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Stay Sparked #2 - "How Radical Self Expression Can Change Your Life"
6 Plays3 years ago
This week we look at the Burning Man Principle of, "Radical Self-Expression."
We get into the power and possibility of personal expression, and why authenticity is so precious and important in our lives.
Radical Self-expression
"Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient."
Mentioned:
"Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert
HOSTS
JANUS REDMOON is a 10-time Burner, and has spent the last several years as an advocate for psychedelic medicine research and treatment. He is the founder and CEO of NuWorld Nutritionals, a nutritional supplement company providing mushroom-based, all-natural products to improve and maintain health for both body and mind.
http://www.nuworldnutritionals.com
BETSY FINKLEHOO is a healer of massage therapy, CranioSacral and Dharma Coaching. She is an 8 year burner and has spent the last several years seeped in the personal development world, cultivating her passion for transformation and growth. Her recent project, The Power Affirmation Journal and virtual group empowers women to cultivate self awareness and healthy habits so they can live in greater freedom, mind body and spirit.
HALCYON is full-time Love Ambassador. He is the founder of Hug Nation youtube channel and daily zoom gratitude circles. He is co-founder of the Pink Heart Burning Man camp and the 1st Saturdays project for people experiencing homelessness. In his free time he coaches groups and individuals on how to live joyfully and authentically.
http://links.hugnation.com
MASSIVE Thank you to Dub Sutra for their beautiful opening music. Check out their incredible music catalogue online.
https://dubsutra.com
Recommended
Transcript
Exploring Life Lessons through Experiences
00:00:02
Speaker
In a world with increased negativity, division, and despair, how do we stay inspired?
00:00:08
Speaker
On this show, we explore the most profound life lessons from Burning Man, relationships, entrepreneurship, psychedelics, spirituality, travel, and more.
00:00:17
Speaker
Welcome to Stay Sparked.
What is Radical Self-Expression at Burning Man?
00:00:19
Speaker
All right, this week we are talking about radical self-expression and how we have learned to express ourselves from a young age through the Burning Man culture as well, how it feels to be seen in our radical self-expression.
00:00:33
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We talk about authenticity in self-expression.
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We talk about many forms of expression through dress, through clothing.
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Art, through our dance, through our voice.
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Through work, through the conversations that we share with people.
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our children, our coworkers, our family, our friends.
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So there's a lot of ways to radically express and we get into all of them.
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Welcome.
Gratitude and Life's Simple Joys
00:01:00
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Welcome to the new episode of Stay Sparked.
00:01:03
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This is a conversation amongst old friends trying to stay inspired, trying to find ways to see inspiration in a world that is sometimes dark, but how can we stay spreaders of light?
00:01:16
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And so I'm here with two great friends and wise people.
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so we can try to share the topic of the day.
00:01:22
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Today's topic is radical self-expression.
00:01:25
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But before we get to the topic, I wanted to introduce my co-hosts and ask what they are grateful for.
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So welcome, Betsy.
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Hello, Halcyon.
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What are you feeling grateful for today?
00:01:37
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I am so grateful for
00:01:39
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The sunshine and how it just wakes me up every day and reminds me of this beautiful life that we get to live and to feel the sun on my face every day or as many days as I can here in San Diego.
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Just really, really grateful for the sunshine.
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Love it.
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Yeah, I'm feeling it.
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And welcome, Yanus.
00:02:01
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Yanus, what are you grateful for today?
Influence of Burning Man on Personal Authenticity
00:02:04
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Hello, thank you, Halcyon, Betsy.
00:02:05
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I am grateful, I woke up grateful today for feeling good, feeling energized, feeling healthy.
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I was not, it was a bit under the weather last two or three days, nothing bad.
00:02:17
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It was definitely slowing me down.
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So to wake up today, like feeling back into like top health and
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Definitely woke up immediately was like, oh, yes, thank you.
00:02:27
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Thank you.
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Just feeling just feeling feeling good, feeling grateful, feeling good for my personal health and energy and motivation.
00:02:36
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So it's a great way to start the week.
00:02:37
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So grateful for sure.
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Nothing like a little bit of not feeling perfect to remind yourself how good it can be when you're feeling good.
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Yes.
00:02:46
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Yes.
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You know, a healthy reminder, so to speak.
00:02:50
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Yes.
00:02:51
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Awesome.
00:02:51
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Thank you.
00:02:51
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Well, today our topic is radical self-expression.
00:02:55
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And I wanted to first just read the official description of that principle from the Burning Man organization.
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Would you like to share what you're grateful for?
00:03:04
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Oh, thank you.
00:03:07
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I'm grateful that you slow me down enough to get into gratitude.
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I am.
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I'm feeling right now in this moment, so grateful for a
00:03:19
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practice that I have.
00:03:21
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My bio son is three and a half years old and Asher is now had the ability to video call me whenever he wants.
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And so he has a tendency to call me when he's buck naked, bouncing on the, on the couch going, want to see me do a belly flop.
00:03:35
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You want to see me do a belly flop.
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Let's see me do a spin.
00:03:37
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And just like this joyful jangle dangle bouncing of my boy is like such an incredible gift.
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So I'm feeling grateful for him and this age he's in.
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Hmm.
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Amazing, I love that.
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I am trying to mirror and when he asks me to do the belly flop, I'm trying to do them.
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However, I am keeping my pants on just for safety's sake.
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Good call.
00:04:00
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Good idea, good idea.
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He's three?
00:04:03
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Three and a half, yes.
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Sweet.
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Yeah, he's great.
00:04:09
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So thank you, Betsy.
00:04:12
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Slowing me down a little bit.
00:04:13
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So our topic is radical self-expression, which is one of the Burning Man 10 principles.
00:04:18
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Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual.
00:04:22
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No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content.
00:04:27
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It is offered as a gift to others.
00:04:29
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In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
00:04:35
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Now, a lot of people, they list the 10 principles.
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They don't realize that every 10 principle of the principles has this description to it.
00:04:41
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I think there's a lot of meat in that.
How Burning Man Changed Our Perspective on Self-Expression
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But...
00:04:46
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I wanted to first ask you guys before you were exposed to Burning Man, was radical self-expression part of the way you were present in the world?
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I will start by saying no, no.
00:05:05
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Um, I don't know that I gave a lot of thought to it, um, to like, okay, I'm going to express myself radically, but, um,
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or in all the ways that that could be interpreted.
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Really didn't give a lot of thought to that.
00:05:23
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You know, outside of like, you know, events like Halloween or
00:05:27
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Right, right, right.
00:05:27
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Well, like dress up events and such.
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I never, never considered that that would be, you know, a principle to, you know, operate in this world on a daily basis until I got the brain.
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And then immediately was struck by that.
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It's like, oh, wow, I could do that.
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I could do this all the time.
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I could do this, you know, every day.
00:05:48
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And then, and then realizing like, you know,
00:05:52
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kind of feeling like constraints coming off you that you didn't even realize you had.
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And then I was like, okay, what do I do with this?
00:05:57
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So, so that is a, that was an, you know, an unfolding process.
00:06:03
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It certainly wasn't instantaneous, but, but, and still something I feel like, you know, a lot of us are, you know, continuing to grow into and, um,
00:06:12
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you know, trying to figure out for ourselves what that what that means in the world to radically self express.
00:06:18
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And I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I think a lot of that is connected to
00:06:23
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you know, the authentic expression, you know, radical, being radical and authentic, not doing, not doing something crazy just for crazy sake, like it needs to be, you know, an aspect of yourself.
Role Models and Encouraging Authenticity
00:06:35
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I think that as long as the, the authenticity is there, that's the balance.
00:06:39
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I think a lot of people are trying to, and what I'm trying to, to do, you know, balance the radical with the authentic.
00:06:47
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Love that.
00:06:48
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Yeah, very true.
00:06:49
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I hope we get into that more.
00:06:51
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But how about you, Betsy?
00:06:52
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Were you changed by Burning Man or are you already freaky deaky in your expressions before that?
00:07:00
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I would have to say, yeah, I actually came into this world in an environment that really supported creative expression.
00:07:08
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You know, I love this question because it brought me back to when I was three and my mom made me a purple monkey costume for Halloween.
00:07:15
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I wanted to be a purple monkey.
00:07:17
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So she let me be a purple monkey and then I would wear it besides on Halloween.
00:07:21
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And so growing up in an environment that was really encouraging of me to be expressed.
00:07:26
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really helped.
00:07:27
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And then also I had some really great role models growing up.
00:07:30
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My older sisters were very express, expressed especially in their dress.
00:07:36
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So, you know, we would shop at thrift stores and find all kinds of really funky clothes to wear.
00:07:42
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And my
00:07:43
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One sister, Jamie in particular, she really knew how to find unique things and she wasn't afraid to wear them to our somewhat preppy school.
00:07:52
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And she got a lot of beautiful attention.
00:07:55
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Not like people making fun of her, but really like she stood out and she didn't try to stand out.
00:08:02
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She just was in her expression.
00:08:04
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And she really showed me what it looked like to be in her authenticity, even though it was different.
00:08:09
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And so, yeah, being around that growing up really helped.
00:08:13
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And then also for me being into fashion growing up and then also in my first career was really making clothes and upcycling clothes and cutting things up and shifting things and
00:08:26
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wearing things in different sort of ways was like another spark for me to find a new way to express myself and share my art on my body.
00:08:36
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And then Burning Man really gave me the platform to shine in it and to really share it and to help other people to
00:08:44
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be expressed in their own dress.
00:08:46
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And so, yeah, I feel like Burning Man was the catalyst, I think, for being able to share this natural desire and way of expressing my creativity out loud.
00:09:00
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Love it.
00:09:01
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I love that you said that your mom let you, what, be a purple, what was it?
00:09:05
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Purple monkey.
00:09:06
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Purple monkey.
00:09:07
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And both of you brought up, you know, Halloween, you know, and I think that that's
00:09:12
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In both in Halloween and the word you use of let me, like there's this huge aspect of giving permission to people to radically self-express, that there's this incredibly liberating aspect of being given permission.
00:09:27
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So much, I think, of what we're trained to do is what are we supposed to do?
00:09:31
Speaker
How are we supposed to dress to fit in?
00:09:33
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How do we play the role so we will be accepted?
00:09:37
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And it's such a liberating concept, like, no, no, no, stop trying to figure out what you're supposed to do.
00:09:42
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We're going to let you do what you want to do.
00:09:45
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And that breaks open things in your head in these really dramatic ways, I think.
00:09:51
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Absolutely.
00:09:52
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And environment.
00:09:54
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I think environment is a really important part of it.
00:09:56
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And the Burning Man culture really does provide a lot of different opportunities to find expression, whether it's actually on the playa at Burning Man or other Burning Man events, themed events that support the creative thinking and how to bring ways to share colorful ways of dancing and moving and dressing and communicating.
00:10:21
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Mm-hmm.
00:10:23
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You know, you mentioned giving, helping other people.
00:10:26
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And I remember my first year
00:10:29
Speaker
witnessing people express in a way that was so intense, you know, and like in the back of my mind going like, gosh, I brought this tutu.
00:10:39
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Like, am I, is it going to be okay?
00:10:42
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Like, am I going to be able to wear that?
00:10:43
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Will that be embarrassing?
00:10:44
Speaker
Will people notice?
00:10:45
Speaker
And then you leave your camp and you see a guy dressed in all fours on a, like a barking, like a dog, you know, towing someone, you know, dressed like a dominatrix.
00:10:56
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And, and you're like, ah,
00:11:00
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No one's going to notice my tutu.
00:11:02
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You know, like the bar is so high that you can really let go and know that it's not, you know, no one's going to be bothered by it.
00:11:10
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I think that's, that's a huge gift.
00:11:12
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And role modeling, right?
00:11:13
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That person role model to you that it's okay to even go bigger.
00:11:17
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My sister role modeled that to me just by her being in her authentic expression helped me to go, Oh wow, she can do that.
00:11:24
Speaker
Well, then I can find my own expression.
External vs Internal Validation in Self-Expression
00:11:28
Speaker
I think it's interesting, the idea of how, when it comes to expression and how we are able to express or whether we're able to express it, like there, and I'm not sure where it comes from, but it seems like there needs to be some sort of external validation or outside authority that like lets us or allows us or approves of our, of our,
00:11:55
Speaker
desire for expression and, um, and how we go about that.
00:11:58
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Like we, like, it's, it's really challenging for us to, to be our own authority with that.
00:12:03
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Be like, I'm going to do what I'm going to do what I want to do, but it's like, you know, and it happens with, when it happens with children, it's, it's understandable, but it's interesting how we don't, it takes a while for us even as adults to like, be like, I'm going to do whatever I want to do.
00:12:16
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I'm not hurting anybody.
00:12:17
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It's fine.
00:12:18
Speaker
Um, but we need to see it outside of ourselves.
00:12:21
Speaker
It needs to be like the bar, like we need to see where the bar is at.
00:12:24
Speaker
We can't just, uh,
00:12:25
Speaker
do our thing.
00:12:26
Speaker
And it's interesting how we get, you know, what's the word I'm looking for?
00:12:34
Speaker
Not programmed or maybe programmed that, yeah, that there just needs to be this external validation that we require before we give ourselves permission.
00:12:46
Speaker
I think programming is an accurate word.
00:12:48
Speaker
I mean, I think that we spend so many years
00:12:52
Speaker
basing our behavior on an external guideline of what, what is telling us what we should do.
00:12:58
Speaker
And when you shift that from instead of being guided by something that's coming from inside you, like it's, you don't just snap into that because you have so much programming.
00:13:08
Speaker
And so you keep having these voices going, even if you're, if it feels like, Oh, I'm in alignment, I want to dress up like a cowboy.
00:13:15
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It's like, wait,
00:13:16
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remember my mom tried to protect me from judgment and she would always like caution me about being to this or you know don't are you sure you want to wear that to school or whatever there's all these this this programming of like people who are honestly trying to protect you people that love you that are shutting down these potentially uh judged expressions i remember like you you
00:13:42
Speaker
remember like role you mentioned role models betsy and i think that that that is so significant you know we i remember in junior high my friend paul griffin he and some of his friends would go to thrift stores and buy the most gaudy mismatching plaids and crazy clothes and they would come to school in tie-dyes and crazy clothes that just looked ridiculous and i remember thinking
00:14:08
Speaker
How are you allowed to do this?
00:14:09
Speaker
Like, I thought the whole point of everything we do is try to look cool and try to like be like, I was so insecure that I wanted to do anything that would make me fit in more and be considered cool.
00:14:22
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And so to intentionally make a behavior that made you look weird or could get judged, I was like, this is a profound expression that I just could not get my head around.
00:14:37
Speaker
But radical self-expression, I'm like, oh, oh, oh, oh.
00:14:40
Speaker
And it goes back to what you're saying, Anous, about it's got to be authentic.
00:14:44
Speaker
If it's just weird for weird's sake, that's also totally based on some external thing.
00:14:51
Speaker
That's not an authentic expression.
00:14:54
Speaker
And I think especially Burning Man really teaches you how to tune in and be like, that's them versus they're trying too hard.
00:15:03
Speaker
Yeah, that is true.
00:15:05
Speaker
I think something you learn very quickly in the Burning Man culture community is to kind of suss out authenticity or inauthenticity.
00:15:15
Speaker
Because one of the first things I learned on my first year there was the notion of feeling like
00:15:24
Speaker
I was wearing a mask that I didn't necessarily know I was wearing.
00:15:26
Speaker
And then when people were like, you don't have to do that and being like, wow, I don't have to do that.
00:15:33
Speaker
Then once you kind of learn how to drop your mask, then you can see it when other people are and when other people aren't.
00:15:41
Speaker
And so it's like, oh, that person, even if that person is a jerk, like, wow, that person isn't being a jerk just to
00:15:48
Speaker
to rouse people, they're actually a jerk.
00:15:51
Speaker
I respect that.
00:15:52
Speaker
I might, you know, have my own preferences around that.
00:15:55
Speaker
It's like, oh, you over there, I'm going to stay over here.
00:15:58
Speaker
But I respect the authenticity of it.
00:16:01
Speaker
And definitely respect it when somebody who's coming from a place of love and you can see that, wow, that person doesn't want anything.
00:16:06
Speaker
They're just, they're just full of love and they're just bursting with it.
00:16:09
Speaker
Love that.
00:16:10
Speaker
More of that, please.
00:16:11
Speaker
So, so yeah, the authenticity is something that, uh,
00:16:14
Speaker
It goes hand in hand with the expression.
00:16:16
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:16:18
Speaker
Yeah, I would love to add on to that too around how the Burning Man experience and culture provides a space for trying on different forms of radical expression.
00:16:31
Speaker
Right?
00:16:31
Speaker
So all these different characters may come out in different ways and we get to see what actually fits, right?
00:16:40
Speaker
Because if we spend so much of our upbringing trying to fit in and then we are given this opportunity to discover who we are, it might be a little bit wobbly at first.
00:16:51
Speaker
Right?
00:16:51
Speaker
And so it's like, let me try this on.
00:16:54
Speaker
How does this archetype feel?
00:16:56
Speaker
How does this feel?
00:16:58
Speaker
I know for me, colors have really been a big part of my exploration of radical expression.
00:17:05
Speaker
So if I'm, you know, wearing all black and going like super dark colors, then it brings out this expression of my shadow side that is sort of raw and primal.
00:17:18
Speaker
But if I'm wearing white,
00:17:20
Speaker
then I'm energetically feeling different and feeling more light and spiritual and flowing and ethereal.
00:17:28
Speaker
Whereas if I'm wearing rainbow, it gives me an opportunity to try on this like, you know, effervescent character.
00:17:35
Speaker
The colors really have helped me to try on these different expressions of myself.
00:17:43
Speaker
I love that.
00:17:43
Speaker
And I think that there's, there's a real kind of art that you learn over time of how do I try on this expression, and then tune in, is this me, you know, like, you don't want to just keep
00:18:00
Speaker
copying people, you know, like one of the things that often when people get ready to go to Burning Man for the first time, like, where can I buy Burning Man clothes?
00:18:07
Speaker
I'm like, oh, no, no, no, no.
00:18:09
Speaker
There's not Burning Man clothes.
00:18:11
Speaker
There's the freedom to express how you want.
00:18:15
Speaker
Now, often people are drawn to the culture and they go, oh, I want to wear, you know,
00:18:19
Speaker
a captain's hat with rhinestones on it or I want to wear fur boot covers.
00:18:22
Speaker
That's fine.
00:18:23
Speaker
That's totally fine.
00:18:24
Speaker
But if you're wearing wild clothing for the same reason you bought the outfit off the Nordstrom's rack, you know, because you want to fit in, you're not really expressing yourself radically.
00:18:37
Speaker
So it's but I think it's fine to go, gosh, I've always wanted to just like a Viking.
00:18:42
Speaker
Sweet.
00:18:43
Speaker
Dressed like a Viking or, and then as you start to go, okay, this is this, this does feel like
Authenticity Beyond Appearance
00:18:48
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me.
00:18:48
Speaker
Now I feel like I'm still, you know, feeling the pressure to fit in.
00:18:52
Speaker
And then you start to tune in and hopefully in the environment you get, you realize as people are saying, you are owning it.
00:18:59
Speaker
Fuck yeah.
00:19:00
Speaker
And you go, okay, okay.
00:19:01
Speaker
All right.
00:19:02
Speaker
Now I've always wanted to wear this.
00:19:04
Speaker
It's, it's time.
00:19:05
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:06
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:08
Speaker
And it's funny because it also, you know, kind of depends on the environment as well.
00:19:12
Speaker
Like I saw a couple one year that showed up in their like their tennis whites, like the white polos or in the white, you know, the pants that they would wear like Wimbledon back in the day.
00:19:23
Speaker
She had her white like skirt on.
00:19:25
Speaker
They had tennis rackets and they were like actually playing tennis out on the open playa.
00:19:29
Speaker
And it was such a like you'd see them and be like, what?
00:19:32
Speaker
Because it was so.
00:19:34
Speaker
normal, quote unquote.
00:19:35
Speaker
It was such, it was, you just don't see people.
00:19:38
Speaker
That's the one and only time I ever saw anybody wearing that.
00:19:42
Speaker
And it was like, yeah, they read the room and they just went they went the other way.
00:19:46
Speaker
They're like, we're going to go so normal that it's going to be wild.
00:19:49
Speaker
It's going to stand out.
00:19:51
Speaker
So there's all sorts of different approaches that someone could take, you know, to, you know, some for some outside of the box radical expression.
00:20:00
Speaker
So you definitely I see the process of people wanting to dive in it.
00:20:04
Speaker
so far and be like, you know, I'm on my Burning Man clothes.
00:20:06
Speaker
I want to look the part.
00:20:08
Speaker
So they go so deep that they kind of come out the other side of it.
00:20:11
Speaker
You're like, oh, actually I can like normal is like radical or weird or wild depending on, you know, the environment.
00:20:18
Speaker
Yes, and we're always changing.
00:20:21
Speaker
Our expression is always, always changing, right?
00:20:24
Speaker
We are always changing.
00:20:26
Speaker
And I resonate with that deeply, Yanus, because there was a time where I was feeling really called to wear very simple clothes.
00:20:33
Speaker
Like I had been dressing very radically with all my upcycle clothes and colorful clothes and Burning Man attire.
00:20:39
Speaker
And then I came to a point in my life where I had to really simplify because I was kind of unwinding an identity that I kind of built for myself and recognize that I needed to really simplify.
00:20:50
Speaker
And so my new expression had become jeans and a t-shirt for a while.
00:20:55
Speaker
And this was recently for you, Betsy?
00:20:57
Speaker
No, this was not recent.
00:20:58
Speaker
This was some years ago where I just felt like I needed to simplify.
00:21:03
Speaker
I needed to really quiet things down for myself and go into just really neutral tones, neutral clothing, simplify my expression, like minimize accessories and that sort of thing.
00:21:15
Speaker
So that way I could really just connect to a different aspect of myself and kind of release an identity that I had
00:21:22
Speaker
built for myself.
00:21:24
Speaker
And so that was another form of expression.
00:21:25
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:21:26
Speaker
And that's so significant because I think that radical self-expression does not mean as wild as possible.
00:21:33
Speaker
You know, it means authentic, you know, and that's sometimes people fall into that trap at the burn.
00:21:37
Speaker
They see someone
00:21:38
Speaker
wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt and they're like spectator.
Art and Personal Choices as Authentic Expression
00:21:43
Speaker
Meanwhile, that person has been radically self-expressing through their art and through their sculpture and through their cooking, you know, for the last month.
00:21:51
Speaker
And you're like, seriously, because I'm not wearing fur, you're judging me?
00:21:57
Speaker
Like you just fell into the same trap.
00:21:59
Speaker
You put in this expectation of what I'm supposed to be.
00:22:03
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely.
00:22:04
Speaker
This year, actually, I got to do that.
00:22:06
Speaker
I gave myself permission to just wear my regular clothes on some of the days.
00:22:11
Speaker
You know, I'm like, I'm going to bring my normal day to day yoga clothes and sometimes just wear those out in the playa.
00:22:17
Speaker
And in the past, I actually would feel insecure if I wore regular clothes because, oh, I supposed to.
00:22:23
Speaker
supposed to be really wild and expressive and always be put together and everything and this year it was like really liberating to actually just go out and you know meet people that are in the most like beautiful regalia and just be wearing my like yoga pants and tank top you know and to feel equal
00:22:46
Speaker
And to feel met and to feel just as inspiring as inspired by this other person because we're in our authentic expression in our hearts.
00:22:54
Speaker
The judgment is dissolved because it's that place of, of, yeah, authentic expression, whatever that might be in the moment, always changing.
00:23:04
Speaker
Hmm.
00:23:06
Speaker
Yeah, it's easy to kind of fall into the trap, frankly, of, you know, it's radical expression as a suggestion as opposed to a requirement.
00:23:19
Speaker
Like you need to express yourself.
00:23:22
Speaker
Like you need to be crazy.
00:23:23
Speaker
It's like no spectators.
00:23:25
Speaker
The jeans and t-shirt or the t-shirt and cargo shorts, like, come on, what are you doing?
00:23:28
Speaker
It's like, whoa, it's like just, you know.
00:23:32
Speaker
You know, the idea that it doesn't matter whether it's on the ply or off the ply or whatever, there's a lot of quick judgments, quick evaluation.
00:23:42
Speaker
People see you immediately like, oh, I know.
00:23:47
Speaker
And that's hard to get away from, doesn't matter the scenario.
00:23:50
Speaker
So it's important to, and part of that process,
00:23:55
Speaker
to move beyond, like mentioned before, like the external validation or the external authority.
00:24:01
Speaker
And so that somebody can be like, you know, point at you and like, oh, you're doing it wrong.
00:24:04
Speaker
And it's like, you know, thanks for your opinion.
00:24:07
Speaker
Moving on and just kind of be solid and know that when you know you're showing up authentically, there's very little someone can do or say to throw you off or to spin you out.
00:24:20
Speaker
If I know I'm showing up authentically, and there's been times where I haven't been called out on it, be like, oh, God, somebody saw me, like somebody called me out.
00:24:30
Speaker
moving beyond the like, to like, oh, thank you for getting me, for kind of sorting me out or helping me sort myself out.
00:24:37
Speaker
It's important to get ourselves to that place where, you know, the external, you know, we've moved from the external validation to the internal validation.
00:24:45
Speaker
We know we're showing up authentically and we're solid with that, no matter what sort of feedback we get on.
00:24:51
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:52
Speaker
I've had, you know, pink hair for about 20 years now and
00:24:56
Speaker
there are times when I check in and I'm like, wait a minute, am I doing this because this is what feels right?
00:25:01
Speaker
Or am I now, you know, expressing a brand that's expected, you know, is the hair leading?
00:25:08
Speaker
And so every once in a while, I'll shave my head to kind of like check in.
00:25:11
Speaker
But I had a really interesting experience where I started to feel like, is it, can I be radically self-expressed and flamboyant and also be like a humble person?
00:25:22
Speaker
spiritual servant, you know, or is it is it out of alignment to be so attention seeking in this radicals expressing and had this like deep download of that.
00:25:34
Speaker
It's not up to me to decide how the universal canvas is painted, you know.
00:25:40
Speaker
The divine paints the painting.
00:25:42
Speaker
We each get to be just a color.
00:25:43
Speaker
And so your job is just be the paint.
00:25:45
Speaker
So sometimes I'm a very bright color of pink.
00:25:48
Speaker
And that is just, that's the way the painting has to be painted.
00:25:52
Speaker
It isn't me, you know, stepping outside of my role.
00:25:57
Speaker
That is my role.
00:25:58
Speaker
Until it's not.
00:25:59
Speaker
And then you shave the head and go back to what feels right in the moment.
00:26:03
Speaker
I think it's, that's it.
00:26:05
Speaker
That is an, the self check, the self check-in is important.
00:26:10
Speaker
Cause it's super easy to get hung up in identity and presentation and being like, okay, so my, you know, my name's Halcyon or my name's Betsy.
00:26:18
Speaker
This is what that means.
00:26:21
Speaker
Kind of attaching to that without allowing ourselves, you know, the personal evolution to be like, like Betsy was saying, it's like, you know, I was like, I love dressing colorfully, this, any other thing.
00:26:32
Speaker
And now I'm in a point of metamorphosis and being like, okay, so I'm gonna tone it down a little bit, focus less on this, focus more on this and then see what comes out the other side.
00:26:43
Speaker
I think that's important to do that like multiple times throughout our training.
00:26:48
Speaker
Many stages of metamorphosis and expression.
00:26:51
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:26:52
Speaker
Giving ourselves permission to discover new aspects of our expression and providing that space as well for our friends and loved ones.
00:27:01
Speaker
Right.
00:27:02
Speaker
Not expecting that, you know, every time I'm going to see either one of you or one of my friends that you're going to be the same person as you were.
00:27:09
Speaker
Right.
00:27:09
Speaker
Because I want to hold a high bar, a high expansive space for the people that I love to keep evolving to.
00:27:17
Speaker
And I think something really valuable to kind of come back to that you mentioned Halcyon, you know, at Burning Man, it's not just about clothing.
00:27:23
Speaker
Same thing in the world.
00:27:24
Speaker
Expression can really come down to art through voice, through singing, through music.
00:27:31
Speaker
Our sexuality is a form of expression, right?
00:27:34
Speaker
How we find our authentic radical expression through these ways is also something so beautiful that we get to practice and get to support each other with.
00:27:44
Speaker
especially the voice, I feel like it's a really big one for myself and for a lot of people to find our authentic voice, our authentic expression, especially with social media and now more avenues for being able to share our voice, share our heart, share our wisdom, share our opinions, right?
00:28:01
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:01
Speaker
And that touches on a thing I wanted to bring up, which is the idea of radical self-expression as a form of activism.
00:28:09
Speaker
And that there is, I think, a really significant role
00:28:14
Speaker
gift to express yourself authentically and radically and authentically and in doing so, give other people permission because,
00:28:24
Speaker
the solutions do not come from the same way we made the problems to butcher Buckminster Fuller.
00:28:30
Speaker
So if we are going to find solutions to things, they have to come from these internal radically authentic expressions, not from the way we've been trained.
00:28:40
Speaker
And so when you give people permission to express radically, whether it's their attire, whether it's their voice, whether that is their, the dream that they had last night that they voice and they put it into reality,
00:28:52
Speaker
I think that there is something really significant about being a permission giver.
00:28:57
Speaker
Yes.
00:28:58
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:59
Speaker
And like you guys are saying, to get away from me,
00:29:03
Speaker
you know, the physical presentation, the entire aspect of it, and how we can radically express ourselves through our actions, through our deeds, through our words, and how we come off, you know, just how we show up in the world is an aspect of radical self-expression.
00:29:22
Speaker
There's a lot of people, especially in Southern California and LA in particular,
00:29:28
Speaker
where they're like, oh, so what do you do?
00:29:29
Speaker
And the quick response is like, oh, God, such a boring question.
00:29:34
Speaker
What do I do?
00:29:35
Speaker
It's like, that doesn't say anything about who I am.
00:29:37
Speaker
It's like, well, I think what you choose to spend 40 hours of your week doing says a lot about who you are, frankly.
00:29:44
Speaker
So yeah, I think that is a valid question.
00:29:47
Speaker
And if somebody feels good about that, then they've been probably just, oh, this is what I'm doing, da, da, da, da.
00:29:53
Speaker
It's like, if you're not jazzed about what you're doing,
00:29:58
Speaker
And then maybe look at the inauthenticity of it.
00:30:02
Speaker
And are you doing what you love?
00:30:04
Speaker
Are you showing up in the world the way you want to show up?
00:30:07
Speaker
Why not?
00:30:08
Speaker
If not, then why not?
00:30:10
Speaker
Because we're always free to make another choice on a daily basis.
00:30:14
Speaker
And there's nothing wrong with
00:30:16
Speaker
you know, having a job, so to speak, that you don't particularly enjoy, as long as you're approaching it as, you know, as like a means to an end, like you're able to do things, that doing this job allows you to do your passionate, you know, allows you to follow your passion elsewhere.
00:30:32
Speaker
That is also a form of, you know, expression, whether or not it's radical or not.
00:30:37
Speaker
So I think, yeah, it's important to, you know, not only the aspect of expression to retire, but,
00:30:44
Speaker
as to your point, Halcyon, like how we're showing up in the world and what we choose to do with our time, how we choose to spend our time.
00:30:53
Speaker
Yeah, that idea, Burning Man, I think really teaches you that artistic expression is way beyond
00:31:01
Speaker
paint on a canvas or a sculpture.
00:31:03
Speaker
Artistic expression and radical self-expression is, as you said, in the way that you make decisions and the way that you show up and the way that you have relationship.
00:31:11
Speaker
It's all of these ways that we have an option to be authentic and express ourselves
00:31:17
Speaker
artistically and creatively in those ways.
00:31:19
Speaker
And I think that that shift in your head of like, I can live artistically in whatever, however that manifests is really allows people to find a purpose in work, find a purpose in the way you parent, find purpose in all of these ways by finding the avenue of artistic authentic expression in all your choices and the way you live.
00:31:45
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:31:46
Speaker
Yeah.
Can Expression Lead to Personal Growth?
00:31:47
Speaker
I just also want to touch on too, how the principle has inspired the radical expression and allowing it to be seen.
00:31:58
Speaker
Right.
00:31:58
Speaker
Because I feel like for me personally, dance is one of my most treasured ways of expressing myself through movement and dance.
00:32:08
Speaker
And, um, there's quite some time in my life and still sometimes I navigate, um,
00:32:13
Speaker
dancing by myself feels so much safer and how practicing that form of expression and allowing others to see it has helped me have so many breakthroughs around my own self-criticism, my own self-doubt, my own fears or insecurities.
00:32:31
Speaker
And having a space where that is highly encouraged, radical self-expression is highly encouraged, that has invited me to allow my dance to be seen, allow my art to be celebrated, even if I might stumble a little bit.
00:32:48
Speaker
There is also that acceptance space that we're all rising together and it's not always grace.
00:32:55
Speaker
Sometimes it's awkward.
00:32:57
Speaker
And that really provides even more practice ground.
00:33:00
Speaker
for finding our authentic expression and that I'm so incredibly grateful for to be able to feel much safer to allow my dance and my art to be seen.
00:33:11
Speaker
Amen.
00:33:12
Speaker
I mean, that's one of the things that there's, there is no curator at Burning Man that decides this is good enough.
00:33:17
Speaker
This is good art.
00:33:18
Speaker
This is bad art.
00:33:19
Speaker
If it's authentic, it is welcome.
00:33:21
Speaker
And I think that is a massive shift in the way that we are raised.
00:33:26
Speaker
And in Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Big Magics, he talks about how at one point we were all creators, you know, and then
00:33:33
Speaker
our culture went to a place where we now at a certain point in our life, we decide, can you make a living making art?
00:33:39
Speaker
And if you can't, we discourage you and we try to continue to be a consumer and we outsource the creative expressions to professionals.
00:33:46
Speaker
And Burning Man teaches you and radical self-expression teaches you like, no, no, no, you get to sing even if you're not a good singer.
00:33:53
Speaker
You get to dance even if you're not a professional.
00:33:55
Speaker
You get to radically self-express because that's what makes you a human is you have creative impulses in you.
00:34:02
Speaker
And as you suppress them, you suppress your humanity.
00:34:05
Speaker
And as you express them, you dial into this incredible power and it inspires others.
00:34:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:34:13
Speaker
And I think that inspiration is key.
00:34:16
Speaker
There's a lot of, I think a lot of us have had that experience of a
00:34:22
Speaker
Being out in the world, like either wearing what we're wearing or doing, you know, dancing like nobody's watching and being approached afterwards, like, wow, seeing you just go for it kind of just felt kind of empowered me to be like, well, I could do that.
00:34:37
Speaker
Or maybe I could do that.
00:34:38
Speaker
Or maybe I could do something like that or my version of that.
00:34:42
Speaker
I think we've all, you know, have received that.
00:34:44
Speaker
We probably all offered that as well.
00:34:46
Speaker
Like seeing, you know, you certainly, this is the conversation that I think has transpired between us three and various ways.
00:34:52
Speaker
Like, wow, seeing you do that thing kind of helped me realize that I can do that thing or I could do my version of that thing.
00:34:59
Speaker
And then in my doing of that thing, somebody else gets inspired by that.
00:35:03
Speaker
And then I hear the same thing.
00:35:04
Speaker
Yeah, it's an upward spiral.
00:35:07
Speaker
It's definitely, it's definitely a really nice feedback that, uh,
00:35:11
Speaker
that is, you know, potential for that exists if we go out and, you know, do our thing, be authentic and inspires us, inspires others, you know, just by us doing our thing, which is, which is, you know, you're doing it right at that point.
00:35:27
Speaker
I wanted to just acknowledge that that idea of the upward spiral does not mean that you're on a constant growth process where you're more and more liberated and free.
00:35:37
Speaker
I I'm of the mind that you stumble and you fall and then you fall into some insecurity, you know, like occasionally someone will be like, man, I'm, I'm so inspired by you.
00:35:45
Speaker
You just don't give a fuck what people think.
00:35:47
Speaker
I'm like, Oh boy, no, no, no, that's not true.
00:35:49
Speaker
That's definitely not true.
00:35:51
Speaker
Like, you know, in, in this moment, I'm feeling liberated and free, but, uh, I didn't want to leave the house last week, you know, or I, you know, with scared about this, or I, I used to, I took me the longest time to go to a, um, what's it called?
00:36:06
Speaker
Not authentic dance, uh,
00:36:08
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just like, it just terrified me.
00:36:12
Speaker
And I would tell people that and they would laugh like, oh, that's so funny.
00:36:15
Speaker
You being terrified of status.
00:36:17
Speaker
I'm like, no, no, no, that's also who I am.
00:36:20
Speaker
I get to be both.
00:36:21
Speaker
Yes, absolutely.
00:36:23
Speaker
Yeah.
00:36:24
Speaker
And I think it's a really beautiful point because we hold people in certain light and not always recognize that we're all human.
00:36:33
Speaker
We're all in this together.
00:36:35
Speaker
I had a similar experience.
00:36:36
Speaker
I ran into a girlfriend on the playa actually, and she is maybe a decade younger than me and she's on a beautiful spiritual path.
00:36:43
Speaker
And we were having this beautiful conversation and she just paused and was like, I'd like to just ask you a personal question.
00:36:49
Speaker
And I said, yeah.
00:36:49
Speaker
And she goes, have you ever been insecure?
00:36:53
Speaker
And I was like, I still am insecure, of course.
00:36:57
Speaker
So like, aren't we all about different things?
00:37:00
Speaker
But I could tell that she was holding me in this light of like, totally, fully confident, never being insecure about anything.
00:37:08
Speaker
And yes, I have come a long way and I don't let insecurities run my life anymore like maybe I used to.
00:37:15
Speaker
But there still is things that I get to work through around my insecurities.
00:37:19
Speaker
And now I'm able to see that those insecurities teach me where I can grow, where I can tend to those little weeds that are in my garden.
00:37:28
Speaker
You know, and so it's a, I think it's a really important thing to recognize that when we see these role models that we're also human.
00:37:35
Speaker
And that actually makes me feel even more inspired.
00:37:37
Speaker
Like when I see somebody that I hold in such high regard, express a bit of their humanness, it's like, ah, okay, we're the same.
00:37:46
Speaker
Like we're all in this together.
00:37:50
Speaker
It's important to remember, and we forget and then we remember and then we forget, but it's important to remember that there are very few destinations in life.
00:38:03
Speaker
Most of it is a journey and acknowledging like,
00:38:07
Speaker
know when you have when you have these moments of like insecurity where you know where you're viewed is like oh my gosh you're you're so together it's like oh you should have seen me like you know two hours ago um and but it's important when we get to that place and it's true for how we express ourselves and it's true for our experience in life like if we're okay this is my pink phase you know this is not the destination this is just where i'm at right now um and when we're feeling those those bouts of insecurity
00:38:36
Speaker
maybe even like moments like despair, it's like, okay, this is where I'm at right now.
00:38:42
Speaker
Work through it and I'm not gonna wallow it and I'm not gonna plant my flag here.
00:38:45
Speaker
This is just where I'm at right now.
00:38:47
Speaker
I am always moving.
00:38:49
Speaker
I'd like to see where I'm moving next.
00:38:51
Speaker
And that allows for us to feel it,
00:38:55
Speaker
to be in it and then to kind of come out of it with a different perspective.
00:38:59
Speaker
And, you know, same is true with, you know, how we present ourselves.
00:39:03
Speaker
Like, okay, this is my shabby chic phase.
00:39:06
Speaker
This is my upcycle phase.
00:39:08
Speaker
This is my dreadlock phase.
00:39:09
Speaker
My hair might be shaved, you know, next week.
00:39:13
Speaker
Who knows?
00:39:14
Speaker
So, but there's, as long as we treat our, we treat most aspects of our life as a journey, I think that kind of gets our head in the right place.
00:39:23
Speaker
Well, I want you to be radically self-expressed and authentic, but I would be very disappointed if you shaved your head.
00:39:30
Speaker
I just want you to know that.
00:39:32
Speaker
Well, you know, I did do that once and, you know, kind of kept that for a year.
00:39:37
Speaker
And then it felt more authentic to me to have the, you know, to address that felt like that felt like a truer expression of.
00:39:46
Speaker
who I am.
00:39:46
Speaker
And so, so that's, they came back.
00:39:49
Speaker
So, and they will likely, they will likely, if I have anything to say about it, they'll likely be there, but we, you know, we don't always.
00:39:55
Speaker
So I might, you know, it might just, my hair might just be like, yeah, we're done now.
00:39:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:01
Speaker
I'm the same way.
00:40:01
Speaker
Like my philosophy is I look in the mirror and if I go, that looks like me, then I keep going.
00:40:06
Speaker
If it's like, oh, you know what?
00:40:07
Speaker
I need to re-dye.
00:40:08
Speaker
This is, I'm not, or, or something, I'll bleach my hair and go, huh, blonde, that looks like me.
00:40:13
Speaker
I guess I'll keep it for a while.
00:40:15
Speaker
And as long as I look in the mirror and it feels like me, then I feel like that's radical for me in this moment.
00:40:22
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:24
Speaker
You know, I love that so much.
00:40:26
Speaker
And I want to also bring something forward that's really alive in our culture today with social media and all these representations of many different types of people's expressions and how it can be incredibly inspiring.
00:40:40
Speaker
And it can also be incredibly debilitating for some people, right?
00:40:46
Speaker
Because comparison
00:40:48
Speaker
can sometimes really create depression.
00:40:52
Speaker
You know, I'm sure we've all experienced at some point where I've talked to different people that have felt like, you know, they're watching these people that are, have thousands and thousands of followers and they're so beautiful and they're so this and they're so that, and they're so fully expressed, but I'm not, I'm not that.
Social Media's Impact on Self-Expression
00:41:07
Speaker
And I will never be that.
00:41:08
Speaker
And I can't be that, that expressed and I can't be that beautiful.
00:41:11
Speaker
I can't be this or that.
00:41:12
Speaker
And so I think it's a really important, um,
00:41:16
Speaker
part of our time to be aware of that and to be able to notice when somebody being in their full expression is bringing out our expression or limiting it, right?
00:41:29
Speaker
And to be able to refine what kind of content we're taking in and if it's empowering us or not.
00:41:35
Speaker
right?
00:41:36
Speaker
Continuing to follow people that uplift us, that encourage us to be able to shine, and also to unfollow those accounts that don't feel like they're actually empowering us, the ones that are making us swallow, because it's a real thing.
00:41:52
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:41:53
Speaker
I love that.
00:41:54
Speaker
And I think that there's, it's actually, I think, very encouraging that I think our culture is becoming much more
00:42:02
Speaker
celebratory of people being authentic and true and sharing their struggles.
00:42:07
Speaker
Whereas I feel like, you know, eight years ago that it was expected that you were always killing it at all times, you know, and, and I think now we're finding thought leaders and leaders, you know, being much more real with their journeys of mental health struggles, you know,
00:42:25
Speaker
medication, therapy, depressions.
00:42:29
Speaker
And I think that it's really important, especially if we're looking to people to be teachers and leaders, that they don't portray this falsehood, this fiction, that they have figured it out and they no longer struggle.
00:42:43
Speaker
Because if you are following someone and you're learning from someone that does not acknowledge their struggles, it makes your pain even more painful because it feels like you're failing.
00:42:55
Speaker
And you're not, you're humaning.
00:42:57
Speaker
It's everyone is doing it.
00:42:59
Speaker
And so the people that are hiding that part are not being radically self-expressed.
00:43:03
Speaker
They are maintaining a fiction that is overall harmful.
00:43:08
Speaker
And I feel it's important to kind of curate your experience, whether you're online or offline.
00:43:16
Speaker
Like this conversation of like really, you know,
00:43:20
Speaker
making, you know, kind of checking who it is that you follow on online and making sure you're not suffering from the
00:43:28
Speaker
the comparison thing, that wasn't a conversation at the very beginning for the first while of when social media really kind of caught fire maybe 10, 15 years ago.
00:43:40
Speaker
This is a fairly recent conversation, but we've all kind of gotten there collectively and been like, all right, we've got to understand that this whole, with all these Snapchat filters and Instagram filters, there is a lack of authenticity in the presentation.
00:43:57
Speaker
of these things and kind of being aware of that and knowing that and like that's he's saying like okay i need to curate my experience how am i feeling about these people that i'm following or like my friends that i'm getting notifications on all the time if they're if you're feeling good and positive empowered by all means continue and if not it's your responsibility to uh
00:44:17
Speaker
kind of check that and make sure that you're getting you're getting inspired you're staying smart in the world as opposed to you know having your you know yourself kind of dampened um and i feel like that's as as much as that exists as i find it very refreshing that we're having some conversations about all sorts of expression whether that's gender expression or sexuality expression and
00:44:41
Speaker
Like this is all a fairly new conversation, but it is permeating throughout the culture.
00:44:48
Speaker
I think that is a fantastically positive thing.
00:44:53
Speaker
We're not anywhere near where we need to be as far as acceptance of the authenticity of others, but we are definitely on the way.
00:45:00
Speaker
And that feels good that people are
00:45:07
Speaker
being encouraged to radically express themselves to the point where it's becoming not so radical.
00:45:12
Speaker
It's just like, this is just how I'm showing up.
00:45:15
Speaker
I'm allowed to show up this way.
00:45:17
Speaker
And hopefully everybody's cool with it.
00:45:20
Speaker
And if not, that's fine.
00:45:23
Speaker
Well, and that's one of the huge benefits of,
00:45:27
Speaker
whether it's Burning Man or Juggalos or Comic-Con or whatever, any community that encourages radical self-expression, any community that says, if you are being who you truly are, we love you and we want to support you and we want to applaud you and cheer you on whenever you're showing that courage.
00:45:46
Speaker
Like that sense of belonging is what allows people to
00:45:51
Speaker
express their gender authentically for the first time, which allows people to stop pretending.
00:45:56
Speaker
And it's in that place of allowing that we dial into our power, that we express our gifts, that we find our purpose in that place.
00:46:03
Speaker
But it takes, I think, a very special person who can do that alone.
Community Support in Encouraging Expression
00:46:08
Speaker
You know, we need to have community.
00:46:10
Speaker
And so I would say, you know, if my closing thoughts on this topic is that there's two really significant ways that we can live in purpose.
00:46:18
Speaker
One is trying to figure out
00:46:20
Speaker
who our authentic self is, and then express that in the world.
00:46:24
Speaker
And while we're figuring all that out, recognize when someone else is being courageous.
00:46:30
Speaker
And be a supporter of them, be a cheerleader for them.
00:46:33
Speaker
Because if all you do is say, well done, right on, you look great today.
00:46:41
Speaker
Oh man, love what you're doing.
00:46:43
Speaker
Like if you just do that, you are strengthening these powerful people in the world as they are finding their footing and making a difference.
00:46:49
Speaker
And that means that you're making a difference.
00:46:51
Speaker
And it's, so find your authenticity, support others as they are being that courageous self.
00:46:56
Speaker
And you have now made a difference in the world.
00:47:00
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:47:01
Speaker
Celebrate.
00:47:02
Speaker
Celebrate each other's expression.
00:47:05
Speaker
As Michael Bexwith says, is when we celebrate other people or other people's successes, then we find more of our own.
00:47:13
Speaker
And so what a beautiful gift that we can give to others by cheering them on and not just can fuel our own sense of expression.
00:47:21
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:47:22
Speaker
I love that Halcyon.
00:47:23
Speaker
So, so beautiful.
00:47:25
Speaker
So hopefully that can be a spark for
00:47:27
Speaker
for all of you listening today to remember to celebrate radical expression in others around you and in yourself.
00:47:36
Speaker
Yeah, and really, just not to belabor it, but yeah, really, really, when you see somebody like crushing it, no matter what aspect of life,
00:47:48
Speaker
yeah, encourage, you know, encourage that or acknowledge that, or at least like witness that and let them know that they are seen in that aspect.
00:47:56
Speaker
And when that's coming from a place of authenticity, like, you know, you're crushing it.
00:48:00
Speaker
Like even, even as a man, like I'll, if I see a, you know, you know, a woman who's doing, who's, who's wearing something that I like, you know, a lot of times that can be misconstrued as like trying to open to a conversation, but it's like, Hey, I like your coat.
00:48:14
Speaker
And they're like,
00:48:16
Speaker
oh, that's it, like your coat, moving on.
00:48:19
Speaker
And so you can kind of see the like, all right, person likes my coat, fantastic.
00:48:24
Speaker
And that's all they had to say.
00:48:25
Speaker
And that's great.
00:48:26
Speaker
And I think we're coming from a place of authentic witnessing.
00:48:32
Speaker
It's great.
00:48:33
Speaker
It's great and appreciated.
00:48:34
Speaker
Yes, we fan each other's flames.
00:48:37
Speaker
Yeah, let me wrap what you just said.
00:48:39
Speaker
And I think that was very helpful for me is that
00:48:42
Speaker
if you can compliment someone, make it on a choice they made, not on something they were born with.
00:48:48
Speaker
Don't say your body looks great.
00:48:51
Speaker
Say,
00:48:52
Speaker
those shoes are amazing or you did your makeup.
00:48:55
Speaker
I love the way you did your makeup.
00:48:57
Speaker
You have pretty eyes because then you're allowing someone to be proud of their way they radically self-expressed instead of something that they may have some bad history on being judged for things that they're outside of their control.
00:49:10
Speaker
Or frankly, yeah, they had no control over it.
00:49:12
Speaker
It's like, oh, thanks.
00:49:13
Speaker
Thanks for your parents, I guess.
00:49:17
Speaker
So yeah, good.
00:49:18
Speaker
That's a, that's a good reminder.
Personal Projects and Self-Inspiration
00:49:20
Speaker
So before we wrap up, I wanted to first tell people, please subscribe to us and leave us reviews on Apple podcasts.
00:49:28
Speaker
This is a stay sparked show and tell your friends.
00:49:31
Speaker
And I wanted to check in with each of you and see if you had anything that you would like to promote something that you are have available in the world that people could find from you.
00:49:42
Speaker
Thank you, Halcyon.
00:49:43
Speaker
Yes, I love helping people stay sparked with a product that I created a few years ago called the Power Affirmation Journal.
00:49:51
Speaker
And this journal is set up with prompts to help the writer to really get in touch with their belief systems are in different areas of life and go through a process of reprogramming.
00:50:02
Speaker
our limiting beliefs and infusing our consciousness with beliefs and thoughts and affirmations, gratitude and self-inquiry to pump our mindset muscles so we can stay inspired, stay uplifted, stay positive and also stay real with who we are.
00:50:18
Speaker
So check out the Power Affirmation Journal.
00:50:20
Speaker
And I've heard so many people share such incredible stories from using that.
00:50:26
Speaker
So I'm so glad that you put that in the world.
00:50:28
Speaker
Thank you, Betsy.
00:50:29
Speaker
Thank you.
00:50:30
Speaker
How about you, Yunus?
00:50:32
Speaker
Um, well, likewise to, uh, to Betsy's I, my partner has, um, has, has her power affirmation journal and I've got so many friends, like more than I can count on both hands that have, that have one and love and absolutely love it.
00:50:46
Speaker
It's definitely helped them in, uh, in this world, get, you know, get themselves like, you know, moving in the right direction, so to speak.
00:50:53
Speaker
Um, so yeah, so they love it.
00:50:54
Speaker
Everybody should check that out for sure.
00:50:56
Speaker
So, uh, I have a company.
00:51:00
Speaker
called New World Nutritionals, which has a nutritional supplement company.
00:51:06
Speaker
And our main product is a all natural formula.
00:51:11
Speaker
It comes in capsules that is really good for proving things.
00:51:16
Speaker
It's all things to do with like the brain.
00:51:19
Speaker
So it's food for your brain.
00:51:20
Speaker
It allows you to improve your focus, improve your learning, improve your memory.
00:51:28
Speaker
It's been referred to as a spa day for your brain.
00:51:31
Speaker
It just helps you to kind of shift your perspective a little bit.
00:51:36
Speaker
People use it for alleviating symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD, even PTSD.
00:51:44
Speaker
It's getting a lot of results from people experiencing neurological ailments and challenges.
00:51:52
Speaker
It's, again, 100% all natural
00:51:55
Speaker
And people are getting some really good results with it.
00:51:57
Speaker
The company website is newworldnutritionals.com.
00:52:00
Speaker
It's newworldnutritionals.com.
00:52:03
Speaker
And it's the time of year for holiday sales and gift giving.
00:52:08
Speaker
So we're going to be doing that as well.
00:52:11
Speaker
So keep an eye out for that.
00:52:12
Speaker
And we will have the links to all of this stuff in our show notes.
00:52:15
Speaker
So you can find your way to these products.
00:52:17
Speaker
I actually am a user of your supplements.
00:52:22
Speaker
So I can give that an endorsement as well.
00:52:25
Speaker
And I wanna mention that my t-shirt store, lovemorefearless.com has a bunch of new shirts.
00:52:31
Speaker
And we are now giving away a pair of new clean socks to the homeless through my homeless charity for Saturdays for every shirt purchased.
00:52:40
Speaker
And would love to see you wrapping your beautiful body self-expressed in a wonderful saying like love more fearless or a picture of my grandpa or something wonderful like that.
00:52:51
Speaker
So,
00:52:52
Speaker
Thank you guys for being here and joining us.
00:52:56
Speaker
And as we prepare to leave, Betsy, would you leave us with an affirmation?
00:53:03
Speaker
Yes.
00:53:05
Speaker
Affirmations are a great way to focus our mind and infuse our thoughts with affirmations.
00:53:10
Speaker
positivity and reminders.
00:53:12
Speaker
So here is one based on the theme of today.
00:53:15
Speaker
I allow my self-expression to be seen, to be alive, to be invigorated.
00:53:23
Speaker
I allow myself to be radically self-expressed.
00:53:26
Speaker
I allow myself to be radically self-expressed in all areas of life.
00:53:32
Speaker
Yes, I allow myself to be radically self-expressed in all areas of life.
00:53:38
Speaker
Yes.
00:53:39
Speaker
Nice.
00:53:40
Speaker
Fantastic.
00:53:42
Speaker
Oh, thank you both.
00:53:43
Speaker
I love you.
00:53:43
Speaker
If you're listening, I love you.
00:53:45
Speaker
Thank you guys.
00:53:47
Speaker
Love you guys.
00:53:48
Speaker
Thank you so much, Kelsey.
00:53:49
Speaker
And thank you, Janus.
00:53:51
Speaker
Thank you, kids.
00:53:51
Speaker
Appreciate it.
00:53:52
Speaker
Stay sparked.