80M Podcast - K, T, A, S_1
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[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the 80 million listeners Podcast. 80 million listeners is a call to action and an emerging global community rooted in the belief that deep embodied listening to the wisdom of nature, including one's own inner nature, can change everything. Each week we bring you conversations with thinkers and doers who have heard the call and are listening and leading with the most brilliant design and systems thinker ever.
A 3.7 billion year old wisdom of nature. Nature has all the answers we need. It's time to listen. Thank you for listening with us. It's my great honor to be here today with my dad, Dr. Tom Pinkston, my co-producer and an eco therapist, Andrew smi, and my dear friend, and also an eco therapist, Sharif Salam.
Thank you for being leaders in the movement toward 80 million listeners, guys. Let's get started. Hi. Hi. Good to see you all here. You too. Good to see [00:01:00] everyone. Good to see and be seen. Yeah. So we, um, last time the four of us were all together. We were all on Vision Quest out at uh, rock Point. In the desert near Joshua Tree, and we had a little conversation around, uh, wanting to continue connecting around this idea of listening to gather to nature, the big nature and, and our inner nature and, and how it's all connected and, and how that can bring us all back to more joyful loving lives.
So I'm really excited that we're making that happen. Um, I'd love to just go around and, and everyone, um, just share, um. Like how, how you're feeling right now and, and what you feel like is, is, um, most present in your listening. Well, for me, um, you guys okay, if I just respond here? Um, just dropping, dropping in, I.
Okay, so what's most important about listening? Um, [00:02:00] the, the, uh, being alive in this moment? Uh, the universe is communicating its wisdom to me, to us in and through our bodies, uh, you might say internally and in the external field, recognizing. That perception of separation is a, is is an illusion ultimately.
So the universe is com is, is communicating to us right now and bringing information, what's, what's it communicating? It's bringing me us information about how it's manifesting in this moment and our personal lives and in the world channel of what we, uh, is happening that, that we all experience in different ways.
So if I wanna be in, um. If I wanna squeeze the juice outta being alive in this moment, um, because this, this is the moment I have to experience whatever I wanna experience. No guarantee of next breath. This is it. So, I, I, I, it's important for me to pay attention to the truth of what I'm feeling and what I'm experiencing to get that information [00:03:00] so I can, I can be in, in, for me, a good relationship with it.
That helps me, uh, experience, love's presence, spirit's presence, and, and the gifts of, of life. Just like being able to see you guys, I. My, my vision is, is getting worse as I, as I, well, let's say my external vision is, is weakening as I'm getting older. Um, but that helps me with my inner vision to feel and I'm, I'm, so, I'm happy to be able to see, to be able to see what I can see with my eyes now.
'cause I don't know how long I'll be able to do it, but I can do it right now. So, paying attention to right now, of being alive, happy to see you guys. And, and so that's what's. Comes up for me about being present to listening. Alright. What came up for me is I feel like I need help right now. From what of you?
Doing a little like grounding, breathing, dropping in so that I can feel like my heart and mind and everything feels more open and my body too listening. I don't know about [00:04:00] any of you, but I just feel a little challenged in that space right now. Um. And my, my body's like, just go on a hike or just go to the beach right now.
But I have commitments and I'm super happy to actually be here with you. But yeah, if any, either of you is feeling, any of you're feeling called to, to lead me and anyone else who might be listening in the future and a little meditation to open up and listen more, I'd be super grateful. As you know, it was interesting as you were speaking, one of the things that came to my.
Space. Well, two first is that there is, I said, what's the difference between heart and earth? And, uh, it's just the arrangement of the letters and the word, the exact same letter, and then being in this space. First, I'm just holding a lot of gratitude and listening. Listen, I heard listening and, uh, you know, the [00:05:00] wind that is here and, you know, just listening, listening and, and trying to recognize, uh, in both gratitude and attunement.
That we are privileged enough to be here alive and vibrating on this earth right now in connection and communion, setting the intention of being here and inviting an invitation to invite that medicine from the earth into our space. And then I think about the breath. That's that sacred breath. And. An elder once told me that the first thing you lose when you hold your breath is not your brain capacity, your heart capacity.
But consciousness and consciousness is what unites us all. The breath, that sacred breath is that consciousness that flows through us all. So when I think about breathing exercises and mindfulness, I think about right now we are part of the earth. Our hearts are all here connected together, you know, and then [00:06:00] that deep breath in where you inhale into the stomach and filling the stomach up, but only exhale from the lungs shortly, and breathe into the stomach again, and do that about five times
into the.
And on that fifth time, hold that breath and notice what it brings in your body, allowing it to permeate every cell that's there and sit with that
almost as if you're up beneath water and it's surrounding you. You can feel it, and then when you exhale, release it and then hold the exhale, just holding it there. You might be able to feel your heartbeat[00:07:00]
and then begin again. One more time with the rapid, the end into your stomach. Feeling it up. Exhale from the lungs into the stomach, exhale from the lungs,
and on the last inhale, hold once again and allow that breath just to sit with you.
Then the exhale
as, as I held my breath, I'm reminded of the times I've been in Kauai, swimming in the water, the ocean with the turtles, [00:08:00] and I'm holding my breath. But there's so much life and so much gratitude, and I come up and I breathe. That sacred breath, that oxygen that fuels us all. So, um, that's what comes, comes from me.
Oh, I'm brios, I'm, I'm thinking about self, self-consciousness. I don't know why it comes to me, but this idea of breath and consciousness and, um, how nature. We might be the only things in nature that are self-conscious, you know, in, in a way of, um, both good and bad, uh, judging ourself or thinking, you know, or separate in some way from nature.
Um, and. I think about that breath and that regulation and how just being in nature is like regulating me [00:09:00] all the time and it's like wanting to regulate me. It's like, its intention is like, oh, young human. Like it's okay. Like calm down. It's okay. Um. And, and just being with you guys and community and how it, like, all we're really doing too is regulating each other and trying to sync with nature and be reminded that it's, it's okay.
And, um, yeah. So I think you, Sharif for, for helping me regulate and, and remember that. Hey, we're co but we're, we're all in each other's. Um, sorry, go ahead. No, I was just saying we're co-regulating together. This is jazz right here. Mm-hmm. This is, this is our music We're playing. You guys, you guys notice that?
Uh, and, and as we look at image of you, Andrew, you've got antlers growing outta your head. [00:10:00] Let me put, put it on a bigger screen. Oh yeah. There's some tree antlers coming out. It's a dear spirit, Ari, coming through. You're grow, growing up outta you, your, your, your antennas out there to help you listen better and help all of us listen better.
Oh, right. I love that. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for that Sharif. And it, it does, um, strike me every, I've never been a scuba diver, but I remember dad used scuba diving and other friends and the, what is the thing that you, is it like your BC regulator or something that you use as you're going down? Yeah.
Your BC you let the air outta your BC and then you lower at the rate, you let the air out. I don't know if I'm referencing the right thing that, that then, but like that we all help regulate each other. That's super, that's so true. And, and I just think of how that happens like in families and in work situations and any relationships, how we just read off of each other's, um, energy and, and [00:11:00] pick that up for good and challenge.
Um, and in nature we're doing the same thing with, with. The, the trees and the earth and the ocean around us too. And um, Andrew, you talk a lot about like, like na nature, like just wants us to like love it or fall back in love with it. And in doing so, we like fall back in love with ourself or some, can you talk a little bit more about that and Yeah.
Um, I think in that self-reflection of, of our own judgment as humans, um. It's easy to kinda like, get sucked into this silo of self and I guess the ego, small self. And, um, when you're looking outside of yourself and you recognize kind of the, the bigger self, which is like not separate from small self, um, there's, there's like this resting I guess [00:12:00] in um.
The beauty that you are, everything, you know that everything that you see is a reflection of you. And so to like lift up the things. There was something, I was listening, I think it was Chris Krista Tippett, uh, this morning about humility and she said that humility isn't like the shrinking of of the self, it's the lifting up of the other.
And I thought that was like so beautiful in this way of like. Oh yeah. We don't have to get small. We just have to like look outside ourself and make everything else want to be big in this way. Um, I don't know why it, it just hit me. Um, 'cause I think part of the gateway to like, um, falling back in love is like, um, that humility, it's like that piece of, of getting outside the small self and, and [00:13:00] recognizing that like.
There's no separation. Um, and like yeah, got, I know there's, it's like construction going on around me. There's a weed whacker that just started and my next door neighbor. And it's like all of this is like also part of nature in, in some way, even though it's like this manmade distractions. Um. Well, we, I don't hear it at all.
Oh, you do? Wet. We can't hear anything except speaking. Yeah, it sounds good. So it's only my own distraction. Yeah, exactly. Tough man. It always comes down to, it does. It honestly does. Yeah. Anyway, that's, that's my piece.
You're, you're mentioning, uh, humility, uh, as important dynamic in, in the listening. So I'm reminded going back to our vision quest, uh, experiences that we shared each in our own way, that the first medicine that that came [00:14:00] for me was, um, was humility. Through having, uh, setting my tent up wrong and collapsing in the wind.
So, um, busting of any ego pretensions to, to the recognition on a certain level, welcome the holy fool who bumbles and stumbles and, and accept that as part of my humanity and, and open to the larger presence, the breath of the spirit through the big wind that was pushing the 10 in. So just associating freely and just, um, to be, to be clear for those that weren't there, you're meaning that literally like the first night of Quest, you're the tent set up wrong and the wind and the tent poles.
Yep. Yep. But it's, it's a good metaphor too, like right, we, we think we're like setting up our, our structures all right around us. Um, and then all it takes is like one night a big wins. To come and we're like, ah, yep. Now what? Right. So how do I reground this morning as I [00:15:00] wake up or this moment in my day as I'm, and, and, um, yeah, it's an ongoing exercise, that's for sure.
Um, I'm curious what, um, like what comes up for you when you just think of this? Like what does listening mean to each of you? And using listening. Well, yeah, just what does listening mean to you? Well, you know, the, for me, off the very top, what comes to me as I hear, I remember you, Mrs. Easley, my father's mother, my grandmother, this amazing, beautiful soul who, uh, as a matter of fact at her, uh.
At her funeral, uh, she, her whole life using her hands and cleaning homes and, and, uh, from Memphis, Tennessee. And so, as a respect to her, [00:16:00] my father, we were all dressed up and rather than have the, the, the, uh, the machine. Pushed the earth over her. We had several shovels and everyone had to take a shovel and we spent time rotating, shoveling this earth, you know, this act of giving, respecting, and showing gratitude for her.
And Mrs. Beasley. And I kept that shovel the whole, my shovel, the show I had the whole time. I troubled that in and, and, uh, but her words were, uh, when listening, whenever I was talking too much. She said, uh, you know, God gave you two ears and one mouth. Obviously he wanted you to use one more than the other in her very southern Memphis, Tennessee.
Tone, you know, I hear her voice. I can feel her in the most loving way. And the other thing was that listening is that, uh. You know, [00:17:00] sometimes I would come home from, from school when I would, and she was there and I may have had a rough day and, and, uh, she would look at me and, and she would say, what's wrong?
And I'd be like, oh, everything's great. No, no, there's no problem at all. And, and she would. Remain silent and say, have a seat. I'd sit at the dining room table and she'd go the fridge and she already had these taffy cookies. These, oh, I loved them. They were these, these crunchy, uh, oatmeal outside, exterior, this taffy and oh, so delicious.
And she would get that and a cup milk, and she'd put it in front of me and just sit with me for a second. And I heard, she says she, after a while, I eat it. And she looking, she says, you know, I hear what you don't say. And I always hold up that as something of being able to attune to, [00:18:00] you know, we sometimes we can get lost in words, but there's many forms of communication.
Nature has so many ways of communicating with us and doesn't. Even our four-legged relatives, our two-legged relatives, the celestial life, the trees, all of this, the water doesn't necessarily use our communi our words, but if we listen. Kimberly as you sa as you so wisely told us and, and taught us and shared with us from your vision quest.
Have all the answers you need. You know, all you have to do is just listen. And that's attunement and paying attention and hearing. And, and, um, and lastly, because I've been doing a lot of talking and so I wanna listen a little bit myself, but uh, I look at it through. A eco therapeutic lens in space. And recently I was with a cohort of these young therapists who were learning how to integrate, um, ecotherapy into their practice.[00:19:00]
And we were reviewing, you know, the intake form that we had. And this form had a lot built in around, you know, informing, you know, the client, potential client who's coming into this piece. Of how to be prepared to be in the space and what you should help support them with, with, and help them make them aware of.
However, what it didn't have is an integration of the land itself, is recognizing that the land is as much as a co in a, in this coexistence as much as the client and as much as you as the practitioner. Mm-hmm. So the challenge became the re-imagination in a very, you know. I think the word you shared with me was biophilia.
Was that, was that the word? This love for nature is to also integrate the land. Might have something, a different relationship with your client and how do you hold a space, a [00:20:00] therapeutic space with giving the land opportunity. To say, Hey look, am I welcome here? Is this giving the client an opportunity to say, am I welcome here and drop in as we did in the beginning, and feel and listen and hear, and then move accordingly?
You know? So when we, when we speak of listening, I. Things, this tapestry comes to my heart, you know? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. And it makes me like, imagine if every time that we came into a new situation or gathering or place that we always left room to bring in like the spirits of the place, the, the energy of the place, the trees around us, the, the ocean earth behind us.
Um. I mean, I know the four of us often do do that with like the ancestor spirits and stuff like that. But, um, what do you think might happen if, if that started becoming [00:21:00] part, part kind of more the norm? That like, as you come into a, you know, family gathering, you know, you sit down in the living room and each person's bringing their own stuff, you know, or a family meal.
Or you sit down to a board meeting and you know, said something around like, let's, let's bring in a little bit of that, that tree or that plant that's sitting here with us. We'd be better informed or would we get kicked out of the room? Shocking anyways. Ways never know how anybody's gonna react and that we're not responsible for how other people.
Respond, but honoring our, our integrity for whatever it means for, for us to do our deepest listening again to the information coming. Like Sharif, you're pointing out, coming from Mother Earth, she's always given us information about how to be in respectful relationship with her changing moods and currents and winds and tides [00:22:00] if we're paying attention.
Yeah. So, um. I think of like growing, growing up because of your work with, with indigenous, um, people and, and so how that impacted my childhood and life. Um, a lot of the things that were sort of normal in our family around talking to trees, giving, I mean, I remember literally when we'd be just up playing out in the yard.
We'd been taught it was normal before you picked a flower to like thank the flower for its life and give, you know, something back, whether it was like a piece of hair or even just a little of your saliva in a respectful way or, or something. And, and, uh, and you know, taking some deep breaths, meditating, doing the ohm sound before dinner, you know, and mindfulness and all that.
And now, like if you think of how much. A lot of that actually has shifted. I mean like, just like yoga, a lot of the practices that have come into more [00:23:00] modern contemporary culture around yoga, um, in the best ways possible and, um, mindfulness, that whole movement. I feel like a lot of the things that we're talking about right now around listening to nature and, and recognizing our, our oneness with it.
Obvious. There's certainly a, going back to the wisdom of the ancient traditions, where that was just norm normal. But I feel like we're part of this movement that is growing again right now to return to that.
Absolutely. I really appreciate the question. I'm sorry, Andrew. Yeah, please. Oh, no. If you wanna go, go for it. Uh, I, I, I, um. Well, thank you for giving me a space to riff today. You know, you know, you gave me, all right, I'm, I'm riffing. But, uh, uh, just interesting, uh, fact [00:24:00] is this past weekend or story I say is that this past weekend I, I was, uh, in a, uh, training with the past president of American Psychological Associ, the a PA Psychological Association.
We're all sitting around. It's in this room, and it was a two day, uh, gathering and second day I decided to bring a beautiful bouquet, just a flowers arrangement, and set it right in the area. I'm sitting and he asked, he said, is this a celebration? Is this someone's birthday? Is this, I said, I'm always surprised at how often I come into spaces and there's no plant life here.
Mm-hmm. So I really wanted to invite this into the space as just an offering and a sharing. And see how we felt. You know? And he said [00:25:00] in all of his years of trainings and work, he had never had anyone simply bring in a, uh, a bouquet of flowers for the sake of inviting it into the space and being a part of that.
And these little, these, these are some of the little ways that, as you were asking your question, that it's just, it's, uh. We kind of reconnect from being separated from nature and, you know, and inspire, I think others as well. To reimagine what is it like to be in community, in community with nature on a daily basis?
What does that, what is it, how, how does that show up, I guess, in all of our lives? As I'm curious, is to be in community with your eldest relative, you know, how does that show up for you?[00:26:00]
Yeah, I, um, it, I think part of why we, well originally called this was I think that Sharif about inviting nature in as into the conversation and this, um, this idea of like. Not using nature as like a tool or something that is gonna like, help us progress in some way, or heal or it's, it's like allowing this like space, um, for the unknown, which is, I think, I don't know.
I keep thinking about listening as like a space for the unknown, for like something magical to happen. Um. The difference between even like listening to you Sharif speak and, and holding something that I wanna say is like me holding onto something versus, you know, just being [00:27:00] with truly what you're, whatever is coming out.
I have no idea what you're gonna say. Being like curious and being like, oh yeah, let's see. Like. How that moves me. Like, oh man, when he just said that my body just like lit up, you know? And I'm like, I feel all these like goosebumps happening. And like that wouldn't happen if I was holding onto something in my mind.
Um, or if I was, you know, walking through my backyard and like a hummingbird shot outta nowhere and went into my, you know, face if I knew that hummingbird was gonna come, like it wouldn't have that surprise awe effect like it does. Um. See, yeah. I don't know. Something struck me about that capacity to, to be in the unknown, but like in relationship in a way that you're like, everything is Yeah.
Part of this dance, everything is part of this conversation that's nothing that's excluded. Um, [00:28:00] yeah. Which. I think is is super beautiful. And it, it's scary too 'cause so much as our human selves, like we're so afraid of, of death, of, of the unknown, of the, of the void, right? Of like, really of death. But, um, to face that, like, that mystery constantly and at least to acknowledge when we're clinging to something and to like, let it go over and over again.
To be with like that great mystery. Um, yeah, super beautiful something there. But
thinking of when you, the, the, the being alone and being scared and, um, when we remember that we're all. Part of like, we are relatives to the trees and the plants and the earth and the, the plankton and the ocean and, you know, all of that. But, [00:29:00] um, you know, giving it name, you know, grandmother, you know, ocean mother, earth grandpa fire, like that does remind us that we're part of something.
And I think of like the, the epidemic of loneliness in our country right now where we're all like. Pretending to be connected on our phones all the time and thinking that we're, you know, connected in that way. Um, and addicted because they were, the programs were designed for that endless scroll and all that.
Um, but then we have these vacancies in our hearts and our spirits. Um, and the more that we can. Actually get out and remember our true connection and, and I mean we're on a screen here, but, but we, um, feels like we're genuinely, you know, dropping in and, and connecting and, uh, yeah, [00:30:00] just, that's always super helpful to me.
Can't go wrong with Soul Connection. Yeah. And just like on the days where you just feel overwhelmed or lonely or whatever, just remembering that, that you are surrounded by relatives even when you are physically not feeling that per se. And does that resonate? Yeah. Yeah. I think, um. Yeah, something came to me and then flashed through and left me.
But that happens. But it's something about, yeah, the, the relatives and the back to that co-regulation thing of like, um, like we don't, you know, so much of humanity is like dysregulated and I think, um, so much of nature is. Is constantly like finding balance. And [00:31:00] so to connect, like we have to be regulated.
If we're in trauma response or we're in, you know, hypo or hyper um, activation, then we can't really regulate. So it's like if we can rest enough and like slow down enough, um, to at least draw attention to nature, like I think an attention is like the biggest. Conflict right now. It's like, where is your attention?
Mm-hmm. Um, but if we we're like literally in like hypo, regulate hypo energy, right. With everything right now, like as a society. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So I think it's that, like that slowing down and that attention feast, that's the hardest right now, at least. 'cause it feels so survival based. Yeah. Yeah, these birds, I don't know if you guys can hear, but these birds are like right above me right now, just like [00:32:00] they sound so pretty.
Like, not bickering, but like singing and it sounds so cool to like, I feel like they're like, we're here with you. We're here with you. Um, I, uh, was thinking about, uh, oh, the humush, uh, friend and elder Art Cisneros. And, and he, I've heard him say like, um. Amazing things can happen when you listen. Amazing things can happen when you listen and each of you works in some version of, you know, therapy, helping, supporting people in that sort of space.
And I'm curious if, um, any stories come to mind, either personal or with people that you've worked with around that concept of when you're able to. Give yourself the space to listen or, or with a, a client, um, or group that you lead that, that sort of back up that [00:33:00] amazing things can happen when you listen.
Hmm.
I mean, I'll just start off for me, the, like going back to the basics of the awe of like. When I'm listening, and again, noles my ears, but with my whole experience of this beautiful gift of life and body that I was privileged, that I'm privileged to be here with like the awe of waking up in your first breath and the sun coming up and all those things that we sort of take for granted.
Like those are amazing things.
I think one thing that jumps out for me, Kimberly, when I think about, I don't know about necessarily, well, a group, but there was a gathering and it was in nature by the fire, and I'm always so amazed at how silence is [00:34:00] different in nature than it is in an organic, natural environment than an inorganic natural environment.
I mean, what I mean by inorganic, I, I mean industrialized city space where at nighttime there's lights and there's trains and there's television energy that's flowing through and you know, there's all the noise. But in nature, the, one of the beautiful things about it is that its silence is so loud.
Silence is so loud and it, you feel it, it's alive, and it's like that fresh oxygen that hits your lungs. It just, it allows you to hear your own heartbeat while simultaneously hearing the, you know, the, the, the soliloquy of the owls that are there, you know, and, but it's silence. It's so the vibration of that, um.
When I think about being in community or gathering group [00:35:00] spaces, the feelings of awe and gratitude and humility that I get just by sitting, grounding, grounding in nature, and listening to that loud silence, you know? Um.
Was it the Sound of Silence? What? Who's sang that song? Was it? That was a song, right? Yeah. Simon and Garfunkel. I, yeah. Paul Simons simply, if I whips that out, I usually can't remember anybody who sing. Yeah,
I'm, I'm recalling a time of sitting with a 14-year-old girl who was crossing over. Holding her hand with one of my hands, holding her father's hand, the three of us as she was going through her last breaths, and she was struggling and fearful and anxious. And this is, uh, in her home, parents' home, out in Stinson Beach by [00:36:00] the ocean Mother, ocean, and, uh.
And we were in silence, meditation, just sending our love into her. And, um, in that silence, I could hear her say on a soul level to me. Because when each breath came into her, it was and released. It was smaller and smaller and smaller. And when the breath would leave her, we didn't know if there would be another breath.
So we were just all really present listening was, is that her last breath right now? Is this it? Uh, and then there would be a pause and then another breath. Well, that wasn't her last breath. Here's another one. So let's be present for this. So this, this gradual slowing down for about 45 minutes and, uh.
Then she, she, her soul spoke to me and said, you know what's happening for me is the same thing that's happening for you when this next breath leaves you. You don't know if you'll have another breath for sure. There's no guarantee. So be [00:37:00] present for this one breath at a time, slowing down, listening. And after about 45 minutes of that, all of us in this really deep place, she was still.
It was like her. So, uh, uh, it's labor when the, when the mother goes through to bring life in and it can be labor, uh, when the spirit's trying to leave its body. And so that was taking place for her. And uh, it was a cloudy day outside. Um, but it came to me at one point from that listening to, um. Just energy from Mother Ocean outside the window.
It could hear, hear one, one wave coming in at a time. So I just mentioned to her, to the, the, uh, I thanked her for the teaching about being present for one breath and uh, at a time. With gratitude and, uh, listening to the ocean waves, supporting her and her letting go process. 'cause the wave comes across the ocean and releases into the sands.
So I [00:38:00] just, words came through of helping support her and her letting, letting go be present for the wave that comes in and let go with release and, and, and surrender into the peace of the stillness when the wave leaves. And just as I was talking to her about this, a beam of, of, um. Light burst through the cloud and just burst through the window and just lit her up.
It just lit her up and she saw it and she got it, and that helped her release into that light. I. Uh, peacefully and she, she crossed over shortly thereafter, very peacefully. So we're talking about miracles that can happen with and through, uh, nature. Just when she needed something more than my words, some expression that was coming from a bigger power, bigger place, this beam of light came in and supported her and all of us, dad and I and her were able to just release into it with gratitude for, for the sacred mystery working that she was surrendering into.
And in fact we were all surrendering into, [00:39:00] so remembering. Yeah.
Thank you. Alright,
Andrew, anything you wanna add in?
I don't think so. Okay. Yeah, Andrew. I gotta say, man, those, those antlers looking good on you. I was just remembering when we were, when we were in England, in the forest, in the woods, when Giles and, um, when we got that cra we were talking about listening to the, to the wisdom of nature and we. All of a sudden that like crazy lightning and thunderstorm came through.
And then, uh, I don't know if Sharif or Dad, we've told you this before, but then [00:40:00] when our, our cameraman pulled up a weather app and there was like no clouds or rain anywhere in England, just this one little patch right over where we were working or we were, where we were listening and filming and talking about listening.
And it felt like, like, like the. Sky people were like, you know, thank you. I hear you. I'm letting you know I'm here, too. It was really cool. Yeah. Just for people who are listening to this, who don't, who, who know who Giles were or what you were doing there, maybe you could just Yeah, we'll put it, we can, we can put it in the sh in the notes here, so, yeah.
Oh, okay. Alright. Yeah. I just, I don't know. I, I just go back to the humility thing and the fact that. The sole intention of, of this, of, I guess our, our film and like this listening, uh, space is, is um, yeah, just to, [00:41:00] to kind of like surrender our humanity, ego do all this stuff and just like, yeah, I don't even know how to say it, but it's just kind of.
To like rest back and, um, just acknowledge like that we're, that something is bigger than us and that, um, yeah, whether you take it as God or nature or you know, the self or whatever your religious capacity. It's like just, just this simple acknowledgement. It's like so simple, yet so profound and that like nature can respond so quickly and um, yeah, and like it doesn't take much, you know, like I think part of us is like, oh, we have to change our whole life.
And it's like, it could just be like a simple first breath in the morning, you know, and talk about this tree behind me. And [00:42:00] like, just thinking, consciously thinking about my first breath. Is also the outbreath of this tree. Like, it's like there's a duh element, but then there's also like, well yeah, and like that's amazing that this tree breathes into me and that I get to breathe out and like give something back to this tree in this way of reciprocity that I don't have to do anything.
Like there's literally nothing I have to do, but breathe and acknowledge and say thank you. Like, and yet like the profoundness and like how much I receive from that is Yeah. In my own nourishment, like that gratitude that just like changes my chemistry and I can walk through the day sharing that, that love with the world just because I acknowledge the tree.
Yeah. It's like, huh. And imagine if like when kids are like learning in school about that, you know, the [00:43:00] oxygen carbon dioxide. Exchange between humans and plants and, and like, if there was a little bit of the awe built into the curriculum too, right? Instead of it's just like, here's the science over here, but here's the science, um, and the amazingness of it, the awe of that.
And, and uh, and there was something you said around how that just like makes you be able to like spread more joy and show up for the people in your life in a more happy, joyful. Totally alive. Yeah. And yet selfless because like it is filling me up so greatly. And by doing that I get like, I don't have to try, but I get to share my, my beingness because I'm already full.
And I think for people that are, you know, in like the helping professions or constantly. Doing and or like really concerned about our world falling apart and, [00:44:00] you know, running around really quickly trying to fix everything. Um, there might be something right now more in like the resting and the acknowledging and the being than that doing, fixing, trying to, you know, make sure the world is gonna be okay.
Um, so I, I think that's, yeah. I. Interesting, interesting, interesting. Listening to your words for me. 'cause yesterday when I woke up and it's part of my morning giving thanks, listening. I said, what, what, what, what? Speaking to my soul, I said, what is it you want me to know? Uh, as I start this day, what is it you want me to know right now as I start this day?
And it came back really clear. Let go of doing and just be,
you still have to, you know, get the. Kids fed and show up literally. And yeah, metaphorically, you gotta show up for the people in your life and yourself. But [00:45:00] it's that dance of like the trusting and the letting be and, and still showing up fully for life. I think I really, that really resonates. I think about balance.
You know, if one's too heavy, the scales tipped, if another, and reciprocity, that sacred breath is that balance. I think about, you know, uh, you know, I think it was Gandhi that said, one must learn to be still in the midst of activity and vibrantly alive in the midst of stillness. Speaking to balance, and you know, I think about waves musically, waves, ocean.
Waves, energy waves, but surfing them requires both the act of mo movement and action and the act of stillness. At times. You have to wait [00:46:00] and then when you see that right wave, you make the move and you stand. And even in standing, you have to find your balance. You know, there's so much listening and attunement I think will.
That stillness to listen, to hear, to attune, to know what to do, and how to balance and when to move and when to be still. That balance, that active balance is essential. Yeah. I, um, wanna be cognizant of everyone's time and, and, um. I just, it strikes me that all of this conversation, it's like just these little subtleties in how we show up that can make such a big difference in how we're surfing the waves of life, you know, how we're experiencing it.
And, and um, and I guess that's like, when I think of what I wanna take away from this for myself is just remembering to [00:47:00] allow space for those subtleties of how I can show up with. With more listening in my heart and everything and, um, and how that ultimately then just makes my journey so much richer. Um, yeah.
I, I wanna just speak to, um, an example of telepathy that just happened that, uh, you may or not be aware of. You, you, you said, um, a moment ago. I wanna be conscious of people's time. And a moment before that I just looked at my watch 'cause I have to go down to Oxnard and try to find a. Uh, used car to be able to get up to Mendocino for a retreat this weekend.
So I need to take off. So I was just about to say something about that and you spoke about it. So it's an example of the waves of communication that are happening non-verbally, that are always taking place that, um, that's part of, part of the miracle and the mystery of. Of life that, that we do have these telepathic abilities, [00:48:00] uh, that, that are gifts of grace and we just experienced one manifestation of that.
All right, well, as we, um, glad, glad I picked up on that. Um, anyone wanna share any thoughts as we close out? I just feel so much gratitude for you guys. Sharing this time, um, with me together and, and opening this, um, space to share and, and, um, we have service to each other and celebrate together and whomever else it may, um, be touching for.
So thank you. Yeah, I, I'll just say real quick that, um, we're getting today, getting together today and how much I appreciate being able to see Andrew, you and Sharif you and. And, and, and Kimberly, of course, you, because you had the vision to bring us together here today. And so to me it's an example of, um, [00:49:00] your spirit living in a, in a feminine body, uh, container, uh, and your listening, uh, to bring us together today as part of listening to, to nature.
The listening to the voice of the feminine, um, bringing us guidance on this case to come together and share what we've shared today is an example of what we need to do on a, on a larger basis, listening to the, the life giving wisdom of the feminine, which is in all of us. Um, but especially when it's coming out of those who are living in, in, in the female body that goes through the regular cycles of life.
And. More connected, um, because of your cycles more dramatic than us. Our men have our cycles, but not as dramatic as monthly menstruation. So what's happening today is a manifestation of Kimberly, you are listening. Then you're speaking to the fruits of your listening to bring us together today. Uh, opening a doorway for good medicine to come [00:50:00] through all of us that enriches our lives.
And if this goes out to others, that's the potential to enrich other lives. So gratitude, yeah, to be having good, good men in my life to. Showing up with, thank you guys. You called us in, we were just sitting out behind the bar and smoking some good reefer, and you came in and called us together here.
Um, yeah. Yeah. Just a big thank you for, for doing all this Kimberly, for Keith, for just being you and, um, yeah, bringing, bringing us together, creating community. Alright. Thank you.
All right, and we will probably be back again soon, all of us, and be bringing some other friends and relatives in. And then, and also be doing some in person, um, listening gatherings that we'll be sharing with you as well.
Thank you for being here and for [00:51:00] listening, not just to this podcast, but to the deeper call that brought you here. Remember that 80 million listeners is more than a podcast. It's active hope, and it's a reminder that the wisdom we need is already in and all around us if we learn how to listen. If this resonated with you, share it with friends, family, and colleagues.
We all need.
