Bear the Light

Big announcement today! I'm taking a hiatus from the podcast for an indefinite period of time, and in this episode I'm sharing what the the discernment process looked like. I'd love to continue the journey with you on Instagram or through my Light Notes newsletter. Thank you so much for listening.

*** To learn more about the April 15 workshop on your way of inner knowing, sign up for my Light Notes email list here. *** Calling all the folks in the room who don't know how they'd name their light or have been in a long period of discernment about it! Today's episode of Bear the Light with Leanne Shawler is especially for you. Leanne is a member of the Light House community who struggled for a long time to know how she'd name her light in the world. In fact, the first time we talked...

It's a real treat to bring you today's episode of Bear the Light for three reasons. First, it's an interview with our first male guest! I'm grateful to Andrew Moman of Twin Rose Farm for being willing to step into those inaugural shoes. Second, Andrew was referred to the show by his sister, Anne Brock, who was interviewed on episode 2 of the show. Thank you, Anne! And third, Andrew is a fresh-cut-flower farmer local to the Nashville area whose entire life is life powered and sustained by...

Click here to learn about the live weekly examen being offered on March 30 and April 6. Alexandra Cuncev is someone I am so happy to introduce you to today on the podcast. As I share in the intro piece I recorded for the episode, I have a hunch you'll fall a little bit in love with Alex after hearing her speak for even just a few moments. She's humble, thoughtful, caring, and remarkable. Alex is the founder of the #mybeautifulstories hashtag on IG, a project she started one year ago with...

I couldn't help but decide to record a special episode of the podcast for us this week, inviting us to hold the question, "What does it look like to bear light in the midst of the coronavirus?" I mean, is bearing the light a luxury, meant for when times are calm? How do we think about this when our inner and outer resources have been significantly taxed? Isn't Maslow's hierarchy of needs a thing? These questions asked me to wrestle. Because really, if this is the work of *my*...

I felt positively giddy going into the interview recording for this week's episode of Bear the Light—and then I felt even more lit up afterward! Sian Peters is a beautiful soul with a calming yet vibrant energy who is here to tell us about living in alignment with the moon cycles as a way of bearing light. Sian (pronounced "Sean" for those of us here in the States) and I discuss: * The difference between the solar calendar and the lunar calendar * How living by the solar calendar (that's...

On the podcast today, I'm talking to Bailey Brawner, a senior pastor in the United Methodist Church who is all about the boundary-breaking spirit she sees in the person of Jesus, particularly when it comes to creating spiritual spaces for people who've been hurt by the church. Bailey has a particular heart for those in the LGBTQIA+ community, with which she also identifies. In this episode, we talk about: * How she noticed her call to become a pastor, especially when she wasn't looking...

Today on the Bear the Light podcast, we're taking a deep dive into the magic that is childhood and how accessing childlike joy can bring greater happiness, health, and contentedness to our adult lives. Tiffany Hoehne is a speaker, educator, and emotion coach who helps people access the joy of childhood while still attending to their lives as adults. In Tiffany's mind, the two aren't mutually exclusive but are meant to be integrated more intentionally for increased joy and health. In...

On the Bear the Light podcast today, we get to meet Mary Lunnen, a life coach living in Cornwall, UK, whose primary work is to help women reconnect with their inner wisdom and step into their gentle power in the world. On this episode, we discuss: * How a serious health diagnosis in 1994 became the wake-up call that led Mary to take a new life path * The first thing she said to her doctor after receiving her diagnosis, which was the gateway to that new path for her life * The magic that...

I know many of you will love this week's episode of the Bear the Light podcast because I'm interviewing certified labyrinth facilitator Sadelle Wiltshire, and we spend the whole episode talking about labyrinths! Labyrinths have come up several times on previous episodes, which tells me this show seems to attract people who appreciate a good contemplative walk. I was excited to have Sadelle on the show to talk in a more in-depth way about this practice so many of you appreciate. In this...

What do you do when you notice you want to know your neighbors? But what if you live in a culture where neighbors don't talk to each other and don't even see each other most days in a given year? For Chelsea Roberts and her husband, the answer was to plant a church. This was especially bold, given the spiritual climate of where they live in Canada. But for Chelsea, it had everything to do with valuing people and relationships. On this episode of Bear the Light, we talk about: * How hard...

Today on the Bear the Light podcast, we get to step into the life of a sheep farmer. Jessica Gigot lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two daughters, where they've been farming for nine years and learning each year, more and more, what it looks like to farm sustainably, both ecologically and economically. I love this conversation for the peek it gives us into a life most of us will never live but whose daily realities affect us all. Perhaps one of the profound insights...

On the show today, I'm talking to Jaclyn DeVore, founder of DeVore Editorial, about how she helps authors bring their words into the light and onto the page. In many ways, meeting Jaclyn felt like meeting my soul twin. We both emphasize the role of light in our work, and we both have built editorial businesses. On top of all that, she used the image of a midwife on her guest form to come on the show—and she didn't even know at the time that I had a company called Bookwifery! On this...

In my conversation with Susie Stonefield Miller, she quotes Rumi, who said, "The wound is where the light will enter you." Our conversation is a testament to how she's lived—and continues living—into that truth. Susie is someone for whom creativity, truth telling, and honoring the process are life and breath, and she has experienced and channeled these gifts into art journalling and now makes a vocational life for herself by helping others do the same. In this episode, we talk about: *...

Lisa Degrenia is a pastor living in Sarasota, Florida, who has a deep heart for helping people experience God in a direct, real way—"helping ordinary folks experience God for themselves," as she terms it. In this episode, we discuss: * What is means to have a "virtual faith"—one that is observed, not experienced—and how contemporary churches and spiritual practices unwittingly set us up for this * What chili con carne and football have to do with Lisa's vision for what's possible for our...

On today's episode of Bear the Light, I'm chatting with Debra Smouse, whose particular superpower is being able to see people—their potential, their challenges, their actions, and their desires. Her work as a life coach helps them become who they truly can be. One of my favorite aspects of this interview are the real-life stories of change Debra was able to share with us. They're inspiring! In this episode, we discuss: * How she learned she had a gift for helping people with people...

*** Apply to be a guest on the Bear the Light show! All are invited to apply. *** Heidi Fiedler wears many hats in the children's book publishing industry—and has even worn more hats than she does today throughout her long career in the industry!—and today she's on the Bear the Light podcast to share what it's like to work in an industry that helps young people become who they're going to be. On this episode, we discuss: * What drew Heidi to focus on picture books, chapter books, and...

Laetitia Phan is a clinical psychologist, coach, artist, emotional badassery facilitator, and joyful purpose activist. (I'm pretty sure two of those are among the coolest job titles I've ever heard!) Laetitia's light is to help others go deep into unearthing their own light. She's French. She lives in New Caledonia. She reads 10 books at a time. And she wants to see psychological support and emotional education normalized across all countries and cultures. This woman is an empathic force...

*** Consider applying to be a guest on the show! Fill out the guest application form here. *** God as Mother. Mother Mary. Tara, the Bodhisattva. Sophia. The Shekinah. Wisdom. In every faith tradition, we find some representation and reverence of the divine feminine. And in today's episode of Bear the Light, I'm delighted to share a conversation with Sandra Logan that helps us understand the divine feminine and the importance of her presence in our lives and world today. Sandra is a...

Kathryn Coneway is a working artist in Alexandria, Virginia, whose deep passion is bringing everyday people together in creative space. The resounding cries of "I'm not an artist, nor am I creative!" are nothing new to her—and yet she would invite those who make these cries to give their creativity a chance to see what happens. For Kathryn, these experiences are less about the final outcome or product and more about what happens inside a person or in a group when they share a creative space...