How to Embrace Authentic Living with Shira Sameroff

Prepare to be inspired by Shira Sameroff!! A Heart and Soul Coach for 25 years (what a cool job that is!!), Shira uses her life experiences to teach women to make decisions from strength and connection as opposed to from a place of conditioning and fear. In this episode, we will hear from Shira,  how her journey of bravery led her to discover her purpose of empowering others. On her journey she learned that living authentically is the key to life and that women have indomitable strength and resilience. Brace yourself for a tale of metamorphosis, bravery, and an ending that will leave you longing for more!

In this episode with Shira Sameroff, you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of living your truth.
• Be able to identify what your individual bravery looks like from the inside and outside.
• Have the courage to take the steps to live your own wisdom and bravery and begin this process by answering 3 simple questions that Sara asks herein.
• Realize that all the knowing you need to live your authentic self is within you and has been there all along. 
• Identify the conditioning that we all have been inundated with and begin to be able to see your way free of it.
• Understand how to start listening to your intuition and know that support is out there to help you on that journey.
• Know why it’s important to get comfortable being uncomfortable!
• Move on from busy-ness and understand that this tendency does not allow your intuitive voice to reach you.
• Be brave enough to make the internal changes that will yield the external changes you desire in your life.
• Understand that connection is the key to everything
• Know how important it is to remind ourselves everyday and in every way that there ARE NO LIMITS!

About Shira:

Shira Sameroff is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in diverse roles including directing community programs and providing personal coaching and therapy. She holds an MSW from Hunter College and a BA from the University of Massachusetts, further enhanced by continuous learning. Influenced by numerous mentors and committed to ending oppression, she works to foster change and healing both individually and systemically. Shira Sameroff is devoted to repairing damage caused by harmful industries and systems, and collaborates with organizations engaged in such transformative work.

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Transcript

Kristina: 0:13

Hey, it's Christina Driscoll posted the she's brave Podcast. I'm so glad you're here with me. When our son was five, my husband was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. For the next 12 years, I learned how to be brave, resilient, and live my best life. On the podcast, we're going to meet so many amazing, brave, authentic and resilient women who share their own journeys of how they learned how to be brave, and are now living their best lives. Step into your best brave life with me. And let's go on this journey of how to be brave together everyone, it's Christina with the she's brave Podcast. Today I have on a very, very special, very, very wise guest who is going to help me and all of you in your life because she's just so incredibly wise and you're gonna love this conversation today. Today, I have Shira Samer off. She's a heart and soul coach with 25 years of experience. Now, Shira, you teach women how not to make decisions based on fear, but from strength and connection. And by the way, welcome to the show.

Unknown: 1:37

Thank you. I'm so pleased to be here.

Kristina: 1:40

Glad to have you. And I absolutely love your mission that's teaching women how to not make decisions based on fear, but from strength and connection. So I do want to just step back briefly, how did you get into this line of work?

Unknown: 1:57

Yeah, that's such a journey and a journey with a lot of bravery. Would you say I love the theme of your podcast? I think it is. I was writing some notes to myself thinking through like, what do I think about this topic? And it came to me that living bravely is what will heal the world. And I really believe that

Kristina: 2:15

I do too, obviously. But that is beautiful to hear someone else other than me say that

Unknown: 2:21

for me, it's really about living true to yourself, you know, that is what? So there is such a confused notion of what bravery is that we know that it's about being tough and strong, and, you know, not afraid. And I actually think it's going to the places that scare us most is where things get to really happen in great ways. And that's what's being brave. So to answer your question that you asked me how I came to the work I do, and I work I have a particular focus working with women, my work has always been rooted in helping people really find their truest selves and live true selves and like know what they're really capable of. And that's, you know, I worked in community based organization in Brooklyn, New York for many years with young adults and young people, and did that work there and, you know, have done the work in many shapes and forms. And as my work has evolved, and changed, and in the last stretch of time, it's it just surprisingly, the work I'm meant to do keeps coming to me. And it keeps taking new shapes. And it surprises me. But I've come to just be open to really listening. And something came to me about being really important doing this piece of work with women, because women have so much to offer. Everyone has so much to offer the world. But there's a particular something that women have to offer the world, including themselves. That's not happening, not happening enough. I mean, women are doing incredible things. But we there's so much wisdom and knowing and bravery that we as women have just been conditioned and socialized to hold back and not trust and not believe in and sacrifice ourselves, which keeps us from actually giving what we have to give. And I'm on a mission to do as much as I can to shift that. Amen, sister.

Kristina: 4:00

I mean, Shara like i Wow, we need to clone you and you know, put one of you in the world.

Unknown: 4:09

I'm actually moving towards this being able to train other people to do some of the work I do

Kristina: 4:13

I see that in your future because we need so much more of this. And I want to quote you, because it's a really great segue into what we've just been talking about. So Shira, this whole topic is so important. US have said women lose trust in their inner knowing at such a young age. They're inundated with messages and they look for answers outside of themselves. All the knowing you need is inside you alive and whole. And when I read that, like I get goosebumps every time I read it. And that's something I mean, I'm a mom of a teenage boy, but I seen that in my friends who have teenage girls, it's affecting them the most but it's I actually affecting all women. Talk a little bit more about that.

Unknown: 5:04

Yeah, and I'll just say, my work is broader. That is one really important and key piece of my work. And my work is broader. And I work with men in some areas, and people of all genders and I have different pieces of work, this is a very important piece and has become really key. And the way I do my work is I live in myself. So everything that I offer is what I have either come through work through and or doing myself. And so I so clear about my own tuning in more and more to my own, knowing what has been in the way of that really understanding what happens, but I just see it in women everywhere, including in myself, I can be so clear watching something with a woman. And yet when it comes to myself how hard it can be to trust. I love that. But it's become so clear to me, you know, when I was first starting my career, you know, decades ago, working with people in various ways, I was like, Oh, I know what's best for people that, you know, I'll just give them advice. And that will be helpful, which is so you know, quickly became clear, that is the last thing people need and actually is very disempowering. And that's so much of how we're treated as if we need somebody to tell us our answers. And that's not what I do at all, I help people tune into their own knowing and just clearing out what's in the way. And that's really powerful.

Kristina: 6:17

I gosh, I love that so much. I want to look at another quote that you have said, look at how you're trying to fit into an artificially constructed box that dishonors your beautifully unique essence. Yes, and this is a beautiful,

Unknown: 6:34

thank you I you know, this is another piece is helping people really notice where they're not living in alignment with themselves and living in ways that actually feel terrible. But we were so conditioned to not notice that things that we think we're comfortable, or things that we that we settle for that I just are not okay with me that any of us are doing that. And I really want that to shift. And we have been so conditioned to live in fear. And that, you know, this is everybody and in particular ways. You know, women are really conditioned our job is to serve other people, our job is to not trust ourselves, our job is to defer to NOT our job, but defer to everyone else and defer to men. And that's not good for men, either. You know, they're conditioned that they have to look like they know everything, and there's no room to need help or not know anything. And that's brutal. Also, so I don't think

Kristina: 7:23

Yeah, that's so hard on them to it's so hard on them. And I'm using

Unknown: 7:27

a mom of a boy, I'm sure you are Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Kristina: 7:31

And even I heard her an interview recently, where a podcaster was interviewing her husband, and she had no idea how much pressure he felt how much pressure men in American society put on themselves, you know, to be that strong man, and to not open up and not be emotional and stuff like that. And yeah, all that stuff is just not good. I love how you say trust, let go. Let in. And I'm gonna read off some of the questions that you ask clients, because I love these questions. And I just want to unpack them more. And they're so good. And we can like, I'm going to read them all right now. But we can go back and read them each time. And yeah, so you ask, Where am I not trusting myself? Where am I holding on tightly to something that no longer serves me? What am I not allowing myself to receive from myself and others? And I was like, Oh, my gosh, I love this so much. So let's start with the where am I not trusting myself? Yeah, that's a great question.

Unknown: 8:35

Those questions I found really useful and to keep asking them so and all the questions you asked about, like noticing where we're living in ways that don't feel good, I do a workshop on self trust. And I do it with women. And sometimes I do it broader. And I did one recently at a conference I was at and it was so incredible. And we did an exercise where we're and I participated also and asked these questions of tuning into a voice that you have not been listening to something that has been speaking to you from inside, because we always know if we really listen and we really tune in, but we shut them out so quickly. We suppress ourselves because it feels scary because it feels wrong because so conditioned, don't go against the grain. You know, it's the normal, which is like the worst thing anyone can be that you know, this is normal. But when we really ask and listen, it's amazing what comes and I've done this myself because I then want it's good for me but also experience even for me things come when I asked and I say ask and then ask more, and ask more and really listen and everyone in the group was really surprised at what came that was really profound, important information from inside them. And you know, staying but asking those questions.

Kristina: 9:46

Yeah, so what if you have a client or like, let's just say some of my listeners out there are asking themselves, but how do I do that? How to you know, if I don't if I've never listened to my intuition chin and my whole life? How do I even start?

Unknown: 10:02

Right? One is such a good question. And one thing I would say is that we all have much more than we can tell. And I think one piece of the work is to honor what we how we already have lived bravely, every single person, no matter. I love missions, you know, we are in that. And that's something you know, because it's so easy to be like, but I haven't. This is another thing, and particularly with women, you know, men are really hard on themselves, too, and all people, but there's a particular way. I did a workshop with women recently, on tending to sell for women who do healing work in the world. Most women don't even consider themselves doing that, you know, women who are mothers, that is like the most, you know, as I said to you earlier, the most profound unpaid labor someone can, you know, a woman can do, but how hard it is to tend to self but every woman in the group was like, Well, I'm here, because I'm really not good at tending to myself, or I haven't this, as opposed to conditions have just made it that hard. But really honoring, all we've done. And all the ways Yeah, every single person, and certainly every single woman has been brave, and we get to have the support to be more brave. That's one thing that if there's something that we're trying to do, that's not happening, what I've really come to believe is either it's something we're not supposed to be doing, and we think we should, or we don't have the right conditions, and we need more support.

Kristina: 11:17

I love that, looking at it both those ways. Right? You know, I realized

Unknown: 11:21

that, you know, for myself, I struggle with all these things, too, because I'm a human being. And you know, I'm all in. You know, I think that's we were talking about this, how important it is to be real and really show up. And that's one of the people who like working with me appreciate that about me that I did, too. But I was trying to do my coaching practice. And I was trying to do all of it on my own and feeling really bad that I wasn't able to do all the things and visioning and all the work no matter how hard I worked, and I would be so clear if it was any other person I was working with, why are you doing this on your own, you know, but that was the thing. And so then I open to Oh, it's time to ask for help. And that was the brave thing for me to do

Kristina: 12:00

that. And I do think as women that's so common, we scurry around we rush and we don't ask for help. Like that's so common. And we need reminding. This is just great. Over and over and over again. It's okay. And you know, two heads are better than one for sure.

Unknown: 12:16

But I want an answer to your question. I tend to talk in branch I realized I talk is a tree and branch. Yeah,

Kristina: 12:22

but guess but I gotta tell ya, Shara everything that pops out of your mouth is like pearls of wisdom. I mean, your light shines so bright. So it doesn't matter if we're branching off because of whatever branch we're taking. It's a beautiful one.

Unknown: 12:37

Thank you. I really appreciate that. Thank you. Yeah, one of the things well, I'll say, you know, in the question, so one is just honoring any woman has already lived in alignment tuned into her inner knowing. And also we really are conditioned not to I mean, it's so heartbreaking to see how many decisions are made from not tuning into that and suppressing you know, the so that's one thing to know is the voices there are knowing is there. Yeah, it's there. And having the knowing the trust in that which can be can be hard. And yeah, it's okay. If you can't hear it, you know, it's okay. You can't hear your knowing. One is just the asking, and the exploring and not doing it alone. Those are really, I think, two critical pieces.

Kristina: 13:21

Yeah. Yeah. And I think you also mentioned just basically putting yourself out there more authentically, when you start doing that. It's just it just kind of snowballs Basically, yes. And the intuition just comes more strongly because when you're living aligned authentic to who you are, the intuition can actually start coming in more.

Unknown: 13:41

Hmm, that is so true. And the show up, that's one thing that I've more and more, lived myself and and continue and offer to other people is to really share and be open about everything, especially the things that feel the edgiest and the most vulnerable because it always leads to this has been my experience, you know, it always leads to more connection and more healing and more growth and more seeing oneself. You know,

Kristina: 14:10

yeah. So what you're saying is, people have a tendency to avoid something that's uncomfortable or somewhat painful. You've got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Unknown: 14:21

Yes, exactly. And noticing how uncomfortable things that seem comfortable are Oh, wow, that's such a good point. You know, that is the thing that is like such a piece of my work is helping people look at how much does that hurt actually, that you're living this way in this relationship? Where you live, the work you're doing the couch you have, you know, really so many things and they all our matter because they're all connected to other things, but so often it's one just like, Oh, it's okay, it's fine, and or too hard to change. You know, that is such a big one change. So scares people, for all the reasons and seems like it will be harder. And I've experienced this ages that I've been really afraid of. And I'm sure you've experienced this, once you make the change. It's like, how could I possibly have lived that way, that seemed just fine. And it was so much easier once I was on the other side of it. But forehand, and just people live like that, and not for any fault of their own. It's just the conditioning. And the societal patterns that we're just all in are really thick and heavy. But But we got to change.

Kristina: 15:31

Yeah, I'm loving this angle, because I emphasize a lot of taking baby steps making a change. But I'm loving this other angle that you just brought into the picture, which is when you're not taking that brave step. What are you missing out on? You know, by being inauthentic? What are you missing out on? How does that feel? What does your life look like?

Unknown: 15:51

Yeah, how much pain are you in that you're not? How much

Kristina: 15:53

pain are you in from that? You're not noticing? Brilliant, I? Sure I've never heard anyone say that in that way. Like, it's another good really powerful statement about living in authentically and what it does to you.

Unknown: 16:12

Yeah, it really has become so clear to me. And also just seeing and people can't do it on their own and don't need to that is another particularly in the United States. I mean, I think in other places, too, you know, where we're so like, You're just supposed to go it alone. And we can't do these things alone. I certainly can't the bravest things I've done, I have needed a ton of support.

Kristina: 16:32

And I do. And I talk about that a lot, too.

Unknown: 16:35

Yeah. I mean, that's what's so beautiful about the work you do. I mean, one just this topic and just makes makes me laid up. I love it so much, particularly with women. And yeah, it's so important. And I think one thing, it's interesting when you said baby steps, because I was thinking I think baby steps are big steps and actually thinking about babies even larger, huge, you know, to actually

Kristina: 16:57

hear oh my gosh, it's just like I'm having another massive aha moment. The Baby Steps are actually huge steps thinking, think of a baby taking its first steps. It's huge for that baby.

Unknown: 17:10

It's really huge for us. It's really, I was talking with a friend earlier, like what is bravery. And I'm like, sometimes I'm listening to someone, maybe a man talk to me more than I want to listen to, and I just can't say hey, I actually don't want to listen right now. You know, I'm in some conversation that I don't want to be in. And and that's something I struggle with sometimes. I mean, I know I'm not alone, you know, most women, you know, I think it's caution to

Kristina: 17:36

do that. But we're supposed to be able to say so Sherif, I, as you have now figured out, like, I love to stalk you on Instagram, because I love all your everything. But I love this quote that you posted be with uncertainty dream. Imagine this is the gateway when nothing is known. Anything is possible. And that is a quote by Rabbi. Yeah, l Levy. So I want just let's unpack that a little bit. Love it.

Unknown: 18:12

Yeah, I quotes like that are all over my website and all over my signatures and my email signatures and because I really believe it. And I think we need to hear that message over and over to over and over. Because we are so conditioned to believe and feel that things aren't possible. So we don't even consider considering them, let alone try them. You know, the things that are really calling to us from inside people. Yeah. And I really believe that so much more as possible. And we have to let her imagine it. You know, I wrote a newsletter recently. That was I believe in magic. And me, it was really and this was I'm getting braver and braver with actually like putting out what I really believe and think that came to me things often come to me in the middle of the night, which I don't sleep so well. So I'd love a little more sleep. But that's often when my biggest you know knowings and inspirations come so I'm going with it for now.

Kristina: 19:05

I love it how you just go with the flow. Hey, I'm not sleeping right now. But I'm having all these great ideas I'm gonna like write them down. I love that.

Unknown: 19:12

It's been really it's been really that is really interesting to notice. That is where my deepest knowing comes in the middle of get up and I'm so pissed that I'm not sleeping, but I start writing and things come and I would often this voice would come in that I had internalized when I would be, you know what I think what not when I think I know when I was tuning into my inner knowing this voice would come in and say that's just magical thinking that's ridiculous and harsh and would you know, shut me down. And then one time in the middle of night I was like, Oh wait, I believe in magic. Magic is just believing in possibility is imagining things that haven't existed which has happened all the time and is happening all the time. And so I said back to the voice. I believe in magic. Yes. That is magical.

Kristina: 19:53

Yeah, yeah. I mean, we do limit ourselves so much and you know that magical thinking thing. Like, I just started slowly reaching out to bigger names, bigger profiles of people. You know, I had on a multi multibillion dollar business owner CEO recently of Molly Moon's ice cream. It's it's here at gourmet ice cream here in Seattle. And you know, I just reached out to her, she said, Yes, I had had a famous author. She said, Yes, I had a woman who wrote Dr. Phil's books. She said, Yes, I'm going to be having Catherine Switzer, you know, first woman to run the Boston Marathon? And she said, Yes. And I don't know why we put these roadblocks up for ourselves. But you know, I've learned

Unknown: 20:35

from you, I would say is so helpful, because I need those reminders for myself. Yeah. It myself like, Oh, yeah. Okay, I could do those things, too.

Kristina: 20:44

I know, a year ago, I don't think I could have but you know, on this podcasting journey, and that's what I'm trying to pull the hands of all my listeners, you know, metaphorically hold everybody's hand and bring them along with me and say, look, a year ago, I wasn't in this place, either. But I am now, you know, and look where it's leaving me. And it's just so interesting that we have like a year ago, if you'd said to me, Well, you're going to reach out to some pretty important names, and they're going to be on your podcast I would have been like, but how? Well just ask you just don't ask. Right? You make a connection. And you say, my husband was the one that actually heard Molly moon, she's actually airing today on my, my podcast, but the ice cream woman and my he heard her being interviewed. And he was like, Christina, just reach out to her. Like, what the heck? And I'm like, Yeah, okay, fine. You know, it's so fun. It's just so fun. Why don't why don't we just why don't we just do it? Do it. Right.

Unknown: 21:42

It's so profound. And I just want to say it's one of the things I really honor about you, and why your show and you really resonated with me, because you so live what you're talking about, I mean, nearly so passionate about it in a very genuine, grounded way, which is the only way that it works. And that's Yeah. Wonderful that more women are getting to have conversation with you about this incredibly important, world changing topic.

Kristina: 22:07

Yeah, and let's just be clear, like, I'm not going 100 miles an hour all the time. Like, honestly, the last stuff was going on in my life and some family, things that I had to attend to. And you know, I just kind of slowed down with podcasting, I work really far ahead anyway. But I always allow a lot of space in my life to have flex that flexibility. I think a lot of in America, we think we have to be going 100 miles an hour 100% of the time. No, no, no, no, you can have days or weeks where you just are kind of scaling it back. Because there's other things going on. That's okay.

Unknown: 22:47

It's actually really important. It's another thing that disconnects us from our knowing, you know, we think that drive and push and go go go and in particular ways for women, you know, the that's why I offer this work on tending to self, which most women won't do, because they don't have they can't prioritize, even

Kristina: 23:06

about the time.

Unknown: 23:08

Yeah, it's like, Oh, that'd be so great. But I can't do that, because I'm too busy not tending to myself, or that's not acceptable to do, you know, which I get, because I have that also, you know, I know also

Kristina: 23:19

it resonates with it resonates with me as well. But yet, you and I have, I think we have a little little, at least a little bit more conscious awareness of tending to ourselves when needed, and that more busyness is not necessarily better, because again, that intuitive voice can't access us if we're just going frantically at 100 miles an hour. I also like you've said, you see people waiting, waiting for something to change externally. But they need to change internally. I just think that it's good, because it's I think you're helping people with the internal change. You know, there's always this doing, and there's always an excuse. I mean, that's basically what we were just talking about where you're saying, We women don't even value ourselves enough to be like, I need to work on my own self development.

Unknown: 24:14

Right? Right. What I think about that is that so often again, it's like, oh, we believe something's not possible because of some external circumstance or condition. And that's not true. If something is right it then it needs to happen, you know, and if something's not right, it needs to change and it gets to change. I've really gotten very particular about language and tuned more and more into language and the language we use and even like, ways that we're so hard on ourselves or hold ourselves responsible or even like the language of like making excuses, you know, it's just understandably where we feel limited, but we don't have to settle for that. That's really how I think about it. And the so well, I can't make that change because of this. And too if you really explore it and ask yourself and listen to yourself, you We'll find that that's not true. You know, and if you notice how painful it is to be in that situation, or just well what might be possible, what could be possible, and talk with other people to, you know, I mean not to get their advice or ideas, but because we can be so generative when we're talking with other people and having other people listen to us. That's, that's a huge part of the work I do is I listen. And I ask questions, and listen more, which, you know, that's where people can bring out their can connect with their knowing when they're held in a space that is making space for that and honoring it.

Kristina: 25:32

Yep, for sure. I love that. I love that. And I want to just discuss a little bit more about us women, because you you've touched on it once, maybe twice already today. But you know, we've been taught that it's our job as women to make people feel comfortable. And I think that it's I just love the work that you're doing around awareness of that, because it's so unconscious, like I would say, I lived most of my life, unconscious of that as a woman. And one, you start switching that in your mind. And just again, it goes back to that whole, like being authentic. And it's a game changer.

Unknown: 26:14

Yeah, I really hear that. And I love that you've gone through that journey, because then you can really see it and feel it, you know, what the what the conditioning is like and how we live. Yeah, that's such a huge and bringing back to what you said about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Because I love what you said about art, you know, we're trained to keep people feeling comfortable. And I think comfortable is painful. You know, and so often, like not being honest with someone, oh, well, I don't want to hurt their feelings. I don't want them to feel bad. Like what is it we're actually protecting, they're generally keeping things stuck for that person and or for us, I mean, for both, it's something that is, you know, if I'm not anything, if I'm not telling you honestly, like, hey, this doesn't feel good in our relationship, or I don't want to listen to you right now, not blaming it on anything, it just doesn't feel right. Even if I told you that, and you had some feelings come up about that I'm not hurting you by saying that you're just getting to tune into some unhealed wound in you that then has an opportunity to heal. But if I know, we're having an authentic connection, which is painful,

Kristina: 27:18

I mean, I love the way you just are putting a whole new angle on that. So here we are, not telling someone how we feel trying to help them see it, you know, it perceived, helping them to protect them, but it's hurting both of us actually. Right.

Unknown: 27:34

And it has big impact. I mean, I really think these are the things keeping our world really messed up is that we're, we all do this so much. You know, it's not about you know, we can do this with love and kindness. It doesn't have to be sweet. You know, always sometimes we need to be not sweet, you know, are not nice. I think nice and kind are really different, like nice is pretending and kindness actually heart connection. And that can show up in different ways. But we need to stop to notice like, what are we really afraid of when we're not playing that role?

Kristina: 28:09

Yeah, yeah. And how painful is it? Yeah, yeah. And I can say that, that I have learned that skill in the last few years as well. And I, I've been married for one year now. And we're really good about that. It's just, it's fine. to disagree with each other. We don't have to agree on everything. Right? We don't, you don't have to, you know, and my husband and I, we just discuss things, and we don't have to get emotional about it. And we can have these disagreements. And we're not even necessarily settling disagreements all the time, you can live with not agreeing with somebody, but still have I mean, we've learned to do that. Because sometimes our politics are a little bit different. And we're continuing to learn from each other. But, you know, we can calmly and kindly express our views. And it's okay. And I'm really, and it just, it's amazing how you actually grow even closer. Like, I just feel so deeply connected with my husband, because we just talked about it. We just talked about it. I think that's

Unknown: 29:13

so important. And what we said about growing more and healing more and getting to be more real. And when I see so many couples who have relationship where they're not honest with each other, and they're living really separate, and then they don't get to learn and grow with each other. Because, again, it's like what are you afraid of? And what's not getting to happen that could be possible there and isn't kind and then you know, all that, you know, even if you know, I've been with my partner five years, we get messy with each other sometimes, but I wouldn't and it's gonna be painful, but I wouldn't change it because it brings us so much closer. You know, I get to see things about myself. That can feel painful, but it'd be so much more painful if I didn't because I wouldn't have a chance to.

Kristina: 29:56

Exactly and I've had the same I have the same thing and yes, sometimes It does come out messy. Sometimes we are angry with each other. But that's okay too. We are learning together and we learned that it's not personal. And we just kind of move on, you know, and I'm learning learning my blind spots. He's learning his it's, it's great. So I want to play a fun game with you. Because I just know it's gonna be fun with you. Intrigued? Yeah, so it's super easy. So I'm just gonna read off a word to you. And then I want you to come back with either a word so I'll say the word and then you can just think of a word that instantly comes into your mind. Or you can say a sentence, or we can have a whole discussion around it. Okay, Sherif, I really want to play this word game that I don't always do. But I feel like you are just a vast wealth of wisdom. And so I'm basically going to give you a word. And then you just give me either A, you can just say a word, one word back, or a phrase or a sentence, or we can have a whole discussion around it. And the first word I'm going to give you we've actually had a whole discussion around it, but let's just see, it's funny how sometimes that really works out. But we'll just see what you want to do with it. So your first word is intuition.

Unknown: 31:15

Wise, exists, connected to the whole

Kristina: 31:19

love it beautiful, beautifully said. Your second word is connection,

Unknown: 31:26

connection, connection, key to everything, ah, connection, totally agree more connection. That is key.

Kristina: 31:36

It is key. And yet we live in a world where I feel like it's gotten harder to stay connected to we have to really be conscious of connection, we have to really work on that. Connection is key. And it's everything, in my opinion to

Unknown: 31:53

I agree, I mean, this is something again, it's a really another really key, you know, piece of my work is helping heal disconnection and separation. And notice where notice where we are connected and where we get to have more connection. And that's something human relationships connection with ourselves connection with our bodies. That's another place where I mean, our knowing exists in our bodies. And we are so disconnected from bodies, particularly in the States. Yeah, yeah. In the culture of, of disconnection, and just that's where you really can tell if you ask your body something it will, you know, how does it actually but it's hard to even notice our bodies because we're so disconnected from them.

Kristina: 32:32

Yeah, yeah, that's a whole nother thing, too. We can get so disconnected from our bodies. And I found that that's really key to healing as well to really notice what's going on in our bodies. And listen, yeah. So your next word is authenticity.

Unknown: 32:51

Beautiful, glowing. Oh, I

Kristina: 32:55

love that answer. That is I haven't had that answer. And that is the essence of it. I love it.

Unknown: 33:02

This one came to me when people really are showing up authentically. They're beautiful. Yeah. sobbing. Just there, whatever state you know, being goofy hair messed up with, like, eautiful when people are really showing up authentically, and it's yeah,

Kristina: 33:20

I just Yeah, I love that answer. And that's you. Like, I mean, I was like, you show up beautifully to like, that's just, that's so cool. Okay, so your last word is bravery. Freedom. Ah, yes, one

Unknown: 33:36

word. I mean, there's so many words bravery is you know, scary and beautiful and healing and living free.

Kristina: 33:45

I love that answer. And that's how I view it too. It's the ultimate freedom. Yeah, yeah, really. So we have unpacked so much thank you so much Sherif for coming on my podcast today. I know my listeners are gonna want to know how to get in touch with you. So please share that information with us.

Unknown: 34:08

Yeah, I'm happy to and I'm so thrilled to have talked with you. I just I I love you even more talking with you and just I love

Kristina: 34:16

you even more.

Unknown: 34:17

We want to honor the work you do this is real and your your own journey that you share it is really I'm talking about beautiful authenticity. How could people not fall in love with you, you know, and more and more what you're doing and this is just such a beautiful topic to honor and she's brave that title just is just for women to hear that title. Actually just that in and of itself is a powerful act you have a gift you have offered so I just really want to honor that and station with you. And um, yeah, I welcome anyone to reach out to me. I have a website with my name it's Shira Samer off.com. And I offer coaching and workshops and training on a variety of things. I do put ticular heart, soul, heart and soul coaching with women. I've started doing coaching with women around the decision around motherhood, which is, you know, a whole other topic. I love

Kristina: 35:09

it. You and I were discussing it before we hit record. And I think this is such important work that is lacking. And in younger women, it's a huge decision and whether or not you want to be a parent, and to be able to really work through that. That's fantastic.

Unknown: 35:28

It's really important. And I also do work. I'm offering a series, I think in September coming up soon. And if women are interested, I would love to please reach out for women who've chosen to either chosen to or feel like it wasn't a choice, but are not moms, which is much also

Kristina: 35:43

Yeah, we didn't even get there. We didn't talk about that much today. But yeah, you wanted to be a mom and it didn't work out.

Unknown: 35:50

I thought I wanted to be a mom. And I went on motherhood and it was such a beautiful story. Last night, lots of lots of really painful things along the way and really tough experiences and I wouldn't change a thing about it. It was so incredibly important journey that I thought was led leading me one place. It was actually me somewhere. I

Kristina: 36:11

love it. I love it. I love it. Yeah, I heard a little bit of that interview. I didn't hear the whole thing. Right, right. Yeah, I'm really good one with Amanda.

Unknown: 36:20

Current. Yes, wonderful. podcaster. And so I do that work. I also do transformative decluttering work with people that was something I did for a while which is a whole other you know, piece of work to talk about. I also do professional development around group facilitation and giving and receiving feedback and supervision and you know, work that's something I have many years of experience in and thrilled to work with, with anyone who is resonant to work with me on my website, my contact information is there. I'm on Instagram. I'm not on Facebook, which is another thing that has been a brave decision of it just has never felt right to me. And even though I'm supposed to and should and oh no, I'm not. But it just never felt right. So I'm on Facebook, but barely Instagram, I'm on LinkedIn, I have a couple a channel on YouTube that I hope to be growing. But

Kristina: 37:10

the best place to reach me. Yeah. And I just I just really want to interject that to me, You are the essence of a bravery coach as well, for anybody who's looking to take those brave steps. Thank you. I really appreciate that. Yeah, thank you so much. Shira for coming on today. And just this conversation has been pretty magical. I would say

Unknown: 37:34

that's beautiful because I love magic. Why? What a joy and a treat to talk Yeah,

Kristina: 37:41

cuz you it's just I feel like the list all my listeners that I love so much out there. We're all just feeling like there there are no limits. There are no loss.

Unknown: 37:53

Yeah. And that. That is such an important just to remind ourselves every day in every way we can. No matter how much it seems true. There just aren't.

Kristina: 38:02

Beautifully said. Thank you so much. Well, thank you. Hey, everyone. Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy life to listen to today's episode. I love learning about what makes you brave. I'm here with you. I see you. I hear you and I want to hear from you. I want to know how you're showing up as being brave and authentic. Connect with me on Instagram at she's brave podcast or come join our community in the she's brave podcast Facebook group. I'm sending you so much love. Until next time. Keep being brave.