Reclaiming your True Authentic Self

Intro  0:03  
Welcome to the heart soul wisdom podcast, a journey of self discovery and transformation. Moira Sutton and her amazing guests share real life stories, tools and strategies to inspire and empower you to create and live your best life. Come along on the journey and finally blast through any fears, obstacles and challenges that have held you back in the past so you can live your life with the joy, passion and happiness that you desire. Now, here's your host create the life you love, empowerment Life Coach Moira Sutton

Moira  1:00  
Hello, and welcome to our second season episode 36, reclaiming your true authentic self, with author, chiropractor and entrepreneur Lona Cook. in Lona's book, which is called 'Reclamation, the Evolution of a Hot Mess'; I have to say this right Lona, so you'll hear me say it. I'll say it this way: 'Reclamation, the Evolution of a Hot Mess' by Lona Cook. She states that maybe you don't even have to register that you need to make changes in your life to live your life authentically. In her own life, she realized in hindsight that many of the changes that would empower her life had been starting and staring at her for years. She just didn't notice them. During her 20s they remain nudges from the universe for her to wake up around every corner. But for the most part, she was tone deaf to them. Turning Points in new directions. A hold up at gunpoint in Costa Rica was the beginning to cracking open some light to look at her life differently. Lona is here to share her personal journey and insights into reclaiming your true authentic self. Her greatest passion lies in helping others recognize the intelligence in their mind, body and spirit. So they can apply the innate guidance throughout their lives and reach their own highest potential. So without further ado, I'd like to welcome Lona Welcome Lona.

Lona  2:28  
Thanks for having me. I'm excited to have a conversation today.

Moira  2:31  
Me too .I seem to be blubbering out on a bit, but everything's good, right? I

Lona  2:37  
Perfect. It's all good.

Moira  2:38  
It's all good. I want to really start like really dive into your personal story that you were held, you know, up at gunpoint in Costa Rica, and you escaped with your life. And I want to hear about that. And was this a major awakening for you? And how did it change and shape the way you saw yourself in your life? Big question. I always do that.

Lona  2:58  
Yeah, that's okay. That's, that's where I started the book off to for that reason. Yeah, you know, I said this to someone else that I was talking to about the book and that, you know, it's quite a sensational story to say you've been held up at gunpoint. But honestly, as it happened, it happened so quickly, that I didn't really even have time to feel a lot of fear in the midst of it, it was like it happened. And then it was over and done with. And it was more the external of recognizing that that had just happened, along with certain things that were happening in my life, both like how I was feeling internally and external events in my life that caused me to realize like, I think this is a good time for me to maybe pause for a moment and start to look at my life a little more. I don't know from a different perspective, if you will. And so when I, when I wrote this book reclamation, I started there because I I look back now in hindsight and see it as a part of my wake up call that being held up at gunpoint was literally like the universe saying, like "Hold up, you need to go about your life a bit differently if you're going to, you know, head off on a different path". And that I credit as being the start of when I did start to live differently, a little more intuitive, a little more aware of that I do control a lot of how my life turns out, I just need to recognize that. I have to start with myself first. So yeah, it was definitely a wake up call.

Moira  4:23  
I think that's a really good point about starting with yourself first because a lot of us, I'm not gonna say a lot of us just a lot of people. And you might find this in your work that you know, there may be pointing outside of themselves, like it's because of my mother, my father, my circumstance, my money, I'm, you know, I'm short, I'm big, I'm whatever, right? And you're looking outside for sort of a blame game versus taking responsibility for your life and really not blaming yourself but really owning it, owning your life and to realize, you know, we really are very powerful empowered beings and taking back that power and that's what you did.

Lona  5:00  
I think you hit the nail on the head, it's it's easy to find blame outside yourself, if that's what you're looking for. And one of the things that over the last decade or so has made, the biggest impact on me is to recognize that you know, we have internal states, you know, you might be someone who generally feels peaceful a lot of the time, or you might be someone who feels a lot of fear. And that awareness of where you're constantly tuned into is a great place to start to start to reclaim your power. Trying to get yourself in the state, you want to experience, I want to experience more joy or gratitude or peace. And then when you get yourself in those states, you can see the ripples that happen into your life. Conversely, if you get yourself in negative states, like a bad day, you can see the ripples that come off in your life, I think most of us just have not taken that off time or self reflection to see the dramatic shift that when we choose our state better, it transforms our life.

Moira  5:59  
Mm hmm. And what we're saying to ourselves, our internal dialogue and what we're focused on, because again, we know this is law of attraction, what we focus on is what expands in our life. 

Lona  6:09  
Correct? Hmm. 

Moira  6:10  
So two things I want to touch both you talk about kicking fear, because you mentioned fear there, too, at curbside. Tell me what you mean about that? And how can people do that when fear shows up for them, because for them, it's, you know, that might be for them at the moment, a very real feeling.

Lona  6:27  
It's not so much that I want fear to go away. Fear can be very useful. It's more, I try and recognize the fear in me first. So if I have fear, maybe the fear is just a smart thing to have right now. And it's helping me see that I'm doing something dangerous, or I do need to be aware of something. Or maybe it's a fear I felt for far too long that I have, I've let it control my life. And I see it. And I know this is an old habitual rut in my life, and I'm trying to break out of it. So when that fear comes up, I'm not going to let it pull me down anymore, I'm going to choose to see the fear and make a new decision. Because I've I've lived that fear already. And I don't want to keep living living it that's doing something different with that fear. Another thought to have sometimes is like, I'll feel like feel a fear, for instance, when I put this book out. I had fear about how vulnerable I wasn't it and you know, when people perceive me the way I wanted them to perceive me. And I had to realize that that fear is basically going to only keep me small, because I can't control what people think about me. And I can't control their perception of me, but I felt a calling to write this book. So I must push through that fear in order to birth this book into the world. So I try and look at my fears and try and figure out is this actually a healthy fear for me to have? Is it trying to help me? Is this a fear I've had for a long time that keeps me playing smaller? Or keeps my life in a certain rut? Or is this a fear that I need to break through in order to do the purpose I have in the world? And then it doesn't seem quite so I guess fear doesn't seem like a limitation when you start to put some structure around it. And one last thing on that, too, is just I think we all have fears. It's just again, how we've learned to navigate what we're going to do with that fear.

Moira  8:19  
And I love what you said one thing I found a lot when I read your book, and I was so taken by your vulnerability like what you shared in there, I was just awestruck. Like I was like very honored, very humbled that you share that to you know, bring your message out to the world to help other people. So that's that's where I came from. When I was reading I just every page I went in, I went Wow, Lona is really cheering from right from her heart or soul.

Lona  8:46  
Thank you. Yeah, that was my goal is to I think so much of my story I've tried in my own healing with with it is trying to understand what is this helping me to see in myself or to, you know, change my life for the better. I think a lot of times things happen in our world and in our personal experiences that feel so guttural and yet there's so many beautiful nuggets that come out of it. And I wanted to share some of my story to hopefully help other people look at their life not so much from like, Oh, this bad thing happened or this tragic thing happened. But instead, yes, these things happen. But what good did they cultivate in my life to or what can I do to change my own labels I've accumulated in my life so that my story is more empowering.

Moira  9:33  
And it is about the stories that we tell ourselves and we can change it we can change the you know, the director or the director, but we can change who we want in the play. Do you want a drama? Do we want an adventure? Like that's what I'm going into moving to Nova Scotia adventure? 

Lona  9:47  
Yes, yes. 

Moira  9:48  
And you know what we're choosing to write there and what does that look like? What does that feel like you know, in your body and get into your body and feel that. You also talk about the importance of contrast in our life and you know, that whole expansion and that's what you were just, you know, saying how is such a great teacher in our life to have that contrast of fear, sadness. You know, I know, yesterday I, I had emotions happening, and I just wanted to cry and my husband said "Well, cry". And it was because literally, you know, it's very stressful to move and pack and all this and I haven't moved in six years. And it's like, wow, but I'm also letting go of a lot. So that letting go process which we'll touch on here also. Tell us you talk about, about hard versus resilience. Define that for our listeners, what you mean by that.

Lona  10:36  
I was just talking to a mentor this morning a little bit about this, I was using the analogy of like a tree, you know, if the tree doesn't, the tree is hard, but there's also a resilience to it. So when when a tree is brittle, you know a storm hits it, and the winds break it. And if the tree isn't as vibrant and supple, those those branches that are more supple, they're strong, but they're not going to break in the winds or the storm. And so I think, when I wrote that, that's, that's kind of what I was thinking about was that, you know, we're all going to have things that either harden us towards life where we almost become brittle, or in the midst of the hardness, it cracks us open. So we become, I think more fluid with life and realize the like depth of our own experiences, as well as the fact that we're not God, we're not the one controlling the strings, always. We get to have almost like a reverence for life, and all the different layers to you know, the things we label as good and bad. And I feel like there's almost like, a veil, that kind of lifts, where you can now see that you have to have more reverence for life, because it is so supple. And just try and like, not break from the experiences you have, and instead, move with what's unfolding in your life.

Moira  11:58  
It's like the matrix, like, there's so much more to our lives that, you know, our little ego minds can't see. And if we do those letting go and I always say, letting God or the higher self or the universe, you know, put all the pieces together. And that can become magical then. But there's, there's that letting go and allowing, and I think if you know, for controlling situations all the time thinking it has to go this way, that's a really good way to stop. The flow in that in our life. 

Lona  12:26  
That is so true. 

Moira  12:27  
How do you help people really let go and trust in their, you know, what may be their nudges or what they're feeling? And, you know, and decide, this is where I want to go, but "Ooh, that looks scary". How do you help somebody do that? What would what would be your gems of wisdom for that? Yeah, um,

Lona  12:46  
Yeah, um. Well, I have to always start with myself. So I try and share what my experience has been with that. And, you know, have a mentor who offered me this, this thought, and I thought it was really great. And it was that the doctor of the future is the patient. And I don't just mean that, in a like, physical body sense. We are our best healer, you know, so when you start to tune in more to your internal world than your external world, and pay attention to 'What I my feeling, what's coming up for me, what could this mean?" "What is a pattern that I've experienced? Can I see some of the patterning in my own life? What What could that mean about the decisions I've made", doesn't mean it has to be a good or bad thing. It's just starting to have curiosity towards your own self, I think is the beginning of helping someone because they have their own answers, just like I ultimately have the answers for my own life and evolution. And a lot of times people will say, Well, I don't know. And one of the most helpful things that someone has ever offered me is "Yes, you do". You know, you do know, yes, sometimes it's it feels so covered up that we don't know what we want, or we don't know what will help us. And sometimes it is really helpful to just lean on someone else during those times for a period while we re-collect ourselves, but I do believe that one of the best things that you can do to help someone else is to just share with confidence that you know that they do have these powers within them. And to help them. You know, sometimes we think we're helping a friend when we let them vent to us, or, you know, tell their story for the 900th time. And, but really, a lot of times, you know, what I found is that the friends that won't let me do that, whereas instead they might listen, and then ask a question or, or really be sometimes frank with me and direct and say like, "I think that's your story over and over again". Um, you know, again, like you said, you said it beautifully, like we can tell our story as a drama or a tragedy, or something humorous or an adventure because that puts energetic tone to our life. When we speak it out loud there is magic there. So, you know, sometimes when people are very first beginning to change, one of the best things they can do is just start speaking what you want to have happen in your life and stop speaking what you don't.

Moira  15:15  
I remember many, many years ago I met Carolyn Myss. And she was like a forerunner in a lot of work when it came energetically in that and she was in Findhorn her story with a friend up in Findhorn, which is on my bucket list to get up there and see that. And she mentioned that her friend was doing that going on and on about something that really wasn't so great in her life, let's just say it sucked. And Carolyn called, didn't call her out, but she wouldn't go into the dialog. And she said, you know, okay, this is a fact for you right now, what do you want? And she kept saying, Well, what do you mean, this is true for me, this is happening. And, and so, again, she was holding the space for her to explore a different way of being in the moment. So it was quite, quite brilliant. 

Lona  16:02  
Yes, a different tone. But that is the game. 

Moira  16:07  
So we talked about changing courses, like changing your course and your life a little bit earlier? And making choices related to that. How do people really know that it's a good time to do this and best time, maybe money and their focus and not chase every little shiny object that comes along thinking, "Oh, this one's good". Or this one's good? How do people really again - I know the answer to that - but again, my listeners I want to hear from you, your expertise. 

Lona  16:33  
So your question is, how do they know when it's the right time? 

Moira  16:36  
Yeah, to really say, you know, let it be they take a program, they invest in a coach, they and not think, Oh, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna go; like right now, this next home again, this isn't a shiny object. This is stuff I want to do. Like, I want to build a herb garden, you know, and I'm not, I want to invest in that, I want to learn that. And I'm going to be investing in some people with expanding my branding. And you know, that that kind of thing for other people, whatever the example is, for them, you know, your time the focus the investment?

Lona  17:06  
I think it goes back to that time spent in internal reflection and knowing, you know, who am I you know, what, what did I come here to do? What do I what lights me up? If you don't know, you know, my husband, I have this conversation sometimes, like, what are you really passionate about? And it might not be what your career is, that's okay, maybe you're really passionate about, like, he's super passionate about fishing, you know, and I remember at first thinking, like, that can't be your passion. Well, yeah, it can, who am I to judge that. Just because I'm married to him doesn't mean to like, determine what his passion should be? So it lights him up when he gets to do that. And, you know, so for him, if that's the thing that lights him up, and he wants to take some of his hard earned money to expand that, I think that's wonderful. So I'd say time is well spent, and energy is well spent, and money is well spent, If it's moving in the direction of the thing that raises your vibration, gives you more of that energetic imprint you want in your life, and, or moves you away from what you know, is contrast that you've experienced, you've learned from and it's time to do something different. So I think it has to be an internal reflection. I had a mentor say to me; when I am a chiropractor, and I've had several offices or, and have built brick and mortar practices, and currently have one. And at one point, the practice was doing really well. I'd hit like a big goal in practice. And he asked me what's next Lona. And I said, what I thought I was supposed to say, which you know, in business is always like the next business numbers goal. And he said, I don't think that's accurate. He's like, I don't think that's actually what you want. And at the time, he could read me better than I was reading myself. I hadn't spent the time to really think like, what was next for me? Because I was so used to like the external world telling me what I was supposed to want next. And so that was really helpful to also have people around me who could kind of shine a light back at me like, these are your gifts. I, this is what I see. What do you see, you know? So that's helpful, too.

Moira  19:19  
It's good to have questions. And I love that you talked about curiosity earlier, because curiosity opens up opens us up to infinite possibilities, versus closing that down and really that playfulness when you become curious, because again, oh, what could I do there? You know, and that that playfulness with that learning curve again, and then expansion?

Lona  19:42  
Yes, I think we all I mean, we're on an evolution I don't think we ever stopped that was an illusion I had is that Oh, when I get to this next phase of my life, or this next thing in business, and I'm really gonna feel like I've got it down, have got it made and it's like, no, you're just on to the next thing that you'll be curious about and creating and excited to do And so I don't really believe we ever get to a point where it's like, Ah, yes, I did it.

Moira  20:05  
No. And it's also interesting because, um, you know, when I was younger and people in their 60s, 70s oh, that was old, you know, but even 60s was considered old. And now, you know, it's sort of like the new 50-60 50-40, all that stuff. It's really a mental state. It's how you see my see yourself. Because, you know, I know that my, my sister-in-law said to me, when I started talking about this very active lifestyle that cliff and I want in our life now, and very outdoor nature lifestyle, and she was like, "Oh, that's a lot to do". Like, if she was really not seeing that mind you. Then she shared her story that when her husband and her, her first husband had, they bought a farm, and she was out there every day with the horses and the pigs, and she loved it. She said it was one of the happiest parts of her life. And I said, Listen to yourself, Sheila, it's not about age, like, if we're moving and we're active, versus you know, we're not supposed to be sitting all the time and being at computers all the time. We're supposed to be moving and acting and interacting with other people and all.

Lona  21:07  
I agree. Yeah, I think it's, it is all about energy. And what keeps you feeling excited about your life?

Moira  21:13  
Yeah, but you talk about I love this word, pivoting with momentum. And I want you to share how does somebody learn to pivot with momentum in their decision making again so we're talking about choices and decision making, and and help them create that life in business that they truly desire and love?

Lona  21:31  
Yes, I'm one of the things that I feel I've been blessed with is I didn't come into business with I think a lot of fear about, 'Am I going to make the right decision?' And so one thing that I think has served me well, and then I try and apply it to multiple areas, but I'm not always great at it is that I don't really think you can make a wrong decision - and hear me out on this. Meaning, if you start to move towards something, make decisions start to like, indicate this is the direction I'm headed in, let's just say your career. The momentum starts to build as you start to make decisions, you can quickly see if something is starting to go awry. Okay, that decision might not have been the best decision. Now I know something different. Now I can start to pivot. So I'll give you an example. We were growing up part of my practice that was a pediatric part of our practice, and had lots of opportunities. And it was like, Okay, I'm going to need some help. So I'm going to need to hire another doctor to come on staff. And I had a doctor that was interested in joining us. He had reached out to me. And so I started to pursue that, offered him a contract. And then my office manager at the time, I could tell she was not thrilled about it, but I thought okay, she'll she'll, they'll learn to get along. I don't know why they both seem to have a bit of a like block between the two of them. And I didn't I you know, that was probably me getting some signs, but I chose to kept going with this pursuing this contract with this doctor. Well, it was like, nothing could get totally figured out on this contract. So it was taking long, and it seemed like it wasn't falling into place. So after several different things that just were not falling into place, I took that as my like, 'Okay, this is actually not where I'm supposed to pursue.' It has forced me now to get some momentum in that I have more clarity over, I do need another doctor, it just isn't him. And lo and behold, within a couple months, the next person that I ended up offering the job to is who's with me today. And you know, she had basically found us out because I think that's how this works is like as the clearer you get in your mind about what you need or where you're headed. Then the opportunities will start to almost serendipitously find you out, or seek you out. Again, law of attraction. And so that's what I mean pivoting with momentum, meaning like get movement going, start taking some decisions and some actions and some motion towards what you can see right now. And then as you get new information, start to pivot so that you're, you're navigating your path.

Moira  24:16  
It's interesting, as I'm talking, I'm very much in this move right now Lona. And the boxes behind me. And we're really purging, purging, purging, because it's a it's a big move, the biggest one our families made, and you pay for the weight. We're like, 'Oh, we don't need that. Don't need that.' And it's that that's a good feeling, by the way, the purging one. 

Lona  24:35  
Yes, definitely.

Moira  24:36  
But I want to tie what you just said into trajetories, like when we have those experiences in our life. And I think you teach this through your core teachings in your life vision talks. Do you have some examples of people who have had this moment this pivot and it's literally just taking them on to a whole new boom path? 

Lona  24:58  
Yeah I think, honestly I think we're all doing it all the time. And we just don't have the the maybe ability to have the foresight to see where our trajectory is influencing other people's trajectories. And I. So I'll share an example, I just think I put this story in, in the book, but it may be part of it. So I've gone to Haiti several times on a mission trip. And, and I love going because I always learned probably 10 times more than I give. And so it's almost like, I'm going to help but I also received so much more. And so on one of the trips, I met, this man who had had a stroke, and his arms were all curled up. And he hadn't gotten out of a wheelchair, but he's in this remote area where he's not receiving medical attention. And so I was I was the doctor with a few students. And the students you could tell had a lot of fear over helping this man just because of the state that he was in physically. And, you know, I took a moment, sat with the students who said, like, you know, who's going to help this guy, if we don't try and at least help him, he's clearly uncomfortable. He's, you know, he's here, he's asking for help, you know. Let's take let's take a time, and do an assessment and see if there's anything we can do for him. So lo and behold, students kind of got their courage up, we worked with him, we worked on his neck doing a chiropractic work. And sure enough, we saw his hands start to uncurl. And by the end of the afternoon, he was standing up. So it was pretty, pretty remarkable. What happened from physically where he came in, in the morning to after a series of chiropractic adjustments, what we saw happen later on. So it was like a miracle. And I got home after that trip. And I didn't even realize it, but I was, there was probably a month later, I was sharing at a seminar where I was speaking and I was sharing about seeing this remarkable turnaround in a short period of time after several adjustments in one day. And I looked back to some notes I had written the last time I was at this seminar, and I had written from my mind, when I'd have written some goals I'd wrote, I wanted to see a chiropractic miracle. And I knew what I meant by that I wanted to see something that was like night and day different in, you know, a series of like, an adjustment or two. And I saw that and I just I literally had to laugh out loud, because I had forgotten I'd even written that down that that was in my mind. And, you know, in short order, the universe or God had delivered me someone and I got to witness it. So the story doesn't stop there. It was right after that I was actually in the UK sharing at one of their chiropractic conferences, and I told the story. And later on a few months after the conference, I get several, thank you notes in the mail - I'm in Wisconsin so you know, they obviously had to seek out to send this over here to the US. And they were from this guy's patients. He had taken care of stroke patients for a while. And I never thought about checking them multiple times a day to see if his care could be more beneficial if it was more frequent. And so he had started checking these individuals multiple times a day, and they were having remarkable turnarounds. And so he shared his results with me and what these patients, you know, had sent these thank you letters and, and the part that again, I just had to laugh about is the only reason I had seen this man in Haiti multiple times in one day is because that's all the time we had with him. So it wasn't like I could say, hey, come back on Friday, because we weren't going to be there on Friday. And so then I think about the just the power of like me sharing the story. And then this Man in the audience, hearing it and then taking it back to is a practice that sparks an idea where he ends up helping these other people. And I think this type of thing is happening to us all, we just have no idea how far reaching our energy and our life has on other people in our world. I wish we did get to know that because I think it would just be so empowering to see how important it really is to just, you know, live your life according to what you feel you're called to be here for. But certainly that was one of the more beautiful experiences in my life where I see how like harmonious life can be. When we take courage. I had fear about going over to the UK and sharing this story and speaking on stage. And then then I got to see some of these beautiful ripples and trajectories that were changed because of doing that. And I really believe I'm not unique. I think this happens all the time. Every day.

Moira  29:30  
I think when you are in a state of a little anxious to do something new or step into a new platform or like you did speaking in front of this audience, that that's a good thing because you're about to expand your boat to learn something new and expand and, you know, if you're just sort of blasse about it, you're probably not going to bring your best to, to what you're delivering. 

Lona  29:51  
Yeah, that's so true. I love that. 

Moira  29:54  
I know that you that that ties into you sharing as with your midwife, you had in the book, - and I do I remember that story you just shared, and that that's a beautiful story. So thank you for sharing that about, you know, certainly with you giving birth, and that it taught you about the collective empowerment. And you state that there is some thing each one of us has to offer to help elevate humanity. And this show is all about raising the consciousness of the planet and each other to heal humanity and Mother Earth. So it's pulling this out of us. Again, do you think it's just courage for people to start paying attention to that so we can be our best, bring our uniqueness or gifts or purpose, you know, into the world. And we each that, that, I call it like a snowball effect that we just keep rippling and raising this consciousness to one For me is unity consciousness, and one of love and lightworkers and healing. What would be your your take on that? Is there anything else you want to add to that? 

Lona  30:53  
Yeah, no, I think that is beautiful. I do think that is ultimately, why we're here. And I almost feel that this past year and a half, two years, you know, it's been very chaotic for so many of us. And, you know, we were talking about contrast, earlier contrast helps us solidify more of what we want to so when we see what we don't want, you know, it helps us figure out what we do, and then take action and build momentum towards that. And so I feel like you know, you speak of the unity and the raising the vibration, I do feel so there's so important right now, for those of us that, you know, we see things in our world right now that we don't want to experience or we we know it can be different than this. And we don't want to lead to more collective fear. I think it's very important to put out into the grid of that we're all connected, and that when I hold my vibration in a higher state, that matters for not just my own life, but other people's lives.

Moira  31:57  
Mm hmm. I love that when you talk about solidifying what you want. And I was talking about taking inspired action to work, you know, where you want to go. And, you know, again, back to the house, you're gonna hear about the house 'til we move. But either way, we did put an offer on a home that was, it was staying in Ontario. And it wasn't, it was a slight change, took us down to kayak and all that. But it was a slight change. It wasn't the big move out of the province to Nova Scotia. And interesting enough that hosts that offer fell through for different reasons. Even that night, when we put the offer in and it was a bit higher than we wanted to go, I was thinking did we make a mistake? Did we justmake an offer on this house? And you know, I was really, I didn't sleep all night, like a little bit but and then and then we found out the next day it fell through and I was like, ah, I was so thankful. And then the universe guided us through. 

Lona  32:50  
Yes. 

Moira  32:51  
And guided us to here. And we're so excited. Still, there's that part you can have inside. Like if I have a part that comes up and it's a fearful part you know, I ask my guides, and I talk to that part to let that part know, you know, everything is fine. And just be with that part. What did your family? What were the lessons that you and your whole family learned during COVID? Like some of the key ones?

Lona  33:14  
Oh, well, I think I think one of I mean, so many, I think we're still integrating so many, um, one of the things that I'm more keenly aware of, is just how much I do like being at home. I, you know, I've been a mover and a shaker kind of my whole life. And so almost to the point where, you know, I was like, did I ever have a staycation before? Did I ever stay home? I don't know. And so I think that was a huge lesson and just like the loveliness of being home, and that your life can operate quite effectively in a smaller in a smaller worldview, which isn't always bad either. Because before that, that seemed stifling to me to always have the idea that I wouldn't be traveling. I love traveling. Yeah, I missed some parts of it. Don't get me wrong. And I like the idea of being able to go. But I also now realize, like I do like being home. So that's been huge. And I think just things that we took for granted. You know, I think there's so many things that I realized in the collective shutdown that happened that I was like, wow, I really miss this and I didn't ever even know to miss this. Because, you know, you take so many freedoms and little things for granted. So I think that's one of them. One thing that I would really love to see continue to change, and this is part of my desire for writing the book is I realized how many people collectively somewhat fear their bodies. And and I, I wish that wasn't the case. I hope that we can, as humanity learns more and realizes how powerful their own systems can be and how to take better care of them I hope that conversation collectively shifts to.

Moira  35:05  
That's wonderful. You know, I said this once before I was sitting one day with my, my hands, my palms up, and I was looking at my pulse on my, just on your wrist there. And looking at that, just the miracle of our body. And I was like, look at that, that's just the beat on my body. I'm not doing anything. And, you know, when you get into that, and really appreciate your life as a miracle, like, really embrace that. And really, when it comes down to it, you know, for all of us, our health and well being and our family and feeling safe; that's a across the board for everyone.

Lona  35:39  
Right. Yes. And, you know, it's shone some light on some other things, too, aas I think, you know, there's, there's such like, fear over death that I realized that I didn't realize was there before either. And, and that fascinates me a bit, because just like birth is certain. So is death. And, and I guess that is something that I don't really know. It's still something I'm exploring, but you know, I don't I don't know, you know, we we try to almost like avoid death at all costs. And, and yet, like, I don't know if sometimes the avoidance of death is keeping us from living.

Moira  36:18  
Hmm, that's a good point. I think we talked about that. I'm an intuitive and an empath. So I do see spirit, I talked to spirit, I talked to the trees, I talked to the animals, fairy realm and all the rest. And so but so from a very young age, when it was scary when I started to see, really hear them at the beginning when my grandmother, and grandfather, so as grandfather passed my dad and me went to the front door, just around the corner from our home. And they said, Do you want to come in? And that's when I heard a party going on upstairs. As a young girl, it seemed like there was like, hundreds of people out there. And I knew it was connected into them celebrating my grandfather returning home, let's say, and then my grandmother was so in love with my grandfather she passed within three months after that, and, and then I had a whole lifetime of scary experiences with spirit, because, they would know my name. And, you know, I was freaking out. I didn't know how to deal with that. But then I learned and and now it's totally, you know, I have boundaries there. Also, make sure who I'm speaking to, and, yeah, but that's part of my gift and what I do, and I really enjoy it.

Lona  37:27  
Yeah, that's, that's really fascinating. I and I love that one of my best friends is also extremely intuitive. And she's taught me so much. Where I just realize, again, that this physical world is much more than it seems. And that's part of where I think collectively, we're probably all evolving into understanding more of that.

Moira  37:47  
Yes. And we've had very special guests on like yourself, who they little interact with some of the archangels in that. And, you know, people love learning about that, because they want that they want to know that we're, we're not alone. And you know, what happens. And, you know, and so I love bringing that information to the listeners so they can not be fearful; they can realize that we are so loved, you know, they talk about, you know, we're the beloved because we are so loved. What opportunities do you see opening up for people as in growth opportunities as we move into, you know, 2022

Lona  38:24  
You know, I just feel like things are happening very fast. I mean, how 2020 and then 2021, it's like, collectively, it's like you're trying to like almost catch your breath, and then the next round of like, oh, gosh, what's happening in the twilight zone today? And so, I think the opportunities it breeds is that if we can get grounded in like, what a lot of what we've been talking about, like who am I, you know? What is my my soul, crave and desire and, and start to move into making decisions out of love or higher states versus the like fear or anger states? I think there's a lot of opportunity for, for people collectively to help other people right now. Because I do feel that there's like, almost like a mass movement of people looking for more truth. And, and that truth, it has to be felt by them internally. So I'm excited. I think we're in like, a, just a very revolutionary time. I don't pretend to know what that looks like. But it is, I try to look at it from this like light of I'm excited about it. Because sometimes I can go into those places where it freaks me out. And I don't like to live there. Because I again, I truly believe that our energy tone is setting the stage for what's to come. One of my best friends had said you know a lot of us who maybe are in the holistic field have for a long time wanted  change whether we're talking about In healthcare or, or just in certain parts of our world, and she said, like, what did we think this was gonna feel like to be part of change that was happening and I thought that was really wise of her is that you know, we're getting this contrast right now or this collective squeeze. But it's gonna berth us into what comes next. So I feel like we're almost like dueling, dueling humanity and ourselves to move into, you know, whatever is coming later, which I believe will be beautiful. I just hope it you know, it could move faster and not feel quite so chaotic. But, you know, here we are.

Moira  40:36  
Yeah, I like that. I also agree with that. I think we're people are, you know, their voice, owning their voice, being authentic to who they are, as we talked to the beginning of this about, you know, reclaiming your true authentic self and, you know, not comparing yourself to someone else, being the true gift that you are. And that's why my tagline is to 'Create the life you love on your terms'. You know, I always say to people, not your husband's not your children's, not your mom, not your best friend, you What do you truly desire because that was put on your heart, that desire for you to now co-create that the universe loves us. As we come to a close today, with our heartfelt conversation, which has been a joy, I'd love you to read a short segment from your book, 'Reclamation, the Evolution of a Hot Mess', so you can inspire and empower our listeners.

Lona  41:27  
I would love to thank you. Thank you. Okay, so I picked from a little bit later in the book. This is from the chapter called 'White Knuckling' on page 189. And this is I had just gotten done explaining, witnessing a very quick decline in my mother, and and some of her health challenges. So here we go. 

For me, one of the hardest parts was that very few people around me could understand what my family and I were going through. It's hard to explain this tragedy to people, especially if they knew my mom before, or they don't have a lot of context for mental health. Also, I don't want I didn't want to articulate any of it, it was hard for me to understand myself. Others who were close wanted to know how she was doing, and having to give updates was exhausting. Also, it was difficult to figure out what to say, I am sure for all of us. Most of all, it was sad, sad to watch her and try to understand, really sad to think about what she was feeling and thinking and very sad for my father, and sad for me and sad for many. I learned also it's hard to explain to someone who has never lived through something gut wrenching or has no experience with the challenge of mental health. It has made me realize who could really offer me grace and compassion and who could not. It also made me realize that I had lacked much empathy in the past for some of the difficult times that people were experiencing and walking through. I had realized that though we don't walk in the same shoes, tragedy and challenge open up empathy and compassion for other situations, and the realization that life is so precious and joyful and equally heartbreaking. It was like I was being gutted and cracked open through this experience, to have more empathy and more compassion for people whether we knew what was happening with them or not. I had never had my roots shaken so hard. Driving to visit her in the institution showed me the fragility of life, and how quickly things can change. The daughter in me was crushed. I still feel this, though less often. And it showed me new context, what really matters at the core of me these deeper questions and deeper levels of awareness, I really couldn't even begin to understand before because I had no context. Nothing had felt ripped from me before. Nothing had also felt so completely unfair before. My mom had already gone through quite a bit of suffering in the past. quite a bit in the past few years. It felt hard to know how to process what was happening, then. It was also a radical period of learning how to survive, not sink and consciously look for what I was so grateful for. I would snuggle my baby boy and try to put new energy try to put my energy in this new being.

Moira  44:18  
Well, thank you. One part that I really pulled out of that - there were several gems in there - was that I think this is a good message for people that you realize, though you don't walk in the same shoes as people that tragedy challenge can open up empathy and compassion for other people's situations. And the realization that life is so precious, joyful, and can also have challenges. So for what I took from that, which is important and for people who are listening to yeah, don't judge other people and don't be hard on yourself. Develop more compassionate empathy and listening skills in your life, to be there for another person because you really don't know what that impact's going to be in their lives. One, one movement can shift into that snowball effect I talked to the next one. Lona, please share with us, with our community, the special offer, the gift you'd like to give to them. And please note, so they'll have the links below live, and that the links will be below to find Lona and to find your gift in the show notes. 

Lona  45:19  
Yeah, wonderful. Okay, so um, in the link, if you go in and fill it out, and then use the code HSW heart soul wisdom, HSW. When you go to check out it's a free download of our ebook, 'Awaken, Bridging the Gap to Your Inner and Outer Worlds. I actually co-wrote it with my girlfriend that I was talking about earlier, who is the intuitive and this book is just a great short read on again, connecting the dots between that inner world you're experiencing and what's showing up in your outer world. So if you put that code in there, it will give you the download for free. 

Moira  45:58  
That's a beautiful gift. Thank you. 

Lona  46:00  
You're welcome. 

Moira  46:02  
Lona, thank you for sharing from your Heart and Soul, your Wisdom on Reclaiming your True Authentic Self.

Lona  46:10  
It is  pleasure. Thank you Moira.

Unknown Speaker  46:12  
 Namaste.

Close  46:17  
Thank you for listening to the Heart Soul Wisdom podcast with Moira Sutton. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please join our community at moirasutton.com and continue the discussion on our Facebook page. Create the Life you Love. You will be part of a global movement connecting with other heart centered people who are consciously creating the life they love on their own terms. Together we can raise our consciousness for the greater good of humanity and for our planet.