Chats With Susan Burrell

Ep 191 - A Q & A with Matthew McKay author of The Luminous Landscape of the Afterlife. In this extended podcast, I welcome author Matthew McKay to my Empowering Chats. This is Matthew’s second time on my show. In this episode Matt and I, along with some of the students from my Luminous Landscape workshop, join in for this interesting and deep conversation about what it means to crossover into the afterlife. Matthew has graciously offered to answer our questions about the afterlife based on the book he wrote in partnership with his deceased son, Jordan. There is no better source of information on death and the afterlife than someone who has died and lives in spirit. Channeling his late son, Jordan, Matthew McKay offers a post-death guide for the living, revealing in vivid detail what to expect when we die and how to prepare for the wonders of the afterlife. I held a workshop earlier this year that was based on Matthew’s book of the same name, The Luminous Landscape of the Afterlife. And now I welcome you,

EP#190 - Nurture Your Inner Goddess - An Interview with Author, Theater Critic, Mosaic Artist and Educator, Dawn Reno Langley. I opened my interview with Dawn with the question, “Why focus on the Goddess?” Dawn’s response centered around the fact that because she wasn’t seeing or hearing anything about goddesses anywhere else, except in her yoga studio, she felt the need to begin journaling about the goddess. Which then led to her writing about the Divine Feminine.   Before long she began her research and expanded on her journal writing to create her book, “You Are Divine, A Search for the Goddess in all of Us.” Her research took her down many rabbit holes, as she describes it, and through the digging and excavating she uncovered many ancient stories about the Divine Feminine. Including the fact that herbal medicine and the practicing of ancient medicine began mostly with women. And later as medicine evolved, the practice of it became dominated by men. Dawn and I share many of the same views and in discussing

EP#189 - Releasing Tangled Energy – An Interview with Meditation Teacher and Author, David Gandelman.   David Gandelman is a spiritual teacher, author, and guide, whose mission is to awaken souls on their path of growth into being human, and living an enlightened, purpose-driven life. He is the author of 7 Energies of the Soul. David and I share a lively conversation in this podcast about meditation, life struggles and finding the gifts in those tough experiences. David began meditating at the young age of 16. And he noticed how his life took a radical shift, simply by feeding his passion of sitting still. That became the thing that he would do define him. As his life journey progressed he went on to live in the Himalayas and travel through India. He was hungry for knowledge and in his own words he became a “Guru Chaser” seeking out Gurus from around the world to learn from. He studied Eastern spiritual traditions while living in the Himalayas and he also spent 7 years as the director of a school for intuitiv

Ep #188 - Radiate Your Light - A Solo Episode with Susan Burrell In this solo episode I talk about radiating your light out into the world. So what does that mean? I looked up the word radiate and it literally means to "emit rays of light."  So now I ask you, "Are you claiming the peace and radiance that you are?"  The theme for the month of June is Radiance and that is what this episode is all about. Bright light, cheerful radiance.  Sometimes life circumstances make us feel not so hopeful or cheerful. I know for me that has been the case quite a bit lately. It is during these times that I take the time to re-evaluate my life. As spiritual beings we are constantly in motion and evolving. So I encourage you to take the time to reflect where you are in your life. And recognize what your triggers are and how to move through your daily challenges so that your radiance can shine through. Are you holding on to those things that no longer serve you? It's important to try and keep your mind quiet and give yourself s

Ep #187 - Changing Lives, An Interview with Activist and Entrepreneur, Dawn Manske. My guest for this Empowering Chat is an incredible individual who is fighting human trafficking with style. I am honored to welcome Dawn Manske, CEO of Made For Freedom to my show. Her story of courage and innovation is awe-inspiring.  You may need Kleenex by your side as you listen to her journey of how her innovative social company came to be. Made For Freedom, uses fashion to empower victims of sex trafficking and other marginalized situations. The 10 years Dawn spent in China teaching English helped her to understand the unbalance produced by the devaluation of the girl child. This was her first exposure to poverty levels she had never seen before. In 2007 she viewed a documentary about sex trafficking that deeply affected her. She desperately wanted to see this horror and injustice come to an end but she had no idea what could be done from her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. And this is where the pants come in. Dawn shar

Ep. #186 - Revealing The Hidden Layers An interview with Intuitive Healer and Podcaster, Scott Clover This is the second time I have interviewed Scott for Empowering Chats.  He and I made a deep connection when I first interviewed him last year and I have since tapped into his intuitive gifts and energy healing for myself. We have also become friends. And so, I am pleased to once again have him as my guest on Empowering Chats. In this episode we take a look at the many layers of story that we all carry, sometimes to our own detriment. For many, me included, when we run that toxic story about our life or our family of origin it can take root in our body and show up in physical ailments. And worse, when we placate the story to the point where we don’t recognize it anymore is when the healing really needs to take place. Scott says observation is 55% of what is needed to heal. He helps his clients, like he has helped me, to see the pattern for what it is, so that the healing can begin. In Scott’s observations whe

Ep #185 - Unlock The Burnout Barriers. An Interview with author, Anne Bérubé. I have to start by exclaiming how impacted I was by my guest for this episode of Empowering Chats. I joked with her at the start of our interview about how much I felt her latest book, entitled, The Burnout Antidote, A Spiritual Guide to Empowerment for Empaths, Over-Givers and Highly Sensitive People was written specifically for me. Anne Bérubé is an author and a teacher / coach, and she also runs workshops she calls “Happy Sessions." Anne and I had a lively and insightful conversation about those choices we make and how we find ourselves in burnout situations. So much of what Anne has written about speaks directly to me. And I have a feeling it will do the same for many of my listeners. Anne shares how she  used to carry a limiting belief that you can’t experience burnout when you are living your purpose. If you are living your purpose, how can you burnout? That’s when she realized that the place she was giving from was not sustai

Ep. #184 - Am I My Own Best Friend?  Today’s Podcast launches a new theme for the month of May. This month, all of my Empowering Chats will focus on the theme of Enthusiasm. This episode is a solo show where I ask this very important question of how to become your own best friend. And so, I want you to think about this for a minute: Can you be your own best friend? What does that look like? Feel like? In order for me to get the answers to these questions I had to go deep within, to see myself from a new perspective. First I had to discern what a best friend is. To me a best friend is someone who is loyal and listens without judgement. A best friend loves me unconditionally and accepts all of me. So again, I ask myself, can I be my own best friend? And I ask you: Can you be your own best friend and see yourself with fresh eyes? I think we already inhabit those qualities we see in our best friends. I challenge you to try and see yourself how others see you. Embrace your courage, your wisdom and all your special

Ep. #183 - The Energy of Numbers. An interview with Astro-Numerology Expert and Author, Jesse Kalsi. The Energy of Numbers. What does that mean? My guest, Astro-numerology Expert and Author Jesse Kalsi is my guest for this episode of Empowering Chats and we explore the meaning and vitality of numbers. Our chat centers around the unique energy that surrounds our personal numbers and how to tap into that energy. Jesse talks about his attraction to numbers. He shares how he has always been intuitively drawn to numbers and how the energy of numbers affects our lives. Jesse uses the term “AstroNumerology” because he associates numbers with planets, which are astronomical bodies.  He further explains that AstroNumerology is not about adding numbers up; but rather about looking at each individual number, as each one represents a particular planet.   When doing a reading he looks at a person’s date of birth first – and then the other numbers that are part of their lives, like the numbers that accompany their home add

Ep. #182 - Punching Her Way to Fame! An interview with Author, Journalist and Ex-Boxer, Alicia Doyle.  I am thrilled to welcome Alicia Doyle to this Empowering Chat. Alicia shares her story of how she got into professional boxing in her late twenties and how through that experience she thought she had found a cure for her depression.  And she did, but it was temporary. The fast-paced world of sports and boxing was such a strong focus that it provided her a distraction for the 2 years she was actively competing. Eventually she learned how to release the rage and find her self-esteem. Alicia works with at-risk kids and has incorporated all that she learned in the boxing ring into her daily life. She mentors troubled youth and is a guiding light for them. Her book, Fighting Chance, is not only about her life as a female boxer in a male-dominated sport but it is also about her story of survival in the ring of life. I’d like to share this excerpt from her book: I never expected boxing to infuse my psyche emotional

Ep #181 - The Love Smacked Addict – An Interview with Trauma Coach and Author, Sherry Gaba. Anyway you slice it and dice it, no matter if you call it Love Addiction, Relationship Addiction, Obsessive Love or Romance Addiction, it all comes down to unhealthy practices in the name of love. My guest for this episode of Empowering Chats, is Author and Trauma Coach, Sherry Gaba. Her book, “Love Smacked: How to Stop the Cycle of Relationship Addiction and Co-Dependency to Find Everlasting Love,” focuses on insecure attachments and what obsessive love looks like. Often times people who feel alone or who were abandoned as children will seek validation from others and become addicted to being in relationship. Sherry experienced this first hand in her life and knows the importance of having self-love and a strong sense of self before entering into a love relationship. Sherry explains that many times (although not always), the obsession and addiction to another is an attempt by that person to recover the love and attent

Ep #180 - You Too Can Find Your Prince – An Interview with Author and Social Worker, Marcia Naomi Berger. In this episode of Empowering Chats I have a lively conversation with Naomi Berger about overcoming the obstacles of dating in order to find your path to marriage. Her latest book, entitled, Marriage Minded, An A to Z Dating Guide for Lasting Love is an easy read. It is set up so that you can read it cover to cover or open to the section that calls to you. We chat about how times have changed and how going to college in the 50s and early 60s was seen as a path to finding your future husband. Or as Naomi shared, many in her circle would jokingly say they were working toward their MRS degree. Under M in her A to Z guide Naomi’s book talks about the importance of having a mentor or model to express how relationships can work well. That particular section caught my attention and as Naomi stated, her book is made to be read as a guide either cover to cover or in sections. Naomi’s book also feels like an A to Z

Ep #179 - Cultivating Peace - a solo show with the host of Empowering Chats, Susan Burrell This episode is the first show of April, 2022 and the focus is on self-love and peace. I start this episode by asking some powerful questions about how we chose to show up in the world, post lockdown. How are you choosing to re-emerge in the world? Into your life? Are you choosing to emerge from a place of peace or a place of anger and fear? I encourage you to focus on Peace. And begin with yourself, with your inner peace – and then when you have grasped that I challenge you to extend that peace outward to your community and ultimately to the world. We already have the seed of peace within us – we just need to remember to focus on that peace in order to grow and materialize that peace. I think it’s also important to understand when this focus becomes intense, stuff may show up that looks nothing like peace. And that’s okay too, because this process can be like a detox. Sometimes it takes facing those non-peaceful moment

Ep #178 - Permission GRANTED! An interview with co-hosts of the podcast, "Are You Waiting for Permission?" Meridith Grundei and Joseph Bennett. How often growing up were we told by our parents, grandparents, teachers or anyone else in authority that we must ask for permission to . . . fill in the blank . . . to leave the dining room table? To go out and play? To speak-up? The list goes on and on.  Well, in this episode of Empowering Chats I invite co-hosts of the, “Are You Waiting for Permission?” podcast, Meridith Grundei and Joseph Bennett to share their thoughts on waiting or giving permission. We have a fun, interactive conversation about what giving ourselves permission to do looks like. It’s different for each of us and yet, at its core, we all want the same thing. It’s about trusting our inner knowing and owning our own power. Freedom opens doors when we give ourselves permission to do that which brings us joy and fulfillment. As Meridith shares, patience also plays a part and we need to understand

Ep #177 - Health, Healing and Harmony an interview with Cyndi Dale In this Empowering Chat I welcome Chakra Coach and Author, Cyndi Dale. This show is entitled, “Health, Healing and Harmony,” on purpose, because when our energy system is aligned, we experience the best kind of health and healing, and therefore harmony too. In this chat, Cyndi takes us down the path of learning more about how our body’s chakras relate to our health. We discuss the beauty and energy we each hold within our own chakras. Cyndi explains how our chakras are like frequencies that represent our endocrine glands in our body, and they must be fed the proper foods in order to support our energy. And it’s important to note that each body’s chakra energy is different. In her latest book, Chakras, Food and You, Cyndi Dale and her co-author, Dana Childs, help their readers customizes their health assessments based on their chakras. Within the pages of the book is the Chakra Type Quiz, which helps you learn which foods and supplements, ex

Ep #176 - Reclaim Your Energy In this solo episode of Empowering Chats with Susan Burrell I focus on personal energy. Our personal energy. The one that can get depleted if we don’t pay attention to what energizes us and what depletes us. How do you get energized? Does giving your energy away make you feel happy? Or resentful? In this episode I chat about how to be intentionally energized and how to avoid the energy vampires. For me personally, to energize means eating healthy, getting a good night’s sleep and spending time outside in nature. I like to take time to listen to the birds, especially the hummingbirds. And it’s important to me to go quiet and investigate my inner landscape too in order to recognize what is triggering me. Perhaps for you being near the ocean brings you peace and energy or taking a gentle hike among the mountains is what energizes you. In this episode I share some tips on how to root yourself so that your energy is not depleted. It’s important to pay attention to who or what yo

Ep #175 - Deplete or Renew? An Interview with Author and Curious Co-Creator, Dr. Mark Halpern My guest in this Empowering Chat episode is Dr. Mark Halpern. Mark is the author of the book, Coherence Revolution. We discuss how anxiety is like an addiction and can affect our optimal health. We also dive into how we can become curious co-creators in our daily lives by doing self-exploration and inquiry into those things, or people, in our lives that deplete and those that renew. Things in life generally do one or the other. Mark’s life was crippled with anxiety for many years until he found a way out of the anxiety addiction he was living. Curiosity and the need to discover answers led him on this journey of exploration.  What he found came down to recognizing that which depletes you and that which renews you. Mark explores the question of, “Which one do you choose?” Or put another way, “Which one chooses you?” Mark’s book helps you discover what is renewing you and what is depleting you. It was through the r

Ep #174 - Discover the Peace of Letting Go - An Interview with Author, Peter Russell We all have our typical ideas surrounding what letting go means to us. I know I did before I had this Empowering Chat with my guest today, Peter Russell. Peter is the author of the book, Letting Go Of Nothing. In this book, he explores what that looks like - and it’s not what you think. I believe many times we see our relationships or attachments to an outcome as a tangible thing we can literally release or let go of. And we convince ourselves we just need to change or replace that “thing” or that thought we are attempting to release, with another more pleasing thought. And that is letting go. Peter challenges that line of thinking. He says what we really need to let go of is our mindset, or the way we view that “thing” we are trying so hard to let go of. His explanation of letting go of no-thing caused a metaphorical somersault to occur in my head. I had to pause and pick apart what Peter was saying. And so, our conversa

Ep #173 - Who Am I? That can be a weighty question and one I tackle in today’s episode with my guest Connie Zweig. Connie is a retired psychotherapist who was recently initiated into Elder-hood as a Certified Sage-ing Leader. She is also the author of, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul.  She and I discuss the shadow side that we all have and often times hide from. As we approach the latter part of our lives, it is important to ask ourselves, “Who am I?”  The answer may surprise you. The shadow side can reveal quite a bit about who we are and how we respond to this question. Connie’s book is a guide to working through the inner obstacles of later life and embracing the spiritual gifts of aging. Her book offers many diverse spiritual practices to help you break through denial to awareness and move from self-rejection to self-acceptance allowing mortality to be your teacher. To order Connie's book visit: barnesandnoble.com/w/the-inner-work-of-age To learn more about Connie: ConnieZweig.com

Ep #172 - This is the first show for February and it's a solo show, meaning it's just me. Me sharing my wisdoms and thoughts with all of you. In this episode I chat about reemerging in 2022 and how we can learn to stretch the envelope. The one we find ourselves ensconced in or wrapped in to feel safe and protected. Sometimes that is a good thing and other times we need to challenge ourselves to reach beyond what we know.  What I have found as I've investigated my dark pockets of fear is that when I look into those pockets through my heart wisdom (not my head), I discover I can stretch beyond the container that's been holding me back. By pushing this so called envelope to its limits I get enveloped by the Divine Love residing within. I am not saying it's easy. I do believe when we stretch ourselves outside that comfort zone is when we find ways to show up in the light and allow our courage and our love to shine. This can be scary stuff. I know because I lived it when going through a very contentious divorce