Spiritual Grit

To help celebrate Filipino American History month, I've got special guest, author, Tamiko Nimura on the show! Yay! It's easy to forget that we are spirit souls having a human experience. We get wrapped up in what our eyes see and the crazy scrawl our minds make in our heads. In this week's episode, I want to shine a light on things we don't often see or pay attention to. Today I sit down with author Tamiko Nimura to talk about the (invisible) writing process (often, readers think that we poop out perfect books! Haha), how yoga can be the bridge between the physical and emotional/spiritual experience of being a human, and what it means to be an activist (hint: it's not just marching in rallies). Listen in on this conversation that highlights how times of intense distress can foster the creation of new, surprising things (like a spontaneous course on civil rights!) and how we can reconnect with our inner selves (hint: it's yoga - haha!). About Tamiko Nimura: Tamiko Nimura is an Asian American creative nonfiction writer living in Tacoma, Washington. She has degrees in English from UC Berkeley (BA) and the University of Washington, Seattle (MA, PhD). Her poems, essays and interviews have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Off Assignment, Narratively, The Rumpus, Full Grown People, Heron Tree, HYPHEN, Kartika Review, and Blue Cactus Press. She has essays in the anthologies Ghosts of Seattle Past (2018) and New California Writing (Heyday 2012). At UC Berkeley, she studied creative writing with Ishmael Reed and Gary Soto. She has read at the Looseleaf Reading series (Seattle), King’s Books and Blue Cactus Press (Tacoma), and the San Francisco Public Library. She is a 2016 Artists Up grant recipient and a 2019 GAP Award recipient. She has been awarded a Tacoma Arts Commission Tacoma Artists Initiative Project grant (2021-22) for her memoir-in-progress, A PLACE FOR WHAT WE LOSE. She was also awarded an AMOCAT Community Engagement Award for her artistic and community work in 2022.  *** Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: Earthed Poem: “A Litany First Revival” by Audrey Allard   Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com Tamiko Nimura Website: https://www.tamikonimura.net/

During these times of intense conflict and suffering, what are you doing to release the pressure that is building within you? Our bodies know what is happening before our minds can even register it. Add in all the external messaging that tells us what we should do instead of inviting us to explore options that feel good for us-- and you've got a formula for creating even more pain and conflict. What are some ways that we can release the pressure that is building within us? How can we understand that nourishing and caring for ourselves creates an energy for others to do the same? How can we express and release the anger, frustration, trauma, and grief that is living within all of us right now? How can we do it in ways that create rather than destroy? When we can express what is within us in ways that feel safe and allow for us to be seen and heard, we can transmute those heavier, lower frequencies into something that can uplift and carry a promise of life and possibility. Listen in on how you can do this and how you can open your heart even wider.

It’s Filipino-American History month, y’all ! And I’ve got a treat for you! This week, I’m talking with Dr. Allan Punzalan Issac, professor of Asian-American Studies at Rutgers University, where we discuss all things Filipino. From trying to answer our life’s calling (despite the protestations of family… well, at least mine) to thinking about nuance in the conversation around the Broadway show “Here Lies Love”. We’re asking questions about spectacle and visibility and what that means for the Filipino community, a people colonized by Spain and the US. We also talk a bit about his latest research on death and dying in the diaspora (how’s that for alliteration??) and play with the idea of writing a Broadway musical that includes singing aswangs! Listen in on what it’s like to be Filipino, what it sounds like to be Filipino (you decide what I mean by that! ha!), and why visibility and representation are so essential to how we can BE in this world.   Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: Baby Steps Poem: “Have you prayed?” by Li Young Lee   Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

As a daughter of immigrants, I am continually learning how to interact with my parents in ways that are healthy, which contributes to my inevitable evolution. A recent conversation with my mom raised this question for me: How can we care for ourselves while we continue to break the toxic patterns of generational trauma? What kinds of practices can we engage in so that we can heal and remain whole while still maintaining a relationship with those who possess old thinking? We all know that change is inevitable. What we forget is that we have the power of choice. Maybe we can't choose the experience that we find ourselves in, but we can choose how we respond and interact with that experience. Yes, there are struggles and hardships we all experience in this life. The difference is in how we handle them. In this episode, I talk about the importance of practice. Practicing connection with our inner selves. Practicing resilience and self-awareness.  Listen in to learn more!

Control is an illusion. We only have control over how we take action, the decisions we make, and in how we respond to external circumstances. So what the heck are we supposed to do? Just sit back and watch the world unfold? Um, yeah. Pretty much. Here's the thing: our perception of the physical world is only a microscopic view of what's possible. How many times have things --like job opportunities, invitations, and the like-- "come out of nowhere"? That's because we don't see all of the intricate web of the universe, working to get you to where you need to be. When Rumi said that the universe was rigged in our favor, he didn't mean that it would be smooth sailing. That there wouldn't be hardships and challenges. But that everything is an experience for our expansion and spiritual evolution. So can we release control and trust that even the hardships are teaching us how to grow?  *********** Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Tarot Card: Two of Swords | The Hanged Man Poem: “Easter Sunday” by Sin Yu Pai Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

What if I told you your life's purpose doesn't have to be the "be all and end all" of your life? What if your life's purpose was as simple as being You? That making cupcakes because you felt like it was your purpose? That loving and caring for your dog was your purpose? Western culture has emphasized individuality and pushes us to pursue our life's purpose in the name of that individuality, which is seen as separate from the community, from the collective. But it doesn't stop there. It tells you that you need to "go big or go home". That, once you find your life's purpose, you need to make a huge impact and change the world all by yourself. No wonder people are burned out. "It takes a village" isn't a phrase for nothing. Listen in on this episode where I challenge the idea of making your life's purpose your career and how that's putting way too much pressure on your nervous system. Can we have a "regular" job AND live our life's purpose? I think we can! Tarot card: Six of Cups (reversed) Poem: "Vestige" by Michelle Penaloza

There are too many messages out there talking about quick fixes and shortcuts. Whether it's about raking in big bucks with creating online courses or healing deep trauma in one session, it's all a ruse! It's an illusion. What they don't tell you is what actually has happened behind the scenes and for how long. There's a saying: slow and steady wins the race. And that couldn't be truer for each of us. The point of living in these human bodies is to grow and expand like the universe. We're here to experiment and learn from lived experiences. There are no shortcuts. There's no race either (I just want to make that clear.) We all move according to our own timeline. BUT we also must interact with the people around us who are doing the same thing, but in their own unique way. And sometimes their ways bump up against ours. So how do we do this? How do we evolve as individuals while honoring the evolution of others? How can we participate in the collective while holding true to who we are? Listen in to find out! Tarot Card: Eight of Pentacles Poem: "Have You Prayed" by Li-Young Lee ***** Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

In a world that moves more quickly than we can perceive, it’s easy to lose connection with our intuition. There’s so much noise, so much that other people are telling you what to do, how to act, what to dream. In this episode, I talk about relationships and somatics. Somatic practices can help us become more in tune with our own bodies, which helps foster self-awareness and emotional intelligence. How can our bodies help guide us when it comes to relationships? How can we know what’s good for us and what’s not? (Relatedly, how can we break the habit of people pleasing?) Remember, you're not alone in your journey, and there's strength in sharing and learning from one another. So if any of this resonates with you, please send me a DM on Instagram (@leslieannhobayan), email me,  or leave a review! I’d love to hear from you! Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Tarot Card: Three of Cups (Reversed) and Page of Swords (Reversed) Poem: The Ambience of Love by Hafiz   Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

Humans are a communal species. I have said this before, yes. In this episode, I first invite you to take some time to rest and restore, to create mini vacations for yourself in your daily life. But know that there is a difference between a restorative retreat and tipping over into isolation. Balance is key. I also talk about being intentional with whom we connect. Who drains us? Who nourishes us? Do we spend time with people in meaningful conversations? Or is it just small talk? And what about connections in the digital spaces (in particular, social media)? How are they affecting our energetic fields? Listen in as I share about being deliberate with the communities that we create. * Follow me on Instagram for some real talk about midlife living in the diaspora, healing, alchemy, the magic of poetry, AND play: @leslieannhobayan or email me at leslieann@suryagian.com. You can also check my website at www.suryagian.com * Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: You Are Not Alone Poem: "On Beauty" by Adeeba Shahid Talukder * Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

Today's modern world has disconnected us from our relationship with the natural cycles and seasons of life and our relationship with the earth. We have forgotten our rites of passage and our rituals for change. As a result, we experience some life changes with unnecessary pain. As a midlife woman, I find that rituals help to ground and contextualize the inevitable changes that happen with growth and evolution as well as aging. In this episode, I call for an acknowledgment of the mothers who experience grief during that time when their child's childhood officially ends (which often takes the form of the child leaving for college). What does a rite of passage look like for the mother who becomes a different kind of mother? The kind who is only in her child's life part of the time rather than daily? How can we include a space for grief at this time? Tune in for a consideration of a mother's inner journey as she launches her children's arrows into the world. Tarot card: Ten of Cups Poem: "Easter Sunday" by Shin Yu Pai