This podcast inspired by the experiences of the Ice Storm April 2023 in Montreal. Take this time for you to listen and notice what's rising up, for you? To awakening and feeling all of your senses, alive, awake, on purpose.
Between airing Part 1 of my meaningful conversation with @peaceandpossibility , Nicole Schiener, on “Caring without Carrying It All” and airing Part 2 of our conversation that was scheduled for the following week, we had an ice storm. It brought many things and people to a halt and many trees and branches to the ground. I took time this week on the podcast to pause and move through some feelings knowing the trees I run to
and am surrounded by throughout my week and all throughout the year took a hit by the storm.
In this episode I share what that was like and move through some emotions along the way.
Whether it’s a storm caused by the weather or another life experience that feels stormy and disorienting, maybe you will find something for yourself in this episode.
#julieinconversation #voicesthatcreatechange #natureswisdom #touchedbynature #momofboys #parenting #wisdomofthetrees #icfcoach #podcastforchange #spiritualitypodcast #morningrun
Thanks for tuning in to you, and here, to Julie in Conversation.
www.JulieinConversation.com
Between airing Part 1 of my meaningful conversation with @peaceandpossibility , Nicole Schiener, on “Caring without Carrying It All” and airing Part 2 of our conversation that was scheduled for the following week, we had an ice storm. It brought many things and people to a halt and many trees and branches to the ground. I took time this week on the podcast to pause and move through some feelings knowing the trees I run to
and am surrounded by throughout my week and all throughout the year took a hit by the storm.
In this episode I share what that was like and move through some emotions along the way.
Whether it’s a storm caused by the weather or another life experience that feels stormy and disorienting, maybe you will find something for yourself in this episode.
#julieinconversation #voicesthatcreatechange #natureswisdom #touchedbynature #momofboys #parenting #wisdomofthetrees #icfcoach #podcastforchange #spiritualitypodcast #morningrun
Thanks for tuning in to you, and here, to Julie in Conversation.
www.JulieinConversation.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
Hello everyone, and welcome to Juliein the Conversation. I'm a host of
Julie Us Marry You. April twelfth, Wednesday. So happy to be here
today, right now, present,breathing, sitting staring at my console and
(00:38):
screen as I broadcast this podcast episodewith you today. Thank you for tuning
in, whether you're tuning in liveor through the archives or podcast downloads.
Whenever it is that you tune in, may you receive what it is you
need to receive and what it isyou didn't even know you needed. It's
(00:58):
always a perfect and right time tobe tuning in. So when it is
that you do, welcome Thanks fortuning in. If you're here for the
first time, I welcome you,and if you're back, welcome back.
So good to have you and JulieCAUs Marry You. Julianconversation dot com.
You can find out more about whoI am, what I do, and
I'm broadcasting from Montreal known as JoeJaga, Canada. Situated on unseated indigenous
(01:25):
lands of the Gagnegahoga Nation. Whereare you situated? Where are you sitting,
standing, lying, riding, driving, walking, running? Where do
you reside? What has enabled youto be where you are right now?
Who has enabled you to be whereyou are? I honor my own ancestors.
(01:49):
I honor the custodians of this landthat I'm on and occupying, Honoring
those who will come after me.Projecting into the future, and coming back
to this moment here with you rightnow and just breathing in the next healing
(02:12):
out. Maybe you want to joinme. Just notice your body. Notice
what's happening internally? Have you checkedin yet today? Have you checked into
center? Where is center for you? Lots of people say it's a few
inches below your belly traditions. Doyou connect to your center there? What
(02:32):
happens when I say the word center? Where do you go? Internally?
Do you go to your solar plexusyour belly? What happens when you drop
in turn your gaze inward? Ifthat feels comfortable for you to do that.
What do you connect to? Whatdo you connect to? Where are
(02:53):
you connecting and where are you disconnectingfrom? When you turn in word and
turn towards your center? Do youdisconnect from unwanted places? Do you disconnect
from places you need to put aside? From people you need to put aside
from tasks and assignments, concerns andworries, what happens when you turn in
to center, to your central space. I'm just today, I'm going to
(03:29):
be playing some tunes and I amgoing I was just looking at my console
thinking is this the song that Iwanted to play next? And if it's
not, I don't want to stopat midway. But there's a way of
me pressing the play button without youhearing what I'm playing. So I'm going
to try and do that and seeif I could remember after all these years,
(03:52):
if this is the way to doit. So just hold on for
a second, all right, I'mgoing to play this song. So my
intention today is to be with youhere present, to take this time for
myself as well. It's been aback to back day and seems to be
(04:13):
having I seem to be having alot of those. And whether it's not
back to back or it is foryou, may this time be a moment
where you can just carve it outfor yourself and tune in to yourself to
what's true for you in this moment. It may change in the next moment,
but what is true for you rightnow? And so as I tune
into that and take that as aninvitation to myself. I know that I
(04:36):
wanted this time to tune in andsee what is true for me. There's
been a lot swirling in me andjust maybe wanting to vocalize that. I
guess. I had a part oneof part of two part episodes that started
last week with Nicole Shiner. She'sa therapist and speaker, author, wonderful
(04:58):
person doing meaningful work in this world. And we talked a lot about responsibility
and carrying the load and how dowe care for others without carrying them.
And we started the conversation and therewas a lot that wanted to be said
and shared, and so when itcame to the end of the hour,
(05:20):
we both decided that we needed apart two, and so that Part two
I was hoping to share today,but realize that I haven't had a moment
to unpack the first part and shareit more with you and put it out
there, and so fell out andneeded some breathing room before I aired part
two. And so today is somebreathing room. So where you need some
(05:42):
breathing room, some space, takesome space for yourself to let things unfold,
unpack unwind unravel. We are inI'm in Montreal, as I said,
and in the province of Quebec,and we recently had an ice storm.
If you're listening from this area,you know exactly what I talking about.
We had a big, pretty bigice storm back in nineteen ninety eight.
(06:02):
For those who are familiar with thattime. In our space and time,
nineteen ninety eight feels like decades anddecades ago. It was, in
fact, we had a big icestorm and shut the city down. I
think this province. Forgive my ignorance, I don't even remember. I mean,
I remember nineteen ninety eight, butit's also a bit of a blur
(06:25):
for me. But it was apretty memorable time when things shut down and
the ice the city was blanketed inice and we lost power. And all
this to say, we recently hadan ice storm on Wednesday. What day
was that, I don't know,April Wednesday, April fifth. There was
(06:50):
a forecast for rain, ice,rain, and pellets, ice, pellets.
And my kids had a ped daythat day and the school that they
go there there is an option tocome in for school and have an activity,
and one of my kids was goingto the museum and the other one
had something else planned at the school, and my husband was away, and
(07:14):
I was deciding do I had awhole workday planned, do I decide do
my kids go to school? Andof course I want them to go to
school for many reasons, but itwas cloudy and overcast, and I just
thought, like what would be Ijust it wasn't a choice point like will
it be easier for everyone if theystay home or should they go to school?
And that could also be somewhat easy, But I'm not going to go
(07:38):
into all my decision making process.But I didn't send them to school.
I was very grateful that I didn'tthe I mean, many kids did go
to school, and life did goon and went on, But for my
choice and for what happened here andfor my capacity, I worked from home
and they stayed home and did theirthing. They're at the age where they
can do their thing and I canshut the door. And so the ice
(08:01):
came down, the pellets came down, and the roads were fine to drive,
but the trees were blanketed in ice, and it was quite haunting and
beautiful to see. But there wasa lot of damage that was caused to
the trees, and then electricity startedto go out, and then like hundreds
of thousands, over half a millionpeople were without power, and we were
(08:26):
one of them. And we lostpower for four days Wednesday to Saturday.
And it was also passover, andso we had schedules to be with our
families, and our families both hadboth sets of families were going to for
this passover staate or had power,and so we were going back and forth
between homes and not having electricity.And I'm not going to recount everything,
(08:52):
but I feel like I just wantedto share because of my close connection obviously
to well not obviously, but tonature, into the trees around me,
and to the fact that I'd gorunning amidst the trees at the mountain here
in Montreal. I just felt likeI need to go see if the trees
are okay. And in order toget I was going to my mother's place.
(09:13):
To get to her house, Ican go around the mountain or I
can drive through the mountain. Andso I took my kids in the car
and we left, and not knowing, like still hope that school would be
tomorrow, the power to resume thenext day, and so I set out.
I was like, I don't knowif it's so safe to drive through
the mountain, and let me seewhat's happening, and sol and behold the
mountain was closed. I couldn't evenenter it to drive through, And so
(09:35):
we drove around and just wanting tosee what was happening. And the trees
were bent over and heavy and lookinglike they were sad and suffering. Of
course this is my ethnos, myhuman centric projection of emotion onto nature.
But of course there were trees breakingand branches falling, and they had fallen
(09:56):
on the tree on the roads,and it was an interesting few days.
Of course, we had the privilegeof going somewhere with heat and food,
and even still when we came backto our place, we were on the
second floor and so we still hadwasn't so cold, And my desire was
(10:20):
to sleep at home, but mykids wanted to sleep where it was warm
and there was light, and sowe alternated. And so all this to
say, it's been an interesting fewdays. My kids were off of school
as a result. Also because itwas a long weekend, it was Easter,
(10:41):
so Happy Easter Ramadan, honoring andrespecting those celebrating Ramadan also passover at
the same time. Apparently it's likethe first time in thirty three years where
all those holidays are happening at thesame time. And if I'm missing any
others out please accept my wish isfor the holiday that you're celebrating and enlighten
(11:01):
me. Send me a message ifyou would like, though it's not your
task to do that. And soit felt like somewhat apocalyptics, somewhat like
familiar, having just gone through thepandemic, somewhat just lots of emotions and
(11:22):
walking through the city. I justspent a lot of time outdoors walking and
noticing and looking at the trees andseeing what had fallen, and even discovering
through the parks that walking through likeit just felt like somewhat treacherous, like
the amount of debris and trees thatare that fell and I can hear them
falling in at the nighttime. AndI think I'm just going to take some
(11:46):
time right now today to just playsome music and hold this space around nature
and what it means and what itmeans for you, like whether you've been
through this ice storm, whether you'vebeen through an earthquake, whether you've been
through like some great weather, whetheryou've been through some loss that you're finding
(12:07):
connection and solace through nature with.I'm just going to play some music and
allow yourself to go where it needsto go. I might just bring up
some thoughts around my experiences just noticingnature and going back to the mountain after
(12:28):
the storm and reconnecting to the placethat I go to almost daily for soulas
for therapy, for nature, therapy, for time alone. For what I
like to tell people is like mymorning off, my night out, my
lunch break, all happens at themountain, generally in the morning when I
(12:48):
can just be with the trees.And so let's see where this takes us.
I'm going to put on some music. Like I said, I'm talking
(13:20):
about what I recently experienced with theice storm. Just allow whatever services for
you to be present. Maybe you'llfind yourself or your story through my words
or through the music, but justallow this to be a space for you
to feel received, for you tofeel seen, for you to have the
feelings, for them to feel welcome, for you to be appreciated for your
(13:45):
noticing, for your sensing, foryour sensitivity, for your feeling this morning,
I was walking one of my sonsto school and the park that we
normally walked through felt like complete devastation. I mean, most of the trees
were standing still, but there's likethese enormous trees, a lot of them
(14:07):
had some of them like had afull, like huge tree. I don't
know the age, of course,but had come down and branches everywhere,
and that's just quite something, verypalpable to feel and to notice. A
friend who is a climate activist andchange maker who works in the field of
(14:33):
climate justice, was speaking about justnature's natural life cycle on how trees also
die and they have I mean,this might be very obvious to you,
but it's very helpful for me tohear that some trees do remain standing when
(14:54):
they die, but then some treesare meant to fall. And so a
lot of the trees that perhaps we'vebeen seeing or I've been seeing, we're
older trees that were coming to theend of their life cycle, and others
not, of course, but justknowing that there is a cycle, there
is a reason there is a season, is helpful and interesting. And also
(15:20):
when that season ends, there isstill grief, right, there is still
recognition of an ending. So thismorning, when I was walking through the
park with my son, I didfeel the sadness of seeing these trees emerge,
(15:41):
seeing these trees fallen, seeing thebranches, seeing them being then cleaned
up and transformed into dust. There'sa machine that just does that with the
branches. I don't know what youcall it. And of course they will
bloom, these trees, and theywill grow, their leaves will come out,
(16:03):
and they will provide shelter, andthey will be beautiful. The ones
that remain and the ones that nolonger remain, they will be smaller,
they won't be as full. It'squite remarkable to have walked through that park.
(16:25):
I felt what I felt, andother's remarking the same way, the
impermanence of life and permanence change.Not expecting when the change comes, not
(16:47):
always anticipating it, in fact,mostly don't. We don't, So how
do we? What do we dowhen it does come and it does reveal
the fragility? What do we dowhen we are staring at the vulnerability the
fragility. I went to the mountainas soon as I could. It was
(17:17):
open. I went to check,just on a brief walk, and I
didn't quite make it to the top. It was just a quick almost like
I'm here, like are you okay? You know, like trees remember me,
I'm here all the time. AndI just felt like, Okay,
I made connection. And then Iwent back again. The next day,
I was on a walk with afriend and then I really went back from
(17:38):
my run more intentionally this morning,and it just felt like a rediscovering or
(18:06):
checking in on a friend to seewhat they had withstood and to see what
was still standing and to see whatwas revealed. And I was amazed.
I just felt like the strength ofthe forest, the strength of the mountain,
(18:27):
the strength of these trees had surpassedwhat I had expected. And yes
there was damage, but it wasnot like I had seen in the streets
of Montreal or in the local parks. And probably because I couldn't see all
of the debris or the branches thathave fallen, because there's so many trees
(18:48):
and there's so many places and Idon't walk all of those places on the
mountain. But I felt some hopeand resilience connection. I felt possibility,
like the contrast from the despair andthe grief that I felt earlier that day
(19:10):
walking through the park. When Icame to the mountain or the day before,
when I came to the mountain thismorning, it was like pleasant surprise
and like things may have changed,but you're still here. How do we
(19:44):
receive that and recognize when things change? And also in this recognition, I
was recognizing this profound connection that Ihave to this place and how I could
(20:07):
still count on it and how itwould be still be there for me,
and what that means? What doesthat mean? When you have something and
someone you can count on, someplace you can go to. How much
(20:29):
do you have that? How muchdo you need that? Where is that
place for you? Has it beentaken away? Can you rediscover it or
(20:49):
something new, some new place,some new person. What can emerge from
something that may no longer be thereor maybe presenting differently or with a new
(21:11):
identity or a new offering. Howcan you reconnect or find the connection?
Can you still feel the beauty?Just notice how you're feeling, what's moving
(22:03):
through you, Just noticing what werely on? How reliable is what we
rely on? Of course, inthe ice storm, we as humans can
experience the deep humility of how muchwe rely on to survive, how much
(22:36):
we need each other. How muchwe need to recognize each other, to
honor each other, the land,those workers, those crew that we're trying
(22:56):
to restore, our power, howmuch we need those people. I need
to honor those people from people beingimpatient and afraid. We're in trouble too,
Needing power restored, needing heat,needing food. How can we uplift
(23:19):
each other? How can we respecteach other, take care of each other,
take care of the planet, thetrees, the water, trees falling,
(23:56):
branches falling, whatever that's some listenevokes in you. I said to
my son, like we were lookingeven at the depris and there was shockingly
this huge tree that felt and Idon't know the size to describe it or
(24:18):
the type of tree, though mostpeople probably would know living in Montreal with
the name of it is. ButI just said, let's just offer our
gratitude, you know, for whatthe tree has given us. And amazing
to see his reaction, undeniable truthof what's in plain sight, what's obvious
(24:48):
loss in front of our eyes.When the kids were amazed. During the
is storm when we were driving Wednesdaynight and the thick of the storm we
were driving to get to our passoverSatyr and it was beautiful. The trees,
(25:11):
they were heavy and white and fullof ice, but there was a
beauty. And one of my son'sfriends said, it looks like Frozen outside
the movie Frozen, And so wewent out and we were driving in then
on our way home. It waslater towards nine o'clock and barely any cars
were out, and we had tobe rerouted because some streets were closed.
(25:34):
And I felt like, I evensaid, you know, just making reference
to things to contemporary culture of youknow, this is like driving through an
amusement park, though you don't needto pay for it. It did feel
like we were in an immersive experiencea Disney might offer, but actually it
was real and it was quite amoving experience. And of course there were
(26:02):
no lights when we were driving pastthe mountain, so we couldn't really see
the trees being covered in ice becauseit was pitch black. But it was
a very memorable experience. What wasyour experience like during the ice storm or
any other experience you had with naturewhere you were forced to stop. What
(26:22):
happens when you're forced to stop nophones, no internet connection. I know
some people do that. They gocamping, they deliberately stop maybe a few
hours during the day or an houror take time out. What happens when
it's imposed on you unexpectedly and howdo you move through? There was the
(26:49):
joyousness of our families gathering throughout thesater and cousins seeing each other that hadn't
seen each other in a while.Food, good food. There was so
much to uplift and to remind usof what matters. I'm having one of
(27:17):
those podcasts where I'm like, amI really gonna put this episode out?
But I'm going to And all whilethis is going on the backdrop of how's
the mountain? How are the trees? How's the path that I run that
I walk that allows me to stopand connect? The beauty of being at
(27:41):
the mountain early in the morning isthere aren't many people there, and so
it's it is really my spiritual experienceof the day. And so as I
sit here recounting this, I amdeeply moved by all of this connection to
life, my connection to these treesthat I know and see every day,
(28:03):
to this ground that I get towalk on and run on. This ice
storm was in April, the previousice storm that was had more devastating effects.
Was in nineteen ninety eight in themiddle of January, so it was
much colder. There was more atstake, more at risk in terms of
(28:26):
weather. It was taking some water. I'm gonna pull a card from Astra
Frost's deck, the Sacred Medicine Oracle. If you haven't gotten it yet,
(28:52):
you can get it anywhere you findyour books. Notice how you're feeling,
how's your breathing? HM. Beautifulcard, storytelling connection. I haven't chosen
(29:29):
this card yet. Thank you,Esha and thank you artist. Artwork by
Steph Littlberg. There is gold waitingto be mined there, and you are
(29:52):
being welcome forward as a wisdom keeperof family knowledge and tradition. Storytelling is
a way to remember who we trulyare, and this card is calling you
home to your most authentic self.Traditionally, winter was when we told our
stories. Wisdom was passed down fromone generation to the next during these times,
(30:15):
and many of our teachings were passeddown orally. This Medicine card comes
forward today to remind you of thepotent stories your family history holds. In
these stories, there are medicine ways, teachings of your lineage and traditional knowledge
that is waiting to be uncovered.This medicine card asks you to do some
familiar research at this time, familialresearch. At this time, sit with
an elder in your family and askthem to tell you their favorite stories.
(30:38):
If this is not accessible to you, ask for the information to come through
your dreams, visions, and innerknowing. Write down what you discover.
Think about the favorite stories of yourchildhood, the stories told to you by
your loved ones, and all theteachings passed down to you about your heritage.
The sacred ceremony that Asha offers asan invitation for us for this card
(31:00):
is one of your favorite relatives whohas passed on to the spirit world walks
you into a room with a fireplace. It's cozy, warming, and welcoming.
They pour you a cup of teaand you can smell the medicinal plants
that have been infused into this drink. As you take a sip, the
stories of your past, present andfuture come flooding into your heart, blood,
(31:22):
memory, and mind. These arethe stories that need to be shared,
and you make a commitment to yourrelative that you will offer these in
some way. The stories are nowrooted within your voice is the medium to
share them. Wow, the healinginformation is the stories held in my memories
are waiting to be revealed. I'ma wisdom keeper for my lineage. We'll
(31:47):
take that in. What are youhearing there? Just kind of raise this
a little bit, be right back, and so where are you now,
(32:43):
storyteller? Where are you in yourconnection? What's been moving through you?
As I've shared some music, somereflections, some thoughts that may or may
not resonate when we step outside ofourself and allow the connection to something greater,
(33:27):
whether it's through nature, through somethingthat you can't see but you can
feel and know is there, throughan ancestor through other beings, whatever it
is for you, what opens upin you? I know my heart opens
as I speak about nature of thesetrees, this experience with the ice storm.
(33:53):
My heart opens. My heart opens. It's like taking a bite into
life, like into the juiciest sandwich, Not that I want my sandwiches to
be juicy, but into the tastiestbite of pleasure. Even if there is
(34:21):
heart opening, and there field there'ssome grief, obviously that's different from pleasure.
But to feel the aliveness, tofeel awake to life, to what's
pulsing through me, what's pulsing throughthe world outside of me. To be
in connection with that, it's notalways easy, but when it's I can
(34:44):
be available to it and feel everythingbecomes like it's in technicolor rich alive.
This is what I feel like.I'm here for to feel it, to
breathe it, to be with it. This physical body has all these capabilities
(35:07):
of all the sensations. So whatis awakening in you? Which sense?
Is there one that's being heightened orall of them? As we awaken our
(35:34):
senses and connect to this aliveness,how does it want to move? A
little shift in mood right there?I guess does it want to dance?
Maybe? When I'm connected to thisplace, it just enables me to be
(36:07):
on purpose, to feel the deepmeaning, to feel that my values,
to know it's true for me,what I want, who I want to
be doing it with. They don'thave to be specific people, but it's
the quality of the person or theshared or common interests and values. So
(36:30):
what happens when you feel alive andawake, when you feel the pulse inside
you? Curious, connected, relating, surrendering to and flexible with what's happening
(36:55):
around you. What do you needto awaken to feel this aliveness, to
(37:22):
feel this connectedness? What helps?Does this song help? Okay, maybe
(37:43):
I didn't listen to it in itsentirety, but let's roll with it,
not saying it's bad. Are you? Thank you for that? All right?
(38:30):
So here we are? Where arewe now? Where are you?
Where were you when you began tolisten? Where are you now? Have
you moved through something? Something openedup in you, something moved out of
you, made space. I feellike I touched on some intimacy for me
(38:52):
and feelings of I don't even knowwhere or what I mean I do,
but just grateful where I can gowith music and with connection and with touching
places and people and those who arelistening to know that we are connecting together
to this mystery, this everyday mystery. So thank you for being here.
(39:17):
I meet people who often this happenswhen it's like people who I know in
my life, like even if Ihaven't seen them in like five years or
three weeks. So like I justlistened to your podcast. I listen to
your podcast. I listen to yourpodcast. I'm like what you listen to
my podcast. Like I almost don'twant to hear that they listen to my
podcast because then I get all shyand embarrassed. But of course I want
(39:38):
people listening. I want people tobe benefiting in some way, to be
walking away with something, to feellike they're being moved in some way,
to connect to themselves, to gainsome insight, to feel like they can
be who they are, unapologetically whateverit is, right, So of course
I want people listening. But it'sa funny experience when you're like, just
(39:59):
listen to your podcast since we allo, man, I just want to like
hide, hide away, but listen. So I'm just looking, just looking
(40:20):
to see what we're going to endoff with here today. Yeah all right,
so everyone, thanks for being herewith me and tuning in. Next
podcast, I'll be airing part twowith Nicole Shiner and we had a really
(40:42):
good conversation. It's also broadcasted onmy YouTube channel, so if you just
type in Julie in conversation on YouTube, you should find it and feel free
to let me know how you're doing. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a
review, become a patron patron Patreondot com. Calm Julian Conversation or Julian
Conversation. You could see how youcan donate monthly, like a little as
(41:05):
three dollars or a one time donation. It helps the podcast live long and
prosperous. I don't know if it'sprospering necessarily like tangibly, but intangibly it's
been an invaluable addition to my lifefor many years. So check that out
(41:25):
Julian conversation dot com. If you'rewanting support as a coach, to get
some mentoring, or if you're wantingto get some executive coaching or life coaching,
also check out my website. Letme know how I may support you
whatever are you you are in theworld. I work with you people all
over the world. Not you people, but all people, no matter where
you are, as long as thereare time zones can line up. It's
(41:50):
a privilege to be doing this work, this work of changing and healing and
growing from the inside out personally andprofessionally. So thanks for being you.
Let me know how you're doing JulianConversation and also find me on Instagram.
Julie Cans marry you, subscribe tomy newsletter, get some air, breathe,
(42:17):
ask yourself what he or she are. They need and may you be
able to fulfill those needs one ata time. May you let your intuition
lead Everyone cheers
Hello everyone, and welcome to Juliein the Conversation. I'm a host of
Julie Us Marry You. April twelfth, Wednesday. So happy to be here
today, right now, present,breathing, sitting staring at my console and
(00:38):
screen as I broadcast this podcast episodewith you today. Thank you for tuning
in, whether you're tuning in liveor through the archives or podcast downloads.
Whenever it is that you tune in, may you receive what it is you
need to receive and what it isyou didn't even know you needed. It's
(00:58):
always a perfect and right time tobe tuning in. So when it is
that you do, welcome Thanks fortuning in. If you're here for the
first time, I welcome you,and if you're back, welcome back.
So good to have you and JulieCAUs Marry You. Julianconversation dot com.
You can find out more about whoI am, what I do, and
I'm broadcasting from Montreal known as JoeJaga, Canada. Situated on unseated indigenous
(01:25):
lands of the Gagnegahoga Nation. Whereare you situated? Where are you sitting,
standing, lying, riding, driving, walking, running? Where do
you reside? What has enabled youto be where you are right now?
Who has enabled you to be whereyou are? I honor my own ancestors.
(01:49):
I honor the custodians of this landthat I'm on and occupying, Honoring
those who will come after me.Projecting into the future, and coming back
to this moment here with you rightnow and just breathing in the next healing
(02:12):
out. Maybe you want to joinme. Just notice your body. Notice
what's happening internally? Have you checkedin yet today? Have you checked into
center? Where is center for you? Lots of people say it's a few
inches below your belly traditions. Doyou connect to your center there? What
(02:32):
happens when I say the word center? Where do you go? Internally?
Do you go to your solar plexusyour belly? What happens when you drop
in turn your gaze inward? Ifthat feels comfortable for you to do that.
What do you connect to? Whatdo you connect to? Where are
(02:53):
you connecting and where are you disconnectingfrom? When you turn in word and
turn towards your center? Do youdisconnect from unwanted places? Do you disconnect
from places you need to put aside? From people you need to put aside
from tasks and assignments, concerns andworries, what happens when you turn in
to center, to your central space. I'm just today, I'm going to
(03:29):
be playing some tunes and I amgoing I was just looking at my console
thinking is this the song that Iwanted to play next? And if it's
not, I don't want to stopat midway. But there's a way of
me pressing the play button without youhearing what I'm playing. So I'm going
to try and do that and seeif I could remember after all these years,
(03:52):
if this is the way to doit. So just hold on for
a second, all right, I'mgoing to play this song. So my
intention today is to be with youhere present, to take this time for
myself as well. It's been aback to back day and seems to be
(04:13):
having I seem to be having alot of those. And whether it's not
back to back or it is foryou, may this time be a moment
where you can just carve it outfor yourself and tune in to yourself to
what's true for you in this moment. It may change in the next moment,
but what is true for you rightnow? And so as I tune
into that and take that as aninvitation to myself. I know that I
(04:36):
wanted this time to tune in andsee what is true for me. There's
been a lot swirling in me andjust maybe wanting to vocalize that. I
guess. I had a part oneof part of two part episodes that started
last week with Nicole Shiner. She'sa therapist and speaker, author, wonderful
(04:58):
person doing meaningful work in this world. And we talked a lot about responsibility
and carrying the load and how dowe care for others without carrying them.
And we started the conversation and therewas a lot that wanted to be said
and shared, and so when itcame to the end of the hour,
(05:20):
we both decided that we needed apart two, and so that Part two
I was hoping to share today,but realize that I haven't had a moment
to unpack the first part and shareit more with you and put it out
there, and so fell out andneeded some breathing room before I aired part
two. And so today is somebreathing room. So where you need some
(05:42):
breathing room, some space, takesome space for yourself to let things unfold,
unpack unwind unravel. We are inI'm in Montreal, as I said,
and in the province of Quebec,and we recently had an ice storm.
If you're listening from this area,you know exactly what I talking about.
We had a big, pretty bigice storm back in nineteen ninety eight.
(06:02):
For those who are familiar with thattime. In our space and time,
nineteen ninety eight feels like decades anddecades ago. It was, in
fact, we had a big icestorm and shut the city down. I
think this province. Forgive my ignorance, I don't even remember. I mean,
I remember nineteen ninety eight, butit's also a bit of a blur
(06:25):
for me. But it was apretty memorable time when things shut down and
the ice the city was blanketed inice and we lost power. And all
this to say, we recently hadan ice storm on Wednesday. What day
was that, I don't know,April Wednesday, April fifth. There was
(06:50):
a forecast for rain, ice,rain, and pellets, ice, pellets.
And my kids had a ped daythat day and the school that they
go there there is an option tocome in for school and have an activity,
and one of my kids was goingto the museum and the other one
had something else planned at the school, and my husband was away, and
(07:14):
I was deciding do I had awhole workday planned, do I decide do
my kids go to school? Andof course I want them to go to
school for many reasons, but itwas cloudy and overcast, and I just
thought, like what would be Ijust it wasn't a choice point like will
it be easier for everyone if theystay home or should they go to school?
And that could also be somewhat easy, But I'm not going to go
(07:38):
into all my decision making process.But I didn't send them to school.
I was very grateful that I didn'tthe I mean, many kids did go
to school, and life did goon and went on, But for my
choice and for what happened here andfor my capacity, I worked from home
and they stayed home and did theirthing. They're at the age where they
can do their thing and I canshut the door. And so the ice
(08:01):
came down, the pellets came down, and the roads were fine to drive,
but the trees were blanketed in ice, and it was quite haunting and
beautiful to see. But there wasa lot of damage that was caused to
the trees, and then electricity startedto go out, and then like hundreds
of thousands, over half a millionpeople were without power, and we were
(08:26):
one of them. And we lostpower for four days Wednesday to Saturday.
And it was also passover, andso we had schedules to be with our
families, and our families both hadboth sets of families were going to for
this passover staate or had power,and so we were going back and forth
between homes and not having electricity.And I'm not going to recount everything,
(08:52):
but I feel like I just wantedto share because of my close connection obviously
to well not obviously, but tonature, into the trees around me,
and to the fact that I'd gorunning amidst the trees at the mountain here
in Montreal. I just felt likeI need to go see if the trees
are okay. And in order toget I was going to my mother's place.
(09:13):
To get to her house, Ican go around the mountain or I
can drive through the mountain. Andso I took my kids in the car
and we left, and not knowing, like still hope that school would be
tomorrow, the power to resume thenext day, and so I set out.
I was like, I don't knowif it's so safe to drive through
the mountain, and let me seewhat's happening, and sol and behold the
mountain was closed. I couldn't evenenter it to drive through, And so
(09:35):
we drove around and just wanting tosee what was happening. And the trees
were bent over and heavy and lookinglike they were sad and suffering. Of
course this is my ethnos, myhuman centric projection of emotion onto nature.
But of course there were trees breakingand branches falling, and they had fallen
(09:56):
on the tree on the roads,and it was an interesting few days.
Of course, we had the privilegeof going somewhere with heat and food,
and even still when we came backto our place, we were on the
second floor and so we still hadwasn't so cold, And my desire was
(10:20):
to sleep at home, but mykids wanted to sleep where it was warm
and there was light, and sowe alternated. And so all this to
say, it's been an interesting fewdays. My kids were off of school
as a result. Also because itwas a long weekend, it was Easter,
(10:41):
so Happy Easter Ramadan, honoring andrespecting those celebrating Ramadan also passover at
the same time. Apparently it's likethe first time in thirty three years where
all those holidays are happening at thesame time. And if I'm missing any
others out please accept my wish isfor the holiday that you're celebrating and enlighten
(11:01):
me. Send me a message ifyou would like, though it's not your
task to do that. And soit felt like somewhat apocalyptics, somewhat like
familiar, having just gone through thepandemic, somewhat just lots of emotions and
(11:22):
walking through the city. I justspent a lot of time outdoors walking and
noticing and looking at the trees andseeing what had fallen, and even discovering
through the parks that walking through likeit just felt like somewhat treacherous, like
the amount of debris and trees thatare that fell and I can hear them
falling in at the nighttime. AndI think I'm just going to take some
(11:46):
time right now today to just playsome music and hold this space around nature
and what it means and what itmeans for you, like whether you've been
through this ice storm, whether you'vebeen through an earthquake, whether you've been
through like some great weather, whetheryou've been through some loss that you're finding
(12:07):
connection and solace through nature with.I'm just going to play some music and
allow yourself to go where it needsto go. I might just bring up
some thoughts around my experiences just noticingnature and going back to the mountain after
(12:28):
the storm and reconnecting to the placethat I go to almost daily for soulas
for therapy, for nature, therapy, for time alone. For what I
like to tell people is like mymorning off, my night out, my
lunch break, all happens at themountain, generally in the morning when I
(12:48):
can just be with the trees.And so let's see where this takes us.
I'm going to put on some music. Like I said, I'm talking
(13:20):
about what I recently experienced with theice storm. Just allow whatever services for
you to be present. Maybe you'llfind yourself or your story through my words
or through the music, but justallow this to be a space for you
to feel received, for you tofeel seen, for you to have the
feelings, for them to feel welcome, for you to be appreciated for your
(13:45):
noticing, for your sensing, foryour sensitivity, for your feeling this morning,
I was walking one of my sonsto school and the park that we
normally walked through felt like complete devastation. I mean, most of the trees
were standing still, but there's likethese enormous trees, a lot of them
(14:07):
had some of them like had afull, like huge tree. I don't
know the age, of course,but had come down and branches everywhere,
and that's just quite something, verypalpable to feel and to notice. A
friend who is a climate activist andchange maker who works in the field of
(14:33):
climate justice, was speaking about justnature's natural life cycle on how trees also
die and they have I mean,this might be very obvious to you,
but it's very helpful for me tohear that some trees do remain standing when
(14:54):
they die, but then some treesare meant to fall. And so a
lot of the trees that perhaps we'vebeen seeing or I've been seeing, we're
older trees that were coming to theend of their life cycle, and others
not, of course, but justknowing that there is a cycle, there
is a reason there is a season, is helpful and interesting. And also
(15:20):
when that season ends, there isstill grief, right, there is still
recognition of an ending. So thismorning, when I was walking through the
park with my son, I didfeel the sadness of seeing these trees emerge,
(15:41):
seeing these trees fallen, seeing thebranches, seeing them being then cleaned
up and transformed into dust. There'sa machine that just does that with the
branches. I don't know what youcall it. And of course they will
bloom, these trees, and theywill grow, their leaves will come out,
(16:03):
and they will provide shelter, andthey will be beautiful. The ones
that remain and the ones that nolonger remain, they will be smaller,
they won't be as full. It'squite remarkable to have walked through that park.
(16:25):
I felt what I felt, andother's remarking the same way, the
impermanence of life and permanence change.Not expecting when the change comes, not
(16:47):
always anticipating it, in fact,mostly don't. We don't, So how
do we? What do we dowhen it does come and it does reveal
the fragility? What do we dowhen we are staring at the vulnerability the
fragility. I went to the mountainas soon as I could. It was
(17:17):
open. I went to check,just on a brief walk, and I
didn't quite make it to the top. It was just a quick almost like
I'm here, like are you okay? You know, like trees remember me,
I'm here all the time. AndI just felt like, Okay,
I made connection. And then Iwent back again. The next day,
I was on a walk with afriend and then I really went back from
(17:38):
my run more intentionally this morning,and it just felt like a rediscovering or
(18:06):
checking in on a friend to seewhat they had withstood and to see what
was still standing and to see whatwas revealed. And I was amazed.
I just felt like the strength ofthe forest, the strength of the mountain,
(18:27):
the strength of these trees had surpassedwhat I had expected. And yes
there was damage, but it wasnot like I had seen in the streets
of Montreal or in the local parks. And probably because I couldn't see all
of the debris or the branches thathave fallen, because there's so many trees
(18:48):
and there's so many places and Idon't walk all of those places on the
mountain. But I felt some hopeand resilience connection. I felt possibility,
like the contrast from the despair andthe grief that I felt earlier that day
(19:10):
walking through the park. When Icame to the mountain or the day before,
when I came to the mountain thismorning, it was like pleasant surprise
and like things may have changed,but you're still here. How do we
(19:44):
receive that and recognize when things change? And also in this recognition, I
was recognizing this profound connection that Ihave to this place and how I could
(20:07):
still count on it and how itwould be still be there for me,
and what that means? What doesthat mean? When you have something and
someone you can count on, someplace you can go to. How much
(20:29):
do you have that? How muchdo you need that? Where is that
place for you? Has it beentaken away? Can you rediscover it or
(20:49):
something new, some new place,some new person. What can emerge from
something that may no longer be thereor maybe presenting differently or with a new
(21:11):
identity or a new offering. Howcan you reconnect or find the connection?
Can you still feel the beauty?Just notice how you're feeling, what's moving
(22:03):
through you, Just noticing what werely on? How reliable is what we
rely on? Of course, inthe ice storm, we as humans can
experience the deep humility of how muchwe rely on to survive, how much
(22:36):
we need each other. How muchwe need to recognize each other, to
honor each other, the land,those workers, those crew that we're trying
(22:56):
to restore, our power, howmuch we need those people. I need
to honor those people from people beingimpatient and afraid. We're in trouble too,
Needing power restored, needing heat,needing food. How can we uplift
(23:19):
each other? How can we respecteach other, take care of each other,
take care of the planet, thetrees, the water, trees falling,
(23:56):
branches falling, whatever that's some listenevokes in you. I said to
my son, like we were lookingeven at the depris and there was shockingly
this huge tree that felt and Idon't know the size to describe it or
(24:18):
the type of tree, though mostpeople probably would know living in Montreal with
the name of it is. ButI just said, let's just offer our
gratitude, you know, for whatthe tree has given us. And amazing
to see his reaction, undeniable truthof what's in plain sight, what's obvious
(24:48):
loss in front of our eyes.When the kids were amazed. During the
is storm when we were driving Wednesdaynight and the thick of the storm we
were driving to get to our passoverSatyr and it was beautiful. The trees,
(25:11):
they were heavy and white and fullof ice, but there was a
beauty. And one of my son'sfriends said, it looks like Frozen outside
the movie Frozen, And so wewent out and we were driving in then
on our way home. It waslater towards nine o'clock and barely any cars
were out, and we had tobe rerouted because some streets were closed.
(25:34):
And I felt like, I evensaid, you know, just making reference
to things to contemporary culture of youknow, this is like driving through an
amusement park, though you don't needto pay for it. It did feel
like we were in an immersive experiencea Disney might offer, but actually it
was real and it was quite amoving experience. And of course there were
(26:02):
no lights when we were driving pastthe mountain, so we couldn't really see
the trees being covered in ice becauseit was pitch black. But it was
a very memorable experience. What wasyour experience like during the ice storm or
any other experience you had with naturewhere you were forced to stop. What
(26:22):
happens when you're forced to stop nophones, no internet connection. I know
some people do that. They gocamping, they deliberately stop maybe a few
hours during the day or an houror take time out. What happens when
it's imposed on you unexpectedly and howdo you move through? There was the
(26:49):
joyousness of our families gathering throughout thesater and cousins seeing each other that hadn't
seen each other in a while.Food, good food. There was so
much to uplift and to remind usof what matters. I'm having one of
(27:17):
those podcasts where I'm like, amI really gonna put this episode out?
But I'm going to And all whilethis is going on the backdrop of how's
the mountain? How are the trees? How's the path that I run that
I walk that allows me to stopand connect? The beauty of being at
(27:41):
the mountain early in the morning isthere aren't many people there, and so
it's it is really my spiritual experienceof the day. And so as I
sit here recounting this, I amdeeply moved by all of this connection to
life, my connection to these treesthat I know and see every day,
(28:03):
to this ground that I get towalk on and run on. This ice
storm was in April, the previousice storm that was had more devastating effects.
Was in nineteen ninety eight in themiddle of January, so it was
much colder. There was more atstake, more at risk in terms of
(28:26):
weather. It was taking some water. I'm gonna pull a card from Astra
Frost's deck, the Sacred Medicine Oracle. If you haven't gotten it yet,
(28:52):
you can get it anywhere you findyour books. Notice how you're feeling,
how's your breathing? HM. Beautifulcard, storytelling connection. I haven't chosen
(29:29):
this card yet. Thank you,Esha and thank you artist. Artwork by
Steph Littlberg. There is gold waitingto be mined there, and you are
(29:52):
being welcome forward as a wisdom keeperof family knowledge and tradition. Storytelling is
a way to remember who we trulyare, and this card is calling you
home to your most authentic self.Traditionally, winter was when we told our
stories. Wisdom was passed down fromone generation to the next during these times,
(30:15):
and many of our teachings were passeddown orally. This Medicine card comes
forward today to remind you of thepotent stories your family history holds. In
these stories, there are medicine ways, teachings of your lineage and traditional knowledge
that is waiting to be uncovered.This medicine card asks you to do some
familiar research at this time, familialresearch. At this time, sit with
an elder in your family and askthem to tell you their favorite stories.
(30:38):
If this is not accessible to you, ask for the information to come through
your dreams, visions, and innerknowing. Write down what you discover.
Think about the favorite stories of yourchildhood, the stories told to you by
your loved ones, and all theteachings passed down to you about your heritage.
The sacred ceremony that Asha offers asan invitation for us for this card
(31:00):
is one of your favorite relatives whohas passed on to the spirit world walks
you into a room with a fireplace. It's cozy, warming, and welcoming.
They pour you a cup of teaand you can smell the medicinal plants
that have been infused into this drink. As you take a sip, the
stories of your past, present andfuture come flooding into your heart, blood,
(31:22):
memory, and mind. These arethe stories that need to be shared,
and you make a commitment to yourrelative that you will offer these in
some way. The stories are nowrooted within your voice is the medium to
share them. Wow, the healinginformation is the stories held in my memories
are waiting to be revealed. I'ma wisdom keeper for my lineage. We'll
(31:47):
take that in. What are youhearing there? Just kind of raise this
a little bit, be right back, and so where are you now,
(32:43):
storyteller? Where are you in yourconnection? What's been moving through you?
As I've shared some music, somereflections, some thoughts that may or may
not resonate when we step outside ofourself and allow the connection to something greater,
(33:27):
whether it's through nature, through somethingthat you can't see but you can
feel and know is there, throughan ancestor through other beings, whatever it
is for you, what opens upin you? I know my heart opens
as I speak about nature of thesetrees, this experience with the ice storm.
(33:53):
My heart opens. My heart opens. It's like taking a bite into
life, like into the juiciest sandwich, Not that I want my sandwiches to
be juicy, but into the tastiestbite of pleasure. Even if there is
(34:21):
heart opening, and there field there'ssome grief, obviously that's different from pleasure.
But to feel the aliveness, tofeel awake to life, to what's
pulsing through me, what's pulsing throughthe world outside of me. To be
in connection with that, it's notalways easy, but when it's I can
(34:44):
be available to it and feel everythingbecomes like it's in technicolor rich alive.
This is what I feel like.I'm here for to feel it, to
breathe it, to be with it. This physical body has all these capabilities
(35:07):
of all the sensations. So whatis awakening in you? Which sense?
Is there one that's being heightened orall of them? As we awaken our
(35:34):
senses and connect to this aliveness,how does it want to move? A
little shift in mood right there?I guess does it want to dance?
Maybe? When I'm connected to thisplace, it just enables me to be
(36:07):
on purpose, to feel the deepmeaning, to feel that my values,
to know it's true for me,what I want, who I want to
be doing it with. They don'thave to be specific people, but it's
the quality of the person or theshared or common interests and values. So
(36:30):
what happens when you feel alive andawake, when you feel the pulse inside
you? Curious, connected, relating, surrendering to and flexible with what's happening
(36:55):
around you. What do you needto awaken to feel this aliveness, to
(37:22):
feel this connectedness? What helps?Does this song help? Okay, maybe
(37:43):
I didn't listen to it in itsentirety, but let's roll with it,
not saying it's bad. Are you? Thank you for that? All right?
(38:30):
So here we are? Where arewe now? Where are you?
Where were you when you began tolisten? Where are you now? Have
you moved through something? Something openedup in you, something moved out of
you, made space. I feellike I touched on some intimacy for me
(38:52):
and feelings of I don't even knowwhere or what I mean I do,
but just grateful where I can gowith music and with connection and with touching
places and people and those who arelistening to know that we are connecting together
to this mystery, this everyday mystery. So thank you for being here.
(39:17):
I meet people who often this happenswhen it's like people who I know in
my life, like even if Ihaven't seen them in like five years or
three weeks. So like I justlistened to your podcast. I listen to
your podcast. I listen to yourpodcast. I'm like what you listen to
my podcast. Like I almost don'twant to hear that they listen to my
podcast because then I get all shyand embarrassed. But of course I want
(39:38):
people listening. I want people tobe benefiting in some way, to be
walking away with something, to feellike they're being moved in some way,
to connect to themselves, to gainsome insight, to feel like they can
be who they are, unapologetically whateverit is, right, So of course
I want people listening. But it'sa funny experience when you're like, just
(39:59):
listen to your podcast since we allo, man, I just want to like
hide, hide away, but listen. So I'm just looking, just looking
(40:20):
to see what we're going to endoff with here today. Yeah all right,
so everyone, thanks for being herewith me and tuning in. Next
podcast, I'll be airing part twowith Nicole Shiner and we had a really
(40:42):
good conversation. It's also broadcasted onmy YouTube channel, so if you just
type in Julie in conversation on YouTube, you should find it and feel free
to let me know how you're doing. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a
review, become a patron patron Patreondot com. Calm Julian Conversation or Julian
Conversation. You could see how youcan donate monthly, like a little as
(41:05):
three dollars or a one time donation. It helps the podcast live long and
prosperous. I don't know if it'sprospering necessarily like tangibly, but intangibly it's
been an invaluable addition to my lifefor many years. So check that out
(41:25):
Julian conversation dot com. If you'rewanting support as a coach, to get
some mentoring, or if you're wantingto get some executive coaching or life coaching,
also check out my website. Letme know how I may support you
whatever are you you are in theworld. I work with you people all
over the world. Not you people, but all people, no matter where
you are, as long as thereare time zones can line up. It's
(41:50):
a privilege to be doing this work, this work of changing and healing and
growing from the inside out personally andprofessionally. So thanks for being you.
Let me know how you're doing JulianConversation and also find me on Instagram.
Julie Cans marry you, subscribe tomy newsletter, get some air, breathe,
(42:17):
ask yourself what he or she are. They need and may you be
able to fulfill those needs one ata time. May you let your intuition
lead Everyone cheers
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.