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 looking. Welcome to the Art of Badassery podcast. My name is Mahara, and I am so excited to have Atusa join us for a second time on the show. Atusa is a shaman, transformational heart centered healer, spiritual guide, and best selling author. She's here today to share more about her incredible journey of badassery and, of course, to talk about her latest book, activating the divine human, which is now available.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:07]:
Atusa's work helps people release trauma and shift from fear based living to a peaceful, heart centered life. How beautiful is that? She's been described as a guiding light and a game changer. And today, she's here to light up our show once again. Atusa, welcome. I'm so excited.
Atousa Raissyan [00:01:26]:
Same here. Thanks for having me back. I'm so excited.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:29]:
So just as a heads up, folks, Etusa first graced my show in November of last year, and I was so I was so grateful for her vulnerability and her authenticity on that show. So feel free to after this one, go back and listen to that one because she's she's pretty cool. But can you give us a little bit of a background on why you feel you're a badass? Because that's what the show is all about. And then we're gonna jump into what you're doing today.
Atousa Raissyan [00:01:55]:
I would say I'm a badass, just because I live life in the moment, and I'm present, and I release pretty much all my identities and personas and roles in this life. So there's still, I think, maybe 1 or 2 that I'm still, you know, letting go gradually. But, Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:02:21]:
It wasn't always that way, though.
Atousa Raissyan [00:02:23]:
No. No.
Mahara Wayman [00:02:24]:
Can we go back and just talk about that for a little set the stage for your badassery?
Atousa Raissyan [00:02:30]:
Yes. So before all these started, I was pretty much in a place of fear. What I come to describe it now for people to better understand, I think pretty much since my birth, probably birth, and what I can remember very early in childhood, I was like a PTSD kid, and nobody knew what's going on in me because and it took me many years to see exactly how much fear I'm carrying. Imagine any given scenario from something very simple to something big. And in, like, a 10 second of doing something, I can come up with probably 5 or 10 different ways that things are gonna really go bad. Like, all the situation that something can happen. Like, even a simple, I'm getting my coffee. Like, I can come up with, like, 5 different things in that.
Atousa Raissyan [00:03:34]:
Just getting my coffee pot, putting it in the machine, 5 different scenarios of how, things can go wrong. I'm driving at an intersection. I'm letting the dog out. I'm walking with the dog. So those are simple stuff, but everything was, like, scenarios of fear. Now take that into work life, relationships, motherhood, all of that, which one of my personalities or roles in life that has, has given me the most challenge to release has been the role as a mom, because that one's still the, you know, it's it's been layers of fear that I'm letting go. But that's that's how it's been. And I think that's how I invite everyone to be a badass is that, again, if I can do it, you can do it.
Atousa Raissyan [00:04:26]:
If somebody having the fears that I have, the PTSD that I've had and has been able to let it go, anybody can do it.
Mahara Wayman [00:04:36]:
Wow. I can relate to that. Not from a place of PTSD, I don't believe, but from a place of self doubt. And some days, weeks, months are just fly by without anything. And other times, I will find myself kind of gasping in the middle of the day. Like and I realize that I'm on this bent of of, oh, just a bent of fear, I guess. Just imagining the words. And I have to consciously use tools that I now know to, you know, sort of calm myself down and rewrite the narrative in my head.
Mahara Wayman [00:05:10]:
So the fact that you've been living with this all your life and now have find found a way to sort of navigate it in a way that works for you is really is really brave and very courageous. So, yeah, total badass. And okay. So you've been through many you've done a lot of different things in your life before you got to being the shaman that you are today. Can you share with us a little bit about who you were before you discovered this this level?
Atousa Raissyan [00:05:38]:
Before. Yes. Who I was before was, I started out in Iran, and I, you know, my parents were divorced when I was really young. Probably, I think it was, 2, 3 ish when I, they got divorced, very contentious divorce. Then we went through the whole revolution of Iran, war in Iran, immigration to US. And then I went into like school college. I became an electrical engineer and I worked as an engineer for majority of my life, and got married and had a kid. And around when my son was about 2, 3, I, separated and started the process for divorce.
Atousa Raissyan [00:06:26]:
And that's pretty much when life, because all along this path, I had been sort of reading the works of these gurus and Rumi and all these other things, then trying to get to this place that they have found, you know, this place of just being here, being in the now, letting go of those thoughts, letting go of the fears. And, it was during that time that I couldn't work anymore. I could I would just stare at my computer screen and just could not write, could not read, could not do anything. And that's when I just stopped, took a pause, and I said, okay. This is not working. I need to do something else. And, sent out a bunch of resumes. I would send out the resumes every day and put different kind of jobs.
Atousa Raissyan [00:07:21]:
You know, I was qualified, overqualified, underqualified, and nothing. And it was a friend of mine. He said, you know, you have these skills you've taken, you know, you have the skills you've developed and you've taken classes for energy healing and you're, you know, master healer, whatever. Why don't you just start on that? And at that point, it was like, what do I have to lose? I'm not like I can't find any other job. My house is in foreclosure. What do I gotta lose? And that's when I said, okay. Let's create a website and let's put it out there. And at the same time, I had started, you know, doing my artwork, and somebody else said, hey.
Atousa Raissyan [00:08:08]:
Why don't you put your art out there? I'm like, okay. Again, what do I gotta lose at this point? And that's how everything then started from there. And as soon as I went into that place, it was so bright that everything else opened up. Everything like, I actually saw everything I knew on the, everything I learned, all my tools, everything just came together very naturally. And then the release of these things that I had hold on to for so long, it just started to go in probably a flood, I would say. It was just like everything. It's like, okay. It's time to to let it all out.
Atousa Raissyan [00:08:50]:
Let it all go. Cleaning house.
Mahara Wayman [00:08:52]:
Cleaning house. So good. So would you say then, what I'm hearing, is there was a you had to dive into this place of real trust. Trust that it was gonna be okay. Trust that trust in yourself and your abilities. Trust in your friends. Was there anything else that really came to you as an opportunity for growth in that moment where you where you knew, okay. Conscious decision.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:18]:
I need to either let this go, step further away from this thought, or step into this.
Atousa Raissyan [00:09:24]:
Can you recall? Trust is the perfect way. I actually had this conversation with a client, and they were saying, you know, you know, what do I need to do trust? I said, trust is a 247 practice. Like, if you're awake, that's the you gotta trust in whatever is happening in front of me right now is part of a bigger plan, bigger picture. Everything is good because everything is for my growth and for my highest good, and I'm gonna trust. No matter what's in front of me, I'm gonna trust that it's connected to something else, to a bigger picture, bigger plan. And I did. There were times and I was describing to her. I said that time that my house is in foreclosure, and I just started this new business.
Atousa Raissyan [00:10:10]:
And, you know, I would sit and literally just shake, you know, not shake, but, like, go back and forth, back and forth. And just in my head, I'm like, my eyes closed my eyes open. I trust, I trust, I will go and trust and trust. I trust. I let go and trust everything's from my, and it was constantly this, this was playing in my head constantly In the middle of the night when I would wake up, during the day, all the time.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:38]:
I really like that because I've noticed that I have this tendency. I get, what's it called when the song you can't get a song out of your mouth?
Atousa Raissyan [00:10:45]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:46]:
Well, I listen to music or I listen to books all day. I have tinnitus. I don't like to hear the buzzing, so I listen to stuff. And I find when I wake up to go to the washroom, I'll either start singing the song. Like, immediately, I'm either singing a lyric or I'm thinking about a book, and I'm just continuing the storyline in my head. But just when you were sharing that about the thinking I trust, I'm like, I wanna do that. I think I would rather rather than singing a song from the seventies, you know, this great beat song from the seventies, what would happen if I just had that in my head that okay. You heard it here first, folks.
Mahara Wayman [00:11:24]:
I'll keep you posted because I'm gonna start changing my dialogue in there my inner dialogue when when I don't realize it.
Atousa Raissyan [00:11:31]:
It works. It really works. And people, you know, they go practice mindfulness, practice these things. And they say, well, it's not working. Well, mindfulness is not a practice that you do just during a certain time of the day. It's 247. And this when you're saying trust, that is part of this mindfulness that I'm letting go of the fears. I'm letting go of the doubts.
Atousa Raissyan [00:11:56]:
I'm letting go of it all, and I'm trusting. I'm letting go and trusting. I'm surrendering and trusting. So that is a practice. And then imagine you do it all the time, then it becomes changes all those programming that's there already.
Mahara Wayman [00:12:14]:
So, so powerful. One of the things that I've noticed when it comes to changing the programming, this has worked for me and I share it with my clients as well, is giving myself permission to look at things with curiosity. Because the minute I look at it from a place of curiosity, the judgment seems to go. And I don't know about you, but I can be really hard on myself without even realizing that. You know? These these limiting beliefs, this narrative that we tell ourselves for whatever reason, we're not gonna go down that path. But when I was able to go, well, that's interesting. How come that look from my husband has triggered such annoyance, anger, whatever? Or how come that news article has affected me? So why am I so sad by that little clip that I just saw go across the screen? So when I came at things from a place of curiosity, first of all, it felt better, and I actually got answers. Right? So it's I think trust can play into that as well if we trust ourselves to to to know the answers or to to at least ask the question, we will.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:20]:
We will get what we need to know because life is happening for us. It's not happening to us.
Atousa Raissyan [00:13:26]:
Exactly. Exactly.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:28]:
So what have you been up to since I first chatted with you in November of last year?
Atousa Raissyan [00:13:34]:
Yes. What's been new is that, the book that I came on your show to talk about, that's done really well, and I'm super proud of that. Not just because of, like, the awards it's gotten, but more for the people that come and tell me, like, how much the book has helped them, and they carry it with them everywhere they go. And, you know, they go back to it. They've shared it with friends and family. So, you know, that was my intention when I put that book out there. The title said it change yourself, change the world. And I put it out there, all my tools that I use in my 1 on 1 sessions.
Atousa Raissyan [00:14:15]:
I wanted people to have that in their hand and to be able to use it for themselves. And so to see that vision, that dream come true, it's been really amazing. And now I also that got me to want to create a different experience for, multi author books and authors in general, such as myself that you're, you know, you're not going through regular publishing. It's more self publishing houses that you use. And I wanted a different experience, so I created a publishing company. And the goal for this and we just, you know, had our first book that as you mentioned in the intro, activating the divine human. And my goal for this book was to bring the collective. It wasn't like I went out and said, who wants to join and let it be open? I made the invitation to people and invited who was supposed to be part of this book and made it into a healing journey for all of them.
Atousa Raissyan [00:15:24]:
And they bonded, like, you know, people say they go to retreats. They bond with those people. This is like that. The they developed the sisterhood that it goes beyond this book, and that's what the energy of the book is. And, hopefully, who knows? I'm gonna publish another book through that same publishing house, and couple people have approached me. They wanna create their books and, you know, I've said I'm gonna help them out with that.
Mahara Wayman [00:15:54]:
So so good. Before we jump into more about this the book and the collaborative the collaborative effect and the power of collaboration, Can we just say, oh my god, celebrating you, celebrating Thank you. That's good. Celebrating you. So so powerful. I I think, you know, I think there's a misunderstanding in the world that in order to feel in order to celebrate or to feel successful, we have to do these amazing you know, like, you have to be on you have to be a best selling author on the New York Times bestseller list before you can consider yourself an author. Truthfully, my story, I get it, but I think a lot of us create the same stories in our heads. Yes.
Mahara Wayman [00:16:35]:
But I wanna call out that the minute we choose to be our authentic self, whether that means sitting quietly and smiling or putting your heart out there and writing a book and self publishing or just giving it away to people that you know in your community, for example. Both of those exemplify being badass and are worth celebrating. Right? I just wanna call that out. So the fact that it's
Atousa Raissyan [00:17:03]:
Thank you.
Mahara Wayman [00:17:04]:
So amazing. I would self publish my first book. I will probably self publish my second, but it is no it is no mean feat to just say I'm worth it to actually go ahead and do it. It's not even about the results of of whether you sell a copy or not. We know that in life, when we what what am I trying to say? There's a there's a residual payoff. When I smile at my neighbor, my neighbor smiles back. The energy in the world has changed. It just has, and that's all there is to it.
Mahara Wayman [00:17:37]:
When we put ourselves out there authentically and from a place of love, the world changes and so on and so on and so on. So I just wanted to little side note, say I'm proud of you. And
Atousa Raissyan [00:17:49]:
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. And what you said is exactly true when you move from your heart. That's exactly how I did this book. It just it came to me, and I put it out there, and it was received. And that's it. As far as I'm concerned, it's a done deal.
Atousa Raissyan [00:18:07]:
It's you know? So It's made its its way out there, and it's doing the work.
Mahara Wayman [00:18:13]:
That is that's powerful. So first of all, I do wanna highlight that you did the artwork for your new book. Do you have it? Can you show it?
Atousa Raissyan [00:18:21]:
Oh, yeah. Of
Mahara Wayman [00:18:22]:
course, she does.
Atousa Raissyan [00:18:24]:
The artwork for the other one was mine too, and this is mine.
Mahara Wayman [00:18:27]:
Awesome. What's the biggest challenge about publishing creating a publishing house?
Atousa Raissyan [00:18:36]:
The only challenge I would say with this one is that because of the way I was doing it, and I wanted to bring everybody together to really connect and that sisterhood, that bond, to create that bond, it required a lot more time and effort from me to be in it, to bring everybody together. And that's the only thing I miscalculated, you know, when I did the calculations in my head. So, yeah, it's gonna be easy. But I didn't see that one. Like, how much of my time was needed in there. But everything else, honestly, it just came together so naturally. And one of the things was that everything in this book was a collaborative effort. Like, meaning, even the cover art, the cover title, everything, it wasn't like I chose it and then went to them and said, okay.
Atousa Raissyan [00:19:38]:
Here's the book. I said, no. We are doing everything together. We're gonna decide everything together. And from the title, from the art, and, again, art took a little bit longer just because everybody had an input of what they wanted to see. I was creating it, but, again, it's like, well, I want it this way. I like this part. I don't want that part here.
Atousa Raissyan [00:20:02]:
So bringing all that together. And, also, there were a lot of times there were couple of the authors. I can probably, by top of my head, think of 4 people that, they wanted to quit because it was so hard. It was so hard to put their stories out there. All everybody was getting triggered, and I was helping them get triggered. I would put things in there for them to, like, in the group chat for them to get triggered. I said, let's bring these out, guys. We need to bring these out.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:31]:
K. I gotta jump in here and say, holy hell. That takes guts to do that because everybody on this journey has experiences of being triggered, and it is not comfortable. Yeah. And sometimes and I'm speaking totally for myself here. I will do the work, get triggered, do the work, and get to a place where I'm like, okay. I got that. I got this.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:53]:
I feel good. I don't wanna be triggered again. Please, god, universe, can I just have 6 months? And they're like, no. You can have 6 days. Right? And then some will happen. So I do wanna call out how brave it was for you to take that approach. But can you say now after the fact that it was worth it,
Atousa Raissyan [00:21:11]:
what you got from Yes. Yeah. Oh my god. Yes. So good. Yes. 100%. Yes.
Atousa Raissyan [00:21:17]:
Just the, energy of these guys, the amount of growth they had, and to see them now when this book came out, like, they're no words. They're honestly no words at all, and I'm proud of every single one of them. And they keep coming back. They was like, no. It's just I can't do. I'm like, you can do it. Let's have a chat. Let's have it.
Atousa Raissyan [00:21:45]:
Anybody that would say I do some quitting, like, let's have a chat. And I told them. I went on the group chat. I told everybody I had a meeting. I said, we are not going to publish this book until this is a ship. We're not gonna let anybody abandon this ship. This ship is making it to the destination with everyone in it. Everybody, the crew, everybody's going together.
Atousa Raissyan [00:22:09]:
If we have to push the date out, we're gonna push the date out because my goal is not to publish a book on a certain day. My goal is to get you guys from here to there, and everybody has to go.
Mahara Wayman [00:22:23]:
Alright. So did you realize that you were going to be in that role? Because to me, that sounds a little different than your average publisher. Right? That's not you're coaching as well. So Yeah. Was that a surprise to you that you ended up coaching and sort of being the mother figure? And I put that into words not you didn't say that, but I got this vision of you sort of car coraling corralling your group of women and saying, you got this. We can do this. There's a vision. Stick with the vision.
Mahara Wayman [00:22:52]:
You got this. I'm here for you. Was that a surprise?
Atousa Raissyan [00:22:55]:
It was not a surprise. Again, it was the amount of time it took. I think I underestimated the time of it time wise. It's like it's like, oh, yeah. This this you know, in my head, it's like, yeah. That's not good. That's gonna be easy. But there are 11 people that I'm trying to bring together with all their triggers, different triggers, to let go, be vulnerable.
Atousa Raissyan [00:23:23]:
And they're getting triggered, and I'm trying to get them from one point to another. So it took a lot of time and effort, but every single minute I spent on this book was worth it. Definitely.
Mahara Wayman [00:23:34]:
So so good. Were you also and and this is just for me out of curiosity's sake. With multi author books, is there one editor for the entire book, or does each author edit themselves or bring it you know, how does that actually work?
Atousa Raissyan [00:23:48]:
So that was the other thing, I tried to do because, again, my own feeling was that a lot of the multi author books, they don't go through a very thorough editing. For my own book, I did a very thorough editing for my solo book. So for this one, I wanted the same thing. So I actually made the team because that was also part of our bonding that everybody had to edit each other's work. And it wasn't just like I edit yours and that's it. So it had to go through multiple revisions of editing with different people in the group. That way, they also connected in that way. And then I had an editor that edited everybody's chapter, like, the whole book.
Mahara Wayman [00:24:33]:
Did you find that that process of editing each other was part of the triggering?
Atousa Raissyan [00:24:39]:
It was. Again, I did it all all for purpose. I said, you know, every but I I made a mandate. Like, everybody has to have at least 3 edits from 3 different people. And then that was the first round. Now second round, you're gonna do it again, but not use the first three. You're gonna use 3 different people for this round. So by that time, I mean, everybody had gotten, you know, all their I don't know if I can get all their shit out.
Atousa Raissyan [00:25:11]:
Okay. They got all their shit out and all their triggers out, and that's why, like, I mean, like, when the book came together and we were ready to publish, I went in there, like, when it was actually coming out. I said, anybody triggered right now? And everybody was like, nope. Just excited.
Mahara Wayman [00:25:29]:
So good. And it it's almost it's almost that what you've just described is is the healing journey Yeah. Of trust Yeah. Curiosity and action. Yeah. Trust, curio you know, that this idea of this is how this is how we feel better about our lives. This is how we feel better about ourselves. So exciting.
Mahara Wayman [00:25:50]:
Okay. So talk to us about the book. What are you what's the underlying message of the book?
Atousa Raissyan [00:25:57]:
The activating divine human, the underlying message is the subtitle, which is embracing our shadows as well as our light. Because, in my chapter in there pretty much describes the activating the divine self of how to bring that shadow and light together as one. Because when we're playing in this duality, that's where all the fears are happening. That's when all the roles and identities would play in our life. That's where it's happening. But if we come and embrace all of it as good. Again, the judge, actually, I talk about it in the book around about this judge role or judge identity that we all carry and which doesn't let us because it we keep playing it in here in the good and bad and the shadow and light. Once we look at everything is good, everything is right, then we're outside of this.
Atousa Raissyan [00:26:52]:
We can let these identities go because we don't need it. We can be just truly ourselves in every single moment and not let, you know, the stories of the past create stories in the future. We don't need to carry any of the stories anymore because there isn't a role or identity that goes along with the story.
Mahara Wayman [00:27:17]:
So so powerful. What's the biggest thing you learned about yourself in this particular process that you've just described?
Atousa Raissyan [00:27:26]:
The process started actually with my first book. And when I was writing that, I was already writing this chapter in this one. Of course, sure. Writing exact and when I was writing the chapter, I was like, okay. I can see this is gonna be a book by itself because I'm getting so much stuff that I I just can't put it in here. So but the process was really what I described in my first book is that start becoming aware of all these characters you're playing in your life. In this movie, you're calling life. And step out of the movie, step out of these characters.
Atousa Raissyan [00:28:04]:
But in order to do that, the first step as you've mentioned, you gotta become aware. You really have to go inside and be aware aware of everything that's coming up, all these thoughts, all these emotions, and you gotta accept it. Really bring it in and accept it about yourself. Again, take that label of good and bad out of it. And then you start to see, as you said it earlier too, you go in there and figure out, oh, I'm getting triggered. Let me go back and see why why am I getting triggered? And when you find the identity, hey, do I wanna keep this person alive still and play this character in this movie? No. Because as long as you keep that character, everything happens. And that's was the process of me seeing some of my lot of the identities that I had let go of, but also some that I was still carrying, which carry to this day still, my mom figure.
Atousa Raissyan [00:29:04]:
And, you know, the characters that I had built new ones because of this new role I was in as a healer, as a shaman, whatever you wanna call it, that I thought it had to be a certain way. And then it's like, oh, no. No. We're not we're not creating anybody new. We're we're letting go of people. So I had to start letting go of the new ones that I had created as well.
Mahara Wayman [00:29:27]:
So good. And, you know, for those that are listening, if anybody listening is like, what the hell are these girls talking about? Like, characters, I think one a simple way to to describe it or to understand it is to just listen to what you're saying. And it may not even be your voice that you hear. Yeah. We we have these narratives that play. It may be you may hear your dad talking to you. Maybe your mom, your it doesn't matter. But our brain is an amazing organ, and it never stops.
Mahara Wayman [00:30:01]:
Mhmm. But the minute we can be aware of our thoughts, then we that's our first step to growth. Right? You know, in coaching, there's awareness, acceptance, and aligned action. Those are the 3 steps of how I call it. And and to your point, it may not be easy, but awareness is the first step. Don't you can't try and jump that step because it's you're just faking it. Right? You're just pretending. Right? You gotta get aware of what of what of who you are.
Mahara Wayman [00:30:27]:
Part of being
Atousa Raissyan [00:30:27]:
a badass.
Mahara Wayman [00:30:28]:
Recognizing who you are without judgment. Interesting. That okay. Now I get it. Alright. You know what? I still like that girl. That girl's pretty cool. What I like to say next is what what's the next best action? What's the next small thing that I can do to help me solidify this new understanding of who I am? Help me get closer to where I wanna go and who I wanna be.
Mahara Wayman [00:30:50]:
So when you think back and thank you for letting me do that little aside. Yes. When you think back to the book and now that it's finished and the the sisterhood that you've created with these 11 souls, are there 12 in total or was are you part Well,
Atousa Raissyan [00:31:04]:
12 with me. 11, 12 in total. Yes.
Mahara Wayman [00:31:08]:
What's been the biggest growth that you've seen for the group as a whole?
Atousa Raissyan [00:31:12]:
This year. Definitely less year. More willing to be themselves and put themselves out there. More trust for sure. And they all, started things that they were they hadn't started when we, started the book. Meaning, like, 2 of them really got into their artwork, and they started actually putting their artwork out there that they hadn't done before. There was one of them that, you know, she's really now on the path of switching her job. So it was all these changes that everybody were more willing to put themselves out there because they're like, hey.
Atousa Raissyan [00:32:02]:
If these guys have my back and these guys love and support me, why not? Let me go put it out there and see who who else is gonna like this.
Mahara Wayman [00:32:11]:
Oh, good. So really sounds like they became very empowered. Yes. And more so than the past before.
Atousa Raissyan [00:32:16]:
I have
Mahara Wayman [00:32:17]:
a question for you. Do you think the absence of fear is enough? Because I I'm wondering if it is really in stages or if for some of us, it's the minute that fear lessens, the excitement grows, for example, or the belief grows. Or do you think that there's something that comes you less you lessen the fear and you have to work on bringing something else up. Does that make sense?
Atousa Raissyan [00:32:41]:
Yes. I would say it's together. It's it's not a lesson. The fear is always there. It's just I think that initial step to accept the fear and be willing to say, it's okay to have this fear and move beyond it. It's just a small step into the fear, leaning into the fear more rather than say, hey. I'm just gonna wait here until this fear goes away. The fear is not gonna go away, especially if you're someone like me.
Atousa Raissyan [00:33:13]:
Like, my if I had sit there and say, oh, I'm gonna wait until these fears go away. My brain would have said, oh, let's party here. I have so many fears for you. We can sit here and tell you pretty much our skin and bones.
Mahara Wayman [00:33:26]:
K. So is it more than a case of navigating our fears? What if because it's look different for different people. Some of us may say, I don't have that fear anymore because I really understand the roots of it, and that's not me anymore. Sometimes we may say, you're still there, but you're not bugging me. I'm not as afraid. Yes. Understanding. Alright.
Mahara Wayman [00:33:47]:
So I like that. Navigating our fear. Would you say that that whether we realize it or not, that is part of the human experience every time we're here is learning how to navigate it?
Atousa Raissyan [00:34:01]:
I say it a little bit differently. I say the reason we are in this human form to recognize our again, everybody has a different name for this place, whether they call it I am the divine, god self, higher consciousness, higher self, whatever you wanna call it. That space recognition of that space that I am beyond this physical experience. I am beyond these characters I've created. I am beyond all these things that I'm perceiving as good, bad, ugly, different. This this again, everything that I mentioned is in that circle of shadow and light that we keep playing against. Coming out of it and looking at ourself that I am soul. I am God.
Atousa Raissyan [00:34:57]:
I am divine, and I'm in this human physical form. And the only thing is for me is in be in this moment. Be fully present in this moment. Not that, oh, I'm in this moment, but my mind is creating something new. Oh, I'm in this moment, but I'm really actually this identity. To really be from a place of that just being present without any attachment to a desire or an outcome or wanting anything. Just simply being. That's the, I think, the recognition that we're here to get to.
Mahara Wayman [00:35:36]:
It sounds beautiful, and I happen to agree with you. But I would be remiss if I didn't say yeah. But how the hell do you do that? I got a bills I've got bills to pay. I've got kids that are that are, you know, pulling on my skirts. I've got email that never stops dinging. For those for those of us that struggle with being present, and I don't count myself there anymore because I've learned a lot myself. My business is called mindfulness with Mahara. But what would you share are some very basic tips to get us started on being aware and being present?
Atousa Raissyan [00:36:13]:
Anytime you start a thought or a word or a sentence with I start listening what you're saying after that time because you're telling a story. Anytime you point your finger out at somebody, a situation for whatever reason, then, oh, I'm angry or I'm afraid of, you know, the it's going outward. Turn it back in. That's the awareness. It's like, okay. That's great. But why am I? Again, comes everything comes back to that eye. Why am I being triggered? And be gentle and easy with yourself.
Atousa Raissyan [00:36:52]:
Really, this is not a process that everybody wants a magic bullet. Everybody wants to get there now. You are not gonna get there right away. Nobody is. It's a lifetime process. And it's just the practice you're shedding and shedding, and it's a discovery of yourself. Be loving and kind. See yourself, your life, everyone in it with that eyes of love.
Atousa Raissyan [00:37:19]:
That's how you're gonna get there. Just start step by step and just say yes. Yes. I wanna get there. Every time the fear comes, say yes. Even with this fear, that's where I'm headed. That's where I wanna go.
Mahara Wayman [00:37:34]:
So good. I especially like the the idea of saying yes to the fear because I truly believe that all of our emotions are signposts if we're willing to look for it. Right? They're they're coming up for a reason. And when we have the fear, it can either in in my case, it's either really highlighted that something is what I want or that I wanna go let me rephrase that. It's either gives me a sign that I'm moving in the right direction because what I want, I want so badly, or I desperately want to move away from something. I may not know where I'm going, but I know that I really am not happy in this place. So look at fear as an opportunity for growth because it's telling you something. It really means something.
Mahara Wayman [00:38:17]:
So I really thank you for that for that gentle reminder. And, of course, as a badass, and all of you listening are badasses too, look at life through a lens of love and grace. You're here for a reason. You have gifts. You're special. You're loved. You're beautiful. And and start your day in every moment if you can with that foremost in your mind, and you will skyrocket to wherever it is that you wanna go.
Mahara Wayman [00:38:41]:
Atusa, tell us a little bit more about how we can get your book. I will, of course, have links in the show notes, but, what's the best way for our listeners to experience this amazing book?
Atousa Raissyan [00:38:51]:
Thank you. Thank you. The books are both on Amazon, and, my book actually, the the first book, Change Yourself, Change the World, that's coming out in audiobook, so it's gonna be on Audible soon, but the ebook, paperback on Amazon.
Mahara Wayman [00:39:12]:
Fantastic. Well, I can't thank you enough for for being with us today, giving us an update on where you're at. I've got your book. I've just started it. I'm so excited, and I'm really proud of you and the efforts of all of the women. It takes it takes some badassery to put yourself out there, but it's so worth it because your stories, all of our stories need to be shared. So thank you again for this time, and I look forward to the next conversation. Everyone, we'll see you next week on the art of badassery.
Mahara Wayman [00:39:43]:
Thanks for tuning in to another badass episode. Your support means the world to me. So if you enjoyed what you heard today, don't forget to like, share, and rate the episode on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback keeps the badass free flowing. And, hey, if you're ready to unleash your inner badass and conquer whatever life throws your way, why not book a complimentary badass breakthrough session? Just click the link in the show notes to schedule your session, and let's kick some serious butt together. Until next time, stay fearless, stay fabulous, and, of course, stay badass. This is Mahara signing off.
