“Are you surrounded by people that you can lean into? Are you surrounded by people that remind you of what’s true and real, even when you forget?”- Lola Wright When I first faced the challenge of having to change my language and the title of this very podcast, I felt deep resistance. But through the power of my practice, my support system, and a little bit of good legal counsel, I’m ready to let go and create something new. On this final episode of Find Your Fierce & Loving, I say goodbye...

“You and I are not here to suffer. We are not here to struggle. But those are always available if you want to pick them up.” - Lola Wright It’s tempting to find problems everywhere. In our personal lives, communities, and the world at large, it seems like you can’t go through a day without seeing roadblocks in your way. But while it’s easy to find issues, you cannot solve problems at the level of consciousness that created that problem. This week on Find Your Fierce & Loving, we’re decons...

“The gift of change is that it exposes everything that’s going on beneath the surface.” - Lola Wright I live by a principle that I learned in volleyball: keep your knees loose and move your hips. You never know when a ball is going to be hit your way, and you have to be ready to respond with purpose. On this episode of Find Your Fierce & Loving, I reflect on the process of moving into the new Logan Square space. When I found an environment lacking in joy and beauty, I had to figure out ho...

“There will be obstacles along the way, and the question then becomes, who will you be in the midst of it?” - Lola Wright I am so excited to celebrate the beautiful new Logan Square space with my husband and our community. Not that long ago, however, it looked like this new chapter wouldn’t work out after all. We almost lost the chance to buy the property when we were faced with an argumentative lawyer who seemed to be looking for a fight. This week on Find Your Fierce & Loving, I explore...

“It’s like, oh yeah, I believe we’re all one, but before we even get there… How do you feel about Black people? We have to do some work before we can really feel what that oneness is.” - Anita Kopacz Yemaya is the Yoruba deity of the sea, the original Black mermaid, and the heroine of Anita Kopacz’s new novel Shallow Waters. In her stunning novel, Yemaya intersects with 1800s history as she seeks her love, who has been kidnapped and brought across the Middle Passage to the Americas. Through y...

“We are being called into right relationship as a species. I wonder, how is that stirring in you these days? - Lola Wright I’ve never gotten along well with the heat. Combine a Chicago summer with relentless physical labor, a steep learning curve, intense client demands, and my own transformation and watch me brought to my knees in deep practice. This season of my life has been filled with sacrifice. I have been humbled. I have been inspired. I have been heartbroken. I have been moved. Each d...

“When we’re living a life that is responding to vision, when we’re surrendering to the big idea of life in, as, and through us, we’re not listening for what’s probable, we’re listening for what’s possible.” - Lola Wright Once I got on board with Nathan’s vision for his business, I was eager to help and be part of making this next step in our lives a reality. Some of the challenges we’ve faced have been harder than I imagined. Accepting my vulnerabilities, asking for help, and releasing perfec...

“When you say yes to a vision that’s moving through you, it may not always be met with a popularity contest… But if there’s a vision moving through you, you have a responsibility to trust it.” - Lola Wright When my husband, Nathan, got a business opportunity, he had a vision for his future that I couldn’t see. Gratefully, he was persistent in his belief and I chose to trust him and support his plan. It was only after I accepted his idea that I was able to see the vision that he was drawn to. ...

“The first healing I got was really apparent, that I was lacking self-love.” - Shereen Öberg We are taught limiting belief systems that make us feel like we’re not enough as we are. This feeling of a lack of ourselves is an illusion, and we can reclaim our idea of ourselves. Shereen Öberg shares the power she’s experienced of positive focus and affirmations, without falling into the trap of toxic positivity. This week on Find Your Fierce & Loving, nurturing your awareness of yourself and ...

“We lose sight of what’s right here. What’s the spirit of life within me telling me to do?” - Lola Wright How much of your experiences do you actually hate? We don’t tend to ask ourselves questions like that, but we should. When we can see what we hate, and what’s holding us back, we can find our way back to love. Listen in to Find Your Fierce & Loving to hear a talk I gave at Bodhi Center. This episode is full of exercises to help you identify your own inhibitors, and most importantly, t...

“There’s an instinct right now on planet Earth for identity groups to be turning inwards, as if that inward turn will protect us from oppression. And that’s the move that we as Jewish people, but also all groups as human people on this planet, need to be turning towards each other.” - Rabbi Lizzi When Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann was growing up, she identified her family as German and Polish, since her grandparents had immigrated from those areas of Europe. However, when she visited Germany, she saw...

“I am committed to seeing everything in my life as fodder for my own evolution. So when I’m met with resistance, what’s the gift?” - Lola Wright It’s easy to live in a reactive state, chasing what we’re told to chase and constantly worrying about the past and future. But there’s a different way: the choice to keep our attention in the present moment. Through that active practice, we can recognize the gifts that obstacles bring us. This week on Find Your Fierce & Loving, I’m bringing you a...

“I didn't feel like I saw anybody from my perspective, coming from where I came from. So I just started speaking it on my own terms.” - Joél Leon Storyteller and performer Joél Leon didn’t see many people speaking about mindfulness in a way that addressed him and his community. He now uses his own experiences to bring those principles back to Black people, and fostered a thoughtful community through social media. Today on Find Your Fierce & Loving, Joél talks about the joy of creation ove...

“Sharing my story actually had the opposite effect. It opened up this whole other culture for me in terms of having platforms to share my experience on.” - Kelley Kitley After Kelly Kitley struggled in her relationship with alcohol for years, she decided to stop drinking altogether. She discovered that there are many communities to support sobriety, that there are practically infinite reasons people choose not to drink, and that the mainstream narrative on alcohol doesn’t cover so many experi...

“Any time you are creating something new, destruction is present.” - Lola Wright When I spoke about the heartbreak of the new at Bodhi Center sixteen months ago, I didn’t know how much was about to change for all of us. But while that time feels like a lifetime ago, we had the same concerns that we have now—the role of social media in changing our world, the danger of resting in inertia, and how to consciously rise above the circumstances of our lives. The process of creating something new re...

“We need to discover and understand that the presence and the power of the infinite lives within us.” - Rev. Gaylon McDowell Reverend Gaylon McDowell doesn’t want to make people comfortable, he wants to help them transform. He critiques practices of “spirituality” that are about stillness with no action, thoughts without applications. Everyone is always demonstrating their values, whether they think they are or not. The transformative path forward is to be intentional and actively demonstrate...

“Books change lives. Books can create a movement in people. And when people are moved, they are able to change the world.” - Angela Engel Angela Engel doesn’t let anyone tell her no. When she didn’t have the right job for her, she convinced a publisher to make a position for her. When everyone in the publishing industry told her “this is just how it’s done,” she founded The Collective Book Studio to shake up timelines, nurture talent, and give stories to the audiences that need them. In 2020,...

“The practice for me is the ability to watch, to witness, to notice.” - Lola Wright I once led a series at the Bodhi Center centered around the beautiful book Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle. Today, I’m bringing you a talk I gave inspired by chapter two, The Egoic Self. When I am seduced by the ego in stressful situations, I am flooded by negative thoughts. I’ve had to learn self-awareness and how to recognize what messages are coming from my ego. This week on Find Your Fierce & Loving...

“It’s you and I showing up authentically every day being led by that which is within us, and that which gave presence to us, and just letting that shine in the spaces that we enter into.” - Derrick Wells As a community leader, Derrick Wells faces unique challenges right now. He sees a power in all of us to not just go through hard times, but to grow through them. This week on Find Your Fierce & Loving, Derrick shares his extraordinary story from the streets of Chicago to Senior Mini...

“Are we seeking the gift that this person is, and the gift that this person brought out in us?” - Channyn Parker One of the greatest pieces of wisdom that Channyn has learned is that everyone on this earth has their part to play. You may not enjoy their effect on your life, but they are on your path for a reason, whether that reason is to nourish you or to teach you valuable lessons. This week on Find Your Fierce & Loving, we invite you to consider the humanity of every person who exists ...