The Finding Peace Podcast

The Parable of the Buckets

 
I am standing along the banks of the Colorado River. The sun is rising above the horizon turning the speckled clouds across the sky a fusion of pinks, oranges, and purples. I am standing in soft sand, the kind that billows up into my face at the slightest movement. I am holding two 5 gallon buckets.
I am listening to Joe (name has been changed), a Native American of the Quechan Tribe, on whose land we are standing as he explained that several months ago over 200 youth from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints helped plant hundreds of indigenous trees all along the river to help beautify and preserve the land.
The challenge was that now that summer was approaching and temperatures can rise to nearly 120 Fahrenheit, there was concern about the trees getting enough water. If they could make it through this season, chances would be that the roots would be deep enough by next year for the trees to survive. But for now, there was a need to get water from the river to each of the trees. And that’s why I am holding two 5 gallon buckets. Joe is showing us how to reach the buckets into the river and pull them out without falling in. We are then to carry the buckets of water to the trees, some of which are almost an acre away from the river.
Joe also suggested that we talk to the trees as we are giving them water. “They are living things,” he said. “Encourage them with kind words. Cheer them on.”
Shamefully, I rolled my eyes. I was here at the request of my wife and had about ten other things that I thought I could be doing on a Saturday morning besides carrying water to trees. But I am not one to complain… out loud anyway. So, I dipped my buckets in the river and started to walk.
The water splashed all over my pants and shoes getting them all muddy. My arms started to ache as I carried the buckets of water nearly 50 yards to the farthest tree. I thought to myself, “There has got to be a better way of doing this.” and then my ethnocentrism kicked in. I started imagining how we could dig lines for a sprinkler system or hire a big water truck to drive along the trees spraying water.
But then I noticed some young men laughing and singing as they carried their buckets of water to the trees. They had smiles on their faces. I did not. Immediately, I recognized that my shadows were out.
The impotent one saying: This is too hard. Why are we doing this anyway? It’s not going to make much of a difference. The trees are probably going to die anyway. This is so dumb.
The Rebel: You could be doing something else right now. You could be mowing your own lawn or doing the laundry. I don’t know why you are doing this.
The Judge: You think you know better don’t you. You think you know how to do everything better. Look at those young men having a good time. Why aren’t you smiling?
Photo by Mathias P.R. Reding on UnsplashAs I carried the water, the louder they got. The more the water splashed on my shoes creating sand into muddy cement that weighed down my feet, the louder they got.
And then I arrived at the tree. Calling it a tree was being generous. It was really just a twig sticking out of the ground. And it needed me. It needed what I had to offer — right now.
And so I poured the first bucket of water out into the hollowed-out area around the tree. And then I poured the second. And then I heard something that I realized were words coming out of my mouth. “Hey, little tree. I have some water for you. I believe in you little tree. You have what it takes. By this time next year, you will have grown so much. You will have grown branches and will be able to provide shade. You will provide food and shelter for animals and birds. Those who wander here will see your beauty and how you contribute to the beauty of this entire area. You can do it, little tree. I love you.”
And I found myself smiling as I returned to the river to fill my buckets with more water.
https://medium.com/@t.love.manofgod/3f1911f3ca4f
 
What are the lessons you draw from this parable? Send me an email!

Special Guest: Belinda Farrell “I’M SORRY, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, THANK YOU, I LOVE YOU”

Belinda Farrell, author of the book Find Your Friggin’ Joy, graduated with a BA in Spanish and English from the University of California at Berkeley and is trained in hypnotherapy, past life regression, NLP, Hawaiian chanting, and ancient Hawaiian healing (Huna). Belinda trained with Anthony Robbins (author of Unlimited Power) and has effectively used these skills in her own life. She has completed 18 firewalks. When Belinda was forty-eight, she collapsed with herniated discs and spinal nerve damage. Threatened with paralysis by her medical doctors if she didn’t have surgery, Belinda instead chose to apply the ancient Hawaiian healing practices she had been learning the previous three years, which are covered in this book. Her back completely healed, including childhood scoliosis. For fifteen years she has been sharing these healing practices with others, offering Reconnective Healing and Huna classes and taking clients to Hawaii to teach Huna and swim with wild spinner dolphins. 
Website:  www.HunaHealing.com

The Day the Music Died

With April being Stress Awareness Month, country’s fresh new face Erin Cosgrove is talking about her own experience with anxiety and mental health, how she copes, how this helped her write her latest release Time To Live and why it is so important to bring awareness to the subject.
 
Stress Awareness Month is a time to bring awareness to what causes our stress and how we can keep ourselves healthy mentally. “I was in a serious state of depression for 6 months, basically it started as soon as the pandemic started. The stress of everything happening in the world really made my mental state decline,” says Erin. “What helped me most was writing music. Out of all the chaos came my single Time To Live, which was my way of releasing my emotions into a song and telling myself and others that everything will be okay. I wanted to give people as well as myself a sense of hope and inspire people to continue to live their lives rather than hide in fear.”
 
Throughout the month of April, Erin hopes to encourage those who also may be struggling. She shares that it is incredibly important to recognize the things in your life that are causing you stress, but on the other hand, it is just as important to find those healthy ways to deal with it. “Set aside time every day to put yourself first. I’m an advocate for listening to your own body, taking slow deep breaks, setting routines and short-term goals to start off the day with an accomplishment.”
 
Stress continues to build for her in another aspect of her life as she gets ready to move over two thousand miles away and relocating from her hometown in CA to Nashville this summer. “I’m so excited
to be making this move. Yes, it’s very stressful when it comes to packing everything up, including traveling with two cats and a dog. While I do love living in CA, it’s time for me to make that move to Nashville to continue doing what I love.”
 
As Erin gears up to release a lyric video for this song, scheduled to come out later this month, she shares one more perception on the meaning of this song. “Anxiety and depression can happen to anyone regardless of their situation and everyone handles pain differently. In all, be kind to others, there’s always hope. It’s Time To Live.”
Visit Erin Cosgrove at her website and follow along with her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Her song Time To Live is available on all digital platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and more. For more info on stress and ways to cope, visit www.stress.org.
 
About Erin Cosgrove: Breakthrough country artist Erin Cosgrove has it all. Based in Los Angeles and Nashville, this powerhouse singer, songwriter and actress has made a name for herself with a great social media following. Teaming up with Grammy winning producer Mikal Blue, Erin released her second single The Perfect Place to Start, which became an overnight hit, gaining over 15k Spotify streams in just the first week and premiered on Sirius XM The Highway. She is also an aspiring actress, having appeared in the hit TV show “Parenthood,” along with “Good Girls Revolt,” and USA’s reality show “Summer Camp.” Erin has opened for some of the biggest names in country music including A Thousand Horses, Big & Rich, Danielle Bradbery, Love & Theft and Russell Dickerson. She has performed at numerous festivals including the Oakheart Country Music Festival, Paddy Fest and Round Up Country Music Festival in CA as well as performing at the Daytona 500, the Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Stadium and the House of Blues. Whether she’s writing, performing, or acting, she feels most at home in front of a crowd or camera. With her powerful vocals, remarkable songwriting and impressive acting, Erin Cosgrove is setting the bar high with the finish line nowhere in sight.

Telling Our Stories

In this episode, I sit down with Rusti Lehay and explore the healing power of telling our stories. 
Rusti is a writing coach who offers keynotes, breakout sessions, webinars, weekend retreats (both destination & online), and daylong writing seminars. For over a decade she has been a creative writing instructor and writing coach/editor, specializing in bringing an empathic, heart-centered approach to coaching authors and beginning writers to craft and tweak their words, stories, and lessons. Using time-tested exercises, she shares how our experiences and events are our mirrors and best teachers.
 
Writers are encouraged to find and speak in their own voice to best serve their audience, not the editor. Working with writers is one of her greatest joys. Sometimes the audience is you as her key statement is “the pen is mightier than the therapist.” Driven by a passion for memoir and passing on stories, Rusti believes if you have lived and breathed, you have a story. The page is the most friendly place for reflection and self-examination. Rusti is often told, “You create such safety for anyone in your groups.” If you have lived and learned, you have the wisdom to share! Both as a writing & speaking coach, she believes the page and stage are waiting for you to appear. Someone is waiting to hear your journey and learn from your wisdom.
 
You can learn more about Rusti by going to her website: www.rustilehay.info
 
Check out any of the links below to access this and other episodes of the Finding Peace Podcast.
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What Happens to our Brains During a Traumatic Experience

In this episode, I share a recent experience that reminded me of what happens inside when we are faced with a threatening experience.  Listen as I discuss the flight or fight response and the aftermath.  I also remind listeners that they are worthy of love and belonging, even when we forget it sometimes.  
 

Special Guest - Elizabeth Power

I am so humbled and excited to interview Elizabeth Power.  Her story is amazing.  How many people have you met who have been able to overcome Dissociative Identity Disorder (also known as Multiple Personality Disorder.  You can learn more about Elizabeth at https://www.elizabethpower.com/.  Check out her new book, Healer: Reducing Crises
 
Elizabeth Power, M. Ed., CEO of EPower & Associates, Inc. epowerandassociates.com, is a sought-after speaker, facilitator, teacher, and consultant.  EPower &  Associates is the parent organization for The EPower Change Institute and The Trauma Informed Academy.
"All I do is help people with change, resilience and self-care, and alignment. And everything is done from the trauma-informed perspective," she says. "Even courses directly about working with trauma are about change."
Power develops cross-cultural adaptations of models of care for the mental health community as well as helping other countries like Japan develop their own models.  The Trauma-Informed Academy recently released her new model, The Trauma Responsive System which focuses on mastering 9 elements akin to applied emotional intelligence.
She was recently published as third author of an article in Family Medicine about the outcomes of the NIMH research project assessing the effectiveness of the use of the core principles of Risking Connection(r) by Primary Care Providers in their clinical settings. 
When organizations and associations book her as a speaker, it’s most often for motivation, to help people make and adapt to change or to tell her own story of hope and healing.  Conferences love her for her interactive virtual presentations on change, resilience and self-care, and trauma-informed thinking.
“Sharper than a number two pencil, and funnier than a six-pack of funny bones on go-juice,” was one audience member’s response. When you need a speaker with humor, depth, wisdom, and motivation, she’s the one.
 
Listen to the Finding Peace Podcast: 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0p6DK6fPPjHH0z911oCuUghttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1472700242https://www.troyllove.com/thefindingpeacepodcast

The Power of False Beliefs

In this episode, Troy tells the story of the Engine Light Incident that nearly left him stranded in the middle of a busy intersection.   He uses this story to illustrate the power of core beliefs.    
What are some of your core beliefs? Do they empower you or stop you in your tracks?
 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0p6DK6fPPjHH0z911oCuUghttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1472700242https://www.troyllove.com/thefindingpeacepodcast

Holiday Presence

In this episode, I share one of my favorite holiday memories.  We then explore how we can find greater peace, joy, and light in our lives through challenging the shadows of shame and seeking greater truths.
 
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You can listen on a variety of platforms including:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0p6DK6fPPjHH0z911oCuUghttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1472700242https://www.troyllove.com/thefindingpeacepodcast

Gratitude Shame

Why does Gratitude have to be so complicated?  Well, it's not really, but Shame sure has a way of making it messy.  Listen to how to honor emotion while also expressing gratitude in this episode of the Finding Peace Podcast.

The Monster in My Garden

In this episode, I explore fond childhood memory and how it relates to why we do some of the behaviors that we engage in.  Many times, we are trying to find ways to feel our love and belonging tank but then are shadows of shame tell us that doing so is wrong or they were doing it inappropriately. In this episode, we explore what is underneath the surface and how we can find creative ways to get our love and belonging tank filled in healthy, lasting, and peaceful ways.
 
 
You can listen to the Finding Peace Podcast by clicking on any of these links:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0p6DK6fPPjHH0z911oCuUghttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1472700242https://www.troyllove.com/thefindingpeacepodcast