Lyssa and I met at an incredible retreat in Joshua Tree National Park.* Our shared Jewish upbringing and love of nature-based spirituality led to a soul-friendship. From that first moment I felt Lyssa’s multitudes--she brings them to this sharing of her Sacred Story.

Lyssa began her spiritual journey as a skeptic. At the age of 28, after reading The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby, she realized that the connection between science and Spirit lives in the wonder and precision of our own bodies--that scientific truths are evidence of God. She reminds us that Spirit does not only exist as an external force, but lives within each of us as a tiny “benevolent parasite” and can act as a guide, if we listen.

Shifting her thoughts about Spirit led Lyssa to embrace the Divine inside of her via messages from inner guides. Guides can show up in many forms... as internal or external messages, sensations, or emotions. When we sit with our emotions and ask them to be our guides, we offer ourselves permission to receive their teachings. Sometimes strong emotions can feel overwhelming, yet when we hold them with curiosity, we can replace a fear of feeling with a deeper wisdom of how to care for ourselves in new ways. For example, after a recent consult with a business strategist, l left feeling overwhelmed and agitated. Asking the emotions to give me a message helped me realize that being hit with a dose of other people’s advice or structures felt like a giant “heck no!” from my body. From there, I was able to come back home to my own inner knowing about the best path for me.

Lyssa’s story invites us to consider:

~ What understanding(s) of the Divine most resonate with me? Via the miracles of science? A sense of Oneness among all beings? My own inner wisdom or intuition? A moral force within me?

~ What messages are my emotional guides trying to send me? How are feelings in my body (physical pain, sadness, confusion) inviting me to learn something new about myself?

~ Are there soul-friends in my life that I’d like to connect with in new ways?

*This is the retreat where I also connected with Sacred Stories guest Keira Poulsen. Listen to Keira’s Sacred Story HERE.

About Lyssa:

Lyssa is an actor, writer, storyteller, comedian, seeker, and skeptic-turned-woo. She gleefully describes herself as a neurotic hippie who is “past imperfect, present intense.”

Listen to her podcast “What’s Betwixt Us” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, Pocket Casts, and Overcast

Further Resources:

Josh Korta Dharma Punx

Anatomy of the Spirit, by Caroline Myss

Eastern Body Western Mind, by Anodea Judith

Louise Hay

Walt Whitman , “We contain multitudes”

Rob Bell and the Robcast

Let’s Play, the C.R.E.A.T.E. PODCAST

Connect with Lyssa:

lyssamandel.com

Instagram: @aflockofsandwiches

Twitter: @lyssaisaperson

Facebook: Lyssa Mandel