1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,600 Now, so I read your book, a little bit of it. 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:17,220 And so I know that you used to think that you had to like get quiet and find your spirituality 3 00:00:17,220 --> 00:00:22,440 in the quiet, but then it totally transformed into what it is today. 4 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,440 So can you talk a little bit about that and when the podcast became part of the journey? 5 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:27,440 Oh, yes. 6 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:28,880 Love this question. 7 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:33,600 You know, and it's, it is like part of the process is about getting quiet. 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:38,440 And then what we, what happens a lot of times, and I was, you know, I wrote about this in 9 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:40,880 a book too, and I speak about this often. 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:48,840 I realized that it isn't about living as I call the zombie Zen, you know, how we equate 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,160 spiritual seekers and spiritual teachers as the zombies. 12 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:56,680 And you have to talk like this, you have to, you know, look like that. 13 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,720 You have to wear these kinds of clothes, you have to do these kinds of things. 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:06,080 And this kind of forced seriousness is so imposed on the spiritual seeker. 15 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:10,720 And oh my goodness, the spiritual guide could never do any of the things that I do, right, 16 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,280 according to some people. 17 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:19,120 But then I realized that, you know, my most transformative experiences with my spiritual 18 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:27,520 teachers in very traditional settings like India and Nepal and monasteries and ashrams 19 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:35,600 in these parts of the world, the most transformative experiences happened with joy, with laughter, 20 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,780 with humor, with playfulness, with this lightheartedness. 21 00:01:39,780 --> 00:01:43,920 But I felt that I couldn't let my freak flag fly. 22 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:49,400 I couldn't let my sassy nature fly because I thought that that was not spiritual. 23 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:55,000 And then I had this revelatory moment where I was like, no, you do need to get quiet. 24 00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:03,800 But then once you experience the peace that arises from being quiet and going inward, 25 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,920 then it's really about you, you know, showing the world what freedom looks like. 26 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,020 And freedom, the outward expression of freedom looks different for everybody. 27 00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:19,400 For me, it's bold, loud, fierce, you know, being androgynous and really expressing my 28 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,240 queerness for other people looks different. 29 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,480 It may be a little bit more quiet, a little bit more subdued in a variety of different 30 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,760 ways, but the inner experience of freedom is the same for everybody. 31 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:36,640 So I am just a permissionary, a permission slip for people to recognize that once they 32 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:42,160 glimpse and experience this inner freedom, then the outward expression, if it's going 33 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:47,480 to look freaky and sassy and bold and loud and flamboyant, that's okay too. 34 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,760 Doesn't matter what some people on a spiritual path have said to you that that does not equate 35 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:52,760 liberation. 36 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:58,720 I'm here to say that it does because I am living proof of it. 37 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:03,320 And of course, with the blessing from people from my lineage and my training too, that's 38 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,880 like joy is the way to liberation. 39 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:11,560 And you know, then to talk about the spiritually sassy show, the podcast, which first of all, 40 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,600 I'm so grateful for your platform. 41 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,640 And I'm so grateful for everyone who's listening to this show and making the show such a success 42 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:20,160 in such a short amount of time. 43 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,840 Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. 44 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:34,360 You know, what's happened is I needed another outlet to express my creativity and to also 45 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:39,560 communicate with other people in this space and to have hard conversations with people 46 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:40,560 in this space. 47 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,560 You know, I talk a lot about, I have a set of questions on the podcast that I ask every 48 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:45,560 guest. 49 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,680 And a lot of times when I realize, I'm like, oh my God, the conversation I had with my 50 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,720 friends when we're just hanging out at home, they should be recorded because this conversation 51 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:54,880 is so transformative. 52 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:56,560 They're like, it's so enlightening. 53 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:58,200 They need to be on the record. 54 00:03:58,200 --> 00:03:59,200 People need to listen to these things. 55 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:04,120 And that's another thing that I realized, like, okay, like, let's use the platform of 56 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,640 a podcast for this long form content. 57 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:12,080 And then let's talk about specific questions that oftentimes, you know, sometimes when 58 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:18,520 you are, you know, engaging with people, you may talk about specific things or you may, 59 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,120 you know, kind of just have more casual conversations sometimes. 60 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:26,120 But I wanted to utilize the fact that I have access to so many amazing people to ask them 61 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:29,440 really, really deep, powerful questions. 62 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:35,320 And one question that I ask every guest on the show is a question on forgiveness. 63 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:37,520 How does forgiveness play a role in your life? 64 00:04:37,520 --> 00:05:07,440 And the answers are like, oh my God, they're just amazing, you know.