I spoke with a man this week who offered me advice based on his many years of experience in “the business” . When he was first starting out, he told me that many people had helped him. Now wanted to give back. I believed his motivations were sincere. The problem was his help.Ostensibly, the conversation was to help me. But he spent most of his time talking about his successes and the difficulties he experienced.To every question I asked, he shook his head, and with the heavy side told me that as an outsider, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to do what he had done. According to him, I had to have certain credentials, the kind that those in the business recognized. Without them, it would be impossible for me to be taken seriously by people in “the business.” “But,  good luck,” he said, and I believed he meant it.I decided to disregard everything he told me.Not because he was wrong about what he knows. I'm sure his advice is based on the reality of his experience. I'm sure that if I did some research, I would find evidence that the obstacles he perceives are quite real. In the past, I have pledged allegiance to these kinds of discouraging realities. Where did they leave me?Frustrated. Timid, Beholden to the opinions of authorities, who may be willing to share their secrets provided I follow their advice. Because I believed that these authorities, like this man were right, I concluded, I must not not know enough and so I discounted my own opinions,  and retooled my dreams according to the rules of their reality I didn't dare do anything I was likely to fail at which as it turned out, were all of the things that were worth doing. Here's what I now know.: To whatever extent you dare to do what you love you set into motion energies that are unpredictable and powerful. doing the things that excite and light you up, create a momentum that travels under an inside barriers and around the limitations that tell you what is and is not possible. In ignoring naysayers, including the voices of doubt within me, I  am giving credence what might be possible.This may or may not give me a way around the obstacles.  But my path is not circumscribed by these obstacles, but by something else.: My visions, my desire,  the reality that I am reaching for, even if it doesn't yet exist.The naysayers could be right. They probably are.  But, even with the reality  the “real world” on their side. I no longer care. The exhilaration of trying to do what no one thinks is possible, even me, teels like it's changing the so called “real world.”It's making me feel happier. And it's making me braver than I've been in a long time. It’s one clear indication that I am indeed on my way to becoming a real badass.P.S. I’ve created a kind of compass for helping myself discern what advice I will take in and what advice I will disregard.  I’ve included some of the questions I ask myself. I’ve also included a template for you to use to create your very own compass too.  Download it below.Compass of Discernment This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

In this episode of Disobedient Femmes, Suzanne LaGrande speaks with stylist and founder of Have a Stylegasm, Jennifer Koch. They discuss:* What style is and how it’s connected to how you showing up and being visible* What a stylist does and why fashion matters* How style doesn’t necessarily require spending a lot of money and her “Shop Your Closet” Workshop* How she incorporates energy work into her work with her clients* How style can promote self acceptance and greater appreciation of the body you haveTo find out more about Jennifer Koch’s work, visit her on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haveastylegasm/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

In this episode of  Disobedient Femmes, Suzanne LaGrande speaks with social media  and personal branding photographer Julia Mae Hunt. Among other things,   Suzanne and Julia discuss:How taking a photograph makes you vulnerableWhat social media photography isHow storytelling is part of both photojournalism and social branding photographyThe surprising ways having your picture taken can help you to develop confidenceThe kinds of simple changes that over time can make a big difference in physical health as well as emotional emotional well-beingHow changes in lifestyle and eating habits have to be enjoyable to be sustainableHow emotional eating needs to be understood and addressedThe importance of loving your body regardless of weightTo find out more about  Julia’s work visit:https://www.juliamaephotography.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

In this episode of  Disobedient Femmes, Suzanne LaGrande speaks with women’s weight loss and body love coach, Sarah Hass.  Suzanne and Sarah discuss:How Sarah’s son’s diagnosis of childhood diabetes started her on the path to building a healthy lifestyle for her familyThe kinds of simple changes that over time can make a big difference in physical health as well as emotional emotional well-beingHow changes in lifestyle and eating habits have to be enjoyable to be sustainableHow emotional eating needs to be understood and addressedThe importance of loving your body regardless of weightTo find out more about Sarah’s work visit: https://sarahhaaswellness.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

How can pleasure lead us to greater personal power?In this episode of The Shaman’s Notebook, leading sexuality and embodiment coach, Grace Willow talks about the journey that led her to heal herself and then develop the tools and experiences to heal others.In the interview Grace talks about:Barely surviving a car accident where she suffered a traumatic brain injury, and a whole host of other problems that left her unable to care for her young daughter, work, or function in her daily life.The energy healing that turned everything around helped her to awaken and remember her own healing powers. The importance of pleasure in being able to heal and thriveWhat embodiment meansHolding a higher vision and helping those she works with remember their true selvesFor more about Grace’s work, visit:gracejwillow.comFor more interviews, kickass women writers, artists, healers, and activists, subscribe to the Disobedient Femmes Podcast at the link below.Join me on Fridays at the Healing Salon where I free workshops in craft magic and other healing arts https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon).For even more about me, as well as strange, mostly true stories and magic spells visit me at http://suzannelagrande.com/ (suzannelagrande.com) Thanks so much for listening!★☆★ CONNECT WITH ME ★☆★Website ➜ https://www.suzannelagrande.com/ (https://www.suzannelagrande.com/)Podcast ➜https://www.shamansnotebook.com/ (https://www.shamansnotebook.com/) Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon)Instagram ➜https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/ (https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/)Pinterest ➜ https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/ (https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/)Original theme music composed by Edward Givens. For more about his work, visit: https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/ (https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

How do brief encounters with strangers change us?In this episode of Disobedient Femmes, I speak with essayist, teacher, and editor Colleen Kinder who has just published Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us. In the interview, Ms. Kinder talks about: How she came up with the idea to do a book of letters about encounters with strangers from a meeting with Pico IyerThe different ways someone may be considered a stranger Travel writing vs. stories of placeWhy sometimes we are able to tell truths to strangers that we may not tell to people who know us wellHow brief encounters with people who don't know well or at all can profoundly change our livesFor more about Colleen Kinder’s work visit https://www.offassignment.com/ and http://www.colleenkinder.com/For more interviews, kickass women writers, artists, healers, and activists, subscribe to the Disobedient Femmes Podcast at the link below.Join me on Fridays at the Healing Salon where I free workshops in craft magic and other healing arts https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon).For even more about me, as well as strange, mostly true stories and magic spells visit me at http://suzannelagrande.com/ (suzannelagrande.com) Thanks so much for listening!★☆★ CONNECT WITH ME ★☆★Website ➜ https://www.suzannelagrande.com/ (https://www.suzannelagrande.com/)Podcast ➜https://www.shamansnotebook.com/ (https://www.shamansnotebook.com/) Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon)Instagram ➜https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/ (https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/)Pinterest ➜ https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/ (https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/)Original theme music composed by Edward Givens. For more about his work, visit: https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/ (https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

“Horses, in their capacity to heal, become a mirror of ourinner life. This is where and how the work begins. The horsethat chooses us reflects our deepest self to us.”While in Costa Rica for a month to work on writing a book Rosalyn Berne decided to go to take a break and go horseback riding. What happened on that trip, changed the course of her life. She discovered her abilities as a horse whisperer. In this episode of the Disobedient Femmes, Suzanne LaGrande speaks with Rosalyn Berne, horse whisperer, write,r and professor of ethics. In this interview Rosalyn Berne talks about:The incident that led to her being able to hear and speak to horsesThe process of hearing and communicating with horsesThe important lessons she learned from speaking with horsesA mistake she made that taught her an important lesson about the nature of respect Her science fiction novelHer work as an ethicist and bringing her work with horses into the academyFor more about Rosalyn’s work visit http://rosalynberne.com (rosalynberne.com)For more interviews, kickass women writers, artists, healers, and activists, subscribe to the Disobedient Femmes Podcast at the link below.Join me on Fridays at the Healing Salon where I free workshops in craft magic and other healing arts https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon).For even more about me, as well as strange, mostly true stories and magic spells visit me at http://suzannelagrande.com/ (suzannelagrande.com) Thanks so much for listening!★☆★ CONNECT WITH ME ★☆★Website ➜ https://www.suzannelagrande.com/ (https://www.suzannelagrande.com/)Podcast ➜https://www.shamansnotebook.com/ (https://www.shamansnotebook.com/) Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon)Instagram ➜https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/ (https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/)Pinterest ➜ https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/ (https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/)Original theme music composed by Edward Givens. For more about his work, visit: https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/ (https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

In this episode of Disobedient Femmes, Suzanne LaGrande speaks with prolific writer and artist Susie Hodge who has just published Art Quake.For more interviews, kickass women writers, artists, healers, and activists, subscribe to the Disobedient Femmes Podcast at the link below.Join me on Fridays at the Healing Salon where I free workshops in craft magic and other healing arts https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon).For even more about me, as well as strange, mostly true stories and magic spells visit me at http://suzannelagrande.com/ (suzannelagrande.com) Thanks so much for listening!★☆★ CONNECT WITH ME ★☆★Website ➜ https://www.suzannelagrande.com/ (https://www.suzannelagrande.com/)Podcast ➜https://www.shamansnotebook.com/ (https://www.shamansnotebook.com/) Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon)Instagram ➜https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/ (https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/)Pinterest ➜ https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/ (https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/)Original theme music composed by Edward Givens. For more about his work, visit: https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/ (https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

In this episode of Disobedient Femmes, Suzanne LaGrande speaks with Anna Reser and Leila McNeill, authors of Forces of Nature: The Women: The Women Who Changed Science.In this interview, Anna and Leila discuss:The reasons why so few women scientists have been included in the history of scienceSome of the fascinating women scientists whose work is featured in Forces of NatureThe institutional barriers that often barred women from the spaces where scientific discoveries and innovation were recordedThe difference that women’s perspectives and experiences make in how science is practiced and understood.For more about Anna Reser and Leilla McNeil’s work, visit https://www.ladyscience.com/podcast (https://www.ladyscience.com/podcast),http://annareser.com/ (annareser.com/) and http://leilamcneill.com (leilamcneill.com)For more interviews, kickass women writers, artists, healers, and activists, subscribe to the Disobedient Femmes Podcast at the link below.Join me on Fridays at the Healing Salon where I free workshops in craft magic and other healing arts https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon).For even more about me, as well as strange, mostly true stories and magic spells visit me at http://suzannelagrande.com/ (suzannelagrande.com) Thanks so much for listening!★☆★ CONNECT WITH ME ★☆★Website ➜ https://www.suzannelagrande.com/ (https://www.suzannelagrande.com/)Podcast ➜https://www.shamansnotebook.com/ (https://www.shamansnotebook.com/) Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon)Instagram ➜https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/ (https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/)Pinterest ➜ https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/ (https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/)Original theme music composed by Edward Givens. For more about his work, visit: https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/ (https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com

What would you risk to be free?In this episode of Disobedient femmes, Suzanne LaGrande speaks with author Trisha Thomas about her latest book, What Passes as Love.Set in antebellum Virginia, What Passes as Love tells the story of Dahlia Holt a light-skinned black woman who works as a servant in the home of a large slave owner who is in fact her father, waiting on his daughters who are also her sisters.Among other things Ms. Thomas talks about:How she got started as a writerHer nine-book Nappily Book series, one of which was made into a Netflix movie.The photograph of three sisters that lead her to write the novelHow love is similar but also different at presentHow the past history of slavery in the U.S has continued at present.For more about Trisha Thomas and her books visit:https://www.trisharthomas.com/For more interviews, kickass women writers, artists, healers, and activists, subscribe to the Disobedient Femmes Podcast at the link below.Join me on Fridays at the Healing Salon where I free workshops in craft magic and other healing arts https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon).For even more about me, as well as strange, mostly true stories and magic spells visit me at http://suzannelagrande.com/ (suzannelagrande.com) Thanks so much for listening!★☆★ CONNECT WITH ME ★☆★Website ➜ https://www.suzannelagrande.com/ (https://www.suzannelagrande.com/)Podcast ➜https://www.shamansnotebook.com/ (https://www.shamansnotebook.com/) Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealingsalon)Instagram ➜https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/ (https://www.instagram.com/suzanne_lagrande/)Pinterest ➜ https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/ (https://www.pinterest.com/suzannelagrande/)Original theme music composed by Edward Givens. For more about his work, visit: https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/ (https://edwardgivens.bandcamp.com/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.disobedientfemmes.com