Latest / Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess / Reboot: All About Self-Care | Episode #361

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Reboot: All About Self-Care | Episode #361 · 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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adviser. 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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It'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 yourself.
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Doctor Matthew Edlund says rest is the original transformative technology. I love that
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rest is the original transformative technology. Through rest, we rebuild, rewire,
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and renew ourselves. Literally, rest rebuild, rewire, and renew. Now,
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I have a very special word that I use for all of those r
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E words, a word that rolls them all together, and that word is
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sanctuary. In fact, I've written a book called Sanctuary, so you can
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check it out sometime an Amazon or go through your local indie bookseller. Now,
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we have all experienced sanctuary at some time in our lives. Many of
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you will recognize sanctuary as an intentional time out a purposeful pause from your normal
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stream of continuous activity. This purposeful pause taps into your innate sense, your
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inner knowing of the sacred. It is your soul's way to remember who you
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are. Who you are when you're not over committed, who you are when
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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 not
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numbed out. You're not merely going through the motions of living. Instead,
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you are living of 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. Chiros and chronos are two of
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them, and chiros means the time of the gods, the time of God,
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the eternal. In fact, Madeline Langle says that when we are in
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chiros, we are fully in isness, fully holy. Positively did you know
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that sanctuary resides within us? It dwells within our innermost being? And you
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know what, there are so many blessings that sanctuary offers. We've already talked
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about a few of them, so let's add a few more. In addition
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to rest and renewal, it also offers the blessings of respite, revelation,
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re ignition, and restoration. Now, I know that for some of you
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out there, this notion that sanctuary resides within us is kind of radical,
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right now. Why is that? Well, because most folks in our culture
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believe that sanctuary is something that exists outside of ourselves, outside of who we
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are. So let me be really clear, sanctuary is not a thing.
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However, certain experiences and physical places can provide clues about the feeling tone of
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the sanctuary within, for example, the experience of a long satisfying walk,
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or witnessing a breathtaking sunrise or sunset, or looking at snow capped mountains,
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cathedrals, forests, deserts, meadows, labyrinths, lakes, beautiful refuges of
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our own making. Most of us have enjoyed such experiences. Right now,
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I just got back from a long satisfying walk right next to the ocean,
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and on the other side wonderful floral gardens, roses and nasturtium and lupie and
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delphinium and all kinds of wonderful, beautiful flowers. Right, so we know
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instinctively, we know that these kinds of experiences can evoke the feeling tone of
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sanctuary, and they can also enhance our awareness of how we can cultivate sanctuary
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as an interior or inner resource. The key challenge to experiencing sanctuary is to
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actually make the transition from doing to being. Right, I'm going to repeat
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that because this is really important. Right, The important thing I want you
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to know is to make that shift from doing to being. That's really hard
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for us. Right. To make this shift, the first thing you have
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to do is to let go just let go of the business in the exterior
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realm of your life, in the exterior realm of doing, so that you
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can cross the threshold and enter your interior realm of being. Now, what
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does this mean? Another way of saying what I just said is to let
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go 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
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let it go so that you can actually enter the extraordinary realm of sanctuary,
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a 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.
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In other w words, if you're like me, especially, you have to
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let go of serving others, just for a while, just for you,
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so you can be of service to yourself. Now, I have to tell
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you that this sounds pretty simple, doesn't it, right? But simple isn't
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always easy. Again, especially if you're like me, you have to let
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go of at least a dozen or so things projects, whatever you're working on.
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You know, if you travel a lot like I do, and you're
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not used to slowing down to take care of you. Now, I'm really
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good at slowing down to care for my family, my friends, my clients,
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my students, right, but I find it very difficult to slow down
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just to take care of me. Am I speaking anybody out there? I
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know I am. So. When I wrote my book called Sanctuary, I
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actually dedicated it to my husband and best friend, who supports me in making
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it away for sanctuary and most importantly, practicing what I preach. So let
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me share a secret with you. When you attend to and care for yourself,
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when you attend to and care for your interior life, you will reap
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amazing rewards in your interior as well as your exterior life. Now, for
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some of you, I know that your inner sanctuary is readily accessible, like
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a dear friend. It's like an abiding, familiar and really profound presence.
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And when you're out of sync, when you're out of harmony, you simply
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access your inter sanctuary to help you remember who you are. You attune to
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the sacred whispers within yourself, to resenter yourself right, to welcome yourself home
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to your true nature. I sometimes call getting glorious groove back, right,
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But I know for most of us, sanctuary is often obscured. It's hidden
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from us. You know, maybe we could find it once upon a time
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when life was simpler, when life was slower, before you got married or
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had children, or got that promotion. But now it's just it's buried.
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It's gone. It's buried beneath the mound of disappointments, life draining, drama
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and distractions that you have actually allowed to invade and inhabit your interior life.
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And now you must discover or uncover all kinds of stuff, all kinds of
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distractions, and reacquaint yourself with your inner sanctuary. Let me tell you this,
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whether it's your constant companion or hidden deep within you, sanctuary summons you.
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It beckons you to liberate yourself from distraction, from exhaustion, from overwork,
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from too many yesses, to step away from the oppressive demands of clock
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time, of what we call chronos clock time. Right. Sanctuary is actually
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a summons, a calling calling to you to cross the threshold into the gracious
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realm of tranquility and refreshment, where the daily tyranny of hours and minutes and
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seconds no longer rule. This summons is an exquisite invitation, an invitation to
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step out of ordinary, out of the ordinary experience of life, and enter
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into cairos, that extraordinary experience of the eternal that lives and breathes within you.
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Sanctuary invites you to immerse yourself in this extraordinary time out of time,
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invites you to go to that lovely place inside yourself, that place where author
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pearl s Buck says she lives all alone, where she renews her springs that
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never dry up. Don't you love that? Now, this place, this
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interior place, this sanctuary is a marvelous presence that you can cultivate, and
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you take it with you wherever you go. I I actually believe that sanctuary
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is your soul's reason for being. As I mentioned earlier, seeking sanctuary requires
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you to slow down, to hit the pause button. Now, in our
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culture of speed, slowing down is not the norm. Slowing down is actually
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countercultural. So seeking and saying yes to sanctuary is a radical act. That's
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right. It's a radical act, a radical act of hospitality. Indeed,
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it is one of the wonderful ways we can inwardly proclaim and host the majesty
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of our soul. Like any other form of leadership or artistry, like any
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other form of declaring yourself and declaring your personal authority. Proclaiming your soul is
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a political act. I like to think of it as a revolutionary offering.
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That's right, a revolutionary offering of bread and water to the hungry and thirsty
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in spirit. That's right, and that's you. Right. Here's the good
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news. Here is a way to begin. A very simple way to begin
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to seek sanctuary is to notice those places and spaces and people and moments that
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nourish you, that refresh you, that revive you, that make you come
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fully alive. Perhaps it's a warm breeze brushing across your face, or falling
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asleep beneath a star studded sky, or gazing out upon a tranquil, rulian
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sea. Or maybe it's simply putting your feet up and relaxing in your favorite
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chair in a secluded spot in your living room or your backyard, or on
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your deck or porch or patio. Right. Maybe it's enjoying listening to soothing
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or uplifting music, or the sacred pause of life affirming silence. Hey.
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Or maybe it's unplugging from your iPad or cell phone for a whole day,
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right, Or maybe you just long to take a long, quiet stroll in
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the park while your husband stays home and watches the kids. You can also
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seek sanctuary by noticing what awakens your senses, by noticing what invigorates you and
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renews you colors, fragrances, images, shapes, sounds, tastes, textures,
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silence, and as you heighten your awareness of your sensory environment, you're
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actually equipping yourself. That's right, You're equipping yourself to notice, nourish,
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and nurture the sanctuary that resides within you. As you seek sanctuary, you're
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actually cultivating some of the habits or practices of sanctuary. Now in another episode,
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I include more practices and more habits that will help you cultivate sanctuary.
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For now, simply notice, just pay attention, notice the rhythm of your
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daily and weekly routines, and as you do, ask yourself a few questions.
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Ask yourself, what nourishes me, What nourishes me, what feeds me,
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what renews and rejuvenates me. Another question to ask yourself is what helps
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me feel rested and restored and what helps me feel fully alive and present.
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I'll repeat those questions because you might want to jot them down. Okay,
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what nourishes me, what renews and rejuvenates me, what helps me feel rested
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and restored, and what helps me feel fully alive and present. So,
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as you go through the rhythm of your daily routine, your weekly routines,
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ask yourself those questions, and don't judge yourself, but just notice, notice
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and ask yourself those questions. Now, your answers those questions will provide clues
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to your experiencing, seeking, and cultivating sanctuary. You might actually find yourself
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already practicing some of the habits of sanctuary. How cool is that? Right?
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Your responses will provide clues to what feeds and nourishes your soul. And
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when you acknowledge and claim your soul, you actually assert authority and power in
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your own life. You also cultivate resilience. Now, we all long for
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a way of being in the world that has an affinity with the soul,
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an affinity that opens us to experience the present moment with a sense of immediacy,
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intention, and emotion. Right in other words, were present for our
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own life. And some of those ways are things we take for granted,
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like appreciating the sun's warm fingers, the warm caress on our shoulders, our
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neck, our face on a beautiful summer morning, enjoying the relaxation and rhythm
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of play. It's loving yourself for who you are, not for who you
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want to be, for who you are being in an engaging, radiant relationship
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with people in your family, people who are your friends. Sanctuary nurtures our
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affinity with the soul. It allows you to splurge in your senses, to
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just feel them all and to be aware of them all. Be aware of
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something as it comes on the tip of your tongue right and you taste it
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and don't just swallow it, but you actually savor it. Sanctuary allows you
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to see with new eyes, to listen deeply, to appreciate the miracle of
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each new moment, each new day. It allows you to open new doors,
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to see beyond differences, to embrace our shared humanity, to be a
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global citizen, to engage in purposes beyond your own, believe in someone else's
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future, belong to lives other than your own, to respect the birthright dignity
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of all, To be guided by a power older than civilization or culture,
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older than time. To lift your eyes to a horizon beyond your day to
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day routine. I hope you enjoy the realm of Sanctuary. It is there
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for you, there for you to support you to rest renew and restore yourself.
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There to support you to reignite your passion, to reconnect you with your
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purpose, to remember who you are and all that is essential to re catalyze
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your life, force energy, to rejoice in your innate gifts of awe,
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creativity, imagination, inspiration, joy, and wonder. Sanctuary is there to
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help you let go of the daily grind so that you can resenter, recharge,
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and re enchant your life. I'm so grateful, so grateful for the
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many people in my life who have held, mentored and nurtured me, family,
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friends and total strangers who have helped me learn more deeply about Sanctuary and
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it's profound necessity and beneficial balm in my speed obsessed life. I'm part of
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the culture. I know you are too. I'm also grateful for the healing
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presences of place and the powerful guidance and sustenance of the Holy Spirit. I'm
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also grateful to you for caring enough about your self and those you love to
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learn about Sanctuary. And finally, my deep gratitude to all the people,
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in places and presences that continue to reveal the blessings of sanctuary. Now,
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for me, one of those many presences is poetry. So before I close
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this episode, I want to share a poem with you, a poem inspired
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by one of my favorite poets, Lucille Clifton. Lucille Clifton, Lucille for
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Light. Even her name helps me. It just helps me tap into and
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drop into that beautiful realm of sanctuary. So this is one of my own
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poems called Blessing the Light. Blessing the Light, thinking of Lucille Clifton,
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And may the stars that shimmer even now beneath the surface of our knowing light
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your way. May the stars that shimmer even now beneath the surface of our
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knowing light your way beyond the valley of fear. May you open your arms,
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then pull them back, assured that another's will shelter you from any storm.
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May you lift your face to the sun, sun that favors you always,
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And may you, in your brilliance, shine a beacon for others from
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here to there. I hope these words have inspired you today. Now you've
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heard me say this before. Inspired comes from the Latin inspirare inspirare, which
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means to breathe into or upon, to breathe into or to breathe upon.
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So let this episode breathe into you and inspire you to a renewed energy,
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a renewed outlook, a renewed sense of hope, and a renewed life.
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And as you are revived and renewed and restored, be sure to share the
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wealth. Be sure to share your blessings at somebody else's table. That's how
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you do it, That's how you make your life count. You can be
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the change you seek. Just remember this. How you live is how you
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lead. You have the power to make our world a better place. All
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right. I want you to be sure to listen to this episode again and
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again, and be sure to tell somebody Now. You can find me right
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here, right here, on iTunes, Audible, Alexa, SoundCloud, iHeart,
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tune in, sprigger dot com, Talk Network Radio, and so many
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other places. If you happen to miss any part of this week's show,
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or you missed last week's episode, you can simply download the recording and listen
29:11
to it at your convenience. You can even listen to it on the go.
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Check us out at www dot talk Network Radio dot Com Forward Slash Hosts,
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Forward Slash Legacy Living. That's Talknetwork Radio dot com. Forward Slash Hosts
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Forward Slash Legacy Living. You can learn more about my work and Legacy Living
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make your life count by visiting the Gloria Burgess website, and as I mentioned
29:48
earlier in this episode, you can subscribe to my inspirations on my website.
29:53
You just scrolled out a bit. Look on the right sidebar until you see
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the place to add your email to subscribe to my weekly inspirations. It's that
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simple, right, okay, So go to my website, scroll down on
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screen or two, then look on the right sidebar until you see the little
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place where you can add your email to subscribe to my weekly inspirations. It's
30:15
that simple. So again, to learn more about me and my work,
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just browse a bit on my website, or you can visit me on LinkedIn
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or on Facebook and you can find me on Facebook right here, Facebook dot
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com, Forward slash d r d R for doctor Gloria Burgess, pH d.
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Okay, so LinkedIn Facebook, Facebook dot com Forward slash Dr Gloria Burgess,
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pH D. You can also find me on the ted x site and
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listen to one of my ted talks. Just type in my name to find
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me there. Before I close today, I want to thank each of you
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for tuning in to today's show, for allowing me to share a bit about
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my journey with what legacy living is all about, not just living and learning,
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but living and learning and serving so that you make a difference in your
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own life and in the lives of others. It's about being on purpose every
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single day. Three sixty five twenty four seven. Legacy Living is a powerful
31:30
way to make your life count. Once again, I want to thank you
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for joining me for today's show. I'm your host, doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess,
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and this is Legacy Living. Make your life count. Please join me
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again next time right here on Talk Network Radio for another episode of Legacy Living.
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Make your life count. 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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Have a fantastic day, and remember, make the days in your life
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count. God bless you. That's our show today. I'm your host,
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doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess. I hope you'll join me again next time. Until
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then, don't just count the days in your life. Make the days in
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your life count. That's what legacy living is all about. Here's to you
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have a fantastic day and be sure to make it a Yes kind of day.
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Remember to celebrate the music of your life. Make the days in your life count