Spiritual Grit

A lot of people talk about boundaries and having the need to set them. But what does that actually mean? And what are boundaries anyway? What do they look like and why does it feel so hard to set them and hold them? In this episode, I get into the details of the different kinds of boundaries we can set in our lives,  the reasons why some boundaries are more porous than others, and why it is import...

This is a weird two part episode. Weird because they seem unrelated. But are they? The first part is about growing from conflict. How can the relationships that we are in help us grow and evolve, particularly during points of conflict? Sounds fun, doesn't it? Then the second part asks this question: how does it feel to move through the mystery of midlife? It feels like a long threshold where t...

“I’m in it. I’m in the Academy, and so this opportunity to go on strike and demand what’s right, this is a huge coalition” - Leslieann Hobayan With the Rutgers strike last week, I was able to experience first hand how my spiritual practices, along with the progress I've made on my healing journey, have helped me show up as an even stronger activist than ever before. So many of us activists kno...

“Its about continuing the practice over and over again where you can create awareness in a way that becomes second nature” - Leslieann Hobayan We live in a time where everything is moving so fast that we miss half of the experiences of our life. It's like we're chasing the finish line so that we can finally rest and enjoy our lives. What we don't know is that there is no finish line. T...

What do you do when it feels like all the doors have been slammed in your face? As if the universe was giving you a big fat NO? They tell us to look for an open window. (Whoever "they" are) How do you do that when things feel hopeless or impossible? How can you see anything when you're in the emotions that blur your vision? In today's episode, I talk about how to navigate these m...

What do you envision for your life? When you are in that place in-between, in that place of uncertainty and change, can you see it as a place of exploration rather than panic? A lot of us let fear of the unknown keep us stuck. Our ego's voice feels really loud with fear. Can we reframe the unknown as an opportunity to re-vision our lives and take aligned steps towards making that vision a real...

“Can we trust that we have all the time we need to do what lights our souls?” - Leslieann Hobayan What is your relationship to time? Do you feel like you never have enough of it? What is that about? Time, as we understand it in today's society, is a construct. Meaning, that we can break it and maybe actually play with it. We can stretch it and compress it as we like. Do you ever have those mom...

When we’re stuck, we don’t know what to do. We’re paralyzed by so many things, but usually it’s fear – fear of the unknown.. Our ego tries to keep us safe by staying in the same place, but our higher self is like: “Girl, you don’t know what you’re missing! You’re meant for so much more!” But you know what else? We spend a lot of time looking at what other people are doing. We’ve got our faces insi...

It is crucial for women of color to share their stories, to let others know they are not alone in the experiences that challenge us. In this episode, I talk about how to create new ways of being, how to lean into self-trust as you step into the mystery of not knowing what’s ahead. Everything we know is being dismantled. The rules we used to go by no longer apply. It’s a whole new game that we’re l...

We don't know what we don't know. So how do we find out what that is? How do we heal the things that we're not even aware of? How do we release limiting beliefs that we can't see? In today's episode, you will get a glimpse into how to start answering these questions along with: The secret magic of journaling How to uncover what's in your subconscious How saying "I know" shuts doors What does your...

Midlife is chock full of surprises. Identities falling away, unknown futures ahead. What's not to love? Haha! But more importantly, how can you ground yourself and hold yourself through the portals of change and transformation that are inevitable? How can you lean into trust of yourself and the universe? Can you allow yourself to surrender to the natural unfolding of your life's purpose as you mak...

“Spiritual practice will inform and will give you strength and resilience when it comes to advocating” - Dr. Ravi Shankar I sat down with Ravi Shankar Ph. D., a creative writing professor, translator, Pushcart Prize–winning poet and author of 15 books. He teaches creative writing at Tufts University and his memoir "Correctional" was published in 2022. In this episode with Dr. Ravi, we discuss: The...

Sometimes when we are moving through a portal of transformation, it can feel like death. What's really happening is that you are shedding the old identities, ones that actually need to die so that you can make room for the new identity that you are becoming. Often, these experiences can feel unnerving. Who will you be without the familiar? How do you move forward into the unknown when all you see...

“It doesn’t matter what other people think, because they’re gonna think what they think no matter what we do ” - Leslieann Hobayan If you look at mainstream media, it paints this picture that midlife sucks. You have to try to compete with the youth by buying into tha anti-aging culture. Or there are ads about the latest medication to help you with whatever latest breakdown is happening in the body...

“You don’t know when your last breath will be..” - Leslieann Hobayan Happy new year! Kicking off the year with this brand new episode (recorded while sick ), I invite you to change things up in more meaningful ways. This is the year of The Chariot, which, in essence means, it's a year of moving. It's time to do things differently. What we've been doing isn't working as well as we'd like. now is th...

“I am in service of women of color, particularly those in midlife and midlife is when you get this sudden awareness of where you are in life.” - Leslieann Hobayan How many of us go through life feeling lost, feeling like we're not quite sure who we are or what we're meant to be doing? It's a feeling that a lot of us in midlife are familiar with. For the first part of our adult lives, we tended to...

“It's better to create prophecy than live in prediction” - Leslieann Hobayan What’s your biggest seemingly out-of-reach dream that you knew could change your life if it came true? Many of us think we know the outcome of what our lives will be like. If we follow X, then we will get Y. But what if, instead, we just went for our hairy-scary dreams, wholeheartedly believing that they will come true? W...

“Keep cultivating the life you want within you and watch the magic of the universe line up to create the thing that you want” - Leslieann Hobayan There’s all this talk about self-awareness and how it’s so important for our personal development and how practices like meditation can help. But you might be thinking: why do we even need it? What’s the purpose? Once I cultivate self-awareness, then wha...

A couple of weeks ago, I embarked on an adventure canoeing on the Green River in the red rock desert of Labyrinth Canyon of Utah. I was off-grid for eight days with 15 other beautiful people, including Swedish singer-songwriter, Fia (Eeee!! One of my favorite people!!). It was a big leap into the unknown for me. I've never been camping. I didn't know anyone going on this trip. I'd be disconnected...

Yes, we all experience pain. And it might be particularly acute during this season. But choosing how we create meaning around it is ultimately up to each of us. When we choose to label pain as suffering, we give our power away. It's the "woe is me" thinking. It's a position of victimhood. Is that why we’re here? What can happen if we shift our view of a painful experience into something else? What...

This is the time of year when toxicity shows up in sheep's clothing. Capitalist structures put pressure on us to give gifts and spread cheer by getting together for fancy cocktail parties all in the name of Christmas. You know, that time for peace and love and joy. What if I told you that you were not built for that kind of activity? What if we could come back to cycles of our human bodies? This i...

“What we see is very limited.” - Leslieann Hobayan In this episode, I talk about why it's important for me to focus solely on creating and supporting communities for women of color. Take a look around. Mainstream media shows that support for mental health and spiritual growth are designed for white communities. (For example, it took a long time for Lululemon, a popular yoga clothing brand, to have...

“I am in service of women of color, particularly those in midlife and midlife is when you get this sudden awareness of where you are in life.” - Leslieann Hobayan How many of us go through life feeling lost, feeling like we're not quite sure who we are or what we're meant to be doing? It's a feeling that a lot of us in midlife are familiar with. For the first part of our adult lives, we tended to...

“A ritual connects the visible with the invisible, it opens up that space of asking” - Leslieann Hobayan Ritual opens a portal to help make the intangible more tangible. It's a physical act that gives shape to insights and interior understandings. We all have them and engage in ritual, whether we know it or not. It's a matter of being intentional versus running on autopilot. What's possible when y...

“It's better to create prophecy than live in prediction” - Leslieann Hobayan What’s your biggest seemingly out-of-reach dream that you knew could change your life if it came true? Many of us think we know the outcome of what our lives will be like. If we follow X, then we will get Y. But what if, instead, we just went for our hairy-scary dreams, wholeheartedly believing that they will come true? W...