Authentic Living

We welcome Lissa Coffey back to the show today to talk about her wonderful little children’s book entitled “The Four Pearls and the Four Squirrels.” Lissa is an Ayurveda expert, hypnotherapist, sociologist, author and life coach. And this little book brings together all of her knowledge in one easy-to-understand approach to happiness. Children are subject to so many influences and we, as parents, teachers, relatives and friends of children have that power-to-influence over our children. What are we demonstrating with our behavior, and what are we teaching with our words? The four pearls teach very important tools for living from which all children—and adults—can find happiness. Tune in for your dose of wisdom today.

Forgiveness turns out to be just another f-word—for it is fraught with so much misinformation, and laden with such heaviness! But forgiveness is not what we’ve thought it is. It is not something we can “should” ourselves into. It is not a duty. It is not taking someone back. It is not absolution. It is not tolerating the intolerable and accepting the unacceptable. It is not pity. It is not trying to discover why they did it. It is not a decision to be a good person by forgiving. It is not a decision at all. It is not earned and it is not the magic that makes bad feelings go away. Finally, it is not closure. What it is is far bigger, for more profound and far better than any of the things we have called forgiveness. Today we are going to learn what forgiveness is and what it isn’t. Don’t miss this important episode.

There are so many ways, dictated by so many others, to be a spiritual person. Many, for example, believe that they should never allow themselves to have a so-called negative thought, or a negative feeling. They believe that doing so not only makes them less spiritual, but it means that they might attract so-called negative events into their lives. But what if there's no such thing as a negative thought or feeling, and no such thing as a negative event? Others believe that repressing fear in the name of love is a spiritual thing to do, and it makes them into a spiritual being. But what if being spiritual means simply being. What if our definitions of spirituality are skewed along the lines of man-made images that have to do with how it looks to others? Many of us are spiritually bypassing and calling it spirituality. This term, coined by Robert Masters, is our subject today. Don't miss it. Be here now.

We are so happy to have Dr. E back again to the Authentic Living show to talk to us about her third part in the Sounds True online event series, The Dangerous Old Women, entitled The Joyous Body. We do tend to either focus wholly on the body as image, or leave it out entirely from our conscious experience until it acts up. And we rarely if ever think of the body as a repository of joy. It’s a work horse to be whipped into shape, or it’s just a ball and chain we carry around that sometimes gets us into trouble. But what if the body were incrementally tied into the soul? If that were true, wouldn’t we want to do more with it than just keep it enslaved to the ego? If you don’t quite know what to do with this material essence of who you are, this show is for you. Or, if you struggle with body issues of any kind—this show is for you too. Come learn from one of the world’s most profound keepers of wisdom what gifts your body has to give to you.

Most of us have been taught that guilt is a good thing. A guilty conscience keeps us in line—according to that teaching. Guilt drives us to “do the right thing,” or so we’ve been taught. But what if the human heart has enough passion and compassion to motivate correct action without the use of guilt? What if guilt has been put in place because we don’t trust the authentic Self to direct us? What if guilt is the lie, and the heart of the authentic Self is the truth? What if we’ve been so busy being “good” that we haven’t put any energy into being real? If those things were true, wouldn’t we need to rethink our responses to guilt? For too many guilt the primary decision maker, so that it ultimately runs their lives. If you are one of those, or if guilt has a strong hold on you—this show is for you. Don’t miss it.

What we have heard and we’ve read in the Bible, well it ain’t necessarily so. So goes the old Porgy and Bess song. Perhaps they did not read Thomas Moore’s version, Gospel The Book of John, in which regardless of religion or atheism one discovers a deeper more meaningful spirituality hidden in the root meanings of the words used. Unfortunately, much of the work of John and others has been turned into moralistic dogma. But what we find in the root language is a more celebrative, deeply mystical and loving message. In Moore’s book we discover a different Jesus than the one described for us by earlier translations. This new rendition of Jesus is Dionysian in his urging us toward a full and meaningful celebration of living. He tells us that we are to remember who we are, and he guides us to that knowledge with his actions and words. Come learn of this new Jesus. See if you like him now.

There are many spiritual teachers who are teaching us that all of life in this world is actually an illusion—that the reality of life is that there is no suffering, no pain, no drama—just the gentle peace of nirvana—the life beyond the veil of matter. Is that true? If so, what are we doing here, what is the meaning of life if it is all just an illusion anyway? But what if life is not an illusion—doesn’t that lead us to the same questions? Why do we suffer? What is the meaning of a life filled with suffering? Well, today we are going to answer some of these important life questions and come to terms with reality in a whole new way. Be here. You’ll be glad you were.

How do we manage a culture in which there is such diversity, while maintaining unity? The current political scene has revealed much about what is yet unresolved in the collective American psyche. We've seen hatred, misogyny, abuse, and profound unwillingness to even consider the option of acceptance of diversity. So, what do we do with that? How can we find unity in that? Well, the journey to wholeness that is a part of our collective unconsciousness, has not been halted in its tracks because what was always there has now been revealed. Rather this is an opportunity for us to grow into wholeness on a whole other level. Once the darkness, murky, swamp-like energy of the shadow comes forth into our vision we can then do something about it. And now is the time to do it. Don't miss this important show.

The anxious heart is the worried heart. It is often overwhelmed with a sense that life is too big to be managed, that one is alone without any help to deal with those unmanageable issues of life. Often even though the rational mind would tell us that there is nothing to worry about, we continue to worry. There are various techniques that are useful to help anxious people. But today we are going to be talking about how spirituality can help the anxious heart. Regardless of religion, spirituality offers succor and soothing to the anxious heart. So, if you suffer with an anxious heart, this show is for you.

Do you want to know how to engage in direct connection with the Universe? How to live a soulful life? How to tap into your soul’s wisdom? Our guest today, spiritual teacher, author, psychic and musician, Sara Wiseman, brings some answers to those questions and more. We’ll be talking about her latest book, “Messages from the Divine: Wisdom for the Seeker’s Soul,” her 11th book. So, if you want to know how to get to your own wisdom, how to hear directly from the divine, don’t miss this show.

How does one manage to maintain one’s spirituality, when the world seems to have turned upside down? In a world where what was previously “right” seems wrong and what was “wrong” now seems right, how does one maintain a sense of balance? How do we sort out the distinctions? What do we believe? What is real and what is “fake news?” How does one maintain authenticity when faced with toxicity? Today’s show is going to offer some methods you can use to find your center even when the world has gone crazy. Don’t miss it.

What is the difference between spiritual guidance and spiritual abuse? Certainly, most of us would deny that when we offer spiritual guidance we might also be spiritually abusing. But it is most important that we understand the distinction if we are to serve others in any spiritual capacity. Typically, we think of abuse only in terms of its physical, emotional or sexual forms. But what is beginning, over time and experience, to be exposed is a kind of abuse of the spirit, that creates a great divide between the soul of a person and his or her identity. This show is going to clearly differentiate spiritual guidance from spiritual abuse. If you are in any kind of spiritual leadership capacity, this show is for you.

Dr. Robert Firestone, author, clinical psychologist and artist, has developed a special approach to working with those inner urges that motivate behaviors we later regret, or which facilitate the furtherance of dysfunctional patterns. He uses voice therapy, which gives voice to the energy that pushes us. From this we learn where our patterns developed and can begin to live life from a deeper, more authentic inner core. His book “Overcoming the Destructive Inner Voice: True Stories of Therapy and Transformation” gives clear examples of how this approach works to heal and transform. If you are struggling with thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that keep you in a downward spiral, this show is for you. Start your year off with a new method for transformation and healing.

Joan Borysenko comes back to the Authentic Living Show to discuss one of the most important features of mental health: the appropriate use of boundaries. We are only recently coming to understand the necessity of appropriate psychological, spiritual and relational boundaries. On this show we are going to really get into this discussion--for the use of boundaries could make all the difference in our ability to live happy, fulfilling lives. Don't miss it.

We tend to think of the feminine in terms of what we understand of gender. But the truth is that gender is one thing, gender identity is another, and femininity is totally another. The feminine is a psychic structure, a way of viewing self, life and other. The feminine is a way of living that has nothing whatsoever to do with gender or gender identity. It also turns out that this feminine way of viewing and living has everything to do with spirituality—which runs well beyond the limits and constraints of religion. Be here for this show. You’ll be glad you were.

According to Dr. Shefahli Tsabary, conscious parenting means turning the traditional notion of parenting on its head. She believes that conscious parenting shifts the epicenter of the parent-child relationship away from the traditional parent-to-child “know it all” approach, to a mutual parent-with-child relationship in which the parent learns alongside the child. With this model, instead of being merely the receiver of the parents’ psychological and spiritual legacy, children function as ushers of the parent’s transformational development. In the traditional model, while parents are trying to lead and mold their children they are also unwittingly passing on an inheritance of psychological pain and emotional shallowness. But with Tsabary’s model children serve as mirrors of the parent’s forgotten self, so that both parent and child help each other to be more authentic. You do not want to miss this enlightening and empowering discussion on conscious parenting.

In an astrological chart we see a configuration called an opposition. It means that two distinct energies in the chart are acting in opposition to each other. Well, we have all kinds of oppositions in our lives, both internal and external. Betrayals, enemies, inner conflicts, closed doors, terminated relationships, our own inner demons and many more things seem to come up in opposition to where we’d like to go, who we’d like to be. What do we do when these things come up? How can we walk into and through such an opposition while maintaining a healthy spirituality? Do such oppositions mean that we are somehow on the wrong path? Are they meant to punish, teach or otherwise admonish us? Today we are going to explore these oppositions for the mystery of their mystical meanings. Don’t miss it.

From a purely spiritual perspective this show will discuss the meaning of those all too commonly used words “The Flow.” What is the flow? How does it work? And how does one get into the flow? Is there something we should be doing to make sure we are always in the flow? And what has being in the flow to do with being present in the divine Self? Putting the word “divine” next to the word “Self” does tend to cause some consternation in the Western world of religion. There is a tendency to think that the divine cannot be associated with the self, unless the self is cleaned up, purified, forgiven, and even then the self is still not considered to be divine. But in the root language of the Bible and in other world religions we find that the Self is divine, we’ve just forgotten. And it has everything to do with being in the flow. Tune in to this important discussion. You’ll be glad you did.

The word spirituality is thrown around quite a bit, with all manner of people calling themselves spiritual. But if you ask them what this word means the definitions vary and are often vague. For many it means to pray a lot. For others it means to meditate a lot. For most it means living a moral life, doing the right thing. For most spirituality must fall under a certain religion. But what if spirituality is not something we do, but something that does us? What if spirituality is a process—much like the process of falling love and building a healthy relationship? What if spirituality is an intimate relationship with self, body, mind and soul, an intimate relationship with others and all of nature, and an intimate relationship with the divine? How would that change things? Tune in to find out.

Since the beginning of time, it seems, we have thought that we had to fight the good fight. We had to fight for good over evil. And so many a person has spent a lifetime trying to discern the difference between the two and trying to err on the side of goodness. But what if you knew that that very battle is doing more harm than good? What if you knew that the battle between good and evil is actually preventing your wholeness? But, you say, how can we stop the battle—won’t evil just take over? That’s what we fear, isn’t it? Yet those who have managed to establish wholeness no longer fight any battles between good and evil—rather they have integrated all aspects of self. Want to know more? Tune in.