February 17, 2025 • 33 mins
Welcome back to an exciting new episode where I have the pleasure of reconnecting with Colleen Avis, the visionary behind the "Sacred Spaces" series. Discover how a simple introduction through mutual acquaintances blossomed into a profound collaboration for "Sacred Spaces: Subtle Shifts for Mind, Body, and Home Transformation, Volume 3." Join us as we explore the nuances of creating sacred spaces and how small, intentional changes can spark significant personal growth. Expect to be moved by the wisdom and experiences of 25 diverse authors, including my own contribution in Chapter 8, all coming together to illuminate the path of transformation.
In a candid discussion, Colleen and I delve into the power of vulnerability in crafting these sacred spaces, both in life and in the pages of this collaborative book series. We celebrate the vibrant community of contributors who dared to share their personal stories, fostering a sense of connection and discovery among readers. With trust and open-mindedness as foundational elements, we explore how these diverse voices unite, showcasing the transformative potential of vulnerability and storytelling as tools for growth, healing, and empowerment.
As our conversation unfolds, we tackle the weight of negative self-talk and the liberating journey of letting go. With personal anecdotes and metaphors, such as the gripping experience of snowmobiling, we emphasize self-compassion and positivity. Uncover practical insights like morning affirmations to break free from self-criticism, and embrace self-discovery with trust and kindness. This episode is a treasure trove of inspiration, encouraging you to embrace your own transformative journey.
Want to be a guest on Journey with Jake? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake
Visit LandPirate.com to get your gear that has you, the adventurer, in mind. Use the code "Journey with Jake" to get an additional 15% off at check out.
Visit geneticinsights.co and use the code "DISCOVER25" to enjoy a sweet 25% off your first purchase.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is it.
The week has finally arrivedand tomorrow is the big day.
Sacred Spaces Subtle Shifts forMind, Body and Home
Transformation, Volume 3, ishere To celebrate.
I'm thrilled to welcome backthe creator of the Sacred Spaces
series, Colleen Avis.
You might remember Colleen fromepisode 99, where we explored
her books and the power ofsubtle shifts in creating our
(00:23):
own Sacred Spaces.
What I didn't realize back thenwas that I would become part of
this journey myself,contributing to Sacred Spaces
Volume 3, Chapter 8, to be exact.
So get ready to be inspired andmotivated as we dive into the
transformative magic of sacredspaces with Colleen Avis.
Welcome to Journey with Jake.
(00:43):
This is a podcast aboutadventure and how, through our
adventures, we can overcome thechallenges of with Colleen Avis,
from the different adventuresthey have been on, Not only will
you be entertained, but you'llalso hear the failures and
(01:05):
trials each guest faces and whatthey have done or are doing to
overcome the hardships that cometheir way.
My goal is to take each of uson a journey through the
experiences of my guests, withthe hope that you'll be
entertained and inspired toovercome your day-to-day
challenges.
After all, it's not all aboutthe destination as it is about
(01:25):
the journey.
Welcome back to the show.
I'm Jake Bushman, your host ofJourney with Jake, and I'm
thrilled to have Colleen Avesback for a second time.
(01:47):
If you missed our firstconversation, you can check out
episode 99 for a deeper diveinto her work.
In this episode we're talkingabout Sacred Spaces, Volume 3, a
project I'm honored to be apart of.
I encourage you all to grab acopy on Amazon tomorrow,
February 18th, and experiencethe inspiration for yourself.
Now, since it's February theshortest month of the year, you
(02:10):
might think I'd be taking iteasy, but quite the opposite.
I'm in the middle of releasingeight episodes this month, the
most I've ever done sincestarting the show.
And later this week I have anincredible episode with Charles
Reynolds, who's currently ridinghis motorcycle from Canada to
South America.
We'll talk about his wildadventure canoeing through the
Darien Gap.
(02:30):
Trust me, you won't want tomiss it.
But for now, let's dive into myconversation with the one and
only Colleen Avis.
This is super exciting for mebecause I have one of my
favorite people in the wholewide world back on the podcast
with me.
Colleen Avis, Welcome back tothe show.
No, you're one of my favoritepeople in the whole wide world
back on the podcast with me,Colleen Avis.
Welcome back to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Oh, you're one of my favorite people too, so thanks
for having me.
This is super exciting.
Yeah, we've journeyed so fartogether.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
That's what's amazing .
So I had you episode 99.
I kind of wanted to, before weget going into talking about
Sacred Spaces, volume 3 and thatsort of thing, I did kind of
want to give you a littlebackground of how you and I
connected, because I find itjust I was looking back and it's
just interesting to me.
I don't know how long ago I hada guest on my podcast Sasha
Lezhnev was his name, and afterthe podcast with him and he was
(03:17):
out RVing with his family andtraveling the world, that sort
of thing.
And after my episode with himhe's like well, let me introduce
you to someone who I thinkmight be good on your podcast
and her name was Jamie Edwards,who I know.
Jamie and you are really goodfriends, and so then of course I
had Jamie on the show and she'slike you might want to talk to
Colleen.
And that's how I got set up withyou and I remember we were kind
of nervous.
I was a little bit nervousbecause I'm like it's kind of
(03:38):
different from my normal podcast.
We're not talking about goingsolo across the ocean or doing
barrel racing with horses andthings like that.
It was a little different, butI connected with you, I felt
really good about what we talkedabout.
I love what we talked about andat the very end of it you're
like and I'm going to do anotherbook, sacred Spaces, volume 3.
And next thing, you know I'mpart of that and so it's been
(04:02):
awesome.
I love it.
So tell me a little bit aboutsacred spaces volume three and
what's going on with it.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, I mean, you're the master, you're, you're the,
you're the, you're the publishedauthor.
Yeah, so we launch on.
As you know, we launch onFebruary 18th sacred spaces
subtle shifts from mind, body,home, transformation.
It's a collaborative book of 25amazing authors.
I really have to give a shoutout to the authors in book one
(04:32):
and book two, who have allowedme to bumble and stumble, and
I'm still bumbling and stumbling.
Every chapter, cast, book castis different and beautiful and
unique in its own way, andeveryone that steps in is
embracing the process and takingit for what it's worth and
bringing their uniqueness.
(04:53):
And here we are, thanks to allthese people that trust in the
process and stepping into thecommunity and serious
appreciation, and thanks to allthe authors that have stepped in
to do that.
And so, yeah, we, february 18th, we launch.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Which will be tomorrow, which is exciting.
I love both volumes one and two.
I love both of those.
I have a little morning routineI go through.
Part of that is reading, andI've used Sacred Space as volume
one and two to read a chapter,and that's what they're perfect
Cause it's the perfect length.
Each chapter their own littletake.
It's someone else's personal,vulnerable story and then a
(05:31):
practice, and so I've loved it.
It's been something that's kindof helped me and I'm just
honored that I'm part of volumethree, which is amazing.
I still can't believe I'm I'mpart of that.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I can't imagine it without you.
I know I was nervous on yourpodcast the first time I came on
to the podcast because I'm likeI think I said I'm not a barrel
racer so I was like I'm notthat interesting and I know
Jamie's level of travel andexploration and you know that's
different than mine.
Jamie happens to have writtenthe forward in the beginning of
sacred spaces three.
(06:03):
But to your point, all theseindividuals tell their unique
story and there's a level oflike new discovery and
exploration that when I readsomebody else's chapter, no
matter what they're talkingabout, I'm like, oh, I can kind
of see a little bit of myself,you know, in that.
(06:24):
And then they hand you thistool or this holistic or unique
strategy that maybe isn'twritten in some big journal but
it's worked for them.
And so there's like another ahamoment.
You know you're like read thechapter and you relate, you
connect with them in your heartand you're like, wow, and you
might be impressed or you mightbe inspired.
(06:45):
And then you're like, oh, wait,now they're going to tell me a
little bit about how they madethat shift to have people like
yourself, who has had such abeautiful journey and had such
beautiful share.
And Jamie and DeeDee and Mimi,everyone right, I don't want to
not name someone everyone.
Yeah, there's a new dimensionthat opens up, like a little
(07:05):
light that peeks through.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Oh, and I love it.
Let's talk about that communitya little bit, because that's
been one thing for me is beingpart of this community of other
great authors and people who aredoing great things.
I'm excited, I'm like, wow, I'm, I'm part of this group of of
people and it's exciting for meto be part of that of people and
it's exciting for me to be partof that.
How do you get this grouptogether, Because it's a pretty
(07:27):
big undertaking to do this forme, at least from my perspective
.
How do you get everybodytogether for this?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I trust, I really, I really really trust.
You know, the first book was alittle bit harder than the third
book because the first book wasan international award winner.
We've been an Amazon number onebestseller for book one and
book two.
Tomorrow will be another Amazon.
Really, I try to set anintention that welcomes anyone
(07:54):
in, because I really believethat anybody's story,
everybody's story, is reallyvaluable.
So the title, sacred Spaces, wasquite intentional, because we
all create our own sacred space,whether we know it or not.
We have our own ability tocreate it, to influence, to
shift subtle shifts, to makechanges, and whether that's in
(08:18):
your physical office or whetherit's in your mind, your body,
and so how do I gather this castof authors is one I trust and
two, I just kind of open up thisidea that everybody has a story
to tell, and that has led tothis really beautiful, organic
collection of people who alsoare curious and open-minded
(08:39):
about other people's sacredspace, like, oh, what do you do
to get there?
So there's a lot of trust,there's a lot of open-mindedness
, and then there is obviously abusiness angle on the backside
of it which says can you pleasefill out an application and tell
me what you're going to writeso that we have some variety,
and I'd love to get diversity inthe book.
(09:00):
You know, men, women and allkinds of diversity.
So yeah, the process is openand trusting and then kind of
helping people understand whatit really means, cause, as you
know, I'm asking you to kind ofbear some stuff, right?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
What's the saying you always like to say?
What's standing naked in frontof?
How do you say you say itbetter than anybody?
Standing naked on the edge ofthe world?
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
That's all I want.
That's all I want.
And you know I say it's all Iwant, but actually I know that
if somebody else does that, ifthey tell their story from that
vulnerable, scary, uncomfortableplace, at the end they look at
their story and thetransformation and the growth
and the healing that they'vedone and the power of their
ripple.
They're like, oh man, I'm gladI got naked.
(09:50):
You know it's uncomfortablethat when you get there you're
like, oh, that, that's why wewere doing that, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
But why do you think it's so hard for people to be
vulnerable like that?
Because it was hard for me.
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Wow.
I think that we are programmedin so many cases to push aside
shelter, minimize, fit in, wantto be liked right.
There's just kind of a way andI hate to say society, because
that's not, that's kind of youknow, but we all, we all
(10:21):
struggle and most of us want toput our best foot forward and be
seen as our best.
And so I believe most of usminimize and we're told don't
cry, we're told, stand up andsuck it up, and you know, just
go do it or fake it, even fakeit till you make it, fake it
till you make it.
I think is one of the worstphases out there.
(10:43):
Like you want me to fake beingmyself, you want me to be
somebody else so that I can whatFit in.
So I think that makes it.
I think we're programmed.
I think a lot of times we'redoing it and we don't even know
it right, we don't even knowthat we're minimizing.
So, yeah, I think that makes it, makes it very hard.
And we live in a group ofpeople that know us, maybe from
(11:04):
our kids on a soccer field or ajob, and so there's this persona
that's, you know, kind ofdefined, and I don't know you.
I think you want.
Carrie's podcast said somethingabout how you're looking
forward to seeing how others whoknow you actually quite well
once they read your story.
Yeah, can you elaborate on that.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Yeah, exactly, I think when people read the book,
I think they're going to be Idon't know what the word is,
necessarily, but I mean theymight just be a little surprised
about what they read about me.
Yeah, things that I've, youknow went through and things
that I didn't, I mean peopleknew I was struggling, things
like that, but I don't thinkpeople realize.
You know, hey, I was sittingoff on the side of a trail in
Iraq crying, you know, prayingand crying, you know.
(11:49):
That kind of thing I don't, Idon't publicize that or go out
there and say this is what I did.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And why?
Why would you not havepublicized it?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yeah, I don't you know, I just don't yeah the way
people think or what peoplereact.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Right, I think so.
I think it's probably unique toeveryone, but I know I sat in
silence for a good three decadesbefore I, so it only took you
like three years.
I mean, that's pretty much itto me.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
You know the whole like relationship with your,
with your father and him leavingand how, and and I remember you
said in our first conversation,episode 99, everybody from I'll
go back.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Oh listen, it was so fun.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
You talked about.
It took you years to kind of,you know, pen a forgiveness
letter to your, to your dad, andyou kind of you held onto that
for a long time when you couldhave let it go, but you didn't.
And so I, you know, I kind ofsee the same thing.
For whatever reason, we like tohold onto these things, and I
just remember that.
That jumped out at me quite abit.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
You know, the other day I was snowmobiling.
See, I do do adventurous things.
I was snowmobiling and thething that they kept pounding
into our heads, because we wereon a guided tour, was let go,
let go, let go.
Because in a moment when you'resnowmobiling, these are big
heavy machines, you know we'reon some narrow trails, some
(13:22):
things are a little bit unstableand so forth, and at some
points you're going 30, 40 milesan hour.
What the human reaction is is tograb and grip and on a
snowmobile the trigger pullsright near the handle.
So if you grab and grip in amoment of panic or in a moment
(13:43):
of something going wrong, you'regoing faster.
You pretty much you know you'rein a tricky spot.
And so, to answer your questionright about, like, why we do
this, some of it is a really anatural reaction for us to grab
and grip.
And he, the guy, just keptsaying let go, let go, let go,
as if it's easy, right, and it'snot, because the human reaction
(14:05):
is to to grab.
And so, yeah, I think we haveto give ourselves some grace and
we have to let go of the ideaof a timeline.
You know, I, somewhat in jest,say oh, three decades, and I can
hear myself judging myself forit, and what I would say to
anybody listening is please giveyourself the grace to let go of
(14:30):
this human construct of time,because you're doing it all in
the exact right way of anunfolding for you, and that
letting go process can be acombination of squeeze go,
squeeze go, squeeze go, andthat's okay.
The power of the book is whenyou do truly let go and when you
(14:50):
do stand naked on the edge ofthe world.
Not only do you heal and grow,but you ripple an energy that
says to someone else maybe I cando that, because Jake and
Colleen are just normal people,you know, maybe, maybe I can let
go a little bit.
Subtle shifts make greatimpacts, but I never said they
were easy.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
No, no, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Your chapter in the book and I'm not going to go
into super details about itbecause I want, obviously,
people to get the book and readit for themselves.
But it was all about, you know,talking to ourselves.
And it struck with me big timebecause I noticed I was having a
week where I was juststruggling for whatever reason
and that's all I was doing, likeI realized after reading your
chapter I'm like that's what I'mdoing.
(15:34):
I'm just sitting hereconstantly berating myself.
Just, you know, the, the talkin my head is just so, so
negative, yeah, so just.
And one thing I love about theuh, the book is the whole, the
practice part, because everyeverybody has a little.
Here's what I do for this.
Are they perfect things?
(15:54):
Maybe not.
Will they work for some people?
Others maybe not, you know whoknows?
But you can take little piecesof it, and so for that, for me,
I'm just I got you here, I'mgoing to take advantage of this,
do it.
What are?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
what would be a and it doesn't have to be the
practice from that.
It could be another practice,but for you know the bad, the
thoughts that I have in my headand talking to myself in a
negative way.
First of all, you're so normal,right?
I mean 90% of people are doingthis 80% of the time.
(16:26):
That 90% is negative and Ithink often we need an external
disruptor to help us get off awheel that has been just
perpetuated by us, just gettingbetter and better and better at
it.
It's like, oh, I'm really goodat beating myself up.
By the way, we're the onlymammal that does that.
We are the only mammal.
That's like, you know, thegazelle, the lion, doesn't say
(16:49):
man.
Last week, when I missedcatching that gazelle, I'm an
idiot, you know they don't dothat.
So we have this beautifulintelligence, but sometimes it
gets in the way right.
There is a great practice in thebook.
There's actually.
I offer two.
One is a downloadable seven daysubtle shifts practice and the
other one I'm going to leave forthe reader to find on their own
One that I contemplated.
(17:10):
Sharing was a very simplepractice in the morning and I'm
doing it right now because, withthis book launching, I have a
lot of imposter syndrome stuffgoing on for myself.
And so I wake up in the morningand before I do anything,
before I let myself get out ofbed, I give myself two or three
positive affirmations aboutmyself and two or three things
(17:32):
that I think the day will unfold, that are going to be beautiful
, and I will tell you.
It usually takes me, even now,two or three minutes to catch
myself not going through my dayand planning, and I'll catch
myself and go oh, wait, wait,wait, wait.
I want to go through three orfour things.
I want to remind myself thattoday's going to be a good day,
(17:52):
that I do have a value to behere before I put my feet on the
ground to to set myself up forsuccess, and I don't think it's
about the affirmation, repeatingit all day, that has the
greatest impact, and I thinkthat's frankly, I think that's
talked about a lot.
I think the greatest impact fromthe practice is catching myself
, catching myself in thenegative thoughts, in the 85%,
(18:17):
before it's even 605, and goingwait, I just disrupted a cycle
that has held me captive tonegative thoughts and tomorrow
it's going to be a little biteasier.
And so, as a practice, I thinkthere's this disruptor and you
know, in the morning I don'tnecessarily have an external
disruptor.
I mean, I guess I could engagemy husband to help, but you know
(18:41):
that's I love him, but that'sprobably not going to work.
So yeah, there's this abilityto disrupt and what's beautiful
about it is, you know, now I'mfinding myself doing it all day.
You know, before I got on thepodcast, I was like, oh God,
jake's so good at this and I'mgoing to probably babble.
And I went wait a minute, showup as yourself.
If, for the only reason ofshowing up as yourself, you give
(19:03):
somebody else permission toshow up as themselves, and maybe
they'll have a little morecompassion towards me because
I'm being me and let's then bethem.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Right.
So how does that resonate withyou?
Yeah, it's so ingrained in usto do that.
I don't know if it's a defensemechanism, I don't know what the
case may be, but it's soingrained to just constantly be
be negative.
Like you said, we're the onlymammals that do that yeah, it's
very punitive in our human brain.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
yeah, do that, yeah, and we believe what we say,
right.
So that's the kicker of allthis.
It'd be one thing if we said it, and you know how many times do
you go oh God, I'm so silly,that was so stupid of me.
And you're like oh, I'm kidding.
Well, the body has alreadycaught, the cells have already
listened to the negative talkand they're like I got it, I'm
(19:51):
going to work, right, I'm goingto start doing the things that
you're telling me you are.
So if you're no good, or in themorning you're, oh, my God, the
rat race is already startingand you're never going to make
it and it's never going tohappen.
And that's all the stuff thatyour body's like okay, got you
Right.
So that affects the immunesystem, the digestive system,
the lymphatic system.
Right, it's, and again, it's asubtle shift, but it's not easy.
(20:15):
And so the more we tell ourstories, the more we show up,
the more we support each other,the more we share our imperfect
ideas and practices.
I've got to believe the ripplein.
That is only good.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
And that's why I love the books.
I love, you know, subtle shifts.
That's such a great way to sayit and phrase it because it is.
It's little things and you cando little things at a time to
kind of get you in a right frameof mind.
One thing you taught me fromepisode 99 was you taught me one
of your practices was writing aletter to your like emotion or
(20:48):
your feeling or whatever.
And I remember, after you and Italked, I remember getting up I
don't know a morning or twoafter that and I remember
writing to Mr Self-doubt youknow dear self-doubt and kind of
, you know spreading it like,hey, I get why you're here, but
we got to I can't be having that, you know, or whatever I did,
you know based on what you did.
(21:08):
So I appreciate that about youand I think that's what people
are going to love about the bookas a whole.
All kinds of different thingslike that from all these
different fantastic authors thatwe have.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
When you wrote to yourself doubt, how did you feel
when the letter was over?
Like what happened for you.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
It changed me really did.
I mean, it's in that moment Ijust I felt more positive, I
felt I just felt good kind ofgetting it out there.
And so I think I, you know,probably need to do that again
to some of the negativeself-talk that's going on, Cause
it was, it was super helpfuland I'm, I'm glad I, you know,
remembered that and like, hey,I'd like to write in the journal
(21:47):
in the morning.
That's a good thing to do,that's a good practice.
Maybe, you know, every so oftenI just write to one of my
emotions that I'm strugglingwith or dealing with and have it
out with them a little bit, youknow, and kind of you almost
have a back and forth a littlebit, Cause I almost kind of
picture what they're saying back.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Yes, so that's beautiful.
You just, you just broughtyourself to what I, what, what
to what I think is one of themost unique things.
And you brought yourself thereauthentically, because you were
talking it through, because weall have the answers for
ourselves.
Okay, if we actually listen toourselves, communicate with
ourselves and talk to ourselves,we have a lot of the answers
already within us.
One of the practices that Ilike to do and you just led
(22:24):
yourself there is write back.
So you write to yourself doubt,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah.
And then you write dear Jake,this is your self doubt, and
this is why I'm here.
And, to your beautiful insight,you just came to that place of
communication and we communicatewith other people to try to
(22:46):
make sense of things.
So why are we not creating withour greatest asset of ourself
and our own emotions?
You know so we want tounderstand.
We got to go back and forth.
Well, what about going back andforth with myself?
You know, dear heart, you knowwhy are you beating so hard?
Oh, dear Colleen, you'rebeating hard because it was so.
(23:08):
There's a communication element.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Bravo, jake, I love that.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Well, and part of the reason I thought of that is
because you told me you werewriting to.
I think you wrote touncertainty and I think it was
the uncertainty Finn, your sonwas about ready to leave the
nest and go off to college.
So I do just kind of for a funthing right now.
I just kind of what's theupdate on Finn?
How's Finn doing?
How is it like being a momhaving a son off to college?
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Scary.
So now I'm writing to my fears.
No, I'm kidding.
Thank you for asking about him.
He's doing fantastic, and youknow he's.
He's away, he's been gone forhis first semester and what I've
come to realize, even more thanI ever realized, was true.
You hear it, but you don't knowit is you've given them
everything you can give them andyou have to trust that you've
(24:03):
done enough.
It's probably the most highvalue, ultimate piece of
learning to trust myself.
There certainly are momentswhere I'm like, oh, did I do
this?
Oh, I should have told him that.
Oh God, he's not eating enoughBrussels sprouts, you know.
Or is he making really gooddecisions on Saturday night, or
whatever?
It's really been a beautifulpiece of growth for me and
(24:24):
self-reflection, and I'm stillin it.
I'm not doing it.
I don't know if I'll evermaster it, but what it's
creating for me is this space tosay it's an inside job.
I have to trust that I didenough and believe enough.
And even when I don't, evenwhen I have those doubts, I have
to say, well, there'sopportunity in that for growth
(24:46):
too.
Right, because worrying aboutall the external stuff you know
what it does it creates morenegative self-talk.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah, he's doing really well, he's happy and I'm
growing.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
I love it.
Thank you for sharing that.
Yeah, I just remember hearing.
Yeah, that was the thing at thetime, and I know time has
passed since we had ourconversation, so I just thought,
yeah, let's see how Finn'sdoing.
So I love the name Finn too, bythe way.
Great name.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Thanks.
You know, the other thing thatI think has made it maybe this
will resonate with other people,I don't know, I'm feeling drawn
to say this I truly believethat we choose, as a soul, to
arrive here, and I don't mean tobe religious or overly
spiritual, but on some level we,as a soul, choose the path in
(25:36):
which we're going to explorehere on this planet earth.
And so someone like me I chosemy dad.
I chose why?
Maybe?
Build resilience and grow.
And Finn chose me for a reason.
And the more I believe that andthe more I trust that and the
more I know that, the easier itis to live harmoniously with
(25:58):
this most precious resource thatI've protected for 18 years, to
move on.
And so it brings a level oftrust, it brings a level of
compassion, it brings a level ofreminding me that the best work
that we can all do is what's onour inside and showing up as
that person probably hence thenaked on the edge of the world.
(26:19):
But you see, it all kind ofcomes right back, doesn't it, to
that messaging of ourselves andthe kindness to ourselves and
the appreciation and compassion,and you show up in kindness and
you ripple that out and maybesomeone else will will pick up
on that too.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Well, I just got to tell you a huge thank you to you
for allowing me to be part ofthis project Again.
You know it's funny when I wastalking to you back then you're
like, yeah, I'm going to do athird book, and I didn't think
nothing of it at the time, like,oh, cool, another awesome book
that I get to read.
And now I see my name on it andit's, that's exciting and it's
awesome and I, you know I'dlearned a ton from it.
(26:55):
It was such a huge growth thingfor me, so huge Thank you to
you for putting it together,cause I know it takes a lot of
effort to put it together.
So thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Oh yeah, it, it.
It brings me me, it brings me alot of joy and you know, I
think I kind of knew from themoment I met you that I was
going to ask you to jump in andI and I hope your community, who
you've so generously supportedwith allowing them to present
their stories to the world, willjump in, and for no other
(27:26):
reason.
If your community gets the bookto read about the beauty in
your journey I hope that theywill they will reach out, read
your chapter and let you knowhow inspired they are by it.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Thank you, I hope so as well.
That's yeah, it's definitelysomething I'm I'm hoping for and
I you know they're a big partof of who I am, all these guests
that I've had, and over 140 atthis point, and it's just hot,
it's been, it's been amazing,it's been a beautiful thing.
Any final thoughts you have forus on sacred spaces or any
(27:58):
other thoughts you want to givebefore we wrap it up here?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
You know, I I really believe that when you share your
story, you allow a little peakof light, a little beam of light
to crack through and illuminate, and you may not actually know
what it illuminates, you may notknow when it arrives, you may
never get to see the finalimpact of that.
(28:23):
But if you're in a place whereyou want to share your story or
you're feeling like you havesomething great to say and
you're having that conversationin your head, that's like, oh,
it's not worthy If you don'thave someone to tell it, to at
least write it down.
The world is eager and waitingfor that special, unique piece
(28:45):
of you to be available.
So I really just inviteeverybody to find their own
unique way to share their story.
If that's in a book, cool, callme.
I'm always open for that right.
Or just curious ways, it can beeven just a positive story in
your own head.
But I really do invite you toplease shine your light and step
(29:08):
into the brightness of yourself.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
I love it, you said it beautifully, and if someone's
listening and they think, yeah,I do want to share my story and
they want to reach out to you,what's the best way they can get
in touch with you?
Speaker 2 (29:18):
They can get me on my website, colleenaviscoachingcom
, or my email isColleenAvisAtMecom.
Just put Jake's amazing in thesubject line and I'll be sure to
respond.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
This has been fantastic.
I'm so excited for everyone tocheck out the book tomorrow.
Get it on Amazon.
I'm super excited that I waspart of this.
Colleen, thank you for comingon Journey with Jake again, I
love it.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Thanks for having me, jake, you're the best.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
A huge thank you to Colleen Avis for joining me once
again.
If you'd like to learn moreabout Colleen or connect with
her for individual coaching, besure to visit
ColleenAvisCoachingcom.
Colleen.
I truly appreciate theopportunity to share my story in
Sacred Spaces, volume 3.
My chapter in Sacred Spaces isall about the journey of this
podcast, how it came to be andwhat it means to me, to all of
(30:15):
you listening.
I'd love for you to check itout.
The book launches tomorrow,february 18th, so head over to
Amazon and grab a copy.
I'll also add a link in theshow notes once it's live.
And don't forget, later thisweek I have an incredible
episode with Charles Reynolds.
We'll dive into his wildadventure navigating the Darien
Gap in a dugout canoe.
Trust me, you won't want tomiss it.
And just remember, it's notalways about the destination as
(30:38):
it is about the journey.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Take care everybody.
This is it.
The week has finally arrivedand tomorrow is the big day.
Sacred Spaces Subtle Shifts forMind, Body and Home
Transformation, Volume 3, ishere To celebrate.
I'm thrilled to welcome backthe creator of the Sacred Spaces
series, Colleen Avis.
You might remember Colleen fromepisode 99, where we explored
her books and the power ofsubtle shifts in creating our
(00:23):
own Sacred Spaces.
What I didn't realize back thenwas that I would become part of
this journey myself,contributing to Sacred Spaces
Volume 3, Chapter 8, to be exact.
So get ready to be inspired andmotivated as we dive into the
transformative magic of sacredspaces with Colleen Avis.
Welcome to Journey with Jake.
(00:43):
This is a podcast aboutadventure and how, through our
adventures, we can overcome thechallenges of with Colleen Avis,
from the different adventuresthey have been on, Not only will
you be entertained, but you'llalso hear the failures and
(01:05):
trials each guest faces and whatthey have done or are doing to
overcome the hardships that cometheir way.
My goal is to take each of uson a journey through the
experiences of my guests, withthe hope that you'll be
entertained and inspired toovercome your day-to-day
challenges.
After all, it's not all aboutthe destination as it is about
(01:25):
the journey.
Welcome back to the show.
I'm Jake Bushman, your host ofJourney with Jake, and I'm
thrilled to have Colleen Avesback for a second time.
(01:47):
If you missed our firstconversation, you can check out
episode 99 for a deeper diveinto her work.
In this episode we're talkingabout Sacred Spaces, Volume 3, a
project I'm honored to be apart of.
I encourage you all to grab acopy on Amazon tomorrow,
February 18th, and experiencethe inspiration for yourself.
Now, since it's February theshortest month of the year, you
(02:10):
might think I'd be taking iteasy, but quite the opposite.
I'm in the middle of releasingeight episodes this month, the
most I've ever done sincestarting the show.
And later this week I have anincredible episode with Charles
Reynolds, who's currently ridinghis motorcycle from Canada to
South America.
We'll talk about his wildadventure canoeing through the
Darien Gap.
(02:30):
Trust me, you won't want tomiss it.
But for now, let's dive into myconversation with the one and
only Colleen Avis.
This is super exciting for mebecause I have one of my
favorite people in the wholewide world back on the podcast
with me.
Colleen Avis, Welcome back tothe show.
No, you're one of my favoritepeople in the whole wide world
back on the podcast with me,Colleen Avis.
Welcome back to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Oh, you're one of my favorite people too, so thanks
for having me.
This is super exciting.
Yeah, we've journeyed so fartogether.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
That's what's amazing .
So I had you episode 99.
I kind of wanted to, before weget going into talking about
Sacred Spaces, volume 3 and thatsort of thing, I did kind of
want to give you a littlebackground of how you and I
connected, because I find itjust I was looking back and it's
just interesting to me.
I don't know how long ago I hada guest on my podcast Sasha
Lezhnev was his name, and afterthe podcast with him and he was
(03:17):
out RVing with his family andtraveling the world, that sort
of thing.
And after my episode with himhe's like well, let me introduce
you to someone who I thinkmight be good on your podcast
and her name was Jamie Edwards,who I know.
Jamie and you are really goodfriends, and so then of course I
had Jamie on the show and she'slike you might want to talk to
Colleen.
And that's how I got set up withyou and I remember we were kind
of nervous.
I was a little bit nervousbecause I'm like it's kind of
(03:38):
different from my normal podcast.
We're not talking about goingsolo across the ocean or doing
barrel racing with horses andthings like that.
It was a little different, butI connected with you, I felt
really good about what we talkedabout.
I love what we talked about andat the very end of it you're
like and I'm going to do anotherbook, sacred Spaces, volume 3.
And next thing, you know I'mpart of that and so it's been
(04:02):
awesome.
I love it.
So tell me a little bit aboutsacred spaces volume three and
what's going on with it.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, I mean, you're the master, you're, you're the,
you're the, you're the publishedauthor.
Yeah, so we launch on.
As you know, we launch onFebruary 18th sacred spaces
subtle shifts from mind, body,home, transformation.
It's a collaborative book of 25amazing authors.
I really have to give a shoutout to the authors in book one
(04:32):
and book two, who have allowedme to bumble and stumble, and
I'm still bumbling and stumbling.
Every chapter, cast, book castis different and beautiful and
unique in its own way, andeveryone that steps in is
embracing the process and takingit for what it's worth and
bringing their uniqueness.
(04:53):
And here we are, thanks to allthese people that trust in the
process and stepping into thecommunity and serious
appreciation, and thanks to allthe authors that have stepped in
to do that.
And so, yeah, we, february 18th, we launch.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Which will be tomorrow, which is exciting.
I love both volumes one and two.
I love both of those.
I have a little morning routineI go through.
Part of that is reading, andI've used Sacred Space as volume
one and two to read a chapter,and that's what they're perfect
Cause it's the perfect length.
Each chapter their own littletake.
It's someone else's personal,vulnerable story and then a
(05:31):
practice, and so I've loved it.
It's been something that's kindof helped me and I'm just
honored that I'm part of volumethree, which is amazing.
I still can't believe I'm I'mpart of that.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I can't imagine it without you.
I know I was nervous on yourpodcast the first time I came on
to the podcast because I'm likeI think I said I'm not a barrel
racer so I was like I'm notthat interesting and I know
Jamie's level of travel andexploration and you know that's
different than mine.
Jamie happens to have writtenthe forward in the beginning of
sacred spaces three.
(06:03):
But to your point, all theseindividuals tell their unique
story and there's a level oflike new discovery and
exploration that when I readsomebody else's chapter, no
matter what they're talkingabout, I'm like, oh, I can kind
of see a little bit of myself,you know, in that.
(06:24):
And then they hand you thistool or this holistic or unique
strategy that maybe isn'twritten in some big journal but
it's worked for them.
And so there's like another ahamoment.
You know you're like read thechapter and you relate, you
connect with them in your heartand you're like, wow, and you
might be impressed or you mightbe inspired.
(06:45):
And then you're like, oh, wait,now they're going to tell me a
little bit about how they madethat shift to have people like
yourself, who has had such abeautiful journey and had such
beautiful share.
And Jamie and DeeDee and Mimi,everyone right, I don't want to
not name someone everyone.
Yeah, there's a new dimensionthat opens up, like a little
(07:05):
light that peeks through.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Oh, and I love it.
Let's talk about that communitya little bit, because that's
been one thing for me is beingpart of this community of other
great authors and people who aredoing great things.
I'm excited, I'm like, wow, I'm, I'm part of this group of of
people and it's exciting for meto be part of that of people and
it's exciting for me to be partof that.
How do you get this grouptogether, Because it's a pretty
(07:27):
big undertaking to do this forme, at least from my perspective
.
How do you get everybodytogether for this?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I trust, I really, I really really trust.
You know, the first book was alittle bit harder than the third
book because the first book wasan international award winner.
We've been an Amazon number onebestseller for book one and
book two.
Tomorrow will be another Amazon.
Really, I try to set anintention that welcomes anyone
(07:54):
in, because I really believethat anybody's story,
everybody's story, is reallyvaluable.
So the title, sacred Spaces, wasquite intentional, because we
all create our own sacred space,whether we know it or not.
We have our own ability tocreate it, to influence, to
shift subtle shifts, to makechanges, and whether that's in
(08:18):
your physical office or whetherit's in your mind, your body,
and so how do I gather this castof authors is one I trust and
two, I just kind of open up thisidea that everybody has a story
to tell, and that has led tothis really beautiful, organic
collection of people who alsoare curious and open-minded
(08:39):
about other people's sacredspace, like, oh, what do you do
to get there?
So there's a lot of trust,there's a lot of open-mindedness
, and then there is obviously abusiness angle on the backside
of it which says can you pleasefill out an application and tell
me what you're going to writeso that we have some variety,
and I'd love to get diversity inthe book.
(09:00):
You know, men, women and allkinds of diversity.
So yeah, the process is openand trusting and then kind of
helping people understand whatit really means, cause, as you
know, I'm asking you to kind ofbear some stuff, right?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
What's the saying you always like to say?
What's standing naked in frontof?
How do you say you say itbetter than anybody?
Standing naked on the edge ofthe world?
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
That's all I want.
That's all I want.
And you know I say it's all Iwant, but actually I know that
if somebody else does that, ifthey tell their story from that
vulnerable, scary, uncomfortableplace, at the end they look at
their story and thetransformation and the growth
and the healing that they'vedone and the power of their
ripple.
They're like, oh man, I'm gladI got naked.
(09:50):
You know it's uncomfortablethat when you get there you're
like, oh, that, that's why wewere doing that, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
But why do you think it's so hard for people to be
vulnerable like that?
Because it was hard for me.
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Wow.
I think that we are programmedin so many cases to push aside
shelter, minimize, fit in, wantto be liked right.
There's just kind of a way andI hate to say society, because
that's not, that's kind of youknow, but we all, we all
(10:21):
struggle and most of us want toput our best foot forward and be
seen as our best.
And so I believe most of usminimize and we're told don't
cry, we're told, stand up andsuck it up, and you know, just
go do it or fake it, even fakeit till you make it, fake it
till you make it.
I think is one of the worstphases out there.
(10:43):
Like you want me to fake beingmyself, you want me to be
somebody else so that I can whatFit in.
So I think that makes it.
I think we're programmed.
I think a lot of times we'redoing it and we don't even know
it right, we don't even knowthat we're minimizing.
So, yeah, I think that makes it, makes it very hard.
And we live in a group ofpeople that know us, maybe from
(11:04):
our kids on a soccer field or ajob, and so there's this persona
that's, you know, kind ofdefined, and I don't know you.
I think you want.
Carrie's podcast said somethingabout how you're looking
forward to seeing how others whoknow you actually quite well
once they read your story.
Yeah, can you elaborate on that.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Yeah, exactly, I think when people read the book,
I think they're going to be Idon't know what the word is,
necessarily, but I mean theymight just be a little surprised
about what they read about me.
Yeah, things that I've, youknow went through and things
that I didn't, I mean peopleknew I was struggling, things
like that, but I don't thinkpeople realize.
You know, hey, I was sittingoff on the side of a trail in
Iraq crying, you know, prayingand crying, you know.
(11:49):
That kind of thing I don't, Idon't publicize that or go out
there and say this is what I did.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And why?
Why would you not havepublicized it?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yeah, I don't you know, I just don't yeah the way
people think or what peoplereact.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Right, I think so.
I think it's probably unique toeveryone, but I know I sat in
silence for a good three decadesbefore I, so it only took you
like three years.
I mean, that's pretty much itto me.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
You know the whole like relationship with your,
with your father and him leavingand how, and and I remember you
said in our first conversation,episode 99, everybody from I'll
go back.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Oh listen, it was so fun.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
You talked about.
It took you years to kind of,you know, pen a forgiveness
letter to your, to your dad, andyou kind of you held onto that
for a long time when you couldhave let it go, but you didn't.
And so I, you know, I kind ofsee the same thing.
For whatever reason, we like tohold onto these things, and I
just remember that.
That jumped out at me quite abit.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
You know, the other day I was snowmobiling.
See, I do do adventurous things.
I was snowmobiling and thething that they kept pounding
into our heads, because we wereon a guided tour, was let go,
let go, let go.
Because in a moment when you'resnowmobiling, these are big
heavy machines, you know we'reon some narrow trails, some
(13:22):
things are a little bit unstableand so forth, and at some
points you're going 30, 40 milesan hour.
What the human reaction is is tograb and grip and on a
snowmobile the trigger pullsright near the handle.
So if you grab and grip in amoment of panic or in a moment
(13:43):
of something going wrong, you'regoing faster.
You pretty much you know you'rein a tricky spot.
And so, to answer your questionright about, like, why we do
this, some of it is a really anatural reaction for us to grab
and grip.
And he, the guy, just keptsaying let go, let go, let go,
as if it's easy, right, and it'snot, because the human reaction
(14:05):
is to to grab.
And so, yeah, I think we haveto give ourselves some grace and
we have to let go of the ideaof a timeline.
You know, I, somewhat in jest,say oh, three decades, and I can
hear myself judging myself forit, and what I would say to
anybody listening is please giveyourself the grace to let go of
(14:30):
this human construct of time,because you're doing it all in
the exact right way of anunfolding for you, and that
letting go process can be acombination of squeeze go,
squeeze go, squeeze go, andthat's okay.
The power of the book is whenyou do truly let go and when you
(14:50):
do stand naked on the edge ofthe world.
Not only do you heal and grow,but you ripple an energy that
says to someone else maybe I cando that, because Jake and
Colleen are just normal people,you know, maybe, maybe I can let
go a little bit.
Subtle shifts make greatimpacts, but I never said they
were easy.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
No, no, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Your chapter in the book and I'm not going to go
into super details about itbecause I want, obviously,
people to get the book and readit for themselves.
But it was all about, you know,talking to ourselves.
And it struck with me big timebecause I noticed I was having a
week where I was juststruggling for whatever reason
and that's all I was doing, likeI realized after reading your
chapter I'm like that's what I'mdoing.
(15:34):
I'm just sitting hereconstantly berating myself.
Just, you know, the, the talkin my head is just so, so
negative, yeah, so just.
And one thing I love about theuh, the book is the whole, the
practice part, because everyeverybody has a little.
Here's what I do for this.
Are they perfect things?
(15:54):
Maybe not.
Will they work for some people?
Others maybe not, you know whoknows?
But you can take little piecesof it, and so for that, for me,
I'm just I got you here, I'mgoing to take advantage of this,
do it.
What are?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
what would be a and it doesn't have to be the
practice from that.
It could be another practice,but for you know the bad, the
thoughts that I have in my headand talking to myself in a
negative way.
First of all, you're so normal,right?
I mean 90% of people are doingthis 80% of the time.
(16:26):
That 90% is negative and Ithink often we need an external
disruptor to help us get off awheel that has been just
perpetuated by us, just gettingbetter and better and better at
it.
It's like, oh, I'm really goodat beating myself up.
By the way, we're the onlymammal that does that.
We are the only mammal.
That's like, you know, thegazelle, the lion, doesn't say
(16:49):
man.
Last week, when I missedcatching that gazelle, I'm an
idiot, you know they don't dothat.
So we have this beautifulintelligence, but sometimes it
gets in the way right.
There is a great practice in thebook.
There's actually.
I offer two.
One is a downloadable seven daysubtle shifts practice and the
other one I'm going to leave forthe reader to find on their own
One that I contemplated.
(17:10):
Sharing was a very simplepractice in the morning and I'm
doing it right now because, withthis book launching, I have a
lot of imposter syndrome stuffgoing on for myself.
And so I wake up in the morningand before I do anything,
before I let myself get out ofbed, I give myself two or three
positive affirmations aboutmyself and two or three things
(17:32):
that I think the day will unfold, that are going to be beautiful
, and I will tell you.
It usually takes me, even now,two or three minutes to catch
myself not going through my dayand planning, and I'll catch
myself and go oh, wait, wait,wait, wait.
I want to go through three orfour things.
I want to remind myself thattoday's going to be a good day,
(17:52):
that I do have a value to behere before I put my feet on the
ground to to set myself up forsuccess, and I don't think it's
about the affirmation, repeatingit all day, that has the
greatest impact, and I thinkthat's frankly, I think that's
talked about a lot.
I think the greatest impact fromthe practice is catching myself
, catching myself in thenegative thoughts, in the 85%,
(18:17):
before it's even 605, and goingwait, I just disrupted a cycle
that has held me captive tonegative thoughts and tomorrow
it's going to be a little biteasier.
And so, as a practice, I thinkthere's this disruptor and you
know, in the morning I don'tnecessarily have an external
disruptor.
I mean, I guess I could engagemy husband to help, but you know
(18:41):
that's I love him, but that'sprobably not going to work.
So yeah, there's this abilityto disrupt and what's beautiful
about it is, you know, now I'mfinding myself doing it all day.
You know, before I got on thepodcast, I was like, oh God,
jake's so good at this and I'mgoing to probably babble.
And I went wait a minute, showup as yourself.
If, for the only reason ofshowing up as yourself, you give
(19:03):
somebody else permission toshow up as themselves, and maybe
they'll have a little morecompassion towards me because
I'm being me and let's then bethem.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Right.
So how does that resonate withyou?
Yeah, it's so ingrained in usto do that.
I don't know if it's a defensemechanism, I don't know what the
case may be, but it's soingrained to just constantly be
be negative.
Like you said, we're the onlymammals that do that yeah, it's
very punitive in our human brain.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
yeah, do that, yeah, and we believe what we say,
right.
So that's the kicker of allthis.
It'd be one thing if we said it, and you know how many times do
you go oh God, I'm so silly,that was so stupid of me.
And you're like oh, I'm kidding.
Well, the body has alreadycaught, the cells have already
listened to the negative talkand they're like I got it, I'm
(19:51):
going to work, right, I'm goingto start doing the things that
you're telling me you are.
So if you're no good, or in themorning you're, oh, my God, the
rat race is already startingand you're never going to make
it and it's never going tohappen.
And that's all the stuff thatyour body's like okay, got you
Right.
So that affects the immunesystem, the digestive system,
the lymphatic system.
Right, it's, and again, it's asubtle shift, but it's not easy.
(20:15):
And so the more we tell ourstories, the more we show up,
the more we support each other,the more we share our imperfect
ideas and practices.
I've got to believe the ripplein.
That is only good.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
And that's why I love the books.
I love, you know, subtle shifts.
That's such a great way to sayit and phrase it because it is.
It's little things and you cando little things at a time to
kind of get you in a right frameof mind.
One thing you taught me fromepisode 99 was you taught me one
of your practices was writing aletter to your like emotion or
(20:48):
your feeling or whatever.
And I remember, after you and Italked, I remember getting up I
don't know a morning or twoafter that and I remember
writing to Mr Self-doubt youknow dear self-doubt and kind of
, you know spreading it like,hey, I get why you're here, but
we got to I can't be having that, you know, or whatever I did,
you know based on what you did.
(21:08):
So I appreciate that about youand I think that's what people
are going to love about the bookas a whole.
All kinds of different thingslike that from all these
different fantastic authors thatwe have.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
When you wrote to yourself doubt, how did you feel
when the letter was over?
Like what happened for you.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
It changed me really did.
I mean, it's in that moment Ijust I felt more positive, I
felt I just felt good kind ofgetting it out there.
And so I think I, you know,probably need to do that again
to some of the negativeself-talk that's going on, Cause
it was, it was super helpfuland I'm, I'm glad I, you know,
remembered that and like, hey,I'd like to write in the journal
(21:47):
in the morning.
That's a good thing to do,that's a good practice.
Maybe, you know, every so oftenI just write to one of my
emotions that I'm strugglingwith or dealing with and have it
out with them a little bit, youknow, and kind of you almost
have a back and forth a littlebit, Cause I almost kind of
picture what they're saying back.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Yes, so that's beautiful.
You just, you just broughtyourself to what I, what, what
to what I think is one of themost unique things.
And you brought yourself thereauthentically, because you were
talking it through, because weall have the answers for
ourselves.
Okay, if we actually listen toourselves, communicate with
ourselves and talk to ourselves,we have a lot of the answers
already within us.
One of the practices that Ilike to do and you just led
(22:24):
yourself there is write back.
So you write to yourself doubt,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah.
And then you write dear Jake,this is your self doubt, and
this is why I'm here.
And, to your beautiful insight,you just came to that place of
communication and we communicatewith other people to try to
(22:46):
make sense of things.
So why are we not creating withour greatest asset of ourself
and our own emotions?
You know so we want tounderstand.
We got to go back and forth.
Well, what about going back andforth with myself?
You know, dear heart, you knowwhy are you beating so hard?
Oh, dear Colleen, you'rebeating hard because it was so.
(23:08):
There's a communication element.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Bravo, jake, I love that.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Well, and part of the reason I thought of that is
because you told me you werewriting to.
I think you wrote touncertainty and I think it was
the uncertainty Finn, your sonwas about ready to leave the
nest and go off to college.
So I do just kind of for a funthing right now.
I just kind of what's theupdate on Finn?
How's Finn doing?
How is it like being a momhaving a son off to college?
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Scary.
So now I'm writing to my fears.
No, I'm kidding.
Thank you for asking about him.
He's doing fantastic, and youknow he's.
He's away, he's been gone forhis first semester and what I've
come to realize, even more thanI ever realized, was true.
You hear it, but you don't knowit is you've given them
everything you can give them andyou have to trust that you've
(24:03):
done enough.
It's probably the most highvalue, ultimate piece of
learning to trust myself.
There certainly are momentswhere I'm like, oh, did I do
this?
Oh, I should have told him that.
Oh God, he's not eating enoughBrussels sprouts, you know.
Or is he making really gooddecisions on Saturday night, or
whatever?
It's really been a beautifulpiece of growth for me and
(24:24):
self-reflection, and I'm stillin it.
I'm not doing it.
I don't know if I'll evermaster it, but what it's
creating for me is this space tosay it's an inside job.
I have to trust that I didenough and believe enough.
And even when I don't, evenwhen I have those doubts, I have
to say, well, there'sopportunity in that for growth
(24:46):
too.
Right, because worrying aboutall the external stuff you know
what it does it creates morenegative self-talk.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah, he's doing really well, he's happy and I'm
growing.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
I love it.
Thank you for sharing that.
Yeah, I just remember hearing.
Yeah, that was the thing at thetime, and I know time has
passed since we had ourconversation, so I just thought,
yeah, let's see how Finn'sdoing.
So I love the name Finn too, bythe way.
Great name.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Thanks.
You know, the other thing thatI think has made it maybe this
will resonate with other people,I don't know, I'm feeling drawn
to say this I truly believethat we choose, as a soul, to
arrive here, and I don't mean tobe religious or overly
spiritual, but on some level we,as a soul, choose the path in
(25:36):
which we're going to explorehere on this planet earth.
And so someone like me I chosemy dad.
I chose why?
Maybe?
Build resilience and grow.
And Finn chose me for a reason.
And the more I believe that andthe more I trust that and the
more I know that, the easier itis to live harmoniously with
(25:58):
this most precious resource thatI've protected for 18 years, to
move on.
And so it brings a level oftrust, it brings a level of
compassion, it brings a level ofreminding me that the best work
that we can all do is what's onour inside and showing up as
that person probably hence thenaked on the edge of the world.
(26:19):
But you see, it all kind ofcomes right back, doesn't it, to
that messaging of ourselves andthe kindness to ourselves and
the appreciation and compassion,and you show up in kindness and
you ripple that out and maybesomeone else will will pick up
on that too.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Well, I just got to tell you a huge thank you to you
for allowing me to be part ofthis project Again.
You know it's funny when I wastalking to you back then you're
like, yeah, I'm going to do athird book, and I didn't think
nothing of it at the time, like,oh, cool, another awesome book
that I get to read.
And now I see my name on it andit's, that's exciting and it's
awesome and I, you know I'dlearned a ton from it.
(26:55):
It was such a huge growth thingfor me, so huge Thank you to
you for putting it together,cause I know it takes a lot of
effort to put it together.
So thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Oh yeah, it, it.
It brings me me, it brings me alot of joy and you know, I
think I kind of knew from themoment I met you that I was
going to ask you to jump in andI and I hope your community, who
you've so generously supportedwith allowing them to present
their stories to the world, willjump in, and for no other
(27:26):
reason.
If your community gets the bookto read about the beauty in
your journey I hope that theywill they will reach out, read
your chapter and let you knowhow inspired they are by it.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Thank you, I hope so as well.
That's yeah, it's definitelysomething I'm I'm hoping for and
I you know they're a big partof of who I am, all these guests
that I've had, and over 140 atthis point, and it's just hot,
it's been, it's been amazing,it's been a beautiful thing.
Any final thoughts you have forus on sacred spaces or any
(27:58):
other thoughts you want to givebefore we wrap it up here?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
You know, I I really believe that when you share your
story, you allow a little peakof light, a little beam of light
to crack through and illuminate, and you may not actually know
what it illuminates, you may notknow when it arrives, you may
never get to see the finalimpact of that.
(28:23):
But if you're in a place whereyou want to share your story or
you're feeling like you havesomething great to say and
you're having that conversationin your head, that's like, oh,
it's not worthy If you don'thave someone to tell it, to at
least write it down.
The world is eager and waitingfor that special, unique piece
(28:45):
of you to be available.
So I really just inviteeverybody to find their own
unique way to share their story.
If that's in a book, cool, callme.
I'm always open for that right.
Or just curious ways, it can beeven just a positive story in
your own head.
But I really do invite you toplease shine your light and step
(29:08):
into the brightness of yourself.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
I love it, you said it beautifully, and if someone's
listening and they think, yeah,I do want to share my story and
they want to reach out to you,what's the best way they can get
in touch with you?
Speaker 2 (29:18):
They can get me on my website, colleenaviscoachingcom
, or my email isColleenAvisAtMecom.
Just put Jake's amazing in thesubject line and I'll be sure to
respond.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
This has been fantastic.
I'm so excited for everyone tocheck out the book tomorrow.
Get it on Amazon.
I'm super excited that I waspart of this.
Colleen, thank you for comingon Journey with Jake again, I
love it.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Thanks for having me, jake, you're the best.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
A huge thank you to Colleen Avis for joining me once
again.
If you'd like to learn moreabout Colleen or connect with
her for individual coaching, besure to visit
ColleenAvisCoachingcom.
Colleen.
I truly appreciate theopportunity to share my story in
Sacred Spaces, volume 3.
My chapter in Sacred Spaces isall about the journey of this
podcast, how it came to be andwhat it means to me, to all of
(30:15):
you listening.
I'd love for you to check itout.
The book launches tomorrow,february 18th, so head over to
Amazon and grab a copy.
I'll also add a link in theshow notes once it's live.
And don't forget, later thisweek I have an incredible
episode with Charles Reynolds.
We'll dive into his wildadventure navigating the Darien
Gap in a dugout canoe.
Trust me, you won't want tomiss it.
And just remember, it's notalways about the destination as
(30:38):
it is about the journey.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Take care everybody.
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