

Spiritual Grit
Leslieann Hobayan
Welcome to Spiritual Grit, the podcast where we talk real-talk about spirituality through the lens of activism and social justice. What happens when activism and spiritual practices collide? What sparks of change call for the grit we need to create meaningful strides in social justice. I'm your host, Leslieann Hobayan, poet, priestess, activist, professor, hip hop dancer, and bad-ass mama. Join me as we dive in to learn more about our deepest selves so that we can be better ancestors to create a stellar world for our descendants. Grab your dancing shoes and let's get groovy with the grit!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 2, 2025 • 30min
Ep 291 - Best of Spiritual Grit: The Fated Path vs The Destiny Path
The title of this episode is basically this: will you choose capitalism? Or humanity? Which is to say: you can choose to be a full human being with all of your facets and complexities, living life exploring this existence in all ways (art making! communities of care! food growing!). OR you can give your power away and allow capitalism to dictate your fated path by constantly running on the treadmill of productivity. (Reminder: you’re not a cog in a machine.) And before you get all “well, how am I supposed to live in a capitalist society if I don’t make money?”, listen to this episode. It’s about remembering your soul path and learning self-trust again. With the lunar full moon eclipse in Pisces, there’s a whole lotta unconscious releasing (which, if you ask me, includes the conditioned thinking we got from capitalism). And with that release is a remembering and an invitation to create. Tune in!Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Oracle card: I Remember and I trust myself more than capitalism“The Heart is Right” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comCreative Writing Camp: https://www.suryagian.com/creative-writing-camp

Sep 25, 2025 • 32min
Ep 290 - How to show care and build community
After being sick last week, I got to experience the effects of the failure of care. It reminded me of how important it is for us to truly make efforts showing care for each other. It emphasized how crucial community is during a time where systems of oppression are crumbling.In this week's episode I offer ways to think about care and how to show it. I also invite folks to think about how to build their own communities of care if they are not part of one already. Tune in to hear more about our basic human need for connection and care.And if you want to be part of my private mailing list, sign up here: suryagian.com/subscribe Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NmlshGX4ijHPXmFIgT1Nu Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-grit/id1497436520 ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: The Nine of Swords (Reversed)“The Tree We Planted” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Sep 18, 2025 • 32min
Ep 289 - Best of Spiritual Grit: The Great Shedding: A Consequence of Standing In Your Truth
As I continue to speak my truth and advocate for a free Pal3st!ne, more and more folks are telling on themselves, showing who they really are. And the shedding of various levels of relationships –from acquaintances to friends to community members– continues. In this week’s episode, I address the fears that come with this shedding and what to do about it. How do we keep going? Do we even keep going? (Short answer: YES!) How do we stay on the course of our truth if it means that people will leave our lives? Listen in to dig deeper into why speaking our truths are crucial to our collective healing and liberation. ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Oracle card: All Paths Lead HomePoem: “When You Wake” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

Sep 11, 2025 • 37min
Ep 288 - Every little thing matters and community is how you keep going
Even when you don't see immediate results, it's so important for us to keep going. To understand that every little thing we do matters and that every little thing we *don't* do also has an effect. In this week's episode, I'm talking about an insistence to make the effort even if it feels too hard or feels too insignificant. For example, sometimes it's easier just to put on sweatpants and a sweatshirt. But if we can make the effort to put on jeans and maybe a clean shirt, we can feel better on the inside. Similarly, in our fight for a liberated world, every little action matters. From buying a bar of soap from a Pal/es/tin/Ian vendor to attending a rally, we might think it doesn't do much, but these build momentum and soon change will happen. Listen hear about why our efforts are necessary, how we can tap into our innate strength and compassion, and how community can help us to keep going. Tune in!Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NmlshGX4ijHPXmFIgT1Nu Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-grit/id1497436520 ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Strength“The Clay Bowl’s Destiny” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Sep 5, 2025 • 23min
Ep 287 - Best of Spiritual Grit - Growth (and evolution) hurts
As we enter a portal into more darkness, we need to remember that change equals growth. And while nobody really talks about this, growth is painful. How can we stay steady and endure the discomfort, knowing that change is inevitable? How can we reframe challenges in order to learn from the pain? To learn that we are not being tested nor are we being punished. We are just being pushed to grow.Tune into this week's episode to learn how to stay steady in the chaos. How to be like a seed in the earth. ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Doors are opening for you: you decide rewards and wildcard“I saw two birds” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comWriting as Resistance: https://www.suryagian.com/writing-as-resistance Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini

Aug 28, 2025 • 36min
Ep 286 - Global / Local Vibes: Navigating our personal lives while fighting for collective líberätion
We're all struggling in our personal lives, from financial strain to job insecurity and beyond. AND there are so many fires burning both in our communities and at the collective level. So how do we navigate it all? How do we keep going and not burn out?In this week's episode, I'm talking about how the global and the local are intertwined, how what we do on the personal level affects the collective in ways that we may not yet see. Tune in to hear more about how we can hold both, how we can sustain the work we need to do, and how we can discover our heart’s desire in the midst of it all. We can have the courage to dream big and manifest it for the highest good of all!Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NmlshGX4ijHPXmFIgT1Nu Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-grit/id1497436520 ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: King of Pentacles“A Cushion for your Head” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Aug 21, 2025 • 34min
Ep 285 - Listening for and Hearing your Inner Voice
What does our inner world have to do with our external actions? What does meditation have to do with activism? How can we discern between my inner voice and the voices of others? In this week's episode, I'm talking about the connection between spiritual practices and external activist action. Also talking about a longing for home and how we can find it in meditative practices. Tune in to learn more! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NmlshGX4ijHPXmFIgT1Nu Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-grit/id1497436520 ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Hiraeth from the Starseed Oracle“Cucumbers and Prayers” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Aug 14, 2025 • 31min
Ep 284 - How Mindfulness and Intention Help the Revolution
When we practice mindfulness, we can pay closer attention to how we move in our lives. And when we have that power, we can choose how to take aligned action and create the life we want along with the liberated world we dream of.In this week's episode, I highlight the importance of relationship audits, intentionality, and mindfulness in the continuing work towards collective líberätion. Tune in!Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: The Lovers (Reversed)“Dropping Keys” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Aug 7, 2025 • 38min
Ep 283 - Spiritual Practice is Part of the Revolution
What does it matter whether or not we have a spiritual practice? Does that truly make a difference as we fight for collective liberation? The short answer: yes! The longer answer is in this week's episode. How do spiritual practices help us with our activism? Why is it important for us to connect with our interior world? How do we even do that? Tune into this week's episode where I offer some practices to help fortify us as empire crumbles and we help midwife the birth of a liberated world.Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: The Hangman (Reversed) and The Two of Pentacles (Reversed)“If You Don’t Stop That” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

Jul 31, 2025 • 26min
Ep 282 - Pause, Rest, Ask: Who Are You Being Now?
The pace of life keeps rapidly increasing. Many of us feel like we can't catch up, like it is a race uphill with no end in sight. But what if you rested? What if you took the time to just pause and look around? To tune into your body and understand how the external changes are affecting internal ones. Who we are being is changing, whether we like it or not. How you handle it is the key. Tune in to hear more! ===============Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:Tarot/Oracle Card: Four of Swords“A Root in Each Act and Creature” by Hafiz=============== Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.comInstagram: @leslieannhobayan Email: leslieann@suryagian.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRyKundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundaliniSpeak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth