13 | Dr. Silver Fawn Semegon: "Forgiveness is the greatest hope for our world."

13 | Dr. Silver Fawn Semegon: "Forgiveness is the greatest hope for our world."

Dr. Angelenia Semegon, or Silver Fawn, is a developmental psychologist and Native American spiritual leader residing in North Florida.  Silver Fawn grew up in the Ocala National Forest learning to commune with foxes and allow in the nourishment of the trees around her, touching a relationship with nature that was so ancient and true to her roots as a daughter of a full Cherokee. She shares her story of growing up unaware of her native people's way, her journey of leaving the woods and entering into the world of science and empiricism, and her initiation into embracing indigenous healing to eventually become a beloved, profoundly attuned, and highly-respected ceremony holder under the altar of the Lakota elder Basil Braveheart.  Silver Fawn was my professor and mentor at Flagler College in St. Augustine FL, empowering me to understand the mechanics of the mind and supporting my thriving in the academic realm, and Silver Fawn has been my most trusted spiritual mentor and elder whose influence and care I credit so much of my maturation and evolution to.  On this podcast she shares her teachings about balancing masculine and feminine energies for fullness of expression, recognizing the strengths of feminine leadership, as well as an immensely valuable explanation of the power of forgiveness: what it is, why it is important, and how we can begin to utilize it for our own peace and healing. What an honor it is have her here. Her wisdom and knowledge has been one of the greatest resources of my life. I pray that her words stir the deepest knowings of your heart.  IG: https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en]

12 | What does it mean to walk the Red Road? Teachings from an Indigenous Cayuga Chief, Where The Trees Meet the Sky

Guanyukdahjayte, or Where The Trees Meet The Sky, is a Chief of the Cayuaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee, born on the Seneca Reservation in New York.  I met Guanyukdahjayte, or Uncle Al, sitting in a Lakota sweat lodge with our community, and I want to thank Joe Fire Hawk for connecting us and encouraging Al to share his wisdom on my podcast.  Through song, story, and prayer, Uncle Al shares with us what it means to walk the Red Road, which can be described as the Native American spiritual walk of balance and harmony. He shares his perspective on what it means to live in the "real" world — to live as the indigenous always have, deeply connected to the land and the spirits of it. He shares about the importance and power of healing ceremonies, what it means to enter into the womb of the mother, and demonstrates how to acknowledge the life that sustains us with a constant sense of gratitude and respect.  I am so honored to have received his medicine, and to share it with you — so that we all may live. IG: https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en]

11 | How to Harness the Menstrual Cycle for Your Spiritual Evolution

Dear One, Holy Earth Surface Walker, Life-Bringer, Life-Bearer... It is my sincere hope and prayer that you may experience how special and sacred your life is.  I offer this knowledge and medicine from my heart of hearts, because our Earth needs us to remember the power and wisdom within us, so that we may be able to create more life. To create more life! Thriving life! Here, I offer a perspective that has changed my entire worldview and everything about how I experience life: that when I am menstruating, I am the Highest Altar of Humanity. My cyclical nature is a gift, an inborn rite-of-passage that initiates me deeper into my inherent wisdom every single month.   For All My Relations and the Continuing Story of Creation.  IG: https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en]

10 | Freeing Myself By Decentralizing Physical Appearance From My Identity Structure

There was a certain moment in my "self-love" journey where I just became tired. Tired of hyping myself up. Tired of mirror work. Tired of even having one ounce of concern of how I may be perceived. Because, as I have spent so much time and energy learning how to be IN my body again, I've recognized that my outer appearance is really the least interesting thing about me.  In a culture that is hyper-fixated on physical appearance, we pour an astounding amount of energy into smoke and mirrors, which unfortunately has left us underdeveloped in, seemingly, every other way. As I protect my essence and focus on self-healing that leaves me feeling more and more safe, regulated, and at peace within my body, I am now living in a reality where my worth and value are completely independent of however my physicality is manifesting in the world.  AND, now, this freed-up energy can be re-directed to the places that will develop me as a human, enhance my livelihood, and support my mission in service to life.  IG: https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en]

9 | Insights I Received While Fasting and Praying in the Woods During Menstruation

Personally, I find immense value in listening to the stories of others, where their indirect teachings spark an illumination of wisdom within myself upon hearing these lived experiences.  It is possible to learn more from one moment of a story—perhaps even told in passing—than from an entire volume of books delineating the nature and meaning of phenomena. Though, both have their specific importance, I believe. This podcast illustrates a story of a recent lived experience I had: camping on ceremony grounds and fasting during my most recent menstrual cycle. I not only share the physical events of the experience, but also the significant and subtle aspects of my inner process that demonstrate: ㅤ♡ how I compassionately faced my resistance and fear while taking action towards a desire, ㅤ♡ how I lovingly parented myself while navigating obstacles, ㅤ♡ and how song, creativity, nurturance, and humility supported me in choosing love and maturation within myself. What I share is vulnerable, raw, and irrevocably true. This is medicine within itself—to practice being seen in all of our humanity, messy and imperfect as it is.  IG: https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/embody.faith/?hl=en]