Chats With Susan Burrell

I am honored to welcome Maria Novotny and Robin Silbergeid to Empowering Chats. I am honored to have these two women on my show today. They have a powerful story to share and one that appears in the book entitled, Infertilities, A Curation. These two women, along with Elizabeth Horn put this book together as a result of their shared experiences around infertility. It all started with Elizabeth co-finding the ART of Infertility, for which she has curated thirty exhibits since its inception in 2014. Maria is the co-director of The ART of Infertility. This exhibit was the recipient of the 2018 Hope Award for Innovation given by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association for its work communicating patient experiences through arts programming. And Robin is a writer, a teacher and a scholar who has led many writing workshops and professional conference panels on topics related to infertility. These 3 women collaborated in getting this book put together to highlight how the use of visual art, poetry and creative

Emotions is the theme for this month. And I am always fascinated to find out who is going to fit into this theme and what I am going to learn. And for this episode of Empowering Chats, I am honored to introduce Mary Firestone. Mary is an inspirational speaker and an author. Mary is the author of, Trusting the Dawn, How to Choose Freedom and Joy after Trauma. I met Mary at a winery in California when I was personally dealing with my own trauma. And her book spoke to me. It took us a bit to get here – but after I met her, I knew I just had to have her on my podcast. Here's her personal story. This is an excerpt from the introduction to her book: It was more than 5 hours before I was rescued from my bathroom countertop where I huddled wet and pregnant . . . I was shaking from the cold and fear from being trapped by millions of gallons of mud . . . for much of that time I thought my husband and 4-year-old son had been swept away in the mudslide . . . I thought my life was over . . . I watched this river of mud cr

Ep#251 - The Power of Emotions - A Solo Show with host, Susan Burrell We are now in November. Can you believe it? And our theme for this year of 2023 is BE Expansive. The final letter of “expansive” is the letter “E” representing our focused theme for this month which is “Emotions.” As many of you know I like to look up the formal definition of words and this is no different. So here goes, the dictionary defines “Emotion” as: A strong agitation of the feeling actuated by experiencing love, fear, hate etc. and often accompanied by physiological changes like heart rate or breathing. And so, I ask you, how do you deal with emotions? How do you live your life without being emotionally reactive? I think many of us are emotionally reactive and often do react without thinking about the why. Or even taking the time to process the emotion that caused the reaction in the first place. I believe inner investigation must come first, before we react. This is not easy to do and something I am now consciously working on. I n

Ep#250 - Dissolving Patterns of Limitation - An Interview with artist, psychologist and author, Laura Basha. I know I say this all the time - but I can't help it - I so love my job and the people I get to meet and interview on Empowering Chats.  And this interview is no exception. In this episode I welcome Laura Basha. She wears many hats. Not only is she a psychologist, she is also an amazing artist and the author of, "The Inward Outlook." There is so much offered in her book. Spiritual principles, core values and space for your own personal notes at the end of each chapter. I started the interview by asking Laura to share what led her to write this book. She said her book is a synopsis of her life’s work and that it took decades of self-practice before she could write it.  This body of work encompasses all she has done in her personal life and also the work she has done with clients over the last 40 years. So much of this work was her own dissolving of  patterns of limitations she had placed on herself. She

Ep#249- The Battle of Our Ego and Our Soul- An Interview with Intuitive and Author, Sue Frederick. My guest for this empowerring chat is Sue Frederick. She is an author, a spiritual coach an intuitive and an ordained Unity Minister. In this empowering chat, Sue shares her story of holding her husband as he died in her arms when she was 29. It changed her life forever, sending her on a deep spiritual journey. Those questions took her on a journey of studying Buddhism, Hinduism and learning about Numerology.  She now helps clients through their spiritual journeys. Those questions took her on a journey of studying Buddhism, Hinduism and learning about Numerology, and eventually she become a Unity Minister. She now help clients through their spiritual journeys. Her latest book is called, “Through a Divine Lens, Practices to Quiet Your Ego and Align with Your Soul.” Sue illuminates the soul path in her book through personal stories and client stories. She also offers tools we can all use to access our soul’s purpo

Ep#248- Touching the Hidden Nature of Realtiy - An Interview with Spiritual Philosopher and Author, Peter Canova I am thrilled to welcome author and spiritual philosopher Peter Canova. In this episode of Empowering Chats we dive into Peter’s latest book, “Quantum Spirituality.” Peter shares his story about being in his twenties and having spiritual experiences that opened up a flood gate from him where he experienced being absorbed by a bright light the connection of the all. The knowing that we are all one and we are all connected. This experience changed the course of Peter’s life. And he began to write a trilogy of fictional books that tapped into mysticism and themes of spirituality. This process of writing fiction eventually led him to quantum physics and the overlapping of quantum physics and science with ancient spiritualism. Peter goes on to explain that it comes down to 3 overarching themes. Light, Energy and Matter. He continued to write and investigate which led him to make a gradual transfer to qu

Ep#247- The Vast Possibilites - A Solo Show with your host, Susan Burrell. This has been an interesting year – especially for me. I can’t believe it’s October already. I have been on an inner journey of expansion for most of this year. In fact, our theme for this year is “BE Expansive.”  And when my Team and I pick the theme we never quite know where it is going to take us. Well I gotta say it’s been a wild ride this year filled with many challenges but also with inspiring “aha” moments too. When I set the intention to be expansive it was also with the knowing that I wanted to make more connections and find new perspectives on how I view my life. And so, I ask you to also reflect on what has shown up for you during this path of expansiveness? The theme for October is Vast or Vastness. Vast is defined as, “A very great area.” Words used to describe vast or vastness include: Intense. Boundless. Endless. Extensive. Sweeping. What struck me about vastness was the idea of an empty vessel. The open expansiveness o

Ep#246 - Archangel Alchemy - An Interview with Author and Channeler, Alexandra Wenman. I am revisiting this Empowering Chat I had with Alexandra Wenman. She is a channeler, an author, a teacher and so much more. This chat is powerful and I think deserves another listen. Or perhaps you missed it the first time around so here it is again. Enjoy. Alexandra Wenman is the author of “Archangel Alchemy Healing.” We had an amazing and energetic connection and conversation surrounding the work she does. This interview took place at the tail-end of 2022 just before the Christmas Holiday and the impact of this powerful chat is still so timely and ready to be re-shared. Alexandra’s journey and awakening began at birth. Her mother was told she would be a still-born. Alexandra was yanked into the world by forceps and then flat-lined and had to resuscitated by the doctors. From an early age Alexandra has been able to feel, see and sense spirit and angels.  Alchemy has been a part of her for most of her life, she just didn’t

Ep#245 - The Transformative Inner Journey - An Interview with Somatic Energy Healer, Cheryl Pallant My guest for this episode of Empowering Chats is Cheryl Pallant. Cheryl is a somatic energy healer and an author. Our chat centered around the multiple levels of Healing. She is the author of "Ecosomatics: Embodiment Practices for a World in Search of Healing.” In her book introduction, she talks about a shift in consciousness. And she shares her thoughts about learning how to trust first and then reaching out into the grander world. We both agreed that we are always at choice for our own personal healing and how we show up in the world. We also explored subtle energy and how being tuned in makes much of this healing energy accessible to us. Cheryl believes it’s about learning to say yes to yourself. It’s about saying yes and then exploring what that looks like for you. Many of us get into the habit of putting ourselves down. And when we disown parts of who we are, we limit who we are. We limit our abilities. I

Ep#244 - Free Up Your Energy - An Encore Interview with Author, Sherianna Boyle   I had such an amazing chat with author Sherianna Boyle earlier this year that I have asked her back for an encore appearance. Since our last interview I have been working on Sherianna's book, Energy in Action. And through this process I realized there was more to say on the topic – hence I wanted to have another conversation with her. I started this interview by asking Sherianna, why energy has to be in action?  According to Sherianna, energy and action go hand in hand. Energy is emotion. And when we focus on emotions and moving the energy of our emotions we can heighten our intuition. Sherianna explained that when we detox our emotions it’s really about detoxing our reactions, not our emotions. The process that she outlines in her book allows for the energy to flow out of us. And according to Sherianna we may find, as she did, that through this process our intuition gets heightened. We also tapped into manifestation and how our

Ep#243 - Imagination: Imagine All That You Can Be - A Solo Show with Susan Burrell Imagination is our theme for the month of September. And so as I open up this episode by asking the following questions: What does it mean to imagine all possibilities for our lives? Can we resolve difficulties using our imagination?  Join me for this solo podcast as I explore what it means to bring Imagination into our daily lives. And all the possibilities available to us when we step into imagining all that we can be. Are you ready to step into all that you can be? And imagine all the possibilities?  Allow me to share with you how you can imagine all possibilities simply by using your imagination. I believe it is about releasing and embracing all that you are. Release and share your special gifts with the universe and then embrace all that comes back to you. Do this and you may be surprised at what shows up for you. I believe there are different ways of being in the world. And it is high time we trust ourselves and follow

Ep#242 - The Burnout of Caregivers, An Interview with author, David Schenck. This Empowering Chat is spot on for this month’s theme of “society” particularly after what we have all been through with the pandemic and the stress this puts on our healthcare system and our health providers. I am honored to introduce author David Schenck. His book is called, “Into the Field of Suffering: Finding the other side of Burnout.” In this interview we discuss the depleting challenges many of our health care workers have experienced in the workplace, particularly over the last 3 plus years during and since the pandemic. David’s book has a no-nonsense approach that is easy to follow. He and his co-author Scott Neely interviewed not just caregivers, but doctors, nurses, and others in the healing professions, including hospice providers. And many of those interviews can be found in the book. David also introduces ethics into this work when dealing with burnout. According to David, healing is touching people on many different

Ep#241 - The Energy of Emotions, An Interview with Empathy Expert and Author, Karla McLaren My guest today for this episode of Empowering Chats is Author and Empathy Expert, Karla McLaren. Her latest book, which is actually a  revised and updated version is chock full of wisdom and definition. It’s called The Language of Emotions. What Your Feelings Are Trying to Tell You. When I got the book, I opened it up randomly and the chapter on the "nger Family" is what appeared for me. I was obviously supposed to read this chapter. It described my family and my issues to a “T.”  I found myself writing in the margins and starring what applied to me and/or my family. So, I asked Karla why the language of emotions? Why that title? She shared that the original title was "Emotional Genius" – but it felt like that title was too much and something that people would not relate to – so she and her editor kicked around other ideas for the title and came up with "The Language of Emotions." Karla goes on to explain that many peo

Ep #240 - The Shadow Integration, an Interview with author, Connie Zweig My guest for this episode of Empowering Chats is retired psychotherapist, Connie Zweig. Connie is also an author of many books. Her most current book is “Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path. The Dance of Darkness and Light in Our Search for Awakening.” I opened the interview by asking Connie to tell my listening audience how this book came about. She shared how at nineteen she became attracted to a young man who refused to go out with her because she was not “enlightened.” He was into Transcendental Meditation or TM and it was important to him that she also incorporate this practice into her daily life. So, she began to meditate – and she noticed that her anger began to dissipate and she learned how to quiet her mind and deeply relax. This changed her direction in life and she became a TM teacher in the early 70s. She was in this movement for about 10 years. It was about this time that she also began to witness the hypocrisy surroun

Ep. #239 - Unified Consciousness - A Solo Show with Your Host of Empowering Chats, Susan Burrell I touch on some tough topics in this podcast. Many of you already know that I don’t shy away from saying what I feel and challenging all of my listeners to pause and pay attention. Today’s episode gets a bit heavy at times, however please don’t let that warning keep you from listening to this episode. Many of you also know that I always lean into hope and optimism.  Okay, so here goes . . . most of you know me well enough by now to know that when I do my solo shows, I almost always have to look up the word I am focusing on for the month. And I do it not because I don’t know what the word means, but to see it in a different light and to review the actual dictionary definition of the word. And so today I am focusing on Society. The formal definition, in part, reads as follows:  An organized group of people associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic or other purposes. I

Ep #238 - Power of the Invisible - An Interview with Lindsay Fauntleroy, Director of The Spirit Seed and Amy Schimel, a student of Lindsay's and a Practitioner at Spirit Seed. I am thrilled to welcome Lindsay Fauntleroy, author of Our Element to Empowering Chats once again. Lindsay was on my podcast last month and our chat was so empowering and it felt like our conversation wasn’t complete so here we are for another go around. And this time I have also invited one of Lindsay’s student’s Amy Schimel who is in the process of becoming a practitioner under Lindsay’s tutelage. I am excited to welcome Amy to this empowering chat as well. She is here to share her experience as a student of Lindsay’s and her excitement at becoming a practitioner with Spirit Seed, the community created by Lindsay. Soul medicine is the term that Lindsay has coined to describe what she and her practitioners teach at Spirit Seed. Spirit Seed is a community founded by Lindsay whose mission is to “re-store our sense of connection, purpose,

Ep#237 - Connecting to Your Moon Sign - An Interview with author and Astrology Expert, Carmen Turner-Schott. You all know how much I love my job and I never tire of saying this – my guests are all so amazing! And many of them come with cutting edge ideology.  As we continue to move through 2023 I am finding myself inviting some of my previous guests back for another chat. It goes along with this year’s theme to BE Expansive. I am finding that many of the guests I have been interviewing are just that – Expansive - in all that they do. So, after my last interview with Carmen Turner-Schott I knew right away that I would have her back. In this chat we discuss her latest book, Moon Signs: Houses & Healing.  This is the companion book to her previous one, Sun Signs: Houses & Healing, which we explored in our first interview that took place earlier this year. I began this interview by asking Carmen to explain the difference between a sun sign and a moon sign. The sun sign is your main personality and it is t

Ep#236 - Tapping into Your Feelings - An Interview with author and emotional detox coach, Sherianna Boyle. I am thrilled to welcome author and detox coach, Sherianna Boyle. She has written many books and her latest is called, Energy in Action. My conversation with Sherianna was so full of insights and gentle reminders of the light we all carry within.  Her book is brilliant and it is easy to follow. She explains that doing a physical detox in partnership with an emotional cleanse helps you release the inflammation of the mind. Sherianna explains that an emotional detox is the releasing of the stories and the narratives we use to cover up or minimize what we are going through. And she goes on to explain that you cannot hide once the detox begins. It's all about cleansing the emotions. Which I personally love because for me I often have to have a good cry to see what all the emotion is about. Much of this comes up for me because growing up I was not given room to truly express myself. Sherianna explains that ha

Ep #235 - Nurture. Embracing Our Lives with Loving Care - A Solo Show with Susan Burrell What does it mean to nurture oneself? Can the nurturing you show to others in your life also be embraced by your inner-self? In this solo episode I talk about the theme I have chosen for the month of July – Nurture. You all know I like to look up the word and get the written definition rolling around in my head. So of course, I looked up “Nurture” in the Webster Dictionary – here’s the definition: “To Supply with nourishment. To educate. To further the development of or foster.” When I hear the word “Nurture” I often think of mothers caring for their children or their elderly parents.  I think this is true for many of us. In today’s chat I explore all that and more. Including where in our lives we can foster love and make connection with others.  And not just those in our lives but also with the environment we are surrounded by. To learn more about how I show up in the world please visit my website: SusanBurrell.com

Ep#234 - The Value of an Emotional Prenup - An Interview with psychologist and author, Dr. Frieda Birnbaum    Why is it important to do an emotional prenup? That is the question that prompted this interview with my guest, Dr. Frieda Birnbaum, a psychotherapist and the author of "Life Begins at 60." And so this sidebar conversation was one that Dr. Birnbaum and I found ourselves in as we began this empowering chat. This idea of managing our lives and the change that comes towards us then led us to the deeper conversation about managing our unions, specifically the union of marriage. And so once again I ask, What is an emotional prenup and how do we create it? According to Dr. Birnbaum, it comes from a place of seeing more than just the material things we want to manifest in a marriage. For example, it is easy to share with your partner that you want 2 kids, you want to buy a house, you want to make so much money per year – but we never think about the emotional connection and what is expected of each of us in