The Spiritual Shitshow with Suzanne Sole

Nobody starts a healing journey because everything is going swimmingly. Usually, something hurts, something isn't working, or there's a nagging feeling that there's got to be more to life than this.

As spiritual teacher Michael Bernard Beckwith says, “The pain pushes until the vision pulls.”

In Part 1 of this two-part Season finale, Suzanne explores what draws us to the path of healing and spiritual awakening, how pain can become a catalyst for transformation, and why reaching out for help through therapy can be one of the most important steps we take.

Because the healing and spiritual path isn't a straight line toward enlightenment. It's messy, unpredictable, sometimes hilarious, and often downright hurly-burly. Welcome to The Spiritual Shitshow.

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

In Part 3 of Feel THIS, Suzanne wraps up her chitty chat inspired by Pema Chödrön’s Coming Closer to Ourselves: Making Everything the Path of Awakening.

Continuing with the concept of staying with ourselves, making room for the messy, uncomfortable parts of being human, and learning to meet life as it is instead of how we wish it would be.

Because this whole awakening business isn’t about getting everything right or never having difficult feelings. It’s about learning to show up for ourselves, again and again, right in the middle of whatever life throws our way.

And apparently, all of it is part of the path. Even this shit.

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

In Part 2 of Feel THIS, Suzanne gets into what it actually means to stay with our feelings, and all the creative shit we humans do to avoid doing exactly that.

We distract. We analyze. We fix. We reach outside ourselves. We tell stories. We do pretty much anything we can think of to make an uncomfortable feeling go away instead of staying present with ourselves while it’s here.

Inspired by Pema Chödrön’s Coming Closer to Ourselves: Making Everything the Path of Awakening, Suzanne digs into some of her teachings that sound almost simple until you really take them in, and then you realize they’re low-key groundbreaking.

What if the goal isn’t to get rid of the feeling? What if we can learn to stay with ourselves while we’re feeling it?

Apparently, even the shit we desperately want to escape can become part of the path. Fantastic.

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

What if the difficult stuff isn’t getting in the way of the path… what if it is the path?

In Part One of this conversation inspired by Pema Chödrön’s Coming Closer to Ourselves: Making Everything the Path of Awakening, Suzanne talks about what it actually looks like to stay with ourselves when uncomfortable feelings show up: fear, shame, anxiety, uncertainty, and all the other emotional bullshit we’d really rather not feel.

Because awakening sounds super Zen until life hands you an opportunity to actually practice it.

Like learning to stay with difficult feelings instead of trying to escape them, what it means to stay present with ourselves in the middle of the mess, and how the very experiences we wish would go away can become part of the path. Turns out the way out is through.

Fucking fantastic...

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

Part 5: Unconditional Doesn’t Mean Anything Goes

So we’re supposed to love unconditionally. But does that mean accepting everything? Having no boundaries? Putting everyone else’s needs ahead of our own?

In the final installment of WTF Is Unconditional Love?, Suzanne turns to some ancient texts for wisdom on what love asks of us, and what it doesn’t. She talks about the difference between unconditional love and martyrdom, and why the whole conversation keeps leading back to the same place: self-love.

She also looks at what happens when something in another person really gets under our skin. Could some of what we judge, resist, or project onto other people be pointing us toward something in ourselves that’s asking for a little love too?

Because loving without conditions doesn’t mean living without boundaries. And learning to offer that love to other people may have a whole lot to do with learning to offer it to ourselves.

Some Books Suzanne Read on the Way to Self-Love:

Radical Acceptance — Tara Brach
https://www.tarabrach.com/books/radical-acceptance/

Self-Compassion — Kristin Neff.
https://self-compassion.org/books-by-kristin-neff

The Gifts of Imperfection — Brené Brown
https://brenebrown.com/book/the-gifts-of-imperfection

When Things Fall Apart — Pema Chödrön
https://pemachodronfoundation.org/product/when-things-fall-apart-book/

The Trauma of Everyday Life — Mark Epstein
https://www.markepsteinmd.com/the-trauma-of-everyday-life

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

Part 4: Apparently, You Have to Love Yourself Too

It’s one thing to talk about loving other people unconditionally. But what happens when the person requiring a little unconditional love is... you?

In Part 4 of WTF Is Unconditional Love?, Suzanne Sole breaks down why unconditional love has to start with ourselves—and how the way we judge, reject, forgive, and accept ourselves inevitably shows up in our relationships with everyone else.

Because it’s awfully hard to offer other people grace when the voice in your own head is running a 24-hour complaint department.

Turns out self-love may not be a side quest in unconditional love. It may be where the whole damn thing starts.

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

Part 3: Love Everyone. Tell the Truth.

What does it actually mean to love everyone? And can you love someone unconditionally while still telling the truth about who they are, what they've done, or how you feel?

In Part 3 of WTF Is Unconditional Love?, Suzanne shares the story of Ram Dass and his teacher Maharaji, and a deceptively simple teaching: Love everyone and tell the truth.

Because unconditional love doesn't require denying reality. Maybe the real work is learning how love and truth can exist in the same place, even when the truth is difficult, uncomfortable, or downright inconvenient.

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

Part 2: But Is It Even Possible?

Is unconditional love actually possible? And even if it is... can we really do it?

In Part 2, Suzanne gets into the reality of trying to love without conditions, and why the relationship we have with ourselves may have everything to do with our ability to offer that kind of love to someone else.

What does self-love have to do with unconditional love? What happens when the concept meets actual human beings, with all their wounds, expectations, fears, and assorted bullshit?

Suzanne throws down some ancient poetry to see what people have been saying about all this for the last few thousand years.

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

Part 1: So WTF is it?

We hear the words unconditional love all the time... but what does unconditional love look like in real life? No but seriously...

In Part 1 of this series, Suzanne breaks down what a living version of unconditional love might be and draws from psychology, spiritual teachings, and her own experience, as she looks at the gap between the ideal of unconditional love and the reality of trying to live it.

This isn't about becoming a doormat. It isn't about pretending you don't have boundaries. And it definitely isn't about forcing yourself to like everyone.

It's a conversation about what unconditional love might actually be—and what it isn't.

If you've ever found yourself wondering why loving people can feel so difficult, this series is for you.

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com

The Illusion of Control: Part 3 – Give it Up, Babe

In Part 3 of The Illusion of Control, Suzanne explores one of the hardest things for us humans to do: live with uncertainty. Why does waiting feel so uncomfortable? Why do we mistake certainty for safety? And why do we spend so much of our lives trying to predict, prepare for, and outthink the future?

Drawing from psychology, spirituality, and her own life, Suzanne explores what happens when we stop demanding answers before allowing ourselves to have peace. Because maybe the goal isn't to know what's coming next. Maybe it's learning to trust ourselves enough to meet it when it arrives.

Thank you for listening! Learn more at suzannsole.com

Check out Suzanne's spiritual and sassy t-shirts at personallyspiritual.com