Ep. 34: The Prayer of Brushing Your Teeth

Ep. 38: Aycee Brown - Embody Your Magic

I’m not interested in spiritual practices to escape the world. I long for practices that allow us to move authentically and skillfully in the world. That’s the kind of work this week’s guest, Aycee Brown, teaches. Aycee Brown’s new book Embody Your Magic is thesis in three short words. How do be bring our mysical, magical selves into our bodies and into the world.(One of my joys in hosting this podcast is finding people who share my ethos and making new friends instantly.) In a world that pulls us in every direction, where our to-do lists are never complete, and there is a constant hum of anxiety about something else we “should” be doing — finding a way to pause, turn off the noise, and come back to our bodies and our hearts is essential. And Aycee knows this intimately. When we turn away from the noise of the outside world and return to our inner natures, we connect to our innate wisdom. In the end, that’s what every spiritual practice is about: they are all pathways back into our own hearts. Aycee’s grounded presence in this conversation is also in the pages of her new book, and I’m grateful she’s doing this work — and that we all get to benefit from it. About This Episode Aycee Brown has been reading people’s charts since homeroom. A psychic medium, astrologer, human design practitioner, and MBA — she moves between the spiritual and material worlds without apology and without losing her footing in either. Her recently published book, Embody Your Magic, is the culmination of a lifetime of doing exactly that. We trace Aycee’s path from a near-death experience at four years old, -- which she believes activated her psychic sensitivity -- to a grandmother who taught her to decode her dreams without ever calling it spiritual training. We talk about finding astrology at 13 because she thought something was wrong with her, what it means to teach people to play the cards they’ve been dealt, and why she has always been able to see exactly what someone is meant to do — whether they listen or not. We close on something I haven’t been able to stop thinking about: in a world drowning in information, the most radical spiritual act right now might be turning it off. Getting back in your body. Feeling the grass under your feet. Aycee says it plainly and I believe her. Chapters * [00:01:59] Growing up with Unity, hoodoo, and a grandmother who decoded dreams * [00:06:32] A near-death experience at four — and what it awakened * [00:13:40] Finding astrology at 13 to figure out what was wrong with her * [00:18:35] What Aycee does professionally — and how it became a business * [00:21:01] What her spiritual life looks like today * [00:29:37] The most important spiritual principle right now: get back in your body Resources & References * 📚 Embody Your Magic by Aycee Brown: https://www.ayceebrown.com/embody-your-magic-book [https://www.ayceebrown.com/embody-your-magic-book] * 🎙️ Aycee’s podcast Is My Aura On Straight: https://www.ayceebrown.com/blog [https://www.ayceebrown.com/blog] * 📚 The American Daughters by (New Orleans native son!) Maurice Carlos Ruffin https://mauricecarlosruffin.com/ [https://mauricecarlosruffin.com/] * 📚 Dominion by Addie Kitchens: https://bookshop.org/p/books/dominion-addie-e-citchens/ [https://bookshop.org/p/books/dominion-addie-e-citchens/] * 📚 Malcolm in the Desert by Malcolm X’s daughter https://www.ilyasahshabazz.com/books/ [https://www.ilyasahshabazz.com/books/] or https://bookshop.org/p/books/malcolm-in-the-desert-wisdom-from-the-spiritual-transformation-of-a-civil-rights-icon-dr-ilyasah-shabazz/ [https://bookshop.org/p/books/malcolm-in-the-desert-wisdom-from-the-spiritual-transformation-of-a-civil-rights-icon-dr-ilyasah-shabazz/] * 💬 adrienne maree brown: “The revolution must be irresistible,” is a quote from Pleasure Activism: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/pleasure-activism/ [https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/pleasure-activism/] Work with Aycee 🌐 https://www.ayceebrown.com/ [https://www.ayceebrown.com/] 📸 Follow Aycee on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ayceebrown/ [https://www.instagram.com/ayceebrown/] 🎥 On Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ayceebrown [https://www.tiktok.com/@ayceebrown] Work with Vera 🌐 veralester.com 📅 Book a coaching discovery call: veralester.as.me/coaching-discovery [http://veralester.as.me/coaching-discovery] 📸 Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verarocks/ [https://www.instagram.com/verarocks/] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veralester.substack.com/subscribe [https://veralester.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Ep. 37: The Dance of Change

Welcome Back, Curious Hearts. I recorded this episode a couple weeks before you’ll hear it, and in that time there’s been a pretty significant change in my life. The details of the change don’t matter. What does matter is that I need the lesson right now just as much as anyone. When we resist change, we suffer. When we try to cling to the way things were, or what we think is “supposed” to happen — we suffer. When we try to influence, manipulate, or otherwise control other people or outcomes — we suffer. Often, by the time we let go of something we’ve been so clawed into, our hands our so sore and our claws so bloody that the pain of holding stays with us for a while. I believe all of our spiritual practices are preparing us for this truth: Change is coming. It’s coming for the things you love the most, and the things you hate. It’s coming for your body, your heart, your relationships, your career, your government, and even your identity. Whether you like it or you don’t like it, it will change. The story I share in this episode is one of my very favorites. I have spent years with it, studying it, teaching it, living it, and loving it. Like all the great stories, every time I tell it, I learn something different. I’m not sure it translates well to this format — but I hope you get something from it. Today, I am being present with what’s changing. I am releasing my attachments to the way I thought things were supposed to be, so that I can experience the joy of what is. All change brings grief. Learning to dance with grief is the path. The only thing I have experienced that doesn’t change is the Essence of Self. Call it Awareness, Soul, Spirit, Wisdom. I believe it is the drop of divinity that is present in all of us. It is the only refuge, and may all of our practice bring us back there. Home to our Curious Hearts. Chapters: 0:00 — Whether You Like It or You Don't 4:47 — The Pine Forest Sages 11:55 — Shiva Begins to Dance 0:30 — Shiva Girl and Hurricane Katrina 26:09 — The Serenity Prayer and God Is Change 🌐 Connect with Vera: veralester.com [http://veralester.com] 📅 Book a coaching discovery call: veralester.as.me/coaching-discovery [http://veralester.as.me/coaching-discovery] #CuriousHearts #TheologyOfChange #SpiritualPodcast #MeaningfulWork #YogaPhilosophy #Nataraj #SpiritualPractice #PersonalTransformation #ChangeAndGrowth #BhaktiYoga #OctaviaButler This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veralester.substack.com/subscribe [https://veralester.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Ep. 36: Tann Cordell-Schneider

Ep. 36: Tann Cordell-Schneier: The Breath is Everything.Tann and I had never talked explicitly about our spiritual lives, but I have known for a long time how much she listens to the world around her. She has been my primary bodyworker for many years, and her way of practicing is unlike almost any other I have know. Her ability to be still, to listen to the body, and to do less is nearly unparalleled. I always suspected there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than I was told. It’s like there is a silent orchestra in the room as she is working — and her work responding to each note. It should not have surprised me how winding and diverse Tann’s spiritual background is — but somehow, it did. Tann’s willingness to soften, to welcome the moment, to open to breath could only have come from years of letting go, and letting go, and letting go. Embodiment is an essential aspect of spiritual practice. We are not just walking heads. Our bodies and our breath can connect us to G_d as quickly as prayer. This episode is a playful, light, heavy, open exploration of just that. Enjoy. [00:01:39] A Lapsed Rabbi Father & a Jewish Day School [00:12:52] Rehab, the 12 Steps & a Higher Power [00:18:37] The Breath as Connective Thread [00:30:01] A Daily Pranayama Practice [00:49:16] Softening as Spiritual Principle [00:54:54] Getting Comfortable with the Open Path Links: 🌐 Work with Vera: veralester.com [http://veralester.com] 📅 Book a coaching discovery call: veralester.as.me/coaching-discovery 🔗 Connect with Tann: https://www.tanncs.com/ [https://www.tanncs.com/] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veralester.substack.com/subscribe [https://veralester.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Ep. 34: The Prayer of Brushing Your Teeth

I love thinking about meditation as “spiritual showers.”You don’t only shower once. Ideally, you shower every single day. Forever. You don’t shower well enough once that you suddenly are clean forever. That’s how meditation is. That’s how all of our spiritual practices are. The reality of this magical universe is that it is chaotic and unpredictable and random. Chaos births the dancing star, or whatever. We cannot control the universe, we do not need to manage it, but we can manage ourselves. We can tend to our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual states, and keep things in relative order. That order, even in the face of all this chaos, is the greatest example of faith I can imagine. May you find gentle order and subtle peace today. Chapters: [00:01:24] The Vedas and the origin of spiritual order [00:14:02] How we create systems of order — and when they stop helping [00:18:38] "I am not the general manager of the universe" [00:21:52] Physical hygiene as spiritual practice [00:25:28] Caring for mind, heart, and spirit [00:29:28] What it means to keep your channel clear Links: 🌐 Work with Vera: veralester.com [http://veralester.com] 📅 Book a coaching discovery call: veralester.as.me/coaching-discovery This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veralester.substack.com/subscribe [https://veralester.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Ep. 35: Neel Sus

Conversations with folks like Neel are the reason I started this podcast. I wanted to normalize spiritual life. It’s so much more common to hear people share deeply personal stories — we talk about finances and sex and taxes and death so much more than our grandparents. We were taught not to talk about politics or religion. We talk openly about our politics these days. But somehow, spiritual life is still so private. Religion is complicated -- its need to be right divides us. I believe sharing our spiritual life, our spiritual experiences, while our deeply held spiritual beliefs bring us together. Neel shares one of my favorite meditation truths: we don’t practice to become something we’re not. We practice to let go of all the things that get in the way of who we are meant to be. I’ll say up front: Neel talks fast. It’s a reflection of how fast his mind is. All our minds move so fast. Meditation shows us that, eventually just allowing the mind to rush while we stop trying to catch up. We just let the mind run, and allow ourSelves to rest. My suspicion is that Neel’s urgency and speed are central to his success in starting and growing a business, and allows him to shift and pivot as the technology world does. Meditation allows for all the unnecessary racing to fall away, so that the real urgency of the work — solving problems, serving clients, building teams — can shine. And, clearly, thrive. There’s so much else in this conversation for you — gems about non-attachment, spiritual parenting, and finding and following purpose. So delighted to share this conversation with you. Can’t wait to hear your takeaways and insights. Keep your heart curious and your mind quick, Vera Chapters: * [00:02:54] Growing up culturally Hindu in small-town South Carolina * [00:09:42] The path from nihilism to entrepreneurship — and Katrina * [00:16:46] What Neel’s spiritual practice looks like today * [00:24:56] Dharma, karma, and running a business with spiritual principles * [00:33:24] Raising kids with purpose without the pressure * [00:49:33] “Stoic Christian Hindu agnostic” — how Neel defines his faith Links: 🌐 Work with Vera: http://veralester.com 📅 Book a coaching discovery call: veralester.as.me/coaching-discovery 🔗 Connect with Neel Sus: https://www.instagram.com/neelsus/ [https://www.instagram.com/neelsus/]🔗 Learn more about Susco: https://suscosolutions.com/ [https://suscosolutions.com/] #CuriousHearts #SpiritualEntrepreneur #HinduPhilosophy #TranscendentalMeditation #Dharma #BhagavadGita #FourAgreements #SpiritualGrowth #MindfulLeadership #MeaningfulWork #SpiritualPractice #ImmigrantStory #SpiritualParenting #PersonalDevelopment #VeraLester #NeelSus #SpiritualPodcast #MantraMediation #ConsciousLeadership #StoicPhilosophy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veralester.substack.com/subscribe [https://veralester.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]