Seeking Center: The Podcast

Woo News: Leisure Crafting, Pet Psychics, NDEs + Mushroom Mocktails - Episode 166

• Robyn Miller Brecker, Karen Loenser, Lisa Capretto, Noel Kehoe • Season 2 • Episode 166

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It’s Woo News time, with Robyn, Karen, Lisa and Noel — and we’re serving up another round of spiritual headlines with a side of soul.

This week: “Leisure crafting” is the research-backed way to recharge (yes, turning your hobbies into wellness wins is now science). Azealia Banks drops some guided meditations because SURE, why not. Trendy mushroom bars are suddenly the wellness scene, and a pet psychic uncovers the root cause of one puppy’s mysterious illness — and yep, we’ve got thoughts.

Whether you’re feeling aligned or a little off-kilter, we’ve got the stories, laughs, and reminders you didn’t know you needed. Tune in for real talk, cosmic inspo, and maybe a gentle nudge to make “seeking” your new favorite hobby.

Let’s make woo feel less whoa and way more yes please.

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You can also follow Seeking Center on Instagram @theseekingcenter.

Robyn: I'm Robyn Miller Brecker and I'm Karen Loenser. Welcome to Seeking Center, the podcast. Join us each week as we have the conversations and we, through the spiritual and holistic clutter for you, we'll boil it down to what you need to know now, we're all about total wellness, which to us needs building a healthy life.

Karen: On a physical, mental, and spiritual level, we'll talk to the trailblazers who'll introduce you to the practices, products, and experiences that may be just what you need to hear about to transform your life. If you're listening to this, it's no accident. Think of this as your seeking center and your place to seek your center.

Robyn: And for the best wellness and spiritual practitioners, experts, products, experiences, and inspo, visit theseekingcenter. com. 

Robyn Miller: Hi everyone. We're very excited for our second edition of Woo News. We heard from so many of you that you appreciated it like we do. So Karen, Lisa, Noel and I are very ready to discuss all that Lisa has [00:01:00] rounded up over the last few weeks. There are some real nuggets in this one, so get ready. Lisa, will you kick us off?

Lisa Capretto: let's get into it. So the first article that I wanted to talk about, it actually comes from Harvard Business Review and it's about research on leisure crafting. Have you guys ever heard of leisure crafting?

karen loenser: Nope.

Lisa Capretto: Neither. Okay, so it says leisure crafting can help you recharge. What is leisure crafting? Leisure crafting means putting structure and activities around activities that you already enjoy. So there's three elements to it. Basically one you like set a goal and the second element, there's some social connection that comes in. And then the third element, it's like building skills or you're learning something. So essentially what leisure crafting is putting goals and structure around activities that you already enjoy. Sounds super fun, right? Super fun. 

karen loenser: Like gardening or maybe.

Lisa Capretto: I'll give you a good example I know you like [00:02:00] running. So for example, somebody who enjoys physical activity or being outside, maybe they'll set a goal to run a half marathon. That's their goal. And as part of that, maybe they'll join a running club and they'll run with other people a few mornings a week or whatever. This strengthens their skills and the social connection and it's something they enjoy. So that would be an example of leisure crafting. That does not resonate with me.

I'm not a runner. So they gave another example that I appreciated, which was people who watch movies, if you enjoy watching movies, maybe instead of mindlessly watching something you put a little structure around it and say, I'll watch. One of the British film institute's a hundred greatest films every week. So that's something that you're gonna be doing. And then maybe on top of that, you write a review of it. Maybe you also share that review, and then other movie buffs comment on it and you're a part of a community. So that comes in that aspect. gave some more examples. Fantasy football enthusiasts, [00:03:00] basically. Participants who engaged in leisure crafting reported higher energy levels, more positive moods, stronger wellbeing, greater feelings of personal autonomy, competence, social connection, all the good things. So I guess my question about this is this something you could see yourself doing or is it something you're already doing and maybe didn't realize it? Obviously the goal is not to turn these hobbies into a second job, which I think could be difficult for certain personality types. Raise your hand. But I don't know. What do you guys, what do you guys think about this?

Robyn Miller: I think a lot of people are doing it without realizing that they're doing it.

And if you are just listening to this and it inspires you to take something that you do love and have more of a goal around it and then end up finding others then that's incredible. I think it's just really interesting that there is now a phrase because in a way I would say. Book clubs fall under [00:04:00] this, right?

Lisa Capretto: Yep.

Robyn Miller: you're putting a goal around reading a book by a certain time. Most of the time you're then getting together either virtually or in person. So I feel like it's putting a name around that There's so much I was just thinking how you were bringing up movies or running, yoga And then I was thinking for some people I know it's like wine would be their thing, right?

karen loenser: Yeah.

Lisa Capretto: Oh, I didn't think about that.

Robyn Miller: then I'm like, oh, okay.

karen loenser: kind of spiritual

Robyn Miller: right. I 

karen loenser: activity.

Lisa Capretto: Now. I'm in.

karen loenser: Yeah. I think it's always about going to what makes you feel good what gives you joy, And that's the whole intention. But I love the reminder. It can be something as simple as that. 

Robyn Miller: For those seekers out there listening right now, make seeking your leisure craft.

karen loenser: You go.

Robyn Miller: like really put something around that for yourself, whether it's to have a session or take a class or a workshop that is gonna end up reconnecting you to you and then share it with us. will be your community anyway.

[00:05:00] There's so many ways you can look at it. But now we have a new term.

Lisa Capretto: Yeah, we sure do. So that was a cool one. The next article that I wanted to go through was from breast cancer.org, and it says that. Reiki during chemo relieved some symptoms, and there've been a bunch of studies on this type of thing. For this study. Reiki was given to over 250 people with cancer during a chemo infusion, and then they rated their pain in their symptoms after receiving like 15 to 20 minutes of. therapy And afterwards these people reported feeling less pain, less fatigue, less anxiety, less nausea and Reiki just made them feel more relaxed and they actually wanted another session. Some people reported feeling, a sense of gratitude coming up with all of this as well. So it was just a really interesting thing.

I thought it was a nice thing to highlight, even though as they say in the article, science does not support the idea of a universal life force or energy healing. But[00:06:00] 

karen loenser: Find.

Lisa Capretto: who gives a shit if it works and people

karen loenser: That's how I feel. 20 years ago, you guys know my son had cancer as a little baby. And you're at that stage where so many people are so receptive when they are going through those things, when they might not have been before. And it's, I could tell you, in my mind, I think that's one of the things that really Made him well, because it really focused on that energy flow the scientists don't believe in, which we believe in, that really radiates through the body and helps you heal. And when you're ill diseased, that's the thing that's not working well. So reiki is the thing. It's that life force that reconnects you to that and helps you get all of that stuff outta you.

Robyn Miller: And I think what's interesting too is we just posted an episode with Cody Isabel and Chloe Deutscher, who are all about the science and spirituality, and both of them are huge advocates for Reiki, they love to know the science behind things.

And if you haven't listened, listen to Cody [00:07:00] talk about reiki as well as all of the other aspects. That he brings to the table. There's just passion around that. So I love that this article is coming out. I love knowing, even when Karen, 20 something years ago when you were going this with Graham, that was something that was a part of things.

I know in my own journey I had to have a hysterectomy and when I was going through the process of even shrinking that tumor, using reiki there was so much junk in my sacral chakra that needed to move out, which is, I'm sure, in my opinion, again, not scientifically proven, but I believe that's probably why that tumor had grown. And so I think the more that people can be open to it and listen, if nothing else, it will just make you feel better.

karen loenser: Exactly. If it's in your mind,

Robyn Miller: yeah,

karen loenser: who cares if it makes you feel better, but I bet you at some point they will be able to show and really illustrate how that energy actually works to the body. 'cause you can physically feel it. 

Lisa Capretto: If they come out with that article, I [00:08:00] will find it and we will.

Robyn Miller: Yes.

Lisa Capretto: Yeah. Okay. The next one is about a trend. We're moving to trends now. Mushroom bars. Mushroom. It's exactly what it sounds like. It's, nutrient rich benefits of functional mushrooms mixed in with chocolate or whatever kind of things.

And it's a treat, it's just a little snack. And it doesn't, as they say, it doesn't compromise your wellness goals. It's healthy and it's just a great thing to have. So there's different, and have been used in. A lot of different foods obviously incorporated their properties, so this article talked about. A couple different kinds of mushrooms and the benefits of them. Like lion's mane is one that I think a lot of people have heard of. And that supports brain health and memory retention and focus. Even shiitake mushrooms they say can help support cardiovascular health. So this is a trend of where these snacks, these are mushroom bars, which I have never had one, but I am certainly open to it. I [00:09:00] think I'm like a huge fan of mushrooms. But I'm assuming that it doesn't taste totally mushroom me. I

Robyn Miller: It doesn't. Karen and I have both had them, and what you wanna check is like how much is in each piece of, let's say, chocolate within the bar because. be surprised. I've seen Karen, where she's had maybe a couple too many. It's like taking like a jolt soda. I don't even know if those exist anymore, but it's, or like an energy drink.

karen loenser: is,

 it was just the chocolate robin,

that's all.

Robyn Miller: was. Maybe that,

karen loenser: this is where we say go back to plants as medicine. Like we know that. Our planet has tons of nutritious foods for us. If we go back to what's organic, we go back to nature that these are the nutrients that we need, that we've forgotten that we need.

So it doesn't surprise me that this is a new line of products and I'm up for trying it relieves stress and better sleep. 

Robyn Miller: And brain health too. 

karen loenser: Yeah.

Robyn Miller: I actually am a huge proponent. Lisa, we gotta have [00:10:00] you try and Noel, I don't know if you've tried them 

Noel Kehoe: no, I wouldn't touch a mushroom gross.

Robyn Miller: God, I will say that's so funny. , I eat mushrooms almost every day. I'm a

karen loenser: I love them.

Robyn Miller: person. I think it helps me stay healthy. Like from an immune perspective

Noel Kehoe: I know they're healthy, but between dill and mushrooms, two things I.

Robyn Miller: Okay. That's Jeff. You are Jeff.

Lisa Capretto: How are you eating mushrooms every day?

Robyn Miller: I cook 'em.

karen loenser: Me too. I have an omelet every day for my lunch.

Robyn Miller: and I just saute them in a pan

Lisa Capretto: this about you.

Robyn Miller: I know.

karen loenser: Not everybody likes the texture.

Robyn Miller: Correct.

karen loenser: the texture.

Robyn Miller: That's

karen loenser: I think that,

Lisa Capretto: in a

Robyn Miller: I,

Lisa Capretto: bar.

karen loenser: there you go. Put

Robyn Miller: a

karen loenser: anything in a chocolate bar.

Lisa Capretto: Yeah,, there's a trend within this trend. One of the trends within the mushroom bar trend is a mushroom blend bars, so properties from different mushrooms. And then another trend is savory mushroom bars, so maybe not chocolate.

karen loenser: Oh, interesting.

Lisa Capretto: they gave some examples like rosemary, sea [00:11:00] salt, or smoked paprika.

Okay.

Robyn Miller: that as a snack or something like,

karen loenser: But Noel's not buying it in one bit.

Noel Kehoe: torture me, you would shove me in a room with a mushroom.

Robyn Miller: if you all like are listening to this and if you watch it on YouTube because the Noel's face is pretty priceless.

Lisa Capretto: Okay we'll do Noel a favor and move on from mushrooms then. Now let's talk about Azalea Banks. Do you guys know Azalea Banks?

karen loenser: I don't, who is she?

Lisa Capretto: She is a rapper and she is probably more well known for, Acting out online saying things that are maybe outta left field. There's even some controversy with her right now. Just after the Met Gala, she had some comments that she made about So the whole thing about Azalea Banks is that you would not necessarily associate her with meditation, She released a series of guided meditations on x the other week, and it [00:12:00] was just it brought up an interesting question for me, which was, does the messenger matter? I wanna play just for a second, a little bit of what she released, her meditation and see what you guys think.

 Welcome to Guided Meditations with a, I'm glad you're here before we begin. Please make sure you have found a flat surface to lay down on,

Noel Kehoe: if their voice is soothing, I like it.

Robyn Miller: Yeah.

karen loenser: does it go on like that, Lisa, or does she like go crazy at the end?

Lisa Capretto: No, it goes on like that. It's very, it's

karen loenser: Oh.

Lisa Capretto: it's just like that. And that's why I wanted to play it because if you didn't know about her online history or any of that drama that she's often involved in, you would hear this and be like, this is very soothing.

Robyn Miller: she does have a soothing voice. 

Lisa Capretto: So I don't know.

I just thought it was an interesting, people do not expect this type of [00:13:00] calmness from Azalea banks with her big personality. And it was just an interesting juxtaposition I thought, and I thought we could discuss, does the messenger matter? Because 

karen loenser: I think it does. yeah, 

Robyn Miller: yes, 

karen loenser: I think it does. Because now again, if you didn't know her, but there's an authenticity that I feel like needs to be there. it makes me wonder if she's doing it in a way to show that she can. Go the opposite way so it makes me question her authenticity, I think.

Robyn Miller: too. To me, I think what we're all about and what we talk about all the time walking the walk. And so who is she then? Is she the shit starter

karen loenser: Exactly.

Robyn Miller: Is she the soother? is she trying to be of service and really help others or are you just being a bitch?

Because I do know who she is. And she doesn't actually make people feel good about themselves in that other personality that we know her. and but this is really beautiful. Like I love her voice and even without any music behind [00:14:00] it, she has a really nice frequency if that's her and her authentic self, be that, own that and help others with that, rather than being the shit starter.

karen loenser: Exactly. Yeah,

Noel Kehoe: One thing I do appreciate though is that she could be bringing meditation to people that otherwise may not 

karen loenser: that's a good point.

Robyn Miller: That

karen loenser: That's a great point.

Robyn Miller: I think that's true. it begs the question, she going through her own transformation? Because if she's using meditation, does she talk about how meditation came into her life, or she just released it?

Lisa Capretto: No. So she released that and she also does have some kind of company .. They called her the Queen of being heated online, which I think is a good way to put it. So you wouldn't expect her to release Chill out meditations. But she's been in the wellness space since 2017. She has a store that offers acupressure tools and sorts of things.

 

Noel Kehoe: Sometimes when you're in entertainment, like you have a persona, it's like being an actor, that's, [00:15:00] or shtick.

Lisa Capretto: So who is she really?

Noel Kehoe: Or you can have both and potentially, who knows?

We know people like that, right?

Lisa Capretto: People are complicated. We do know that. Speaking of people, let's talk about Jeremy Renner. He

Been making the rounds lately talking about his NDE and he was just on Oprah the other week talking about it. And there's an article in the New York Times about Jeremy Renner and the science of near death experiences. So in this article, of course, we're talking about the science of NDEs, that's it's a little difficult because, are very hard to study. Obviously, like the things that lead up to an NDE, you can't exactly in controlled experiments and so you can really only theorize, and in this article they just talk about a lot of the different. Theories that different scientists and researchers have. It's really interesting, we've all heard there's just shooting around in your brain and it's just firing off. And the neurotransmitters, this, that, all the vivid imagery and that's what it is. There's [00:16:00] that theory I.

There's another theory that says and certain aspects of NDEs might come from dysfunction in the area of the brain that's responsible for combining sites. Sounds, motion and sense of where we are. they say that might be why people tend to see themselves from above if there's dysfunction in that area and things are getting a little bit jumbled. And then there's also scientists who believe that people's consciousness does leave their bodies during NDEs in a way that neuroscience cannot account for, and that these experiences involve real separation between consciousness and the brain. Then there's another category of researchers, which Dr.

Bruce Grayson falls into. He's been studying nd But these days we don't know the cause. He's not focused on the cause. He's focused on the fact that this happens and people experience this full stop. So that then what? How do we help them? How do we help them process it?

How do we move through it? [00:17:00] He says that, doctors and nurses tend to be the first people who patients go to if they experience an NDE and they're looking for some kind of perspective on it. but a lot of times professionals respond dismissively. I love the work that he's doing, which is bringing this more into the conversation. And Jeremy Rener as well. Sharing his experience, and it's just opening up a lot of people, I think, to other possibilities. And know. I love that.

karen loenser: What do you think, Lisa?

Lisa Capretto: Do I believe in NDEs? I think I am Dr. Bruce Grayson. I don't know. . I could see it being a bunch of things firing around that most certainly has to be happening. But I also believe that there's stuff that we can't explain. People will say that, they'll come out of an NDE and they'll remember things that happened during it, or they will have seen things during it. that I don't think you can explain. I like, I don't know how to really explain that.

Maybe your brain is just taking this information in and you're unaware [00:18:00] of it. But I can't help but feel like there's something deeper going on, something more profound. But I am of that camp. Like I don't know that it matters to me if what the cause is, the fact that it's happening to people and that there are these real shifts that people experience after going through something like this. I think that's the importance in managing that.

karen loenser: I think it's so interesting when people talk about relatives that they've seen or spoken with. When they've had that experience. I remember my mother telling me, my grandfather, this was back in the seventies, had an NDE experience and told her the whole thing about going through the tunnel, seeing the light, and then seeing relatives.

His mother and father had conversation before he came back, and that was before any of this stuff was ever talked about. So I think that made a believer out of my mom that. Yes. Could you attribute this to all, like your brain maybe shutting down and having weird memories, but the similarities of stories that people have about those and those [00:19:00] conversations just to me seem too real to dismiss just the science 

Robyn Miller: I agree in the sense that. It doesn't matter. My opinion, it doesn't matter the why. The what is what we should focus on. And I think about people. We've had several different people on the Seeking Center podcast talking about NDEs, and two that really come to mind right now are Rachel Corpus, as well as Susan Grau

They were both very young when they had these near death experiences and they're now well into, forties, fifties in their lives and they remember to such detail what happened and what happened during those NDEs at that very young age impacted the entire rest of their lives.

karen loenser: Great example.

Robyn Miller: can remember it so well and what they were told and the why. And so to me, like I would say that to me is something more than just the firing of things going on [00:20:00] and I've actually been with a number of people who've had NDEs and seeing them come together and having them talk about, there's this connectedness and this oneness that we all have, which most people are searching for when they have psychedelic journeys or they do holotropic breath work. it gets you to that same place, and I think in many ways. To have these experiences within both from a spiritual and who knows what's going on with the brain, but re regardless it's helping you understand there's much more than we are seeing. And then when you come back, these people are transformed, Their lives are forever changed, their perspectives are forever changed. 

Noel Kehoe: Dr. Grayson, 50 years, he's been hearing the same thing over and over

Robyn Miller: Exactly.

Noel Kehoe: I listened to Oprah's podcast and everybody had the same type of experience, and Jeremy Renner's interview was like, I can't wait to read his book.

It's just His whole entire life has changed and it's just when someone that famous goes [00:21:00] through something and they explain it to you and he's just fuck it. Everything's about love now. I don't give a shit about the Oscars, 

karen loenser: I think that people downplay the whole death experience too, right? There's so much similarity in the way people exit. Crossover. There's so many things that nurses have seen year after year, and yes, you could attribute that to the science and the body shutting down. But I think there's also that possibility as well, who knows that they are seeing their loved ones.

That is part of the transition process. That's the spiritual side of it. So

Noel Kehoe: is beautiful.

karen loenser: It is. I have much 

Noel Kehoe: Not so afraid of death.

karen loenser: Exactly.

Lisa Capretto: Anyone who's had an NDE, they come away. That's the commonality is that they are not afraid anymore and the feelings of love and the things that you can't really describe. But you just know, I don't know. 

Robyn Miller: It reminds me too of, we talk about this often on our podcast, which is life regression

or past life quantum healing. I've [00:22:00] never had a near death experience, but there's some similarities in what you can connect with and the feeling that you come back with and the. that stays with you. There are some similarities, so again, it's not the exact same, but I would highly suggest that's another thing people should explore if you're interested what we're talking about.

Lisa Capretto: Fascinating.

Noel Kehoe: I would agree with that. 'cause I went through, 

Robyn Miller: you.

Noel Kehoe: Quantum healing and I can in my mind's eye think of the past lives when I met with Lizzi that I went through and just in like great detail, 

karen loenser: You, do you remember it vividly?

Robyn Miller: like in this altered state, there's something that we're achieving in that experience. That is somewhat similar to dying, right In the human form. Who knows? That's another thing that probably should be researched, but there's something to it. We're getting to some sort of frequency, is super interesting.

I love it. I'm so glad that we brought this up.

Noel Kehoe: a form of hypnosis in some

Robyn Miller: Yeah. Thank you Jeremy Renner for being [00:23:00] so

Lisa Capretto: Okay, let's move on to a lighter story. This was about a woman who visited a pet psychic after her dog got sick. This was just a fun little piece in people. So there was this woman and she says that she was always in tune with animals since childhood. And then she got older, got married in 2001.

She and her husband's puppy got sick and the vet couldn't figure out why. And a friend of the couple was like, wow, why don't you go to a pet psychic? The husband, a scientist was like, do what now? But they did. And the pet psychic told them, the dog is sick because she ate corncobs she ate them because you and your husband were fighting about your mother. And turns out that was almost pretty right. They had been fighting about a. the mother, but of course the woman was like, there's no way that you would've known that. And so the dog ate the corn cobs at this family picnic and [00:24:00] they didn't realize it. And that is what was wrong with the dog.

So this experience for this woman, it was a really pivotal moment in her life, which we talk about that, like anyone who a reading or an experience like this, a lot of times people come away and they're fully changed. And she certainly was. And she was like. I am gonna get into this because she always had felt this connection with animals.

And so she is now an animal communicator and she has an interesting technique though. Some animal communicators like Jamie will say, let me see the a picture. I just need to see a picture of the pet. This woman prefers not to see any photo or any video. She just taps into energy. And then she says that's how she trusts the information that's coming in.

So I thought that was interesting is that, everybody approaches this kind of differently, even if they're in the same field. And she closed this whole article by saying, I've never met an animal that doesn't know that their owners really love them. Which is what every pet owner, it's everybody's biggest question.

Do they know how much I love [00:25:00] them? And the answer is yes, they

Do.

karen loenser: I love that. I love how this experience, like seemingly so random, changed her life, like

Robyn Miller: Yes.

karen loenser: literally changed her life and how her pet was the one who helped her make that transition. That's 

Robyn Miller: can be, honestly, for people. I really do.

karen loenser: Her little soul guide. Yeah.

Robyn Miller: really are. And actually speaking of that, and it makes me think about Susan gr I brought up with NDEs because she's a spiritual medium and intuitive and also does past life regression and all of that. She had an ND when she was younger. And one of the things that she was shown her book, I can't think of the name right now, but her book is incredible and really walks people through what she saw, what she learned in that time, and then what she's learned since. And she talks about, there's a room for Magical Companions, I think is what it's called.

Something like [00:26:00] that. And she was able to visit this room of Magical Companions and she could see. All of these pets that were planning to come into different people's lives to serve as just that magical companions. And so I feel like it relates so much to the story that you're just bringing up because I,

Noel Kehoe: like a Hogwarts thing.

Robyn Miller: it does, right?

It does sound like that. I just wanted to bring that up because I do believe that. they are here to guide us. And for some people that is the way that they are able to see the unseen. There's an energy. Last week I read or was having a conversation with someone who said how? The thing with pets is that they can see your light. They can see your energy. So when they see you, we often say like, when we're feeling really down, there's something or you don't feel well, your pet comes and it just wants to snuggle with you even more because they know you need it.

karen loenser: Yeah, it's true.

Robyn Miller: on a daily basis [00:27:00] they see your light and so they wanna be near that.

That's why they're here.

karen loenser: They're here to be that unconditional love, right? So many of us have not experienced that

Robyn Miller: That's right. 

karen loenser: That's a fun article. 

Robyn Miller: It is. And we have several pet psychics that I would just highly recommend at Seeking Center.

Noel Kehoe: I wanna know, like the dog was pissed off, so eat corn fuck off, I'm gonna eat some corn.

Robyn Miller: Yeah, 

Lisa Capretto: that's a fair point. There seems like more that we can dig into there, but I don't

Noel Kehoe: Right?

Lisa Capretto: It's very powerful connection humans soul pets.

Another article, and is our second to last one. So this article comes from The Guardian. The Guardian is doing a series called Dining Across the Divide, where they take two people on opposite ends of divisive issues and they sit down for a meal together and they discuss particular one focused on the topic of meditation, which. That's not the first thing I think of when I hear divisive topic, but apparently there are some strong opinions. So the two [00:28:00] people profiled in this particular article were both teachers. There was a woman who meditation does not resonate with her. So she had gone on a retreat and she said that prompted a lot of problems.

She doesn't go into detail about what she experienced, but she says it was harrowing very negative and long-lasting impacts and. quote. I'd say they were some of the worst experiences that can be had with meditation. she says she was involved with it for four years and that it was another two before she felt normal again. And certain people are just not to respond well. And her whole thing is how do we safeguard those younger people from that experience that she had? And on the other side of this issue was like I said, another teacher and his take is that. Mindfulness is a basic life skill. And what she's talking about like a 10 day retreat, that's, you can't even compare them.

'cause that's a separate [00:29:00] spectrum. And she agrees with that and she's yeah, it wouldn't make sense for me to say stop all meditation. She's not saying that her issue was more the lack of quality control and lack of discussion about this aspect. Of meditation, which is why I wanted to bring it up.

I had never heard or thought that this could be kind, some kind of experience with meditation because you really don't hear about it. I don't know. She says that because of her bad experience, she just. Feels like how could anyone have a positive experience? But during this conversation that she had with this other teacher, he helped her kind of understand how it helped him.

So she was able to open up her mind a little bit and come out of her own headspace and be like, okay, I can acknowledge that. This is really good in some ways. But she still wants to make sure that there is a conversation about, I don't know the pitfalls and some of the issues that can come up with it.

I have a lot of questions. I'm just not sure.

karen loenser: it sounds like she was forced to meditate for 10 days, 

Lisa Capretto: I don't know.

Noel Kehoe: you think about retreats, right? [00:30:00] I've seen and, been involved in lots of different types of wellness retreats and sometimes it depends on how the information is delivered and, so it could be something, I don't know about this particular person, something that she learned or something that, the way that it was taught to her or some sort of memories that it. up because I've seen people go to retreats and look, I'm never doing this again. It hits something in them personally.

Robyn Miller: Yeah.

Noel Kehoe: Because meditation, if you think about Eckhart Tolle and Michael Singer and being present and, I don't know how that could ever be, 

Robyn Miller: yeah, and I think there's a couple things that come to mind. One, is this idea of being alone with your thoughts. If you're not comfortable with being alone with your thoughts, that's a whole other conversation that could be one aspect. The other could be, I've read tons of different material and have been invited to different silent retreats, which I've actually never gone on a whole silent retreat.

I feel like I've figured out my own cadence for meditation and. [00:31:00] Definitely works in my life. However, if I was forced to be silent and in meditation for days on end, that wouldn't work for me. I know it wouldn't work for me. And I

karen loenser: That's a very long time.

Robyn Miller: is, and I admire people who do it, and they're up for that challenge, right?

There's a reason they feel called, I think in many ways to do that. You can read Dan Harris's book about when he did that. There are so many of those types of retreats even eat, pray, love, you look at Elizabeth Gilbert, when she went and on her journey and she did spend a lot of time in silence and meditating that worked for her. But in all of those instances, you can leave. 

karen loenser: Yeah,

Robyn Miller: if

karen loenser: exactly.

Robyn Miller: for you, get out of there.

karen loenser: you don't do it all at one time like that. You don't commit to something for that length of time unless you're really ready for doing that. Yeah,

Lisa Capretto: Last piece is what do asteroids mean in astrology? We talk a lot about the planets and this planet in this and whatever. Apparently a whole nother layer is asteroids as well. And so this [00:32:00] article talks about. Six different asteroids and it goes through and says what they are. Ceres, for example, is the goddess , the maternal, the fertile and agricultural. And so that asteroid essentially shows us where we need to be nourished. It's technically a dwarf planet, but astrologers regard it as an steroid. And then there's the one that we have heard about before. Even if you're not like super. Astrology oriented Chiron. And Robyn, you had been mentioning Chiron before as well, before we started taping. Chiron is known as the wounded healer. Stevie has talked about that with us, and it unlocks, the point of the greatest pain and ultimate potential. So it's like the healing work that you're destined to do.

They call it your personal medicine. They said, for example, if your Chiron is in Scorpio, then maybe you looked Taurus to provide comfort, relief and beauty. don't know enough about any of that. Stevie could give us a whole course on it, I'm sure. But it was really interesting 'cause I had certainly [00:33:00] never considered asteroids as a part of, birth charts and astrology.

I just thought it was cool. Robyn, I feel like you had a story about this.

Robyn Miller: And I wanna say too, that I believe anything in our universe is gonna contribute to the energy. Of who we are and what's going on with us personally, with us as a collective and the planet. I really do. So I love that this is being brought up. 'cause it, it has to, like we ourselves are energetic beings who have. Who have an impact on everyone else. So of, I think any matter does, and Chiron specifically, I had never heard of it until maybe three years ago. Honestly, and I may have even heard of it when I first had my birth chart read. I still didn't understand it more recently. And what I was told in the last. Year and a half I'd say is that this is like my Chiron return, which means that Chiron, that wounded healer, that [00:34:00] asteroid is circling back in my chart to the time I was born. That's when things are returned, like your solar return, which is your birthday, is that the sun comes back in that same place from when you're born.

, So there's that aspect. So with Chiron return. Which is about healing deepest roots home, family foundation, building towards greater spiritual meaning and purpose in your life. That has very much been a focus according to my chart for the last year and a half.

And it was especially on May 6th, and that is also my husband's birthday, so I had received this information. Almost a year ago, and I was actually really nervous. I didn't tell anybody this, including my husband because I was like, what does that mean is something I'm such a positive person, but I didn't know if that can mean something like. Nothing's bad, but could it be something bad? But it didn't. It was a wonderful day. I just wanna tell everybody that. And I think what I'm learning in this timeframe, 'cause it actually, for me, it [00:35:00] goes till June 18th, 2025. I am very much coming to. healing certain aspects of all the things I just listed and certainly making spirituality a even greater purpose in my life.

Just wanted to say that.

karen loenser: It's a really good article for understanding like just Greek mythology and just a lot of history of how astrology actually evolved and how yeah, these big spheres are you think of an asteroid as something like that's gonna be detrimental in your

Robyn Miller: That's

karen loenser: life, but it's really interesting to see how they've been around for such a long time and like the planets still have influence on this.

So yeah, check it out. It's a really cool article.

Thanks for this, Lisa. These are all really interesting, all very diverse. And you know what I wanna say too? It's amazing the different sources that these come from. Everyone from the Harvard Journal to New York Times, like everybody is talking about Woo News, no matter what the publication is.

So I think that says a lot right there.

Lisa Capretto: I like that it's making [00:36:00] it out there a little bit more in the zeitgeist, but like I said, I mentioned this in our first taping too. This is not stuff that I come across in my main feeds or anything. It's stuff that I still do have to like, seek out and search for. But it is there, to your point, Karen, in a lot of, mainstream news sources and don't know, it's just, I'm glad that we can surface it and talk about it because it's worth the conversation.

karen loenser: Totally.

Robyn Miller: We're

karen loenser: So fun.

Robyn Miller: to be

karen loenser: So fun.

Robyn Miller: you

karen loenser: Thanks, Lisa.

Robyn Miller: it, and you for really bringing this to everybody's attention. They're really interesting conversations, and if anyone comes across anything that we should know about, send our Way you can send it to lisa@theseekingcenter.com. Thank

karen loenser: Fun. Such a great conversation. Thanks.

Robyn Miller: the next one.