Heather Falenski — Navigating Conflict Zones, Recovering from Chronic Illness, and Being Your Own Light

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Feb 11, 2022

Heather Falenski, a documentary filmmaker and humanitarian, shares her inspiring journey from working in conflict zones to founding One World Media. She discusses the challenges of chronic illness and how it led her to reevaluate her identity and embrace self-empowerment. Highlighting the importance of stabilizing one’s inner landscape, she emphasizes that our self-definitions shape our realities. The conversation navigates themes of resilience, gratitude, and the transformative power of personal struggles, encouraging listeners to redefine their identities with intention.

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ANECDOTE

Heather's Background

Heather Falenski, founder of One World Media, shares her journey of working in conflict zones and adventure film.
Years of unprocessed stress led to chronic illness and complex PTSD, impacting her health and relationships.

INSIGHT

Be Your Own Light

Heather's realization, "Be your own light," transformed her approach to life and work.
It signifies generating inner strength and self-reliance, rather than seeking external validation.

ANECDOTE

Control vs. Surrender

Heather's reliance on control, honed in conflict zones, faltered when faced with chronic illness.
Hitting rock bottom forced her to realize that external control wouldn't bring healing.

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In today’s episode, Brett interviews Heather Falenski, documentary filmmaker, adventure athlete and humanitarian worker. Her early career included several years of working on the African continent with refugees and others displaced by war. She is the founder of One World Media, a film production company based in Boulder, Colorado.

Heather led a fast-paced life working in some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments. Although her work was fulfilling, it was also physically and mentally taxing. It culminated into a severe chronic illness that left her bedridden for over a year. Heather discusses an epiphany that she had after hitting rock bottom that allowed her to move beyond impossible circumstances to regain health and stability.

“The greatest power that we have is to say: I AM that. And whatever “that” is, it’s what we’re defining ourselves to be. It’s what our concept of self is. We can define ourselves in any way that we want. We can say, I’m a filmmaker. I am healthy. I am respected. And once we hold that state as our dominant state of consciousness over a period of time, the outer world will start to conform and reflect that back to us.”

What we discuss in Episode 43:

07:30 The urge to control outer conditions and why it often leads to failure.

10:30 Stabilizing your inner landscape as a way of getting consistent results in the outer world.

14:09 Unconditioned consciousness as your natural state beneath all of the things that you identify with.

19:00 How to consciously shift into a desired self-concept, rather than allowing it to be dictated by outer circumstances.

29:11 Gratitude as a state of allowing a process to unfold, even if it takes some unexpected turns.

32:04 How hitting rock bottom can lead you to the necessary conditions to completely recreate yourself.

**Full transcript can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/AoAEpisode43

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