WEBVTT - Dr. Lisa Miller: Feeling Lost, Stuck or Anxious? (Use THIS Spiritual Framework to Finally Move Forward With Clarity) 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.680 Of spiritual life is eighty percent protective against addiction, ninety 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:08.080 percent protective against the epidemic of our time depression. 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:12.840 Why should someone who's never considered themselves spiritual even consider 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:14.400 tapping into their spirituality? 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:18.560 Spirituality can fulfill our deepest calling. It allows us to 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:21.239 see where the universe is guiding us and then do 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:22.160 something about it. 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:24.880 Do you believe everything happens for a reason? 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:29.159 Shift from asking why is this happening to me? To 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:31.600 how is this happening for me? 0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:38.199 Hey? Everyone, welcome back to on Purpose, the place you 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:42.120 come to become the happier, healthier, and more healed. Today's 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:47.160 guest and on Purpose is doctor Lisa Miller, psychologist, Columbia 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:51.280 professor and author of The Awakened Brain. We're going to 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:55.080 explore the science of spirituality and how connecting with something 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:59.760 bigger can transform your mental health, resilience, and sense of purpose. 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:04.080 If you felt stuck or disconnected, this conversation will help 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:07.880 you see life through a more awakened mind. If you're 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:10.400 listening and loving the conversation, please do go and grab 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:13.800 a copy of The Awakened Brain. The New Science of 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:17.800 Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life by doctor 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:21.800 Lisa Miller. Please welcome to On Purpose, Lisa. Lisa, it's 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:22.679 great to have you here. 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:25.280 Ja, It's so great to be here. Your whole studio 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:26.880 feels full of peace and love. 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:29.120 Oh well, that makes me very happy. Thank you for 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:32.080 saying that. It means the world to me. My first 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.600 question for you is if someone was to listen to 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:38.120 our conversation today and to apply the things you share 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:40.480 and say, how would their life change? 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:44.880 Immediately we can awaken to the reality that every single 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:48.880 one of us is loved, held, guided, and never alone. 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:53.240 This is not a belief, This is our inborn, natural 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:54.520 spiritual awareness. 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.640 One of the things I find interesting about your work 0:01:58.040 --> 0:01:59.480 and why I wanted to have you on the show, 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:02.760 is because I've always felt for a long time that 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:04.920 there are a lot of people who identify with being 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:09.600 scientific and may not feel spiritual, and then there are 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:12.560 other people who identify as being spiritual but don't feel scientific. 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:16.000 And the reality is that science and spirituality are far 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:21.359 closer in their work and their ability to synchronize than 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:23.320 we actually believe. And I love that you bring these 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:25.919 two together. Can you talk to me about how you've 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:30.040 been studying spirituality in a scientific way? And how science 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:33.000 can back up the claim you just made that we 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:35.120 could live a life knowing that we're not alone, that 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:39.000 we cared for, that God, the universe, a higher power 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:41.040 is always there with us. How does science show that? 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:44.359 So, Jay, You're so right. For the longest time, we've 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.280 had two camps of people. One camp said, I am 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:49.960 a very scientific person. I only take to be true 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:53.720 that which is rigorously shown by science. So what is 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.080 this spirituality stuff? And then the other camp said, I 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:01.040 am a deeply spiritual, perhaps spiritual and religious. I know 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:03.880 this in my heart to be true. I don't care 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:08.799 what science can or cannot show. Finally, science and spirituality 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:12.520 do go hand in hand. Science is only a lens. 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.240 It's a lens of witness, whether it's a telescope or 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:18.480 a microscope or an MRI study. And we can point 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:22.680 our lens at a great number of questions, including the 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:27.880 impact of lived human spirituality onto the rest of our lives, 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:33.640 and including the deep nature of spirituality in every single 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.160 one of us, and the journey through which across our 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:42.200 lifespans spirituality burgeons and develops. Science is actually not antithetical 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:46.840 to spirituality. Science can contribute to a deepening of spirituality. 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:52.280 Absolutely. Why do you think people right now were moving 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:55.880 away from organized religion and moving towards spirituality. 0:03:56.400 --> 0:04:00.600 Well, there's definitely a trend right now that particularly gen 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:05.400 Z is so hungry for spiritual life because sadly, over 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:08.360 the past two or three decades, our culture has gotten 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:12.160 more and more silent. More. Really, we've had an ice 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:15.360 age over the past three decades of spiritual life in 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:18.840 the center of society. Our public square has experienced an 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:21.719 ice age of thirty years. When it comes to spiritual life. 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:26.360 There is now a whole generation gen Z that is saying, 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:30.039 you know, I know there's more. I feel this tremendous love, 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:31.960 and I wonder where to take it, what to do 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.320 with it. My deep inner wisdom, my gut instinct is 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:38.120 telling me information and there's nowhere in school that I've 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:42.359 learned where this information comes from. The only way to 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:46.240 realize who we are is to own our birthright, which 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:51.839 is our inborn natural spirituality. Spirituality is not a belief, 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:57.000 It is an inborn deep seat of perception. Spirituality is 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.880 not a theory or a belief. Spirituality is a per 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:05.440 perception that is hardwired in our brain. Spirituality, according to science, 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:09.560 we know three things about spiritual life. One, every human 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:14.039 being on earth is born naturally spiritual, no matter what 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:18.599 our tradition, whether I'm Hindu, Catholic, Jewish, or spiritual not religious, 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:21.839 Every single human being on earth is born in naturally 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:25.760 spiritual being. Two, there are even circuits in the brain, 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:30.880 one spiritual brain, and everyone on earth has it. Three. 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:35.520 Although spirituality is inborn, it is one third and born 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:40.640 two thirds environmentally shaped, which means we are invited to 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:44.200 do our part in strengthening the muscle, in building our 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:48.360 gift of natural spiritual awareness. The question is not am 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:52.799 I spiritual? You already are spiritual. The question, the real 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:56.600 question is how do you wish to accept the invitation? 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.280 How do you wish to build your spiritual life? 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:02.599 Why should who's never considered themselves spiritual up until this 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:06.400 point even consider tapping into their spirituality? Why should they 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:06.760 do it? 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.840 The data is so strong that it blinds the eye. 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:14.440 A strong spiritual life is eighty percent protective against addiction, 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:19.280 ninety percent protective against depression when we're otherwise at high risk, 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:23.640 eighty two percent protective against the epidemic of our time, 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:27.320 which tragically is suicide. A young person's more likely to 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:30.240 die by suicide than by what used to be the 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:33.440 number one cause of death, which was auto accidents. We 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:37.160 have an epidemic of the diseases of despair in most 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:41.240 post industrial countries, and yet we also have the antidote, 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:45.880 which is strengthening the muscle of our natural spiritual awareness. 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:48.800 Talk to me about the link between spirituality and depression. 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:52.400 What does someone who has a spiritual life, what are 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:55.039 they doing that's making them less depressed. 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:58.960 Depression is often viewed only as a medical illness, but 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:01.919 that's actually an error. Very often people say, you know, 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:05.440 I have depression or I have addiction. That's a medical 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:09.520 biological condition in my brain. Spirituality is something else that's 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:14.080 sort of ethereal. Actually, spirituality has circuits in the brain. 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:18.840 Any deep, profound human capacity has circuits in the brain. 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:25.720 The question is, how can we strengthen our natural spirituality body, 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:28.880 mind and soul, brain, mind and soul. How can we 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:33.560 awaken our brain to move through depression, through addiction to 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:38.760 a more profound understanding of life. Depression is often the 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:42.760 knock at the door for spiritual awakening. Depression doesn't mean 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:47.240 we're off the path. Depression means we are on the path. Anxiety, 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:51.920 even trauma, can be the first phase towards looking more 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.160 deeply at life, widening our lens, starting to feel a 0:07:55.240 --> 0:08:00.240 presence in our heart, authorize our inner knowing. Suffering makes 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:04.880 us more sensitive, Suffering makes us ask bigger questions. Ultimately, 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:08.360 suffering widens the lens, and suddenly we see, we let 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.840 into the aperture a frequency of light we hadn't seen before, 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:14.840 which is the fact that every single bit of our 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.960 lives is cast in divinity. From the view of science. 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:22.560 When depression is met with a spiritual response, what God 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.520 do you ask of me? What higher power are you 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:29.080 revealing to me? How might I love more deeply despite betrayal? 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:33.640 How might I forgive and therefore release myself from the 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:38.479 entrapment of anger. When we cultivate a spiritual response to depression, 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:43.800 to sorrow, betrayal, we literally strengthen regions of the brain 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:48.720 for spiritual awareness. Next time around, next time there's a 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:54.000 hailstorm and I encounter depression, despair, betrayal, a spiritual response 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:55.840 is built and ready in the brain. We are more 0:08:55.880 --> 0:09:01.480 able to bring to life's challenges a spiritual way of knowing. 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:04.720 We are more prepared to bring an awakened perception to 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:06.680 life's disappointments and hardships. 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.800 The way you talk about spirituality right now, it sounds 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:14.199 like a response, a way of responding distressed trauma and pain. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:19.680 How would you define what being spiritual means and looks 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.920 like as a whole as opposed to just that response. 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:27.640 Through the lens of science. Spirituality is an inborn perception, 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:31.400 but it is one third inborn, two thirds incoming upon 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:35.280 us to cultivate. From a lens of science, spirituality is 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:40.320 an inborn seat of awareness through which we perceive that 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:43.559 we are loved, we are guided, and we are never alone. 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:47.439 And for each of those core components of spiritual awareness, 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:50.480 there's a circuit in the brain. We are loved and 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:54.079 held is the bonding network, same bonding network through which 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:57.280 as young children we felt loved and held by our parents, 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:01.480 our grandparents. We are guided. There's a shift from a 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:04.360 very narrow I've got to have it dorsal to a 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:09.640 bottom up ventral, big wide lens attention network. Never alone, 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:12.680 the parietal that puts in and out hard boundaries that 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.920 lets us know we're alone, in distinct and unique and 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:20.120 at every instant also part of this great unit of reality, 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:24.640 the family of life. Loved, held, guided, never alone is 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:28.880 the deep natural spiritual perception built into every single one 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:32.040 of our brains. It's now up to us to awaken 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:38.160 our brain and bear witness to the actual love, guidance 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:42.800 in presence that's written into life, the divinity written into life. 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:45.560 Who I call God, but everyone has their sacred name 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:51.080 Jesus Fashem allowed the universe. The most interesting finding in science, 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:54.720 I think, is that just as the brain is wired 0:10:54.800 --> 0:11:00.080 to perceive, we are loved, held, guided, and never alone 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.960 to perceive something real, which is the nature of life, 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.719 shows up to be loving, holding, guiding, and never leave 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:10.480 us alone. It's simply up to us, then, to strengthen 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:12.880 our perception. Every day of our lives. We have the 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:16.840 opportunity to be in a deep dialogue with the Divinity 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:19.120 in life, but we have to build the muscle of 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.520 spiritual awareness. We have to awaken our brain. 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:25.000 What about someone who says I don't have time for spirituality, 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:28.160 I don't really need it. I'm fine. What are they 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:29.160 missing out on? 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:32.320 On the one hand, spirituality is protective against some of 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:35.960 the most prevalent forms of suffering. Right now, depression, addiction, 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:40.120 even suicide. But even if it were not for its 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:44.880 mental health benefits, spirituality in and of itself opens the 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:48.920 double door to an entirely different journey through life. If 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:50.839 you want to roll out the red carpet in your life, 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:54.640 deepen your seat of spiritual awareness, awaken your brain, and 0:11:54.800 --> 0:12:00.840 suddenly we move from a very narrow understanding of who 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.200 am I? How well have I done? Do I have 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:06.080 enough money? Am I well known enough? All the sort 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:12.440 of markers of outwardness, to a profound dialogue with life, 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:15.320 not what do I want? And how am I going 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:18.600 to get it? Which I call achieving awareness. We are 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:22.280 liberated from achieving awareness, and we can then start to ask, Hey, 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:25.920 what is life showing me now? What is the universe 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:29.240 revealing to me? Now? Life becomes less of a shopping 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:33.200 list and less of a hallway of trophies, and instead 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:38.199 life becomes a very awesome, surprising adventure. We don't get 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:40.360 the life we want, that would be way too small 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:43.240 a life. We get the life if we're an open 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:47.720 system awakened that is far greater, a much bigger life. 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:49.199 We get an inspired life. 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:51.960 And I think that's what's hard for people because the 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:57.600 hallway of trophies or the grocery list feels tangible, and 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.880 you know what that means, and so it's within our control. 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.040 And when something's within our control, we feel more directed 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.959 towards it, Whereas when we hear about a quest or 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:10.520 a journey or inspiration, it feels so vague that you're like, well, 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:11.400 what does that even mean? 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:12.840 May we do a practice? 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:13.360 Of course? 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.840 Okay, lovely, this is a practice that honors exactly Jay, 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:20.320 what you just said, the difference between our laundry list, 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:24.319 our grocery list, our trophy hall and instead, what really 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:28.079 is the road of life? Okay, good, let's let's it 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:31.040 ninety seconds. Okay, I invite you to take two breaths 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:38.080 and clear out your innerspace. I invite you to think 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:41.600 of a time where you wanted something so badly that 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:45.280 red door was yours. It was him or hurt or 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.520 them to say, yes, it was that job, that school, 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:52.720 that home. So you did everything right, planned it A 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:56.680 plus B plus C, researched it, ready to close the deal. 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:01.840 You reach for your red door. It stuck, and you 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.840 can't believe it stuck because you've done everything right A 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.320 plus B plus C. You might kick the door, be 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:11.720 angry or even depressed. But because the red door is stuck, 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:15.840 you shift twenty forty one hundred and ten degrees over there. 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:24.000 Over there is a wide, open, splendid yellow door. You 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:26.680 might have never heard of yellow doors, didn't know they exist. 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:29.680 On the other side of the open yellow door is 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:34.480 a landscape you had yet to imagine. Someone who makes 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:37.960 you feel alive, a job where your boss sees you 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.360 in a way you didn't even know you were capable. 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:45.840 A community where you finally belong. The yellow door was 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:49.680 not what you had wanted. It was better, far better. 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.920 The yellow door was far better and better for you. 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.880 So now as you sit back and you think, wow, 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:02.120 stuck red door, hairpin turned taking me to that surprising, 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:06.320 wide open yellow door that has everything to do with 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:10.640 who you are and where you are today. Was there 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:15.360 anyone there at that hairpin turn? A trail angel pointing 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:17.280 you to the yellow door. It could have been a 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.080 counselor or a therapist. It could have been summoning you meant 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.760 for two minutes at the coffee shop, or a story 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:27.920 from a friend or grandparent. The trail angel pointing you 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:33.520 to the open yellow door, and Finally, sitting way back, 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:39.160 stuck red door, hairpin turn, trail angel, wide open yellow 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:42.040 door that has so much to do with who you are. 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:49.160 How really are the most important parts of our lives found? Sure, 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:51.360 we have to do our part and plan and try, 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:56.440 But is it really through radical control that our lives 0:15:56.440 --> 0:16:00.520 are formed? Or are we less makers of our path 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:10.080 and more discovers of our journey? Where in your road 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:15.000 of life is your higher power God? The force is 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:18.600 your higher power in the wide opening yellow door, and 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:21.880 the stuck red door is your higher power in the 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:26.240 trail angel and your ability to be an open system 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:30.120 in dialogue with the deepest force of life through which 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:35.800 we are guided and loved. Is it possible you've already 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:45.800 been on a spiritual journey, a great adventure, and I 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:46.640 invite you back. 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:56.800 Did you relate absolutely so many times? 0:16:57.440 --> 0:16:58.840 Was there a red door in a yellow door? 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:04.520 You might have? Absolutely? For sure. I could I pictured 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:06.320 a particular moment in my life, but I could have 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.560 pinned it to so many that I felt a red 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:13.240 door not open and a yellow door open that was 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:15.919 far better than the red door I ever imagined. And 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:17.880 the yellow door was one that I would never ever 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:19.960 have come up with even if I tried my hardest, 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:22.439 if I tried to come up with it myself, and 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:28.080 there was definitely a spiritual mentor guiding me towards the 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:30.760 opening of other doors that I may not have thought of. 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:33.840 And so every single part of what you said, I 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:38.919 could very very clearly visualize it absolutely. And so what 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:42.240 you're saying, or what I'm gathering from that for our audience, 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:46.359 who hopefully did it as well, is that if you 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:50.240 actually reflect upon your life, you notice that you've already 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.560 lived the adventure, and so the adventure has already been 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:57.040 alive for you. And if you can notice that and 0:17:57.080 --> 0:18:01.360 remember it, then you can recognize that this next red 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.320 door that you are now stuck on to have a 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:07.639 spiritual experience of it and look for that yellow door, 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:10.400 is going to be a healthy and more powerful way 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:10.920 to live. 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:15.160 The disappointment of the stuck red door. Kicking the red 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:19.320 door is actually the beginning of your discovery of the 0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:23.639 yellow door. So the next time there's a very disappointing, depressing, 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:27.159 shut red door, you're invited to ask, Hey, I wonder 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:30.720 where I might see the yellow door. Eyes wide open. 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:35.680 We're already on a great spiritual adventure. When we choose 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.720 to listen to trail angels, when we pay attention to synchronicity, 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:42.560 when we listen to the whisper of the voice of 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:44.800 God in our heart and our prayer life, for in 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:50.440 our meditation life, then we have a choice to participate 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:54.840 in the sacred adventure. Ge how many people say to me, 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:57.240 you know, I see synchronicities, but I don't know if 0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.920 they're real. I see trail angels, but I don't really 0:18:59.920 --> 0:19:02.640 know what it means. What do I do with that? Well, 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:06.080 when we pay attention to synchronicity and say, way, wait 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:09.400 a minute, you know, I was just thinking of Jay, 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:11.639 and then I got this wonderful invitation to join them 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:14.240 on the podcast. I was just reading Jay's book, and 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.640 now I met someone who's also reading Jay's book. When 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:21.960 we notice the confluence in our lives that are synchronicities 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:25.879 and say, hey, wait a minute, that's real, we authorize 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:29.680 ourselves as knowers, as spiritual knowers, we awaken and say 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:34.119 that synchronicity is real. Let me reflect point two on 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:37.120 what this might mean right here, right now in terms 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.160 of what I was just thinking, what I was just doing. Three, 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:46.440 Let me act on this synchronicity right, authorize ourselves, reflect 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:52.080 and act. Once we act, Jay, we are participating in 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:55.800 the miracle. We are contributors in our road of life. 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:59.320 The spiritual adventure heats up. It is that much more 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:01.360 splendid when we say yes to the yellow door. I'm 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:04.639 going to cross into it. I don't hope for people 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:06.840 that they get their red door. I hope for people 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:10.480 that we get our yellow door. But we do have 0:20:10.600 --> 0:20:15.040 to say yes to the guidance. Thank you, trail Angel. Wow, 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:18.600 I'll go somewhere I've never gone before. I'll cross the 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:21.600 threshold of that yellow door. And what's on the other 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:24.919 side is not what I wanted. It is so much better. 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:27.800 It is someone who loves me in a way I 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:30.280 didn't know I could be loved. It is a school 0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:33.280 that's more ripe for me. Not my first choice, not 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:37.600 my fifth choice. It was the perfect choice. Or it's 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:41.120 a mentor, a guide who saw a possibility I didn't 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:41.960 see in myself. 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:45.439 If someone's listening right now and they're feeling completely lost 0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:49.119 in stock and out of touch with that spirit yourself, 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:51.480 where would you suggest they stopped. 0:20:51.960 --> 0:20:55.719 The whisper of a hunch that's already in you telling 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:59.320 you say yes to the trail angel that you intuit. 0:21:00.160 --> 0:21:04.199 Red door stuck for a reason. Hey, what if you 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:08.800 really take seriously your deep inner wisdom, that little whisper 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:12.840 of a hunch. What if you really take seriously that synchronoicity? 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:15.560 And many people will say, you know, I thought that 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:17.919 that synchronicity was real, and my boyfriend told me I 0:21:18.000 --> 0:21:21.679 was crazy. Or I thought that this spiritual voice I 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:24.320 was hearing was real and people told me I was nuts. 0:21:24.520 --> 0:21:27.199 But you know what, what if instead you just for 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:32.560 one moment, honor the wisdom that is born inside of you, 0:21:33.320 --> 0:21:37.600 that you are a splendid spiritual being, already built to 0:21:37.680 --> 0:21:40.760 see and know and be touched by God's presence. You're 0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:44.679 ready to go. Once we authorize ourselves as spiritual knowers, 0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:47.520 then the red carpet rolls out before us, because we 0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:50.920 then are in dialogue with a loving, guiding universe. We 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:54.000 then are being guided, And that's an entirely different life. 0:21:54.040 --> 0:21:55.240 That's a spiritual adventure. 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.159 Can you tell me about how having a spiritual life 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:00.000 positively effects on mental health? 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:04.679 Yes, Well, a spiritual life says no matter what comes 0:22:04.720 --> 0:22:07.439 to me, whether it's what I wanted or didn't want. 0:22:07.680 --> 0:22:09.960 It could be, you know, my partner betrays me. It 0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:12.480 could be I didn't succeed at work as I had intended. 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:14.840 It could be that my best friends has gotten busy 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:17.359 and doesn't have time for me. The disappointments, or they 0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:21.960 could be more serious. Traumise fall in all of our lives, 0:22:22.920 --> 0:22:27.280 but our ability to then say Okay, even in my 0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:31.080 darkest hour, I know that I'm not falling through an abyss. 0:22:31.080 --> 0:22:33.800 I'm not falling through a black hole. There's a buoyancy. 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:37.520 I'm caught well, who caught us? That's the universe, that's God, 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:40.560 who caught you. Even in our darkest tower, I don't 0:22:40.560 --> 0:22:42.479 know if I should go left, right or center. You 0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:45.159 don't need to know. Hand it over. You don't need 0:22:45.200 --> 0:22:48.439 to make life's biggest decisions. Hand them over to the 0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:51.879 deep force of life, and your direction is revealed. But 0:22:51.920 --> 0:22:54.040 you do have to make a choice, And the choice 0:22:54.040 --> 0:22:57.679 is to pay attention, authorize your knowing, and then act. 0:22:57.880 --> 0:23:00.080 What do you mean behind the ova? Because I feel well? 0:23:00.520 --> 0:23:02.440 Does that mean I do nothing? Does that mean I. 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:05.879 A very good point? So every one of us is 0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:09.159 born with two forms of knowing achieving awareness, which is 0:23:09.280 --> 0:23:13.200 tactic strategy, how to close the deal. An awaken awareness, 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:16.439 through which we perceive life's guidance, the deeper direction and 0:23:16.520 --> 0:23:20.320 love in life. We need both. We can set our 0:23:20.400 --> 0:23:24.919 north star through an awakened understanding. Ah. The synchronicity is 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:27.800 guiding me to come and follow the path to the right. 0:23:28.280 --> 0:23:29.320 But how do I turn right? 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:29.520 While? 0:23:29.560 --> 0:23:33.560 I need tactics and strategy, any gift from God, a 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:36.439 vision of who I'm to become. I'm a healer. I'm 0:23:36.480 --> 0:23:38.560 someone who's going to serve. I'm someone who's going to 0:23:38.600 --> 0:23:41.320 take care of children. I'm someone who wants to invent 0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:46.199 and create then needs to be executed. Achieving awareness is 0:23:46.320 --> 0:23:51.399 how we lay down our contributions. Awaken awareness is how 0:23:51.440 --> 0:23:55.600 we find our direction. Achieving awareness allows us to implement 0:23:55.880 --> 0:23:59.600 to really make a difference. Spirituality has two directions. One 0:23:59.640 --> 0:24:03.480 is the verse through which we experience inspiration, guidance, and love. 0:24:03.880 --> 0:24:06.440 The other is the horizontal through which we lay down 0:24:06.480 --> 0:24:11.879 and contribute love and guidance. Inspiration comes off and through awakening, 0:24:12.400 --> 0:24:17.440 contribution takes, tactics takes strategy. Children of the Light need 0:24:17.480 --> 0:24:19.040 wonderful sets of skills. 0:24:19.560 --> 0:24:21.520 I love that approach. I'm so glad you said we 0:24:21.520 --> 0:24:41.840 need both. I've always felt that sometimes spirituality and religion 0:24:41.880 --> 0:24:45.240