S Johnson 1:04:24 I'm here to serve. That's what we're here to do on the planet. Follow our be creative. And follow your heart, listen to your heart, and be creative and then everything falls into place. So and being in service with your creativity. So that's what I'm trying to do bringing joy into people's lives just because they get to see their favorite guitar

Unknown Speaker 1:04:45 up quarterly. Hope you enjoyed this episode of the spiritual dove podcast. stay connected with us directly through spiritual co You can also join the discussion on Facebook and Instagram and spiritual underscore go if you would like to speak with us. Send us an email to Brandon at spiritual dove calm and as always thank you for cultivating your mindset and creating a better reality. This includes the most thought provoking part of your day. Don't forget to like and subscribe to stay fully up to date until next time me Conyers zone and trust your intuition

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Katie Beecher is an internationally known Medical and Emotional Intuitive and Licensed Professional Counselor with over 30 years of experience. Join us today as we chat about a number of different topics, and lean in as we speak on how Katie beat her own eating disorders and what it has been like for her to lean into her spiritual gifts! Connect with Katie: https://katiebeecher.com/ on insta @katiebeecher_medical_intuitive

The transcript below is machine-generated by AI and un-edited.

Hey, their spiritual dope. I am on today with world renowned Katie Beecher. She is an internationally known medical and emotional intuitive and a licensed professional counselor with over 30 years of experience. Katie and I met, I don't even know, I think you think we connected through one of the podcast like dating sites. There's like, it's like pot it or pod match. And that's how we connected, we had a really good conversation going back a little bit ago, some of the things that you're well known for, or at least that you you share out is some of the work you've done with the goop platform. Right? And how I usually like to start these out Katie's the whole idea that you and I are your medium, right? So this is, this is nothing new to you, you and I are connected to source like at all times, right? And everything's really happening to us and through us for a purpose to the end of hopefully servicing or benefiting another, right? And as as you and I are having this conversation, there's gonna be somebody on the other end of this podcast listening in, and there's a message coming through you to them that can only be delivered through you what is that message that connection to intuition, self love, and self acceptance, you can heal from just about anything. What do you have an example of one that

Katie Beecher 6:23 I heard this in my head when I was 16. recovering from an eating disorder, I was bulimic suicidal, complete and total mass didn't even know who I was, was never mind loving myself. And it was divine intervention, because I was ready to just be like, I'm not living like this anymore. That's insane. divine intervention, maybe call my pediatrician without telling my parents and basically saying, you know, I'm throwing up three times a day, there's something really wrong with me. And it was 1983. And they didn't really pay that much attention to eatings the hardest time and he said, I think you'll be okay. And I said no, I'm totally not okay. So he gave me the name of a Jungian therapist. I don't know how familiar Carl Jung you are. But maybe that's some of the message for people out there is to look up Carl Jung and, and what he talks about, because he's pretty amazing. But it took me three months to get the courage up to call the therapist, and I finally did, and I had a car and a job. And I got myself there and paid for it myself and worked really hard. And it gave me the courage to connect with my intuitive abilities, which I had been afraid of, and become a licensed counselor. And eventually, you know, do this work, even if the counselor always listened to my guides and spirit and just kind of let them run the show. For the same reason I knew whoever was there with me, needed to hear whatever it was that they needed to say. And I trusted in that. And now, life is pretty interesting.

Brandon Handley 8:04 We'll have to expand on that one for sure. Life Life is pretty interesting. So I think that is right. 1983. Here is your you know, you're you're in a situation, just throwing out three times a day to like, should be okay, that's me. Who says that? Right? Thank you. All right. Yeah, this type of thing happens all the time, right for life, just don't worry about it. So and then, and then you know, someone on too young, I am fairly familiar. I know. Earlier in the year, I did a pretty, you know, went through the red book and like some of his other stuff. Super, super great content. And he's the one that I found the word numinous from, right. So just just kind of like, when you're when people ask about kind of the awakening experience, or when you consider the awakening experience. What's that like? And I think the best word for me is the word numinous. Right? You're just like this. Full body. Theory. Oh, hi. Right. And that I got that from young. Right. So love his stuff. And so he gave you the strength? I mean, how did that lend into the strength to your intuitive?

Katie Beecher 9:27 Yeah, so for people who don't know about young he basically was he was this famous psychiatrists doing great in his life, thought he was having a nervous breakdown because he started to see visions of dead bodies and bloody rivers and, and things and he could have gone the other way. He could have said, I'm going nuts and I'm going to put myself in somewhere and not talk to people and not deal with clients. And instead, he decided to immerse himself in this experience and Do these kind of like, kind of awakened meditations, if you would, he was kind of doing transits, but he was awake and things. And he, accidentally divine intervention, found his spiritual guide and connected to his intuition and made these amazing illustrations and things. But it was, it was through that courage. And through those connections, that he developed all of his really famous theories and principles that people like Louise Hay and Tara Brock, and everyone under the sun is now using today with, you know, symptoms being symbols for what's really going on with us and connecting to our intuition. So, for me, it was the perfect way of recovery, because I had all of these kind of psychic experiences that I've been having, since I was a kid picking up a lot of negativity and evil stuff, and it made me not want to connect to any of that it really made me very afraid, and very shy and withdrawn. And I just didn't feel comfortable with myself, I had been bullied, I grew up in a very dysfunctional family, which added to the fun chaos, like a lot of people get addicted do. And working with a therapist who taught me to trust myself, who taught me to trust these inner voices I was having, who taught me about self acceptance, accepting all of the parts of me, even the parts I didn't like, who did not look at me when I was like, I was crazy when I said, I saw dead people and heard things and knew what was gonna happen in Instead, she encouraged all of that. And so, for me, that was the perfect type of therapy. And another concept that's it's young, and I can't take credit for, but he taught that intuition is God with him. Which means that it's all knowing force, that is part of everyone. It protects you, it gives you a source of self love unaccept I mean, unconditional love, unconditional acceptance, and always keeps you safe. And for me, it was like, I didn't have that anywhere in my life. So that gave me the courage to then figure out who I was, and be my authentic self, and just listen to my intuition to them, you know, become a therapist and, and do this intuitive work. And it just, I think if we're listening to our intuition, we're being our authentic self.

Brandon Handley 12:46 So I think it's awesome, you had somebody even at that young age, to be able to come up to you, to tell you to help guide you to exactly yourself, to, to stop looking outside for the acceptance, to understand that everything that you need for your acceptance is already kind of within. Right, and then the idea sounds like he did, like, you know, some shadow work as it were, right, Jeremy in, I think he's neither one of the, you know, or forefathers of that, right? And being able to accept all of who you are, this unconditional love is acceptance of all of who you are bringing all of that to the party. Right? And realizing that within that is your strength. Those are some of your strengths. Right? And then the almost like the intuition is God within I love that too is the idea has actually think about this this morning is we're made in His image, God's image, whatever made his image. But if we stopped thinking of that image being made in the image of this physical form, and we started thinking of being made in His image in the spiritual form. That's the that's the image. We're made it. Right. And that's what I'm, that's what I'm hearing you say, because I said it to myself earlier today.

Katie Beecher 14:24 Thought of intuition as our source. And when I say intuition, I mean, my guides, I still do all this work today. Um, you know, it was it's my source, so it made me so whatever I do, it's kind of like a dog. Like it doesn't really matter what you look like or what you weigh. Or if you make a mistake, or anything like that. It still loves you an exception no matter what. And it was. It's kind of a weird concept in a way because like you just said, I wasn't looking to the outside for acceptance anymore. I was looking inside but at the same time, when you Have an addiction or an eating disorder or something like that. It's very narcissistic. Because you are thinking constantly about what you look like, what? what other people are going to think of you? How much water Did you drink? How many calories, whatever the thing is. So you're just in your own bubble. And you don't realize that you're not taking other people's feelings or lives into consideration, because you're too sick too.

Brandon Handley 15:29 Sure. I think that I heard it earlier today. You're more in this mean space? And yeah, the AI space. Is that right? I mean, look, I'm still trying to figure it all out myself. You've got it, you've got a you've got a couple couple, you've got the advantage in terms of time. And space for sure. A couple right. And, and I think that's awesome, too, because this is one of those things where, while the journey looks real different on the outside, for the most part, I think internally, it's real similar for for most, right, we like, oh, you're at like, you know, you're at this bend of the river. Be sure like around here, watch out for rocks.

Katie Beecher 16:09 Right? addictions, right? Feeling things. You're too afraid, or you think there's something wrong with you. And I don't care if it's eating disorder, I don't care what the hell you're doing.

Brandon Handley 16:20 Well, let's, let's chase that one a little bit. Let's talk about the addiction to not feeling things. I'm curious, almost for my own self. And but like, that's not when you hear too much about right? What's that look like? And what are some signs? What is no, I don't know.

Katie Beecher 16:34 Yeah. So combat, I realized, the hardest part of getting better for me, which I've been cured, I guess, recovered from bulimia for like 30 years. And I'm really lucky, most people don't want to get to recover. And but the hardest part of it, and the most essential part was learning to love myself. Now, it's really sad that we have to do that and it gets shut off. But that's the way it is. So in not loving and accepting yourself, what you're basically doing is you're pushing down how you feel, because it's what we feel that then makes us act what we feel and think that makes us act. And so I could not feel anything that went against what my parents were saying what they were teaching, you know, there's no dysfunction here, everything's fine. Well, yeah, there is, there's a lot. You know, and I encounter this a lot with clients, they're like, we tried to speak up, or we tried to change things, or we tried to whatever, and nobody would listen. So we stopped having feelings, we stopped talking. And I don't believe that we can ever push down who we truly are. When we do that, we get sick, all kinds of things happen. So it's easier to eat everything in sight, and throw up or if you drink alcohol, or if you choose time how alter your brain and your life. It's easier to do that than it is to risk feeling upset, risk feeling rejection, from your parents risk, saying something to them that is going to make them abandon you. It's a coping mechanism that we create. Much like being an empath is you have to figure out what people are feeling and thinking before they act. So you protect yourself. But I really believe that that's what it's about. Because if you can have free thought, and free will and think you can be yourself. But if you can't, it's a very, very painful existence.

Brandon Handley 18:50 Yes, if you don't, if you don't express what you're feeling, in some way, shape or form, it's going to manifest in some way. And oftentimes that expresses itself in some type of dis ease, right? It's gonna show up I mean, look, I'm not a doctor, I'm not anything, but it could show up as as a sickness, General malaise, cancer, like, you know, Oh, my, you know, my back is acting up. And you know, yesterday, everything was fine. So sound sounds a little bit like new cut. That's what you're saying. And then, you know, it's like the, it's like, they take these feelings and they shuffle them, right. But you're talking about, it's easier to do the addiction. And it's in that addiction.

Katie Beecher 19:33 Correct. So, in reality, it's not easier to do the addiction. It's a horrible way to live, you know, but we think it's easier because that fear of being rejected if we're ourselves is so great and varied. You don't even realize you're feeling it, that you just go straight to your coping mechanism. And people out of fear think they can't win. Without this coping mechanism, and then there's the physical addiction aspect to a lot of things too. But they just think if I risk being myself, like if I risk setting boundaries with people and saying no, and not taking care of everybody, and asserting myself, those people are then not going to love me anymore or not want me around, or whatever. And it's pretty, nobody wants to be lonely and rejected, you know, but no one wants to live with addiction either.

Brandon Handley 20:33 Right now, I hear you, I hear you in what you're saying there twos is for the person that's living that way. Right? It's, that may be true, those people do not want you anymore after that. And that you may be 100%. Correct. But the people that come behind that, after you assert yourself after you create your own space after, you know, we're made in His image as creators, right. And you create the life that you want, on purpose with intention. The next line of people are going to be the ones that are a step beyond the

Katie Beecher 21:12 very least Yeah, I had. One, I have an amazing husband and two fantastic daughters, and they have great spouses. And this family is real.

Brandon Handley 21:24 Right? Yeah, I love that. So let's talk about some mediumship. I mean, you know, so you did you did like the, you know, kind of the clinical work, right, but now are you kind of all in on,

Katie Beecher 21:37 you know, as a medical intuitive, which is basically the work I do, I work in a very unique way. Just with someone's name and age, somebody will contact me through my website, give me their name, and age and their contact info. And I create a four page report. It's extremely detailed about physical, emotional, and spiritual things in their life from when they were little to now to their relationships, career, anything, anything that impacts their quality of life, but at that way, I create that. And then I do a symbolic painting, watercolor painting. And before meeting with them, I send them all of this information, then we meet and discuss it all. And I don't know how I do it. But I always hear like, you didn't know me before this really like I thought I've known you forever. And how do you do this, and it's pretty amazing. So with the goal really is few things to look at any kind of issues they're having. Look at the root cause is anything that I can handle, you know, spiritual emotion, even sometimes physical, we'll address we'll develop a new a plan for recovering and feeling better. I have doctors and other professionals that I work with, to help with either confirming my findings, diagnosing, treating things like that, because I am not legally allowed to make diagnoses and I shouldn't be, you know. So even though people doing this work sometimes do I, that's not okay. And they're where I get my information from is from, you know, my own intuition from my guides, their loved ones who have passed off often come through, I get information for people that they care about, not just themselves. And it's a pretty amazing process. People are like, this is like a year of therapy and an hour. So it's pretty cool.

Brandon Handley 23:46 That's potent, right? I mean, so it's just just a name. And their age.

Katie Beecher 23:52 Yeah, I put that I use, I sit down, just kind of, you know, think about their name, get a download from my guides, fill it all out. And the painting allows for some symbolic information. As a human, I can think too hard or interpret the information I'm getting. I try not do but I'm human, but with the symbolic information like this is. You can see that yeah. So that's one of the paintings, it's really glary. They're all really different. And the colors all mean something the way that the arms are or the hips or the way the legs are facing or all of that all means something.

Brandon Handley 24:37 When you say it all means something. Does that mean that it all means something to you? Or is that something that they pick up? And it's almost I mean, I'm not trying to say Rorschach. So

Katie Beecher 24:46 yeah, I don't know what it means as I'm painting the picture. At the end of the session, I go to it and kind of start at the beginning. start at the top and say okay, this is where I started. My guides are telling me that this is what this means. You know, the placement of this is usually like my signal, like, if somebody has their arms up like that, that's my signal for somebody who's like, Okay, I'm just done with where I'm living. I've had it, you know, time for a new start. And what's very important to me through the whole process, is that what I'm saying resonates with people, I teach everyone how to connect to their intuition. And trust themselves. It's not my job to substitute my intuition for someone else's. You know, that's, that's not what I'm trying to do. And we all have strengths within us. And we all do kind of know what we need, we just don't always know how to get there.

Brandon Handley 25:43 Yeah, 100%. And I think, when you're saying teach them to get to their throat intuition, once they kind of hit it once or twice, they know what that resonance is. Right? So once they understand what that resonance is, and that way of getting there, there's kind of a specific pathway back to them, at least one route, right? And I gotta imagine that there's more than one route, but like, Hey, we just hit it, you know, in the whole Joseph Campbell's follow your bliss type thing. It's like, you know, there's, there's different ways that you're going to achieve this. Right. But this is this is you're

Katie Beecher 26:26 learning to trust what you're getting? And not second guess it and not overthink it. And that everybody can connect. And somebody will say, well, is this just what I want to hear? Am I making this up? You know, or does this just why does it just sound like me? You know, why aren't you seeing angels and everything. And I'm like, you don't have to it doesn't have to be this earth shattering experience. And we use intuition all the time. People just don't even realize it. And I'll try to point out things you know, you said to me about this, that you pick this up, remember that? Oh, yeah. So

Brandon Handley 27:05 that I think it's neat to write it and the idea of, of not overthinking it, and really trusting it. So do you, how do you get someone to start trusting their intuition? Like, you know, you and I are working on like, Listen, I was feeling this thing. And I just don't know if I trusted Katie, like, what some of the guidance for me to start trusting more and stop this. So what are some,

Katie Beecher 27:28 so I remind them, of out kind of ask them about like, common one is if people who are have been in really bad relationships, and they're afraid of getting into another one, or they're afraid of getting out of their really dysfunctional relationship, because they think they're just going to find another person who doesn't treat them well. So I asked, you know, what were the warning signs that you had? Like, I don't know, like, okay, now, that's not acceptable. What are the warning signs, you know, a bit of this going wrong? Like, did he do this, did she do this did whatever it was, and I try to remind them of times that they use their intuition. Or even with medical intuition, we all have it. So you have this symptom. You knew enough to get yourself to the hospital, or you knew it was gonna be fine, I didn't really need to go there or with your kid, you know, you know, when your kids have ear infections, or whatever it is, so I really tried to reinforce times where they use their intuition, and they could trust it. And also times when they did hear from their intuition and didn't trust it, and we're really sorry. So some of is that kind of, you know, kind of thing. Um, also, we talk a lot about intuition and fear, because that comes up. And my general rule of thumb is fear makes you feel more anxious. And it makes you overthink more and not trust yourself. Whereas intuition may warn you of things, but it's going to do it in a comforting way, in a way that makes you nurture yourself and not create more chaos in your life. And a lot of people will say, it's easier for me to listen to intuition for other people than for myself. So I'm like, okay, apply some of that to you when, you know, a lot of it's just hand holding and confidence building and, and things like that. But there's, there's some, some young in techniques that I teach people about writing your intuition and your body and putting it right back to you. And so, yeah, a lot of it's just like, letting people know that it's, it's there and that they don't have to be Katie Beecher, or whoever else to be able to trust their intuition.

Brandon Handley 29:57 Right, so you're sure Hey, this is open to anybody, it is open to you like Katie Beecher is not open to me, right? And you're like, let's, let's walk through. Let me count the ways. Let me count the ways. Hey, did any of this ever show up in these relationships? Like you're saying, and then, you know, you get the point out, and I guess, you get to walk them along with Oh, yep. That was intuition. Yep. That was intuition. I love how you kind of also juxtapose intuition and fear, right? Like how fears is kind of like the fears is almost like shielding the light as it were, right? And then, you know, if you're, if you're acting in fear, there's like this, there's this uneasiness, this taste and discomfort, whereas like, when you're you're following intuition. There's a nurturing feeling. There's, it's almost like, it's almost like, you know, the doors been open for you. There's like, I'm thinking of like, almost like walking on, like, fresh green grass. Right. Right. Right. And, and not just in this kind of future state. Don't do that. Because it's going to impact your I am this. Right. It's something you know, for. Sure, follow that. But that's okay. Right. It's okay. Right. I think, I think to do things out of safety, and and just is okay, this person, I'm on the first day with them, and something doesn't feel right. Well, trust. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Go with that. We never liked each other from the beginning. Go with that. You know what I mean? All right. Yeah, it's real imperative to really want to have the second date, not just to see if the first one was a fluke. It's not about whether that person likes you. Do you like them? Right. Yeah. I mean, that I think that's, that's even more important, right? Stop holding out for, you knows, again, that external love, stop looking for that outside and then, you know, seeking for it, you know, once you have it for yourself, you've got it, and then everybody else wants it. Right? They'll come to you for that. So anyway, the whole attractive thing. So what is something that you're like really working on right now? talks program. So

Katie Beecher 32:30 I'm really excited about this. I have a book coming out, it's being published in February, it's available for presale, it's called heal from within an intuitive guide to wellness. And it's telling some of my backstory, helping people connect to their intuition. And telling people how to do a lot of the same techniques that I do during my individual readings to detect their issues, get to the root cause, you know, get insight learn to love themselves and care about themselves. And me and my husband calls it Katy Beecher, the home game. But you know, kind of is as much as you could do that for, for the masses. But it's very detailed. There's tons of, you know, quizzes and skills and tools and all that kind of stuff to use. I'm super excited about that. And then, in October, this October, at the Omega center in Rhinebeck, New York, I'm doing a week long workshop. And it has the same title, title here permitting. And it's going to be mostly exercises and activities, because I don't like to just sit around and listen to me talk. But all about, again, connecting to intuition. teaching people how to do those paintings that I do, how to do medical intuitive readings, how to connect yourself connecting to your body, all that kind of stuff. So I'm those are, you know, the two big things coming up. I have an Instagram Live coming up with Miranda Kerr that I'm excited about. And in October too. But um, yeah, so it's, it's getting to kind of teach people on mass, what I do, and then how they can use that to be healthier and happier.

Brandon Handley 34:13 So I think you should just add to the home game. Alright. I love that. I'm like that. My bliss and intuition, Katie is saying that that's the one. So why now? Why the book now?

Katie Beecher 34:29 Yeah, what's new, going to write a book when I was recovering from the eating disorder? I was told then this is a really good thing that you have this. I'm very grateful for the eating disorder experience, because so many reasons, but I wouldn't be who I am today wouldn't be my authentic self. But I knew then that I was going to write this book and be working with the whole world, basically. And I guess I just had to go through a whole lot of crap to get there. And to be ready. Um, and they do. And six, seven years ago, six years ago, I found out that I had Lyme disease. Every co infection in Lyme probably had it since I was a kid growing up in Connecticut. So I asked my guides, okay, what's the deal? You know why now? Why am I finding this out? And they said, it's time for you to stop putting off writing reading your book proposal. So I listened finally did that. I'm not a writer. So it was a little daunting and terrifying. Got some help with it? And now there's a book. Yeah.

Brandon Handley 35:44 That's great. That's great. And right, like, life will stop you from doing everything else until you do the thing that you're supposed to be doing. Right. So, I mean, were you going through that condition? And instead of saying, Why, God, why, yeah, we're like, Alright, what's this? What's in here? For me? Well, yeah,

Katie Beecher 36:04 I knew enough about my recoveries from other things to say, Okay, this is not my enemy. This is not out to get me. It's scary. It's supposed to be scary, because it's getting my attention. So what's the reason? What am I supposed to do with this and learn from it? And I didn't want to be a patient. And be poor me. And because that wasn't serving me. So it was, yeah, it was it was kind of practicing what I preach really, which is, you know, we screw up. Sometimes we try to do our best.

Brandon Handley 36:41 But I mean, I think that's interesting, too, right? Because as much as we know, all this stuff, and we practice and we preach it and we go through it doesn't mean we're invulnerable to those things, right? And then it's when they happen. We're like, he's son of a bitch. Right? Like, all right, you can call it calling my Bluff, right? as it were. Let's see, let's see,

Katie Beecher 37:07 can I roll behind me? That's awesome. That is my love. I enjoy it. I'm addicted to it. And I got a shoulder injury, not doing poll. And there was there was a message to that, which I've done after going through the whole thing, but I'm like, dammit.

Brandon Handley 37:23 I love you know, I love that you do you do some of the the pole dancing on here and stuff on your Insta stuff? It's, I mean, I love it, right? You're just out there doing it and doing your thing. I think that that's, you know, just more of doing your thing, right? It's just part of who you are doing it. And it's not right or wrong,

Katie Beecher 37:42 kill you when it's good for you. And it's as strong as I've ever been in my life. And it's good for body image. You know, if you told me back when I had an eating disorder that I would be wearing, basically, bikini on the internet, you are insane. I would have been with the beach. So you know. Right?

Brandon Handley 37:59 Good for you. I mean, look, that's I mean, that's a long journey to get there. So So I mean, there's got it, there's a lot I think there's power in that story as well, for sure. For the Yes, omega center, who is your ideal client? Who should be attending? Like this? That's a really, really yeah.

Katie Beecher 38:21 I feel like someone who knows nothing at all, about spirituality or intuition, or art, or any of that stuff would be great. And the clients I work with run from knowing nothing to being practitioners themselves, um, people who do intuitive work or energy work, or who were even physicians or acupuncturist or whatever, it's advanced enough that they would get something out of it. For sure, it's, you know, it's my own things that I've created and invented with some young thrown in. So, really, I have purposely

Brandon Handley 39:01 wait with this other guy young that I heard of. He's okay. He's a small contributor,

Katie Beecher 39:08 you know, so I think things that people have not been exposed to be for unless you've had a reading, but even then, it's kind of cool. So it's people who know nothing, people who are have some sort of illness or whatever, like, who doesn't, you know, learn more about that people who want to help themselves and clients or and other people. And it's, I really want it to be I want to be friendly, not scary. You know, but also for people to say, Well, I didn't know I could do that. And I'm

Brandon Handley 39:49 alright. Right. We I mean, I guess if there's somebody out there who's in the area and are thinking and maybe they they, you know, they would just want to test out this Medical intuition on themselves, this is something I could go check out and then, right. It's something that, yeah, they could they could put into practice, like, almost immediately. One thing I want to circle back on is something that you hit on, is the whole idea that I think it's I just want to help reinforce for you is that you into it, you have conversations with the people. And you recommend that they go to a specialist people that I validate,

Katie Beecher 40:31 I want to have experience with, right? That right? No, are ethical our caring, are qualified to do their thing. So in the reading, we talk about physical, emotional, spiritual, I will identify things that I see, you know, like physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, I'll identify all that. And I could say, you know, symptoms such similar to Lyme or similar to something else. But this is these are some people that I recommend, some who work online, some are who are in the area, who can, can look into what I've said further, do some testing. So you have empirical information, do some treatment, I cannot treat people that's not legal or ethical either. So

Brandon Handley 41:29 yeah, I'm yeah, that's something I want to call out, right? I wanted to double down on that. So somebody only, maybe they weren't really listening to the first half. And they come in the backend? Well, you can't just do these things and send people off, right? And tell them they're gonna be okay. You're telling them you know, there's Hey, there's more work, there's more work beyond what I just talked about. Please go right. validate this with somebody who's certified because that's not what I do here. What I do here is I you know, we help we discuss, we understand, I show you two that you can do this through your own intuition. That's why you're here with me today, right? Because you've got intuition. And now Hey, let's not stop there.

Katie Beecher 42:09 And also I have them contact me after what what did you find? What's going on with you? What did you find? And you can ask questions about the reading afterwards for no extra charge? Because I don't think it's fair. If someone has a question, they make a whole new appointment. Like that's not cool. So I follow up with them and want to know what's going on. And in some people, a lot of people make follow up appointments, some people don't, it's all it's all good, depending what you want to do. But it's it's a process.

Brandon Handley 42:39 Katie, real similar to the who should be showing up for your events, like who's your guy, I know, you get customers from all different types of moves, what seems to be like your most prevalent

Katie Beecher 42:51 Can I definitely get people who do have others who don't, people who just want to connect to their intuition or improve their relationships or whatever. But the vast majority of people, I would say, have a physical or mental health condition that they haven't gotten the help that they've needed or wanted. for it, they want to learn more about it, they want to get to the root cause instead of mandating and taking medicine or whatever. So they really want to get to the bottom of it and feel better permanently, you know, have lasting, lasting health and lasting wellness, and find their life purpose and be authentic.

Brandon Handley 43:40 Perfect, awesome. You put in there for a second. Oh, so usually, you know, is there anything else that you would cover or anything else that kind of you would you would want to share that we didn't really touch on during this? Um,

Katie Beecher 43:53 I guess I just really want to say that we are all capable of being happy and of healing and of being authentic and trusting ourselves. And it seems really scary. Sometimes No, it is, you know, not gonna not gonna say it's not but it's really worth it. And it's okay to ask for help. It takes strength to ask for help, you know, but, like, keep trying, you know, and even just following your dreams. I'm not a writer under the hell I was doing. I have this book that got published it, you know, it took a while it was a lot of kind of ups and downs and just kind of keep at it and, and don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Brandon Handley 44:49 I'm trying to see where my mic is.

Unknown Speaker 44:52 My honor my off.

Brandon Handley 44:56 What's the first step for somebody like that? Right. So I agree. 100 percent. What is starting that journey?

Katie Beecher 45:03 It's admitting it admitting that I am not perfect. I need help. I don't have to be better than other people. I'm the same. Everybody has flaws. But I need to admit that I have pain. And I don't want to live this way anymore.

Brandon Handley 45:25 I have suffering, right we have. So every everybody has suffering. That's, that's the root of it. Right? And how do I how do I let go that transcend it? as it were? Well, awesome. I think that's great. The place we are now is in the spiritual speed dating space right now. Right. So basically, basically, somebody is tuning in here today. They're like, I'm looking for my next you know, spiritual hottie. You could be it for somebody out there, Katie. And so let's find a question that I think works here. We'll start with bachelor number one, what is the greatest quality humans?

Unknown Speaker 46:09 Humans possess?

Brandon Handley 46:13 mean, let's expand on it. Like, what's that? What's that mean?

Katie Beecher 46:16 Right, caring about others. And being there for other people. I think there's a lot of really nice, good people out there. There's a lot of shitty people, but there's a lot of people who actually do really care about others. And that's the most important gift we can give each other is to, to be there.

Brandon Handley 46:39 For me step by step into that love and actually I hate the term leverage, but like, use it, right? Don't just be like, leverage the love and like, you know, in I think what you were saying earlier in that way that you've already applied to yourself, or have the potential to apply to yourself. I think the first place right that somebody should apply that is to themselves unconditionally. Learn how to love yourself before you love anybody else. I think as a as a takeaway on that one. Just admit it, acceptance is freeing. And it's, it's, it's liberating, right? Really, you know what, yeah, that was my shit. It is now what? Right? What are we also afraid of?

Katie Beecher 47:25 I was good. I looked at those questions. I was gonna say ourselves, but what I really think it is, is abandonment and not being loved by others.

Brandon Handley 47:37 Around Yeah, I mean, I think I think that that's, that's a big part of it, for sure. Um, but I think I would, I would, I would almost say to, right, I mean, it links to that love thing, right? You haven't learned how to love yourself yet in a situation like that. So both answers are acceptable, like, loving yourself, like, you know, afraid to like kind of love yourself or yourself being afraid of yourself. Right. That's that whole Marianne Williamson. You know, the our greatest fear, isn't that right? I mean, hockey, like every time you see it, it's like, that's the one all right, man. Jeez, I don't know why you're anything yet. But sure. Right. Well, listen, Katie's it's been so great to finally have this interview with you. Have you on I know we You and I were talking before we we got going here. We connected sometime in like February this year. It's August. Holy smokes. 2021 looks like a record speed break neck year. So thank you so much for being on where can I send the audience to find

Katie Beecher 48:46 some fun? Um, so my website is Katie. k Tia, feature b e ch er calm. So Katie meter calm. And I think I owe you a picture.

Brandon Handley 49:01 If you don't give me one, I'll find one. Katie. So that's you know, that's in your hands. Right? That's, that's within your control. The can they find out more about your sessions and your book by going to your site? So you're okay, so everything, everything they need is right there,

Katie Beecher 49:18 too. It's Katie Beecher, medical intuitive. But yeah, my website talks about the different options for readings. And their sample reports on there. There's paintings, you know, my back stuff, you can make the appointment right on the website. There's a link to I think it's Barnes and Noble or something about my book with the thing. And then there's a link on there also for the Omega workshop right on my front page.

Brandon Handley 49:46 Awesome. Well, congratulations on your book, and you know, the work that you're doing, I think it's so cool. And the story that you're sharing and you're bringing your authentic self to the world the way that you are, I think it's great.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai