Episode 20: How to Manage Obstacles When They Arise

Posted on by kwyattmd

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Today Gia and Karen start off with Something Positive: the story of a dog who “adopted” an ultra-marathoner by running alongside him during an event in China.

Then they talk about the experience of having unexpected obstacles show up when following clear guidance. They offer their own best tips for coping with these sudden “stop signs” on the path of progress:

  • reframe the situation – see it as a need for better timing or an opportunity to learn more
  • let go of attachments to the outcome of your guidance
  • learn to trust the wisdom of the Universe
  • be curious about life’s mysteries
  • have patience and let life unfold with its own timing
  •  journal about obstacles and the feelings that are arising
  • choose a totem as a daily reminder of your Divine guidance
  • don’t take the obstacles personally

Karen shares this quote by Rumi:

A new moon teaches gradualness and deliberation and how one gives birth to oneself slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe. What nine months of attention does for an embryo forty early mornings will do for your gradually growing wholeness.

Link for this episode: Stray Dog Finds Her Human

We love, love, love you and are so glad you are joining us on this journey. Sending you positive energy to help you get through all your obstacles! Be sure to send us your comments and leave reviews on iTunes at this link.

Tune in every Friday for more It’s Just Life!

Gia and Karen

xoxo

Episode 19: Lessons from the 2016 Olympics!

Posted on by kwyattmd

 

Today Gia and Karen share all their favorite stories from the 2016 Olympics! They’ve selected 6 take-away lessons learned from the athletes of these games and you can be inspired by them too:

  1. Get back up again after you fall. Stories of 2 runners who fell during their events and got up to complete their races.
  2. Do your best – you are enough. This is the story of the lone athlete on the team from the tiny country of Tuvalu who came in tied for last place in his event.
  3. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. You’ll hear about a member of the Syrian refugee team and how she helped save the lives of 20 people as they were escaping the war in Syria.
  4. See the higher purpose. These stories show how barriers like apartheid, racism, ageism, sexism, misogyny, and religious oppression are being overcome in this Olympic competition.
  5. Be humble and celebrate your competitors. Some Olympians have been gracious in defeat and praised their competition.
  6. Believe in yourself no matter what. Inspirational beach volleyball player Kerry Walsh-Jennings rounds out the stories of our Olympic heroes.

So we hope you will learn from all these courageous athletes and be your own hero!

Tune in next week for another episode! We love you!

Gia and Karen

xoxo

Episode 18: Impermanence – Nothing lasts and everything changes

Posted on by kwyattmd

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Today Gia and Karen start the podcast with a new weekly feature: Something Positive. Today’s positive story is about a woman in Philadelphia who learned that her Uber driver had a son competing in the Olympics but couldn’t afford to travel to Rio to watch his performance. So she gathered her friends together and raised the money to pay his expenses and that Dad is on his way to Rio to cheer for his son! We need more people like that woman who take the time to listen to other people’s stories and act with compassion and generosity.

The subject for today is Impermanence and the discussion includes all of the normal changes we experience as we grow through life. These “little deaths” help shape who we are and occur to gradually break down our attachments and prepare for our ultimate death.  But Westerners are resistant to change in general and thoughts of death. We talk about:

  • The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche and how Buddhists prepare for death throughout their adult lives
  • The need to let suffering change us as we journey through life
  • The challenges of change for the ego which clings to self-identity
  • The importance of seeing the Galaxy view to help us through the ego’s struggles in the Garden
  • The best mindset for coping with change and impermanence
  • Karen’s new book: The Tao of Death – an adaptation of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching from the perspective of Death; the book can be used as a daily guide for contemplating death and impermanence – a Companion Journal is available with prompts for daily journaling.

Read more about The Tao of Death here.

Get the book on Amazon here.

Get the Companion Journal here.

We love you and send you all our support for your journey through change and impermanence! Be sure to leave reviews for us on iTunes and share our podcast with your friends! Until next week take care!

Gia and Karen

xoxo

Episode 17: Balancing Masculine and Feminine Energies in the New Era

Posted on by kwyattmd

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In today’s episode Gia and Karen welcome their first guest, Dr. Larry George, who is Gia’s Dad and Karen’s husband. Dr. George is a family physician who recently retired from practice and is a student of Integral Theory, particularly the work of Ken Wilber. The trio discusses masculine and feminine energies, what happens when they are out of balance, and some ideas for getting into balance. The conversation includes:

  • The difference between male/female designations and masculine/feminine and why it’s important to understand
  • How patriarchy began for practical, survival reasons
  • That testosterone is the driver of primitive male behaviors for procreation and protection (“f*** it or kill it”)
  • How societal violence leads to fear and more violence
  • Why there is currently a clash of civilizations on the planet due to the existence of many different levels of socio-cultural evolution at the same time
  • Tips for helping male consciousness evolve and controlling testosterone-driven behaviors:
    • education
    • spiritual practice
    • nurturing relationships
  • Why higher consciousness is needed to help quell violence on the planet
  • Why compassion and forgiveness are important as we all seek to evolve (rather than blame and judgement)
  • The importance of finding our own inner balance of masculine and feminine energies

Link for this episode: Gia’s YouTube Channel (Check out her meditation videos!)

As always we love you and support you in your own process of spiritual growth! Send us your questions and concerns. Visit iTunes to write a review if you feel inspired and share our podcasts with others who might benefit from them!

Gia and Karen

xoxo

Episode 16: The Meaning of Money for Spiritual Entrepreneurs

Posted on by kwyattmd

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In this episode Gia and Karen talk about the subject of money and how spiritual people might struggle with making an income without compromising integrity. They will discuss:

  • viewing money as energy
  • why givers also need to be receivers
  • the difference between receiving and taking
  • the difference between abundance and wealth and why you need to be clear about each of them
  • how to view money from the Galaxy view as well as the Garden view
  • a simple exercise to practice receiving the flow of abundance from the Universe

We cherish you and send you our support and love! Remember to tune in every Friday for a new episode, share this podcast with your friends and leave reviews for us on iTunes (it makes a big difference!)

We’ll “see” you next week!

Gia and Karen

xoxo

Episode 15: Coping With Mistakes and Healing the Shadow

Posted on by kwyattmd

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Join Gia and Karen as they talk about mistakes and the purpose they play in our own lives and on a global scale. They’ll get into a serious discussion about recent tragic events and how to look at them from the Galaxy view. The conversation includes:

  • Why mistakes are necessary to allow synchronicity to occur
  • How to have compassion for our own mistakes that arise from being human
  • Why we should not judge others because as human beings we are all capable of any negative behavior
  • Some tragedies happen to call forth more love and compassion on the planet
  • “Things are not getting worse but they are being uncovered” so that we can heal the Shadow
  • Offering support to one group within our society (like Black Lives Matter) does not mean that we are excluding others from that support
  • We can all come together in our grief over all lives that have been lost
  • We are one creation and can accomplish anything if we work together and appreciate diversity
  • We are at a turning point in humanity where we can choose love or fear as we move into the future. Love will help us transcend while fear will lead to falling apart.
  • The Universe is neutral and desires to manifest as much diversity as possible – there is no good or bad according to the Universe
  • Healing and integrating the Shadow as we attempt to grow is the best way to become whole
  • We must each shine our light on our own Shadow first
  • Ho’oponopono is a perfect way to transform the energy around a tragedy:
    • I love you.
    • I’m sorry.
    • Please forgive me.
    • Thank you.
  • You can increase the awareness of the whole by being willing to make mistakes

Link for this episode: Ho’oponopono Handout

We love you and support you through any and every mistake you may make! Be sure to tune in every Friday and leave a review for us on iTunes by clicking here.

Gia and Karen

xoxo

Episode 14: How to Keep Perfectionism From Ruining Your Creativity

Posted on by kwyattmd

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In this episode Gia and Karen address the issue of perfectionism and how it can destroy our creativity. They’ll share some personal experiences and cover these topics:

  • Nature is filled with chaotic creativity that is perfect in its own way
  • Our feeling that we are not enough causes to identify with what appears to be perfect externally
  • Marketing and advertising exploit our fears of not being enough in order to sell to us
  • Waking up consciously helps us see through the illusion of perfection
  • The ego longs to be perfect because it hasn’t met the Soul yet
  • Tips for coping with perfectionism:
    • Start before you are ready
    • Don’t overthink projects
    • Set short-term deadlines
    • Be done when you are done – don’t keep rehashing a project
    • Set a clear intention for each project at the beginning

Check out Episode 8: Tapping Into Your Creativity

Read Gia’s interview with Andrew Bush: In the eyes of a gypsy

We love you!!! Let us know how you are coping with your own perfectionism–leave a comment or go to iTunes here and leave a review for us! See you next week!

Gia and Karen

xoxo

Episode 13: How to be Alone Without Being Lonely

Posted on by kwyattmd

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In this episode Karen and Gia talk about why they enjoy spending time alone and how they came to feel that way. You’ll hear about:

  • the benefits of spending time alone
  • how introverts and  extroverts might feel about being alone
  • tips for getting used to being alone
  • why loneliness is not necessarily a bad thing
  • why you must spend time alone in order to evolve

Recommended video: How to Be Alone

As always we love you! Send us your thoughts. Please go to our iTunes page and leave reviews for this podcast. Share it with you friends too!

See you next week!

Gia and Karen

xoxo

Episode 12: How Do I Get Control Over This Thing Called Life?

Posted on by kwyattmd

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Today Gia and Karen talk about control: why we want it, why we don’t have it, and how to live in a world we can’t control. They’ll share their own stories of learning how to let go of controlling behaviors and see the “big picture”: we can’t control the external events of life but we can control our perspective on life. The conversation includes these thoughts:

  • How our society fosters the illusion of having control over life
  • Why goal-setting may not be the best practice
  • How to maximize creativity by letting go of control (and have a lot more fun in life!)
  • Beware of the ego’s tendency to attach to future outcomes
  • What “surrender” really means
  • How resistance causes problems
  • Why you should avoid drama
  • What gets misinterpreted about the Law of Attraction
  • Using disappointment to foster growth
  • Becoming a tool and vessel for the Divine

Links for this episode:

Gia’s meditation video: Allow Change, Let Go of Control

Karen’s blogs: Why We Fear Change and How We Can Transcend the Fear of Change

Leave comments for us and share how you cope when things feel out of control. We are sending you all our love and support for your unique journey!!

See you next week – and remember, It’s Just Life!

Gia and Karen

xoxo

 

Episode 11: Handling Your Inner Critic: Please Stop Shouting At Me!

Posted on by kwyattmd

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Today Gia and Karen talk about the challenge of dealing with the inner critic – that voice inside our heads that constantly reminds us of our failures and fears. They share some recent experiences when the critic took over and offer their insights and suggestions for handling that annoying inner voice. The conversation will include:

  • What is the inner critic and when does it tend to speak up
  • Confidence can be an antidote for the inner critic
  • The inner critic is always self-focused; try focusing on the audience instead
  • How the inner critic can block the flow of creativity and love
  • Remember that the inner critic is part of me and has a valid message for me
  • Tips for handling the inner critic:
    • Listen instead of trying to silence it
    • Offer love, awareness and compassion to that part of the self that is fearful of making a mistake
    • Let the inner critic make you stronger and tougher for handling criticism from others
    • Do your Shadow work to heal old wounds
    • Write a letter of gratitude to your inner critic for what it has taught you
    • Don’t take it personally
    • Remember that it takes practice
    • Don’t attach to the outcome of your own projects

Links for this episode:

Gia’s Buzzfeed video (she’s Emily in the video): https://youtu.be/EOkhrwv19PE 

Karen’s article: How to Recognize Your Own Shadow

Thanks for joining us! We love you and support you on your journey. Send us your own stories – how have you managed YOUR inner critic? And be sure to leave reviews for this podcast on iTunes if you enjoy listening (that will really help us out!)

See you next week!

Gia and Karen

xoxo