Special Guest Expert - Donna Piper: Video automatically transcribed by Sonix

Special Guest Expert - Donna Piper: this mp4 video file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Daniel Aaron:
Does it take to create a vibrant, thriving life? First, the sad news is that Thoreau was right most people are leading quiet lives of desperation, lacking in meaning, fulfillment, and vitality. But we choose more. We choose to create extraordinary lives and the art of vibrant living. Show entertains you with inspiration, empowerment and education to create your life into a masterpiece. It's time. Let's vibe up. Hello. Hi, y'all. Daniel Aaron with you? I am your host. And this is the Art of Vibrant Living show. We got it going on today. It's going to be such an amazing show. I'm already excited. Our guest is amazing. I'll tell you about her in a moment. First though, the Art of Vibrant Living show. Kind of implies what it's about in the name, right? It's about you living your most vibrant, thriving life. So our job is to entertain. Yes, inspire. Good. Mostly, though, empower. And we need a little, uh, two way street action on that, though, to empower you. That means that you I ask of you, I implore you, take at least one thing from today's show. Our guest is going to drop many gold nuggets with you. I know what, I feel it. They don't mean as much unless you say, yeah, I'm going to try that on. I'm going to put that into play in my life, where the rubber meets the road is integrating and applying what you learn. So would you do that? Would you agree? Let's make it even more valuable for you. And by the way, on that note, if you would like to create something more different, better in your life, if you want to move away from something or create something new, let's have a conversation. That's my jam. I love helping people to create what they want, so reach out to me. Daniel at Daniel Aaron Comm I would love to meet you and support you with that. Okay. Donna Piper, Ma Therapeutic Coach, Trauma Expert, Certified Akashic Records Reader is a dedicated healer and guide specializing in empowering female entrepreneurs to overcome past traumas and self-doubt, unlocking their true potential for success and fulfillment. Utilizing the transformative power of the Akashic Records, Donna provides safe and nurturing space for emotional healing, helping clients to build confidence, trust in themselves and their relationships, and thrive in both their personal and professional lives. With her deep passion for energy, healing, and spirituality, Donna is committed to creating life changing experiences for those seeking to feel seen, heard, and loved, fostering a journey of growth and vibrant living. Oh, I love those words. Thank you so much for that. Donna. So cool that you were here. Thank you so much for joining us. Oh, I'm.

Donna Piper:
Really excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Daniel Aaron:
Oh, it's it's, uh. I'm really excited. I've been looking forward to this conversation for ages. Um, I love your combination of experiences, your the vibe, and that you're focused on helping women specifically in that way. And good golly, we know the world needs more empowered, healed women right now, especially as leaders to turn this ship around. So thank you for doing that work. And now I have the advantage over our audience in this rare instance, which is I know you a little bit already. Um, for those in the audience that don't know you yet, would you share a little bit about how you got to this point in doing this work that you're doing?

Donna Piper:
Um, yes. I'll try to make it really brief. As you know, I'm a talker, but, um, I started as a therapist. I was a dance movement therapist, and, um, I had always been drawn to trying to help people and figure out, you know, like, all my friends would come to me and ask for advice, and I really liked to give that. And then I figured I needed to get more education to do that more formal, responsible way. Um, so I went to get my masters and and doing and getting my master's. I was I had a mentor that, uh. Introduce me to a shaman, and I work and studied with him. So that kind of was the bridge between. What I do now is coaching. Um, so I help people and then bring in the spiritual aspect. And meeting the shaman kind of brought me down into a path of really to figure out, like, okay, how do all these great things that I'm learning and knowing, how do I actually show up where I have a lot of love and compassion? How do I regulate my emotions? How do I heal my own wounds and traumas and heartbreaks, and how when it comes up, how can I actively see what's going on with me and transform it in that moment? And that's I think, the hardest thing of of life is like. You know, you have all these emotions, you have all this stuff, you have pressures of how you should act or, you know, all of our perceptions of what we want, how we want to live and how we may be actually are. And how do you actually make that work? You know, if you read a good book or if you get a gem like, you know, how do you actually do it? So that, um, led me to tons of education, um, my own spiritual journey for 15 years. And, uh, it's brought me to a place of. Really. There's some simple things, but they're not easy when you are trying to, you know, change your life. And it really is like how you introduce the show is like you have to try them on and you have to try it on for a while.

Donna Piper:
You know, there's has to be some discipline and that's not. And usually that and that sounds like, oh, I don't want to be disciplined or I can't. Right. It's like, oh, another thing, I just want to do the thing. And can I feel better if I just think of, you know, just agree with it. Um, but to really try it on and embody it and get it into your cells and that's always a work that I did, is how to have our body and our mind work together with our soul, and they don't always jive. And that's okay. They're not supposed to. You're supposed to have moments of dark and light. So that's I think I answered. Yeah, that was great.

Daniel Aaron:
Thank you. Yeah. And I mean, it brought a few pieces to, to me that I'll echo back a little bit before I ask you another piece from that. Uh, well, I love, you know, already I, one of the things I see about you is you. Well, here's what what happened for me is, as you were describing your journey from, say, the academic world to meeting a shaman. You know, for me, I, I had my very first experience in the after a divine whack upside the head, which led me to saying, oh my goodness, what do I do now? How do I live? My old world is gone. The first guide that I received coming out of that experience was a woman who had a master's degree. She was a clinical psychology and psychologist, and she was also a shamanic counselor. And for me, that was just so helpful, um, to appease, like the rational mind part of me have one foot in something that felt approved of or reliable from my experience then, and yet another opening into the kind of healing and world that's available beyond the rational mind. Right. And I see that you've got, uh, you know, one stool leg in each of those worlds and another stool leg in the world of business. Right. Because, um, and so many of the people that, that I work with and meet, they might, you know, have the the big heart and the aptitude for healing, yet struggle with the financial or the business side of it and so can't bring it forward in a way that's sustainable and really works. And so I love that you've got all of that together. Um, and I love what you said about. Not just trying something on Yeah. It's only the only knowledge that counts as experiential knowledge. Though you took it a step further and said for a while, right? It's not just dip your toe in it, you got to get all the way in the water and hang out there for a little while, and it might get hot or cold. Right. And you brought up the word discipline, which is great. Um, I struggled for so long with discipline. And I remember shortly after becoming a father reading a book, and it described discipline and disciple, right.

Daniel Aaron:
Being the same route as joyful follower. Right. So the discipline is joyfully following that, the new possibility. Right? The thing that leads to a different way of being in the world. So beautiful. Okay. Um, so. Well, I guess we got to go straight in with this, because I know at least some of our audience will be like. That all made sense to me except for in in in in when when Daniel read Donna's bio the akashic is that is that like the 49th state? What? What is Akashic? What does that mean? Will you, um, let us know what that is for anybody who, you know, might. That might sound weird or foreign to.

Donna Piper:
Yes. So the Akashic Record is, um, so it's a field. So there's different ways to describe it. Now with science, you might relate to it as quantum, but basically the Akash is a ancient field and you, everyone and everything has an Akashic record. So, um, we're all made of energy. So every time that your soul, from the first moment it accepted this energy blueprint that you have, that really in it, you can think of it as a library kind of however you want to. Digital library that, um, is your record. It has everything that your soul's ever done. Um, will do all deeds and actions. Everything is available. So this is vast well of knowledge that's personal to you. So but it's not faded and it's not like channeling or it's not this other thing. It's really about moving into this field to open up your personal record. And once that happens, then. The information that comes through is specific for you. So, you know, I have a lot of education. Um, and there's lots of techniques and things that are great. Um, but as you were saying before, I don't remember the exact words, but basically there is 95 plus percent of what we do is in the unconscious. And I was always really curious about the unconscious. And how do you tap into it? How do you know, like how do my rational brain know that I'm there? And with this tool of the Akashic Records? And that's how predominantly I work with my clients now is once their records are open, information that comes through is specific for them. So I don't have to rely totally on my education or my intuition. Um, and it's a active experience where you actively participate. I'm just not telling you information, but you go on your own journey, you actively go into this state and you also get the information. So then not only does it help you build trust in your intuition and feel like confident that you know that you're on the right steps because there's someone there reflecting to you. So you have these experiences where you can get information about anything from like, uh, what would make me, you know, easier for me to be disciplined about something I want to do to how can I, uh, you know, start my business or.

Donna Piper:
I do a lot of healing in their trauma is my, uh, kind of specialty. What? It was in my graduate work. Um, post-traumatic stress disorder is what I worked with, and that's what I like to work with. And it's really. We all have. We all have traumas, and it's neutral. It's not that you did something bad or good or, you know, whatever, but we have undigested, um, information and energy in our systems, physically, psychologically, all of it. And it's going into that and dissolving it in a noninvasive, not, um, you don't relive it. I never believed in that. Anyway. I'm not forcing trauma. So you learn to see, like. Even if you understand it. Cool. The story doesn't change. It's actually the experience of it. So to dissolve it. So you could still say, this is why I think. But, um, I had this experience. But once all the emotions and all that just totally digested, it is just a story. It's a memory. It's not putting your system into this super complex thing to protect you. So the Akashic Records is really a this beautiful field where everything, all potentialities happen and you get the information that you need for that moment. It's not for like ten years from now. It's like what you need in that moment to go to the it's like little breadcrumbs. You do that one thing and it opens you up to more possibilities and more possibilities.

Daniel Aaron:
Cool. Okay. Really, really interesting. I love the way you explained that. And there's 428 questions that come from that. Um, but let's let's go to this one though, because. Um, despite my silly joking about the Akashic Records before in that terminology. Um, you know, I've heard lots about the Akashic Records over the years, and I love the way you describe it. It's very simple that way. And most of the time when I've heard people speak about their work with the Akashic Records, I've heard them describe their experience of like, well, it's like a library. All the information is there. Um, and yet what I'm hearing from you and I might have got this wrong. So please adjust my perception here. Is that the what you help create with your clients? It's not just getting some information, like getting a book out of the library or a movie or a story, um, that there's a well, so what's the process like for digestion? What what there's got to be a difference, right, between just getting the info and the digestion. Am I on track with that?

Donna Piper:
Yes. Yeah. Like, there's, you know, um, I'm sure of all the millions of people in the world, there's different ways to open the records and as it evolves and everything, but as we, um, kind of become more conscious as a society, which it has been shifting, you know, there is more people that are interested in vibrant living. And what does that mean? And the unconscious, you know, world and, you know, meditation and all of that as the like when I started this 20 plus years ago, you know, uh, somatic work wasn't a thing like dance movement therapy was like, huh? You're helping do dance them out of their trauma. Like, what do you do? Like, so now, uh, trauma informed and somatic work and all this stuff is really, like, you know, kind of all over, which is great. So the more evolved we are, the more information, like, we get more, uh, it's not so foreign. We're kind of more interested in it. We're not so resistant. So how I was trained and I work in the records is. Yes, there's information that you get because it has you tap into all the information that you need and it's past, present and future. So but because it's not something that's like, oh, here's the information, what are you going to do with it? Because, you know, I don't know if anyone else has this experience. So you had this Daniel, if I've ever gone to someone to be like, oh, uh, you know, help me out, like do a reading, do something, and I just get information. That's cool. But what do I do with it? Like, you know, I've gotten I love human design, so this is not a knock to it, but I've got a lot of readings with different people like, oh, let me do that for you. So I get information like, okay, cool, I'm this number and I'm that thing, but okay, well, how does it work for me? Like, how do I how does it how can I use it in my daily life that's going to make an impact. So as we sit down and do a reading, um, there's a prayer that happens. We connect, I open your records, we start, and then we just begin with wherever you're at, whatever the question is.

Donna Piper:
And then, um, we follow the energy of what happens. So. And I trust that what comes through and how I'm guided, sometimes people are guided to do inner work. They're guided to ask more questions. Um, or sometimes they're guided to go back to the the time in the past, either a moment ago or in other lifetimes to heal something that is affecting them now. And you could talk about we have a lot more language about that stuff. So it was journeying. Journeying is a somatic journey, right? It's soul retrievals, kind of that same along that line and all these weird things kind of intermix in this world. But, um, so you it comes forth where you're also interactive. It's not just me telling you and get information, but then you have an opportunity to be like, I don't understand what that means, or what does this word mean? So you go deeper into either understanding what the information is coming through so you can actually utilize it to do something. Whatever your question was like, maybe you wanted to have a better relationship with someone and maybe you got the first thing was, um, you know, I don't know, to wear a certain color, you know, around them and then be like, so the next question be like, well, why that color? What does that mean? And usually always it comes down to it's meaningful for the person for you. Like, I don't know why I would have you, you know, have a color, but it's personal to the it's and there's a reason why maybe you feel really good or relaxed or there's something about that that puts your energy field and to be more receptive. And for you, if you may not even know that colors affect you. As much as they do, and maybe they do. So that is really something. So it's and that's why it's individual for everyone. So I don't have just this mass amount of stuff to give out. It's really in your interacting asking questions. And then when the journey happens, you are actually in your own journey having that experience. Because the best thing about experiential work is that once it's happened and it's done, it's done.

Donna Piper:
You can always bring your mind back into it and say, no, that didn't really happen. Or what if. But your internal system, your unconscious system knows that that's been resolved. So then the next step is if you've created boundaries or patterning around protection because you're just used to being protected, then it gives you an opportunity to start to shift those and create new, um, patterns that support this new way of healing or whatever you want to. You're like in does that make sense?

Daniel Aaron:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's that's cool. Well, and I and I really get that the work you do is very customized and, and it kind of goes, brings me back to what I was saying before about my experience. Like there's it's my experience is it's useful to have something for the rational mind because there's a part of me at least, and I think probably a lot of people like I want to understand something. Yet that, again, only goes so far. So having this, this other side of it and an experience, right, like, okay, well, we don't know why wear that color. Um, yet in the experience of it something will occur. Right. Does that make sense.

Donna Piper:
Yeah. Exactly.

Daniel Aaron:
Mhm. Yeah. Okay. Cool. So and the way you described it journey I had never thought of it that way which, which reminds me of what we were speaking about earlier in the shamanic world. Um, and it really sounds like it's about, again, not just the information but this experiential process. Um. Yeah. Okay. Cool. So. What, um, what's it look like for you now and the way you work with people? Do you do just one off sessions with them, or do you work with people over an extended period of time? And what kind of results do people get? I imagine it's all very different because everybody's, you know, needs and experiences and records are different. But have you noticed any patterns?

Donna Piper:
Um, yes. So I work mainly. I do offer one, um, like hour sessions, but I do ask that people commit for a while because it isn't just a it's like it says, it's a reading. It's more of a consultation. It's more of a healing, like like anything like if you do it once, you get information and it may be great, but then you have to put implement that. If you don't implement it, then okay, cool, you know this stuff. But once you start implementing implementing it, things, other things arise. So it's um. Like if you want to get to X, it takes a minute to get there. It's not just like you get this information. I wish it was like that. And sometimes people have that. But the vast majority of humans get information, whether it's like most amazing thing like, oh my God, you're gonna, you know, whatever. Meet the love of your life. If you go to someone or, you know, you get a good carpool or whatever, but. You have to be doing action. The universe loves action. So, you know, we have these dreams. And that's why I love working with entrepreneurs, women, everyone. And I'll, um, because I love seeing their dream come true. So whatever that is. So. And it does happen, um, a lot. I don't have, like, data, um, per se, but all of my clients that come to me with whatever their initial, um, typically they come to me because something's not working out. They're suffering. Something's not. There's a gap between their dream and, um, the reality. And maybe they're doing manifestation work. Maybe they're doing all the things, but it's not happening. Um, and then usually when that happens, there's, like, a wound or a trauma or something that just needs to be dissolved. Um, I used to say blocks, I, I've changed my language because all it's just energy. You can't you can't just destroy energy. You can only transmute it. So taking whatever's wrapped up in that, like. Thing that's stopping you. It's usually out of protection because your system is like on high alert, like know if you do that, there's danger.

Donna Piper:
We don't want to do it. So your egos in there, your your body's in there, all these things. So once it gets dissolved then you're able to either. A few things happened. Sometimes you're like, oh, I didn't even really want that thing. I thought I wanted it. I was tied to this thing because I thought I should or would or if this was my standard. And then once the underlying issue gets dissolved, then you're like, oh, I really want this thing. This really brings me joy here. Or it allows. Each time you do this work, it allows you to have a different perspective and it's an expansion. And then, you know, with anything with expansion, it's great to expand, but you're always going to come down and you don't. And you could just pull the old stuff back in. So in that expansion, as we work together, there's new ways to be like, so how do I what are my behaviors now to support this, this new thing that I want? What are the action steps? Because, you know, conscious mind is dreams. Everything else is um, you know, what is your alignment to it. And if you take action to those steps and that's actually how you get what you want. Um, you know, the universe likes that. It likes to because it just responds to whatever you're doing. So if there's no action, he's responding to that, you know, because not an action is also an action. I think that's a better way to say it. There's some other colloquialism, but, um, well, yeah.

Daniel Aaron:
No, I get exactly what you mean. And. Right, it's like the, the great GPS analogy if, if, if, if the car is not in motion, it's really hard for the, the maps or the directions to tell you where to go though. As soon as you get moving, it doesn't matter which direction you're going in, it's going to correct you. Right. You have to get in motion though, right? Um, so and, and and you you spoke about. That. It's every now and then there's like, you know, Eckhart Tolley or Byron Katie and you know, Bing and they wake up and everything from the past is gone. And for most of the rest of us, it takes a minute or 2 or 3 or some months or years. Um, and so, yeah, there's an advantage for you working with people longer term. Um, and, and I don't remember if you use this word, but the way I heard it was like, the insights are great, though. Integration is is key and vital for that. So what's it like? Um. Do you. Offer or suggest for people or for yourself. Work with rituals or protocols or practices on a daily basis that that help with with, with the transformation?

Donna Piper:
Yes. In general. Um, just for myself, what I do is I used to have a very rigorous, like meditation. I was an hour in the morning. Hour in the evening. Um, that I don't do as much when I was really like, you know, trying to anchor myself in, um. Into my own heart, into my world. And what even does that mean? And, you know, I had to do for me, that helped, because I really needed to get to the point where I could accept myself totally. Which that is something along. I mean, this is why you know, this. Like, again, this stuff isn't like rocket science. But if there's things that are living in you that you don't want to see and you think you're hiding, but we're not, we project it onto other people. Everyone else sees our stuff, you know, but we think we're hiding or we don't want to deal with it or it's too uncomfortable, um, going in and doing the spiritual work, doing any sort of, uh, self exploration. Um, usually it's there's a lot of condemnation and judgment, judgmental ness that comes up. And how to get over and dissolve those things and look at your experiences without self-judgment and without condemnation, because you can't grow and change as you. If you condemn yourself and are judging it, it's really to try to come up with self acceptance. And that also is forgiveness around there. Forgiving yourself and just being like, okay, cool, like and typically most like unless you've actually done really something against someone that's like, you know, not great, but like murder or something. But even then it's like in the spiritual world you also can be forgiven and redeemed, you know, but we we the things that we think are so awful about ourselves really aren't that big of a deal. Other people will be like, oh, what? Huh? Like you're you're, you know, just really imprisoning yourself with all these horrible thoughts over something so insignificant. So the guilt and shame love to hide in the shadow, especially shame and shame is part of that dark like our shadow selves. Or what we deny we don't want to accept we deem unlovable.

Donna Piper:
So as you kind of go through this process, figuring out some sort of ritual so you can slowly allow yourself to start to see who you really are in those places and bring yourself into totality. Like, I don't think people are broken. Um, I came from like a very educational sort of perspective, like, okay, I learned something. I take a test, I do well, like it was very linear and spiritual work is not and self-growth is not linear. It's it's just about being curious. You have to start with just being like, I'm just going to be curious about this thing. Um, notice if you're being really condemnation, like condemning yourself or having a lot of judgment and allow yourself to just kind of feel and and work with these emotions. Usually there's negative emotions that we deem them like anger or sadness. Um, the shame is silent. So we don't know this. It might be embarrassment. So it kind. So finding a practice, whether it be meditation. Um, and I have my clients sometimes start with, um, just like a walking meditation or just being aware, just touching their bodies, simply like, okay, right now I'm aware I'm in this chair and I'm talking to Daniel, or right now I am aware of my breathing and slowly get into where you feel comfortable being with yourself. Um, and the good thing when I work with people with the Akashic Records is usually a meditation. A practice comes through for them. So, um, then that's a little easier too, because then they it's specifically tailored for what they need to do. But in general, um, finding some sort and it doesn't have to be there has to be discipline and consistency, but it doesn't have to be rigid, if that makes sense. So finding, um. Uh, and there's tons of practices, whether it's grounding, going outside on a few moments outside and the lawn or getting a grounding mat. Um, connecting with your breath for, you know, just doing a for for for breath. Um, getting, doing some stretching or movement. So you get in your body out of your head. Uh, walking. So there's so many different things that you could do to kind of cultivate, um, moments of silence so you could get really comfortable in the silence.

Donna Piper:
And then that way you could really allow yourself to kind of start witnessing what you're doing without, like, reacting.

Daniel Aaron:
Beautiful. Thank you. I oh, man. That's exciting. Yeah. I love that you spoke about forgiveness and and you used the word, uh. It's a word I don't hear often. Use the word deem as in, you know, we deem something, we evaluate it, we judge it as. And a couple of things that popped up for me as you were speaking that like, yeah, it's it's so true what you said that we, we think we're hiding these things about ourself and that because we deem them unacceptable or unlovable or wrong or bad or, and and yet everybody else knows. Anyway, it's such a silly charade. Right. Um, I had a great experience. I hadn't thought of this in years. Probably 20 years ago. I was leading a group, and I was facilitating an exercise where I forget how we did it exactly. But the invitation was to to bring forth something that you've been hiding. Right. And I intentionally allowed maybe there were 35 people allowed for moments of silence. And wait and see if somebody is going to say anything else. And finally, this one woman was so beautiful. She says, okay, fine, I'll say it, you know, and and so we're all like, oh my God, what's she going to say? What is it? And she's like, I was a stripper, you know? And like, I don't know everybody's experience. But most of us were like, that's it. That that's that's your big reveal. Like, well, I mean, okay, but you know, who cares really. Like that's not a, you know, doesn't seem like a big deal to me. But, you know, what's so beautiful is for her for whatever, you know, whatever reasons, like, this was some part of her life and her experience. And she kept it locked away and hidden all this time. And, you know, I was just literally this morning doing my own self creation self awareness practices. Part of the way I do it is through writing. And and as I was writing something, I thought of that biblical expression. If you if you bring forth that which is inside you, it shall redeem you. If you fail to bring forth that which is inside you, it will destroy you.

Daniel Aaron:
And so as you were speaking about that, that's. That's what came to me. And it's just. And I use, you know, forgiveness is an important part for me in my own practice as well as with others. And I'm always learning and I'm, you know, infinite, excuse me, infinite room to grow in mastery toward that because there's, you know, very few things more important. Um, and so. I want to see my I got a question for you around that because my experience is. At this point in my life, I feel like I have a gosh, I was going to say I have a fairly easy time forgiving myself. And sometimes that's true, but not always. Sometimes I hit, I've hit layers where it's like, oh, not that. No, no, I'm ashamed of that. I can't bring that out. Um, and some of my clients, I meet people that like, you know, I've had the question a couple times recently. Well, what about when there's something you can't forgive yourself for? What about when there's something that shouldn't be forgiven? Right. You know, which we could say on a on a theoretical or intellectual plane like, well, no, of course everything is worthy of forgiveness for when someone's in that mode where it's like, but not this. What what do you say? Or how would you work with that?

Donna Piper:
Um, well, kind of. Well, the same, like everything is forgivable. Like, you know, that's like, there's the one thing I know for me, in my spiritual journey, when it came to contradiction, I was like, uh, like, no, things can't be contradictory. Like, how do I, you know, you're supposed to be right or wrong. Black. This this plane we're in is all, you know, polarities. Right? So it's either white, black, whatever. So you know, or like, how can you say that and do this or, you know, like all of these things that happen, like for the example you gave that the woman was a stripper for whatever reason. So that's condemned on one side and celebrated on another. You know what I mean? Like, anyone has an opinion about whatever it is, whether it is right or wrong, right? So the first part is to really just to start with the awareness that you have this thing you think is unforgivable, right? Or so. Um, I used to and I learned this from my master spiritual teacher to just be like, okay, I'm going to accept that. I don't accept it right now, like I have this thing, but I'm going to accept that this is really hard for me. Like, I think that this is unforgivable and then slowly do work around to feel more comfortable about, like, so why is this thing so unforgivable really what it is? And, you know, when it comes down to the cool thing about all the different modalities out there, theta work and like all of them, they kind of all boil down to an even psychology and life and spirituality is like our biggest fear is the fear of death. And typically, if you've ever done any theta work or any sort of like ask yourself so many questions work or gestalt work or what rosary and stuff. It's like, who am I? And then you know, all of this, but it comes down to right, whatever the issue is, one of the second to last question is that I would be alone and then like then the next question is, well, why is are you afraid of being alone? Because I would die. So we are.

Donna Piper:
This plane is all about relationships and that's how we see our stuff. That's how we. That's the cool thing about, you know, entrepreneurism. I also work with people with relationships. It's like they're reflective of what's going on, like when you start your own business or when you do anything like you have this world where people see you. There's there's internal work that happens, like you get pushed up against unconsciously that is brings out your values, how you think about yourself, all of these things. So it's a beautiful way to, um, unmask. And when these things come up, people call them triggers. Sometimes they're conflicts. I like to say that there's just like this nice neon sign saying, this is ready for you to be dissolved. This is a pattern that you're aware of. So if it's something that you feel that is unforgivable, um, you can be a grateful that this pattern came, that it's you're aware of it right now. So it's something in your world. Um, and then you could start to slowly get to the place where you can eventually accept it and then forgive yourself because, you know, we're we're afraid that if really typically, in my experience, maybe there's something else out there. Contrary. But if the reason why I'm so don't want to forgive it, or I'm so attached to it because I don't want anyone to know about it, because if they knew about it, they wouldn't love me. And if they didn't love me, then I would die. Basically, my cycle, my psyche would die. And that is like on a spiritual path. Parts of your personality fall away. It's they're supposed to. So we think that, you know, well, we're trained societally and education is like you do all these things and that happens like this. And when it doesn't, then we don't know. It's a contradiction. So really, if you look at the earth that we live in, that's we're a reflection of. Inside. There's contradictions. Contradictions all over and. It's our stories or perceptions of if we think it's bad or good. And once we try to take that away and just be neutral about things and then see what happens and look at other than everything's right or wrong, but be neutral and then see how it affects us and how we can transmute that energy into something else.

Donna Piper:
So into more of like joy and bliss, because that's really our that's why we're here, is to have a life of joy, of bliss. But we have all this other stuff that we get to go through as to learn about how to get through anger and stuff. And it's not that you just live this life and like, oh my God, everything is wonderful. It's your real with what's going on. And I, you know, it's a whole other conversation, but really learning how to experience your emotions without having stories around the emotion. And that's really the trauma and the wounding work. But, you know, emotions really at their essence, like take a few minutes to feel. But we either. Have been told not to fill them. Don't want to fill them. Don't know how to fill them. Don't know what to do with them. So we're always like uh. And then um, then we create boundaries and stories about why we don't want to. So then it just like eventually everything comes out right. It's going to come out somewhere. So if we could just like, oh my gosh, I'm feeling really angry. Okay, maybe I can't now, but in like 30 minutes I'm going to stop and I'm just going to feel the anger, anger in my body and I'm just going to let it come up or I'm feeling really sad. Let me just give myself like a timer, five minutes to feel as sad as I possibly can and see if that changes. And maybe there's still more sadness there, but to figure out how to feel these emotions. Because once we feel all these ones, if you totally feel emotion, it goes back to joy, you know? But we have these emotions, um, and then we have these thoughts and then we have this body and it's kind of all sometimes they're not in alignment. So doing any sort of. We're self-reflection is amazing to get you to a place where you can, like, live life abundantly and not just financially, but just feel like joyful in your life.

Daniel Aaron:
Awesome. Thank you. Well, uh, boy, there's a lot of great stuff in what you just said. So I want to go back to one of the first things you said, though, because it's a brilliant, um, twist on the forgiveness piece. That and I think I think I heard a similar thing in a book by Cherry Huber once I forget the title, but it was kind of a book about all these different ways that we hate ourselves, and we've learned to hate ourselves or condemn, as you said earlier. And and there was a great example, I remember it in there where somebody like, I will not forgive myself for that. And, and then the. Uh, the person that was working with that, that that person said, you know, well, will you accept that you won't forgive yourself for that? No, I won't, I won't accept that. Okay. Well, will you accept that? You won't accept that. You won't forgive yourself for that? Okay, fine, yeah I will. Yeah, I accept that. I won't accept that. I won't forgive myself. And it's like if we if we keep going back step by step, at a certain point, we find something that we can allow. And that can be like the the thread that starts to unravel the knot. Right. Mhm. Um so yeah. And likewise you reminded me of a great um way of saying is, well if, if it feels hard to forgive something, can we just say okay, well this is something that would, would be good to forgive or needs to be forgiven. It's just kind of like, like sometimes we we have to go up to the edge of the, the cliff before and look over and say, no, I'm not ready to jump off. I'll go back. But but now we've seen it and it gets a little more comfortable, a little easier. Um, yeah. So yeah, that was a great reminder. Go ahead please. You were going to say yeah.

Donna Piper:
No. Because like, with forgiveness and, you know, acceptance, forgiveness, even though they're very similar, the terminology, you know, it's that it's like it's like surrender or giving up. Uh, yeah. Succumbing to you know, it's like the forgiveness. Sometimes we don't want to forgive because we really think that that's going to exonerate something else. And, you know, and it's just like that ego mentality of like, no, this is I'm going to put my foot in the ground. I'm not going to do it because I don't want to give the other person or myself or the situation the satisfaction of whatever that we are tied up into with our belief system, and however it makes us feel that we're safe and we feel like we have some control over it. So really, to empower ourselves through the awareness and acceptance and forgiveness is very empowering. But until you go through the process of it and do the steps of like, I like that I'm not going to accept that, I'm not going to accept to or however you said it like, yeah, you know, it could be like five steps back, but you start to kind of get yourself in that flow because those things really just everything, all of our experiences, if we don't have a way to release them or transmute them, they still kind of keep working out in our system and they can affect our health, they can affect relationships, and sometimes we don't even know. Sometimes we do, but a lot of times we don't even know where they've come from. So really dissolving that, um, giving yourself an opportunity to be unburdened, um, does just open up a space where you can enjoy your life more. Mm. Um. So sorry. Yeah. Well, cool.

Daniel Aaron:
Okay. So you mentioned. The importance of, well, you use different words, but I'll say emotional awareness or the ability to feel different emotions. And I know for me, as a as a kid, I got really good at not feeling things right. That was like a strong survival mechanism for me later on in my life when I started to, you know, shift things a bit. I got into different types of breath therapy, which was really, really powerful for myself. Then I've used it with a lot of people, um, uh, led people with it. The analogy that often comes to me is it's like holding a ball, a beach ball, underwater, right? We can keep an emotion away for a pretty long time. But it's and it's it takes energy and Yeah that can compromise our health, our relationships, everything. And sooner or later it's going to come up to the surface anyway. Right. Um, and so. The the power of emotions and the importance of feeling them and accepting them. And I love what you said about. Give it five minutes. Give yourself a little timer for it. Um, what else can you say about. For people that. I don't know that. Don't don't feel able to access emotions like I know. For me, even as I started to be able to feel sadness, anger was one that I was not. It took a long time before I could let myself feel that. So in your work or in your experience, what do you advise for helping people to come to a greater level of peace or facility with emotions?

Donna Piper:
Um, I so part of my, I think my work and my fascination with therapy and emotions anyway, is when I was 16, both of my grandfathers died a month apart, a three weeks, and I was very close with them and I was devastated. I still probably can cry right now about the whole thing. Um, even though I did tons of work on it. And I remember specifically, like consciously after my second grandfather died, it was just numb and I was like, no, I am just going to do everything logical. I'm emotions are too much. There's too much heartache. It's too much pain. Why would I ever wanted to do that? Like so I was 16 so my and that I just kind of shut myself off consciously from my emotions. And then, um, as I started learning, like intellectualism is not very highly ranked on like there's a scale of how you, um, like resilience and all these things that you use in different sort of mechanisms to protect yourself or interact in the world. And intellectual is one of them. It's not very high up. And I was like, oh gosh, well, um, that's not great. But um, like kind of always the essence that it goes down to like whether there's anger or, um, sadness, you know, those are usually anger is the hardest because we're not supposed to be angry, like, you know. Angry destroys. Or if you have, you know, we see it as all the. Really just, you know, destructive sort of, um, interactions with anger, right? Like things escalate and then maybe people get shot or, you know, whatever. Like, so there's that's tied to that. But also what it comes down to is not being able to receive love is the the biggest thing. So when we start with emotions, um, giving and receiving love, like love, is the most transformative emotion there is out there as far as like what it could do. Right? And we are conditioned a lot to be like, oh, but love is conditional. Like whether you have a parent or if you're in a relationship, like if they love me, they would treat me like this. There's a million books, there's a million social medias, red flags.

Donna Piper:
This is how we should be in a relationship. This is how we receive love. But what we want as humans, and it's been studied as we want to be, feel seen, heard and loved. We really want to be loved. We want to be connected. We want someone to appreciate us. And um, so going try to strip down to that to help, to kind of crack open yourself, to give yourself love. Because what it even does that mean? But to receive like goodness, to receive that feeling. And then, um, when you start to have that, that's usually how I work is once you kind of explore your like, love level, like most people and we all do like, oh, I can love someone, but it's hard for me to receive. But so my response to that always is really because of energy balance. Like if. You really can only love how much you receive. It's really the inverse. So the more you could receive, that's how you could really love. Right. If our heart becomes an open system where all of those little pains and heartaches and all those little things that we think are like against us and everything, they kind of get stored in there that starts to get dissolved, then it's a little easier to be with anger and to be with grief. So kind of cultivating like, um, going past those emotions, but to really like, okay, where is my level of self love? How can I receive love? And working on the receiving end of it, especially through the back? And even if you're a chakra person or out there, just physically feel the back of your heart space being open and allow love to come in and then go out without getting like stuck. We always have these little sticky points that you know, things attach to, and the more we clean that out, then love can just go in and out. And once we start to do that, we start to feel like, okay, like the slights or the things I feel angry about or wounded about once they're anchored in love is the foundation. They're easier to, um, feel. And, um, always just on top of that.

Donna Piper:
Like with anger, go into like, if you're angry, if it's in a moment, like there's a, it's either a child or a friend or someone and you can remove yourself from the situation, um, see if you can and then go sit and just feel your anger allowed it just to kind of burn you up for like five minutes. Um, but anger is like the quickest emotion. It's the one of the harder ones. So that's why I always work with people in a different way to anchor it so they have the space to feel it. Because if it feels so overwhelming, you're not going to want to because you feel it's going to destroy something in you.

Daniel Aaron:
So yeah, that's great. Thank you. And and it's great the way you brought love into the conversation about other emotions. Because when, when we have, you know, one of the characteristics of love is it provides safety, right? It creates a container of safety. And and on the flip side, without a sense of safety, it's hard to have love. So they work together and. It seems screamingly obvious to me that we also do well for this to add into this conversation, because if it's a new conversation for people, it's really important to know that there's a distinction between feeling and emotion and acting from the energy of that. Right? And I remember for me, like when I learned repeatedly because opportunities arose again, that I could feel anger without behaving like an angry person. That was so liberating, right? And there's nothing wrong. And there's a lot that's right with being able to feel everything and then having that little refractory period get bigger and then be able to choose, okay, what am I going to do with this? Or am I going to do nothing and just feel and then, you know, shift how I feel before I act. So yeah. Mhm. Awesome.

Donna Piper:
Giving yourself permission for that too. Giving yourself permission to feel angry, like it's okay to feel angry and do it in a safe space where you are just you just feel it. You're not having to act it out. Um is helpful. But you know, anger is one of those things that'll, like, just take over your whole body and you're like, oh, I'm already in it. But like and so again, going back to don't condemn, forgive yourself and then do some inner work again to see like how much love, where can I feel safe to feel my anger. And then when I it's playing out. Maybe you do have a split second to be like, okay, am I going to go there or not? And you know, the judgment of ourselves and keeping that, you know, as we judge and condemn, that's what keeps the stuff alive as well. That's why I work on that, because it's like there's no you don't give yourself a way out, right? You know, you don't give yourself like, oh, I made a mistake or this it's like. It's kind of like, when are those thoughts in our head that are constant, right? We're the there's no barrier. I wouldn't say things to you that I would say to myself, but if I was saying them out loud, people would be like, what's wrong with you? Or if I heard them out loud, I would maybe have a barrier, but there's no barrier. So there's certain things. You just have to kind of be like, okay, I have some anger stuff. That's cool. I'm going to work on it and then give yourself time.

Daniel Aaron:
Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. That's beautiful. Thank you. And, uh, I am lamenting that our time has almost disappeared. So a couple quick questions before the big final question. Um, how is best for people to get a hold of you?

Donna Piper:
Um, at, uh, my website, Donna piper.com or really email Donna at Donna piper.com. Um, I am on Instagram and all the other places, but, uh, email is like, I get that right away. And I respond, so gotcha. Donna Piper com.

Daniel Aaron:
Yeah. And I can rephrase it. Not not get Ahold of you, contact you, reach out to you. Let's put it that way. Um, and so for anybody that's listening, not seeing, it's Donna p I p e r.com and Donna do it. Did do I remember correctly that you offered a gift for our audience?

Donna Piper:
I do, so I have a if you go to, um I think I'll be in your show notes. I have it down here to that there's a discount code of love is the discount code. So if you want to try out, um, I have. A like a 25 minute or a 55 minute Akashic Records consultation, reading, healing, whatever comes up. So that discount code will give you a percentage off of that for being a listener.

Daniel Aaron:
Wow. Cool. Awesome. That's beautiful. Okay. Thank you for that. And, uh, if I were a female listener, I'd be jumping on that myself. I hope you all do take advantage of that. Um, so. And the discount code again is love l o v e and. All right. Perfect. So then, gosh, that brings us up to the final question. The big question. The impossible question. I say it's the impossible question because it's so big and you have so much experience. And yet I am asking you to boil it all down, to distill everything that you know and you've experienced. And if you had one thing to share with our audience that would help them to live a vibrant, thriving life, what's what's the one thing that you share?

Donna Piper:
To start, just do it. And if you've done it before, don't. Just don't give up. Continue to be curious about your life and what you want. Um, your dreams because you have them. They are for you to come true. So just start to explore, be curious. And um, you'll never go wrong with going inside to, um, get whatever you want outside.

Daniel Aaron:
I love that. Thank you. Just start right. Like carpe diem. Get into it. I mean, you didn't say these words, but part of what I heard was commit to it. Know it's possible you deserve it. Get into it right away. And and you did say never stop. Right. So that's beautiful. Thank you. So, Donna. Gosh, what an honor and a pleasure it's been. Thank you so much for not only for being here, but, you know, all the work that you've done and the transformation you've created in yourself. I know it's taking courage and work. I can feel your depth and your authenticity. So thank you for the work you're doing in the world that you've done on yourself and for taking this time to be with us.

Donna Piper:
Thank you so much for your time. It was such a great time to be here, I appreciate it.

Daniel Aaron:
Yay! Okay, cool. Awesome. And for y'all in the audience, thank you. You are the superstars, the heroes of this story. Thank you so much for not just being interested in a vibrant, thriving life. You're doing something about it, right? You're tuning in, you're getting educated, and you're going to do something more about it, right? You're going to take another step. You're going to take like one of those 439 gold nuggets that Donna brought forward today. And you're going to say, I'm going to I'm going to try that out. I'm going to put it into play in my life. I'm going to stick with it for a while. Right. Because it matters. You matter. You, the life you live matters. It changes the world. And I love you, I appreciate you. I'm so grateful that you've been here with us. Tune in again soon, please. Thank you. Hasta la pasta. Aloha. Mahalo for tuning in to the Art of Vibrant Living show, y'all, I'm Daniel Aaron, and may you live with great vibrancy.

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