Author: Ana Verzone

This week I reflect on a recent visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, and how a simple experience of crossing the street turned into a very healing and eye-opening lesson in trust and interdependence. We’ll talk about how in the US, when it comes to navigating traffic and driving, we are taught to assume we are invisible. Drive defensively. Cross streets assuming no one sees you. In Hanoi, it was the opposite. If you wanted to do something as basic as cross the street, you have to assume you would be seen, and that people cared and would take care. I was able to literally walk into oncoming traffic amongst strangers – something we can’t do in many industrialized growth societies like the US. We explore the vulnerability and beauty of how humans can move through chaos together when we come from a place of interdependence and interbeing.

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This week we’re continuing our conversation about soulcentric adulthood by diving into the topic of soul initiation. We’ll jam on what the heck that even means and why we must first undergo a transformation and death of our old self before we can discover and step into our Soul Purpose. And I’ll give you some insightful questions and practices to try out so you can create space for dissolution to occur in your own life… when the time is right.

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In this Episode of the Rebel Buddhist podcast, we talk about what it means to be a true grown-ass adult…in a soul centric way. Many theories of human development focus on stages that are reached in certain age ranges. But you and I both know that turning 18 doesn’t mean you’re a grown-ass adult, and it certainly doesn’t guarantee that we are psychospiritually mature. Listen to find out what true adolescence and adulthood mean, and why reaching true adulthood is so important for ourselves and the world around us.

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This week’s special Greatest Hits episode is all about forgiveness – some of the biggest misconceptions we often have about it, and why forgiveness has absolutely nothing to do with the other person feeling remorse. Plus, we’ll jam on how our “enemies” can actually be our greatest teachers.

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This week’s special Greatest Hits episode is all about forgiveness – some of the biggest misconceptions we often have about it, and why forgiveness has absolutely nothing to do with the other person feeling remorse. Plus, we’ll jam on how our “enemies” can actually be our greatest teachers.

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In this week’s episode, we dive into the suffering we witness in the world around us and the importance of allowing ourselves to feel our grief for all of it, as well as holding beauty and wonder for this precious life at the same time. I’ll open up about some of the suffering I’ve witnessed and discuss the key to bearing witness to the world’s pain without feeling overwhelmed – not doing it alone! Plus I give a few suggestions of ways we can reconnect with others through our shared grief and allow easier access to those difficult emotions.

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In this episode, we talk about the importance of leaving home – physically AND psycho-spiritually. I’ll dive into how to know when it’s time to wander, and why we must do so in the first place. We talk about intersectional barriers to access leaving home – and how modern industrialized society holds us back (and why).

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This episode is all about a highly requested topic: breakups and heartache. We’ll talk about the difference between “clean pain” vs “dirty pain,” as well as the importance of fully metabolizing the pain and sadness that comes from the end of any relationship (and what happens when we don’t). We also dive into the role history and societal expectations play in how we validate or judge relationships, and why using the length of a relationship to legitimize it isn’t helpful – at all. We explore relationships being there for a reason, season, or lifetime, and how resisting reality (the relationship has run its course; the other person feeling it’s done, even if we don’t agree; facing that we really aren’t satisfied in the relationship) really screws us in the end. And of course, we talk about how we can cause ourselves way less unnecessary suffering, and instead move towards transformation and growth.

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This week’s episode is all about equanimity and emotional stability. Many people have this idea that to be emotionally stable means we have to go through the world with this detached point of view about everything – good or bad. But that couldn’t be further from the truth! True equanimity is a balanced engagement with ALL aspects of life – the good AND the bad. Listen to learn more about how we can cultivate this in our own lives through a deeper understanding of the 4 Noble Truths.

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This week dive into the importance of bringing ritual and ceremony into our daily lives in the midst of modern industrialized life. We’ll emphasize why self-directed ritual and ceremony can be particularly potent. I’ll also share a bit about my own rituals and why each is so important to me, and then we’ll lay out some tips and ideas to help you get started in creating (or bringing back) your own practices for more magic, connection, and wonder in your daily life.

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