Hey there, leader. Welcome back. This is season two, in case you haven't noticed. Season two of the podcast. I am your host, Denise Simpson. I'm happy to be here. You know, when I come on here, sometimes I do have an outline and I've got bullet points and I've got talking points and things that I really want to stress, especially if I'm sharing research or empirical information that I want to share with you. And today is not one of those days. Today, I'm just not interested in a bullet, bulleted list. I'm not interested in an outline. This idea came to me when I was going for a run this morning. And it's usually when I'm in my body where I allow my mind to just quiet and to almost like stay on the sidelines while my body is in motion and it's moving. And embodied presence is something I teach my leadership clients to do. And it's something that I do through movement. I do through either a run, lifting weights, or even with music. and so by the way i'm listening to fred again oh my gosh fred again a new album is coming out um this december but i have to tell you they're they've got um on itunes at least they have um a preview of of a lot of the songs on on this album and it's crazy fred again go on itunes find this album it's so good it's anyway you're gonna get a really um a really interesting way to embody music and embody soul. It's almost like the mind is removed. It's like the thoughts have seized. The thoughts are on pause, right? It's like the mind gets to just chill. it gets to chill while your body is moving with the beat, with the incredible lyrics and rhythm. It's just a great album. And so whenever you find a good album like that, play it as often as you can. For me, when I go into focus time, I actually play a lot of Fred again because I'm able to get back into my body because the mind wants to hijack everything. It wants to make me believe that I'm not good enough. It wants to bring up all of the memories and the reasons why I can't do what I'm doing right now. And in this case, I'm writing a book. And so the mind, which is so interesting, here's what's interesting. It likes predictability. It wants to be certain. It wants to be in control. And so when I'm writing a book or you're doing something that you've never done before and you are learning new habits, you're learning new ways of writing, new ways of thinking, new ways of research even, And the mind wants to go back to where the events when we almost bombed, right? Like my mind always wants to go back to my doctoral days where, you know, writing was important and research was important. And especially during my dissertation journey. There was a lot of imposter syndrome. And so the mind, for me, wants to go back to those moments and go, you see why you can't do this now? Even though that was like, ten thousand years ago. The mind wants to go, you see how that was so humiliating and embarrassing for you? Why do you want to do that again? Why do you want to put yourself in this uncertain space? I'm here to protect you. And I want for you to be in control and I want for things to be certain. And I, you know, like, why are we doing this? Because you're putting yourself at risk. There's great threat here. the mind has to be wrangled. The mind has to be put aside. And there's times where I say, okay, we're going to put the mind on the shelf. I've got shelves back here. I'm like, I'm going to put it on that top shelf for just a moment. And I'm just going to embody this presence. I just want to embody this spirit. I just want to get back into my body, which is so wise, right? Because the mind has gotten me up to this point. Right. And which has been pretty far. Right. I mean, I think a lot of you can relate to that. Like we've, we've got this willpower, we've got this mind power. We, you know, we push against the grain. We're always pushing and hustling and struggling. And then when we get to the top of the mountain, we're like, well, what happened? Like, why did it take so long to get here? And is this, is this everything? Is this like, I, I sacrificed so much for this and And that's because you didn't bring your body along. Your body was dormant. It was your mind that was doing all of the work. And so, so many of us out here have disconnected ourselves from our body. Like I'm one of those people. For me, emotion in my body was very threatening for me. Emotion, feeling, two different things. In a very simple way, emotion is the neurochemical byproduct of a thought, and the feeling is the physiological response in your body. So for so many years, I learned to disconnect myself from my body. And so I didn't want to feel emotion, didn't want to feel love, didn't want to feel compassion, because for me in leadership, I equated that to weakness. I equated that to vulnerability. And if I was in love with my followers, compassionate to my stakeholders, and showed an ounce of care, that I would be susceptible to a demise, a downfall. And so I was trained by... not so well-meaning leaders out there. They didn't know better because they were also trained in this way. And so here I come into the workforce looking the way I look, speaking the way I speak, thinking the way I think. I had to be like the others. I had to do everything I could to stay in the tribe of leadership, to belong in this group of leaders. And so I did whatever I had to do. And that looked like mimicking. It looked like impersonating. It looked like even becoming some of these leaders. And I had lost my soul. I had lost myself. I had lost my spirit because my mind was doing all of the bidding. Nevermind my body. I mean, I was like just a walking, bobbing head with like this limp, lifeless body. Because that's just how I was trained. And many of you have been trained this way, where it's in the mind that we have to lead from the mind, that we have no business feeling anything in our bodies. We have no business other than logic and empirical research and reasoning. And listen, I'm a researcher, so I was on that boat. I was the captain of that boat. I was steering that boat. I was telling people. Emotion has no business in leadership. Your heart cannot be here, which is why I'm writing really about contemplative leadership, because I start the book talking about the sacred split, the split right down the middle between your spiritual self and your leader self. But my case and what I'm doing in this book is showing you that it's okay to integrate both these incredible parts of your life. And actually, there's great benefit in doing that. And that's my job in this book is to show you how that's possible through contemplative leadership approach and the five universal leader principles. So this season is really all about getting you connected, returning back to your body. And it's called embodied presence. It's actually one of the principles that we use in contemplative leadership. And it's this not only idea, right? It's a concept, but we embodied, we integrate, we practice getting back into our bodies so that we can connect. into the wiser parts of ourselves and finding connection through our bodies with this higher calling. That's the beauty of embodied presence as a leader. It's like you walk into a room and you're embodied, my friend. Your body, your energy, your spirit walks into the building. It walks into that boardroom before you actually do. And it's this energy that you bring into every decision-making, every choice, every meeting with your staff. Your strategic plan is completely changed because you are changed. You have embodied this contemplative leader presence because you're not thinking from the mind alone. You've now embodied your entire existence, right? It's mind and body and spirit. It's these three incredible connection points and they're merged into one that's embodied presence. So listen, we cannot stop thinking. Like our minds are important, right? Well, we make decisions from our mind and also from our bodies. But so many of us are heavier on the head space rather than the body space. And, you know, my plea today is for us to integrate both. Right. And then the spirit carrying us into these incredible leadership roles. Now, listen, if you're someone who's burnt out, exhausted, overwhelmed, and you are looking for a new way to lead, this is an incredible approach to get curious about. I'm just opening the door for you. It's like I'm at my front door and there are millions of leaders standing outside of my front door and these leaders are exhausted. And they're burnt out. And they've been circling the neighborhood. They have been going from door to door looking for respite, looking for refuge, looking for a sanctuary. Because their spirit is saying, no longer can your mind keep doing this alone. I'm going to need for you to step into your body and integrate this incredible spirit of yours. And so you finally reach my front door and you're expecting to be turned away or to be told to try another leadership style or try another leadership approach or another strategy, right? That you need, including your strategic plan, right? Like you're expecting that because that's what you've been getting over and over again. But here's the surprise for you, dear leader. I'm actually opening the door for inviting you in. Finally, I'm offering you a glass of water because you're thirsty. I'm offering you a bite to eat because you're so hungry. Your mind, your body, your spirit is aching for integration. And you didn't know it until yesterday. I opened the door for you to come on in. And listen, I'm a gracious host. Let me tell you why I'm a gracious host. So you come knocking at my door. I am so gracious. You want to know why? Because I am fully integrated in my divine purpose. And my divine assignment is to do what I do right now, to train and to develop these incredible leaders who have a spiritual inclination or have a spiritual practice already. And I am here to integrate, help you integrate so that you can be a better leader for your people. That's my divine assignment. I'm so clear in what I'm here to do. Now, it's not the same thing I was doing a few years ago. Trust me, that has changed because I have evolved, because my spiritual integration has grown stronger, formidable. I mean, try to take me apart now and you can't, you won't be able to because my spirit is fully integrated in my mind and my body. And so I'm a gracious host because I know where I stand. I know who I am. So guess what? It is pouring out of me. It is oozing out of me. Everybody who crosses my path gets to feel this embodied presence because it is overflowing. See, I'm in overflow. I'm not empty anymore. I'm not thirsty. I'm not hungry. I am so full. And guess what? I have an excess. I have an abundance to give. So I'm never going to go hungry. I'm I'm never going to be in lack because of the surplus that I have. It's infinite. It is endless. And guess what I get to do? I get to pour it into others. So when you knock on my door because you're hungry and tired or you're burnt out or you've become a cynic after years of being a skeptic, or you're overwhelmed, or you're questioning your own divine assignment and questioning what your role is actually. But I want to tell you that As you approach this door, it's a different door. It's a different door. It's decorated differently. It is welcoming. It is inviting. It's unlike the other doors in the neighborhood that you've been knocking on and no one's been answering. But finally, you knock on this door and immediately you feel this is different. This is different. This feels different. And I'm actually really, really, really, really curious about this. And I just want to be the person to tell you, come on in. I'm a gracious host. I know what you're experiencing because I've been there. I've done that. I know what it feels like to not know what your purpose is. I know what it feels like to be in pain every day. I know what it feels like to wake up at three in the morning thinking about who you wronged, who you did wrong. who you should have done better for. You are ruminating over your day's events. So you can't sleep. Your body is restless. It can't find peace because your mind is always going in circles. You ruminate. It's just part of who you are now. But I just want to tell you that you've come to the right door. You've come to the right home because the person standing behind that door is me and I am gracious and I am in overflow and I want to give you what I've got. I want to show you what I've learned. I want to be able to help you find the peace in your mind, in your body and fully integrate you into your own spirit. Because your spirit, although we are connected, we are connected through our spirits. But let me tell you something. Your divine assignment is unlike mine. Mine is unlike yours. Yours is unlike hers or his or theirs. We all are here with a different assignment to fulfill. And guess what? The breadcrumbs that you have followed are into leadership. The breadcrumbs, you had an idea. Listen, my friend, you were aware enough to say, I'm going into leadership. Don't know why, don't know how, but put me in because I could probably change the culture here. I could probably help this collective better than you all out here. So you've chosen. It was a pull. You followed the breadcrumb. And now you're here in leadership. You may be a nonprofit leader. You may be starting a nonprofit. You may be a mid-level manager right now. You may be in mid-career, right? A lot of us mid-career people are like, you know, that first half sucked. It's been very painful. And now I'm right here going, but I have a whole other half of this career to keep moving through. And I need to do this differently. Ah, You're at the right door. You're at the right home. Welcome. Welcome. So no matter where you are, however, on your path of leadership, because you may be emerging and going, you know, these clowns out here, like I'm just not interested in how these chumps are leading, but you know, I'm just now entering my career and I know I can do this better, but God, I don't want to do it like them. I don't want to do it like them because they're doing more harm to us than good. I also don't want to sacrifice myself because I've seen it done by endless leaders, and I actually don't want to experience that. So how do I do it differently? You're welcome here. Welcome, emerging leader. Come on in. Come on in into my living room where you're going to find all levels of people here, all levels of leaders here. going to have ceo and founders here who are wanting to do leadership differently you're going to find board of directors here because they want to lead differently you're going to find state officials state leaders because they know that they owe their constituents a different way of leading right you're going to find leaders who may not have an official title. They may not even be in an organization, but they're leading their homes. They're leading their families. And they're saying, I'm not going to do this the way my parents did it. I want to do this differently. I want to be fully connected, mind, body, spirit, because my children deserve for me to end this cycle of violence, of torment, of pain. So I'm finding a new way to lead. So come on in into my living room. First, you came to my front door. I've opened the front door. I've invited you in. I've given you a glass of water. I've given you a little bit to eat. I just, you know, get a little morsel in you, get you excited. And then you're in the living room with the rest of this community of incredible leaders who are saying, we're doing this a very different way. And you're going to learn from their experiences. You're going to hear their stories. You're going to hear their pain and suffering and tragedies even. But you're also going to learn about their triumphs. How did they fully integrate into this incredible way of leading? Oh, it's called contemplative leadership approach. Why not try it out for yourself? And guess what? I've embodied all of these incredible spiritual principles and look what I'm doing now because of it. So you're going to learn from all of these incredible people that were also knocking at my front door at one point. And now they have fully embodied themselves. There's no sacred split anymore. They have fully integrated the spiritual life as well as their leadership life. It is a beautiful union. It's almost a covenant. It's this opportunity for you to See how it could be different. How you can eliminate burnout and overwhelm. a way that is unique for you, because again, we're all very different. We all believe in very different things, but these spiritual principles are what's going to bind us so that we can discuss with each other how things are working for each of us, how we can compare and contrast experiences so we can learn from each other, because this can be done. You've come to the right house. You've knocked on the right door. And so the door is open because you've knocked. Now, if you're not knocking on the door, I can't hear you. I don't even know you're outside. There are a million people outside my house, but there's only one person knocking at a time. And if you're not knocking, then I can't hear you. So knock. This is the episode for you to say, okay. I have to do things differently. I want to do things differently. I believe Denise when she says that the sacred split is costing me more than it should. And I can bring my spiritual practice into my leadership role into this organization. I'm able to do that for myself personally, privately, so that I can show up better in public and be able to help my employees reach levels that they have never imagined reaching because I did the work first. So knock on the door. And if you're knocking on the door, I'm hearing you. And here is how I can hear you. You are going to want to join me inside the sanctuary. The sanctuary is something I created for us, contemplative leaders, where we get to do the work in a sacred and safe space. away from algorithms away from uh um lurkers even like away from the cynics we are inviting you to knock on the door by coming into the sanctuary so knock on the door by enrolling it's free by the way right now at the time of this publishing the sanctuary is a free community but I have the right to kick out anybody I want with a moment's notice, okay? So I'm the one who's leading this very private, sacred group, right? of leaders who want to learn more about contemplative leadership approach and how these five universal leader principles can be put into practice in our organizations, in our nonprofits, in our communities, and wherever you're finding yourself leading. And this is going to be the place you're going to want to spend some time in. And On your screen, if you're watching the podcast video, by the way, we have a video for every podcast episode. So if you're interested in that, you're going to want to go to the show notes, wherever you're listening to this on Apple, Spotify, or Google Play, you're going to want to look at the show notes. There's always a link to click to watch the video episode. you're watching the video episode there is a qr code on the screen you're going to want to click that so that you can enter knock knock on the door and enter because this is me opening the door by inviting you into this space but you gotta knock on the door and you do that by enrolling right now again it's free at the time of this publishing So join me inside the sanctuary for contemplative leaders. Now, if you are not able to watch this video episode, just go to my homepage at drdeniessimpson.com. At the top, you're going to see a tab that either says the sanctuary or free community. Right now it says free community, but we may change that. I don't know. I mean, I just want as many leaders that are outside who are knocking door to door, who have not been answered. No one has answered their knock. the millions of leaders out here who are suffering, this is the opportunity to enter into this space. So knock on the door and I'm opening it for you right here inside the sanctuary for contemplative leaders. So you go to my homepage, drdeniessimpson.com. Again, click on wherever you see a tab that says either free community or the sanctuary. It's called the sanctuary. All right, leader, I am hoping that today's very short, unplanned, unexpected, unscripted episode has helped you see for yourself that there's a different way to lead. And if you want to eliminate all of those symptoms of toxic leadership, the way you've been programmed, the way you've been taught, the way you've been shown how to lead, that's doing more damage than serving our communities, our people, our followers, and you are not interested in continuing that path, this is an incredible alternative to leading. You want to lead differently and you want to be fully embodied and spiritually connected, then this is the path for you. You've come to the right house. You're knocking on the door and I'm inviting you in to the sanctuary for contemplative leaders. So I hope this finds some peace in your day. I hope that you are able to knock on that door and know that I'm inviting you right here into this space to do this work together. All right, leader. Thank you so much for your time today. I cannot wait to visit with you again. Again, the Sanctuary for Contemplative Leaders is open and I cannot wait to see you there. All right, leader. Have a fantastic rest of your day and I'll see you here very soon. Take good care.
