Higher Vibrations in Higher Education

Freefalling with the universe one sentence, job change, and breath at a time with Dr. Natalya Androsova

Dr. Natalaya Androsova, a writing and dissertation coach, studied linguistics & the communication and cultural aspects of language for her PhD. When I recorded this episode with Dr. Androsova, I felt so seen, safe, and held by her energy and trust with the universe. What I left knowing was that my inner writing critic isn't about my prose: It’s about my inability to prioritize time. Each of us might be “cobblers without shoes” as we pour our heart and soul onto the page, but are not yet published or not published in the way we hope. We talk about our own personal practices, remind you that you are never alone, and encourage you to remember that someone else might benefit from your words. Keep writing, keep sharing, build your trust in yourself, and as Natalya shares, you can borrow her trust in the meantime.
 
Other key takeaways:
Meditation can change relationship to writing and to Self
Be an apprentice of language- be open to what it has to teach and show today
We need to chisel away at the heaviness or writing. The heaviness we’ve put on ourselves and our writing; When she works with a client, she sees a person in front of her…she sees the whole, creative, brilliant, person, she doesn’t see “lack.”
She had to give up what she loves or find a new way (find a way) … then wrote 3 books in 3 years via 30-45 min
Trust life fully
Say yes to where life invites me if it aligns with my values; no more serving fear
Magic of 7 min writing meditation (more than 5 superficial and not overwhelming) from working with 100s of people
Writing is the meaning; freedom. "You come to the mat, I come to the page."
Safety, security, money, prestige—are all just external noise
When we believe life is my best friend, has my  back, is my secretary—magical synchronicity happen
Less we try to manage, the more successful life is
This document isn't a representation of your worth
Put down the need to change system, to surrender, it’s not about other people, is there a seeming conflict or miscommunication- the key is to look inside. What am I making this mean? Find joy within any circumstance
How important relationship with self: self reflection, self reliance, self compassion, self kindness, self forgiveness, self acceptance, self advocacy and self talk
Rare to be “not” flourishing because such a relationship with self
If you don’t need your books to be sold; you can be disciple of what you love; then writers and readers can be free
Expertise of others is distracting; show up as yourself
Everyone takes a journey from self doubt to self trust.. if you need to borrow my faith and trust, you can… you are not alone, there’s help and you have the strength and resources to trust yourself and be kind to yourself and writing
More at:
https://www.writingdissertationcoach.com/
 
https://www.instagram.com/natalya_androsova_/

How to use faith to not live a fragmented life with Tamra Andress

When I wanted to speak with someone about how to weave more faith and spirituality into my work as an academic Tamra Andress launched into my mind. Tamra is a best-selling author, spiritual entrepreneur, coach, podcaster, and ordained minister. She also happens to be someone I’ve known since 9th grade. When I stepped away from social media, she was stepping in and up with a colorful platform that “sells words” related to “obliterate(ing) shame and activat(ing) purpose” and putting faith at the forefront of entrepreneurial endeavors. We keep it pretty faith agnostic— so that you can see how spirituality can be an element within any given moment.
Her book, Always Becoming, is on bookshelves everywhere.
Tune in at F.i.T. in Faith podcast.
 
And her website: https://tamraandress.com/
 
Highlights include:
I can be all of myself, in all places. Here you are the body as an athlete; here as the mind because you are an academic …musician, actor, mom, wife… faith is an element that shows up in every single one. Show up as who you are in every given moment.
Living a bountiful life means not living a fragmented life…. Fragmentation will leave you disillusioned. “Disillusion will leave you lifeless and breathless.”
There is something to aging out of other people’s perceptions…Society, media, friends and family and social network encourage one version of me.
At a quarter life (or mid-life) crisis, someone might feel “wildly void”; that you have lost your voice not knowing what we’re passionate about, checking boxes of being busy.
Power in intentionality; busyness not so much. I tap into my mind body and spirit. And I choose to be here. In that choice, there is fulfillment.
When your passion becomes more of your pursuit than the prioritization of look or feel or accomplishment, you start to flourish. Passion can be hard… but favor follows friction
Can spirit be in the medical field as much as the church?
If you’re in the unpacking journey, just start somewhere.
Construct a life creativity. (check out Artisan Soul).
Let it go- keep falling, fall away from safety zone.
Don’t “wait for tenure” or “wait for retirement”—what does that even mean?
Sometimes people get removed when you evolve in mind body spirit entity, you might ask, “will someone evolve with me?”
7 year itch, biochemically, you have changed. Continue dating while married. Don’t ever stop getting to know someone as they grow.
Science and faith go hand in hand, but make a space where they don’t feel threatened? Academia blended with spirituality, releasing control…but those in academia want control.
Spirituality is not a separate entity of self.
Help other people develop passions from pains.
Curate message from past and what you imaging future to be to serve others.
Essence of a messenger—once you excavate- newness that is your human experience, divine revelation, learn yourself, research yourself and become more who you are supposed to be.
I will vocalize my essence- be free in one given moment and not a destination unknown.
Not in a religion you are in a relationship…An energetic exchange…Energy is something familiar scientifically.
 
Check out:
Book: Artisan Soul
Mode: Ikigai Finding Meaning in Work and Life

Samma Says: Belonging in academia

We all have those moments that challenge us: Do we belong here? We can use our senses to revisit the moment without being overwhelmed by it.
In this brief guided visualization, we embrace a moment where we felt that we didn't belong, process it, and balance the sacral chakra of connection and creativity.

Getting a PhD is an emotional experience with Dave Pena and Elizabeth Berry

On this episode, I interview Drs. Dave Pena and Elizabeth Berry. Elizabeth posted on Instagram about pursuing a PhD being anxiety provoking. She wondered: Where are the expectations coming from and why do we (as people) perpetuate it? It’s seen as a rite of passage. Is that reason enough? She thinks, wait my boss and committee members went through this too, and her “brain goes to would I ask these in a different way? Treat myself like they’re treating me?” What happens from the time you’re a PhD student to an assistant professor. We jump right in to dialogue and Dave shares some of his experiences and the conflict between what you want (to gain skills and get out) and what your mentor wants.  
What we know from research in Occupational Safety and Health is that leadership, specifically, middle management is an indicator of the environment. Which, sometimes can be toxic. Toxic to the point of illegal (some stories Dave shared offline). While all of us had different experiences, we had similar pain points of “not knowing" what we can or should do (or what a healthy level of expectation might be). Dave suggests a committee (like IACUC and IRB for grad students!). Elizabeth and I agree wholeheartedly and our conversation continues.  
We wrap with the challenges of deciding to stay or leave a lab. You have to choose your right kind of hard: What suits your personality, resources, abilities. Other take aways include:
If you are a mentor or mentee: Check on prior and current performance, attitude, past data … are they changing? What’s going on? Can something change for the better?
Through more communication and discussion, we need to change the discourse about mental health decline during grad school
We model based on what we’ve seen… just like we don’t know how to be students, we don’t know how to be leaders. There remains generational trauma – to break this cycle it takes people who are more awake and more in tuned with different parts of being a scholar and humans
When people are mis-mentored, or not mentored at all, they don’t know what to do because they were never taught (you are often so deep in your content, so you don’t have time for business and pedagogy classes)
We need more holistic education
We’re not all having the same experience, even in the same lab, but we still experience similar pain points.
*Bonus content of how I found yoga
Handles:
Elizabeth: @nature.neuroscience.phd
Dave: @doctor_pena and his start up: stremecoder.com and pluri.design

Samma Says: What comes after making a decision

We make decisions each day. We ruminate on whether it was the "right one." We lose perspective of our safety- our present. And our future. We often go to our "worst case scenario" instead of our "best case scenario." Tune in to this Samma Says for a guided meditation to engage your scenes and identify the best case scenario.

Samma Says: Some thoughts about academic service

We are not doing this academic work for anything except to be of service. Of service to the greater good, to our communities that we hope to empower, to provide answers to really tough questions. We are doing this to be vessels of service. We need to remember why we are doing what we’re doing. It’s hard to do that when something is absconded with or taken out of context, like service.
On this episode, I talk a little bit of trash about service within academia.
We’re expected to be of service to keep the system running and rolling.
Asked to serve dept, college, university, our topic-area societies/organizations and greater scientific community with the gift of our time.
Time is our most precious commodity.  But then we’re asked to review peer review journal articles, conference abstracts, presentations, webinars, guest lectures, ccommittee service...To do this and to do that—all for free. And at the end of the week, we sit back and think, "I didn’t actually even move the needle on the things that I’m paid to do.”
Why do we continue to agree to this and work 60, 80 hour weeks because we’re spending so much time serving the greater good that we’re not serving our labs, students, selves, and families, because we’re doing all this service to be an "internationally recognized whatever."
It’s because I was tricked by the word “service.” I want to be of service.I believe in putting in my time, energy and efforts—and it’s not altruistically necessary: It’s all to feed and fuel that we matter, that our opinion mattered along the way
I used to get a little excited when people would invite me because it meant that my opinion matters. We have to know that our opinion and our work matters and how to appropriately compensate.
 
Need to make this idea make it to the ears and hearts of administrators, of people who can rethink the infrastructure and think hey, maybe we should be compensated and level of peer review can be graded or valued, instead of getting shitty feedback that took 20 min or less and doesn’t advance the science
Money is energy. Money is an energetic exchange of your efforts.
Yoga principles for flourishing in academia and beyond, I’m recognizing that part of my lethargy, overwhelm, burn out is root chakra imbalance is based on how much time I spend in service to the “suits”—the people making money off of the business of education.  
I invite us to advocate for any opportunities to be compensated for your previous time. Your time, efforts, expertise are so appreciated, thank you for being part of this system and cycle of positivity and overwork or overwhelm.

Samma Says: Feeling overwhelmed? Pause with me for 5 minutes

You're feeling overwhelmed? Who wouldn't be with what you have going on. Take a few moments to pause with me and greet and explore the sensation of overwhelm.
Own, invest, take authority of your sensation
Identify where it lives in your body
Stay curious and build a relationship with the sensation
Emotions are energy in motion
Energy in motion
Emotional flexibility is the goal; strength to change is the goal; this is a workout for your soul
Thank you overwhelm for alerting me. I am not broken, I am human. I needed this sensation to cue me to pause.
Thank you, but I don't need you, Overwhelm, right this moment.
What do you need right now?
Be aware without judgement, be kind to you.

How to be in the skin you are in with Terri Miller

Trigger warning: In this episode, Terri and I complete our conversation from the previous episode (How to take up space) and the dance that people have to engage in: Between dressing, presenting, and acting how we want and the repercussions of it. We talk about what people might think or say...and don't directly address what people might do, but we address that living out loud or the nuance of "living in the skin you're in" is challenging. We talk about how being sensual and dressing up does not equate to sexual, and there's a right use of energy for each of us to explore in our own ethics and parameters. But: When we try to hide ourselves, we're not helping to take up space. Other comments include:
-Practice- exposure therapy- of just doing it—showing up as yourself.
- When you live out loud there’s a possibility that people will say or do something...You can't tell people that they can’t say something.
-If you are living out loud, you have to figure out how you’re going to navigate it.
- Baffling that we can’t see ourselves how others have seen us
- There's a spectrum of low self esteem to egoic—where on the spectrum am I? I acknowledge the ways in which I was pretending in past.
- Based on our experiences (pain, shame, trauma), some of us have expanded and contracted
- Most people living life in a more feminine way have had those experiences where it’s not safe to live out loud
- What I put out and how it’s received are two different things
- I don’t want to be chosen anymore—as women we dress up to get attention—we are doing it for us.
- How do I do this, lipstick, be confident, be cute, and there’s a possibility that someone is going to say something. I can’t control it.
- We chameleon to fit, mold.. belong but I don’t even know how I like my own eggs (Julia Robert’s character on Runaway Bride-- not knowing yourself)
- Being chosen v doing the choosing
- Personal transformation of a divorce- taking all the layers of taking it off, chosen different, I don’t want to be chosen anymore, when I wear the lipstick or the outfit, I’m choosing
-Practice loving yourself, choosing yourself, being your best friend. Giving yourself grace when you don’t have enough water, food, or a best friend to hype you up.
- Trying to keep up, trying to be cute. To be chosen. To keep up. It’s never enough.
- Continuously treading water. Even when nobody says you’re not enough…
-More grounded and confident and sexier and whatever today than when we’re jumping around trying to get chosen
- I’m not here for your eyes, approval, permission—being sensual isn’t being sexual. Explore your own ethics, morals, practices. It’s complicated.
- They might think that I was looking for attention. Maybe they did maybe they didn’t
- When you're on autopilot, sometimes you forget to look at yourself in the mirror and say something nice. Give it a try!
- My new wish is to help someone get there before 37. Wisdom, confidence, age.. throwing stone to someone behind us.. love yourself, be your own best friend
- Accountability partners are important-- for when you can't see you the way someone who loves you does. If you've lost touch with a friend, you can always reach back out

How to take up space with Terri Miller

Terri Miller brings her expertise in education to create plain language to disseminate science and policy to a very broad audience via the Federal Trade Commission. She provides us with strategies to cultivate grace for ourselves, and to give us time and space for learning, growing, and sharing. Terri and I talk about science, and life, and distraction and presence all at once and how we find friends to be mirrors on our work-life journeys (hint: it's just life). Terri shares that she is not a yoga practitioner or scientist by trade but that this podcast and the samma says reminders help her get energy out and remember to breathe-- helping to show that this podcast is for all: In and out of the academy- those who love or are less familiar with yoga principles. Other mental chatter-stopping takeaways are:
Is it ever enough? It’s not, so on this moment I will take a breath and just be to try to find the balance of being a professional, a high performer and being able to stop in the middle of that and just breathe
“What works” for wellness is found by “trail and error on what works for you: Right now a tool is to live in all the spaces of your house- take up this space that I’ve purchased. Using all the space—shake up the monotony of “this is what I do”
How do you unlearn or learn that other people’s opinions about me (appearance, activities) doesn’t define you? It starts with “confidence at home… is in the everyday things… and conversations.”
You don’t need “their” permission. Not everyone has to like you… who you are and what you bring to the table and what your values are (is never based on someone else's opinion).
Talking to ourselves the way our best friend would speak to us… how do we become one of our own best friends…Maybe that’s the cheat code to be our own best friend and boost each other (to speak more kindly to ourselves in our own minds)
You think these things in your head… but when you do it in practice, it’s a moment to walk into a room not caring what other people think. I am going to take up all the space. I don’t need permission.
Give interns or student staff a seat at the table so they can understand context. Either at big meetings or when not appropriate, one on one… Have empathy, creating space…giving pieces that they need to tie it together… carve out the time to have those conversations. Being intentional about their time with you. There are things they want to get out of the time with you and a lot of that doesn’t happen without intention
The practice of …being in the seat of a learner and having a curiosity about things ideally would help you to remember that you have not always known the things that you know…and that you don’t know everything
“One thing that has been so helpful during this “intimidating work, imposter syndrome, am I enough, there’s not enough hours in the day, is this the right fit… did I make a bad career choice/decision.” Is to run into the fire and set up 1:1 with your boss. Creates the opportunity to show what you’re bringing to the table and to get feedback
Flourishing is when I have carved out space for people who are important to me
How important it is to not should on yourself. When you’ve given what you have to give, leave some grace for yourself. And in that moment you carved for yourself, don’t “should.”
Find Terri on Linked In at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terri-miller1/

How to recalibrate within your one precious life with Dr. Jessica Matthews

Jess Matthews
Dr. Jessica Matthews is here to “surprise and delight” us with her authenticity and reminders as she weaves life lessons, including some from yoga principles such as the yamas and niyamas and a near-death experience, into everyday life. My biggest take away from the conversation was how to show up as yourself, in all spaces. Who you are in the classroom, on the street, or on a podcast could be the same person. And, the less time we spend pretending, the more time we can spend toward our true north, which is creating spaces for students to learn and grow. We wrap with the reminder that you only have one life: so there is no “work/life” balance—it’s just a balance. Other highlights include:
An ongoing subject worth discussing: whether you want to be called by your “Dr” title or not
Having great relationships is one facet of a greater whole, great relationships are rooted in compassion. When we see others who are struggling, who don’t show up in their best way… we meet them with genuine compassion. We have no idea what they are navigating in their life.
I can only control my inner world: my own thoughts, response, and in turn actions
Yamas and niyamas are guiding principles for how we interface with the world
The importance of us to have honest dialogue about actual things that happen- staya. Speak truthfully in a nonviolent way (ahimsa). Kind candor.
Genuine curiosity about an exchange, the players involved… no stereotypes or generalizations. Broach certain subjects with kind candor in mind.  
Nutshell version of “what is life.” Just being a human is a very intricate journey and so is my professional one… they are intertwined… because I’m a person who shows up in all these places
Root issues are not attended to… prevention chronic disease and the very things that prevent them can also effectively treat them.
I know so much about the human body… people “know” they should mitigate stress but they don’t do those things… so I went and got immersed in behavioral science
Concerned about the revenue generating nature of yoga teacher trainings (YTT): about the amount of money and then who would have access to those training; so she built a YTT at community college. Accessible, cost effective, and the quality is high.
I work with real, whole people
(People) operate from the place they know… they give you options, A or B… a natural evolution for an educator. … we can’t be told what’s possible by people who don’t know what’s possible.
Positive psychology has a lot of misinterpretation… it is not saying that we discount the totality of the human experience—there is inherent suffering—life will have not bright spots… shift away from toxic positivity… but to shift in mentality to look for a moment to look at what is going right?
I’m an optimist and a realist… the optimist in me sees more value given… to wear all the hats (academy, industry, clinical) stay on same mission that we’re here to serve the students. Same shared page is recognizing that there is value in having diverse experiences. Our true north, our shared mission is the students
She developed a coaching conference with the ideas that: Speakers compensated; price should be something that is accessible; and you know what also, it could serve the greater good. So she engineer a lot of things.
(A healthy lifestyle) is a practice, not a perfect, continual recalibration always… seasons of life and professional journey turning up and down dials
“Values are front and center; health and wellbeing, relationships; … I don’t stray. They are very solid and firm. How much I’m in them (may shift)”
Yoga and mindfulness practices apply in life. What we do on the mat is such a small sliver of living mindfully.
Busyness is not a badge of honor—around 46 min
Stretch opportunity- challenge me but that’s actually supportive of change. The right amount of discomfort, not a huge change… just a right amount of stretch to move the wheels in the direction you want to go. What works for one person (or what I assume about someone), we don’t know all the intricacies of people. Unique motivators; what are you called to do in your life.
Life is exactly what it is: not permanent, not guaranteed. If this was my last day to roam on earth, what would I be doing? Operating principles (even before near death experience).
“Waking up with joy to live fully (oh you’re energetic and upbeat) nope, I’m human… there have been some things that are… difficult. If I wake up every day and ask how can I be of service among the challenges – among the dark spots. The darkest of dark isn’t fully dark. Flourishing is the opportunity to live this day to its fullest.”
Emotional wellbeing says have an array of emotions… but in those difficult times, what can I be grateful for. Perspective is at the heart of flourishing, at the heart of wellbeing… to live “the good life.”
We all hear “work life balance” you have one life… I don’t know how else to say it. You have one. Multifaceted nature… but one life and opportunity to discern how do we really find meaning in our own life, so we can flourish… live it as fully as we can for the amount of time we get the privilege of living. Recognize your one life—professionally personally.
Constant pretending is what’s bothering so many faculty and staff. Pretending to be the good whatever. Instead find the effortlessness of being you.
More at: https://drjessmatthews.com/