From Hajj to Breathwork: A Conversation with Shaamiela Safodien

Join this conversation with Shaamiela Safodien, a psychological counselor, mindfulness teacher, and breathwork practitioner, as we learn about her unique path of spirituality and healing. From her traditional Muslim upbringing to her enlightening experiences during her Hajj pilgrimage at just 18 years old, Shaamiela's story is both captivating and inspiring.

In this heartfelt conversation, we delve into the power of connecting with nature and our own bodies for growth and healing. Shaamiela shares her insights on the cyclical nature of women, the role of breathwork in shifting our narratives, and the importance of a holistic approach to healing that incorporates both traditional talk therapy, spirituality, and embodiment. 

Shaamiela reflects on her journey of understanding the power of her body and incorporating mindfulness and breathwork into her daily practice. We also touch upon the challenges faced by Muslim women in a tradition that is often interpreted in ways that make it difficult for them to express themselves. Don't miss this heartwarming and thought-provoking episode, full of valuable insights and inspiration for anyone on their own path of growth and healing.

Shaamiela's website: https://www.livingwithinsight.net and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/living_with_insight/

Transcript

Rose Aslan: 0:25

I'm Dr Rose Aslan and I'm a transformational life coach, rhetoric teacher and scholar of religion who supports helpers, rebels, misfits, marginalized and spiritual and spiritually curious folks. Welcome to Rahma with Rose, where I create a bold space of warmth, understanding and pluralism in a world that often feels chaotic, polarized and judgmental. You are not alone, and the stories I share here will reinforce this. Each episode will delve into inspiring stories, practical tips and thought-provoking and heartfelt conversations with thought leaders, healers, coaches, mental health professionals and other individuals who are part of the quiet revolution of women healing around the world. So join me on this podcast exploration, as we explore what happens when we allow compassion into our lives, one story at a time.

Rose Aslan: 1:52

Today, i'm joined by , who's a psychological counselor in private practice based in South Africa, a mindfulness teacher, energy healing practitioner and a breathwork practitioner in training. She holds a degree in sports and exercise science and an honors degree in psychology. She works at the intersection of the psychological and the spiritual experience, which informs her approach as integrative and humanistic. Welcome to the show. It's such an honor to have you join us today for the first ever guest interview.

Shaamiela Safodien: 2:31

Wow, thank you. It's amazing We're at the opening of something new.

Rose Aslan: 2:37

And I reached out to you because we connected through our training in breathwork Africa, which started in, i guess, the fall of 2021. Is that correct? when we did?

Rose Aslan: 2:47

the introduction to breathwork And we've been in touch ever since and we had this great connection and we became breathwork companions and I really wanted to invite you to the show because I feel you have so much to offer people around the world and I really wanted for people to hear about your journey, which, for me, is just really beautiful to hear about. So I'm really excited to share your voice with others.

Shaamiela Safodien: 3:10

Thanks. yeah, it's been a great journey to have you and to see you're facing loss often and then, as you say, to connect after in our own time, exactly.

Rose Aslan: 3:23

So let's start with the same question I'm going to ask everyone, which is can you remember when you first start getting interested in spirituality and healing in your life?

Shaamiela Safodien: 3:36

I don't have clear memories of healing, necessarily, i think. So I'm going to answer them separately because I think spirituality and healing didn't necessarily, they weren't necessarily sort of connected for me in the beginning. I think of my journey, or at least consciously becoming more interested in spirituality. I think with spirituality it probably began in my moments of contemplation in my late teens and that's all it was. It was really just moments of deeper thinking. You know, about experiences, i was having the idea of God, you know who God was, my connection to that and that, particularly because I was raised in a very traditional Muslim household and so that's mainly sort of where you know I understood spirituality to be connected to it, is obviously deepened and changed for me over time. So that's in terms of spirituality. And then I know that it deepened for me at the age of 18 and when I performed Hajj, and that was just, you know, i graduated high school and we left and, yeah, over the Hajj, and remember having very, very deep moments of connectedness. You know, when I was in my studio in Nubbuwi, feeling the presence of the =, being able to just sit in silence in the mosque, walking through m, and feeling t the Prophet's presence and his energy, and then the silence of my Dina as well, just this beautiful silence that's just everywhere you go, you know, there's this purity that just emanates, and so those moments, and then, of course, moving on to Makkah, alhamdulillah, and then being able tawaf w around the Kaaba and you know, just being in awe of this, of being in this very historic place and being in the footsteps of so many, you know, prominent and important beings, just in terms of our Dean, but just again being aware energetically of what the space held and the light that it held. So I'd say, just in terms of my experience and the and understanding my own spirituality and my engagement with it, that probably deepened it for me.

Shaamiela Safodien: 6:02

And then, with healing, probably and has to be, when I stepped into my first therapeutic session, i started out with traditional therapy and so at that time I went with the with the intention of actually having supervision.

Shaamiela Safodien: 6:20

So I was 25 at that time, i was just really at the beginning of my career, i just left my first job and was moving on to clinical practice, which, you know as a practitioner, just really like it drops you sort of in the middle of this very deep space where, yeah, you just you get to explore all of these clinical diagnoses but also, at the same time, just to look at the human experience more deeply.

Shaamiela Safodien: 6:48

And so I went to supervision and that was the intention went, you know, it's. You know, as you know, if you're a psychologist counselor, it's we are encouraged to stay in supervision as a way to just sort of keep the I guess, the lens clear and be able to see, you know where you end and and where the client begins, and keep that separation and that could quickly become therapy. So that's, that was my introduction to healing, and I think we are really just began to understand what that word even means. You know, i think I may have used words before then, like overcoming it and knocking out, knocking the obstacle about the way I was.

Rose Aslan: 7:34

I was very connected to, necessarily, what that means and so, yeah, that was the beginning for me and what led you to go into psychology anyways and to and to move into profession that supports people on their healing path?

Shaamiela Safodien: 7:49

so psychology wasn't my first choice. Interestingly enough, even that was just a journey. I was, i mean, clear, just divine ordination. I, y undergrad was sports and exercise science and I wanted to work in physical rehabilitation with athletes. And, interestingly enough, when I think I was, i must have been my second or third year of my undergrad and I had sick psychology as my second major and I think, well, this seems interesting, and that's all it was. It was just like, oh, this seems interesting and leaning into that and then, you know, kind of deciding to come to my honors, interestingly enough. So my first job I ended up, i worked in. Well, yeah, i worked in a form of rehabilitation, but it wasn't physical, that's what. So you know, you, the things you put out there and how it manifests is really not, i guess, in our hands.

Rose Aslan: 8:51

What kind of rehabilitation was it?

Shaamiela Safodien: 8:55

Oh, so I worked in a program, worked for an NGO and it was a program for a diversion program. So work was first time offenders and they would come through our program as a way to just kind of like do some sort of rehabilitation or reformation to avoid having, you know, a criminal record. And so that was my introduction. And then my second job was going and working in addictions primary addiction scale. So again another form of rehabilitation, but not physical.

Rose Aslan: 9:31

Very a rehabilitation.

Shaamiela Safodien: 9:33

Absolutely Also really important work. Absolutely, absolutely.

Rose Aslan: 9:38

And the age of 18 is very young to g Hajj Hajj g. Hajj di d that o that . . How did that? that was during your formative years. How did that affect your approach to spirituality and religion from that point on, when you returned home to South Africa?

Shaamiela Safodien: 9:54

Yeah, i mean, that's, that's the. I think that's the interesting part, because I was thinking about, you know, that, just making the decision to 418. It was. I remember my parents were quite, they were quite clear on the fact that this had to be my decision And then what that meant for my life, you know, and again, kind of a really traditional religious background There was. There was specific ways that my parents thought, you know, my life would need to to look And and that, and that in itself has just been a journey of authentically discovering myself. But nonetheless, it started and they gave me that opportunity and I made the decision to go And, yeah, i was, it was quite young, don't know that I was that connected to kind of the idea that I was very young at that age.

Shaamiela Safodien: 10:42

I knew that, but I can say that it just felt like it was an invitation to me, one that I really wanted to accept, and so I did, and it had influenced, you know, i mean how we however you want to look at it, it was. It was then, i think, probably we I had to learn that religion, my religion for me, was a kind of a form of my spirituality, you know, and that in some ways they are similar and in some ways they different experiences, but again, i think that's probably because up until then it was really something that was encouraged by my parents and led by them and how that looked. And I think, through through, i mean, i entered university as soon as I got back from college And so, like you know, i came from a sheltered high school. I went to an all golf Muslim high school And so I had a very sheltered, you know, high school experience as well, and so in the world of university, you know, that's like it's diversity, that's it, and it's one that I embraced. I was very excited about. I was very excited about that. I was very in awe of the experience I was having, alongside the fact that I could pursue my education. But it did. It influenced how I experienced that world. You know, i was very innocent and very naive, i think a lot of the time.

Shaamiela Safodien: 12:15

I remember one of my friends said to me like you know, you're an educated woman. What's up with your scarf? What's up with that headscarf? you know, and I think for the first time I started seeing that people associated, you know, wearing a headscarf with not necessarily being, you know, educated or, you know, keen on that. So, yeah, it definitely made my experience quite at times, i guess, isolating, but it didn't deter me, you know, from the social experience as well. Yeah, so it influenced I don't know if I'm answering the question, but it influenced me just in terms of, i guess, encouraging me to pursue my individuality. You know what I mean, like how I see the difference and I see the similarities, but we are my, you know, and yeah, so probably that's how it influenced me.

Rose Aslan: 13:23

Yeah, beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I really appreciate hearing even you struggled with wearing a scarf in university, because I feel like I've heard so many narratives of women Muslim women in the West, in North America and Europe and their struggles with a headscarf, but I don't know anything about women in South Africa and what it's like to be isible Muslim woman, and so I'm actually like curious to hear a little bit more if you're willing to share. Like, what is it like? what was it like when you're younger and now to be isible visual Muslim woman in that country?

Shaamiela Safodien: 13:52

I have to say that I really believe that in South Africa we're pretty, we're quite blessed, actually, because it's a very normal experience. We are so deeply diverse as a nation. I think that was my experience. That's not necessarily something that's happening every day for women. I genuinely believe. That was also a personal thing for me because of where I was at and you know what I felt I needed to be versus you know what others wanted me to be. But I really think, in terms of hijab and wearing a scarf, we're very free to do that. It's very accepted For the most part. Again, they probably are incidences where women shield, i don't know judged, you know, or there's been a comment made, but the overall experience is very much accepting. It's very normal, you know. Even to see a woman in a car, you know, you know, sort of like going, walking through the malls in South Africa, and no one has a reaction. That's kind of, you know well, that seems weird or strange. Yeah, so we've been very blessed and very lucky, you know.

Rose Aslan: 15:04

Thank you, and how would you describe the spiritual path that you're walking on now? And you can describe it as evolution or, in your current state, however you choose.

Shaamiela Safodien: 15:18

For sure it's an evolution, but I feel like all of like is that isn't it, and we are how I currently experience it now, thank you.

Shaamiela Safodien: 15:29

I think more recently it's become, i'd say, in the last 10 years of my life, my spirituality has really also been about embracing my femininity, my journey as a woman in this world and what that means and there's so many avenues I can shoot off into wide that it's experienced, that I feel we are connected in the last 10 years and in the work that I've been doing recently with women, just in terms of our natural cycle, embracing the natural cycle that we just cycle through every month, but also just what that means, how we show up in the world Every week of our lives pertaining to that cycle.

Shaamiela Safodien: 16:22

It's really been about my journey as a woman and then how I engage with the divine, this divine experience, the divine voice, how, just in terms of this love, whether we see that you are valued as a woman or not, and grappling with those kind of questions. It has been profoundly exciting. I've been quite fascinated by that and watching my own experience of that and having to look at historically what were the messages I received and, as we just spoke about? what is my experience of being a South African Muslim woman, part of a brown community, thinking about the history we have just around race as well, in this country and as it is for many people all over the world. But it's been about embracing that and really owning it, really really owning that in a way that's individual to me but that's also connected to other women and our shared experience of the world. So my spirituality is deeply connected to my cyclical nature as a woman and as a woman, which I think is beautiful. I think it's absolutely beautiful that we have this cycle that reflects nature so beautifully.

Rose Aslan: 17:47

I just love hearing that because I've also been investing and diving into that topic as of late and I find it so powerful because something that I feel was stolen from us by modern society and we have to learn on our own with other women. But a lot of women I speak to from different religious institutions, including Islam, find themselves disconnected to religion because of their gender and they find it really hard because of the rigid rules around women, for example, and the rules of purity with the menstrual cycle and just the various restrictions that certain interpretations of Islam apply to women. And you talked about being a woman as a source of inspiration and spiritual practice. I'd love to hear a little bit more about that for the listeners who find it difficult to be a Muslim or just a woman in any spiritual tradition and they see it as a block.

Shaamiela Safodien: 18:44

I think that it's as simple as reflecting on the fact that we are cyclical in our nature, and that's when I say that we're talking about the fact that we menstruate monthly, and I know that that's different for every woman. It doesn't look the same, but we are cycling through these different changes and we're not showing up the same. We go through different changes. So I'd say, just look to something as simple as where do you share that with nature around you, in the world around you? I'm talking about the natural world and what that looks like and how does that look to you? what's the reflection in it? the reflection in something that cannot be argued against because you see it naturally occurring and connect to that as opposed to, i guess, institutional ways of thinking. I don't know if I'm answering that, but I think as simple as that is connecting to that cyclical nature and connecting to your body. That's such a huge thing, it's such a big part of the feminine experience. It's connecting to your body, and I'd say that because I've had to, you know, through breastwork, so one of the workers going inside into the body and experiencing this breath inside of the body is profound when you connect to it, and I think I've shared many times in our classes that I the biggest realization I've had about breastwork is it's the most intimate experience I'll ever have in my life. As long as I'm breathing, as long as I'm here in this world, i'm having this very intimate experience that's very deeply connected to the divine, the breath of God. Essentially, that was the beginning for us And so living with that, you know that, knowing, living with that knowing, and that you would chose, and then one of the things that Kay was doing in our post Ramadan workshop well group I had just a few weeks ago was also just that. You know we were given one of these, we were given one of the qualities of God, al-rahman , , rahim rahul e suppose. So it's all connected. You know we were given one of the qualities of God and again, you know you carry this within yourself, it's in your body, it's in your body, you know this the source of mercy and your reflection of that. And that's a begin to connect to those things you know and search for people who have a voice around that you know and who are willing to talk about those things. You know, if you shift where you want to. It's kind of almost like deciding which. You know, we make the what we call the vibrational shift of understanding.

Shaamiela Safodien: 21:53

I have this narrative or this kind of sport pattern and if I, if I can, you know, begin to engage with that and then hopefully shift that, it can actually shift what comes into my space. You know, and I really believe in my own life I've seen that happen continuously It's actually to work with it, you know, to actively work with it, and go oh, i see that it's showing up again from the observer's point of view. Oh, i see that it's showing up again. How can I, you know, sort of begin to shift that and it really you invite that in with intention. You know, become intentional about inviting that in and take that into prayer. You know, take that into prayer and say like, send me those things. And then, most importantly, pay attention. Pay attention because sometimes we miss it. You know whether it's because we caught up in our own narrative or you know we're just feeling like oh, you know it's not possible, but pay attention and you'll notice that that can come into your space.

Rose Aslan: 22:52

Yeah, thank you. That's really important to hear. You know, and I work with a lot of women who obviously it's very common for them to experience shame around their bodies and around their identities, and I love you talking about important things of intention, of presence, of interception, of being within our bodies, all such important topics to help women come back to our fit, our natural, our natural divine essence, right. So I know that you've been on this journey for a while and you've tried out different healing modalities along the way. Which ones among all the ones you've tried resonated with you the most? which ones have you integrated into your life?

Shaamiela Safodien: 23:35

So there's been not that many of you, but they've all been very, i think, deeply connected to each other. And maybe let me start by naming them And then I'll tell you a little bit about which one I've that really resonated with me. So I mean I did traditional talk therapy And that was very deeply influential In terms of, i mean, you know how it can change you just changes everything because you've gotten the more deeply asked, you know your stuff. But I think what influenced that and what made that really really a worthwhile experience and very significant for me was that I had a therapist who wasn't just the clinical psychologist but she was in.

Shaamiela Safodien: 24:21

Her approach definitely wasn't clinical, and so we explored a lot of spirituality in our session And there was a holistic approach. I felt that she had, you know where the conversation was open to being that of the physical world, the metaphysical world, you know of encounters with you know different kind of energies, angels. You know dreams that you had. You know what does that mean for you, that kind of thing. So that was really amazing, something I looked forward to, because I felt it almost allowed me to just explore every dimension of myself, as opposed to just the mind right and the cognitive abilities, and then she also became my teacher in terms of energy healing, And so that was a modality that I also explored And then took training in that to now also.

Rose Aslan: 25:17

What is energy healing exactly, for those of people who've like heard it but they don't know. And there's many types of energy healing. So he tells, yeah, what did you do and how did you define energy healing?

Shaamiela Safodien: 25:26

Sure, so I trained. I trained in Reiki, energy healing, nd essentially the way and I understand it and my experience of energy healing is, is that we are a vibrational being and that we carry this current and anything that we engage with, whether that's physical or non physical, can affect us. You know, whether that's positive, positive or negatively. Sometimes what can happen is that you engage and there's a distortion that happens or a form of dis-use that happens. And Reiki, really, just as a practitioner, you are conduit for universal life a conduit force, energy which is available to everybody, not just healers, energy healers who call themselves that And you become a conduit for that energy and we stream through our heads and we work above the body And it's really just a way to either clear, to create clearing balance, or even to just shift things around that can actually allow for natural flow and for natural healing to begin or to just continue. And so it's very much based on the premise that you know you can heal yourself. You know and that's something that really appeals to me that that's available to us. You know something to practice for yourself. So that's energy healing And yeah, i mean I also I think the most most = one for me was mindfulness, and I can honestly say that it's the. When mindfulness made its appearance in my life, i was really awoken to just how much I was treating the waters, the deep waters, of my own judgment toward myself. And yeah, and then the teachings profoundly changed me as a person And because it was something that I was, the practice was something I was truly able to internalize, practicing non-judgment towards myself And, yeah, profoundly changed the way that I related to myself, you know. And then, by extension, how I then began to treat myself, you know, because I was definitely, you know, before I sat down for my first course in mindfulness, which is really just mindful meditation, i was so annoyed because it brought the fucks up. I enjoyed. I was like you want me to do what? So it's violence, like that's great for you. That's what you know, and I remember having those experiences that are so annoyed, but somehow there was something about me that was really just drawn to it, you know, that felt really at peace practicing this And it was so amazing for me to discover that my thoughts were not real. It's, you know.

Shaamiela Safodien: 28:32

Now, years later, you know, it feels like a lifetime ago that I first sat down and mindfully meditate. I believe, you know, my thoughts was who I was, and if I had a bad thought then that meant I was a bad person. So there was a fusion right And now the distance and it, you know, more of a kind of I'm the observer, and I noticed that these things are happening in my mind, in my body, with my emotion, and that I now end up in my life. So it profoundly has influenced, you know, my life of prisons. Now I learn from a place of privilege and for myself, non-judgment, there's a lot more compassion.

Shaamiela Safodien: 29:16

I want to say, though, the bus was simultaneously happening while I was in Pirate Beach I don't want it to sound like it was just. You know I discovered mindfulness and then I was it. There were many things happening which I also think were just. You know again, these divine synchronicities that were just sort of propelling me forward on my journey on healing. So there was a lot of healing that came from that, from just learning that I can observe without attaching And then really, really beginning to have more of a compassionate voice for myself, you know, changing the language, just the way that I speak to myself, and noticing the words that I use, and asking myself like how come, what? that's? what's that about, you know? Yeah, so that was it.

Shaamiela Safodien: 30:02

And then, of course, my most recent and when I'm still getting certified in this is Bethwork right, you know, incredible that's been. And Breathwork sure, i mean Breathwork has been the integrator of all of these incredible experiences and modernities that I've explored. It's been the great integrator for me. Everything just like dropped when I started breathing consciously, everything started. It just felt like I was able to inhibit my body, inhibit all the knowledge that I had, all the education I've received, whether that's through reading, listening, through my spiritual journey that's what I mean by education It was really the great integrator for me. It remains that It's still, that I'm still amazed at all of those things that I find and all of the stuff I feel, yeah, yeah.

Rose Aslan: 31:02

I just want to reflect back to you. It's so powerful to witness a woman like you coming into her own to talk about your ability to detach from your thoughts and your limiting beliefs and to remain in the present more and to offer yourself compassion with words and actions. I think is something that is so powerful. That's why I want to invite you here, So so many other women could also see what this looks like in action. How do we get there?

Shaamiela Safodien: 31:29

Right.

Rose Aslan: 31:30

What does this path mean to you? I talk all the time about the healing path, the healing journey, and I have my own definition. How would you define it?

Shaamiela Safodien: 31:40

The journey and the process of spirituality.

Rose Aslan: 31:43

Of healing and spirituality.

Shaamiela Safodien: 31:44

Healing spirituality, The first path, the all human share.

Rose Aslan: 31:48

We're on different places on the path, different signs of what the path is. What is it for you?

Shaamiela Safodien: 31:55

I think that it's a lot. I think I know, i know that it's. For me, it's just simply presence, a deep presence, and also very much a presence where I'm attuned to the voice of the divine. That's really all I'm interested in. I'm only interested in hearing that, and so what that means for me is that I am being and doing all that I can to keep that clear, to keep that connection clear. I want to hear the voice of the divine. That's the most important thing for me. It'll guide me if I'm feeling lost and wondering why in the world we need to do this. A truly experience, i'm reminded. So that's what it means to me. It means the life of prisons that we, if I am, that's where I choose to be, like this conversation, that I show up and that's with my whole heart. That's where I want to be and my whole being, and that I miss my self-sacrifice and whatever comes from it. It's just how it's supposed to be. That's what it means.

Rose Aslan: 33:04

Absolutely beautiful. Thank you. And I'm also curious to go back to your identity, your connection as a Muslim woman on this path. For a Muslim woman, it's so hard, as you know right, Because we know this tradition is so beautiful and there's so much compassion and insight and teachings out there, but there's so much that gets in the way the patriarch, the misogyny We don't need to go on. How do you navigate the minefield of religion while being a deeply spiritual Muslim woman and find the beauty within while also seeing the other things around you?

Shaamiela Safodien: 33:42

That's positive things, i don't always feel quite positive. I'd say, probably, that it's a little bit of what I said previously around just being connected to the voice of the divine and how I'm inspired, you know, because that's the most important thing, and I read like, i hear, that Islam is important and how we practice and what that, you know, feels like in high experience, that's really important. But you know, we do that for God, to be close to the divine, you know, to be clear with him, and so I think that's what it's about me. Sorry, i should get the question. Can you repeat this?

Rose Aslan: 34:25

Yeah, so how do you navigate being a Muslim woman and finding the beauty and direction that keeps you going, despite all the things that are difficult to navigate because of your gender, in a tradition that, unfortunately, is interpreted in ways that make it difficult to be a woman? I'm saying it very nicely, aren't I? I mean, i can just say how do you stay, and how do you stay and how do you keep to the?

Rose Aslan: 34:53

path, despite the patriarchy and misogyny that are so pernicious and everywhere within our tradition. How will it put it that way? There's no need to cover it up.

Rose Aslan: 35:05

I mean, we're dealing with this right, like we're still Muslim women, but for me it's really hard, right. How do you navigate it? That's what I want to hear And that's what so many women Muslim women I speak to. They're like how do we stay Muslim? How do we not let all those other things, the distractions, keep us away from our target, which is the divine? The issue is that the rules, the interpretations, the way people speak about women all of that can really keep a lot of women down and feeling really negative, often towards their tradition, with the way modern Muslims talk about and treat women, for example, how do you do it.

Rose Aslan: 35:47

And something I think other Muslim women would like to hear you know how does someone like you? because you have this beautiful calm presence about you and this deep love I can hear for the divine, for this path of Islam i . So how do you do it? How H

Shaamiela Safodien: 36:02

How do I do that do. I kind of do the acceptance alongside the long side, the rik'ni That's that's come through so strongly, you know, because I think that's what we're dealing with as women. There's a rik'ni happening, but a reckoning i terms of us n to see just how deeply the misogyny has been infiltrated, this beautiful religion that is so pro-women and that is so protective of women. That on days saddens me. But for the most part, recently it's really been something that's really empowered me and I think that's because, just in terms of connecting to that feminine experience I'm having in this world, that's really strengthened it And now I'm very much in my power as a woman. So the rik'ni is also having to myself. Look at a key figures. You know the masculine figures or the masculine experiences I've had in my life and genuinely working with that. You know what are the messages I received. And then doing the healing work that I needed to do. But, being very truthful with myself, around that and even up until recently, that was still happening And it still is. It's going to continue to happen for me. So there's that, so the acceptance that this is the part, this is part of the challenge, right, but those only exist to mold you, you know. They only exist as a way for you to actually refine and for you to come back to your true identity and your nature. That's why those things are there. It's not about I mean, you said the word distraction that's exactly what it is. It's a way to distract you from your essence, you know, and your essence as a woman, which is so beautiful. You know the power that you have inside of you and it's a very spiritual power, You know It's very deeply connected to the earth and very deeply connected to the beginning and the end. You know You are conduit. If someone receives breath, a conduit about what that means. Again, you know everybody's not going to have that experience, but we all house this space within us, right? That's deep, that's deep. You know that someone receives breath, you know because you exist And so. So I think it's again like the acceptance of this is part of the journey. You know, for better or worse, that's how it's going to be.

Shaamiela Safodien: 38:44

And then the reckoning, and I really do think it's really looking at deeply where you've been wounded, you know, by the masculine, whether that's in the form of a man or just masculine energy in the world, because you know they are different, they can be different. And embracing, you know, both, something for yourself, you know, because we don't want to, you know, you know our important ideas for us to not push that away. That exists within us as well, the masculine energy, and how can you, how can you use both of them to your advantage? So I, i believe that's what I've been doing, i believe that I I mean, i think about where that began for me, and it was, yeah, i was on the.

Shaamiela Safodien: 39:29

I got divorced at the age of 13. And at that, in the same time I'd lost my mother, was my first feminine experience and sort of picture and, i guess, example of a female and female release, and then how that interests me, and that's a whole long story, but the point is that it gave me an opportunity to delve deeper into that and really begin the healing work of both the masculine and the feminine, you know, and understanding that there was a winding in both, both the areas, in both energies. But then I don't want to love splintered off from it. You know I want to. That's all that's a part of me. So I want to embrace that. Yeah, hello.

Rose Aslan: 40:25

Beautiful Thank you, and as we wrap up, would you share some pearls of wisdom with listeners. What is one or two deep lessons that have served you well on your path of growth?

Shaamiela Safodien: 40:47

That breaks me deeply, deeply thoughtful, because there's so many rights I think I'm just trying to listen to which one I'm supposed to share with you and the listeners. I mean, there's a few that's coming through as very kind of important, but there's something about sincerity. You know, making sincerity really fundamental to anything that you do, that you sincerely pursue it. You know there's a, there's a purity. I think that sincerity brings to any kind of experience And I will say that's for me, my understanding of a disability can only come from when you've really yourself reckoned with your own shadow. Oh, you know, i I thought it was important to mention that that when you are asking me any about like, how do you do that, it's it's. I really had to look at that deeply, you know, which means deeply looking up myself and reckoning with that, and I understood that then I could show up as a sincere being, as a sincere woman, you know, and bring that purity of sincerity and intention into everything that I do.

Shaamiela Safodien: 42:13

That's been a profound one for me in the last, i think, few years is just seeing, but then also seeing how sincerity is rewarded. You know it's, it's a spiritual door, you know. You watch it, you see it with people And this equality that sincere beings carry, that I'm watched in my work as well. You know, with the words, different people, different individuals, where some have it more than others, and then, watching, they don't stay, they can't see it. You know, necessarily, because you know we in the thick of it. But looking at the bigger picture, you see how it's rewarded in their lives and how they were protected and guided because of that. Well, that's, that's something that's coming through very clearly. But again, you know, we've got to be able to look at the shadow in order to clear that you know and make way for that to come through.

Rose Aslan: 43:12

I really feel that that really that really came through to me through.

Shaamiela Safodien: 43:16

Zoom room today, and how did it allow that?

Rose Aslan: 43:21

That, pearl, and I really feel like when you came to show up today in this Zoom room, you came with your full presence and you're modeling what you're speaking about, which is so incredibly rare and beautiful to really talk about this path but then also model it during this conversation. So I'm really grateful to you a , for that..

Shaamiela Safodien: 43:41

Really thank you.

Rose Aslan: 43:42

Thank you for your conversation.

Shaamiela Safodien: 43:44

Right, yeah, thank you. That's such a beautiful affirmation, i mean. I think I think you're really talking about something that's dear to my heart, which is that I don't want to explore modality or say anything or teach anything if I cannot wholeheartedly practice that. I really don't want to. You know I refuse to do it. I just want it to be a sincere attempt at saying Hey, this is something I discovered And I want to share that with you. So that's really important. So thank you for that.

Rose Aslan: 44:16

And I think this is so important for others to see and to hear what it could look like. I feel like what you've talked about and shared today. I feel like you just simplified your life to really get down to what's important. I feel like you've kind of left behind things that just are distractions, that are just parts of the dunya, the material world, and I really feel like you've just gotten down to the core from what you talked about, from how you've embodied this, which I really thank you for.

Rose Aslan: 44:43

Well if people want to find you, how can they find you a, online.

Shaamiela Safodien: 44:48

Okay, so I have a website and that's livingwithinsightne, and then I am on Instagram livingwithinsight And on Twitter. From time to time I pop into that. It's a crazy world. I mean, i was often there. No, i mean honestly like don't, don't do that to yourself. Sometimes I pop in and I check in and then I notice, i deeply notice what happens to my body. So I don't venture the often I really don't, and those are the main ways that you can. You can kind of like where you find me a.

Rose Aslan: 45:23

Wonderful And we'll include the information, the show notes as well, and I really want to touch with you. Well, wonderful for us today. Shimela, I'm so grateful to you And I hope we're going to have you again too, because it was such a lovely conversation And we just scratched the surface, i feel today.

Shaamiela Safodien: 45:37

Yeah, and I'm grateful for you too, and thank you for making this available to to women and to the world and for facilitating and answering the call to these conversations. So thank, you too.

Rose Aslan: 45:49

Thanks for being the Rahma with Rose. Are you looking for help bringing more compassion into your life and letting yourself out of the box and into the real you? I'd love to support you on your journey. Check out my one and one and group coaching offers and sign up for my mailing list to receive updates about my offers. Follow me o I and Facebook under Dr Rose S lan ASlan coaching or visit my compassionflow. com website, compassionflowcom.