Feb. 6, 2023

Being 'Spiritually Loose' with Susan Pearse

Being 'Spiritually Loose' with Susan Pearse
Being 'Spiritually Loose' with Susan Pearse
Crappy to Happy
Being 'Spiritually Loose' with Susan Pearse
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Season 9Personal Growth & HealingCreativity & Self-Expression

In this episode, Cass is joined by Susan Pearse, a best-selling author and leadership expert who developed Australia's first mindfulness based leadership program, which is now used around the world. Susan has spent two decades trying to find the secret to living a more fulfilling life, and through those experience, she's now written a "Spiritually Loose" manifesto as an antidote for the modern world.

Connect with Susan: https://www.susanpearse.com/spiritually-loose

Connect with Cass:

www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
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Are you a coach, therapist, service provider or solopreneur struggling with self-doubt and imposter syndrome? I'd love to talk to you! (for market research purposes only!)

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Transcript
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A listener production.

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Susan Pearce is a best selling author and a leadership

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expert who is passionate about conscious leadership.

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In fact, she developed Australia's first.

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Mindfulness based leadership program all the Way back in two thousand,

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which has now been delivered to companies around the world.

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Outside of her corporate roles.

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Though, Susan is a woman who has been on a

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journey of spiritual seeking and self discovery for more than

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two decades. Her search for the answers of how to

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live a more fulfilled and connected life have taken her,

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in her words, around the world, from rave parties in

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Ibitha to jazz bars in New York, from traditional hula

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dancing and Hawaii to qualifying as a Condolina yoga teacher

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in Spain.

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She has had quite some fascinating.

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Experiences when she says that instead of finding answers, all

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she found was rules, and instead of joy, she found judgment.

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So as a result, Susan came up with the term.

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Spiritually loose to describe her approach to life. She is

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now sharing her quite fascinating story and offering her spiritually

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Loose Manifesto as an antidote for the modern world diseases

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of emptiness, regret, and disappointment.

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She says, It's okay to be spiritual and loose, humble

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and confident, patient and intolerant, deep and superficial, and above all,

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it is perfect to just be you. I absolutely loved

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this conversation with Susan. She is so full of infectious energy.

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I think that you will find her story just as

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interesting as I did.

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Here is my chat with Susan.

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Susan, Welcome to the Crappy to Happy podcast, hik. It's

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great to be here, Susan. I read your book Spiritually Loose.

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You are speaking to a fellow spiritual seeker, so I.

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Really enjoyed the book.

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First up, I have to say your book opens with

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you going to see quite a well known psychic in

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his backyard in Brisbane.

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Is that Jason McDonald at Nunda?

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Yes it was.

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I've been to that house. I've been to that yard

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more than once.

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So I just as I read it, I thought, oh,

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I know Jason McDonald. I he was my and can

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I say too, it's interesting that your book opened with

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that because my seeing Jason McDonald I reckon around the

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similar age as you. I was about twenty four, I

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think twenty three twenty four when I first went to

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see him in the city, actually in Brisbane.

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I was working in the city, and that.

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Probably was the experience that really cracked me open to

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this whole idea of psychics and medianship and the para normal.

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And I've been on a similar journey ever since, although

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I will say it not quite as intense as yours

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having read the book. But you saw Jason. Anybody in

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Brisbane who's seen He's quite well known in Brisbane, and

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he told you that he couldn't see.

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Anything for you.

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What was that experience like for you at that time

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in your life?

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And I have to admit it freaked me out. I think,

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you know.

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The first thing that came out of my mouth was, oh,

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my gosh, am I going to die? Because I went

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with two other friends and one friend of my sister

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and they came back with all of this information. So

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when he said to me, I can't see anything in

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your future, the first thing that I thought of is

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not going to have a car accident on the way home.

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So I freaked out.

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And he and but he said to me, you know,

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the spirits are just not giving me anything. You're a

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highly intuitive person, Go take your money. So he gave

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the money back to me, and he said, you can

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work out your own path. You know, your money's better

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spent going and having a cup of tea.

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I can imagine how freaky that would be. Also kind

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of disappointing because I had the same experience. Everybody was

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getting these amazing insights and really accurate predictions and I

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did too, by the way, So kind of a.

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Kind of a letdown.

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Yes, it was, and you know, because again it just

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wasn't the couple of people I went with. But as

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you know, Jason's got like an amazing kind of reputation.

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But that clearly was the message for me that day

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because had I had been given all of the answers

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to how my life was going to unfolow, I never

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would have gone on the search.

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So Jason's brilliant.

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So, Susan, that did set you off on a path,

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or did it, because you refer to later sort of

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having a quarter life crisis.

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Tell me about that.

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Yeah, that was interesting because I grew up, you know,

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pretty typical to a lot of you know girls, where

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we had the whole tick list of all the things

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that we wanted to, you know, get in place, so

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you know, find the husband, by the house, you know,

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establish my career, get a really good job, all of

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those things. And I had ticked the checklist off to

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only find my self in a place where I was

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completely miserable. And it's like it happened to me almost

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you know, overnight, where I just kind of woke up

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and nothing made any sense anymore. I was feeling this

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deep sense of dissatisfaction, yet I couldn't explain why. And

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it was really that void that got me to you know,

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quite sort of probably reckless and courageous at that you know,

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young age of twenty something, where I kind of gave

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everything up and I went on the search for happiness

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and meaning. And my first stop was actually, you know,

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I had been a girl who had saved my money

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for the house and had done all those traditional things

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and never really through caution to the wind, I had

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never been overseas, and so this was my first stop

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that I wanted to go to New York City. And

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I think I say in the book that I must

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have been watching too many Sex in the City episodes

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at the time, because I thought, you know, that's got

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to be the wearing that wardrobe and doing what those

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girls do.

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It has got to be the answer to happiness.

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So I decided I was going to New York City

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and happened to find because I had just established my

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own business, and I happened to find a conference that

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could also facilitate my way, you know, over there. And

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it just happened to be that I had accidentally signed

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up for a conference that was the first dialogue between

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the Dalai Lama and Buddhist dialoguing with the world's best psychiatrists, psychologists, neuroscientists,

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all on the nature of the mind. And I think

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this is where the first piece clicked in just understanding

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our brains and how they can be our best friends

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but most of the time our worst nightmare. Yeah that

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I mean, I think we've all heard of that, those

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of us who sort of are familiar with, like I'm

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quite interested in Buddhism and Buddhist psychology and mindfulness, and

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I think many of us have heard of that conference.

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So that's kind of amazing that you got to be

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there kind of by fluke. It was amazing, and it

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was yeah, totally fluky, And you know, this was twenty

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years ago, just over twenty years ago, and so it

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really was the first time they went public with you know,

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brain scanning monks and seeing what goes on in our brains,

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you know, for the happiest person in the world, what's

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going on and can we actually use mind training to

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impact happiness. So yeah, it was like right at the

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start of when all of this kind of research was emerging,

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and it was like, really quite funny that a conference

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that was only sort of supporting my way to get

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to New York ended up being the conference that changed

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my life.

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Giving you an excuse basically to hop on a plane and.

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Justify the money.

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Absolutely, and let's not forget that you sat behind Richard

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Gear at that conference.

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Yes, well, this is the other funny part of it,

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I guess is when I went to book for this conference,

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all of the general seating was already booked out, but

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it was for something and I can't remember, but it

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was something like two hundred dollars extra you could go

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as a gold sponsor. So that was a no brainer

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to just go, Okay, I'm going to sign up for that.

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And yeah, when I was lining up to you know,

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the gold sponsors area in front of me, was Richard Gear.

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Behind me was Goldie Horn.

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And the real clincher was that on the last day,

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the organizer came and said His Holiness would love to

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meet all of the gold sponsors. And so I end

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up backstage next to Richard Gear and his sisters meeting

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his Holiness and having some moments with him, which was

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just extraordinary and again really quite hilarious when you think

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about how I got there.

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Yeah, but you quickly kind of learned Buddhism wasn't really

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for you. Where too, next for you? Like you talk

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about in the book that you've been on a couple

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of decades search of spiritual seeking, healer hunting, like you've

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had all sorts of experienced experiences which we will get to.

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But where did that journey take you next? And for

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the next you know period?

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I think, yeah, I think what that really showed me?

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And you know, interestingly enough, I still go to a

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Buddhist retreat and I still like love all the principles.

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And as I was mentioning the whole thing about taming

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the monkey mind, which is one of in the book,

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I talk about these thirteen sort of principles of how

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I live my life, and one of the first ones

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is around getting out of your head. That Buddhist teaching

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is still just yes, so really important. But I think

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the thing that got me is I wanted to dive

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in even deeper, but kind of saw that unless I

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was prepared to shave my head and wear robes and

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give up meat. And this is where I guess the

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title spiritually loose comes in. I was just searching for

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something where you could almost you know, have all the

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spirituality practices, but have them buy design for you and

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not have to give up joy, not have to give

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up being wild or any of the things that you

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wanted to also incorporate in your spirituality.

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So there wasn't necessarily a.

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Next I then invested in this thing here, but I

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certainly went on a path of a whole range of things,

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some of them being things like reiki, sacred dancing, kundalini yoga.

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I ended up getting into Kundalini dance, yeah, you name it.

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I've explored astrology, yeah really, crystals and shark crass and

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pretty much the whole shopping.

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List of spirituality. I then went on to explore.

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And at the same time, Susan, you have maintained and

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continue to maintain I believe, you know, quite a mainstream

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corporate career.

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How has your spiritual.

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Journey, I guess, and all of those things that you've

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been into and tried, how has that supported or complemented

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the other work.

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That you do?

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Because I think there is a perception out there that

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if you're into that spiritual stuff, that you're a bit

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of a kind of a hippie out there hugging trees

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and living off the land.

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But you are not that.

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So how do these two things complement each other in

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your life? Yeah?

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And they really really do.

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And it's interesting because I've used a lot of after

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that conference with the Dalai Lama that was kind of

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I was always in the leadership space, and that was

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the missing piece that kind of said to me, we're

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not going to achieve sustainable change as people unless we

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really start to work with our.

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Own minds and our hearts.

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And so then I went on with my business partner

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to develop the first mindfulness based leadership program in Australia.

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So all of the principles were still coming with me

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as I was working in corporations, and now I've had

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that business for twenty probably twenty five years now, going

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into the most serious of companies, and I think we're

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at links in now is in the business world, we

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are dealing with so much change, We are dealing with

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so much complexity that the old ways of managing business

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don't work anymore.

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Because you know, when you think.

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About spirituality, that's about how we deal with things that

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aren't visible and tangible to us. And the business world

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is also dealing with very similar things and the ability

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in business to be able to adapt really quickly, which

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again comes back to the nature of our minds.

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So it's like spirituality and.

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Business has interconnected anyway. And I think you know the

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other thing I do is a lot of leadership coaching,

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and the fact that I am constantly focused on my

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own self development actually makes me a better coach and

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mentor for other people as well.

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One thing that you.

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Talk about is discovering I don't remember the context, in

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an energy healing session or something, discovering that your heart

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was quite closed, like that you had this almost black heart.

254
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So tell me about that. What was that like to

255
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hear that? What did that mean to you? Did that

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resonate and I guess then what steps did you take

257
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to open your heart? That experience with the healer was

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like another aha moment like the one I had with

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Jason McDonald.

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And I was in Byron Bay. It was at the

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time where I wrote my first book, and I was

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doing some sort of book signings at a bookstore and

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there was this poster in the window of this healer.

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And you know when you just have those moments where

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your attention gets grabbed by something, and so I've walked

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into this shop and I've kind of pointed at the

267
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picture and said, does that person have any sessions available?

268
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Thinking in the back of my mind it's a Saturday.

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There's no way that they're going to have something that's free.

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And then the person came out and said, are you

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looking for a session, come on in here. So it

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was one of those other things that's kind of meant

273
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to be. But as he was doing his energy clearing

274
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on my body, I could tell that he was kind

275
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of hanging around that area of my heart, and you know, I,

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with my curiosity, sort of said to him, what's the matter?

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You know, is there something you know wrong there? And

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he said, oh, no, it's just your heart. I can't

279
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see it. And you know, again, I didn't know what

280
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to say, because I was like, oh, maybe I didn't

281
00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:24.039
have one, just trying to make some awkward jokes there,

282
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but he said, no, you've got one, but it's covered

283
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by many thick layers.

284
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And you know, when I reflect on that, I think

285
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for everyone.

286
00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:36.080
I was going to say for girls, because I have

287
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a daughter, but I have a son as well. That

288
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you know, from the earliest of times growing up, we

289
00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:45.600
have a whole range of things that make us contract

290
00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.080
in the heart area or make us cover up, put

291
00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:53.559
the walls up, whether that is breakups, whether that's you know,

292
00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:57.399
difficulties with friendship groups or whatever that might be.

293
00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:00.879
And you know, I was just no different.

294
00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:02.960
That I had a whole heap of walls that are

295
00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:07.120
built up around my heart. And you know, literally as

296
00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:12.559
he removed that, I could feel a lightness there. And

297
00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.919
you know, just in the weeks going on from that,

298
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I could feel this thing.

299
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I could feel my heart come alive.

300
00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:21.159
I could actually feel flooters, all different things that were

301
00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:24.919
going on, which was really quite amazing. And I just

302
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:27.279
started you know, when you're feeling that in your body,

303
00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.279
you just start to bring your attention to a different area.

304
00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:34.320
So instead of talking to people through my head, or

305
00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:36.679
listening to people through my head. I was actually started

306
00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:39.840
to listen to them through my heart, if that kind

307
00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:42.799
of makes sense, Just being able to connect with people

308
00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:47.399
at a completely different level. And it was just even

309
00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:51.039
in interactions, I would, once those walls kept kind of

310
00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:53.679
coming down, become more vulnerable in what I would share

311
00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:58.000
with people. But also I think again, I just became

312
00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:00.559
more grateful for everything that was around me as well.

313
00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:03.679
I remember, even just walking out of that healing session,

314
00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:06.000
it was pouring down rain and I can just remember,

315
00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:09.919
like you know, holding my hands up and really just

316
00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.240
drinking in every rain drop, and it's just like the

317
00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:15.960
most simple things, just becoming more grateful for it.

318
00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:17.519
But I think one.

319
00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:21.200
Of the biggest shifts in heart opening was definitely when

320
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I had children. Every mother or every parent knows that

321
00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:28.879
feeling where you just haven't experienced anything like it. And

322
00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:31.759
my daughter was certainly I you know, say that she

323
00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:35.879
was sent to me as my heart opening monitor because

324
00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:38.799
she was just and still is the most beautiful, loving

325
00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:42.200
girl who was always calling for more love. So I

326
00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:44.399
felt like, you know, I sent a lot of angels

327
00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:47.159
around me to help with that process, and it's still

328
00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:48.200
an ongoing.

329
00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:49.600
One and I think it is for all of us.

330
00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:52.240
And you know, I think what really kind of jumped

331
00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:54.919
out and not that well, whether you said it explicitly

332
00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:56.840
or not, but we all kind of live in this

333
00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:02.519
patriarchal world where we sort of man up, you know,

334
00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:06.799
we present with this and where everything is based on

335
00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:12.880
this very logical, linear kind of world and way of

336
00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:15.519
thinking and doing and behaving and dealing with people. And

337
00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:18.680
what you're talking about is very much more this heart scenteredness,

338
00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:21.039
and it sounds all very fluffy, but it's very much

339
00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:26.440
more feminine, intuitive connected to you know, our true nature,

340
00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:29.680
which for various reasons we all kind of shut down

341
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.119
to get on in the world.

342
00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:35.799
Definitely, and I can definitely remember my first career in organization.

343
00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:39.200
I think that organization was, you know, ninety five percent

344
00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:43.480
men of five percent women, and so of course, as

345
00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:46.039
a young woman, you go in and you start copying

346
00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:48.920
the male ways of doing things, which, as you say,

347
00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:52.039
it's all the logic, it's all the you know, almost

348
00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:55.480
putting on this business mask. And that is definitely something

349
00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:57.440
that I've seen change.

350
00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.240
In the world. And the more we can.

351
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:03.359
Get heart scent leaders in positions of power, the more

352
00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:06.319
we're not going to see the abuse that's around, the

353
00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:09.200
environmental issues that were around you. I'm really quite passionate

354
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about that whole heart centered leadership.

355
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I hope that you're enjoying this conversation and realizing the

356
00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:20.680
benefits of positivity in your own life. If you are

357
00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:23.519
enjoying the show, please be sure to like and subscribe

358
00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:25.839
so that you get notified when you EPPS drop and

359
00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:28.359
head on over to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen

360
00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:40.720
and leave us a rating and review Susan, you had

361
00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:48.319
some pretty confronting, I would say, personally challenging experiences. I've

362
00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:51.880
done meditation retreats, and I did my yoga teacher training,

363
00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:54.920
and I see psychics and I read tarot cards and

364
00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.759
I study astrology, like I'm into all of it. For

365
00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:00.920
a clinical psychologists, people find that VeryE but it's actually

366
00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:02.039
I'm not the only one, right.

367
00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:04.559
It's where all psychology is the study of the soul.

368
00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:09.720
So you, on the other hand, have done some things

369
00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:15.119
like spiritual intimacy and you know Cundolini dancing, Like when

370
00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:18.759
I read about it, I think, oh, that's crossing a

371
00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:20.359
line for me, Like I don't know that I could

372
00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:24.119
go there. It probably confronted me with how it kind

373
00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:27.880
of closed. I still am, But what was it like

374
00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:29.519
to have those experiences?

375
00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:32.160
Pretty mind blowing?

376
00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:35.039
And I think again, and this is the thing about

377
00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:40.480
when you start almost following the signs or listening very

378
00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:43.480
deeply to your intuition, you get put on these paths

379
00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:45.920
and you end up at these events that you kind

380
00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:48.359
of don't even realize how you signed it up to

381
00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:53.480
get there. So one of them was Kundalini yoga, which

382
00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:59.519
is a very intensive and very powerful form of yoga.

383
00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.279
And and I often reflect and think I could have

384
00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:04.640
just gone, you know, to a one and a half

385
00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:08.279
hour class down the hall, you know, down the road,

386
00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:12.880
but instead I dived right in and decided to become

387
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:19.119
a Qundalini Yoga teacher, which involved basically a week in Spain,

388
00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:22.440
in Spain, yes, no less.

389
00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:25.799
And yeah it was. It was grueling.

390
00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:30.759
It was you know, sometimes fourteen fifteen hours of these

391
00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:36.920
really powerful practices. And you know, I'd love the form

392
00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:40.559
of yoga, but it's not for the faint hearted because

393
00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:44.400
what a lot of the breathing techniques do is the

394
00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:47.079
only way to describe it, is it ends up excavating

395
00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:51.759
things out of you. So you know, we all have

396
00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:57.920
through our life experiences and you know also generational life experiences.

397
00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:00.839
We have those things we're conscious about, but then we

398
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:04.279
have those things that are buried deep in our bodies

399
00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:05.119
and you know.

400
00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:07.839
Also on that subconscious level.

401
00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:11.720
And Kundalini Yoga had a way of excavating some of

402
00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:15.559
those things, so emotions that I had never even really

403
00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:19.640
experienced before or seen before. So yes, it was a

404
00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:24.720
very very intensive time that again just showed me the

405
00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:27.519
power of what the human body stores for us.

406
00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.279
Is there any particular experience that you could share to

407
00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:34.599
that demonstrate like that what you're talking about there with

408
00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:38.200
that deep healing and that kind of removing it at

409
00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:41.799
the physical level, because as a powerful mind body connection

410
00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:46.039
going on there, right, Like emotions are stored in the body,

411
00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:50.880
and you talk about like literally having things excavated from

412
00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:52.920
your body. Is there anything that you could share just

413
00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:54.279
to demonstrate that.

414
00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:58.079
Yeah, there were so many, so many kind of experiences.

415
00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:00.000
But on the simple side of things that would be

416
00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:03.680
even be things like you'd be going through an exercise

417
00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:07.559
and then you'd get a really weird pain, you know,

418
00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:11.160
just just under your right rib cage or something like that,

419
00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:15.200
and then all of a sudden, all of these emotions

420
00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:21.240
would come out, like grief and rage and loss, and yeah,

421
00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:23.599
all of these emotions that were like really specific to

422
00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:26.839
a situation. And sometimes you might see a glimpse of

423
00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:30.240
the situation, but other times you just have that emotional

424
00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.400
kind of experience. And so and this is the thing,

425
00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:35.960
and one of the one of my favorite things that

426
00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:39.480
the Kundalini, you know, master would say is it's like

427
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.880
cleaning out a stinky bin. You don't need to go investigating.

428
00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.119
And you know, when your bin is stinky, you don't

429
00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:49.559
go investigating what the smell is, You just clean it out.

430
00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:52.599
And so there wasn't a lot of focus in you know,

431
00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:54.880
let's line on a couch and work out what happened

432
00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:57.880
to you twenty years ago, or what these emotions are.

433
00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:02.079
It's more how can we just connect with them and

434
00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:05.559
let them go by continuing to do the movement and

435
00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:08.599
the mantra and the meditation that was going on.

436
00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:12.000
Yeah, I really like that, And I guess as a psychologist,

437
00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:14.920
you know, I'm very much of the opinion that we

438
00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:17.279
need to emotion to store in our body. Like all

439
00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:21.839
of this traditional psychology of talking therapies, it's all.

440
00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:23.319
That's all news.

441
00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:26.400
We actually need to clear things out of our body,

442
00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:28.359
but it's often really challenging to know how to do that.

443
00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:30.599
So that's why I was interested.

444
00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:33.119
For you to share that, because I think there are

445
00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:36.400
these modalities out there that can really help to facilitate

446
00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:39.160
people's healing at quite a deep level, as you say,

447
00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:42.680
without ever having to go and sit and talk about

448
00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:45.079
it or analyze it or understand it, which is what

449
00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:49.240
we cerebral Christians who live in this logical world. We

450
00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:52.319
want to analyze everything, and sometimes you don't actually have

451
00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:57.480
to do that, but equally challenging confronting experience, though by

452
00:23:57.559 --> 00:23:59.519
all accounts for the way you describe.

453
00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:01.440
It, it is.

454
00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:05.839
And you know, these classes are just held very strongly

455
00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:09.880
by the facilitators, But if they weren't, or if you

456
00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:12.960
were just kind of doing this yourself and it happened

457
00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:14.680
you were, you were kind of there were moments where

458
00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:18.079
I thought I'd gone a little bit crazy with things,

459
00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:20.759
because you know, these things just coming out of your body.

460
00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:24.200
But I think you know again, and I love to

461
00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.279
hear what you're saying. And I also know a lot

462
00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:29.880
of psychologists who are merging all of these pasts and I.

463
00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:30.680
Think it's amazing.

464
00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:34.160
There's a place for all of it, but just this

465
00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:38.640
thing about feeling our feelings, and essentially that's what was

466
00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:44.279
coming out in the Kundlini excavations, just feelings that I

467
00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:47.160
couldn't explain. But what we'd normally do in life is

468
00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.400
trying to push them down. And you know, there were

469
00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:51.759
times in that yoga where I'd have this pain I

470
00:24:51.799 --> 00:24:54.720
could you can just tell something's about to happen, and

471
00:24:54.839 --> 00:24:57.440
I'd want to all of a sudden my mind to

472
00:24:57.480 --> 00:24:59.920
be like, oh, you need to go to the bathroom,

473
00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:02.039
or you need to go and get a drink and

474
00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:04.880
try and break the process, because I think as human

475
00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:07.400
beings were really conditioned to doing that. We feel something,

476
00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:11.400
how can we stuff it down? But you know, obviously

477
00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:15.440
the only way through it is to really experience it.

478
00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:17.680
But that takes a lot of courage.

479
00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:20.119
It really does. And you know, kudos because some of

480
00:25:20.119 --> 00:25:20.960
the things you talk about, I.

481
00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:23.519
Think, oh, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I don't know

482
00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:24.880
if I'd be doing that one.

483
00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:28.079
But you also admit that sometimes you didn't read the

484
00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:31.240
flyer and you just ended up at these places.

485
00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:35.960
Totally my you know, again, because the Kundalini intensive was

486
00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:40.039
in Spain. I was picturing something really quite different, like

487
00:25:40.119 --> 00:25:42.960
anything i'd been to in Europe before usually had a

488
00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:46.039
four hour siesta and just you know, a little bit

489
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:48.440
here and a little bit there. And so I very

490
00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:52.000
naively signed up for that thinking it was going to

491
00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:55.039
be a retreat more than it was going to be

492
00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:57.319
an intensive kind of practice like that.

493
00:25:57.359 --> 00:25:58.799
But yeah, clearly I was meant to.

494
00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:00.640
Be there, obviously.

495
00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:04.759
And you also talk about I was really I loved

496
00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:07.519
that you mentioned that you have this kind of partner,

497
00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:11.640
this your friend Rachel, who goes with you, you know,

498
00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:14.039
to a lot of these on a lot of these

499
00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:18.960
adventures that you have had. So that must be really nice,

500
00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:20.880
I guess to have that kind of a close friend

501
00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:24.079
that will, you know, jump in on anything that you

502
00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:25.960
want to do, or she'll take you or you'll take her,

503
00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:28.720
and yeah, and it's definitely.

504
00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:31.839
Yeah, there's definitely been times where she's led me down

505
00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:33.039
different paths as well.

506
00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:34.880
And we only met.

507
00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:38.240
Just at a key part in my journey before I

508
00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:40.839
started exploring all these different things, and it was one

509
00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:42.920
of those meetings where we had the same thing. We

510
00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:47.039
were both kind of high in the corporate career type

511
00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:51.759
of space. We had both had issues with hardening hearts

512
00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:55.559
and wanting to expand that more. And I think she

513
00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:58.799
was a participant at a conference I was speaking at

514
00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:03.400
and straight into each other. She won the Lucky Door Prize,

515
00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:05.319
which was my book, and you know, it was just

516
00:27:05.319 --> 00:27:08.319
like the universe was just going to you need to Yeah,

517
00:27:08.359 --> 00:27:11.759
you need to venture on this together. And to this

518
00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:15.279
day we often say to each other, you wouldn't want

519
00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:19.200
to be doing this without someone else that can basically

520
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:22.680
understands your experience and can keep you sane, because if

521
00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:24.920
you are the only one experiencing some of the stuff

522
00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:28.440
that we experienced after Cundolini, then as I said before,

523
00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:30.680
you would definitely have times where you thought you were

524
00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:31.200
going mad.

525
00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:33.400
Can we talk about the fact that after that intense

526
00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:35.920
week that you went back twice?

527
00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:40.599
Yes, I know, like such a And I think that's

528
00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:44.240
something that Rachel and I both share in common.

529
00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:47.000
We're not afraid of the dark work.

530
00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:49.920
And that's the thing with you know, spirituality, there's the

531
00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:53.200
light work, the meditating to the light, and then there's

532
00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:57.160
digging dark in your shadow type of work. And both

533
00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:59.680
of us, even though we find it grueling, we have

534
00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:01.680
a little bit of an attraction to it as well.

535
00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:03.599
I blame my scorpion nature for that.

536
00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:07.200
The title of the book, Susan is spiritually Loose.

537
00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:10.559
Can you explain what does it mean to be spiritually loose?

538
00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:13.480
After all that you've learned, that's what you've come up with?

539
00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:14.599
What is it?

540
00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:20.359
Yeah, the discussion. Actually, that title just came out of

541
00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:24.319
my mouth. I was away with a group of girlfriends

542
00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:28.519
on what we affectionately call a goddess weekend. And you know,

543
00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:31.240
there are always weekends where there is a lot of joy,

544
00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:33.720
there's a lot of fun, there's a lot of kind

545
00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:37.720
of pushing the boundaries, just completely being yourself, you know,

546
00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:40.559
more than anything. And one of the girls in the group,

547
00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:45.000
who's also a psychologist, she was saying, you know, I

548
00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:49.559
just feel really guilty. You know, I go and meditate

549
00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:53.039
with rimbochets, I do all this spiritual stuff. I've got

550
00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:56.200
my psychology practice, but you know, I've also got this

551
00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:59.119
wild side. And I just just came out of my

552
00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:01.920
mouth to say, that's so so to why I'm spiritually loose,

553
00:29:02.359 --> 00:29:04.720
And basically, what it means is that there's no rules

554
00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:07.640
around spirituality. And I think this is the thing that

555
00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:12.359
kept me searching that every time I found a tradition

556
00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:17.640
I could belong in, it always threw me out because

557
00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:20.920
it had too many rules, it had too much of

558
00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:24.599
an external guru telling me what I need to do

559
00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:28.400
in my life. And so spiritually loose is very much

560
00:29:28.440 --> 00:29:32.960
about designing your own spirituality based on your own intuition,

561
00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:37.119
based on your own rules, and also the acknowledgment that

562
00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:40.680
you are your own guru. There's not a guru outside

563
00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:44.480
of you who has you know, who is the authority

564
00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:47.960
on your life. And I think way too many times

565
00:29:48.039 --> 00:29:52.559
we are outsourcing that part of our life to someone else,

566
00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:57.039
and we're walking away from spirituality because we can't conform

567
00:29:57.119 --> 00:30:00.880
to these strict rules. And I say, yeah, your own guru,

568
00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:03.920
make up your own rules, and you still can be

569
00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:11.680
spiritual as well as being joyful, being wild, doing whatever

570
00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:12.039
you want.

571
00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:16.160
Basically, Yeah, I love that as well.

572
00:30:16.160 --> 00:30:19.400
And I also can relate that to that idea that

573
00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:23.440
people are constantly looking outside themselves for answers, whether it

574
00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:25.680
be and you talk about this as well, like from

575
00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:27.720
a young age, I need to do this dart, I

576
00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:29.759
have to eat this particular way. I can't get my

577
00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:31.720
baby to sleep. I've got to follow, you know, this

578
00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:36.119
book and this program. Like, we constantly look outside of ourselves,

579
00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:39.160
and I think that is largely because we have we

580
00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:43.799
struggle with uncertainty, you know, we struggle with not being

581
00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:46.599
able to plan and predict and control every little thing

582
00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:50.359
in our lives. So we look for somebody to tell us, well,

583
00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:52.240
this is what you need to do, and this is

584
00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:53.799
how you do it, and this is how you get

585
00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:56.559
to the outcome that you want, which is really just

586
00:30:56.640 --> 00:31:01.759
led to us being completely disconnected, yes, from our own intuition,

587
00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:05.319
inner knowing, And so that's what this is really about,

588
00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:06.880
isn't it all of these things?

589
00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:07.599
It sure is.

590
00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:10.480
And you know, this is the thing exactly as you

591
00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:15.559
say that, the more we listen externally, we've stopped the

592
00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:20.960
connection to listening to our intuition. Now, intuition only thrives

593
00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:24.440
and becomes bigger when we establish the line to it

594
00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:26.519
and we use it all the time. And you can't

595
00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:28.440
do that when you're distracted by all of the noise

596
00:31:28.920 --> 00:31:33.279
around you. And so I think, yes, listening to external sources,

597
00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:38.000
but also the busyness that exists in people's minds, you know,

598
00:31:38.119 --> 00:31:42.359
seventy thousand thoughts a day, twelve thousand internal conversations. How

599
00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:47.480
can you even hear your gut or your intuition when

600
00:31:47.480 --> 00:31:52.000
you've got that much radio interference going on? So and

601
00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:54.640
you know, this is again what the book talks about.

602
00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:56.920
All the answers are actually within. You've got your own

603
00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:00.440
map for how you can get to your own device life,

604
00:32:00.440 --> 00:32:04.519
which is going to be different to your neighbors', partner's friends.

605
00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:07.640
You've got all the answers here, but there's too much

606
00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:10.920
noise and there's too much distraction for most people to

607
00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:11.960
actually access it.

608
00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:15.440
Yeah, I totally agree, which is why I'm a big

609
00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:19.000
fan of meditation and stillness. But I also equally understand

610
00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:22.960
that that's really challenging for people because it's if you've

611
00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:24.119
never sat in meditation.

612
00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:25.920
I've taught meditation.

613
00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:27.759
For a long time, and you know, with my clients,

614
00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:30.319
as I start with three minutes, and that's literally the

615
00:32:30.359 --> 00:32:34.000
most that most people can handle in the very beginning.

616
00:32:34.039 --> 00:32:36.359
But it's a skill that you have to kind of

617
00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:38.279
cultivate and develop because it's.

618
00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:39.359
Not our natural state.

619
00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:42.880
Absolutely, but I totally agree that's where you connect to,

620
00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:44.759
you know, to something deeper.

621
00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:46.079
That's where you get to the answers.

622
00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:46.799
I agree.

623
00:32:47.279 --> 00:32:52.519
In all of my leadership programs, I teach very small

624
00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:55.400
moments of mindfulness to get integrated in your day. So

625
00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:57.559
if you don't have the time for twenty minutes on

626
00:32:57.599 --> 00:33:01.119
the cushion twice a day, then it's about the moments

627
00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:04.519
where you can become present. But the other thing is,

628
00:33:05.160 --> 00:33:07.480
and again you know sometimes we stop doing some of

629
00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:11.119
these things, is that there are different ways to actually

630
00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:15.920
train presence outside of meditation. So one for me is

631
00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:18.640
just more time in nature. And for a lot of us,

632
00:33:18.680 --> 00:33:22.480
as busy people, we're getting bound by concrete. We're not

633
00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:25.920
really spending the time that you know, generations before did

634
00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:28.599
out in nature. But I think everyone would agree that

635
00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:31.119
when you are walking along the beach, when you are

636
00:33:31.160 --> 00:33:35.279
walking in a forest, then your brain has a rest

637
00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:38.000
and it has it naturally comes into that kind of

638
00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:40.519
present state. And a lot of people will say, I

639
00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:42.640
feel like I've had a holiday just after that kind

640
00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:46.279
of nature soak. But the other thing that I'm doing

641
00:33:46.480 --> 00:33:50.200
a lot of at the moment is just service. So

642
00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:57.920
whether that is volunteering, doing simple tasks that serve other people.

643
00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:01.559
I had just forgotten how much much that trains our

644
00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:04.559
presence as well. So there's all these things that the

645
00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:08.920
research says contribute to happiness. And yeah, that that thread

646
00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:11.440
for me is it gets us focused, and it gets

647
00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:12.159
us more present.

648
00:34:12.679 --> 00:34:14.760
It gets us out of ourselves and our own sort

649
00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:18.239
of petty minded often you know, sort of very self

650
00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:26.360
centered concerns. Yeah, Susan, I totally get the whole You

651
00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:29.199
are your own guru. Like you, all of the answers

652
00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:34.239
are within. I also believe that we sort of have

653
00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:37.159
to take our own path and go and explore all

654
00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:40.239
of those options. Like we don't have to go to

655
00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:42.800
the extent that you did necessarily, but it's in the

656
00:34:43.159 --> 00:34:46.639
search and the you know, we take from all of

657
00:34:46.679 --> 00:34:52.480
these different ideas and modalities or traditions or practices what

658
00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:57.360
is relevant and useful for us. So I guess, you know,

659
00:34:57.400 --> 00:34:59.079
I just wanted to highlight that that it's easy to

660
00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:02.039
say you your own guru. But I think also it's

661
00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:05.639
just about but it's okay to go looking absolute, no,

662
00:35:05.800 --> 00:35:08.159
to take only what is helpful.

663
00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:10.960
Resonates is that the message.

664
00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:11.559
That's totally true.

665
00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:14.440
And I think you know, I would not if you

666
00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:18.280
rewind back to the days with Jason McDonald and I

667
00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:21.360
wouldn't have been able to walk out of there and go, okay.

668
00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:22.320
On my own guru.

669
00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:25.159
Yes, I'm intuitive, and like, now I've got it all sorted.

670
00:35:25.639 --> 00:35:30.679
It is in the search, and I often say it's reading,

671
00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:36.079
it's talking to people, it's listening to podcasts that magnetizes

672
00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:40.079
a truth within you. So it was interesting my sister.

673
00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:42.599
And this is the idea of writing the book, because

674
00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:45.079
sometimes people go, well, you're saying you're your own guru,

675
00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:47.360
but then you're writing your self help book. What I'm

676
00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:51.719
doing is sharing my story that hopefully that will magnetize

677
00:35:52.239 --> 00:35:54.880
something in someone else. And my sister read it recently

678
00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:57.360
and she said, oh, I've decided to do this practice.

679
00:35:57.360 --> 00:35:59.920
I'm going to do the opposite of everything I've ever

680
00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:02.480
done before. And I went, oh, okay, She guys, I

681
00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:05.920
got that from the book. And I said, I didn't

682
00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:07.519
say that in the book, and she goes, no, but

683
00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:11.559
in the book, you're saying that everyone needs to develop

684
00:36:11.599 --> 00:36:14.800
their own exercises and their own paths and the things

685
00:36:14.840 --> 00:36:15.920
that they're going to explore.

686
00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:21.320
And that's really the thing. Read, listen, experience, but.

687
00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:24.920
Do it to magnetize what your intuition knows is the

688
00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:25.639
truth for you.

689
00:36:27.119 --> 00:36:27.480
Yeah.

690
00:36:27.559 --> 00:36:31.400
I really like that Susan, are you able to share

691
00:36:31.400 --> 00:36:33.000
with us. So from all of the things that you

692
00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:35.960
have learned, all of the traditions that you've studied, and

693
00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:41.000
the gurus that you've trained under, what now is your

694
00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:43.280
regular Like you just talked about service, but what's your

695
00:36:43.320 --> 00:36:48.920
sort of regular practice for staying connected to your authentic self?

696
00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:52.920
Yeah, it's a range of things.

697
00:36:52.960 --> 00:36:56.800
There are these kind of thirteen principles that are my

698
00:36:56.960 --> 00:37:01.320
principles for how I live my life. So that's things

699
00:37:01.360 --> 00:37:04.679
from you know, just getting out of my head and

700
00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:08.960
reminding myself that you know, when I'm overthinking, when I'm

701
00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:11.559
too busy up here, that's not going to lead to anything.

702
00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:16.559
It's about things as you highlighted, like you know, leading

703
00:37:16.599 --> 00:37:21.480
with your heart, leading your life with joy at the

704
00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:23.760
front of it as well, and not kind of you know,

705
00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:27.239
a lot of the time we just delay joy till

706
00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:30.199
when we're retired, or when we have our annual holiday

707
00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:32.960
or when we have a weekend away. So I've got

708
00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:36.039
about thirteen principles that are the things for how I

709
00:37:36.119 --> 00:37:40.480
live my life. But staying connected a few other things

710
00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:43.000
for me as well. And it's doing something in the

711
00:37:43.039 --> 00:37:47.960
morning which reminds you of your connection, and this changes

712
00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:51.440
for me all the time. So I have a little

713
00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:54.880
bit of a morning routine that involves some yoga, it

714
00:37:54.920 --> 00:38:01.000
involves some meditation, it involves some music, but it changes up.

715
00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:03.400
Like this week, I've been doing it more out in

716
00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:06.920
nature and through walking. But often I think, you know,

717
00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:09.239
we can wake up and just roll into our day.

718
00:38:09.400 --> 00:38:12.000
It's kind of like the first thought is what's on

719
00:38:12.039 --> 00:38:14.840
the to do list? Have a cup of coffee, and

720
00:38:14.840 --> 00:38:17.679
where like bang straight into motoring through our day. I

721
00:38:17.679 --> 00:38:19.519
think if you can do something at the start of

722
00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:23.280
the day that reminds you of your connection, you're more

723
00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:25.960
likely to stay connected for the rest of the day.

724
00:38:26.039 --> 00:38:28.599
So that's something that I always do. Sometimes it might

725
00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:30.960
be a minute, sometimes it might be half a day.

726
00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:37.559
Yeah, and I would concur And I have practiced meditation,

727
00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:40.519
all sorts of you know, mindfulness meditation, but all sorts

728
00:38:40.519 --> 00:38:44.840
of other weird hippie meditations as well. And I have

729
00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:48.760
really been focused recently, probably just in the last few months.

730
00:38:48.800 --> 00:38:52.880
I'm really getting back into that regular routine because I

731
00:38:52.920 --> 00:38:59.480
agree it makes me feel more myself, more connected more.

732
00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:02.440
I don't know, I don't know if aligned is the

733
00:39:02.440 --> 00:39:05.599
word just aligned with like who I am what I'm

734
00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:08.639
about and connected to something bigger than me, like connected

735
00:39:08.679 --> 00:39:12.920
to the universe, call it universe, God, the Source, whatever

736
00:39:12.960 --> 00:39:15.360
it is, but just connected to something that's bigger. And

737
00:39:15.400 --> 00:39:18.480
I feel a lot more like I'm doing life in

738
00:39:18.519 --> 00:39:22.000
a way that is supported and you know, it's not

739
00:39:22.119 --> 00:39:25.079
just me trying to might make my way in the world.

740
00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:29.079
Like I notice more synchronicities, I notice more coincidences. I

741
00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:31.400
notice more things just happen to fall into place, like

742
00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:33.440
all of these little magical things start to happen.

743
00:39:33.440 --> 00:39:34.920
And I think the more that you can.

744
00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:37.840
Acknowledge that, the more they tend to show up in

745
00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:41.119
the world. As weird as it sounds, it is true.

746
00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:44.599
You mentioned before about you know, the world is so uncertain,

747
00:39:45.159 --> 00:39:48.760
so we look for these things to grab onto. Most

748
00:39:48.760 --> 00:39:51.840
of those things we're grabbing onto externally, they're all uncertain

749
00:39:51.880 --> 00:39:55.719
as well. But you know, as a meditation practitioner, you

750
00:39:55.760 --> 00:40:00.800
would concur that when we go still and we go inside,

751
00:40:01.679 --> 00:40:06.440
we get to that place that feels stable, that feels certain,

752
00:40:07.079 --> 00:40:09.599
that feels grounded. And to me, that's just a reminder

753
00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:12.840
at the start of the day that anytime I start

754
00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:18.079
to feel the chaos or you get anxious about uncertainty

755
00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:19.960
or whatever it might be, You'll always know you've got

756
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:21.840
that place that you can return to. And I don't

757
00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:24.800
think there is any other place that we can be

758
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:28.880
in control of and is within ourselves for that certainty.

759
00:40:29.559 --> 00:40:33.760
Yeah, totally agree, Susan.

760
00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:38.760
I really enjoyed reading your book. It is some of

761
00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:43.840
it is. It's really interesting, it's hilarious. You've done a

762
00:40:43.840 --> 00:40:46.599
fantastic job, and I really appreciate you sharing because I

763
00:40:46.599 --> 00:40:49.639
think everybody who is interested in that kind of thing,

764
00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:52.039
and maybe even people who aren't, will really enjoy it

765
00:40:52.039 --> 00:40:54.000
and get something out of it. So thank you for

766
00:40:54.039 --> 00:41:03.119
being here today. Susan's new book, Spiritually Loose, is out

767
00:41:03.159 --> 00:41:05.440
now in all bookstores. You can find out more about

768
00:41:05.440 --> 00:41:10.079
Susan's work at her website Susanpierce dot com. In other news,

769
00:41:10.280 --> 00:41:13.440
this week, I am running a free confidence masterclass and

770
00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:15.719
if you miss the live event, if it's too late

771
00:41:15.719 --> 00:41:18.079
for you to join, you can always catch the replay.

772
00:41:18.320 --> 00:41:19.400
And if you want to make sure that.

773
00:41:19.360 --> 00:41:21.760
You never miss these free events that I offer, can

774
00:41:21.800 --> 00:41:24.400
I suggest that you get yourself on my mailing list.

775
00:41:24.840 --> 00:41:27.679
No spam, I promise, I'm not organized enough to spam.

776
00:41:27.719 --> 00:41:30.599
Anybody by email, or be sure to be following me

777
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:34.960
on social media. I'm cast Done, underscore XO, on Instagram

778
00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:35.639
and TikTok.

779
00:41:35.719 --> 00:41:37.360
I usually post about what I'm doing there.

780
00:41:37.719 --> 00:41:40.480
You can join my mailing list on my website castdone

781
00:41:40.559 --> 00:41:42.679
dot com and I'll put the link down in the

782
00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:45.599
show notes. If you love the show, please do share

783
00:41:45.639 --> 00:41:47.679
with your friends, leave us a rating and a five

784
00:41:47.760 --> 00:41:50.239
star review. It really does help us to get into

785
00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:52.800
the ears of more listeners and spread the crappy to

786
00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:55.320
Happy message. If there is a topic you would like

787
00:41:55.360 --> 00:41:58.159
me to cover, hit me up by email hello at

788
00:41:58.199 --> 00:42:01.440
castone dot com a week and I cannot wait to

789
00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:09.000
catch you on the next episode of Crappy to Happy

790
00:42:09.000 --> 00:42:09.480
Listener