Latest / Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess / Your Inner Sanctuary | Episode #394

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Your Inner Sanctuary | Episode #394 · Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess

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Hello, and welcome to today's show, Legacy Living, Make Your Life Count.
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I'm your host, Doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess, international leadership expert and trusted
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advisor. Welcome to Legacy Living, Make your Life Count. I'm so delighted
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that you joined me. I have a very special show for you today.
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I'm going to share with you some of my favorite ways to slow down.
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That's right, slow down and take care of yourself when your life gets a
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little crazy or you're feeling a little or even a lot overwhelmed. Today I
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am going to focus specifically on the rhythm of renewal. Don't you love that
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the rhythm of renewal. And I'm going to ask you to share the wealth.
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After you listen to this show, I want you to tell a friend
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and I want you to come back to this podcast over and over again when
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you need some words to remind you to hit the pause button, to slow
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down so that you can take time to take good care of yourself. And
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just a little mini commercial here before I get started with slowing down, I
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just want to remind you that if you love to give and serve folks like
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I do, Hey, go to my website and subscribe to my weekly Inspirations.
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That's another way to slow down. That way, you can also get
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a breath of fresh air in your inbox every week to start you on the
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week. And I'll tell you a little bit more about how to do that
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later in the podcast. Okay, all right, let's get started. Annie
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Dillard reminds us that how we spend our days is of course how we spend
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our lives. And you are listening in today because you want to take the
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lead in your life, and I know you want to take good care of
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yourself. Doctor Matthew Edlund says rest is the original transformative technology. I love
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that rest is the original transformative technology. Through rest, we rebuild, rewire,
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and renew ourselves. Literally, rest rebuild, rewire, and renew.
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Now, I have a very special word that I use for all of those
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are e words, a word that rolls them all together, and that word
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is sanctuary. In fact, I've written a book called Sanctuary, so you
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can check it out sometime an Amazon or go through your local indie bookseller.
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Now, we have all experienced sanctuary at some time in our lives. Many
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of you will recognize sanctuary as an intentional time out a purposeful pause from your
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normal stream of continuous activity. This purposeful pause taps into your innate sense,
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your inner knowing of the sacred. It is your soul's way to remember who
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you are. Who you are when you're not over committed, who you are
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when you're not overwhelmed, Who you are, when you're not obsessed with speed,
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Who you are when you're not distracted. You're not stressed out, you're
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not numb doubt, you're not merely going through the motions of living. Instead,
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you are living the life that is meant just for you, a life
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that embraces and seamlessly includes the natural, necessary rhythms of rest and renewal.
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Some of you might run the other way or flee from the very notion,
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the very mention of sanctuary. I'm going to tell you now, resist that
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urge. Resist it. Instead, consider the invitation to enter sanctuary as a
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gentle summons, a gracious reminder that is calling to you, calling to you
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to let go, calling to you to simply pause and surrender to a slower
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tempo, to a pace and rhythm that is altogether different from your daily routine.
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When we actually allow ourselves to let go, sanctuary allows us to experience
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the eternal, that state that we also refer to as chiros. Now,
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the Greeks had many many words for time. Cairos and chronos are two of
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them, and cairos means the time of the gods, the time of God,
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the eternal. In fact, Madeline Lingle says that when we are in
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cairos, we are fully in isness, wholly positively. Did you know that
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sanctuary resides within us? It dwells within our innermost being? And you know
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what, there are so many blessings that sanctuary offers. We've already talked about
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a few of them, so let's add a few more. In addition to
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rest and renewal, it also offers the blessings of respite, revelation, reignition,
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and restoration. Now, I know that for some of you out there,
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this notion that sanctuary resides within us is kind of radical, right now.
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Why is that? Well, because most folks in our culture believe that
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sanctuary is something that exists outside of ourselves, outside of who we are.
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So let me be really clear, sanctuary is not a thing. However,
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certain experiences and physical places can provide clues about the feeling tone of the sanctuary
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within, for example, the experience of a long satisfying walk, or witnessing
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a breathtaking sunrise or sunset, or looking at snow capped mountains, cathedrals,
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forests, deserts, meadows, labyrinths, lakes, beautiful refuges of our own
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making. Most of us have enjoyed such experiences. Right now, I just
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got back from a long satisfying walk right next to the ocean, and on
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the other side wonderful floral gardens, roses and nastertium and loopine and delfinium and
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all kinds of wonderful, beautiful flowers. Right, so we know instinctively,
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we know that these kinds of experiences can evoke the feeling tone of sanctuary,
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and they can also enhance our awareness of how we can cultivate sanctuary as an
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interior or inner resource. The key challenge to experiencing sanctuary is to actually make
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the transition from doing to being. Right, I'm going to repeat that because
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this is really important. Right, The important thing I want you to know
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is to make that shift from doing to being. That's really hard for us.
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Right. To make this shift, the first thing you have to do
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is to let go, just let go of the busyness in the exterior realm
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of your life, in the exterior realm of doing, so that you can
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cross the threshold and enter your interior realm of being. Now, what does
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this mean? Another way of saying what I just said is to let go
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of your ordinary life. Right, Leave the kids, leave the dishes,
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leave the laundry, leave the cleaning, leave washing the dog. Okay,
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leave work, all of those things. Leave your ordinary life. Just let
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it go so that you can actually enter the extraordinary realm of sanctuary, a
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realm of rest and renewal, wonder and revelation where your emotional, intellectual,
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physical, and spiritual health and happiness are primary front and center. If you're
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like me, especially, you have to let go of serving others, just
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for a while, just for you, so you can be of service to
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yourself. Now, I have to tell you that this sounds pretty simple,
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doesn't it, right, But simple isn't always easy. Again, especially if
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you're like me, you have to let go of at least a dozen or
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so things projects, whatever you're working on. You know, if you travel
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a lot like I do, and you're not used to slowing down to take
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care of you. Now, I'm really good at slowing down to care for
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my family, my friends, my clients, my students, right, but
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I find it very difficult to slow down just to take care of me.
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Am I speaking to anybody out there? I know I am. So.
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When I wrote my book called Sanctuary, I actually dedicated it to my husband
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and best friend, who supports me in making a way for sanctuary and most
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importantly, practicing what I preach. So let me share a secret with you.
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When you attend to and care for yourself, when you attend to and
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care for your interior life, you will reap amazing rewards in your interior as
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well as your exterior life. Now, for some of you, I know
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that your inner sanctuary is readily accessible, like a dear friend. It's like
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an abiding, familiar and really profound presence. And when you're out of sync,
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when you're out of harmony, you simply access your inner sanctuary to help
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you remember who you are. You attune to the sacred whispers within yourself,
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to recenter yourself right, to welcome yourself home to your true nature. I
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sometimes call getting Gloria's groove back right, but I know for most of us,
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sanctuary is often obscured. It's hidden from us. You know, maybe
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we could find it once upon a time when life was simpler, when life
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was slower, before you got married or had children, or got that promotion.
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But now it's just it's buried. It's gone. It's buried beneath the
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mound of disappointments, life draining, drama and distractions that you have actually allowed
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to invade and inhabit your interior life. And now you must discover or uncover
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all kinds of stuff, all kinds of distractions, and reacquaint yourself with your
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inner sanctuary. Let me tell you this, whether it's your constant companion or
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hidden deep within you, sanctuary summons you. It beckons you to liberate yourself
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from distraction, from exhaustion, from overwork, from too many yeses, to
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step away from the oppressive demands of clock time, of what we call chronos
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clock time. Right. Sanctuary is actually a summons, a calling calling to
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you to cross the threshold into the gracious realm of tranquility and refreshment, where
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the daily tyranny of hours and minutes and seconds no longer rule. This summons
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is an exquisite invitation, an invitation to step out of ordinary, out of
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the ordinary experience of life, and enter into cairos, that extraordinary experience of
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the eternal that lives and breathes within you. Sanctuary invites you to immerse yourself
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in this extraordinary time, out of time, invites you to go to that
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lovely place inside yourself, that place where author pearl s Buck says she lives
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all alone, where she renews her springs that never dry up. Don't you
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love that? Now, this place, this interior place, this sanctuary is
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a marvelous presence that you can cultivate, and you take it with you wherever
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you go. Actually believe that sanctuary is your soul's reason for being. As
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I mentioned earlier, seeking sanctuary requires you to slow down, to hit the
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pause button. Now, in our culture of speed, slowing down is not
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the norm. Slowing down is actually counter cultural. So seeking and saying yes
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to sanctuary is a radical act. That's right. It's a radical act,
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a radical act of hospitality. Indeed, it is one of the wonderful ways
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we can inwardly proclaim and host the majesty of our soul. Like any other
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form of leadership or artistry, like any other form of declaring yourself and declaring
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your personal authority. Proclaiming your soul is a political act. I like to
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think of it as a revolutionary offering. That's right, a revolutionary offering of
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bread and water to the hungry and thirsty in spirit. That's right, and
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that's you. Right, here's the good news. Here is a way to
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begin. A very simple way to begin to seek sanctuary is to notice those
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places and spaces and people and moments that nourish you, that refresh you,
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that revive you, that make you come fully alive. Perhaps it's a warm
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breeze brushing across your face, or falling asleep beneath a star studded sky,
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or gazing out upon a tranquil so rually in see. Or maybe it's simply
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putting your feet up and relaxing in your favorite chair in a secluded spot in
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your living room or your backyard, or on your deck or porch or patio.
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Right. Maybe it's enjoying listening to soothing or uplifting music, or the
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sacred pause of life affirming silence. Hey. Or maybe it's unplugging from your
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iPad or cell phone for a whole day, right, Or maybe you just
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long to take a long, quiet stroll in the park while your husband stays
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home and watches the kids. You can also seek sanctuary by noticing what awakens
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your senses, by noticing what invigorates you and renews you colors, fragrances,
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images, shapes, sounds, tastes, textures, silence, and as you
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heighten your awareness of your sensory environment, you're actually equipping yourself. That's right,
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You're equipping yourself to notice, nourish, and nurture the sanctuary that resides
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within you. As you seek sanctuary, you're actually cultivating some of the habits
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or practices of sanctuary. Now in another episode, I include more practices and
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more habits that will help you cultivate sanctuary. For now, simply notice,
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just pay attention, notice the rhythm of your daily and weekly routines, and
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as you do, ask yourself a few questions. Ask yourself, what nourishes
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me, What nourishes me, what feeds me, what renews and rejuvenates me.
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Another question to ask yourself is what helps me feel rested and restored and
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what helps me feel fully alive and present. I'll repeat those questions because you
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might want to jot them down. Okay, what nourishes me, what renews
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and rejuvenates me, what helps me feel rested and restored, and what helps
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me feel fully alive and present. So, as you go through the rhythm
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of your daily routine, your weekly routines, ask yourself those questions and don't
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judge yourself, but just notice, notice, and ask yourself those questions.
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Now, your answers to those questions will provide clues to your experiencing, seeking,
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and cultivating sanctuary. You might actually find yourself already practicing some of the
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habits of sanctuary. How cool is that? Right? Your responses will provide
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clues to what feeds and nourishes your soul. And when you acknowledge and claim
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your soul, you actually assert authority and power in your own life. You
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also cultivate resilience. Now, we all long for a way of being in
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the world that has an affinity with the soul, an affinity that opens us
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to experience the present moment with a sense of immediacy, intention, and emotion.
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Right in other words, were present for our own life. And some
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of those ways are things we take for granted, like appreciating the sun's warm
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fingers, the warm caress on our shoulders, our neck, our face on
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a beautiful summer morning, enjoying the relaxation and rhythm of play. It's loving
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yourself for who you are, not for who you want to be, for
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who you are being in an engaging, radiant relationship with people in your family,
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people who are your friends. Sanctuary nurtures our affinity with the soul.
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It allows you to splurge in your senses, to just feel them all and
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to be aware of them all. Be aware of something as it comes on
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the tip of your tongue right and you taste it and don't just swallow it,
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but you actually savor it. Sanctuary allows you to see with new eyes,
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to listen deeply, to appreciate the miracle of each new moment, each
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new day. It allows you to open new doors, to see beyond differences,
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to embrace our shared humanity, to be a global citizen, to engage
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in purposes beyond your own, believe in someone else's future, belong to lives
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other than your own, to respect the birthright dignity of all, To be
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guided by a power older than civilization or culture, older than time. To
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lift your eyes to a horizon beyond your day to day routine. I hope
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you enjoy the realm of Sanctuary. It is there for you, there for
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you to support you to rest renew and restore yourself. There to support you
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to reignite your passion, to reconnect you with your purpose, to remember who
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you are and all that is essential to re catalyze your life, force energy,
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to rejoice in your innate gifts of all creativity, imagination, inspiration,
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joy, and wonder. Sanctuary is there to help you let go of the
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daily grind so that you can recenter, recharge, and re enchant your life.
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I'm so grateful, so grateful for the many people in my life who
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have held, mentored and nurtured me, family, friends and total strangers who
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have helped me learn more deeply about Sanctuary and it's profound necessity and beneficial balm
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in my speed obsessed life. I'm part of the culture. I know you
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are too. I'm also grateful for the healing presences of place and the powerful
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guidance and sustenance of the Holy Spirit. I'm also grateful to you for caring
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enough about your and those you love to learn about Sanctuary. And finally,
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my deep gratitude to all the people in places and presences that continue to reveal
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the blessings of sanctuary. Now, for me, one of those many presences
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is poetry. So before I close this episode, I want to share a
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poem with you, a poem inspired by one of my favorite poets, Lucille
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Clifton. Lucille Clifton, Lucille for light. Even her name helps me.
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It just helps me tap into and drop into that beautiful realm of sanctuary.
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So this is one of my own poems called Blessing the Light. Blessing the
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Light, thinking of Lucille Clifton. May the stars that shimmer even now beneath
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the surface of our knowing light your way. May the stars that shimmer even
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now beneath the surface of our knowing light, your way beyond the valley of
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fear. May you open your arms, then pull them back, assured that
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another's will shelter you from any storm. May you lift your face to the
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sun, sun that favors you always, And may you, in your brilliance,
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shine a beacon for others from here to there. I hope these words
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have inspired you today, now you've heard me say this before. Inspired comes
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from the Latin inspiare inspirare which means to breathe into or upon, to breathe
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into or to breathe upon. So let this episode breathe into you and inspire
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you to a renewed energy, a renewed outlook, a renewed sense of hope,
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and a renewed life. And as you are revived and renewed and restored,
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be sure to share the wealth. Be sure to share your blessings at
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somebody else's table. That's how you do it. That's how you make your
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life count. You can be the change you seek. Just remember this.
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How you live is how you lead. You have the power to make our
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world a better place. All right. I want you to be sure to
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listen to this episode again and again, and be sure to tell somebody now.
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You can find me right here, right here, on iTunes, Audible,
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Alexa, SoundCloud, iHeart, tune in, spreaker, dot Com,
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Talk Network Radio, and so many other places. If you happen to miss
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any part of this week's show, or you missed last week's episode, you
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can simply download the recording and listen to it at your convenience. You can
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even listen to it on the go. Check us out at www. Dot
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Talknetwork Radio dot com, Forward Slash Hosts, Forward Slash Legacy Living. That's
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Talknetwork Radio dot com Forward slash Hosts, Forward Slash Legacy Living. You can
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learn more about my work and Legacy Living make your life count by visiting the
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Gloria Burgess website, and as I mentioned earlier in this episode, you can
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subscribe to my inspirations on my website. You just scroll down a bit,
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look on the right sidebar until you see the place to add your email to
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subscribe to my weekly inspirations. It's that simple, right, okay. So
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go to my website, scroll down a screen or two, then look on
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the right sidebar until you see the little place where you can add your email
30:14
to subscribe to my weekly inspirations. It's that simple. So again, to
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learn more about me and my work, just browse a bit on my website,
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or you can visit me on LinkedIn or on Facebook and you can find
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me on Facebook right here, Facebook dot com Forward slash Dr Dr for doctor
30:36
Gloria Burgess, pH d. Okay, so LinkedIn Facebook, Facebook dot com
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Forward slash Dr Gloria Burgess, pH D. You can also find me on
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the TEDx site and listen to one of my Ted Talks. Just type in
30:52
my name to find me there. Before I close today, I want to
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thank each of you for tuning in to today's show, for allowing me to
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share a bit about my journey with what legacy living is all about, not
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just living and learning, but living and learning and serving so that you make
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a difference in your own life and in the lives of others. It's about
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being on purpose every single day. Three sixty five twenty four seven. Legacy
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Living is a powerful way to make your life count. Once again, I
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want to thank you for joining me for today's show. I'm your host,
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doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess, and this is Legacy Living, Make your life count.
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Please join me again next time right here on Talk Network Radio for another
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episode of Legacy Living. Make your life count. Don't just count the days
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in your life. Make the days in your life count. That's what legacy
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living is all about. Have a fantastic day, and remember, make the
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days in your life count. God bless you. That's our show today.
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I'm your host, doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess. I hope you'll join me again
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next time. Until then, don't just count the days in your life.
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Make the days in your life count. That's what legacy living is all about.
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Here's to you have a fantastic day and be sure to make it a
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Yes kind of day. Remember to celebrate the music of your life. Make
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the days in your life count