From the Holler is a podcast where we discuss ancient wisdom and spiritual principles
>> Vicki: M.
>> Bailey Moreland: Hey there. Welcome to from the Holler, the podcast where we have intentional, deep, vulnerable conversations infused with ancient wisdom, spiritual principles and a little bit of laughter. Join us on this journey of learning and unlearning as we come home to our truest, most authentic selves. Welcome back to from the Holler. I'm Bailey Moreland and I'm part of the farm to Souls team around here. And I'm so excited to have this opportunity to sit down with Vicki for a few conversations this season where we will explore all things wisdom, healing, trauma, awakening and more. Thanks for joining us. Settle in and let's start our journey.
Vicki says raw, honest conversations about real life are most needed
So Vicki, today, here we are, episode one of your second podcast season ever.
>> Vicki: Woo hoo.
>> Bailey Moreland: Yeah. Tell me how you feel about this.
>> Vicki: I just think it's fun. I love having honest, real, raw conversations. I enjoy having raw and real conversations. And, the thought that they're recorded and shared can be a little uncomfortable sometimes. But, I think it's. I think raw, honest conversations about real life are what is most needed, for all of us to continue that are on this spiritual path and on an inward healing journey, whatever that means to you. I think this is just small steps along the way to support ourselves first, as well as other people to come kind of keep going. This is what's next.
>> Bailey Moreland: Yeah. And something I love. Just a side note, as a podcast aficionado connoisseur, none of those words feel right. But you get the point. I love podcasts. You do it really different than, most people do because you're always centered and grounded in. We're gonna sit down today and we're gonna talk about what I'm feeling, what I'm navigating, what's on my heart, that's on my mind. This isn't something where you have come up with these topics and you've got a script laid out and we're seasons out. This is where you are right now, right here, today. Is that right?
>> Vicki: That is the only way I can do me. That is the only way. once you get on a healing path of some kind, it is hard to, play roles or wear a mask or, even do something that's not natural and authentic. So, obviously, I don't share and record everything that's going on in my life. But when we do decide we're going to push play and hang out and have a conversation, I have to talk about what's true for me and where I am and hopefully, share some tools that have helped me with the understanding they may not be your path, but just with the hopes of sharing the message of love, light, and healing.
>> Bailey Moreland: I love that. And when you're saying that what's coming to me instantly is the interconnectedness of all of us that I think so much we forget about in this day and age. So for you to show up here in this very moment, sharing what's on your heart authentically, not from some manufactured list, chances are pretty good there are other people right there with you.
>> Vicki: I believe so. I believe. I always joke and say that's why the animals went on the boat by two. It wasn't just a reproduce. I believe it was just so symbolic that we're all together in this. We all need each other in this. And, yes, you and I both, are big believers in just how connected we all are, how interwoven this whole thing is. You know, it appears that I have mine and you have yours, and that's more of a fearful, egotistical, you know, physical way we're in the world. But when you get on this spiritual path, it's almost like your vision expands and your whole perspective changes, and you realize there is so much going on that I don't even realize.
>> Bailey Moreland: Yeah, absolutely.
We never really just, um, ease into things around here
All right, so here we are. We never really just, ease into things around here.
>> Vicki: We go pretty deep, pretty fast.
>> Bailey Moreland: We just jump right in.
>> Vicki: Yeah. This may be where you want to say, no, thank you. And that's okay, too.
>> Bailey Moreland: That is okay.
As we are launching season two, tell us what listeners can expect this season
So, tell us. You know, we kind of went off there for a second on the human connectedness, which is just a beautiful thought to even ground our conversation in today. But, as we are launching season two, tell us what you have in store for us. What can listeners expect this season? Perhaps knowing that lots of unknowns.
>> Vicki: Well, I would like to get more like minded people, on the podcast to have conversations with us, because I love meeting, life as though I'm a baby beginner and new, and I don't ever want to come across as though I am a teacher. And I have got this shit figured out because I don't. I don't. I'm just a beginner, and I want to have that open curiosity that we bring to this season. And, a lot of people have asked about Pat, my mentor, who, had such influence over my path. And she lives up in New York, obviously, but, she's coming down soon. she usually only comes down once a year, but she'll be down soon. And, I think it's important that we have some conversations with her about, she is a therapist, a licensed therapist, and so I think she'll bring a, you know, a more therapeutic approach to some of my spiritual woo woo stuff. And so I think, that conversation will be good. And, too, I have no idea what the season brings. I have no idea. God, I mean, think about where you were last week, last month, last year. I mean, you just don't ever know. And so one of the things that we say a lot is what I learned from Rob Bell is we just hold it all loosely.
>> Bailey Moreland: That's so good. That is, you have to hold it all loosely. You have to meet yourself exactly where you are.
Vicki, where are you today on season two of revival
Which teased me up perfectly to ask you the question of, where are you today on season two. That's totally different from season one.
>> Vicki: Well, I think, gosh, that's a big question. But if I look at, kind of where I am, where my husband is, where the farm is, where revival 356 is, we're in a waiting period. One of the things I talk a lot about at the farm is most of life is waiting, and the question is not going to be, you know, to me, how long do you have to wait? Or when is the waiting going to be over? I try to open it up a little bit deeper and say, who am I bringing to this waiting period? So it's a little bit different, you know, of just the outcome, the external. But, okay. There is this deep, reverent acceptance of, I'm in a, really unknown waiting period. Okay, how am I gonna wait? And so with Eric has had a health diagnosis that I shared with a lot of people that has kind of turned our world upside down, and that was a good thing. That was a really, really good thing. And I'm not trying to be Pollyanna about that or not say that we haven't had a lot of hard feelings or, you know, a lot of, you know, fear around it, because we have. We're human, but that is only a small piece of our lives, and there is so many gifts and goodness that are available to us in this unknown and in this waiting period, as he's getting treatments to decide, you know, what is next for getting him back in balance and healthy and out of disease. And so we're waiting, and we're also allowing life to move through us, and we're also trusting the process, and we're also doing whatever doing we need to do to take care of our part as we're waiting for the next step.
>> Bailey Moreland: That's a lot.
>> Vicki: That's a lot.
>> Bailey Moreland: That's a lot. So if anybody's confused hearing this, there's a wonderful episode right before this. it's kind of like a pre in between season episode where Vicki and Elizabeth Pearson sit down from, elizabeth's podcast on purpose and have a really, beautiful conversation about this season that you and Eric are in, and, kind of the gifts and the grief, if you will, of this period. So, that's a whole thing. Definitely go back. I'll link it in the show notes, and you can go back and listen to that episode to get caught up. But I think it's a new concept, perhaps, for some people to hear someone say, anything positive, really, about such a large diagnosis and being in such a different space. I mean, that's why I asked the question. Your landscape looks completely different today than it did the last time somebody might have heard from you. and sometimes that can really take people out. And so, again, I know that you and Elizabeth talked about it, but if you could just give us that little glimpse of maybe some of the practical things that you're doing or that you've noticed, the practices that are kind of keeping this from taking you out, or maybe you are taken out, and that's okay, too, right?
>> Vicki: Well, I think it's not in the big moments of life that I start practicing these spiritual tools. It's been, you know, a lot of moments leading up to this very, you know, big moment in our lives.
>> Bailey Moreland: So, time out. What you're saying there is, don't wait till the big thing happens. Don't wait till the world falls apart.
>> Vicki: That's right.
>> Bailey Moreland: Yeah.
>> Vicki: Because the world is going to fall apart. Your world. You. If you're listening to this, you have experienced that your world has already fallen apart. That's just part of the human condition. And so it's almost like, how can I gather up this information, and how can I gather up all of these things that have helped me in the past, that I have a repetition, a rhythm, a practice of how can I take these things when I now have a big toolbox full of tools? And now when the really hard stuff comes, I don't want to just talk about my tools in the toolbox. I don't want to just look at my tools in the toolbox, by God, now it's time to take out some tools and use some spiritual tools that are in your toolbox. But that's what life is to me, anyway. It's about always being on this internal healing journey of being awake for this life and so if we're awake for life, we're naturally gathering tools for when life, good things or really hard things come.
>> Bailey Moreland: Yeah. So I think perhaps you take a lot for granted when you say that, because I don't think the majority of people do that. And that's okay. We're, you know, we're trained very different by our culture. But I do see you living that out where on a daily basis, regardless of circumstance, you are practicing small steps of stillness, honoring yourself, doing the things that bring you alive and give you presence in this life. M but again, I think that this would be a surprising idea for people.
>> Vicki: Well, Bailey, I'm not doing these things just to gather tools and prepare myself when hard shit happens. I'm doing these things because this is a conscious choice to live the life that I believe I was created for. And it's very different from what the world values and what culture values. It is usually completely opposite of the world. And so I want to be, say that again. It is usually completely opposite of what the world values.
>> Bailey Moreland: So good. So good.
>> Vicki: And so, like, I'm not trying to be mother Teresa or a saint over here. It's, I want to live this life awake. I want to have healthy relationships. I want to make a deep contribution of love, healing and light.
>> Bailey Moreland: And I think that when you say that, I think it probably is easy for people to look at you and say, well, of course, Vicki, like, you've set your life up so that you share this message. Right. but what I want to infuse in this is, as somebody who, that is not how I've set my life up. I could still make that conscious decision to do what you're saying, to live a life of deep purpose, sharing love and compassion. You can do that no matter how your life is set up. Yes or no, if you're called to.
There are four stages Carl Jung talked about. But we might need a conversation on those four stages
>> Vicki: Do that, I think we're in, a lot of people are in different stages of life. You know, there are four stages Carl Jung talked about. I can't remember, but obviously, I remember the warrior. That was the one, because that is where you're kicking ass and taking names. That's just kind of that beginning stage. And, if you're, if you're there, like, rock on, go get them. I mean, that's just, you know, the truth.
>> Bailey Moreland: But we might need to have a conversation, like a whole dedicated conversation on those four stages.
>> Vicki: They're powerful. I remember they were so helpful of, again, not to put me in a box of what stage I'm in, but to give myself. Compassion of, oh, I'm moving through different places, and I'm coming to different things that are important to me, you know? And I think when you start going on this journey, that is very opposite of what the world kind of conditions you to believe that you've got to have in order to get something or in order to feel a certain way. Once you buy into that rhythm, they've hooked you. It's almost like a drug. They've hooked you into hustling, you know? That's just the truth. That's Brene Brown. And when you get on this spiritual journey and, you know, again, I started 21 years of 22 or three years ago now, I guess, and I'm still a baby. I'm still a beginner, because the more I dip my toes in the water, the more I see this ocean is so vast, and there is just so much more. But I want to keep going deeper into this way of living. The opposite of the world, which is practicing stillness, being present, allowing myself the gift to love the things I love again. I grew up in that whole religion, doctrine, all the stuff of how bad, what a piece of shit in a center I was. And so it took me a long time to let myself learn to love what I love. But the craziest thing happened when I started claiming and owning my power and giving myself the things that I'd always hustled for other people to give me. I started filling up with so much love from the inside out that my life actually came about, became about loving others. And that's what I always wanted it to be about. I just did it at the expense of myself.
>> Bailey Moreland: Right? Totally different. Same goal, same thing. Two different ways to get there. Or actually, better said, one way to get there. The other way, same goal. Didn't get there, is what I'm hearing.
>> Vicki: It's just a lot of suffering. it's a lot of destruction, chaos, confusion in my world, because I worked so hard for people to give me what I was not willing to give myself.
>> Bailey Moreland: Oh, that's good. Hold on. Can you say that one more time?
>> Vicki: The beginning part of my life, I was working so hard to be seen, loved, heard, acknowledged, valued all the things. I was working so hard for people to give me those things. And the deeper call that I'm, continually learning now, the deeper call is that I have to give those things to myself. That is nobody else's responsibility. That doesn't mean that I don't want to be loved by other people. Hear me? Because the pendulum in our mind swings.
>> Bailey Moreland: That's that connectedness also, that we talked about.
>> Vicki: That's exactly right. It's coming full circle. The whole reason I want to let myself love what I love, which is most people know, you know, riding my horse, walking in the woods, feeding my animals, creating things with friends. You know, we had a great conversation in the beginning of this, and, you know, maybe we can circle back around to it or jump in here where you're like, why do you do this? Why do you, why do you do this? And it took me a second, but it's like, I love to create things with people I love. I love to create beautiful things with people I love and detach from the outcome. Maybe other people get it, maybe people don't and reject it or, misunderstand it. It's like, oh, God, that's not gonna stop me from creating beautiful things with people I love.
>> Bailey Moreland: Let's just do it. I can't even. I'm trying to pause the conversation, but it's too good. So indulge us. We're going to go down a rabbit hole here, and it's so worth every second. Oh, they're so good.
Bailey: I asked Vicki why she creates content
So the question I asked, you know, for everyone listening, Vicki and I were having a conversation. We were slung up on my couch, and, in a moment where we were reflecting on lots of, lots of things that had been created.
>> Vicki: Yeah.
>> Bailey Moreland: And I just paused for a minute, coming from a totally different walk of life, and I asked Vicki, I said, vicki, why do you do this? Like, why? You know, there are lots of people, especially today, who create, what's coming to mind is social media and podcasts and content creation, digital content creation. There are so many people who are creating for monetary reasons, for social, acceptance reasons, for egoic reasons, which you'll dissect that for us here in a second. And so I was just really trying to understand your motivation. Why do you do it? Because you're not a hustle type. that's saying, let's create, create, create, so that we can get a monetary, gain from this. That's not your place. So I said, vicki, why do you do this? And you said, I said, because I.
>> Vicki: Love creating beautiful things with beautiful people. I love creating things with people that I connect with, that I love that it's almost like two little girls running barefoot in the woods, you know, many, many years ago. There's something wild and free and beautiful, and it feeds my soul. And hopefully it also helps other people that are on the path. So it isn't just for me, like the small or the egoic self. You said it so well, and there's nothing wrong with all those things. I mean, I hope we are financially abundant. If we're not, that's okay from this. And I hope that our message gets to people who need it. And if it doesn't, that's okay, too, you know, that's not, the future.
>> Bailey Moreland: I think that's what surprised me about your response, was there was no attachment to any of those things. Those are, those are totally separated by products that could happen, but nothing, never the motivation for you, when you sit down to create anything was my understanding.
>> Vicki: But that's all of life, Bailey. So it's not just in the content creation. Like, I really want to consciously choose things that light me up, that bring me life, that, to me again, I'm deeply spiritual. I don't even know what that means, but I just have this deep reverence for God and nature and all these beautiful things, and I really do. I think it was hafiz that said, and I'll butcher it in my little country way. Like, something like, I want to be the flute that Christ's breath moves through.
>> Bailey Moreland: Oh.
>> Vicki: And so all this creating, it's like, it's not just for hits or pops or likes or whatever it is. It's not for all those things. It's because I love to do it. And it really is my way of sharing my heart and my spirit with the world, which is, to me, the greatest way I can love God.
>> Bailey Moreland: I was wondering if you were going to get there, but I've heard you and been around you enough now to know that you always, when you say it this way, it resonates deeply with me. But honoring yourself and the things that, bring you alive and make you feel good, that's a relative term. But when you're doing the things that bring you life, you're honoring the God within you. I'm going to butcher what you say. So you tell us.
>> Vicki: Yeah, it's whatever it is. Yes, it's that. That is my understanding. And so somebody else may come along and not agree with it, and it's like, oh, honey, that's okay, then. That's not for you. But the greatest way I can honor God is to be in love and share everything that was put in my heart. You know, that old way of walking on your knees and begging for crumbs and denying yourself and all those things, you know, it's like, that brings no joy, that brings no healing, that brings no love. That brings no light into the world. If anything, you're following something that I believe is not what it means. Anyway. you're following something that is going to put you in a dark hole, and maybe that's where you feel comfortable. And if it is, I wish you well in the dark hole. I am just no longer going to jump a dark hole and say, this is the way I can best love God. Not going to do it 100%.
>> Bailey Moreland: And I, you know, I hear you talk and I think there are. There is an element having, you know, recently gone through a tremendously difficult time. There is. You have to walk through the fire sometimes. Right. And also, we do live in a world where we're subjected to people's interpretation of things that can cause us to kind of get it messed up sometimes. And that's okay, too, because I do believe that the Christ, you said the Christ breath in us, the God that resides within us, will always point us in the direction if we choose some practices like stillness.
>> Vicki: Yeah. Your mind can't get you there. Like, the whole point of being still is to have space between our thoughts so we can receive something much more profound and deeper. You know, it's not just because I want to check the box of, Look at me. I'm, still during a day. It's not. It's not that. It's to actually be transformed, to go beyond form so that I can be more deeply connected to my heart, soul and spirit.
>> Bailey Moreland: That's so good. There's a lot there.
You say that life is not linear and it's a journey
And you have. You've perfectly teed us up for a question that I want to ask you. So prepare yourself.
>> Vicki: Oh, God.
>> Bailey Moreland: I'm going to tell you how I say it, okay? And then I want you to tell me how you say it.
>> Vicki: All right?
>> Bailey Moreland: So when I say to you, the universe has your back, you say, here, we're playing a fun game. I say, the universe has your back.
>> Vicki: You say, how would I say? I would say. I would say that a lot of ways. But what immediately came to me is, all things work for good. They do. It doesn't mean that really hard things don't happen. But that's just my belief. Like you said a while ago, like, you have to walk through the fire. I mean, walking through the fire sucks, you know, we know that. But I believe we're not walking through the fire because we're being punished. We are actually walking through the fire because something needs to be burned off that is no longer needed for our journey moving forward.
>> Bailey Moreland: That is a mic drop. Because living in a world. And, you know, we're just kind of soaked in the southern culture, you know? So there might be people all over the world that this doesn't resonate with, but especially here in the south, we're more. So that first part that you said about the punishment of the fire. Oh, yeah, we hear that a lot. but when I think about the fire refining and burning away and revealing, all the good stuff, I think about phoenixes, I think about all kinds of crazy stuff, but it's good. It's so good, link that for us to this idea of the way will reveal itself. The universe has your back. Because I think oftentimes when people, and especially people who are in the fire right now. Yeah.
>> Vicki: Ah.
>> Bailey Moreland: That feels very not true for them.
>> Vicki: Yeah, yeah. And I'm sorry for you.
>> Bailey Moreland: I mean, you're going through something, too.
>> Vicki: Yeah. A life diagnosis or a very serious illness would, to me, be considered going through the fire. So we are, going through the fire, but Eric and I are going through the fire in a very surrendered, state. And I think that has made all the difference, because we have been through the fire many, many times in our life. And on a deep soul level, we understand that something is being burned away that is no longer needed. Conditioning, beliefs, ideas.
>> Bailey Moreland: The way I'm hearing you say something that's really interesting, and is not a common thought process, I'm hearing you say that life is not linear and it's a journey, and there's constant refinement. Because I do think that we often think that it's linear and it's always up and to the right. And I think that what you're saying is we've been in the fire and we came through and we're in the fire and we'll come through. And it's that muscle memory, those deep neural pathways of practices that help you to have a posture of surrender in the fire versus the just flailing and fighting.
>> Vicki: Yeah.
>> Bailey Moreland: What do you mean?
>> Vicki: I've done that too. I've done that too. And, God, did that just make the burn so much longer, you know, so much longer. you know, resistance or, resisting what is,
>> Bailey Moreland: So hold on, don't. Don't move too fast past that, because, when I think about my reaction in a fire, just this week, a little fire popped up. It was a little fire, thank goodness. This time, not a big fire, but, oh, man, the resistance and the added the. You've said it on the episode that I'm going to link in the show notes the adding suffering to suffering.
>> Vicki: Yeah. Yeah. That's what resistance, Eckhart tolle taught me that that's what resistance really is, you know, is adding more suffering on the suffering that is here. And once you really get that, you really get that, it's like I have a conscious choice. I'm in that place of, I can go right or I can go left. And, you know, one way is going to lead to more suffering, and one way is going to surrender into what is here and trust the process and allow that to actually bring me closer to my creator. And actually, it's going to bring me closer, in a healthy relationship with myself, I'm, going to choose to surrender and trust that this, too, shall pass.
>> Bailey Moreland: And that sounds so good and simple. Not easy, simple.
Take a deep breath to strengthen the muscle of non reaction
so I'm curious, and I know that you are going to buck this. You do not like steps. I'm curious, though, again. I'm taking myself back to my little tiny fire this week, and I know, and I've heard you say, don't resist. But yet I still did. What would you say to do, practically even in that moment, what would you tell someone?
>> Vicki: Take a deep breath. M just stop and take a deep breath. Because if you can take then two deep breaths and possibly even three deep breaths in that space, there's no reaction. You're creating a pause and a break. And so a lot of things I have learned are going on in that pause and break of not reacting is you're strengthening the muscle of non reaction, which is the most important thing. That's what we want to do. We want to learn to not just react, react, react, react. We want to learn to slow things down. And they are simple. They are hard as a mofo, no joke. But, usually, usually unlearning or transformation or, ah, whatever big words you want to use. It's not like it's some mathematical formula. It literally is something like, oh, wait, I can take a deep breath in this moment and just do nothing. Okay, I'm going to take two deep breaths. It sounds so simple. People are like, oh, my God, that's too simple. Give me something to do. I got to have steps. Give me more steps. And it's like slowing it all down is starting to strengthen a muscle of non reaction.
>> Bailey Moreland: And this just takes me right back to earlier in our conversation. We were talking about the world's ways versus what I think you might call God's way or your truest way. The world tells us to not do exactly what you're saying. To do so. Let that be a cue.
>> Vicki: Yeah. It's just like, no, you need to defend and react, and you need to use your voice. It's all these, It's all this intensity of more woundedness. No healing or awakening or solutions are going to come from that place, only suffering on top of suffering. And so just starting by saying, I would like to strengthen the muscle of not reacting to everything through judgment, criticalness, or being offended. Look, so many people are just offended by everything. It's like, you know what? I want to practice? I want to practice something different. Okay, then when you feel energy moving through you, intensity, emotion, feelings, take a deep breath, put your hand over your heart. Take a deep breath, and just slow it all down.
>> Bailey Moreland: And I'm also hearing maybe some. Maybe this is me adding my color, some tones of curiosity. Always, which are so hard to access in a fire. So hard it almost feels like, you know, I mean, just to use the very, like, primal analogy, when you're being chased by a lion, you're not checking in and getting curious.
>> Vicki: Well, let me just say this, because when you. Well, that's fight or flight, I think. So if you're being chased by a lion, run like hell.
>> Bailey Moreland: Absolutely.
>> Vicki: We'll get curious later. And you use that metaphorically. Right. But there is so much ancient wisdom, about childlike and curiosity, and a child will lead them in the way they should go. I mean, there is just so much there. And, of course, my passion is Rika, connecting to the little girl or inner child within. I mean, that, just, to me, that is very different from the world's pattern, because the world is, you're an adult. You got to be serious and responsible and all this. And a lot of people equate getting curious or being childlike with childish, and it has nothing to do with that. It doesn't mean to be reckless and irresponsible. Bringing a child, like, beautiful, wild, and free spirit before the world got ahold of you. If you practice that when there is no fire, when you smell smoke, you will start slowing things down, taking a deep breath, opening things up, and getting curious. And how big that fire gets will determine how you respond or react in that situation. So then when there is a California fire, a wildfire out of control, you won't lose yourself in the process.
>> Bailey Moreland: And I'm, listening and processing. And you have such a beautiful, calm, peaceful tone that I think people might be interpreting as just be calm and accept and surrender. But you, I know you, and you're very big on feeling your feelings. So if you need to go outside and scream, oh, my God.
>> Vicki: Yes.
>> Bailey Moreland: Right?
>> Vicki: Yes. This isn't about becoming passive. Non reactive is not just about being meek and rolling over and just allowing everybody and everything to do whatever they want. It's actually the opposite of when you don't react and you take a deep breath, you actually are starting to ground yourself in the power of the truth, of who you are and how you want to respond. So, actually, then, the steps that you take are so much more clear and efficient that they move you to the place that you want to go rather than flailing around and reacting. That you smell smoke.
>> Bailey Moreland: That's really. I'm, sorry. Having a minute here.
>> Vicki: Have a minute. Have. Take as long as you want. This isn't. It's so interesting because we think acceptance or surrender means to just be, poor little Sally, I don't need a thing. I'm over here just helpless. It means the effing opposite of that. It actually means standing into a power that is actually moving through you. It is the power of the universe. It is the interconnectedness of everything. It's a different rhythm than just reacting to life as life comes. Am I making all this do spiritual like?
>> Bailey Moreland: No. No.
Abraham Hicks talks about resisting and flailing in fire and life
I think the analogies are keeping us real grounded here because another one's come to mind, and I'm thinking about the waters of life. Can you. Can you talk to us? Can you extrapolate this concept of resisting and flailing in a fire and the waters of life? Rolling on your back, kicking your feet up? Talk us through that for a sec.
>> Vicki: That's floating down the river. Yeah. That's Abraham Hicks.
Bailey: Sometimes we forget that suffering is not the only way
But I just had another thought about, in the Tao. I forget what verse it is, but it talks about that water is, like, the most powerful because it seeks the lowest place. And that's a perfect analogy of, like, the surrender, the letting go. The non resistance is the lowest place, and yet it is the most powerful. You know, it is the last verse, the first, last, and so good. Floating down the river is. Yeah. There is a big ass river called life, man. And it's beautiful, and then it's hard, and then it's exciting, and then it's beautiful and hard again. And there is, I don't know, maybe age does it a little bit. Maybe a lot of deep suffering and waking up and saying, you know, I've got a different chance at life, and I'm gonna. I'm going to trust life, the river, God, myself. I'm gonna get in the flow of what is going on. Yes, I'm going to make a deep contribution by sharing my gifts, but they're always going to flow with the river. They're not ever going to ask me to swim against the current.
>> Bailey Moreland: And it sounds like the key then, not to oversimplify, would be creating that space in your life so that you can consciously choose that. Because if we don't slow it down for a second, take a breath, find some stillness, we're likely just to have that muscle memory reaction of swimming against the current upstream.
>> Vicki: Yeah. It's indoctrinated us at a very early age. Is that the right way to say it?
>> Bailey Moreland: Yes.
>> Vicki: you got to work hard. Those that work the hardest are the ones that are rewarded. And again, this is just not saying that not working hard is nothing. That's not what I'm saying. But, you know, what we offer out at the farm and what I share is, if you feel led to swim upstream, by all means, I want you to go where your heart's leading you. But there's also another way. There's also another way. And I think sometimes a lot of us forget and need to be just reminded that suffering is not the only way.
>> Bailey Moreland: That's, I think for many, that can be, the best news they've heard in a while. And probably maybe the first time somebody's heard that you just, you don't have to suffer. So that that one might take a little while. Right. That's not going to be an, overnight adaptation where somebody's like, oh, good. I don't have to choose suffering when we're, to use your word, that you use so well, when we're indoctrinated into the suffering and told that that's the way it has to be.
>> Vicki: But a lot of us, especially in the south, Bailey, as you know, at a very early age, you are. This may sound harsh, and it's just my perspective, but like, you are told about sacrificial love and you are told that, you know, this is the way you love other people, is, you know, you walk on your knees and I beg for crumbs in the corner. Cut off parts of yourself, cut off parts of yourself. This is the way you show God you love, is this is the way you love others. I mean, we are indoctrinated at a very early age. So, again, a lot of us are taught that suffering actually means we're loving others and loving God. And I'm just here to say there's. There's another perspective. And I hopefully trying to live a different way than that and want to support and love everybody that is on whatever path that they're on.
>> Bailey Moreland: I love that. That's sometimes just all the permission we need, right? Just to even say, maybe I can't do it, but, I can hear from people that are doing it and that have done it successfully. And I use that word very loosely, not up into the right linear success, because success, at least for me, today, looks very different, and I define it differently than I, have previously. So thank you for that.
We want to do something called the heart of the holler this season
really quick, before we hop off here, we're introducing something new. So let me just take Vicki by surprise. In front of everyone here, we want to do something called the heart of the holler, Vicki.
>> Vicki: I love that.
>> Bailey Moreland: Yeah. So here's the idea. And, again, you might buck this, but I think it's going to be very helpful for some people who get to this point and say, all right, sum it up for us. But the heart of the holler is going to be a new segment this season right at the end, where you just give us maybe some practical steps. Sometimes it might be steps, sometimes it might be, a journal prompt or just the simple task to go and take some three long, deep breaths. It could be many things, but after a deep conversation like this, we might feel a lot of, like, different, restless feelings. So ground us in the heart of the holler today, Vicki, and tell us, what's our practical takeaway when. When we're talking about the way we'll reveal itself or the universe has your back.
>> Vicki: I just share whatever first comes to me, and I had no idea about any of this, and I absolutely love it. Again. It just lights me up, creating things with, you know, people I love. If I was to just offer, like, a closing, suggestion, you know, I would say, kick off your shoes. I know people listen to different things, different times of year, but we're spring going into summer here. Kick off your shoes. Go walk in the grass. I don't care if you have a two by three patch. Go walk in the grass. Take some deep breaths. And if you can just lay down on your back and look up at the sky for, I don't know, three minutes, that would be my offering. And see if something in you doesn't slow down just a little bit.
>> Bailey Moreland: I love that for a lot of reasons. I love it because it encourages us to take a pause, to, again, create that space to let the universe guide us, to let the God within us lead us. It allows us to actually physically ground ourselves. We're human battery, so we're going to be able to ground ourself. And probably my most favorite part, it really brings me to a childlike state. Just sitting here listening to you explain that, it made me feel like a little girl.
>> Vicki: Yeah.
>> Bailey Moreland: And I think that that's a missing piece. A lot of the time is just that, again, like you mentioned in our conversation earlier, just that childlike state reconnecting, that can be fun for people, that can be somber for people, that can be calming. But just taking a minute to see the awe and wonder that's right in front of us.
>> Vicki: Yeah. I think the biggest, thing for me is the connection piece. So doing all that connects us with the earth, it connects us with our breath, it connects us with ourselves, it connects us with God, it connects us with nature. It's just a very, very remembrance and strong opening up the connectors of, you know, those powerful currents of connection,
>> Bailey Moreland: Back to the waters of life.
>> Vicki: Yeah.
>> Bailey Moreland: Just swimming. Good. Well, thank you so much, Vicky. This has been, a great conversation. It had many facets. It was beautiful. Well, thank you so much, Vicki. That was a great conversation. it took many turns, many surprises. It was awesome. It had so many facets. And, as always, it was a pleasure just to hear your wisdom and, explore some new ideas with you.
We hope our conversation today has offered valuable insights on your journey towards healing
Thanks for joining us on another episode of from the Holler. We hope our conversation today has offered valuable insights on your journey towards healing and soul discovery. We'd love if you take a moment of your time to rate and review the podcast. This helps others who are on their healing journey find us. Also, stay connected with us on social media. You can find us on Instagram or Facebook at farmthenumber two souls or visit our website at www. Dot farmthenumber two souls.com. as always, thank you for allowing us to be a part of your journey. Stay curious, stay open, and remember you're not alone on this path.
