The Aware Show

Grief and anxiety can feel hopeless and traumatic. How can you not get stuck in the feelings? We all go through trying times, so how can we handle it all? It's about experiencing the feelings while also trying to find beauty and inspiration in our lives. Psychotherapist and author John Tsilimparis talks deeply about these topics today and suggests we find aesthetic ways to empower ourselves. John is a distinguished psychotherapist, mental health consultant, podcast host, and former adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and UCLA Extension. Today he discusses his latest book "The Magic in the Tragic: Rewriting the Script on Grief and Finding Happiness in Our Darkest Days." John shares the idea of "inspiration exposure." He invites us to be self-compassionate. He suggests we hold strong to our boundaries and give ourselves time to heal. The idea is not to move on, but to move through the emotions. John talks about "grief empowerment" and explains how to find meaning and even beauty in grief. He teaches us to find awe and splendor, even in our darkest moments. This can apply to anxiety and even addiction. It's possible to find meaning and purpose in even the smallest things. Info: johntsilimparis.com.

Are you in a relationship? Do you think love is hard work? Half of the US households' children will spend time in a divorced home and are more likely to end up divorced later in their own lives as well. So what can we do about this? Join Lisa today as she talks with Dr. Susan Jeffers, author of "Lasting Love: The Feel the Fear Guide to Lasting Love" about what love really is, how we can create lasting loving relationships, and more. Susan Jeffers, Ph.D., has helped millions of people throughout the world overcome their fears, heal their relationships, and move forward in life with confidence and love. She is the author of many internationally renowned best-selling books including "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway," "Feel the Fear . . . and Beyond," "Feel the Fear Power Planner," "End the Struggle and Dance With Life," and many more. Her latest book at the time of the interview was "The Feel the Fear Guide to Lasting Love." Info: SusanJeffers.com.

Who would you be without your trauma? Lisa continues the conversation today with Dr. Sue Morter. Known as "Dr. Sue," she is an internationally acclaimed speaker, master of Bioenergetic Medicine, and thought leader bridging science, spirituality, and human potential. She is the founder and CEO of the Morter Institute for Bioenergetics and host of the podcast, "The Art of Awakening" and Gaia TV's "Healing Matrix." Today she will discuss her brand-new book, "The Anatomy of Awakening: The 5 Hidden Codes to Unlock Your Higher Consciousness and Live Your Divine Destiny." Dr. Sue talks about hidden trauma and explains how we can unlock it from the body. She explains how it is possible to heal once we acknowledge how to come home to ourselves. We can look at our emotions, heal, and surrender. We can self-heal. We can regulate our nervous systems based on breath. It can happen quickly. Dr. Sue explains how this is a vibration. It is a frequency. We can change in a moment according to quantum physics. Our quantum self is not bound by time. You do not need a trauma, such as a near-death experience, or physical illness. Awakening can happen instantaneously. The subtle energies can set you free. She invites us to create the space to feel something that's softer. Breathe. Take time to relax your nervous system. Feel your feelings. We can begin to become whole when we change our perspective. Dr. Sue also teaches a short exercise involving a deep belly breath, which will help us feel calm. We can release our solar plexus and relax. We can allow energy to flow, which allows our wisdom to be unleashed. This is a system to organize the chaos. We can then approach life from a different perspective and from a place of wholeness. This is Part 2 of the interview. Info: drsuemorter.com.

Would you like to learn about natural methods of healing? Did you know there are proven, helpful gadgets which can reduce pain? Our guest today is Dr. Norm Shealy who will discuss some of the latest cutting-edge technologies available for pain management, depression, and stress. Since his creation of the TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit for pain control in the 1970s, world-renown neurosurgeon Dr. Shealy has been at the forefront of several new non-invasive devices that have been proven to be effective for pain management. He will discuss some of these amazing technologies on the show. Dr. Shealy is a Neurosurgeon and former Harvard Professor, and is currently President of Holos University Graduate Seminary, which offers doctoral programs in Spiritual Healing and Energy Medicine. He holds nine patents for innovative discoveries, has published more than 300 articles and 22 books including "Life Beyond 100" and "90 Days To Stress-Free Living." Tune in and learn a relaxation technique that could change your health! Info: www.normshealy.net

Would you like to understand how the stories you tell yourself are affecting your physiology? What impact do they have and what's underlying them? Today's guest is Dr. Sue Morter. Known as "Dr. Sue," she is an internationally acclaimed speaker, master of Bioenergetic Medicine, and thought leader bridging science, spirituality, and human potential. She is the founder and CEO of the Morter Institute for Bioenergetics and host of the podcast, "The Art of Awakening" and Gaia TV's "Healing Matrix." Today she will discuss her brand-new book, "The Anatomy of Awakening: The 5 Hidden Codes to Unlock Your Higher Consciousness and Live Your Divine Destiny." Dr. Sue talks about how we can resolve unresolved emotions that we don't even know we are carrying. She invites us to look at life without our trauma. She believes we are inherently rich, abundant, and healthy. When we choose to incarnate, we may believe we can operate with only certain capacities. We get shut down over the course of life. Under it all, is something completely whole. We can receive these gifts of wholeness which are waiting for us. Many people get there through pain. The unconscious life tends to run our lives. We keep going with these patterns, yet Dr. Sue knows we can evolve. We come here to become more conscious. We can live lives of bliss, healing, and infinite possibilities. She invites us to have the light of our awareness shine brightly. When we allow it, we can awaken. Our filters can disappear and we can live a life of brightness. We can allow these universal energies to flow. Dr. Sue says how we may feel lost, sick, or confused right now. She asks us to take a "time out" and trust that there's more. She discusses her first book, "The Energy Codes" and talks about the imagination of who we are and who we can be. We can animate our potential, awaken it, and not get caught up in duality of life. If we can be present with ourselves no matter what is going on, we can learn to be more compassionate and therefore create a new reality. We can evolve through the imagination. This is what we are truly meant to be living. It's the timeless version of ourselves. We are meant to flourish. We are meant to love ourselves. We can come home to ourselves. It's our true nature. This is Part 1 of the interview. Info: drsuemorter.com.

With the continuing crisis, how will it be possible to have peace in the Middle East? With so much separation, how can people remember their hearts and come together? Today Lisa continues the conversation with Ora and Ihab Balha, a Jewish and Muslim couple living in Isreal who exemplify love, despite the extreme conflicts in the area in which they are living. Together they co-founded "The Orchard of Abraham's Children'' nonprofit organization, a holistic educational and communal organization dedicated to transforming Jewish-Arab relations for a shared future, as well as the "Human First Community Center" in Jaffa, Israel. Today Ora and Ihab talk about the idea of peace, and how it exists; you just need to tap in. Peace is the future. The education system in Isreal is all about division based on religion and culture. This can be changed. By separating Jewish and Arab people, it creates ignorance. By coming together, and going to school together, we can learn about one another. We can enrich each other with our differences and find similarities to connect. Ignorance creates fear and that fear creates violence. An education system can address this by bringing students together. Ora and Ihab talk about how they start with teaching the children, and then the kids bring home information to their parents. They have also started a community center for adults. It's not just early childhood education. It's for the entire family. This can create change. Slowly it becomes impactful. They have an open prayer room and everyone is welcome. People come to visit from all over the world to pray and meditate. The local community branches out to the neighborhood and around Isreal. They have various locations in which they work with Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the global community. People have lost hope, but when they see that it's possible to learn the tools and create peace, they can feel inspired. Ora and Ihab also discuss how the education they've developed helps not only people, but the Earth as well. It's about sustainability. They talk about how we are just stewards of the land; no one actually owns it. We belong to the land. They also talk about their interfaith gatherings and the similarities between the various religions. When they started out, people made fun of what they were doing. Now people take note and are very interested. They want to get involved. It is difficult to shift people's minds in the beginning, but when they see what's possible, they become inspired and want to invest in peace and education. It is possible to change the paradigm and Ora and Ihab are leading the way through their work together. They are working to stop the war and bring peace. They remind us that we are all part of the human family, and it is possible to live in abundance, love, and peace. We just need to open our hearts and come together. If interested in donating and learning more, pls visit: www.orchardofabrahamschildren.org

Although it seems that we live in a world filled with tragedy, especially as we hear about wars raging in the Middle East, there are still so many people there doing good in the world. In today's show, Lisa interviews Ora and Ihab Balha, a Jewish and Muslim couple living in Isreal who exemplify love, despite the extreme conflicts in which they are living. Together they co-founded "The Orchard of Abraham's Children'' nonprofit organization, a holistic educational and communal organization dedicated to transforming Jewish-Arab relations for a shared future, as well as the "Human First Community Center" in Jaffa, Israel. Ihab Balha explains as a Muslim man how he was challenged to a fight by a Jewish man who came running into a restaurant screaming hateful words toward Arabs. They got into a physical fight. Frequently this many would run into this restaurant shouting the same words and fighting with men there. Eventually Ihab decided to wait for him and attacked him outside. The Jewish man was surprised and said how they should schedule the next fight and invited him to fight at his home. Ihab talks about how they scheduled it, and when he arrived at the man's house, the man broke down about his wife leaving him. This led to a conversation about the importance of love and human connection. Together they talked about relationships and spoke from their hearts. They continued to meet, to talk, and to express their fears and anger. Slowly more Jewish people and Muslim people began to gather with them, just to talk. They decided to have a meeting in the Holy Land between the Israeli and Palestinian people. They were anticipating approximately 10 people. More than 300 showed up. They invited people from various religions including priests, Sufis, and rabbis. One man talked about his daughter being killed by an Israeli soldier. Another person talked about how a Palestinian man killed his son. Together they cried and shared their pain. Afterwards they hugged each other. At the second meeting, more than 1000 people came and for the third meeting, more than 5,000 people of various religions attended. This was essentially the biggest peace project in Israel. They did not talk about politics – instead they talked about being Jewish, Muslim, and Christian. They built bridges. Ora Balha talks about how she met Ihab when she was visiting the Sinai desert in Egypt. They saw each other and immediately fell in love. Even though Ora is Jewish and Ihab is Muslim, they talk about how love "took" them. It took over. They had to rise above cultural and societal differences. Ora moved in with Ihab in Jaffa. Because of the difficulties, they couldn't share this with anyone, including their families. When Ora first met Ihab's father, it was especially challenging. Their families could not get over their prejudices, but every time they met, Ora and Ihab would express only love. Finally, after a struggle of several years, their families accepted one another. It took time, but Ora and Ihab stayed true to their love. They also talked about the importance of choosing love. Even if you are afraid, when you choose love, people can see that and then reflect it. They also discuss what happened when they had their son and how they educated him. He learned both Hebrew and Arabic at home. They celebrated all of each other's holidays. When it came time to send him to kindergarten, they couldn't find a school that was teaching what they were at home, so they decided to start a kindergarten. They were young and didn't think about the future as much, so they started a very small school in Ihab's father's yard. Two children joined. They brought in both a Jewish teacher and a Muslim teacher. The community started to hear about them. In the beginning, it was hard, but slowly more children joined. By the end of the first year, 16 children were involved. They opened a second group the following year and a third group by the third year. Currently they now have nine kindergartens, an elementary school, and a community center which focuses on adults. It offers music and activities. They have more than 100 staff members. They invite people to remember that we are human first. God chooses all of us. We complete each other. Info: www.orchardofabrahamschildren.org

Have you heard of communities where people regularly live to be healthy in their 80s, 90s, and even beyond? Is it possible that cultural beliefs can affect our health and longevity? Clinical neuropsychologist and founder of Biocognitive science, Dr. Mario Martinez, is an expert in the healthy aging process. He lectures worldwide on how cultural beliefs affect health and longevity more than genetics. In today's interview he discusses ideas such as how our immune systems have their own moral system and how resilience has an immune-boosting factor. He also considers how archetypal wounds affect our DNA and RNA and can be passed through the generations. His research demonstrates how thoughts and their biological expression co-emerge within a cultural history, even as current science continues to divide mind and body, and ignore the influence cultural contexts have on the process of health, illness, and aging. Cultures that view growing older as positive are associated with increased wisdom and have higher numbers of centenarians living healthier lives than cultures that view aging as a process of inevitable deterioration. He also teaches how joy requires sufficient self-esteem to accept it without self-sabotage. Dr. Mario Martinez is the author of "The MindBody Code." Learn more about his field of "biocognition" in today's interview. Info: www.biocognitive.com.