Mahara Wayman [00:00:05]:
Welcome to the art of badassery where I explore what it takes to live life on your own terms. Break free from the status quo and unleash your inner badass. Whether you're a rebel at heart or simply seeking inspiration to step outside your comfort zone, this podcast is for you. I'm your host, Mahara Wayman. And each week, I dive into the stories, insights, and strategies of those who've mastered the art of badassery and are living life to the fullest. They smile when no one is lucky. Welcome to another exhilarating episode of the Art of Badassery podcast. I'm your host, Mahara Wayman, And today's show promises to be an extraordinary journey into resilience, transformation, and the incredible power of the human spirit.
Mahara Wayman [00:00:58]:
My guest today is a true embodiment of strength and courage, Chana Studley. Hailing originally from the UK and a graduate of the prestigious Manchester University. Chana's life has been a tapestry of remarkable experiences. Her journey is unique from living in the heart of Hollywood to currently calling Jerusalem home. In the 19 eighties, Chana faced 3 harrowing and violent attacks that left her with severe injuries and crippling PTSD resulted in years of unbearable anxiety and stress. But then something truly miraculous happened. It was as if her brain rewired itself, and amidst the turmoil, She found unexpected inner tranquility. So driven by this transformation, she embarked on an awe inspiring path, Dedicating the last 3 decades to helping others recover from trauma, chronic pain, and physical afflictions.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:56]:
As a trained counselor, Chana's compassion and insight have touched countless lives, guiding them towards healing and resilience. But that's not everything. Her story is a tale of versatility and accomplishment. For 2 decades, she played a pivotal role in Hollywood, Creating mesmerizing special effects in major motion pictures, including the Academy Award winning film, Babe. She is not just a counselor and special effects wizard, though. She's also a certified life coach, a 3 principles practitioner, And a World Health Organization psychological first responder. With a diploma in psychology, she's a true mental and emotional well-being expert. But beyond her professional achievements, she's also a sought after speaker at conferences, universities, and community events.
Mahara Wayman [00:02:46]:
She is a published author with 3 books that inspire and uplift. So, guys, get your favorite drink. Fasten your mental seatbelts. We are gonna delve into this beautiful and remarkable journey of my guest, Chana Studley. Welcome to the show.
Chana Studley [00:03:02]:
Wow. Thank you so much for the nice introduction.
Mahara Wayman [00:03:05]:
I love you know what? I love what I do. I really do. And I think it's one of the things that underlines this idea of being badass is that we really true love. We love who we are, and we love what we do. So let's jump into your story. Wow. You've moved around a lot. When did you leave the UK? Did you go from the UK to the States, or was there anything else in between?
Chana Studley [00:03:29]:
Yeah. I left the UK probably 30 years ago, and, I went to Australia first for 6 months, which is where we filmed BABE. And, so we're out in a a field for 6 months in the rain, and then, I moved to San Francisco and then down to Los Angeles. Yes. I was In LA for about 16 years working in the movies. Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:03:51]:
Was it what you expected?
Chana Studley [00:04:06]:
Yeah. I guess so. I mean, it's not something I dreamed of, funnily enough. It wasn't I didn't grow up thinking, oh, I wanna work in the movies. I didn't even know of such a thing. I mean, my my career was called fur and feathers on my green card. Who knew you could have a career in fur and feathers? You know? So it wasn't really on the the list of careers and, you know, when you're in high school. So I kind of fell into it, which is why how most people, you know, get into these things because they're not the kind of jobs that get advertised.
Chana Studley [00:04:36]:
So I started out in the theater in London doing props and costumes for, like, big West End shows and the Royal Shakespeare Company and the BBC and things like that. And then I met a woman who was, just starting a movie, and that was a rare opportunity, you know, in London. So, We the 1st Flintstones movie was my first movie. She and I she taught me how to do a lot of the techniques, and then she went off to LA to do all the filming. And just after they all these experienced people left, Jim Henson, who I was working for, they we got babe. And so she they had to bring all the experienced people back, and I was sent to LA, to replace 14 people And supervise all the creatures on Flintstones for the rest of 3 months of filming. So I'd I'd been on TV sets before, but I'd never been on a movie set force. So it was like I was the expert who was flown in from London, and I did not know what I was doing.
Chana Studley [00:05:35]:
So I talk about winging it, And I'm there working with all the crew who'd just come off Jurassic Park. I'm with Steven Spielberg and Elizabeth Taylor. This is my first movie. Talk about thrown in the deep end. And I just had to I had to, you know, get on with it. And I did it, and I came back to London and got on the next crew, and then we ended up in Australia Doing, babe. So, yeah, it was very exciting and and a lot of fun, and and I loved it.
Mahara Wayman [00:05:59]:
I wanna go back to that phrase what you just said, which is I just had to get on with it because, Truly, there are people that would have been thrown into a situation like that, and they would have just crawled under the table or said, I'm sorry. There's been a bit of a misunderstanding. Like, I'm here to just get you guys, you know, whatever. So what is it? What did you do to dig deep and actually, you know, go through with this?
Chana Studley [00:06:25]:
Yeah. It's a great question. The the moment when I really had to do that was, If anybody saw the movie, there's a scene where Elizabeth Taylor is held in the mouth of a dinosaur. Right? And She's, you know, like like this being held in the dinosaur, but you can't put miss Taylor on her side dangling a dinosaur because they filmed it on its Side. So she's standing on a box and the dinosaur's head's on its side, you know, the illusions of Hollywood. But the dinosaur had a big rip in its nose. It's made of silicone. Right? And one of my first jobs was I was told by the the the AD, the dinosaur is, needs fixing.
Chana Studley [00:07:03]:
It's On another soundstage at Universal Studios, go fix it because we're filming it tomorrow. I'm like, okay. Now I hadn't even seen this dinosaur before I made the birds, you know, in the movie. So I go over to stage 27 Universal Studios, and all of the rigging crew from Jurassic Park are standing there. These men who've been in, you know, film business forever, seasoned professionals standing there, and they're gonna watch the expert who's flown in from London. I was 27 years old, and I I went and looked. The dinosaur is massive. It's bigger than me, And, it's got a big rip in its nose, and my colleagues who'd left had left a a repair box.
Chana Studley [00:07:44]:
And I looked in it, And there was, some, glue. There was some paint. There was some scraps of silicone, you know, same kind of texture. And I remember thinking, what am I gonna do? And then I remembered my father taught me how to repair Punctured tire on my bicycle when I was a kid.
Mahara Wayman [00:08:07]:
Gonna say that.
Chana Studley [00:08:08]:
And and I'm like, silicone, rubber, glue. What else could it be? Right? So I I there was sandpaper, so I sanded down the area where the rip was. I cut a piece of, latex with a similar kind of texture. I put the contact adhesive on, and these guys are just watching. Right? And being so hot in a a film studio, it dried pretty quickly, Slapped on the patch like a Band Aid. Right? Painted around the edges, put some talcum powder on to get rid of the the, the glue. And and and they were like, Oh, wow. That's interesting.
Chana Studley [00:08:41]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Great. Great. I'm like, yeah, dude. See you tomorrow.
Chana Studley [00:08:44]:
I'm like, I I did not sleep that night. I was terrified. You can imagine in the heat, the glue going, You know, it's like big things sticking off. And the next morning when I arrived at set, we were filming, in a, a quarry, North North LA. And, I I forget breakfast. I went straight to the set because they'd moved overnight, and, and I was just my my heart was Pounding. I was just waiting for everybody to start screaming and shouting at me, and it was you could not see the join. And I was thank god.
Chana Studley [00:09:12]:
Thank god. Thank god. It was you know, it it really was. I was winging it, but I thank god to my father for for teaching me practical stuff. And, And and nobody ever caught on that I didn't know what I was doing, and I just kept learning. And I I learned make friends with everybody because you never know when you might need something from know the carpenter or, you know, the the costume department. And and I and I just did it. I I kind of, I'm I was never one to Back down.
Chana Studley [00:09:40]:
I I have 2 older brothers. So I had to fight to be, you know, like, to join in and be included and stuff. So I I never wanted to be left out, so I just kind of did my best and and it's it kind of worked out. Thank god.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:54]:
What a fantastic story, and I can just imagine The tummy plummeting when you saw the rip. And, you know, we've all had experiences where we're all of a sudden, I think going, am I supposed to be here? Like, is this a time like, did I step into a time warp? Have I stepped into a Twilight Zone episode? Because I don't know WTF, I'm doing. Mhmm.
Chana Studley [00:10:17]:
But
Mahara Wayman [00:10:17]:
somewhere, you you did. You know, your dad as you said, thanks dad for teaching me some Some basic stuff, and you pulled it out. When it was all said and done, did you kinda have, like, a collapse maybe at the end of the day where you're on your couch going, Oh my god. What did I just experience? Or did you just take it in stride and move on to the next day because there was always something else coming up?
Chana Studley [00:10:38]:
Yeah. I didn't have really have any time to To to rest because we work 12, you know, 14 hour days. We'd have to fix things overnight to that got broken to be ready for to shoot the next day, Working 6 days a week. Yeah. The the only time I remember on that first movie where I I took a moment for myself was, the 1st famous person to remember my name. That that was a special moment. John Goodman was playing Fred Flintstone, And I was walking between 2 of the studios on the back lock at, yeah, Universal Studios, and he was in full Fred Flintstone costume. And he was walking by on his own, I went, hi, Hannah.
Chana Studley [00:11:17]:
And I was like, hi, John. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. You know, I'd watch Roseanne, you know, when when I was younger, like, on TV, and there there he is, and he'd remember her name. I mean, after that, I met Countless famous people. You know? It was a real it was a daily thing. It just picked they're just they're people like everybody else.
Chana Studley [00:11:37]:
You know? But But that was the the first moment, and I think that was the only time I kinda got kind of that starstruck, but I just it was special. I I remember thinking, How did I get here? This is really weird. You know what's so cool about that
Mahara Wayman [00:11:50]:
story is it really it really highlights this understanding that, First of all, we don't always see and believe how the world sees us. And secondly, if you say it Or are in are in a way that if you are perceived a certain way, sometimes it doesn't match how you feel about yourself, but that doesn't matter because People see you like you were meant to be on that set. He he spoke
Chana Studley [00:12:15]:
to you
Mahara Wayman [00:12:15]:
just like an equal. And Mhmm. It's a great reminder that you know what? Often the outside doesn't match the inside. Right? The outside perception can be different of what I'm feeling on the inside, and I think true badassery is when we can meld the 2 together. I feel like a badass. I'm projecting that, and people are projecting it back to me. It's like, I remember fairly recently, like, in the last couple years, I said to somebody, oh, I'm an author. And they're like, oh my god.
Mahara Wayman [00:12:44]:
You're an author. Because they were thinking I've you You know, that I'm gonna my book's gonna be read by Oprah, and everybody's talking about it. And I didn't say anything other than, you know, I'm an author, But I could see the wheels turning, and their perception of what it means to be an author is quite different to what mine was. Mine was like, Yeah. I just finished I just hit the self publish on on Amazon, and apparently, I'm an author now. But it's just interesting that so many of us struggle with finding With understanding who we are, and when the world reflects it back to us, sometimes we don't even believe it. Like, people say, oh my gosh, Maher. Look at you.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:20]:
You're a podcaster, and you're you're this and you're that. And I'm like, oh, I am? Actually, I'm just trying to figure this shit out. Like, I'm just I'm just Whatever. So great story. So you spent a long time in Hollywood.
Chana Studley [00:13:34]:
Yeah. I guess 20 years you know, 16 of it was in America, but it was in England before that. Yeah. It was it was fun. I mean, I traveled a lot. I went to A lot of places I wouldn't have normally gone to, like, you know, 3 months in Texas or, you know, 6 months in Australia. It was, you know, it was, Yeah. It was got paid silly money to do silly things with with really famous people.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:56]:
Sounds Quite wonderful. What's one of the biggest things that you learned about yourself in those 16 years of traveling the world, thinking on your feet, Hanging with the famous people, getting paid silly money to do silly things.
Chana Studley [00:14:10]:
Mhmm. I think that resilience thing is is was a big part of it because I mean, there are plenty of people who would have, you know, happily taken my job. I think It goes right back to my training in college. I did textiles in college, and I was really provided with a kind of encyclopedic knowledge of Tools and techniques and methods and, you know, what works and what doesn't. And one of the things we used to say was, The impossible we can do today, the really impossible, you have to wait till tomorrow. Okay? And and that was a constant thing because my whole job was, problem solving, You know, making prototypes. You know? I made a let's say, I made wings for John Travolta, for example. There there is no, like, Pattern or kit you can go by of, like, wings for a 6 foot 4 man.
Chana Studley [00:15:01]:
You know? Like, you know, I had to I had to study books of birds and and, like, work out and tell the mechanic what to make for me so I could you know, which feathers are gonna work, and I could make them look beautiful, but then they had to move. They had to, you know, flex in and out like a bird's wing. So, you know, they're all gonna go, you know, like that, so I had to work out what to base them on, which kinda netting and, you know, a lot of technical Trying, you know, r and d, we call it, like, research and development. And then I've gotta take it with me to the location, and then it's gotta work, you know, and then, You know, on the day it's gotta work. And if it doesn't, which I had one time when it didn't, that's a story. And, you know, it's It's really everybody's looking at you, and you just gotta, you know, you gotta be able to do it and pro you know, produce what you say you're going to. And so when they come to you and say, can you make this? And you're like, yeah. Okay.
Chana Studley [00:15:53]:
I can do that for you, or no. I can't. That's not possible. So I learned to, if it wasn't possible, I learned to say no because later on, I I I learned from Experience that it's gonna come back on me if it if it doesn't work. I I can tell you a quick story where that happened. So, The wings I made for John Travolta, I I made about 4 or 5 different sets because there's someone who's flying supposedly, and there's someone who's, you know, like, walking or or you know? And the 1st time you see him in the movie, it's called Michael. It's a silly movie about him being an angel. And and so the hero shot they Call it hero shot the 1st time the main character, you know, appears on on the on the screen.
Chana Studley [00:16:35]:
And he's walking downstairs. He just has boxer shorts on, and the the wings are glued to his Skin, which I've had to glue every little feather on, which you never see. Right? And, and the You know, imagine wings that are gonna lift a 6 foot man off the ground. The the the, main feathers are, like, you know, this wide. And there's no white bird in the world with feathers that long. And if there were, they're not gonna let silly Hollywood people have them. Right? So I had to fabricate them out of, They're they're molded out of plastic and painted and to look like feathers. But they're hard you know, they're they're a little bit flexible, but they're they're plastic.
Chana Studley [00:17:12]:
Right? So, I I mean, think about when you walk down some stairs with a a long coat or a long skirt, it's gonna drag on the steps behind you. Right? So I knew as he came down the steps, These wings are going to go smash on on the steps. And Nora Ephron was the director, lovely woman. You know, she she was amazing. And I said, Nora, The these wings are gonna smash on the steps. She's going, no. No. They're beautiful.
Chana Studley [00:17:35]:
They're beautiful. Yeah. You did a great job. I said, I know they're beautiful, but I think they're gonna, you know, smash on the steps as you're walking down. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. So we're going to shoot the scene, and because it's the 1st scene with John wearing the wings, all the big Wigs from LA have flown out to Texas. They're all sitting in there, you know, directors' chairs with their names on it, whatever.
Chana Studley [00:17:56]:
No. And they're all sitting there waiting, and Nora shouts, And John walks down the steps. Crash. Crash. Crash. Crash. And the sound guy comes running in with his, like, headphones popping off, and Nora's screaming, you know, because she's not gonna take responsibility. And I'm like, yes, Nora.
Chana Studley [00:18:16]:
She's like, sit now. And I'm like Yeah. You know? And John's upset. I mean, he was the sweetest person, but now he looks, you know, like and I I had to take the wings off him, which have taken me, like, an hour to stick on him. And I literally had to cut through the middle, safety pin them up a few inches. I swear you can see the safety pins on the movie. And the and the 1st AD is screaming at me because 100 of 1,000 of dollars are floating through the air while they're waiting for me to fix these things. You know? And the feathers are, like, now messed up, and I, you know, safety pin them up and stick them back on his back, and he and they shoot it.
Chana Studley [00:18:49]:
You know, nobody would know if I didn't say anything, but I I was like I remember I was doing this. I was thinking, yeah, because I couldn't say anything to her because I can't embarrass her in front of, you know, all her bosses. And, and I remember then thinking, that's it. This is ridiculous. I'm gonna go to Safeways and buy groceries. This is I don't wanna jump on this anymore because that only lasts a few minutes, and then, John John and I became friends again. So it all worked out. And Nora was one of the sweetest people.
Chana Studley [00:19:17]:
She gave me a beautiful gift at the gift at the end of the movie, a book. And, she because it was the 1st special effects movie she'd ever made, so it kinda held her hand through a lot of it. But, yeah, there that was one moment when I was like, I hate this. I'm out of here, but I didn't. I did it my best. Fixed it.
Mahara Wayman [00:19:34]:
What a great story. I mean, I've actually met John Travolta as well. I was an extra in a movie, and My agent neglected to tell me that I was actually gonna have to dance. I'm a dancer. I was a dancer in this movie, so I showed up. He said just just an extra part Dressed like a in a nightclub outfit club clubbing. You're just gonna be standing in line. So I had I showed up with these Ridiculous high heels like I would if I were a 20 year old going to, you know, a club.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:05]:
Mhmm.
Chana Studley [00:20:06]:
And then
Mahara Wayman [00:20:06]:
I was told that I had to do a little tap dance with him. And I'm like, I can't tap I can't even stand in these shoes, much less tap dance in them. So somebody let me wear flat shoes, and I'm trying to tap you know, do a little tap, and Shoe kinda slid off, and I just thought to myself, Calgon, take me away. Like, I don't I'm this is I'm not even getting paid anything decent. Like, As an extra, it's just, whatever, couple $100. But I remember thinking, I just wanna be swallowed up. Can I just be beamed out?
Chana Studley [00:20:32]:
Just wanna
Mahara Wayman [00:20:33]:
you know, the embarrassment and just beamed up. But Don was amazing. He was funny, and, actually, it was the worst movie ever made. I don't even think it got released. Thank you, god. But, funny story. But, again, just linking this back to being a badass, when the chips are down, We find a way. Right? Even if the way is to say, I'm sorry.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:55]:
Give me 10 minutes, or I need 30 minutes to fix this Or, you know,
Chana Studley [00:20:59]:
of course.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:59]:
Correct. That's really the sign of being badass is when you can go, okay. Time to step up. Right? Right. Yeah. Nice story. Nice story. So after Hollywood, you moved to where?
Chana Studley [00:21:16]:
Art of Israel. I'll I'm here in Jerusalem right now. Been here 14 years now. Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:21:22]:
Awesome. Talk to us about This I've mentioned it in your introduction that you had some Tragic events happen. And as you were sitting, trying to sort of navigate your way through this, your body, your brain Kind of took over and did and did some work on its own. If that's a I'm not sure if that's the right way to explain it, but can we talk about that a bit? Because that's pretty magnificent No matter how you cut it.
Chana Studley [00:21:52]:
Yeah. Yeah. It was, it was in my early twenties, and I was the first time, my skull was fractured in the nightclub. Some young man wanted to dance with me. I didn't know him. He was putting his hands where he shouldn't. I told him to get lost, And the last thing I remember is his hand on the back of my head, and he smashed my head into a concrete pillar. I was unconscious only for, I don't know, a minute or Something, but I lost my eyesight for a day, and it was in the emergency room, and it was pretty scary.
Chana Studley [00:22:20]:
But I was a student, and it was kinda one of those things. It was the Eighties, you know, as a punk rocker, you know, just one of the things that kinda happens. And, and then 3 years later, I was mugged by 3 men who 6 o'clock in the evening, I was walking near my home. It was already dark because it was the winter, and they came from nowhere, Slam me on the ground, beat the living daylights out of me. I I'm guessing they wanted money, which I didn't really have any in. So I I really thought I was gonna die. I I can remember feeling the air running out of my lungs and thinking if I can't catch another breath, I'm going to die. Or if they have a knife, I'm going to die.
Chana Studley [00:22:54]:
And the weird thing was I had An out of body experience, which I guess is quite normal when you're going through something traumatic like that. And I could actually I I remember looking down on myself seeing them beat me. It was Quite, weird. And then I this this was, I say, in the early eighties, so PTSD wasn't even really recognized at that moment. It Just just going into the DSM that time, you know, for Vietnam Vietnam soldiers and and people in combat. So in Manchester, Nobody knew about it. I basically, my treatment was have a cup of tea, go home, and walk it off. You know, that that was really my treatment.
Chana Studley [00:23:29]:
And so for the year after that, I wasn't eating. I wasn't Sleeping. I I was, you know, just probably even doing what they call self harm today. I I was punching the wall in absolute frustration and anger because I was stuck in reliving and reliving the story, and and my periods actually stopped, which is quite common when someone's in, you know, high stress, because that's a luxury. You know, the body is very efficient, so it's, you know, using all the, finite resources it had To to keep me functioning. And so my doctor sent me to, a psychiatrist at the, Royal Infirmary, and I remember it took me 2 panic attacks just to get there and because I was barely leaving the house. And the psychiatrist wanted me to tell the story. So I told it the first time, And then she's like, tell me again.
Chana Studley [00:24:15]:
And I remember thinking, you stupid cow. Didn't you hear it the first time? And that was for treatment back then, was tell the story. They call it flooding therapy. You tell it over and over and over and over again. And I remember thinking, but I do that at home. I need you to help me to not do that. I I need out of this, and I can't find my way out. And, I think I only went to 2 appointments because I thought I I just wasn't worth it.
Chana Studley [00:24:38]:
You know, the panic of just Leaving the house and getting there was not worth what she was offering, and that's the only time I ever went for professional help. So when it came up a year anniversary, I decided Manchester was the problem. I should move to London. I moved down to London, started working in the theater, and then I was attacked again. A A young boy threw a bicycle at my head whilst I was riding home from the theater, broke my neck. And thank god not the spinal cord, but the c two and c three, the the, vertebrae just below your skull would crack through. I think the spinal cord was bruised, and I, you know, I went down pretty hard and fast and quick that time because I now knew the world was a scary, dangerous place. You know, if you leave your house, you're gonna get hurt.
Chana Studley [00:25:19]:
And and if you said to me, oh, Don't worry. I'll come to the park with you. We'll go to a painting class. We'll do something fun. I'm like, no. No. No. Because I had police reports and X rays to prove the world's a scary place.
Chana Studley [00:25:30]:
Right? So I knew that if I were to leave my house, I was gonna get hurt. I'd be run over by a bus or something. And so I finally reached out for help because I did train as a counselor when I was in college, so I think it took me a long time to work out why didn't I ask for help earlier. And I think as a coach or a counselor, you know, I I was kinda thinking and all that stuff in Hollywood, which actually came afterwards, but it was like I had this, we're thinking that I should be able to handle this. I should know. I know what I'm doing. I help other people. I should be able to get through this.
Chana Studley [00:26:05]:
And so thank god finally I reached out to some amazing women in our crisis center, and they kinda scooped me up and helped me get back on my feet and really, helped me to use all my experiences to help other people. And and the training I had, they kinda built on that and turned me into a counselor and, I'm very I'm truly grateful to those women. And in fact, I remember one of the first things I remember one of them saying to me, she said, are you ready to let of your story.
Mahara Wayman [00:26:32]:
So we're gonna take a short break right now, but I'll be back with my guest within 60 seconds. Ladies, unlock your inner badass and transform Form your life with my monthly subscription workshop. For just $47 a month, you'll have exclusive access to work closely with me, Mahara Wayman, as we dive deep into all things badass from personal development to conquering your goals. Imagine Waking up every day with confidence, purpose, and a smile that radiates your newfound strength. Take advantage of this badass opportunity and join us todayatwww.mindfulnesswithmahara.com and start your journey toward a happier, more confident you. Smile when no one is looking. You've earned it.
Chana Studley [00:27:21]:
And I thought and and what I heard her say was, it didn't hurt, it didn't happen, and get over it. Right? And in my head, I was screaming, but it does hurt, and it did happen, and I come again over here. But what she what she said when I come down and I was able to hear what she was saying, It was like all that trauma had kinda become my identity. I was the girl who was mugged 3 times. You know, I could manipulate any conversation to get it around to me and my troubles. Right? And she taught me that I'm more than my story. I'm more than what happened to me, and she helped me kinda step out of that and come back to who I really am, which is, You know, that strong place before all those thoughts and all that remembering and all those memories which is passing through. So, Yeah.
Chana Studley [00:28:04]:
It was it it kind of built me I think it it's funny. It it's I'm not what happened to But it it was very instrumental in in my path of where I am now, because it's really helped me to help other people.
Mahara Wayman [00:28:20]:
I think first of all, thank you for sharing your story. And I think what's so powerful in your story is the recognition that it is a story, and you got to choose what that's the relationship that you had with that story. And, you know, communication is so it it only works if you actually hear what the person is saying. Right? This is something that I'm working on and have learned quite a bit in the in recent years, especially with my training, which is just because I say it, doesn't mean that they hear it. Just because I say the sky is blue, doesn't mean that my husband heard the sky is blue. Just because I say, oh, no. We're having mac and cheese for dinner, it Doesn't mean that's what the chicken here or whatever. Mhmm.
Mahara Wayman [00:29:08]:
That's a hard one. You know, I really applaud you for being able to, In that moment, sit and give her a chance to really explain.
Chana Studley [00:29:17]:
Mhmm.
Mahara Wayman [00:29:17]:
Because to I mean, that that's key. Right? Learning Learning that is key. Right? Learning that we can change our story, or we can view our story differently, or we can Forgive ourselves for believing what we thought the story meant at that time.
Chana Studley [00:29:32]:
Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:29:33]:
And I think forgiveness is a is a big component of that. So you are now on a mission to make a difference and help other people that have gone through this. What have you learned about yourself now or recently in this mission.
Chana Studley [00:29:51]:
Yeah. It's funny for that story was so real to me for so long that if anybody challenged it, it was quite threatening. But what I see now is what happened to me is It's like I'm not in denial, but depending what state of mind I'm in, how I remember it is completely different. Like, I can tell you that story now because I'm in a fairly okay good mood, and I can See it with understanding and even compassion. Like, the the guys that hurt me, it wasn't personal. They didn't know me, but they were doing the best they could with the thinking they had in that moment. It's not an excuse. It's an explanation.
Chana Studley [00:30:38]:
Now if I were to tell that story from a low mood from from from some kind of misery, I'm crying, you're crying, it's a disaster. Right? So The the the facts or what actually happened, it's gone. It doesn't exist anymore, but I'm not in denial about it. But how I my perspective of it now is happening in this moment. So what I know now is that I can never be broken. Because if I'm in this moment where I have everything I need, that I am, I am the the real me isn't my body, isn't my my career or, you know, the books I've written or any of that stuff. I'm I'm that place, that infinite, loving energy before the formation of all these memories and thoughts. And once I started learning that thought is always moving, It's a spiritual energy that's always moving through.
Chana Studley [00:31:33]:
But even if we have a funky thought or I remember something, you know, sad or bad from the past, It's just passing through. I don't have to engage with it. I don't have to even listen to it if it's really negative. It's not me. It's just like a commentary, like a ticker tape of information going by. So the more I've kind of, become an observer of that, I've actually found out who I really am because I used to think I was the story and and the thoughts. You know, if I thought it, it must be true. No.
Chana Studley [00:32:04]:
It's just nonsense. They say we have, like, I don't know, 80 or 90,000 thoughts a day, probably more than that, and most of it is nonsense. I've I've realized now that most of my thinking is completely unreliable, You know, the so it's not worth listening to. And that is one of the blessings of the work I do now is I've seen how I've actually lost interest in so much of my own thinking, and therefore, it's created space, for fresh and new. And if I do get a funky thought, because everybody can, life still happens. You know? I can hold it much more lightly, You know? And it's not not take it so seriously. And in that better place, that better state of mind, common sense kicks in and will tell me when to, you know, listen to an important thought, like do your taxes or eat or you know, it's it's not I don't come and blob on the sofa by doing it this way. It just becomes more, fresh and new instead of being stuck in the old reliving and reliving stuff.
Mahara Wayman [00:33:04]:
What a powerful understanding, and I've said it. It comes up in my work quite a bit. And I remember saying it in a group setting, and I said I said, guys, just because you think it doesn't mean it's true. And I remember 1 woman, her face just fell, and I thought she was going to Mhmm. I thought she was gonna Get really upset, but what she said was, oh my god. I think my world just changed. Really? Just because I think it doesn't make it real or doesn't make it true? And I'm like, Really? And it it sparked this beautiful conversation. But to your point, Hannah, man, it takes discipline, I think, To sit quietly and let the thoughts go through because that's not what we're used to.
Mahara Wayman [00:33:43]:
At least it's not what I'm used to. I'm used to questioning everything and Putting my my actions up as a mirror against what society has asked of me. Am I measuring up? If I don't have this thought, then who am I? Right? Because I've had a lifetime of dis of seeing myself as this way. And if I take that away, then who am I? And to your point, we I am you are this beautiful spiritual being that has chosen to be in this body. Right. I'm so much more than the shirt I'm wearing, the size I am, the house I live in. Mhmm. But it's it can be a difficult lesson to learn.
Mahara Wayman [00:34:21]:
Sometimes it takes real pain and tragedy to get there. Sometimes it doesn't, but, thank you for sharing your story about that and recognizing That it is okay to look at life through a different lens. And often when we do, wow, everything is so much lighter. You know, I actually you sit up tall, and you're like, wow. I love the day. It's raining. It's all good. Like, it it really is it can be just like that.
Mahara Wayman [00:34:51]:
You know, an instant change. Beautiful. Mhmm. Mhmm. Can we talk about your books?
Chana Studley [00:34:57]:
Yeah. Please.
Mahara Wayman [00:34:58]:
Tell me about your books.
Chana Studley [00:35:02]:
Yeah. My books are novels, which is still kind of makes me smile because I hadn't Written and think since high school. So when I started writing about, gosh, about 6 years ago now, I think the first one came out, You know, they they say everybody has 1 book in them, you know, 1 novel in them. And so for a while, people have been saying to me, oh, you should write a book about your Hollywood, you know, adventures, or you should Write a book about your trauma, or you should write a book about, you know, living in different countries, you know, all the things you've done. And so I kinda thought, Yeah. Okay. I'll do that, but I I'm not a writer. Right? This is another story.
Chana Studley [00:35:41]:
I'm not a writer. I can't even spell. You know? In in England, we take exams in each subject when you're 16. I I took mine 4 times in English language, and I I I got 4 d's. So I had I knew I had other talents, like, in my hands and being creative, but I never saw myself as an academic person. So when I wrote the 1st book, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't tell a single person. I just wrote it on my computer.
Chana Studley [00:36:08]:
And then I have a friend here who's a a book developer. And so I I told her you know, I I confided her one day. I said, I've written something. I'd like you to look at it, but it's probably terrible. So Please be nice to me when you tell me I'm wasting my time. Right? I tie I really begged her to be gentle with it. And I remember when I I I was you know, she said, yes. Send it over.
Chana Studley [00:36:30]:
So it was on Google Docs or something. And so I remember looking at the computer, and I'm gonna press send. You know? I tell you, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Much harder than all that Hollywood stuff because I'm about to I know. I felt so vulnerable. You know? Because, you know, part of you wants to be imagining your, you know, your Book tour, what you're gonna wear on your book tour, okay, and your prizes you're gonna get. And the other one's thinking, is this crap? Who am I kidding? Right? You know? So I just thought, okay. Just press send.
Chana Studley [00:37:02]:
And a couple of days later, she said she said, I read the first couple of chapters. She said it's really good. She said it needs work, But I wanna work on it with you. And so she helped me do she guided me and helped me do some stuff, and I put Everything I had into that 1st book because I thought it was gonna be the only book I write. You know, I put all my juicy Hollywood stories in dancing with John Travolta, you know, like the All the trauma and and the, you know, the getting up. This but I wrote it with, I used my stories, but for, another character. I called her Deborah. She's like an alter ego.
Chana Studley [00:37:35]:
So she does all the suffering and and and the searching and the and the happy ending. And then I still had it on a manuscript, so I, a lot of the, like, the the psychological ideas that I share with my clients, I wanted another friend to read it just to make sure I'd kinda got the, you know, the presentation of it correct. So I took it over to my friend's house. I think it was a Thursday night, and I dropped it off for her to to read and give me some feedback before I published it. And Friday morning, I woke up With the idea for 4 or 5 more books, it was almost painful. It was like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. You know? It was and I was like, ah, look at that. And I just saw all these stories, and it was it was like a fountain had been switched on.
Chana Studley [00:38:22]:
And I think Once I got past the idea I'm not a writer, it just like the fountain was released and and off it went. And so, I've written 3 of them now. So the first one is called the myth of low self esteem. Being very English, when I moved to California and all these people talking about their low self esteem, you're kidding me? In a microphone in front of 300 people, you do not have low self esteem. Right? So I'm not saying there isn't such a thing as self esteem. It goes up and down. We all have moods. It's but it's not who you are.
Chana Studley [00:38:56]:
You know? It's it's not a life sentence. It's not, you know, it's not a definition of who we are. So that one's mostly about the recovery from trauma. So as a result of all those injuries I had, I had chronic pain for 25 years. You know, I had a monthly chiropractic appointment for 25 years. I was paralyzed several times. I was rushed to the hospital from several movie sets. You know, I Could not move my body from my chest down, sciatica pain.
Chana Studley [00:39:22]:
I also had, IBS and psoriasis. I had a lot of physical issues over the years, Which I now see was my body screaming at me to slow down. I was in so much stress and anxiety in my head trying to not make a mistake, trying to be perfect in this weird job. You know that my body was, like, tightening up and screaming at me. But at the time, when I would go to a doctor or a chiropractor and I tell about my injuries. They go, oh, well, that's why your back hurts. That's why you have sciatica pain. And I'm not a doctor, so I would believe them.
Chana Studley [00:39:53]:
And then after I kinda came across the ideas that I share with my clients, which is called the three principles, I did a course in London, to be a practitioner, 6 month course, and at the end of it, all my pain gone away. 25 years of chronic pain has been gone for 8 years now. The IBS is gone. Chronic allergies have gone. Skin problems have gone. And I suddenly thought, wonder if I could recreate this in other people. Wouldn't that be amazing? So many people are suffering, you know, with chronic health issues, and this is, you know, before COVID. And I did.
Chana Studley [00:40:26]:
I did some case studies The 5 people who had various things like, knee pain, migraines, you know, IBS, and they all started to get better too. When their thinking slowed down like mine did, the body didn't need to scream at them anymore. So I took Deborah from the first book, and She carries on and now becomes a pain coach. And so I kind of fictionalized all the clients I've worked with and put them in a fictional Pain clinic and they're doing, you know, experimental research, and she's gets to do some research in the book. And so the It's a it's a fictional setting, but I'm I'm using actual clients I've worked with and my my own, you know, experience with Paint painter and becoming pain free. And so, and there's a romance at the end of it. And, you know, so it's it's always have a happy ending. And then the 3rd that that one's called painless.
Chana Studley [00:41:17]:
And then the third one, which I, published this year is called very well. And, Deborah now becomes a minor character, and I'm bringing other people in. And this one's set in Los Angeles. This one is about a woman, who's going into menopause. And she has 2 daughters who are dealing with one's dealing with PMDD, which is a very severe, premenstrual, hormonal diagnosis, and, the other daughter is dealing with postpartum depression. So I picked those characters so that they, you know, Kinda covered most hormonal issues that women go through. So, the mother, she discovers these ideas, and she meets Deborah. And and, she her menopause symptoms go away, which is what happened for me.
Chana Studley [00:42:04]:
I I was going through a horrendous time with menopause when I came across these ideas. Brain fog so bad I couldn't find words in my head. You know, hot flushes every 20 minutes. It was hard to function. That's all gone too. So I wanted to write the book to help other women, and I've had many women read the book now who are having either the monthly hormonal Difficulties or postpartum or menopause, and their symptoms have gone away. And the book was, Amazon number one bestseller for a couple of days, which. Yeah.
Chana Studley [00:42:37]:
I'll take that one. And I still have ideas for books 4, 5, and 6, stories, and I'm currently working on a textbook. Kind of textbook because it's it's not fiction. I have collected over 45 stories of people around the world who have covered from severe mental health diagnosis through these ideas, from psychosis to OCD to ADHD to weird and wonderful phobias, you name it, And I've collected the stories together to show that we can never be broken, that human resilience is who we are. You don't have to work on it and get it. That resilience is there underneath all that stinky thinking. So whether someone is, got a phobia or OCD or whatever they're doing, it's just it really is a coping mechanism for the misunderstanding. They're they're up in their heads, and they're not present in their lives.
Chana Studley [00:43:30]:
And the more people slow down and become present in their lives, they don't need The medications and the treatments and the psychiatrist anymore, and they can live their best lives. And I've got all these stories today as examples of that. So I just well, great resource, and I've, I'm just having a 1st draft published now so I can see it, because it's gonna be quite a big book, I think, because it's so Full of so much hope. Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:43:53]:
So exciting. A couple things came to me while you were sharing that story. Number 1, I understand when you said you were scared to hit the send button to your friend. My first book It's called essential insights to living your best life. And it's basically, I can't even remember, 8 or 10 Short stories of my own life where I had a a big lesson, a big opportunity to learn and grow. And When I I sitting on my front lawn, looking at it was all done. I had done everything myself, Formatted it. You name it.
Mahara Wayman [00:44:29]:
Everything. I had a a writing coach that helped me to edit it, but other than that and it took me about 2 hours of staring at the publish button because I self published on Amazon. And all these things, just like you said, were going through my mind like, wow. This is it. I can't take this back. Like, it's out there, and I'm it there's very vulnerable things in in this book. And I pressed I finally pressed publish, and I burst into tears. 56 years 57 years old or 56 years old at the time sobbing like an idiot.
Mahara Wayman [00:45:01]:
Not like an idiot, but just sobbing like Like a human on my front lawn. What have I done? Like, what the like, what have I done? And So I I I could picture that. Right? I could totally picture that. And I think it's really I think it's very smart of you To have created a character that goes through a development and goes through a journey because, you know, Deborah, your character is you. And as you grow and learn and experience, So does your character. So I am excited to find those books and read them. I wanna get caught up. But I have to ask, the 3 principles, Is that you came up with the 3 principles, or is this based on something that you've done or read or experienced yourself? Could you could we talk about that?
Chana Studley [00:45:48]:
Yeah. Thank you. No. It's not it's not my, creation. I I would would not take Credit for it. Three principles, is a new paradigm in psychology that's been around for about 30 years. A man called Sydney Banks, had what you could call an enlightenment experience. He's, he was originally from Scotland and ended up in Canada in Vancouver.
Chana Studley [00:46:12]:
And the the story goes, it was the seventies. You know, everybody was searching, you know, for enlightenment, and, you know, people were, you know, fleeing across the border from America to avoid the Vietnam draft. And so, you know, these hippies were hanging out and, you know, tuning out and all that kind of stuff. And he and his wife were having some difficulties, so his wife dragged him to a kind of self realization weekend or something, you know, bash the pillows and all that stuff they used to do. And he was hating it. And he walked outside, and there was another man who'd been dragged by his who was hating it. So these 2 guys are outside probably having a cigarette, and, And they started talking, and Sid, Sid started saying how he'd spent most of his life feeling very insecure. And this stranger said to him, you're not insecure.
Chana Studley [00:46:58]:
You just think you are. And, boom, you know, Sid's mind goes like this and he had some kind of, you know, very powerful experience where he saw through the nature of thought. He saw that like we were saying earlier, we are not our thinking. We are that place before thought forms into the ideas and memories and all all the things we we have, you know, use for. And, he he really changed. And apparently, he said to his wife, you know, maybe we should pack our bags because we're not gonna be Living here in this little island just off Vancouver, we're gonna be traveling the world and helping people. And he actually ended up writing 6 books. He, apparently, a a 100 people a day were coming off the ferry just to hear him speak in those 1st few weeks.
Chana Studley [00:47:43]:
He ended up teaching at MIT. I mean, this guy had, like, an 8th grade education, and and MIT kept bringing him back to to teach the physicists. He had a a there was a Sydney Bank's Institute at Virginia University for a while, and he it it's now spread to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You know, it's It's a huge community now. There's a conference in London every year with, you know, thousands of people go. And as and if you're thinking, how come I haven't heard of this? Like, that's what I thought when I first discovered, like, how come I never heard of this before? Because I got stuck in the self help. I'll let the bookstore like everybody else, and I've been I'd done the Enneagram and Course in Miracles, and I'd done so much. And I thought I'd tried it all.
Chana Studley [00:48:23]:
And what made this different for me was that I I knew the problem was in my thinking. I knew the problem wasn't out there anymore. I'd done enough kinda personal work and transformational work to know that not, you know, the football team or the music or the boyfriend is not creating, you know, how I feel. I knew it I knew it was my thinking about that, But I thought I had to do something about my thinking. And I had a a a kit of tools like expressive writing and meditation and, you know, it's in Pilates and yoga. I lived in Southern California. I had a lot of tools, you know, to to share with people and it was exhausting. It was like I was really good at thought hygiene because I had been in some very dark places, and I knew what negative thinking can do to you and your life, And I didn't wanna go back there.
Chana Studley [00:49:14]:
So I was armored with all these weapons to, you know, keep that bad thought away, keep that bad thought away, be positive, you know, affirmations. When I first heard Sydney Banks speak, there's lots of videos of him talking on on YouTube. And, basically, he was saying his thought is always moving. It's a spiritual energy, so you don't actually have to do anything because every funky thought you've ever had, every bright idea you've ever had, Every broken heart has moved on, and it's gonna move anyway no matter what you do, like clouds. You could say, oh, I want those white clouds there and those gray clouds there. They're gonna move anyway. Right. And I just thought, oh, thank god.
Chana Studley [00:49:54]:
Because I also think that's why my body was in so much pain because it was exhausting trying to keep all these Negative thoughts away as if they were gonna hurt or harm me. And now I know that thought is neutral. There is no good or bad thought until I have a reaction to it. So once I know that, It's so freeing that I don't have to do anything about my thinking. So my my favorite prop, I I just picked it up, is a snow globe. Right? So all that, busy work I was doing trying to kick, like, the the meditation and the writing and the, you know, all that stuff, it was like shaking up the snow globe. But what do you have to do to make the snow globe stop? Nothing. Right? You stop shaking it.
Chana Studley [00:50:39]:
Right? And that's and and and like my body had wisdom to heal itself, you know, all those injuries I have, all those broken bones, and the the wisdom on body heal healed itself. And when I was writing my 2nd book, I saw this big insight. I thought, whatever creative wisdom, loving intelligence there is that runs the universe, whatever you wanna call that, If it created my body with a, a healing system, why wouldn't it ever created my mind with a healing system? It did. And if we just have the patience to slow down and and I don't think you have to I I don't meditate. I used to, looking at before I I don't even have to meditate anymore. Just the understanding and the insight that we are Healthy. We have innate health. We have innate resilience.
Chana Studley [00:51:24]:
We cannot be broken. I can get caught up in some stinky thinking sometimes, but it's just it's an illusion. Like, my work Work in Hollywood was all about, you know, illusions. My mind has a better special effects department than anything, you know, me or Steven Spielberg could come up with. And so when I know it's just an illusion and it's just passing through, I don't have to take it seriously. I don't have to get upset about it. And so I rarely get into a low mood anymore. And if I do, I know it's gonna pass.
Chana Studley [00:51:53]:
And that has been such freedom, and I think that's why my pain went away. Think that's why I can talk about my trauma, and it doesn't bother me anymore. And that's what I've been sharing with clients for about, you know, 888 years now, I think. And and that's what the book's About the books were all pointing to this idea, this this this truth that, that we're not broken and we don't need fixing. And and with insight and understanding, you can be free of whatever has happened in the past.
Mahara Wayman [00:52:21]:
Alright, folks. You heard it here. I'm sure it may not be the 1st time you heard her speak, but, oh my god, so much wisdom and power in in those statements. And by the way, I think the I see a book title's gotta be the I'm Not Broken or You Can't Break Me
Chana Studley [00:52:38]:
because that's where
Mahara Wayman [00:52:39]:
like, I I keep coming back to it. Oh, that's a great title. Wow. Thank you so much. This has been such a fascinating conversation, and I wanna just honor all of this all of the the stories and the wisdom that you've brought to the show today. Folks, be sure to check the show notes. I will drop everything that I can, including links to those amazing books for you because This is just such a great way to look at life and and and a way to, a way to forgive ourselves for buying the bullshit. Right? Buying into the bullshit, which is what so many of us do.
Mahara Wayman [00:53:14]:
Thank you again for joining me on the show today. Those of you I know that there's lots of wisdom in here, and I can't wait to hear what resonated with you the most. So please do drop me a DM or drop some comments, about what resonated with you the most. And if you say, you know, that John Jarmonolten once had wings, then you missed that movie, Michael, because I actually saw it. My name is Mahara Wayman. This has been the art of badassery. And remember, you are worthy of happiness and freedom and a healthy body, So don't bind to the bullshit that anything else is the truth because that is that is the truth. Have an amazing week, everyone.
Mahara Wayman [00:53:57]:
I will see you next week on the Art of Badassery and Hannah. Have an amazing day. Thanks for joining me. Thank you for tuning in to the art of badassery. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and gained valuable insights to help unleash your inner badass. If you found this podcast helpful, please leave a rating or review on your favorite platform. Your feedback not only helps me improve the show, but it also helps others like yourself discover the podcast. Until next time, Keep embracing your authenticity and living life on your terms.
Mahara Wayman [00:54:34]:
Here's to you.
