May 15, 2025 • 39 mins
GET THE SOULPOD APP FREE FOR ONE MONTH (exp. 5/31/25): Use Code SOULPOD1MONTH
Join Dr. Maria Rothenburger on the Reluctant Medium Podcast as she interviews Crystal Cassidy, the founder of Soul Pod. Crystal shares her profound journey, from her career in biochemistry and cancer research, to her transformative experiences with meditation and mystical states. Listen as Crystal recounts her near-death experience and how it led her to create Soul Pod, an app that bridges the gap between scientific understanding and spiritual exploration. Discover how the app offers a structured pathway for personal growth, incorporating both analytical and mystical elements, along with community support through small pods. Gain insights into the profound potential for individual and collective awakening and the transformative power of meditation. Perfect for anyone on a spiritual journey or interested in the intersection of science and spirituality.
Connect with Crystal Cassidy
www.soulpodapp.com
Instagram
Connect with Dr. Maria, The Reluctant Medium
Instagram
YouTube
https://www.thereluctantmedium.us
Like the show? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Please rate/review the show here:
https://lovethepodcast.com/thereluctantmedium
Join Dr. Maria Rothenburger on the Reluctant Medium Podcast as she interviews Crystal Cassidy, the founder of Soul Pod. Crystal shares her profound journey, from her career in biochemistry and cancer research, to her transformative experiences with meditation and mystical states. Listen as Crystal recounts her near-death experience and how it led her to create Soul Pod, an app that bridges the gap between scientific understanding and spiritual exploration. Discover how the app offers a structured pathway for personal growth, incorporating both analytical and mystical elements, along with community support through small pods. Gain insights into the profound potential for individual and collective awakening and the transformative power of meditation. Perfect for anyone on a spiritual journey or interested in the intersection of science and spirituality.
Connect with Crystal Cassidy
www.soulpodapp.com
Connect with Dr. Maria, The Reluctant Medium
YouTube
https://www.thereluctantmedium.us
Like the show? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Please rate/review the show here:
https://lovethepodcast.com/thereluctantmedium
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I got very sick. I was in the hospital. It
was very scary quarantine, you know, wasn't sure if I
was going to see my husband again because he couldn't
come with me. And at one point I was very
close to being intubated and on ventilator and whatnot. And
I could feel my lungs failing me and my body
failing me. And I had always analyzed my way through things,
(00:23):
you know, and my analytical mind was trying to break
the code of like, okay, what could we do to
bring me through this? And I had this moment where
I experienced surrender in a way that I had never
experienced before. It was just it was instantaneous, and I
don't know quite how I reached that state. It just
(00:45):
kind of happened, and I just let go.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Welcome to the Reluctant Medium, where we cover the gamut
of out there conversations with an open mind and a
curious heart. We want to talk about it all, from
psychic phenomena and energy d medicine, to beings from other
star systems and out of body experiences. You'll find a
great balance between grounded, science backed topics and others that
science hasn't quite caught up to you yet. I'm your host,
(01:12):
doctor Maria Rothenberger, a psychotherapist by trade and a reluctant
spirit baby communicator. And hey, even though I'm a medium,
I'm not buying everything folks are selling. I just have
a voracious appetite to know more about what I call
the world of the weird. Join us on your favorite
podcast platform or watch on YouTube at the Reluctant Medium.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I'll see you there.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Reluctant Medium podcast. I'm
doctor Maria Rothenberger, your host for the podcast, and today's
guest is Oh my gosh. I said before, I think
we are kindred spirits. We speak a very very similar language.
I have Crystal Cassidy for you today. Welcome Crystal. Thank
you so much for having me. Excited to be here. Yeah,
(02:05):
so happy to meet you. I think that folks are
really going to take a lot from what you have
to say today, and I really just want to dive in.
If that's okay with you. I would love for you
to say, who are you, what do you do? How
did you come to do what you do?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah? Yeah, happy to so long story kind of short.
My name's Crystal and there's kind of two sides to me.
One is the science side. I studied biochemistry in school,
worked in toxicology research for a bit, pharmaceutical development, biotech companies,
genemic diagnostics, cancer research, kind of that area for a
(02:46):
good chunk of my career and have always been fascinated
by understanding the mechanics of how things work. Very lucky
to work in that space, and it really provided a
foundation for me to dive into the mechanics of meditation.
And I started meditating when I was twelve reluctantly. Didn't
(03:06):
really understand the practice at that age, but I was
doing martial arts and just fell in love with that
entire world. Go Juru for those of you who are
in the martial arts space. And I did that for
ten years and traveled the world and trained and coached,
and meditation was a huge part of that practice. And
(03:30):
at first I was really using it to access certain
states of mind, really so that my performance, my physical
performance would be as good as it possibly could be
and you can find those moments of flow. But as
I got older in my meditation practice developed, I started
(03:51):
having mystical experiences and the science side of me was
very intrigued because I didn't understand how I could be
having these experiences that were out of body or I
started perceiving ghost you know, in my twenties. I wasn't
a kid that grew up perceiving them, but it developed,
and so I just had so many questions and it
(04:14):
it kind of led me to go deeper and deeper
and deeper. And at this point, I've been a daily
meditator for over ten years, about twelve years now, and
it's completely changed my life. It's led me to a
deep connection with myself and I think a deeper connection
with the people around me. And I'm continuing and always
(04:35):
will be on that journey. But when I had the
opportunity to build something myself and I kind of had
that existential moment where I was like, I think I'm
done in biotech. I think I want to do something
that really calls to my soul and started to think
about what a platform could look like that would serve
(04:55):
both the science side and leave room for the mystical experience.
And that's how Soulpod was born. And we have personalization,
which I feel really strongly about really understanding where people
are at and their spiritual journey and deeper practices. Love mindfulness,
but I think we can also go a little bit
(05:16):
beyond mindfulness through different practices. And we also have community
features in Soulpod as well. And yeah, I'm just loving
the journey and having a really fun time building what
we're building.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Yeah, Oh my gosh, what a story. And I have
questions and questions about the questions, and deeper questions of
the questions. Let that go for those who know who've
visited the Reluctant Medium, you know that this is my language.
You all write like science meet spirit. In fact, on
your website it says where science meets soul, and I'm like, whoa,
(05:52):
I love this person already. Yes, the mechanics around why
things work, yes, yes. And you and I are also
similar in that we were not children who saw dead
people or had experiences like that. It wasn't until my
thirties that that happened. But oh interesting, Yeah yeah, but
(06:15):
it was meditation, right, it was meditation. But I do
have another question, because I will foreshadow my question by saying,
when I was an infant, I had a potential near
death experience. I don't know if it was my brother
had given me a whole bottle of teething pills when
you heard me cry and I was rushed to the hospital,
had my stomach pump. My mom said, I never lost
(06:38):
consciousness or my heart never stopped or anything like that.
But I kind of wonder because of this propensity toward
spiritual stuff. And there's a bunch of research to support
folks who've had near death experiences then go on to
have these mystical things happen. And you had a new
death experience, right, Yeah, love to dive into that. Tell
(07:00):
us what happened.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Ooh, whenever I talk about this, I can already feel it.
It gets I get very activated. I can feel the
energy of it. Yeah. So I was. It was a
very as you can imagine, a very intense portal. And
I had been very sick. You can guess with what
in twenty twenty, very early twenty twenty, and I had, interestingly,
(07:27):
in my meditations before I had gotten sick, I started
having past life flashbacks in my meditation to this one
particular past life that felt very medieval. I'm not sure
how WOOI you want to get about this and very
LIU girl, bring it okay, Okay. So I was having
(07:48):
in my meditations. It didn't make much sense, but it
was very chaotic. There was this almost like a Viking
man type of character, and there was a war and
a pandemic in this lifetime that I was perceiving. And
this was before. Yeah, it's very interesting. Before the pandemic
was a thing, and I was feeling this wave of
(08:11):
energy coming in, and of course on the science side,
I was starting to hear about what was going on
in the world, and I had a funny feeling, and
sure enough, I got sick.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Very very early on.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
And when I first realized I was sick, I knew
I was in a very a very intense battle immediately
I could feel it. And I also knew that it
was karmic, that it was tied to this past life,
and that there were energies that I was going to
(08:46):
resolve through this experience. So it was very interesting. I
don't know if I've ever had that particular experience in
the same way before or since, but I got very sick.
I was in the hospital. It was very scary quarantine,
you know, wasn't sure if I was going to see
my husband again because he couldn't come. He couldn't come
(09:07):
with me, and at one point I was I was
very close to being intubated and on ventilator and whatnot,
and I could feel my lungs failing me and my
body failing me. And I'd always analyzed my way through things,
(09:28):
you know, and my analytical mind was trying to break
the code of like, okay, what could we do to
bring me through this? And I had this moment where
I experienced surrender in a way that I had never
experienced before. It was just it was instantaneous, and I
don't know quite how I reached that state. It just
(09:52):
kind of happened and I just let go and I
let go of the struggle. I let go of the
pain and the year, and I was like, just what's
going to happen? Is going to happen. And the interesting
thing was that in that same moment of this deep surrender,
there was another energy there with me, and it was
(10:17):
it was loving, and it was powerful and I can
feel it now and it started to work with my
energy body and so I felt my root chakra light up,
I felt my third eye light up, and then lastly
my heart and I just sat there in this state
of receiving and surrender and I could kind of perceive
(10:45):
myself from outside of myself having this experience, and it
was just one of the most profound things I've ever experienced.
And after that point, I knew I was going to
be okay. And there's another kind of interesting part of
this story that I don't talk about as often, but
(11:08):
when I was back home and I was unable to
walk really for quite a while, but I had made
it to my little fire escape, you know seat, and
I sat down and I looked up at the sky
for the first time in a long time, I was
outside and I had this profound moment of presence, and
I could never really I was always perplexed by that
(11:30):
moment because it was so simple and it was so profound,
and I knew that I was going to make it,
you know, I was going to come back. It was
going to take me some time. And then interestingly, I
did a meditation retreat in December, and I was in
a three hour meditation and I astral traveled to that
(11:51):
moment on the fire escape, and I realized it was
future me, Me now healed and having gone through what
I've gone through, was there with sick Crystal, and it
was me actually providing that to myself, which just blew
my mind in that moment.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yeah, I'm getting chills all over the place and I
feel like crying.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah. Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, that's so powerful.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
It's powerful.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Yeah. It reminds me of a Harry Potter scene to
turving it back to earth bound stuff. Yeah. Wow, so
moving gosh. So that is another it's kind of a
segue actually into soul Pod, the soul Pod app, by
(12:44):
the way, and of course we're going to link everything up.
But this idea that we ourselves are capable of doing
the things that we need to do to heal, to grow,
to evolve. That's what I loved about when I was
researching the app, that, God, this is really empowering.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You provide a structure. Yeah, you provide like, here are.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Some things to follow, and it's so individualized and sensitive
to the person themselves. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, I would love to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
How did that come to fruition? Right? Of course we
can talk about the mechanics behind it, how do you
create an app and all that, But did that idea
come to you in meditation or conversation or how did
that happen?
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Yeah? I've always I've always loved structure because I think
it's I think that there's some magic in technology and
being able to walk through a structure. That's the way
I kind of learned as well. The way my mind
works is through like a journey based experience, and so
(13:51):
I was thinking about my own process and for me,
when I was getting into meditation, I was very much
in my analytical mind, and I very much wanted to
understand and contemplate different elements of the journey, different theories
and philosophies. So with Soulpod, I wanted to give people
the opportunity to let their analytical mind chew on some
(14:14):
new concepts. So in our structure you'll notice, especially in
the first week of the twenty one ritual Journeys, is
that we're introducing new concepts and kind of letting the
analytical mind have its moment, because I think when you
understand why you're doing what you're doing, it really helps
(14:34):
bring the experience to another level. You see, yes, yeah,
it opens you up to what's possible and kind of
gives you permission to go deeper. And so I found
that in my journey, you know, my analytical mind could
have a moment and then it was bringing it into
(14:55):
the personal emotional experience, and that's what our our second
week is really all about. It's like, okay, let's make
this personal. Let's connect to your emotions, the ones that
you've maybe been avoiding, feeling a little bit of shadow work,
a little bit of the subconscious work, and also start
(15:16):
to open you up to what you want to experience
elevated emotions, states of consciousness that you want to experience
more of in your life, and starting to highlight that process.
And then in my own journey, I love to give
myself the space for just unfocused expansion where you let
(15:38):
the analytical mind. You've had, it's had its moment, and
now you can just allow yourself to meet the higher mind.
And that's where the structure really falls away. You kind
of have to let go. It's a little counterintuitive, right,
Let you let go of that structure and you can
move into that mystical state. And sometimes you know that
(16:01):
takes some time and the analytical mind doesn't want to
let go, but every now and then you'll break through
and you can have that moment. So we wanted to
serve people in a way that's different than just going
into an app which also has is a great foundation,
but you know, you're faced with thousands of practices and
you don't really know where to start. And I love
(16:24):
the idea of these kind of immersive experiences where you
can really make some movement in your journey.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Yeah, what comes to mind immediately when you describe that
structure is that the third week where folks are encouraged
to let go truly the foundation of week one, the
analytical mind having its moment. When you think about that, right,
there's an understanding as you said, this is where I said,
it's so juicy because it's so much more than this
(16:53):
is why I'm doing this. What happens in my experience
when you help people access their why is there is
a foundation.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Of this is safe.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
This is totally yeah. And when there's that foundation of
this is safe, it's way easier to be that free
flowing accessing intuition and higher selves and all that right
going on. Definitely still a process. We still want to
be like wait.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Oh my god, I did it. Shit, it's gone, shit
it it went away?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah no, yeah, yeah, but there is such an element
of safety created, right, like wait a minute, this is
this is a functional thing. This is useful. This is practical,
This is a human thing. This isn't like, oh I'm
going off into the spiritual weeds. This is really helpful
in my life. And also I'm curious. I think I
(17:51):
read that you're The app also creates community. Is there
like a way to connect to other people?
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we have. We call them pods sort
of the soul Pod name comes from. But it's small
groups of three to ten people that are also on
a similar journey to you. And we have both the
ability to join a random pod of these people that
are on a similar journey, or for people who want
to travel with their friends and family, you can build
(18:21):
your own pod and travel together on a journey. And
we're yeah, we think it seems like people really really
want that community in this space, and it may be hard,
especially in certain areas in the world, to find this community.
And we're really excited to continue to invest in this
(18:42):
aspect of soul Pod. And we've got some really exciting
things coming this year on the community side.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Yeah, very cool, very cool. Well this will be you
said those things will be coming out summertime twenty twenty five.
Is that what I hear?
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I think it'll be yeah, maybe late summer this year.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Okay, all right, and so this will be published sometime
in spring ish twenty twenty five. So oh everyone look
for this coming up on soul pot app.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Yeah, I can also see how So when I was
beginning a meditation journey and it was it was mindfulness,
it really was so like isolating. My husband at the
time wasn't even involved and was like, yeah, you do
you but it was really isolating and I was by myself.
Really there was no community.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Yeah, same, yeah, yeah, I was. I had a Kundalini
awakening experience and I was very confused by it at
the time, and I was calling up aushroms and like
trying to get some information and some support around it.
So yeah, I think community is a big thing. And
you have these meditations and you're trying to integrate it
(19:52):
and understand it, and I think it's very relieving and
it's a profound way to connect with a you're fellow humans.
I think around the mystical experience, you know, we used
to sit around the fire right and share about our experiences,
our spiritual experiences especially, and we don't have that as
(20:13):
much these days. So yeah, there's a lot of important
there's a lot of hiding behind things, you know, social
media or whatever.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
But this true connection is this is technology, but it
is used so differently. It's not isolating. You're not on
your own, Yes, you are on your own single journey,
and you're connected with these other folks who are on
a similar journey.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
I just adore that.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
And you're right. You know, there are plenty of apps
out there that have a ton of free content and
ways that you can expand your consciousness. And it's sometimes
especially for someone who's like what the hell am I doing?
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Where do I start?
Speaker 2 (20:52):
It doesn't offer that same structure and like linear, here's
what you do next, here's what you do next. So yeah,
that's just brilliant and I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Yeah, can we digress for just a moment. And of
course I like this Kundalini experience because I don't know
that everybody knows what that is.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Can you say about it? Yeah, kundalini. So Kunda means
coil and LENI I like to think of this meaning
line or a lot of times you see it as
a serpent, female serpent, and it's this potential and I
love the science, and the scientist in me loves the
idea that, like the coil is potential energy, right, that's
(21:33):
how we store energy. And when the coil is released
and it's flowing, then it starts to activate your energetic system.
And I think this energy is always flowing, but it's
almost like a gate at the base of your spine
opens up and it allows more energy to flow. And
(21:56):
for me, it was physically kind of intense experience of
a lot of heat, a lot of energy in my
pelvis and then moved into my spine and you know,
you have an activated nervous system. I wouldn't call it
a calm experience, and you're just trying to ride with it.
(22:17):
And once that happens, it's you're really never the same.
And I had this experience of just profound oneness of
just being in this state for a few hours, of
feeling connected to everything, and it was very easily accessible
after that point, and maybe differently than other people, mine
(22:40):
moved slowly, so it moved up to my second center.
And then at that point I knew chakras or energy
centers are real because you experience them during this kind
of awakening up the central channel and over the years,
it's just moved up and up and up and up
during certain points in my journey, and each time it's
like a almost like a birthing process. It feels like
(23:04):
it's I can feel other entities coming around me when
it starts to move, and you know, when it gets
to the heart space, it's like a big explosion of
love of this, like divine love. And yeah, it's just
it's been a fascinating experience and it can be an
overwhelming one. So I do understand why people, you know,
(23:24):
in the spiritual space can be kind of fearful of it.
Is because it is such a birthing event. You know,
it's very there is an intensity to it. But breathing
through it, knowing that you're not going to be served
something you're not prepared for on some level, and trusting
(23:45):
the process. Yeah, it's just it's a fascinating process.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Yeah, And you're right, it's it's this mystical experience but
very physical too, very physical.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Yeah, it's Have you had that experience? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Yeah, it's the overwhelming and edgy and uncontainable that that
overwhelming love too, that makes you want to cry, you know,
like that feeling. Yeah, I just cannot contain this.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
What do I do with this?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Oh I just yes, that's it.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Yeah, that's all I had to do.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's a surrender, surrender breathe.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
So this of course brings me back then to Salt
pod because in that process especially, it sounds like week
three folks learn how to practice the surrender for like
big experiences like this, right, because yeah, it really is
just of a huge It's a practice. It really isn't
(24:43):
like one day I know how to surrender it. It
isn't like that. It's a practice.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
So yeah, I call it the infinite onion. There's always
another layer to peel off, keeps going. Yes, well I
like a par fay.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
How about layers and part phase.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
I like that. That sounds more more fun, non dairy.
But there you go. It's perfect.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
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(25:33):
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(25:57):
and every one of you. Thanks for listening, and I
hope to see you on Patreon soon. I'm curious what
folks are reported to you or what can you say
about what people experience after this twenty one day experience.
I'd love for listeners to know what.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
They can expect. Oh my gosh, yeah, good question. I
mean I think what I hear a lot, and I'm
so intrigued by this is that people will say they
hadn't felt it before, and I've been trying to kind
of figure out what that is. It is a depth,
(26:38):
is it expansion? Is it the mystical? But they've done
other practices, they've they've been in other apps, and they're
looking for this connection, they're looking for this experience. They're
looking to go deeper, and what we hear from users
is that that's what they find at soul Pod and that, yes,
(27:00):
it can be a challenge. You're rewiring your brain for
a new habit, especially if you don't currently have a
meditation habit. That can be a little crunchy until you
find your way into it. But it's once you do,
your body and mind starts to crave the experience. You
want more of it. And I was just talking to
(27:20):
a user this past week and she had done one
month so one journey at that time and told me
that it changed her life and that she was moving
through this phase of difficulty with a lot more ease.
And I've talked to other people that have had challenges
with anxiety and just being able to sit and breathe
(27:44):
and connect with themselves that now can do that, And
it's just warms my heart hearing those outcomes and those
stories and people that are healing themselves and expanding themselves
and connecting with others that are of like minds and
like hearts.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Yeah. I don't think it gets better than that in
terms of purpose on the planet. Right, Not that biochemistry
isn't amazing, but.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
A different type of feeling.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yeah, yeah, this magic really, but it's practical magic, right,
It's like, these are the steps that you can follow
and really connect to yourself, to your fellow being and
then spread it out tell everybody.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Yes, yeah, I think, I mean, I know you must
feel this. But there's such an opportunity right now for
awakening and how we're going to move forward as a species,
as a global humanity, and so I think this work
is for those that are being called to It is
such a powerful time right now. You have so much
(28:51):
more access to these other states of consciousness. So I'm optimistic.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
I am too, And I was actually going to ask
you about this because one of the things that I
can say, and even like my fellow colleagues and friends
are like rolling their eyes, please, that's just Maria. But
I have found that, I really I have found that
things like meditation and finding that connection to the higher
(29:19):
realms and the higher consciousness and just love. Really maybe
that's what that all is anyway, Don't words are so limiting?
But I feel like I can see things objectively and
I just all the fear mongering that's out there just
doesn't I don't know, I just it doesn't touch me.
I feel hopeful. How is that for you? Do you
(29:41):
have a similar.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Hm, well, the human in me sometimes gets gets a
little you know, crunchy about it. Yeah, But in my
meditations and when I'm in connected with this work, it's
very brief that I have those moments and where I'm like,
what are we doing? But I think that, I think
(30:06):
that when you're in those states and I really think
of love. We talk a lot about love and spirituality,
but in my experience, love is this remembering of who
it is that we are. It's this remembering of our connection.
It's like that interstitial connection that we are actually not
just and once you experience this as not just a belief,
but a knowing of this connection, then it's very hard
(30:30):
to not be hopeful because we're all here as reflections
of each other to experience expansion. And so if that's
the case, then we're kind of right where we need
to be as a collective. And I think, just like
with a birth, the canal part of the birth can
(30:52):
be difficult, and this contrast helps to refine our intentions,
both as individuals and as a collective. And so I
find it to be more exciting than anything. Yeah, sort
of like that curl challenging Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Yeah, indeed, challenging, right, and so not to say that
looking at something objectively means without feeling or connection, right,
Like I can watch a movie and cry my eyes out, right, Yeah,
that's how it is. But I know it's still objective.
There's still sensation, but there is hope on the other side. Right,
It's like you going through your illness and just the
(31:35):
huge struggle. There's a broken openness. I feel like that
happens that were It's like, Okay, there's something potentially on
this other side.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
I am alive today.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
I am alive today. Yeah, and yeah, I'm struggling and
I'm waiting. I'm waiting and seeing what it's going to happen.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
I'll share this too, because what I've found in my
meditations is when I'm in that struggle, and that's like waves. Yeah,
a lot of times of either sides of me or
areas of my consciousness that I haven't perceived before that
might be difficult. Even my body that I had a meditation,
I'll never forget where my body was fighting me so much.
(32:15):
It was like on fire. I thought my skin was
on fire. And every single time I have that challenge
in my practice. The other side of that is a breakthrough.
It's an elevated state of consciousness. And I think that
also applies to life and our collective experience is that
when you're meditating and when you're on this journey, there
(32:36):
are challenges, but if you stay with it and you're like,
I'm here and I'm grateful to be here, let's do this.
The other side every single time for me has been
has been something big. Yes, So I love that gives
me a lot of hope. Yes, oh yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
The history when you create that expansion each time is like, okay, yeah,
there's bound to be something on the other side of
this too. It still sucks and still sucks.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
It's still hard, it's still hard.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
But the thing about the app right is that you
also there's something about normalizing it, right, like this is yep, yeah,
you're right on point, yep, normalizing it.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
This is a typical experience.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
And then also taking the ride along with other people
who are like, oh my god, I I just had
ABC experience and you're like, ah, we do yep, yes, yeah, yeah,
it's pretty I can see how powerful that can be
for folks. So thank you for creating that, you and
your team. It's just oh, our pleasure sounds completely lovely.
How long has it been around, I'm curious. We're pretty new.
(33:43):
We've just been around for about a year now.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's bound to take off. People are
going to really enjoy it. Yeah, so that's yeah, that's
why I was curious about what people say on the
on the other side of their experience there, because it's like,
I think people need to know what to expect, right,
because it's not ten years of meditation, right, It's not that,
(34:09):
but it is such a shift. I'll never forget. I
when I first people have heard this story. But when
I first started meditating, I was doing it because I
wanted to prove it wrong, because that's what my sciencey
brain was like, it's no interest. I'm like, yeah, this
is bullshit, no no, And so I did it, and
I dedicated ninety days. I was just going to do
thirty minutes of mindfulness through the NBSR program Mindfulness Based
(34:32):
Stress Reduction, And I was like, I'm doing it and
nothing's happening, nothing's happening, nothing's happening. But I lived in
New Jersey at the time, and I was driving on
the highway and I don't know if you ever driven there.
But it's a freaking madhouse. People flipping you off. Oh yeah, yeah,
it's crazy. And I got cut off one day on
the highway and my initial reaction, very first reaction, was oh,
(34:54):
I hope they're okay. And then I went, well, meditation works.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
That's amazing. I write that story. Oh fuck it, word,
I guess it works.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Fail, I failed.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Oh I love that. I love that. But right, that
was the only skeptic turned believer.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Yeah, that was right, and that was it. I just
had to continue doing it. It was certainly a different person.
But that's the point, right, You don't need ten years
of meditation, You don't need a Kundalini awakening. You don't
need things like that for small changes in your life.
To be cut off on the highway and to say
I hope they're okay. Like having a compassionate response to
your fellow person, like human. It's so different to live your.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
Life like that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
I was talking to one of my friends who'd been
doing a soul pod and other work for a while,
and she'd had like stomach issues and gastritis and ulcers
and whatnot, and you know, thought that you needed medication,
but really it ended up being I just needed, she said,
I just needed to breathe. I just needed to sit
(36:03):
with myself. And to your point, at the beginning, it's
small movements, but and as you know, like we can
see in the brain, there's still significant shifts that are
happening within eight weeks, so we do know that even
though it might not be ten years, you might not have,
you know, mystical experiences right off the bat. You also
(36:26):
might you never know, because the mystical meets you when
you least expect it. But yeah, those moments of spaciousness
and presence, It can be as simple as I was
talking to somebody where they just felt this spaciousness and
calm and like, I think it was a color just brown,
And then they were like, is that what presences? And
(36:48):
I'm like, yes, you know, that's it, And it's just
I think it's the ultimate journey. It's such an interesting
experience and it's such a reminder that when we feel
really solidly in our human that we are human beings,
but we're spiritual beings having a human experience. And I
(37:09):
think the amazing thing is that slowly you start to
really embody that knowing over time.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
I love that you just said embody because right again
we bring back before you said I don't know how
wu you want to go, and I'm like, bring it,
and yet it's still so grounded in like this very human,
earth bound experience. It's both exactly as you say on
the website, where science meets soul.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
It's both.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
And so if you, yeah, if you really want to
be embodied, if you really want to be in your
body and experience your humanness, do these mystical things. It's
so it's like counterintuitive.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
Yeah, well it's so fun. So why I say, I like,
I love my human like Crystal's so fun, but I
also I really enjoy the mystical and the higher mind.
Yeah that's so fun too.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
It's so fun. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, different ways of
knowing and experiencing.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Yeah, And people can go find that out for themselves
on the soul pod app. Again, check the show notes
and follow go to Crystal's website, which is.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Would you like to say soulpodapp dot com. Perfect.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Oh that's so easy, soul pod app.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Yeah, super super easy. We also have a retreat in
August of this year. This will be our second annual
retreat for Soul Pod. We've got a couple spots open
if anybody wants to join. Oh yes, I think I
saw that's in Joshua Tree. Yeah, Joshua Tree. Very very
potent portal. Talk about spiritual energy there. Yeah, you can't
(38:56):
go wrong there. Perfect.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
Yeah. Well, thank you so much for your wisdom. It's
been wonderful today.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Thank you for chatting with me, Maria.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Thank you for joining the Reluctant Medium podcast today. I
hope that this episode has brought you beautiful high vibration
and that it continues emanating from your heart space for
the rest of the day and beyond. Don't forget to
join the Reluctant Medium on Patreon dot com, and you
can also visit the Reluctantmedium dot us and the Reluctant
(39:27):
Medium TV show on New Reality tv dot com. Until
next time, my friend, may you be well.
I got very sick. I was in the hospital. It
was very scary quarantine, you know, wasn't sure if I
was going to see my husband again because he couldn't
come with me. And at one point I was very
close to being intubated and on ventilator and whatnot. And
I could feel my lungs failing me and my body
failing me. And I had always analyzed my way through things,
(00:23):
you know, and my analytical mind was trying to break
the code of like, okay, what could we do to
bring me through this? And I had this moment where
I experienced surrender in a way that I had never
experienced before. It was just it was instantaneous, and I
don't know quite how I reached that state. It just
(00:45):
kind of happened, and I just let go.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Welcome to the Reluctant Medium, where we cover the gamut
of out there conversations with an open mind and a
curious heart. We want to talk about it all, from
psychic phenomena and energy d medicine, to beings from other
star systems and out of body experiences. You'll find a
great balance between grounded, science backed topics and others that
science hasn't quite caught up to you yet. I'm your host,
(01:12):
doctor Maria Rothenberger, a psychotherapist by trade and a reluctant
spirit baby communicator. And hey, even though I'm a medium,
I'm not buying everything folks are selling. I just have
a voracious appetite to know more about what I call
the world of the weird. Join us on your favorite
podcast platform or watch on YouTube at the Reluctant Medium.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I'll see you there.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Reluctant Medium podcast. I'm
doctor Maria Rothenberger, your host for the podcast, and today's
guest is Oh my gosh. I said before, I think
we are kindred spirits. We speak a very very similar language.
I have Crystal Cassidy for you today. Welcome Crystal. Thank
you so much for having me. Excited to be here. Yeah,
(02:05):
so happy to meet you. I think that folks are
really going to take a lot from what you have
to say today, and I really just want to dive in.
If that's okay with you. I would love for you
to say, who are you, what do you do? How
did you come to do what you do?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah? Yeah, happy to so long story kind of short.
My name's Crystal and there's kind of two sides to me.
One is the science side. I studied biochemistry in school,
worked in toxicology research for a bit, pharmaceutical development, biotech companies,
genemic diagnostics, cancer research, kind of that area for a
(02:46):
good chunk of my career and have always been fascinated
by understanding the mechanics of how things work. Very lucky
to work in that space, and it really provided a
foundation for me to dive into the mechanics of meditation.
And I started meditating when I was twelve reluctantly. Didn't
(03:06):
really understand the practice at that age, but I was
doing martial arts and just fell in love with that
entire world. Go Juru for those of you who are
in the martial arts space. And I did that for
ten years and traveled the world and trained and coached,
and meditation was a huge part of that practice. And
(03:30):
at first I was really using it to access certain
states of mind, really so that my performance, my physical
performance would be as good as it possibly could be
and you can find those moments of flow. But as
I got older in my meditation practice developed, I started
(03:51):
having mystical experiences and the science side of me was
very intrigued because I didn't understand how I could be
having these experiences that were out of body or I
started perceiving ghost you know, in my twenties. I wasn't
a kid that grew up perceiving them, but it developed,
and so I just had so many questions and it
(04:14):
it kind of led me to go deeper and deeper
and deeper. And at this point, I've been a daily
meditator for over ten years, about twelve years now, and
it's completely changed my life. It's led me to a
deep connection with myself and I think a deeper connection
with the people around me. And I'm continuing and always
(04:35):
will be on that journey. But when I had the
opportunity to build something myself and I kind of had
that existential moment where I was like, I think I'm
done in biotech. I think I want to do something
that really calls to my soul and started to think
about what a platform could look like that would serve
(04:55):
both the science side and leave room for the mystical experience.
And that's how Soulpod was born. And we have personalization,
which I feel really strongly about really understanding where people
are at and their spiritual journey and deeper practices. Love mindfulness,
but I think we can also go a little bit
(05:16):
beyond mindfulness through different practices. And we also have community
features in Soulpod as well. And yeah, I'm just loving
the journey and having a really fun time building what
we're building.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Yeah, Oh my gosh, what a story. And I have
questions and questions about the questions, and deeper questions of
the questions. Let that go for those who know who've
visited the Reluctant Medium, you know that this is my language.
You all write like science meet spirit. In fact, on
your website it says where science meets soul, and I'm like, whoa,
(05:52):
I love this person already. Yes, the mechanics around why
things work, yes, yes. And you and I are also
similar in that we were not children who saw dead
people or had experiences like that. It wasn't until my
thirties that that happened. But oh interesting, Yeah yeah, but
(06:15):
it was meditation, right, it was meditation. But I do
have another question, because I will foreshadow my question by saying,
when I was an infant, I had a potential near
death experience. I don't know if it was my brother
had given me a whole bottle of teething pills when
you heard me cry and I was rushed to the hospital,
had my stomach pump. My mom said, I never lost
(06:38):
consciousness or my heart never stopped or anything like that.
But I kind of wonder because of this propensity toward
spiritual stuff. And there's a bunch of research to support
folks who've had near death experiences then go on to
have these mystical things happen. And you had a new
death experience, right, Yeah, love to dive into that. Tell
(07:00):
us what happened.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Ooh, whenever I talk about this, I can already feel it.
It gets I get very activated. I can feel the
energy of it. Yeah. So I was. It was a
very as you can imagine, a very intense portal. And
I had been very sick. You can guess with what
in twenty twenty, very early twenty twenty, and I had, interestingly,
(07:27):
in my meditations before I had gotten sick, I started
having past life flashbacks in my meditation to this one
particular past life that felt very medieval. I'm not sure
how WOOI you want to get about this and very
LIU girl, bring it okay, Okay. So I was having
(07:48):
in my meditations. It didn't make much sense, but it
was very chaotic. There was this almost like a Viking
man type of character, and there was a war and
a pandemic in this lifetime that I was perceiving. And
this was before. Yeah, it's very interesting. Before the pandemic
was a thing, and I was feeling this wave of
(08:11):
energy coming in, and of course on the science side,
I was starting to hear about what was going on
in the world, and I had a funny feeling, and
sure enough, I got sick.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Very very early on.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
And when I first realized I was sick, I knew
I was in a very a very intense battle immediately
I could feel it. And I also knew that it
was karmic, that it was tied to this past life,
and that there were energies that I was going to
(08:46):
resolve through this experience. So it was very interesting. I
don't know if I've ever had that particular experience in
the same way before or since, but I got very sick.
I was in the hospital. It was very scary quarantine,
you know, wasn't sure if I was going to see
my husband again because he couldn't come. He couldn't come
(09:07):
with me, and at one point I was I was
very close to being intubated and on ventilator and whatnot,
and I could feel my lungs failing me and my
body failing me. And I'd always analyzed my way through things,
(09:28):
you know, and my analytical mind was trying to break
the code of like, okay, what could we do to
bring me through this? And I had this moment where
I experienced surrender in a way that I had never
experienced before. It was just it was instantaneous, and I
don't know quite how I reached that state. It just
(09:52):
kind of happened and I just let go and I
let go of the struggle. I let go of the
pain and the year, and I was like, just what's
going to happen? Is going to happen. And the interesting
thing was that in that same moment of this deep surrender,
there was another energy there with me, and it was
(10:17):
it was loving, and it was powerful and I can
feel it now and it started to work with my
energy body and so I felt my root chakra light up,
I felt my third eye light up, and then lastly
my heart and I just sat there in this state
of receiving and surrender and I could kind of perceive
(10:45):
myself from outside of myself having this experience, and it
was just one of the most profound things I've ever experienced.
And after that point, I knew I was going to
be okay. And there's another kind of interesting part of
this story that I don't talk about as often, but
(11:08):
when I was back home and I was unable to
walk really for quite a while, but I had made
it to my little fire escape, you know seat, and
I sat down and I looked up at the sky
for the first time in a long time, I was
outside and I had this profound moment of presence, and
I could never really I was always perplexed by that
(11:30):
moment because it was so simple and it was so profound,
and I knew that I was going to make it,
you know, I was going to come back. It was
going to take me some time. And then interestingly, I
did a meditation retreat in December, and I was in
a three hour meditation and I astral traveled to that
(11:51):
moment on the fire escape, and I realized it was
future me, Me now healed and having gone through what
I've gone through, was there with sick Crystal, and it
was me actually providing that to myself, which just blew
my mind in that moment.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yeah, I'm getting chills all over the place and I
feel like crying.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah. Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, that's so powerful.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
It's powerful.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Yeah. It reminds me of a Harry Potter scene to
turving it back to earth bound stuff. Yeah. Wow, so
moving gosh. So that is another it's kind of a
segue actually into soul Pod, the soul Pod app, by
(12:44):
the way, and of course we're going to link everything up.
But this idea that we ourselves are capable of doing
the things that we need to do to heal, to grow,
to evolve. That's what I loved about when I was
researching the app, that, God, this is really empowering.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You provide a structure. Yeah, you provide like, here are.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Some things to follow, and it's so individualized and sensitive
to the person themselves. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, I would love to talk about that.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
How did that come to fruition? Right? Of course we
can talk about the mechanics behind it, how do you
create an app and all that, But did that idea
come to you in meditation or conversation or how did
that happen?
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Yeah? I've always I've always loved structure because I think
it's I think that there's some magic in technology and
being able to walk through a structure. That's the way
I kind of learned as well. The way my mind
works is through like a journey based experience, and so
(13:51):
I was thinking about my own process and for me,
when I was getting into meditation, I was very much
in my analytical mind, and I very much wanted to
understand and contemplate different elements of the journey, different theories
and philosophies. So with Soulpod, I wanted to give people
the opportunity to let their analytical mind chew on some
(14:14):
new concepts. So in our structure you'll notice, especially in
the first week of the twenty one ritual Journeys, is
that we're introducing new concepts and kind of letting the
analytical mind have its moment, because I think when you
understand why you're doing what you're doing, it really helps
(14:34):
bring the experience to another level. You see, yes, yeah,
it opens you up to what's possible and kind of
gives you permission to go deeper. And so I found
that in my journey, you know, my analytical mind could
have a moment and then it was bringing it into
(14:55):
the personal emotional experience, and that's what our our second
week is really all about. It's like, okay, let's make
this personal. Let's connect to your emotions, the ones that
you've maybe been avoiding, feeling a little bit of shadow work,
a little bit of the subconscious work, and also start
(15:16):
to open you up to what you want to experience
elevated emotions, states of consciousness that you want to experience
more of in your life, and starting to highlight that process.
And then in my own journey, I love to give
myself the space for just unfocused expansion where you let
(15:38):
the analytical mind. You've had, it's had its moment, and
now you can just allow yourself to meet the higher mind.
And that's where the structure really falls away. You kind
of have to let go. It's a little counterintuitive, right,
Let you let go of that structure and you can
move into that mystical state. And sometimes you know that
(16:01):
takes some time and the analytical mind doesn't want to
let go, but every now and then you'll break through
and you can have that moment. So we wanted to
serve people in a way that's different than just going
into an app which also has is a great foundation,
but you know, you're faced with thousands of practices and
you don't really know where to start. And I love
(16:24):
the idea of these kind of immersive experiences where you
can really make some movement in your journey.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Yeah, what comes to mind immediately when you describe that
structure is that the third week where folks are encouraged
to let go truly the foundation of week one, the
analytical mind having its moment. When you think about that, right,
there's an understanding as you said, this is where I said,
it's so juicy because it's so much more than this
(16:53):
is why I'm doing this. What happens in my experience
when you help people access their why is there is
a foundation.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Of this is safe.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
This is totally yeah. And when there's that foundation of
this is safe, it's way easier to be that free
flowing accessing intuition and higher selves and all that right
going on. Definitely still a process. We still want to
be like wait.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Oh my god, I did it. Shit, it's gone, shit
it it went away?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah no, yeah, yeah, but there is such an element
of safety created, right, like wait a minute, this is
this is a functional thing. This is useful. This is practical,
This is a human thing. This isn't like, oh I'm
going off into the spiritual weeds. This is really helpful
in my life. And also I'm curious. I think I
(17:51):
read that you're The app also creates community. Is there
like a way to connect to other people?
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we have. We call them pods sort
of the soul Pod name comes from. But it's small
groups of three to ten people that are also on
a similar journey to you. And we have both the
ability to join a random pod of these people that
are on a similar journey, or for people who want
to travel with their friends and family, you can build
(18:21):
your own pod and travel together on a journey. And
we're yeah, we think it seems like people really really
want that community in this space, and it may be hard,
especially in certain areas in the world, to find this community.
And we're really excited to continue to invest in this
(18:42):
aspect of soul Pod. And we've got some really exciting
things coming this year on the community side.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Yeah, very cool, very cool. Well this will be you
said those things will be coming out summertime twenty twenty five.
Is that what I hear?
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I think it'll be yeah, maybe late summer this year.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Okay, all right, and so this will be published sometime
in spring ish twenty twenty five. So oh everyone look
for this coming up on soul pot app.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Yeah, I can also see how So when I was
beginning a meditation journey and it was it was mindfulness,
it really was so like isolating. My husband at the
time wasn't even involved and was like, yeah, you do
you but it was really isolating and I was by myself.
Really there was no community.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Yeah, same, yeah, yeah, I was. I had a Kundalini
awakening experience and I was very confused by it at
the time, and I was calling up aushroms and like
trying to get some information and some support around it.
So yeah, I think community is a big thing. And
you have these meditations and you're trying to integrate it
(19:52):
and understand it, and I think it's very relieving and
it's a profound way to connect with a you're fellow humans.
I think around the mystical experience, you know, we used
to sit around the fire right and share about our experiences,
our spiritual experiences especially, and we don't have that as
(20:13):
much these days. So yeah, there's a lot of important
there's a lot of hiding behind things, you know, social
media or whatever.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
But this true connection is this is technology, but it
is used so differently. It's not isolating. You're not on
your own, Yes, you are on your own single journey,
and you're connected with these other folks who are on
a similar journey.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
I just adore that.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
And you're right. You know, there are plenty of apps
out there that have a ton of free content and
ways that you can expand your consciousness. And it's sometimes
especially for someone who's like what the hell am I doing?
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Where do I start?
Speaker 2 (20:52):
It doesn't offer that same structure and like linear, here's
what you do next, here's what you do next. So yeah,
that's just brilliant and I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Yeah, can we digress for just a moment. And of
course I like this Kundalini experience because I don't know
that everybody knows what that is.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Can you say about it? Yeah, kundalini. So Kunda means
coil and LENI I like to think of this meaning
line or a lot of times you see it as
a serpent, female serpent, and it's this potential and I
love the science, and the scientist in me loves the
idea that, like the coil is potential energy, right, that's
(21:33):
how we store energy. And when the coil is released
and it's flowing, then it starts to activate your energetic system.
And I think this energy is always flowing, but it's
almost like a gate at the base of your spine
opens up and it allows more energy to flow. And
(21:56):
for me, it was physically kind of intense experience of
a lot of heat, a lot of energy in my
pelvis and then moved into my spine and you know,
you have an activated nervous system. I wouldn't call it
a calm experience, and you're just trying to ride with it.
(22:17):
And once that happens, it's you're really never the same.
And I had this experience of just profound oneness of
just being in this state for a few hours, of
feeling connected to everything, and it was very easily accessible
after that point, and maybe differently than other people, mine
(22:40):
moved slowly, so it moved up to my second center.
And then at that point I knew chakras or energy
centers are real because you experience them during this kind
of awakening up the central channel and over the years,
it's just moved up and up and up and up
during certain points in my journey, and each time it's
like a almost like a birthing process. It feels like
(23:04):
it's I can feel other entities coming around me when
it starts to move, and you know, when it gets
to the heart space, it's like a big explosion of
love of this, like divine love. And yeah, it's just
it's been a fascinating experience and it can be an
overwhelming one. So I do understand why people, you know,
(23:24):
in the spiritual space can be kind of fearful of it.
Is because it is such a birthing event. You know,
it's very there is an intensity to it. But breathing
through it, knowing that you're not going to be served
something you're not prepared for on some level, and trusting
(23:45):
the process. Yeah, it's just it's a fascinating process.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Yeah, And you're right, it's it's this mystical experience but
very physical too, very physical.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Yeah, it's Have you had that experience? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Yeah, it's the overwhelming and edgy and uncontainable that that
overwhelming love too, that makes you want to cry, you know,
like that feeling. Yeah, I just cannot contain this.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
What do I do with this?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Oh I just yes, that's it.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Yeah, that's all I had to do.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's a surrender, surrender breathe.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
So this of course brings me back then to Salt
pod because in that process especially, it sounds like week
three folks learn how to practice the surrender for like
big experiences like this, right, because yeah, it really is
just of a huge It's a practice. It really isn't
(24:43):
like one day I know how to surrender it. It
isn't like that. It's a practice.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
So yeah, I call it the infinite onion. There's always
another layer to peel off, keeps going. Yes, well I
like a par fay.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
How about layers and part phase.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
I like that. That sounds more more fun, non dairy.
But there you go. It's perfect.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
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(25:33):
like guided meditations, in depth discussions on mediumship, and exclusive
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the Reluctant Medium and help the Reluctant Medium keep bringing
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(25:57):
and every one of you. Thanks for listening, and I
hope to see you on Patreon soon. I'm curious what
folks are reported to you or what can you say
about what people experience after this twenty one day experience.
I'd love for listeners to know what.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
They can expect. Oh my gosh, yeah, good question. I
mean I think what I hear a lot, and I'm
so intrigued by this is that people will say they
hadn't felt it before, and I've been trying to kind
of figure out what that is. It is a depth,
(26:38):
is it expansion? Is it the mystical? But they've done
other practices, they've they've been in other apps, and they're
looking for this connection, they're looking for this experience. They're
looking to go deeper, and what we hear from users
is that that's what they find at soul Pod and that, yes,
(27:00):
it can be a challenge. You're rewiring your brain for
a new habit, especially if you don't currently have a
meditation habit. That can be a little crunchy until you
find your way into it. But it's once you do,
your body and mind starts to crave the experience. You
want more of it. And I was just talking to
(27:20):
a user this past week and she had done one
month so one journey at that time and told me
that it changed her life and that she was moving
through this phase of difficulty with a lot more ease.
And I've talked to other people that have had challenges
with anxiety and just being able to sit and breathe
(27:44):
and connect with themselves that now can do that, And
it's just warms my heart hearing those outcomes and those
stories and people that are healing themselves and expanding themselves
and connecting with others that are of like minds and
like hearts.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Yeah. I don't think it gets better than that in
terms of purpose on the planet. Right, Not that biochemistry
isn't amazing, but.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
A different type of feeling.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yeah, yeah, this magic really, but it's practical magic, right,
It's like, these are the steps that you can follow
and really connect to yourself, to your fellow being and
then spread it out tell everybody.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Yes, yeah, I think, I mean, I know you must
feel this. But there's such an opportunity right now for
awakening and how we're going to move forward as a species,
as a global humanity, and so I think this work
is for those that are being called to It is
such a powerful time right now. You have so much
(28:51):
more access to these other states of consciousness. So I'm optimistic.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
I am too, And I was actually going to ask
you about this because one of the things that I
can say, and even like my fellow colleagues and friends
are like rolling their eyes, please, that's just Maria. But
I have found that, I really I have found that
things like meditation and finding that connection to the higher
(29:19):
realms and the higher consciousness and just love. Really maybe
that's what that all is anyway, Don't words are so limiting?
But I feel like I can see things objectively and
I just all the fear mongering that's out there just
doesn't I don't know, I just it doesn't touch me.
I feel hopeful. How is that for you? Do you
(29:41):
have a similar.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Hm, well, the human in me sometimes gets gets a
little you know, crunchy about it. Yeah, But in my
meditations and when I'm in connected with this work, it's
very brief that I have those moments and where I'm like,
what are we doing? But I think that, I think
(30:06):
that when you're in those states and I really think
of love. We talk a lot about love and spirituality,
but in my experience, love is this remembering of who
it is that we are. It's this remembering of our connection.
It's like that interstitial connection that we are actually not
just and once you experience this as not just a belief,
but a knowing of this connection, then it's very hard
(30:30):
to not be hopeful because we're all here as reflections
of each other to experience expansion. And so if that's
the case, then we're kind of right where we need
to be as a collective. And I think, just like
with a birth, the canal part of the birth can
(30:52):
be difficult, and this contrast helps to refine our intentions,
both as individuals and as a collective. And so I
find it to be more exciting than anything. Yeah, sort
of like that curl challenging Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Yeah, indeed, challenging, right, and so not to say that
looking at something objectively means without feeling or connection, right,
Like I can watch a movie and cry my eyes out, right, Yeah,
that's how it is. But I know it's still objective.
There's still sensation, but there is hope on the other side. Right,
It's like you going through your illness and just the
(31:35):
huge struggle. There's a broken openness. I feel like that
happens that were It's like, Okay, there's something potentially on
this other side.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
I am alive today.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
I am alive today. Yeah, and yeah, I'm struggling and
I'm waiting. I'm waiting and seeing what it's going to happen.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
I'll share this too, because what I've found in my
meditations is when I'm in that struggle, and that's like waves. Yeah,
a lot of times of either sides of me or
areas of my consciousness that I haven't perceived before that
might be difficult. Even my body that I had a meditation,
I'll never forget where my body was fighting me so much.
(32:15):
It was like on fire. I thought my skin was
on fire. And every single time I have that challenge
in my practice. The other side of that is a breakthrough.
It's an elevated state of consciousness. And I think that
also applies to life and our collective experience is that
when you're meditating and when you're on this journey, there
(32:36):
are challenges, but if you stay with it and you're like,
I'm here and I'm grateful to be here, let's do this.
The other side every single time for me has been
has been something big. Yes, So I love that gives
me a lot of hope. Yes, oh yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
The history when you create that expansion each time is like, okay, yeah,
there's bound to be something on the other side of
this too. It still sucks and still sucks.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
It's still hard, it's still hard.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
But the thing about the app right is that you
also there's something about normalizing it, right, like this is yep, yeah,
you're right on point, yep, normalizing it.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
This is a typical experience.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
And then also taking the ride along with other people
who are like, oh my god, I I just had
ABC experience and you're like, ah, we do yep, yes, yeah, yeah,
it's pretty I can see how powerful that can be
for folks. So thank you for creating that, you and
your team. It's just oh, our pleasure sounds completely lovely.
How long has it been around, I'm curious. We're pretty new.
(33:43):
We've just been around for about a year now.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's bound to take off. People are
going to really enjoy it. Yeah, so that's yeah, that's
why I was curious about what people say on the
on the other side of their experience there, because it's like,
I think people need to know what to expect, right,
because it's not ten years of meditation, right, It's not that,
(34:09):
but it is such a shift. I'll never forget. I
when I first people have heard this story. But when
I first started meditating, I was doing it because I
wanted to prove it wrong, because that's what my sciencey
brain was like, it's no interest. I'm like, yeah, this
is bullshit, no no, And so I did it, and
I dedicated ninety days. I was just going to do
thirty minutes of mindfulness through the NBSR program Mindfulness Based
(34:32):
Stress Reduction, And I was like, I'm doing it and
nothing's happening, nothing's happening, nothing's happening. But I lived in
New Jersey at the time, and I was driving on
the highway and I don't know if you ever driven there.
But it's a freaking madhouse. People flipping you off. Oh yeah, yeah,
it's crazy. And I got cut off one day on
the highway and my initial reaction, very first reaction, was oh,
(34:54):
I hope they're okay. And then I went, well, meditation works.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
That's amazing. I write that story. Oh fuck it, word,
I guess it works.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Fail, I failed.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Oh I love that. I love that. But right, that
was the only skeptic turned believer.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Yeah, that was right, and that was it. I just
had to continue doing it. It was certainly a different person.
But that's the point, right, You don't need ten years
of meditation, You don't need a Kundalini awakening. You don't
need things like that for small changes in your life.
To be cut off on the highway and to say
I hope they're okay. Like having a compassionate response to
your fellow person, like human. It's so different to live your.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
Life like that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
I was talking to one of my friends who'd been
doing a soul pod and other work for a while,
and she'd had like stomach issues and gastritis and ulcers
and whatnot, and you know, thought that you needed medication,
but really it ended up being I just needed, she said,
I just needed to breathe. I just needed to sit
(36:03):
with myself. And to your point, at the beginning, it's
small movements, but and as you know, like we can
see in the brain, there's still significant shifts that are
happening within eight weeks, so we do know that even
though it might not be ten years, you might not have,
you know, mystical experiences right off the bat. You also
(36:26):
might you never know, because the mystical meets you when
you least expect it. But yeah, those moments of spaciousness
and presence, It can be as simple as I was
talking to somebody where they just felt this spaciousness and
calm and like, I think it was a color just brown,
And then they were like, is that what presences? And
(36:48):
I'm like, yes, you know, that's it, And it's just
I think it's the ultimate journey. It's such an interesting
experience and it's such a reminder that when we feel
really solidly in our human that we are human beings,
but we're spiritual beings having a human experience. And I
(37:09):
think the amazing thing is that slowly you start to
really embody that knowing over time.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
I love that you just said embody because right again
we bring back before you said I don't know how
wu you want to go, and I'm like, bring it,
and yet it's still so grounded in like this very human,
earth bound experience. It's both exactly as you say on
the website, where science meets soul.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
It's both.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
And so if you, yeah, if you really want to
be embodied, if you really want to be in your
body and experience your humanness, do these mystical things. It's
so it's like counterintuitive.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
Yeah, well it's so fun. So why I say, I like,
I love my human like Crystal's so fun, but I
also I really enjoy the mystical and the higher mind.
Yeah that's so fun too.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
It's so fun. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, different ways of
knowing and experiencing.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Yeah, And people can go find that out for themselves
on the soul pod app. Again, check the show notes
and follow go to Crystal's website, which is.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Would you like to say soulpodapp dot com. Perfect.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Oh that's so easy, soul pod app.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Yeah, super super easy. We also have a retreat in
August of this year. This will be our second annual
retreat for Soul Pod. We've got a couple spots open
if anybody wants to join. Oh yes, I think I
saw that's in Joshua Tree. Yeah, Joshua Tree. Very very
potent portal. Talk about spiritual energy there. Yeah, you can't
(38:56):
go wrong there. Perfect.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
Yeah. Well, thank you so much for your wisdom. It's
been wonderful today.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Thank you for chatting with me, Maria.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Thank you for joining the Reluctant Medium podcast today. I
hope that this episode has brought you beautiful high vibration
and that it continues emanating from your heart space for
the rest of the day and beyond. Don't forget to
join the Reluctant Medium on Patreon dot com, and you
can also visit the Reluctantmedium dot us and the Reluctant
(39:27):
Medium TV show on New Reality tv dot com. Until
next time, my friend, may you be well.
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