Chats With Susan Burrell

Ep # 211 - The Season of Gratitude - A Solo Show with Susan Burrell It’s been an amazing year. As I reflect back on 2022 I am reminded about our theme for this year of reemergence. And I gotta say I have personally been on a journey of reemergence and rediscovery. And we have all collectively reemerged back into life. And so now I ask you to think about how that felt? To reemerge into your life? To reengage with friends, family members and with yourself? What changed as you reemerged? For me personally old lessons and belief systems showed up. These belief systems had to be transmuted or destroyed in order for me to reemerge into this new way of living. A way of living that I think we are all in the midst of exploring. When I started Empowering Chats a few years ago I made a commitment to dedicating the month of December to what me and my team call “The Month of Giving.”  I am a big proponent of giving to non-profits. There are some I give to monthly and others that I give to annually. I highly recommend that

Ep #210 - Look Inside & Ask Questions. An Interview with author Catherine Shainberg In this Empowering Chat I welcome author, Catherine Shainberg. Her latest book, The Kabbalah of Light dives into the fabric of the world of dreaming. Catherine describes the Kabbalah as a means to receive. She says it is a vast subject. She intentionally teaches the original Kabbalah which is about the inner gazing. According to Catherine it is available to all people to access. She states that it begins by asking questions. When questions are asked of the subconscious answers are revealed. Generally, the subconscious will respond in images and sensations allowing for the feelings in the body to become awake. She helps her students learn what these images mean. In the processing of doing this practice, Catherine believes individuals can “hear” and learn from their inner voice. She talks about how we are like vessels and if we can open ourselves up the light will flow through us – but it has to be triggered and many times i

Ep #209 - Creating Communities of Change - An Interview with Ame-Lia Tamburrini host of the Circle of Change Podcast and Founder of Hum Consulting. I am honored to welcome Ame-Lia Tamburrini to Empowering Chats. She is a spark of light. We met a few months ago when I was on her podcast, Circle of Change. Circles are a big thing for me and I found out for Ame-Lia as well. I believe circles represent all the people in the world who want to connect and are connecting. Ame-Lia’s podcast is appropriately named, Circle of Change and she is all about connecting with kindness. The circle concept is very important to Ame-Lia. During this conversation she shared about the many decades she spent sitting in community all across the world listening to stories. And many of those conversations took place in circle settings. And what she noticed is that sitting in a circle listening to stories Is different from sitting in rows and listening to someone tell a story from a podium.  The energy is powered differently. Ame-Lia fe

Ep #208 - The Authentic Self - An Interview with Author Iman Oubou I can’t wait for this conversation. This episode of Empowering Chats welcomes author, Iman Oubou – her book, The Glass Ledge, is all about how to break through self-sabotage and embrace your power to create your success. Her book is so full of information and it includes exercises for readers to do in order to get clear as they explore their inner landscape. I think it is such an empowering book. Iman and I had a thoughtful, engrossing conversation about her book and why she feels called to help women. So I asked her, why The Glass Ledge title? We all know about the glass ceiling, but why the glass ledge? Iman explains that the glass ledge is an expression she came up with to refer to how women self-sabotage themselves. She goes on to say that her goal is to give women the tools they need to balance on the glass ledge and not go tumbling over the edge. When women trip over the glass ledge (me included, I experienced this myself) we lose contro

Ep #207 - Dream Big - A Solo Episode with host Susan Burrell We are now in the month of November and the theme for this month is “Enlighten.” And as I began to record this episode another word popped up that is now also part of this show, and that word is “Envision.” And so, this show will focus on both of those themes. I always like to look up the definition of the words I choose to focus on – it helps me to see more of what lies within the word. To enlighten means to give intellectual or spiritual light to – in other words, to shed light on. And to Envision means, to imagine or visualize a future possibility. This episode explores how we can seek or look inside ourselves in order to become enlightened. I believe we can only reach an enlightened state by opening up our hearts and listening to what needs to be heard. I feel we are not meant to seek answers outside of ourselves but rather go within to listen to our own wisdom. When we do that we become enlightened beings and that is when others sync up with u

Ep #206 - In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Lyz De Boer to discuss what it means to lead with love, as well as the key qualities that new leaders must express and embody to succeed. I am excited to introduce my guest, Dr. Lyz DeBoer for this episode of Empowering Chats with Susan Burrell. She and I speak the same language and we had such a great time connecting on this chat. We synched up because we are both in alignment with love.  Dr. Lyz, as she is so lovingly referred to by her friends and colleagues, is a hopeful romantic who empowers her clients to reach for love, with the fun factor always present. She is a love and relationship specialist and owner of Visionistas By Design Wellness Boutique. We talked about several things, including working with people and how to lead with love. In this transitional period of time we are all experiencing, I think it’s important that we have leaders that lead with love. I think we all need to lead with love in our lives, in our relationships, with our partners, with

Ep # 205 - Are You Enough? An Interview with Author, Carrie Severson The title of the book from my next guest grabbed me in such a way that I absolutely knew I had to have her on Empowering Chats with Susan Burrell. And so, with that I welcome Carrie Severson. She is the CEO of the hybrid book publishing company, Unapologetic Voice House and author of, Unapologetically Enough: Reshaping Success and Self-Love. I started this chat by asking Carrie why she chose this title for her book. And from here Carrie shared her story of hating the word, “enough” – in fact hating it to the point of turning it into a 4-letter word and then banning it from her vocabulary. For many years Carrie felt like she was never enough. Never enough for herself, for her family, for her friends, etc., etc. After she wrote this book and was contemplating a title, her editor suggested, “Unapologetically Enough.” Carrie had a melt-down. She did not want this as her title and fought it. She still had a lot of negative reactions to the word “

Ep # 204 - Communion With Your Soul - An interview with author, Dr. Rima Bonario I am so energetically amped about this episode with my amazing guest, Rima Bonario who has written a book called The Seven Queendoms. As I dived into this empowering chat with Rima, I felt called to open this episode with the following poem which is nestled within the pages of her book.  So here goes. This is so powerful, so much so, that it made me cry as I recited it. “I ask you sisters; will you die dispossessed of your body? Will you abdicate the throne of your heart? Will you hide from the wisdom of your soul? No Lovely, you will not. You will rise. You will find and reclaim your wild, wise, sexy, smart, sovereign self. Take the hand of your sisters and rise. We will not cut ourselves into a thousand pieces to try and take up less room or fit in the space we have been told is ours. This is our life. This is our castle and it longs for our Queen to come home. To awaken. To sit down. To be here now. To lead and to love. Heed t

Ep #203 - Permission to Be Emotional - An Interview with Author and Spiritual Teacher, Joffre McClung.   In this episode of Empowering Chats with Susan Burrell I welcome Joffre McClung. Besides being an author and a spiritual teacher she is also, what I like to call a common sense activist. Joffre’s latest book is a workbook and guide to finding yourself and journeying back to self-love. As we entered into this conversation, we both realized how often the work of transforming and changing really is a whole lot of hard work. It’s the kind of work many of us don’t want to tackle. We often look for the quick fix, the easy path to enlightenment and it doesn’t exist. Only when you are truly committed to doing the work and looking under the rocks, to see what is hiding there, that change and transformation can occur. Joffre tackles this subject of self-love in her new book, The Heart of the Matter, by asking deep questions to get you, the reader diving into your inner self and un-earthing that which needs to be inv

Ep #202 -  Reclaiming Your Health - An Interview with Author and Wellness Coach, Jovanka Ciares. Jovanka Ciares' latest book, “Reclaiming Wellness,” is not just about reclaiming wellness but it’s also about claiming yourself and becoming an empowered individual. One who owns their body and understands how their body functions. Jovanka’s personal journey began in Puerto Rico, where she was raised. She and her family lived alongside the land, the rainforest, and her family’s food did not travel far from its origin to reach their table. Eating the foods from the land and having them home cooked was common for Jovanka in her early years. Then she moved to New York City to pursue her education. And that’s when her body gave her what she calls “a smack down.” Chronic sickness soon became part of her daily life. By her mid-twenties she was told by Western medicine that they could do nothing for her. And that she would have to learn to live in pain and discomfort for the rest of her life. Can you imagine being told

Ep #201 -  The Intuition of Fear - An Interview with Teacher and Author, Ricci Jane Adams. How do you follow your intuition? In this episode of Empowering Chats, my guest Ricci Jane Adams and I tackle that question. Ricci starts the conversation by asking us to be open to the invitation of following our intuition. Ricci’s mother was her first spiritual teacher. She was taught deep, classical wisdom. However, confusion set in for her as she watched her mother express these spiritual truths while also observing that her mother was not happy in her life.  This led Ricci on a quest to figure out what was true for her.  She saw a contradiction of what her mother preached and how she lived her life. Ricci kept asking herself, “Why be spiritual if your life was not going to be great?” That’s when Ricci realized the missing piece was the shadow work. A lot of her mom’s path was connecting to these high spiritual frequencies and despite that practice it was not transforming her mom’s trauma or her eternal state of be

Ep #200 - Ubuntu - I Am Because We Are - A Solo Episode with host Susan Burrell In this solo episode which launches the month of September I am choosing to focus on Namaste and the Humanity that we all share. Many of you who listen to my show know that I end each show with the phrase “Namaste.” The definition of Namaste is, “I bow to you.” I was also taught that it means, “The humanity in me bows to the humanity in you.”  And as I was contemplating this show and the meaning behind the word, Namaste, I pulled out some of my notes on Ghandi. The saying, “I bow to you,” is a Hindu saying and came to me when I began to explore Ghandi’s life. This saying, “I bow to you” started to come into common use in the 1940s. And as I reviewed my notes on Ghandi and the book I have about his life, I also came across an essay by Archbishop Desmond Tutu that appears at the beginning of my Ghandi book. This particular essay, which again is written by Desmond Tutu speaks to this phrase of “the humanity in me bows to the humanity

Ep #199 - Pinch Me Provence - An Interview with Travel Enthusiast, Lori Howard This episode of Empowering Chats is all about travel and getting out and experiencing people and cultures from other places. Whether you are traveling internationally or domestically, you always have the opportunity to learn something new and meet people from other walks of life. I believe experiencing new and exciting places enriches your life and gives you the opportunity to learn something new about yourself and others. And so let’s dive into this Empowering Chat with Lori Howard, a very dear friend of mine. Lori is a travel enthusiast and the owner of Pinch Me – Provence, a boutique, personalized travel company based in the Provence region of France.  My husband Kevin and I had the most amazing time when we went to visit Lori and her husband Pascal. And I am not just saying this because we are friends – I am saying this because it is so true and Lori is amazing at what she does. She took us by the hand and showed us some very s

Ep#198 – Rewiring Family Patterns - An Interview with author and visionary leader, Judy Wilkins-Smith. I am thrilled to welcome author and visionary leader, Judy Wilkins-Smith to this Empowering Chat. Judy is the author of, “Decoding Your Emotional Blueprint. A Powerful Guide to Transformation Through Disentangling Multigenerational Patterns.” As I began this interview, or chat as I like to call it, with Judy my first question to her was: What is an emotional blueprint?  Here is how Judy explained it. An emotional blueprint gets created when a significant event happens in your life. This event is often followed by your personal reaction to that event. And in response, you create a story about it and often times it is coupled with strong feelings. Eventually the story becomes so much a part of you that it becomes your truth. And then it becomes, “The Truth.”  However, is it not really “The Truth” it is your truth. Now imagine that significant event happened generations ago and is accompanied by all the caution

Ep#197 - Stepping Into Courage - An Interview with Jennifer Seven, Podcast Host of Unbreakable Spirit. In this episode of Empowering Chats I welcome fellow podcaster, Jennifer Seven. Jennifer shares her story of struggle which goes back to her childhood. She grew up with a very controlling father and a mother who tried her best, but could not stand up to her father. As Jennifer grew older, she became very rebellious and anxious to leave home and get away from that controlling environment. Looking back she can see the actions her dad took to keep her under his thumb, including paying for the condo where she lived. Once she was married and had children Jennifer made the decision to stay home – this was something she wanted to do so she chose a career where she could work and be home to help raise the kids. Jennifer believes this is likely when she began to relinquish her own power and allow her husband to begin managing all of their finances and make most of the "important" decisions surrounding their family. A

Ep #196 - The Tranquil Life - A Solo Episode with Susan Burrell It’s August and so I start this solo episode with the theme Ease. What does it mean to face life’s challenges with ease? How can we be more at ease with what is? You know, take in that “peaceful easy feeling” just like the Eagles sing about. So, in this episode of Empowering Chats that is exactly what I am going to investigate. So, how do we do that? How do we reach that ease, that peaceful easy feeling? Especially when awoken at 3 AM and we can’t get back to sleep. I think it’s about consciously allowing ourselves to be open to receive what it is we need to know.  Something I have found that works for me is to surround my bed with white light before I retire for the evening. Perhaps this would work for you, too. Something else I have been doing of late to reach peaceful tranquility is to not read the headlines. This is especially true if the news makes you anxious. I find that when we are not in sync with ourselves, we can be pulled out of balan

Ep #195 - The Journey Over Many Lifetimes – An interview with Author and Hypnotherapist, Karen Joy. I begin this podcast with a giggle and a laugh because my amazing guest today brings out gooey love and appreciation for her and hence for each other. I feel like I am heightened into this awareness. I am honored to be speaking with Karen Joy who comes to us all the way from Australia. Karen wrote a book called: Lost Soul Wise Soul, How Challenging Past Lives Shape Our Future. Karen began experiencing this realm through her work as a psychologist. She found that many of her clients began to go into past lives, (or what they interpreted as being past lives) on their own. In this interview, Karen shares how this process would often times begin with an emotion. And by going through the emotion, the patient would leave the present moment and re-live, re-experience that which took place and thereby go back to that life. By allowing her patients to step into that journey she would become the loving guide that would h

Ep. #194 - Defining Moments – An Interview with Author and Hypnotherapist, Ann J. Clark This episode of Empowering Chats with author and hypnotherapist, Ann J. Clark covers several topics. Including past life regressions, lives between lives, and dealing with, and learning how to recover from great loss.  Ann’s latest book is entitled, Healing from Great Loss. Together, in this podcast, Ann and I ponder great loss and investigate ways to re-examine loss in our lives.  There are many books out on how to deal with loss and grief. Ann explains how her book is different as it is written from the perspective of the soul. She also goes on to explain that her book picks up where other books on grieving leave off. In other words, after a person has been through the common stages of grief many are left feeling empty and like they will never again experience happiness in the same way as before their loss. This is where Ann’s book picks up. Through the use of tools such as journaling, self-assessments and visualization

Ep #193 - Embracing Possibility, An Interview with author and speaker Michele Neff Hernandez. In this Empowering Chat I welcome Michele Neff Hernandez for a very timely and amazing conversation. Michele is the author of a new book entitled, Different After You, Rediscovering Yourself and Healing after Grief and Trauma. Michele is a widow. And through her experience of losing a spouse she learned things about herself that she didn’t know. This personal trauma led her to write this book and become a motivational speaker on behalf of others who have lost a spouse or a partner. She also developed a non-profit called Soaring Spirits International that provides research-based programs and a community of peers for those that have lost a spouse or partner. Michele speaks to groups of all types about grief, hope and the healing impact of love. Michele’s own personal loss of losing her husband in 2005 brought about her most transformative realization about how grief changes us. She was no longer the same person and cou

Are You Boundless and Free? A Solo Show with Susan Burrell Are we growing yet? This Empowering Chat is all about GROWTH. I put that word in all caps on purpose. To both grab your attention and to challenge you to step out of your box. Join me for this conversation about change, growth and doing today what maybe you couldn’t do last year, or last week or even yesterday. I want to challenge you to journey to the edge of your boundaries. By definition a boundary is called a frontier. I like to think of it as the place where we face the unknown. The unknown challenges of our lives, our thoughts, our feelings. With everything that is going on in our world today, mass shootings, Covid, the war in Ukraine, where do we find Hope? Where do we find Truth? And where do we find Happiness, Freedom and Peace? All of that and so much more is found within you. You are the frontier of potential. In the words of Ernest Holmes, we must create a larger vision beyond the old vision and limitations.  He goes on to say, and I quote