Transcription
Hello, my name is Mandy Eve Barnett, and I'd like to share how writing changed my life. Once I found writing, which was later in life as it happened, it changed my life in so many ways, some really unexpected.
The act of writing a story which emerges from my imagination, or as it's commonly known, my muse, has given me such a gift of creativity. There are no limits to who, where, and what I can write about. It is truly an exceptional art.
From my first attempt to write a short story created by utilizing a word prompt and sharing it with my local writing group, to making the transition to published author, I've embraced the complexity and joy of storytelling. My writing journey began in 2009, and since then I have mastered the mechanics of plot arcs, characterization and character development, continuity, and genre formats, to name a few.
I was helped by the members of my group, the Writers' Foundation of Strathcona County, who were generous in giving me constructive critique and lots of encouragement, because boy, did I need it. Today, I have published 11 fictional novels, co-wrote a workbook, ghostwritten a marketing book and a memoir, and written a children's book to honor a local volunteer hero. I've also contributed to numerous anthologies and a collaborative novel.
Every narrative has given me a teaching moment, and it's thus expanded my knowledge of the skill of storytelling. It is a constant learning process, and one I relish, as each story I create has taught me another lesson in structure, genre expectations, and deepened my understanding of how my creativity can be harnessed into something physical.
All these years later, I am totally entrenched in the writing community, not only locally, but further afield, and connect with as many writers as I possibly can, either physically at in-person events or online. Like these other storytellers who conjure characters, worlds, and stories from their imagination, this commonality of purpose and their generosity in sharing their experiences has made my life fuller in a way I had not expected.
My local writing community has allowed me to immerse myself in my new continent I now call home, Canada, and has eliminated any disconnected feelings or loneliness I had leaving my English homeland. Embraced initially with a common purpose and passion, I now call many writers and authors dear friends. We are deeply connected in our passion for the written word and the craft of storytelling.
By attending book events around Alberta and beyond has added such depth to my life, not only by exploring the provinces and the varied landscapes and wildlife, which is stunning and beautiful, but it's also given me an experience that this English woman would not have thought possible 18 years ago.
My travels, whether here in Canada or in England, are incorporated into my narratives, giving them depth and realism. I visit English castles and ancient sites, touched artifacts from thousands of years ago, watched cowboys and rodeos, traveled gravel range and township roads, and seen wildlife I never thought possible, such as bears, moose, and elk. For me as a writer, every experience can become the seed of a story: a chance remark, a ghost town visit, a view across the wilderness, or seeing another way of life up close and personal.
I've come to know that creativity, and specifically writing, has opened up my mind, my imagination, and my social world, and I feel without moving to a new continent, it would never have happened. So, it's made such a wonderful change to my life.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the RV Book Fair. I'm Lucia Matanto, and I'm thrilled to be here with my wonderful co-host and dear friend, Pat. It's always such a joy to share these panels with you.
Thank you so much. Thank you so much for inviting me, Lucia, again, and I'm delighted to be able to meet these lovely ladies who are going to talk about spirituality. So today, we have a truly inspiring panel. Um, it's titled, and forgive me for reading my notes, otherwise I'll get it wrong. It's titled "Exploring Spiritual Wellness: Mind, Body, and Energy." Uh, we're so excited to welcome two incredible guests who are leaders in the world of spirituality and personal transformation. Please join us in welcoming Vivian Chapra and Jenny Gou.
Vivian is the author of "Crystal Surgery: A Guide to Transforming Energy and Healing Through Crystals." So, welcome, Vivian.
Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. I'm so glad to be here.
Thank you, Vivian. I think it's your second, you know, third year if I'm not wrong, or maybe fourth year.
I think third year. I didn't do last year.
Okay, good.
I didn't before. Yeah.
And then, thank you. And then we have Jenny. She is the author of "The Three-Minute Shower Reset," offering practical tools for mindfulness and daily rejuvenation. So, Jenny, welcome to the RV Book Fair.
I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.
Thank you. And we are so, so happy to have you both here. Um, Vivian, let's start with you for the first question. Can you tell us a little about your background and what led you into spiritual healing and energy work?
Okay, so, um, my background begins with training in clinical psychology. Actually, that was my academic training back in the 1970s. I'm getting a little long in the tooth, you know. We might have to check. But anyway, so I trained in clinical psychology. That was my first um career choice. And then I stopped training in that mainly because I got stalled. Uh, you know, it's the usual story of the bad professor, you know, picking, you know, I could go into a victim story, but actually, it caused my life to turn out the way it has. So hardly do I feel like a victim. It's, you know, the good thing and the bad thing are always going to be the same thing. And it's that Ram Dass story of, you know, well, you know, the horse ran away, and then the farmer's son broke his leg, but then when the military came to get to collect the young men, the son had a broken leg. So, what was good and what was bad? And that's pretty much the story of everyone's life, including mine. And that's how I went from wanting to become a clinical psychologist, which, I might add, I'm very grateful that that isn't the work I ended up doing because it's a lot of sitting, and not that suited to my body type, which isn't something we consider. It was suited to my mind. It was suited to me mentally. It was suited to my aptitude, but not suited to my body type, which I wouldn't have even considered that. But I ended up becoming an Alexander teacher. And that is, uh, you're you're mobile when you're doing it. That you're using your body to transmit that information. You're literally taking people in and out of a chair, walking around a table, reorganizing their limbs and the way that the limbs are feeding into the muscles of the back and that whole musculoskeletal integration, and it's done via the body, but it's actually a mental training. Very interesting. So, there I had my training in psychology. Then I had my training in the Alexander technique, which is psychophysical. So, it would be physical and mental. And then in the process of doing that work, I was very, very busy. This was in Cape Town, South Africa. I was very, very busy, and I ended up, um, um, becoming quite intuitive and having mental telepathy skills and becoming actually a little bit psychic even. And so that came to the energetic level. I like to distinguish a little bit between spiritual and energetic, and I will do that some more, but they are both the crown chakra, and that's why they tend to be used interchangeably, but they are different functions, as we all know. There's our conscious and cognitive aspect of our crown chakra, and then there's the spiritual aspect of our crown chakra, and they, they are different. They're not the same thing, but they come from the same kind of place. So, I will explore that a little bit more later. And so, I ended up because I was teaching the Alexander technique as much as I did, I'll be honest, 73 appointments a week. I know because that was the max. These were half-hour appointments. And it was 8:00 in the morning and 7:00 in the afternoon, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and then 7:00 in the afternoon on a Wednesday and 8:00 in the morning on a Saturday. So, I know exactly. It's imprinted on my mind from the 1980s, and that was all happening in South Africa. But that sheer volume of working attentively with people, that turned into me becoming an energy healing practitioner as well. Not while I was in South Africa, but after I came here to the United States. It kind of happened to me. So that's my story of how I come to be doing this.
That's a fascinating story, Vivian. And I'm, I'm particularly fascinated by the whole Alexander technique thing because my daughter, when she was 13, we discovered she had scoliosis. And so obviously, we tried lots of different things, and then somebody said, "Try the Alexander technique." So, of course, at that age, a young girl does is not interested in. She just wants it gone. She's not interested in trying to make it gone. Um, but I took her to a very nice lady in the UK, and we did the Alexander technique. I think we went three times, and then Lucy said, "I'm not doing that anymore, Mom." But interestingly, she's now in her 30s, and we laughed the other day because we said, "We both still use those movements to get our bodies."
Yeah, you can't unlearn it.
The arms super far and the legs super far. I can remember lying on the bed because I, I did it with her because I knew she would not do it unless I did. So, we had, we were alongside each other, and I still remember the lady saying, "Just stretch your leg a bit further." And I'm thinking, I'm stretching it as far as it can go. And then like a miracle, it stretched further and further, and I was stunned, and still, I'm quite stunned. So, thank you. Okay, Lucia, over to you.
Now it's Jenny's time. So, Jenny, can you share your journey and how you discovered your passion for mindfulness and personal transformation? And when Vivian told about was talking about chakras, and I said, "Wow, this is I read in your book. I have your book here, and what it was like an initiation for me because I have studied a little bit about chakras, but with her book, I could understand about it better." So, please, Jenny, tell us about your journey.
Sure. I, I majored in psychology, and so I relate to you there, Vivian, like that was more my, I was more like mind-oriented and figuring things out. And then I was sick for seven years. I was in chronic pain. I was diagnosed with four diseases. I was told I'd be in a wheelchair. I was kind of given no hope. And then within three weeks of using mindfulness, I healed myself. And I've been 20 years pain-free. But that kind of led to that awakening of, wait, how did, how did I do that? Like, I didn't know I could heal myself. I just knew that I hadn't really listened to the way I was talking to myself. There were a few things that sparked that change of looking at things. And when I started listening to myself, it was horrendous. Here I was sick, and I was insulting myself, telling myself I wasn't a good enough mom and wife and friend and daughter. So that really awoke in me, like this passion to learn more and dove into the mind-body-spirit. Dove into energy healing. Started writing a blog about different ways to heal and got certified in like 15 different healing modalities, energy healing modalities, reconnective healing, and found shamanism, which really resonated deeply with me, connecting with the elements and crystals and the chakras. Energy really resonated with me. So, did Akashic readings for about 20 years. Worked with a lot of late-stage cancer clients. And then my mom passed five years ago, and she was my best friend, and she passed from cancer. And it was a little triggering after that to meet with those clients anymore. So, I kind of shifted gear using my gifts to really work with people on self-love and self-worth and mindfulness tools. So, really just owning, owning our power to create the life that we desire. And I was led back into shamanism on a deeper level, transmuting grief through shamanism. And, yeah, it's just been this journey of, I know that we create our reality, and there's so many different levels to that. I manifested the love of my life to me using those techniques. We are, you know, happy together 11 years, and manifested a book deal. Really have used these tools. So, just want people to understand that it's easy. That's that's my latest book is like three minutes. Come on, you have three minutes in the shower. You can do this. So, really connecting people with the ease and and joy of like owning that power instead of getting distracted, which is easier than ever these days.
Exciting.
Wow. I, I need to read your book. Um, Jenny, that sounds absolutely fascinating. Yeah, really, really fascinating. Thank you. Um, Vivian, your book "Crystal Surgery" focuses on energy transformation. Um, what inspired you to write it?
Okay, so, let me just say, it's "The Complete Guide to Crystal Surgery" is the title of the book, and it is actually a textbook that I wrote because I did 25 years of research on a new crystal healing modality. Um, so mostly people, if they're doing crystal healing, they're just attracted to crystals and they put crystals in their pockets, or they wear pendants, or they wear crystal jewelry, and they sleep with a crystal in the bed or under the pillow, and very easy stuff, and they enjoy crystals and they collect them. But in crystal surgery, it's very different from other forms of crystal healing. And, and let me be clear, people lie down and they place crystals on their chakras, and they call that a chakra layout. And, um, I trained with a woman called Melody, and she had a system of crystal healing. And people develop these systems of crystal healing, and they also have, um, grids, then that are like pre, um, templates. They're templates that have been printed out, and people put crystals on those templates to to gain an effect. I don't actually know much about that, but I know there's, uh, uh, crystal healers that have that grid system of doing crystal healing. Um, but crystal surgery is completely different. We actually use the crystals like operating tools. So, like a scalpel and a knife and a, uh, um, for stitching and for doing things like you would do in a physical surgery. So, we actually do things like that in crystal surgery. But then we also do more, um, chemically based, um, procedures that are somewhat easier to perform than, you know, the cutting of the etheric tissue and the stitching of the etheric tissue and the changing of the etheric tissue, just like a physical surgery, but on the etheric tissues instead. And then we have other ways to treat the etheric tissues through infusions and so on. So, uh, it, it kind of has these parallels with, um, other ways of doing healing, the more traditional medical ways of doing healing, but it's all being done in the etheric dimension. So, I did 25 years of research on this different crystal surgery. And let me be clear, I don't think I did it alone. I know I didn't do it alone. When you look at that book, "The Complete Guide to Crystal Surgery," and you look at what's in there, it is a hundred years' worth of research that I did in 25 years, not entirely on my own, but mostly on my own. And I did have some help and people who grew interested and wanted to join in and participate and made very good contributions with their insights and so on. But I'm pretty convinced that that information was aided and embedded by the spirit dimension and this, you know, the spirit realm with whom I've worked very, very closely, uh, over the years, uh, surprisingly closely. It's, it's really something that astonishes my own mind. So, anyway, I had to document all this information. So, I have two ways of documenting it. The one was to create "The Complete Guide to Crystal Surgery" textbook, and that is there now in print and available. It was a mammoth task. It was really hard. We had a team of three people to do a book that really probably needed a team of about 10 people. Neil did the photography. My friend Mary Beth, who's a brilliant designer, brilliant graphic designer, she did the book. We sat together every single Friday for years putting the illustrations, uh, together. Neil and I did the photographs. We got models in. Anyway, it's a fabulous publication, but it is a textbook. It's not easy. It's not a reading book, but there's a huge amount of information in there. Even if all you want is the energy information about the energy anatomy, there's stuff that I don't think you can get anywhere else that the spirits showed me and got me using in a practical way. And then a lot of different dynamics that are not limited. It's just the crystal surgery way of doing this energy healing. And some of it, you absolutely have to have the crystal tools. But the insights about what's going on in the muscular system, the nervous system, etc., etc., etc., reproductive system, digestive system, whatever. These are insights that anybody in energy, any energy healer, and even any psychologist can use the information in the book because it's coming from all that background in me, and it's written very systematically. I know that some of my graduates have shown the book to their doctor clients because we do have a lot of medical professionals that come to us for this work because it's just that several notches above. It's not at the "woowoo" level, but really technical and, um, pretty scientific, and, and it's anecdotal by definition, but honestly, it's really something. And, um, and so that, I, I did it because I had to. It was a really hard task, and thank heavens I had the help from Neil and Mary Beth, um, and everybody who was interested and supported the project. So, there's the textbook, and then there's a YouTube channel as well with almost, almost everything in the textbook is demonstrated, but also I teach the courses, and inside there's a very, very systematic video and text explanation of what's in the textbook, but that's in the courses of Crystal Surgery 1, 2, and 3 on our website, crystalhealingtechniques.com. But that's not my main message. My main message is this information is useful, and it can be adapted by anybody in multiple ways. So, it may have come via crystals and crystal healing and then crystal surgery, but it is big information for each and every one of us as well.
Wonderful. Thank you. What a great legacy to leave. I, I think if we can all just leave a a mark, however, whatever size, big or small, on this world, we'll have kind of fulfilled our purpose. And sometimes it's not till later in life, like I started writing just before my 70th birthday, and now I realize actually that was my purpose, apart from giving birth to my beautiful daughter. Um, but, you know, everything else that I've been through in life actually has culminated at this point. And obviously, that's the same with you ladies, and I know with Lucia as well, you know. Um, yeah, fascinating. Thank you, Vivian. Okay, Lucy, your turn.
Yeah, it was a lot of work and researching as well. So now, Jenny, your book, your book, "The Three-Minute Shower Reset," is such a practical tool. And I was like thinking about why three minutes. So, first, let's, I'm, my first question is, what inspired the concept of short daily mindfulness practice and practices, and why in the shower?
Sure. Well, first of all, Vivian, I am getting your book as soon as we're off this call because it is really fascinating, and I am so, yeah, in awe and, yeah, can't wait to dive in and check out your YouTube channel as well. So, I'm really excited. Thank you guys for connecting us. That, that's beautiful. And, yeah, I mean, there, there were a couple of reasons. After healing, I realized,
how awful my mindset was for so long, and how so many of us are in automatic pilot. So, one of the first things I did begin to teach was in these little windows of time because no one has time. Most people don't have time for the hours of meditation. And you even say meditation, people go blank like, "Okay, I can't do that." So, really like, but we all have time to take these couple of minutes for ourselves, these little check-ins. How are we doing? You know, instead of going down the rabbit hole of someone said this to me, and, you know, 20 minutes later, you're, you know, in this whole other scenario, like really being mindful and checking in with ourselves. So, it can only, it can happen in three minutes. We can reset our energy in three minutes by just being mindful, tuning in, asking, "Hey, how are you doing?" Or, you know, "What can I do for you?" You know, "What can I do for you today?" Instead of, you know, a lot of women are always in service of other people. Like, but we don't show up for ourselves. And how, how can I help you today? And whether you're a woman or a man, it's just like tapping into how we can show up for ourselves instead of how we can, how we can break, really, how we can break that cycle of just showing up in automatic pilot and how we can get distracted. And the shower is such a powerful time because we're all there, you know, we have that time. And I know when I was not mindful, it was the to-do list. It was the grocery list. It was going over in my head what someone did or what I did or said, or regrets, or whatever it was. I wasn't conscious. And here I am in this healing element of water, which is so beautiful. We're made up of, and we're not taking that time to be grateful. Like, that is a spa-like moment. We get every day that opportunity to be commune with water and really connect and take for ourselves. And, hey, we're in there anyway, right? Like taking advantage of that time. And I'm not asking for your whole shower time, just three minutes to do these exercises and really tune in to self. And most people do shower in the beginning of the day, so it's a good way to like start the day, or even if it's at the end of the day, good way to end the day and release the energy. And so, like, it's about connection. It's about tapping into the power that we already have, but we, a lot of people don't use because we're just so used to getting through the day instead of mindfully creating the day.
Yes. And actually, like taking a shower for me is like a ritual. For example, I don't turn off on the lights. What I do is I use candles or yellow lights. So, I always tell, uh, my family when I go to their house, I said, "No lights, I just need candles." And that's a very good idea because while we are there, like showering and relaxing our bodies, we can also relax our minds and meditate in a different way. And I had the chance to read your book, Jenny, before we, you published it. I remember you sent me, I was in Japan, actually, and it was a great experience to be able to read your book. And also Vivian's book, because I think Vivian is is not only a writer, she's also a teacher. She does these surgeries. So that's why for me, you are the most spiritualized ladies I know, and I'm just enjoying so much these panels. So, thank you.
Yes, me, me too. Um, I'm thoroughly enjoying these. And Jenny, I've now got to read your book because I want my shower time to be changed as well because, as you say, otherwise, we stand there and we think about what we've got to do, what the person said to us yesterday that upset us, and it goes round and round and round in your head, and it ends up not being a relaxing time at all. So, I'm going to, I'm going to study your book and make my showers a different time. Uh, thank you so much for that. Now, Vivian, what's one common misconception that people have about energy work or crystals?
There's a huge common misconception, and it's that it's all got to do with belief.
Uh, it's honestly, people ask me, "Do you believe in crystals?" And I said, "Believe in crystals? What's it to believe in? I mean, a crystal is a thing. It's, it's, I don't have to believe in it." Yeah, I'll show you. What's to believe? That's a concrete object. It's not something you have to believe in. Now, how do we come to connect with each other at this moment? Without crystals, we would not be connected making this Zoom call, making this recording. Crystals in the mineral kingdom are an integral part of our technology and our science. When you look, you can just Google this, or you can use AI, the new big tool, and you can just look this up. How many parts of medical, the things that go in the body are made up of minerals? A pacemaker has a quartz crystal in it. A watch has a quartz crystal in it. Your computer is full of its copper and its crystals that are making this work. And so it goes. So, the mineral kingdom and the use of the mineral kingdom to, um, for our technology, for our industry, for our lives, for the homes that we live in, in every way, then we interact with the mineral kingdom the same as we interact with the plant kingdom. So, can we say that plants have an effect on our health and our energy? Yes, we definitely can. Everyone's drinking coffee in the morning. Why? Because it has caffeine in it. Do we question this? Do we say, "Do you believe in coffee?" No, we don't say, "Do you believe in coffee?" We just drink it down. Tea, whatever. We've got substances, there's minerals, there's elements, there's drugs. Drugs are the key. And here's the thing with crystals: you get stoned from them. And everyone, everyone who plays around with crystals, they just laugh and laugh and laugh about getting stoned on crystals because it's a thing. It does. It alters your brain waves, especially if you engage them in a particular way. So, you know, we're talking about going in the shower with Jenny, and, and well, we're not going in the shower with Jenny, but we're talking with Jenny about going in the shower, although both options seem good. And, um, you know, you could, some people put crystals in their bath. They, they, because the crystals release ions and they release an energy. It's scientific. It's got nothing to do with belief. We could go on and on and on. I mean, what makes a laser in, in, um, medicine work? How do they do laser surgery? Well, you look it up. It's unbelievable, but it's highly technical. So, the thing that makes a laser work to do laser surgery, and this has been around since the 1960s, is a ruby. But it can't be a natural ruby. It has to be a synthetic ruby grown in a lab to specific dimensions. And then it has to be in a copper tube with specific dimensions. And every single thing is mathematically calculated. Has to be absolutely, absolutely specific. And then, if a beam is focused through that ruby, it can actually cut.
Wow.
And does, and that is laser surgery. And that is crystal surgery. So, what's there to believe? It's like asking me, "Do I believe in the sun?" Well, I mean, you can't be absolutely 100% sure that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. Not that the sun actually rises, but that's our figure of speech for something that we all agree upon and we go from there, right? So, you know, so it is with crystals. Of course, the mineral kingdom has properties. Of course, crystals have chemistry, they have physics, and they have electromagnetism. And those things can be harnessed for health and healing. It's as simple as that. Are they used in medicine? Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. So, what's the debate? What's the belief story? And that's where I think people get really off track. And you, I can speak to someone of scientific bent, and this is what they'll come back to. But are there journal articles that say that crystals can do healing? And I'll say, I think there are journal articles to show that a ruby laser works. And I think there'll be journal articles that say quartz is used in pacemakers. And I think you're going to find a lot of journal articles that confirm, and a lot of present-day physical therapy machines and ultrasound machines and all kinds of medical machinery where crystals are part of the technology. So, don't give me that gaff anymore. I'm just not interested. I do it because it works. And people want to learn from me because it works. And that's where I'm at. I'm a total pragmatist. Total. My feet are totally on the ground. If it doesn't work, not interested. If it does work, show me more. And that's my story.
That's always a great explanation. I've never thought about crystals in in this way. It's always great. Thank you. Thank you so much.
It's my thing.
So good. And Vivian, you explain it so clearly and concisely so that even lay people like me understand. You know, sometimes people waffle, don't they? And they go into all these long-winded explanations, and it just, everything then just goes over your head, and you kind of switch off, and you're not interested. But I'm actually fascinated. I could sit for hours listening to you doing those.
Thank you. Thank you. I think it's very important background, or a psychological background. So, thank you. Thank you.
I think it's very important to make it relatable for for everybody. You, you've got to bring it to what people do understand and point out, well, look, you understand about this. You know, you're doing this every single day. I can't think of anything in particular right now, and, and this is crystal technology. And then go, "Oh, I had no idea." When they haven't thought about the mineral kingdom versus the plant kingdom versus the animal kingdom. Every kingdom has, um, healing benefits to offer us. I mean, the plant kingdom is phenomenal. The animal kingdom's phenomenal. We know that we're part of the animal kingdom, and the mineral kingdom. They're all, they, they're all equal in their contribution to our planet. That's an important part. We're here for the synergy of all of it. I love plants, too, and animals.
And I guess, again, from a complete novice's point of view, like me, when you think about it, crystals have been part of human life for thousands of years, I guess, haven't they? They've always been in folklore and bits like that. It's not like it's a brand new airy-fairy thing. So, yeah, thank you.
Very modern life. You know, you got to watch the children's cartoons. There are crystals in almost all those anime shows, and every, there's always a crystal that everyone's chasing. It's just,
it's we use crystals to express our love for each other. I mean, the gems, they have the most value out of anything in the world. Why?
Why, why do we pledge our love with a diamond? You got to really think about what, what, what this all means in our culture as well.
Oh. So, now I have a question for both of you, but I will start with Jenny.
Okay.
Spirituality can mean different things to different people. So, how do you define spirituality in your life, in your own life?
In my own life, it means the connection, knowing that I am not just this, like, 3D body that I'm in. It means that connection to more. It means that connection to everyone I love. You know, what Vivian said, I mean, there's so much more. There's, there's plants, there's animals, there's minerals, there are other things to connect with. It's that connection to that higher part of me. Not that that noisy, noisy voice that's like commenting on everything going on that day, but that part that you connect with when you're in flow with something. That part, you know, when you're doing something you love. For me, it's dance and writing. I, you know, I can write something and then go back to it, not remember writing it because it was so in flow. I'm sure Vivian like has moments like that because she was downloading this information. Like, really, that connection to something more. Nature is such a beautiful way, uh, to connect to something more. So, it's really just knowing that I'm more than myself. And how can I connect to that on a deeper level? Because I'm so much more than my body. Our bodies are important. We got to take care of them. They're our vehicles while we're here. But just that connection to knowing we're so much more. And how do I embrace that part of me that is that unconditional love and is connected to everything?
Great, great definition. And for you, uh, do you have any question, Pat, for Jenny about?
I don't think I do. I'm just slightly overwhelmed and in awe of you both. And now, as soon as this, I should be going back to bed after this conversation because it's still ridiculously early in the morning. But now I feel I just have to investigate your books, both of you, and, and you know, just spend the rest of the night just, just reading your book. So, thank you for that. Okay, so now, I, the same question for Vivian. So, first, um, how do you, Vivian, define spirituality in your own life?
In my own life, I have a very broad definition of spirituality. I, um, personally, I don't like organized religion. I'm Jewish, um, by birth, and I really enjoy being Jewish. I enjoy the culture. I, I feel very proud and, and, uh, pleased about that. My daughter-in-law is actually a rabbi, and my son is a Jewish studies teacher at this, at their school. And so that's the next generation. But Neil and I, we, we don't, uh, follow organized religion. It's not our preference at all. Neil is a shaman, and, um, we're very much into the spirit realm and letting our spirituality be our own personal brand. We love nature. We absolutely love nature, and so we vacation in beautiful natural, um, beauty, scenery, and spots, landscapes, and we go on safari, and we're about to go to Costa Rica on an eco-safari. Very excited about that. So, we just love to enjoy the planet itself, and we have great reverence and respect for the planet and for nature, and we enjoy the universe. I, I see myself as a citizen of the world and a citizen of the universe, and I experience myself that way, and I experience the spirit realm on a regular basis. I work hand-in-hand with the spirit realm. I, I could almost say literally hand-in-hand with the spirit realm because when I'm doing the crystal work and the healing work, I am a channel more than I, I would say that I'm in my ego. In fact, putting one, one's ego aside is the enormous, most important skill if you want to do this kind of work because you really just want to be an agent and a facilitator and harness what you don't know and not just do what you do know. And so that's my particular brand of spirituality. And then I learned a lot from Neil because one day we were sitting on the plane, and he said, um, something about Sammy, and I said, "Who is Sammy?" And he said, "Sammy is the squirrel that I feed every day." Oh, I also want a Sammy. I also want a squirrel. And it's, for us, our spirituality is in that interaction with other life forms and other beings and nature. And that is our spiritual practice. And Neil explained to me then, he said, "You want to be spiritual every day. It's not just like for Saturday, you know, for Jewish people, and 7th Day Adventists, or Sunday for the Christian people. It's like every day is a spiritual day for us, and that's how we live our lives." So, I don't know what else to say about that, that it's a constant, uh, I'm always working with body, mind, and spirit, and working with spirit through body and mind. And that's, I dedicate every single day to that.
That's a great explanation. Thank you, Vivian. Um, just from my own point of view, I mean, I consider myself fairly spiritual. Um, but when I'm feeling a little bit low, I absolutely know the best way to get out of it is to wander into the garden and just sit there and listen to the birds and the, and look at the flowers, and I just feel everything just changes, you know, and I, yeah. So, I, I do understand what you mean. Um, okay. Well, my last question to both of you is, many people struggle to integrate spiritual practices into their busy working lives. Um, what advice would you give to someone who's just starting out and wants to wants to learn how to do it? Um, Jenny, let's start with you because Vivian's got to draw breath having just finished her last question.
Sure. Well, I would recommend, you know, starting in the shower, starting when you're first waking up, when you're going to sleep, and in the shower are three times that are so easy to tap in. And your subconscious is more attuned in the morning as you're waking up and as you're falling asleep. And usually, we're worrying, you know, or we're saying, "Oh, I didn't get that done today. I got to add that to my to-do list tomorrow." Or we're, we're, we're complaining. But those are times where you can really tap into gratitude or to some of the things that are, I mean, gratitude is my favorite tool. There's like nine exercises in my book about gratitude in the shower because it's so powerful with switching the way we look at things. It's about love and appreciation instead of the mind going to negativity. Average mind has 60,000 thoughts a day. 95% the same as yesterday. 80% negative. We're switching this dynamic. So, to be able to tune in, if you even tune in just those three times a day, right before bed, right when you wake up, and in the shower with these little exercises of gratitude or intention or forgiveness, uh, it can really literally change your life in a pretty short period of time. You'll be addicted and you'll be like, "Wow, things are getting easier. Maybe I'll be mindful a little more, a little more," and tuning into that. And also, like you mentioned, Pat, like nature is such a beautiful way too, to just sit with a plant, you know, or sit with, sit with a crystal, and I'm so excited for your book. Like, you know, find a crystal that resonates with you and sit with it and commune with it. It doesn't look the same for everybody. It's really about what resonates with you. Animals are beautiful. They resonate unconditional love. To hug your, hug your dog and just feel that love. There are so many different ways to do it, but it really is about what lights you up, what gets you present, what turns that brain off so you can get deeper and really, and really feel that connection and love.
I just wanted to say, Jenny, that I was interested when you said about, um, I forget exactly what, what you said, but something about animals because I, I'm not an animal person. I'm a people person. I've had animals in the past, and obviously I've loved them and cared for them, but I'm not, I'm really not an animal person per se. But my daughter last year announced that she and her partner were getting a puppy. And I don't, I'm a bit scared of dogs, going back to when I was a kid. And, um, and I said, "Ah." And then I thought to myself, I will never be able to go to their house again because they have this dog, and I'll be scared of it because it was going to be a German Shepherd. So, not a tiny cuddly little dog, you know, this great big fierce wolf-looking thing. Anyway, they got the dog. I was actually away in the States when they got the dog. So, I got back two months later and was introduced to this quite sweet little bundle, but I was still scared. I still didn't enjoy it. This dog is now just over a year old. Enormous. Enormous. I stayed over there the other night, and in the morning, this dog kind of bashes on my bedroom door, and I said, "Come in." And it came in, and I let it climb on my bed, and was cuddling up to me, and I just lay there. And my daughter came in. She just burst out laughing because she knows how scared I am of dogs. And she said, "Mom, I never thought I would see that, but there is something that that dog gives me that that I didn't even know I needed." Um, and, and I love it. And I don't love any other dogs. I mean, I'm still frightened of other dogs, but there is something about this ginormous dog that when he hears a police siren, he thinks it's another wolf. Um, and he, he howls. He howls just like a wolf would on a mountain. And yet I let it sleep. I let it lay on my bed with me. And, and so that, I just, yeah, what you said resonated with me. Thank you.
Um, I don't have dogs. Just to show I don't have dogs, but I keep buying dogs. I was in Japan and I got many because I don't have dogs because I don't have time to take care of them. I travel a lot, but I have many here around my, you know, this, uh, office. Many dogs. I love dogs, but unfortunately, Marco told me, "If you have them, we are not going to be able to travel." So, I was, you know, like, I prefer to travel. At least now that I'm still young.
When, when you're an old lady and you don't want to travel so much, then maybe you can get a dog.
Okay, Vivian, same question for you, please. Um, spirituality can mean different. Oh, no, sorry, no, we've had that one. Um, many people struggle to integrate spiritual practice into their busy lives. Um, what advice would you give to someone just starting out?
Well, I had, I had two points that I wanted to make, and Jenny said them both. So, I'll just underline them and I'll say that in the Alexander technique, Alexander said, "You need to inhibit," which means just pause and come out of reaction and be intentional and think about what, make choices rather than just sort of jump out. He said, "Do that before you get out of bed in the morning because otherwise, it will be 11:00 before you remember." And I think that that's a very, very amazing recommendation. So, it's a kind of a practical twist on that. And I did hear Jenny actually say first thing in the morning, and then she said in the shower, and I will just say that Alexander imparted that wisdom. And I will also add, I can't do it yet. I've been practicing a long time, and I still am failing. So, it's an amazing challenge. Can you pause and be intentional before you get out of bed in the morning? Can you manage that? That was the one thing. The other was the gratitude practice. And I think we've all spoken quite a lot about gratitude already. Um, but I wanted to add to the negative-positive, um, balance that always remember that the heart has the beat: positive, positive, positive, positive, positive, positive. So, when you're coming from your heart, you are only positive. But the mind has the beat: positive, negative, positive, negative, positive, negative. And we stop at the negative thought. And so, what you want to consciously do is go positive, negative, positive, negative, positive, and end with a positive thought from your mind. And you have to consciously direct that. It will, the natural rhythm is to end on a negative thought. So, there's observing the way your mind is working when it comes to positive-negative, and being a, a steward of that for better. And then the only other piece I want to add is compassion practice. That was a big one for me. Gratitude practice was very big for me. And then compassion practice was very big for me. And when you're starting out, that gratitude and compassion is best off for yourself. It's airplane logic: take care of yourself first before you try and take care of others because you have to come from yourself. And if you're not in good shape in yourself, remember always, I want to say to myself and everybody, this me, I am the slice of the universe that the universe has given me to take care of, and I'm taking care of the universe because we are all one being when I take better care of myself. And I just say, it is important to be able to begin with yourself. Compassion and gratitude and care and love begin with yourself. It is the most powerful, constructive, wonderful thing that you can do.
Thank you.
Thank you. And that's wonderful to be given, for me to be given permission, instruction almost, to take care of myself first because I spent 74 years trying to please other people to the detriment of myself. Um, I'm now on my own, not by choice, but I'm on my own. And this, at the beginning of this year, my plan was to start saying no and to try and please myself rather than other people. I've, I've done pretty well. I've said no heaps of times, and in fact, the other night, I just resigned from a committee I'd been on for 11 years, a voluntary committee that was making me deeply unhappy because of two particular people. Um, and I just went to the meeting the other night, and I said, "I'm very sorry. This is my last meeting. You know, I've done it for 11 years, but it's time now to back off." And I came away, and I, before I burst into tears, I was so proud of myself to have taken that stand. And, um, because I normally would just go along with the flow and then come home and cry for two hours, which is ridiculous, ridiculous. So, it's lovely that somebody like you, Vivian, almost gives me permission that I don't, I don't feel it's selfish to think, put myself first. So, thank you very much. It's been an absolutely fascinating, absolutely fascinating discussion. Thank you. I'm really, really grateful. Um, it's been wonderful to hear about your journeys and the spiritual tools you both use. So, thank you very much from a personal point of view, quite apart from our listening audience. Um, from myself, I'm deeply grateful to you both. Thank you.
And I want to say thank you so much for accepting my invite. Having both of you here with us was absolutely amazing. It's a great experience. I hope we can do it again. And to our audience, thank you for joining us. You can find Vivian's work at chaper.com and Jenny's at jennymanium.com. Be sure to check out "Crystal Surgery" and "The Three-Minute Shower Reset" for guidance on energy work and mindfulness. Also, I want to tell you that both Vivian and Jennifer will be featured in our magazine, "The Relatable Voice," in December. So, you'll be able to learn more about them and other amazing authors. And thank you for being here at word.org. Pike.