Episode Overview

Have you ever said you wanted one thing, while quietly holding on to the very habits that keep it out of reach?

Most of us have. We say we want peace and then overcommit. We say we want joy but promise ourselves we'll feel it later.

This episode releases during a rare stretch of the year, and I want to walk into it with you. Then we turn it inward. Where in your life are you saying one thing and living another?

This is a space free of judgment. Not about getting everything figured out, only about noticing the quiet contradictions with honesty and kindness, and choosing again.

Because just because you cannot see the change yet does not mean nothing is moving.

Resources Mentioned:

Work with Laura:
https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health 

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Read the full transcript:

Laura Lummer 00:00
You're listening to Better Than Before Breast Cancer with the Breast Cancer Recovery Coach. I'm your host Laura Lummer. I'm a certified life coach, and I'm a breast cancer thriver. In this podcast, I will give you the skills, and the insights, and the tools to move past the emotional and physical trauma of a breast cancer diagnosis. If you're looking for a way to create a life that's even better than before breast cancer, you've come to the right place. Let's get started. Hey there, friends! Welcome to another episode of Better Than Before Breast Cancer. I am your host Laura Lummer, and let's have a little bit of fun today, shall we? We're moving in to a very auspicious time in the universe, and let me give you a little story first to kind of walk you through what I'm talking about. So back in the early 2000s, I really started getting into yoga for the first time, in the sense that it just wasn't something that I was doing in my living room. Like I was going to a studio. I wanted to have a structured practice. I wanted to work inside of a community or be involved in a community of people who did yoga. I found a studio. I practiced yoga, and I was really, really immersed in that practice, and that's when I was introduced to Ayurveda, and so Ayurveda immediately spoke to my heart. I went to the California College of Ayurveda. I studied there for almost three years, going through the study program, the internship, all of that, and that ancient system of healing and wellness was so fascinating to me, and the way that Ayurveda tied into yoga, right? Because Ayurveda, one of the Vedas, is all about supporting the body and getting the body well, and then yoga, yoga asana, the postures, the movement, is to move the body, but also to teach you to connect to the breath, because as we connect to our breath, even when the body is moving, even when the practice of asana, yoga as we know it in the Western world, yoga is hard. Which, if you've not taken a yoga class before, it's not all just gentle stretching. It's a lot of challenging things that we go through in yoga, unless you're doing a restore class, which is mostly just laying on the ground and letting the body open. But when you're going through these really challenging poses, the idea is to teach you to connect with your breath, so that when you connect with the breath, you calm the mind, you calm the body. All of this is in preparation for meditation, because if you don't have a healthy body, then you have a really scattered energy, and it's difficult to sit still, and it's difficult to be able to meditate. So all of this is kind of sequential; all stacks on each other, and I just loved it. I loved it so much that at that same studio, we were introduced through several classes and through the teacher training to a gentleman who was a yogi and a spiritual teacher who had been raised in India, and I began studying with a group of people who were also studying yoga philosophy, yoga theory, just the spirituality and the ways of understanding ourselves and the universe through the eyes of yoga, and we did that for about three years, and I think that it was that period of my life that really opened the door to my own awareness of how deeply energetics influence our lives, and now my thoughts and my beliefs about energy have changed over the years. But no matter where I go, where I get coached, I feel like everything I read, what I study, it always comes back to energy on some level, aligning energy, and there's just no question in my mind at this point that everything and everyone is connected through energy, and that isn't on a woo-woo level. I mean, at the most basic atomic level, we know atoms are energy, right? Human beings, human bodies are energy. Food is energy. Plants that are grown from the earth use the energy from the sun. Right? They take in the energy from the sun, the energy from the water, the energy from the different elements and the dirt that are around them, and they transform them and they grow into a plant.

Laura Lummer 04:38
And then either animals or you know cows and goats and sheep and whatever or humans take those plants in and those plants become their energetics transform and they become part of the energy of our cells. So energy is always connected, and something that stands out to me. I used this word in the beginning and opening something that. Stands out to me from the studies of yoga was I really think the first time that I heard the phrase "this is an auspicious day" or "this is an auspicious time, and it sounded so fascinating, and I was so curious. Like, what does it mean for a day to be auspicious? You know, and I looked into that because it sounded so magical, and I love the idea of magic. I was one of those kids that had a magic hit and pretended that I was magic. So auspicious means something favorable, something promising, something supportive of our success in the world. And I just love thinking about that, I love thinking about the fact that the energy of a day or a time or something like that can have this wonderful, exciting, inspiring kind of energy behind it. And I think that if you think about the seasons, that you can see that. Right? We can see that on a really surface level. We can see the springtime has a different energy than the winter time. The holiday time has a different energy than most of the other times throughout the year. So I think if you if you consider that, you kind of get an idea of what I mean. Now I am not an astrologer, or I don't really follow astrology. I've had no training in astrology, anything like that. But when we look at astrology, we see that those energetics are considered as well. The planetary shifts, you know, the energy of the moon, the energy of the sun, and I find it so curious and so fascinating that planetary alignment, whether you believe it or not, but the idea that planetary alignment could make a particular moment feel more supportive of change, of intention, of creation, or of a new beginning, and for me that just reinforces how deeply connected everything in the universe is, and I do mean everything, because it isn't just the food that we eat. It isn't just the season, but it's just an energy you feel when you're around certain people. When you walk into a room and there's an energetic in the room, you know, there's a big difference between the energy you feel at a wedding and the energy you feel when you go to a funeral, right? So just I'm just using these examples to try to help you wrap your mind around your own experience of what you felt, so you can kind of tune into what I'm saying here about how our body responds to different energies when we're around people, when we're in certain seasons, when we have certain days, when we're around music, laughter, nature, other conversations-you know, some conversations feel great. Some you're like, it's not vibing with that, right? And so it's it's very interesting to consider that we are constantly receiving, creating, exchanging, and responding to energy, and that is why managing energy in our life, being aware of our own energy in our life, is really important. And I think bringing our energy into alignment with what we want to invite in our lives, who we want to invite into our lives and how we want our lives to feel-it really, really matters. And now, energy and alignment and all that is a huge topic that I could talk about forever for days and days. But I'm not going to talk about it forever today, because as cool and as fascinating as it is, there's something else that I want to talk about on this show, and this podcast is being released on august 8, which you may not know is a time when we are entering what many people consider a fascinating and auspicious cycle of energy in the world, and when I say we, I mean all of us. I don't care if you're listening in Sweden or Ireland or Africa or Australia or right here in Southern California with me. We are all standing on the same planet.

Laura Lummer 09:08
We are all living beneath the same sky, and right now we are all moving through a fascinating and auspicious cycle of energy that's known as the Lion's Gate Portal. So the Lion's Gate Portal is observed every year around august 8. So it's eight eight. It's during Leo season, and it's at a time that's traditionally associated with the rising of the star Sirius, one of the brightest stars in our skies. So from a spiritual and astrological traditions, this period of time is associated with courage, and abundance, and transformation, alignment, and new beginnings. And the number eight also carries symbolic meaning in many spiritual traditions. So when you turn the number eight on its side, what does it resemble? An infinite. Symbol, and because of this, eight eight is often connected with abundance, balance, infinite possibility, and continuing renewal. And I love to think about it that way. I love thinking about the possibility that there are moments when the energy around us can remind us to become more conscious of the energy within us, because just as the cosmos align, we can align our own energy. We can become more aware of what is draining us and what is nourishing us. We can notice whether the thoughts, emotions, habits, relationships, the choices we carry are aligned with the life we want. We can ask whether our energy matches what we want to invite into our lives, who we want to invite into our lives, and how we want our lives to feel. And that doesn't not mean, sadly, we don't have control over every thought or force. We can't force ourselves into a constant state of positivity. It doesn't mean that changing our energy guarantees a particular medical outcome, and it doesn't mean that you caused cancer because your energy wasn't positive enough. But what it means is that we become conscious participants in the energy we bring into our lives, we become willing to notice what we are holding onto, what we want to make space for, where we become disconnected from ourselves, and what energy would help us feel more alive. And this is why Lionsgate feels like such a beautiful time to open a new chapter. It gives us an opportunity to pause and recalibrate to release what drains our energy and intentionally invite what restores it to become more conscious of where our energy is going and whether it is supporting the life we want to create, and I also want to do more than simply tell you about this auspicious period. I wanted to create an experience that would help you intentionally participate in it because I think it's really fun and really cool, and I love taking advantages of opportunities to increase our awareness and have fun with it. So I created a free four-day Lionsgate experience to walk you through your own thoughts and energy during this time. You can find it at thebreastcancerecoverycoach.com/lion, or there's a link here where you're watching or listening to this show, and you can click on that, and you can get the journal that I've created for you there. So let me tell you about this four-day experience. It's built around my four pillars of breast cancer recovery, the four pillars that I return to again and again in my own life, and the work that I do with my clients, and the programs that I create, and that's release, renew, regroup, and revive. Every day, this guide that I created is going to invite you to slow down, turn your attention inward, and explore a different aspect of your energy during this wildly energetic time in our universe. And we're going to begin by considering what you are carrying, that you might be ready to release. This is a great time to amplify that energy of letting things go, and then we'll think about what you want to renew or welcome into your life, because this is the time of the year where our thoughts are just magnified. That that power of drawing to us what we want, and then we'll look at where you may have become disconnected from yourself, your values, your body, or the people who support you, and then finally you'll explore what part of you or what part of your life you're ready to really revive, that you want to really bring some life back into.

Laura Lummer 14:00
Now we're not going to unpack all of the questions here that you're going to find in the guide because I created the guide for that reason, and I don't want to tell you what your answers should be. So I just want to help you hear your own answers. And inside the guide, you're going to find a short reflection, some journaling prompts, and a simple practice for each of the four days. Now you don't need to have some kind of a spiritual revelation. You don't need to discover the perfect answer or make an enormous change in your life. Just consider giving yourself the gift of five or 10 quiet minutes each day, time to be honest with yourself, time to be curious, time to let whatever comes up be just what it is, be enough for you. Right? Sometimes I think the most powerful shifts begin with simply becoming aware of something you hadn't allowed yourself to see before, and I would love for you to follow me on Instagram and Facebook as we walk through the Lions Gate weekend together because I'll have some special things to share with you. And here's another cool thing. So. Lionsgate. The portal is really from august 8 to august 12, and I cannot imagine a more beautiful or powerful culmination of this experience and this energy than what is going to happen and what is considered to be a once in a lifetime experience for those of us alive today. But before dawn on august 12, there's going to be a specific type of alignment of six planets across the sky. They're not going to be in an equal straight line or equally visible with the naked eye, but these six planets Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are going to come into a once in a lifetime alignment. Now Mars and Saturn should be among the easiest for people to see. Mercury and Jupiter are going to be a little lower in the dawn, and Uranus and Neptune will. You'll have to use binoculars or a telescope to see them. But on that same day, here it is the closing of Lionsgate energy, the the special alignment of these six planets, and a solar eclipse. Yeah, there's going to be a complete solar eclipse in countries like Iceland and I believe Spain. There'll be a partial solar eclipse in some other countries, but imagine that to me. I hear that and it's like, wow, the universe itself is celebrating this auspicious time. And on the night of august 12 into august 13, the Persed meteor shower will reach its peak in the skies of a new moon. What the heck? Think about this. Like I have chills. So much cool energy, universally scientific energy. Right? This isn't just hippy shit. Wow, that's really a remarkable time. Six planets gathered across the morning sky. The moon passing between the Earth and the Sun, and meteors streaking through the sky. Tell me that's not a cosmic celebration, so I think that there's just a really cool, extraordinary shift of energy for the entire world for all of us to be aware of over the course of this weekend, and for me, that's a reminder of how much movement and change and beauty and energy are always present around us, even if we can't see it, even if it isn't something as big as a lion's gate, and all of these things happening out in the universe. And when I think about these six planets all appearing together, for me, what draws me in is the metaphorical alignment for that. And what I mean is that astrologically, every planet carries its own symbolic energy. Mercury represents communication, thought, and learning. Mars represents action, courage, motivation, and drive. Jupiter represents growth, expansion, abundance, opportunity, and possibility. Saturn represents discipline, structure, responsibility, and wisdom, and Uranus, change, innovation, transformation, and the courage to break old patterns. And finally, Neptune represents dreams, intuition, faith, imagination, and our connection to something that's larger than ourselves.

Laura Lummer 18:24
So when I think about all of this, the metaphorical power of bringing all these energies into alignment, I think about your thoughts and your voice and your courage and your actions, your willingness to grow and receive the structures that support the life you want and your readiness to change what is no longer working for you, your ability to trust yourself, your intuition, and listen to your dreams. And what if this alignment became a mirror for you, for your own life? What if it reminded you to bring your voice, your actions, your growth, your commitments, your willingness to change, and your dreams-all into alignment with one another. What would that look like? Because it's really difficult to create the life you want when you're energetically not aligned, when you're energetically moving in six different directions. So we may say we want peace, but then we continue to overcommit ourselves right to things that leave us depleted. We may say we want growth while protecting the habits and the beliefs that keep us comfortable and keep us from growing. We may say that we want change while we continue to tell ourselves the same story about who we are, and worse yet, what's possible for us. If we say we want joy, but we refuse to give ourselves permission to experience it until every other problem has been resolved in our lives, we say we want deeper, more supportive relationships while continuing to hide our truth and. And pretend like everything is fine. We say we want to trust ourselves, but we repeatedly dismiss what our body, our emotions, and our intuition try to tell us. That's misalignment, my friends. And alignment does not mean that every part of your life is perfect. It doesn't mean that we never feel afraid, unsure, angry, sad, overwhelmed-it doesn't mean that we have everything figured out. Alignment is just asking us to notice the contradictions in our life with honesty and compassion. This is a judgment-free space, compassion and curiosity only. It asks us to bring what we think, what we feel, what we believe, what we say, and what we do into a more intentional relationship. It asks us to become aware of whether the energy we're carrying is supporting the life we're trying to create, and when we recognize that it isn't, again, we do not judge ourselves. We do not shame ourselves. We just simply choose again. We choose a different thought. We make a different decision. We have an honest conversation. We set a loving boundary, or maybe we just take one step towards something that matters to you. We can stop investing our energy in something repeatedly that leaves us depleted, and we can give ourselves permission to experience joy. That is what it means to participate in our own lives, and what an incredible moment to practice that this weekend! What an incredible celebration of energy, transformation, connection, and possibility. Now, august 12, set your alarm, set your reminder. God knows I've set a reminder for everything, or I'll forget. And invite yourself, give yourself permission to go outside and look up. You may not be able to see every planet. The eclipse may not be available or visible from where you are, and maybe even the sky will be overcast, but the energy, the movement, the transformation-it's still going to be happening. And let it remind you that the same can be true about your own life; that change can be happening before you can see evidence of it. In fact, I was listening to something just yesterday, and it really landed with me, and it was a coach that I love and I follow. And she was talking about faith and what faith is, and one of the things that she said is faith is deciding to continue to trust, even if what we're holding the faith for has not yet caught up to our life, and I think that is so interesting because our healing, our health, our optimal life, our purest forms of joy-all of it can be unfolding before you even recognize how far you've come. A new identity, right? It can be emerging before you feel completely comfortable with it.

Laura Lummer 23:05
Everything in life, friends, is a process, and the life you want can begin taking its shape, and does begin taking its shape through the energy you choose, the beliefs you nurture, and the small decisions you make every single day, because you cannot see something yet, does not mean nothing's changing. Just because the evidence has not appeared doesn't mean your effort is meaningless. If I can't see the eclipse, it doesn't mean it's not happening. Just because you don't have the entire path mapped out for you doesn't mean you can't take next steps. So when you look up in the sky, and I suggest you do it every day today for these four days: august 8, ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th, five days, I guess. So it's august 8 through 12th. That sounds like four, but it's five days. Remember, you're part of this really enormous, ever changing universe. That the energy from the sun that supports the plants that become your food, the air moving through your lungs that move through the forest, across oceans, and around the lives of the people that you'll never meet and the people you love, and that wherever we live, we're all standing on the same planet, living beneath the same sky, and then ask yourself, what am I ready to release? What am I ready to renew? Where do I need to regroup and reconnect? What part of myself or my life am I ready to revive? And how can I bring my energy into greater alignment with the life I am ready to create? That is the invitation of this lion's gate. Not to just sit back and wait for the universe to create life for you. Not to just believe one energetic portal is going to magically solve everything. I wish it would. Be awesome, but it's a time to recognize the energy that's available within you, and consciously decide how you want to use it. Healing is a participation sport, friends. Creating the life you love is a participation sport. We participate when we become aware of what we're carrying, when we choose what we want to cultivate, and when we reconnect with ourselves after losing touch with what we need, right? We participate when we allow ourselves to feel more fully alive, even when parts of life are uncertain, right? You're not separate from life. You're in it. You're part of it, and you get to decide how you want to show up for it today. If you want to move through this Lionsgate experience with me, get the guide that I created for you: thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com forward slash lion, or click the link below and join into this free experience to explore your own thoughts and bring your energy into greater alignment with what you want to create next. And then come follow me on Instagram and Facebook. You can find me as the Breast Cancer Recovery Coach Laura Lummer, and I would love for us to move through this Lionsgate weekend together. In fact, it would be amazing if you join my free community, the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community. It's right on my website. You just go to the homepage, scroll down, and join the community. It's totally free, or click the link to the community wherever you're watching or listening to this podcast. So I'd love you to come there or find me on Instagram. I'd love to know what you're releasing and what you're renewing and reconnecting and what you're ready to revive with. So let's use this auspicious time to celebrate our connection to the universe, to each other, and the power we have to become conscious participants in the lives that we're creating. Thank you so much for being here with me today. I'm excited to go into this amazing weekend with you and be good to yourself. I'll talk to you next week and expect other people to be good to you as well. Take care.