Sacred Pathways: Stories & Wisdom from Walking the Heart's Way – Details, episodes & analysis

"You and me, God. Just You and me".

In this episode, I share some life updates with you around where my focus has been and where the path is calling me to go towards. This will be the last Sacred Pathways episode for a while. I've been guided to let this rest as it evolves into something reflective of now. If you wish to stay connected, you can join the Substack newsletter which will remain active: https://sacredpathways.substack.com/ You can also stay connected to me and my work here: https://www.jivanmuktahealing.com/If you'd like to join for the online dialogue and Q&A with 3rd Space on Saturday June 28th, register below: https://3rd-space.org/sydney-searchwell-simpson/ I look forward to continuing this path with you in evolving ways. For in the change, I uncover the endless depths of this sacred Heart.

Be well, Beloveds <3 Bamboo wind chimes at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700526/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

“I feel like when I attune to the severances [of domination], the pain is my map to the practice of belonging” - ridhi d’cruz

In this episode of the Sacred Pathways: Stories & Wisdom from Walking the Heart's Way, we journey with ridhi d’cruz on belonging to oneself, each other, the land and Life as a pathway to liberation. 

Chapters:

00:30 - 1:58 - Introduction 

01:59 - 16:34 - ridhi’s story: belonging as a pathway

16:35 - 20:37 - sydney’s story & navigating relational crisis with belonging

20:38 - 23:15 - navigating the whole potentiality of the human spectrum

23:16 - 33:36 - caste, ancestry and the Land in our belonging

33:37 - 45:20- accountability and repair on the path to belonging 

45:21 - 49:54-  Buddhist teaching of the 2 arrows

49:55 - 54:06 - moving through fear to power

54:07 - 58:50 - belonging in body as path to spirit

58:51 - 1:03:51 - slowing down in presence on (y)our unique path

1:03:52 - 1:07:12 - being enough as Life

1:07:13 - 1:14:19 - celebrating Life as the home of our belonging

1:14:20 - 1:16:11 - closing

ridhi’s bio & links:

ridhi d’cruz (they/them) is a gender-wild, neurospicy Malayali who grew up in the city of Bangalore in southern India and moved to the unceded lands of the Chinook people (Portland, USA) in 2010 to pursue a graduate program in sociocultural and applied anthropology. Trained as a journalist and anthropologist, they fondly identify as a facilitator, artist and educator. Their life artistry roots at the intersections of place, healing, design and creativity. They have dedicated over a decade of their life on Turtle Island, working with communities to cultivate liberatory processes, projects and places that enrich our belonging to ourselves, to Land and to each other. They strive to honor the Original Peoples as well as their sacred and stolen Lands with whom they are so honored to be deepening relationship with in two continents connected by the Pacific Ocean.

You can find their website and more of their work here https://www.ridhidcruz.net/ 

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www.jivanmuktahealing.com

Bamboo wind chimes at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700526/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

“Silence is the capacity to hear what is within and beyond sound. What is within and beyond what’s spoken. An effortless hearing; a doorway to true listening.” - Sydney Searcwell-Simpson

In this episode of Sacred Pathways, I share an unedited stream-of-consciousness reflection written during a writer’s circle, at a time when I was deeply listening—within and around—for how the Divine wished to move through me. As I responded to a prompt on silence, what emerged was not polished or planned, but a raw and honest meditation on the sacredness of silence as the birthplace of expression, a sanctuary of truth, and a threshold where the formless takes form.

This episode explores:– Silence as a living and generative presence– The tension between self-doubt and the desire to be a channel– The creative power of unfiltered expression– How deep listening prepares us to hear and midwife what wants to be born through us

May this be a mirror and companion on your journey of listening, creating, and becoming 🙏🏽

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YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/@sacredpathwayspodcast 

Apply to be a guest on the Sacred Pathways podcast: https://forms.gle/9pyxPWqHXMJ91Xrz7

Connect with Sydney:

www.jivanmuktahealing.com

Bamboo wind chimes at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700526/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

“At the end of the day, if you can activate love of the Divine in whatever shape or form that takes. And if you can do that through loving each other and finding love for yourself, isn’t that a common principle amongst almost all spiritual traditions? And shouldn’t we use that as a commonality to understand that we’re speaking the same language just maybe in different dialects, accents and tones?” - Kevala Bhakti Dasa from Kirtan Culture Initiative

To watch the full video interview of this episode, follow this link: https://youtu.be/Alsr_hyOv-8 

In this episode of the Sacred Pathways: Stories & Wisdom from Walking the Heart's Way, we journey with Kevala Bhakti Dasa & Taravali Devi Dasi of the Kirtan Culture Initiative through the Bhakti Yoga Path.

00:00 - 01:25 - Intro

01:26 - 03:53 - Invocation

05:00 - 07:47 - What is Bhakti

07:48 - 10:22 - The Role of the Heart in Bhakti

10:23 - 16:29 - Storytime - How the Bhakti Path Chose Kevala & Taravali 

16:30 - 22:00 - The Importance of Spiritual Community & Why They Serve Through Kirtan

22:01 - 26:51 - Kevala’s Profound Kirtan Experience

26:52 - 28:43 - Taravali’s Profound Kirtan Experience

28:43 - 30:59 - Letting the Path Find You

31:00 - 42:04 - Getting to the Heart of God / God’s Universality

42:05 - 46:00 - Energetic Vibration of Devotional Music

46:01 - 55:59 - Walking the Talk & Evenness of Being

56:00 - 1:03:10 - Awakening Divine Love Through Devotion

1:03:11 - 1:08:23 - Practicing Detachment & Connecting to Life

Kirtan Culture Initiative Bio & Links:

The Kirtan Culture Initiative is a Toronto-based kirtan yoga group that shares musical mantra meditation through deeply meditative and joyful experiences.  Founded by the husband-and-wife team of Kevala and Taravali, both of whom have been raised with the practices of kirtan and bhakti-yoga, the Kirtan Culture Initiative has facilitated kirtan events all around the Greater Toronto Area and even in cities across Canada!  The members of the group focus on sharing mantras, music and the culture of bhakti in an accessible and approachable fashion.  

https://www.kirtanculture.com/ 

https://www.iskcon.org/ 

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Join our online community for exclusive posts, community gatherings & more: https://sacredpathways.substack.com/ 

Apply to be a guest on the Sacred Pathways podcast: https://forms.gle/9pyxPWqHXMJ91Xrz7

Connect with Sydney:

www.jivanmuktahealing.com

Bamboo wind chimes at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700526/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 

*the audio was quality was disrupted by a computer fan, so please be patient with the muffled quality. I promise the quality of the conversation is worth it🤍

“The way that our lives are designed, every single one of us takes part in systems of mass lies everyday. Where we’re not what we say we are: in our food, in our water, our energy, our waste, our transportation. None of us are who we say we are.” - Robin Greenfield

To watch the full video interview of this episode, follow this link: https://youtu.be/EN2yJCvp90M

In this episode of the Sacred Pathways Podcast, we journey with Robin Greenfield through:

0:29 - 1:55 - from millionaire dreams to becoming a man who owns nothing

1:56 - 9:08 - letting everything go for Truth & Freedom

9:09 - 15:14 - the role of ego and wanting to be “somebody”

15:15 - 18:50- The Truth & Transparency Series: healing through having nothing to hide

18:51 - 25:57- the fear of being ourselves and why we hide

25:58 - 38:13 - expanding beyond masks formed under domination culture/consciousness

38:14 - 47:02 - Oneness as teacher

47:03 - 50:56 - finding Home inside of yourself

50:57 - 53:40 - guidance for those coming into Truth

✨

Robin's Bio & Links:

Robin’s Instagram

On Racial Biases

On Privilege

On Non-ownership

Robin Greenfield is a truth-seeker, activist, social reformer and servant to Earth, humanity and the plants and animals we share our home with. His life is an experiment with truth and integrity. At the heart of Robin’s action-based philosophy is his dedication to living simply and sustainably as a means of resistance to systems of oppression and exploitation. Through living closely connected to Earth, he is on a path of personal liberation. Through living simply, he rejects societal standards of consumerism that contribute to great inequity and injustice.

Robin’s public activism involves dramatic gestures designed to reach the mainstream and to provoke critical thought, self-reflection and positive change. His activism creates nuanced conversations on the critical issues of our time, with a focus on solutions for living in harmony. His activism has been covered by media worldwide and he has been named “The Robin Hood of Modern Times” by France 2 TV and “The Forest Gump of Ecology”. What Robin is dedicated to is simple – liberation and basic rights for all – Earth, humanity and our plant and animal relatives.

Read Robin’s full bio here

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Connect with Sydney: https://www.jivanmuktahealing.com/

Bamboo wind chimes at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700526/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

"It begins when we embrace the full Truth of this reality- of our eternal, infinite, unchanging nature within the realm of the changing, temporal, and limited. How can we honour both of these Truths and allow it to expand the path and the possibilities?” - Sydney Searchwell-Simpson

In this episode of the Sacred Pathways: Stories & Wisdom from Walking the Heart's Way, we journey with Sydney through a spontaneous channel that explores finding balance, relationship and expansion in the dance between our Eternal, Infinite & Unchanging Nature with our Temporal, Limited and Ever-Changing Personal Identities.

Sydney shares personal experiences of awakening to the truth that exists beyond the body and unravels the myth that living in this state must be disembodied and ego-less. Here, she shares that when our personal identities are rooted in our Eternal Truth, we become more deeply embodied and can play in the Infinite possibilities of the Soul through the ever-changing experiences of being human. Imagine the kind of world possible when built from that point...

Timestamps:

00:00 - 2:16 Opening to Flow

2:17 - 4:59 The Importance of Getting Clear 

5:00 - 6:33 Example 1: Race & Living Beyond Perception

6:34 - 11:10 The Complexity of Identities Made in Untruths

11:11 - 12:10 Example 2: Timelessness Through a Puppy Bite

12:11 - 16:18 What Exists Between & Beyond the Temporal

16:19 - 17:22 How A Disconnected Ego Can Highjack Loving Action

17:23- 19:30 The Ego is Not A Problem

19:30 - 20:50 Story: God’s Question When We Die

20:51 - 22:07 Beware the Pedestal

22:08 - 23:20 This Is Heaven 

23:21 - 25:59 Finding Balance between the Eternal & The Temporal

26:00 - 28:11 Practice of Being the Garden of Truth

28:12 - 32:10 Eternity is Not A Problem That Needs Solving

32:11 - 34:21 Expansion - Personal Identity is a Necessary Tool

34:22 - 36:57 “Be Essence: Return to Being”

36:58 - 39:28 The World That Is Possible From Here

39:29 - 41:18 Closing 

Subscribe & Listen to the Sacred Pathways here:

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Apply to be a guest on the Sacred Pathways podcast: https://forms.gle/9pyxPWqHXMJ91Xrz7

Connect with Sydney here: https://www.jivanmuktahealing.com/

Bamboo wind chimes at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700526/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

this episode contains some swearing “What ways of knowing are in the darkness? Are in the cauldron [of unknowing]?” - Noah Souder-Russo

To watch the full video interview of this episode, follow this link: https://youtu.be/93ghrkgR3Co

In this episode of the Sacred Pathways: Stories & Wisdom from Walking the Heart's Way, we journey with Noah Souder-Russo through:

4:24- 11:35 The Intimacy of Not Knowing11:36 - 16:35 Rooting into Unknowing 16:36 - 25:17 The Dark Feminine & Noah’s Experience of the Collective Transition 25:18 - 34:16 Where We Find Refuge 34:17 - 42:05 Sydney’s Experience of the Collective Transition 42:06 - 45:00 How Sydney Listens 45:01 - 51:02 How Noah Listens 51:03 - 1:01:16 Noah’s Prayer into the Unknown

Noah’s Bio & Links:

Noah’s website: http://iamnsr.com/

Noah’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noahsouderrusso/ Noah Souder-Russo is an urban ritualist, sonic explorer, and guide during this time of transition. His offerings center around deconditioning/healing through music, writing, and community gatherings. Noah honors the sacredness of not-knowing, confusion, and chaos, as a doorway to the divine, deepening our relationship with our intuition and frequency of authentic expression.

As a long-time DJ, music producer, and performer, Noah has had the deep fortune to connect with countless beings - both seen and unseen - through the creative field.

Noah also earned a masters in Women’s and Gender Studies, supporting the work of healing internalized patriarchy and exploring authentic embodiments of masculinities.

He recently emerged from a three-month silent meditation retreat and honors the transmissions he's received from all of his teachers, including Jozen Tamori Gibson, Thanissara, and Kittisaro.

For the Human Design folks, Noah is a ¼ Splenic Projector, Right Angle Cross of Eden.

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Join our online community for exclusive posts, community gatherings & more: https://sacredpathways.substack.com/ 

Apply to be a guest on the Sacred Pathways podcast: https://forms.gle/9pyxPWqHXMJ91Xrz7

Connect with Sydney:

www.jivanmuktahealing.com

Bamboo wind chimes at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700526/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

“The spiritual, ecological, social, political, relational discord we are witnessing and participating in is a necessary awakening to the call for change. The call of transformation … of evolution: the evolution of Life, the evolution of human consciousness, the evolution of how we choose to relate to ourselves, the human and beyond human Life around us, and to Life itself.” - Sydney Searchwell-Simpson 

To watch the full video interview of this episode, follow this link: https://youtu.be/NnFTJc1_dJk 

In this episode of Sacred Pathways: Stories & Wisdom from Walking the Heart's Way, we take our first steps on the Timeless & Pathless Path of the Heart. Sydney shares her why for starting this podcast and plants seeds of connection and contemplation such as:

00:00 - 00:28 - Introduction

00:29 - 2:06 Communal Heart Practice 

2:07 - 3:44 Reconnecting Humanity to the Sacred Here & Now

3:45 - 6:05 Grappling with Our Inheritance & Heeding the Call to Change 

6:06 - 7:30 Being Initiated into the Heart’s Way & Unraveling the Consciousness of Domination 

7:32 - 8:39 What Pilgrims of the Heart Know

8:55 - 10:41 Why the Heart - The Pathless & Timeless Path

10:42 -12:12 The Necessity of Courage 

12:13 - 13:30 Expanding Our Capacity to Live from Truth of Heart 

13:31 - 14:17 Welcome to Sacred Pathways 

14:23 - 15:16 Apply to be on the podcast + Join Community on Substack + Connect with Sydney’s loving service♥️

15:21 - 16:07 Closing

Subscribe & Listen to “Sacred Pathways: Stories & Wisdom from Walking the Heart’s Way” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify & Youtube. 

Join our online community for exclusive posts, community gatherings & more: https://sacredpathways.substack.com/ 

Apply to be a guest on the Sacred Pathways podcast: https://forms.gle/9pyxPWqHXMJ91Xrz7 

Learn + Connect with Sydney:

www.jivanmuktahealing.com 

Bamboo wind chimes at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700526/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 

Lately, my mantra has been “I let it all go for union with God.”

As I’ve moved through my day noticing any fears, doubts, projections, judgements about my path, other people or the future, I’ve noticed that repeating this mantra has given me the power to redirect my focus on what is true and important, here and now.

Rather than giving those fears, doubts, judgements, etc. more energy, this mantra helps me remember that they are impermanent passings of the mind for me to notice and be aware of, but they are not the direction in which I am aimed.

My sitting and living meditations have deepened my state of being to a sacred point where I only feel the desire to surrender to what is here: to be intimate and led by whatever is being accessed.

This surrender nurtures the life-giving and sustaining fires of devotion in me to the Inexplicable and Undeniable: that which is between and beyond the temporalities of this Life.

This emptiness, this clarity, this openness allows Love in its fullest expression to flow through me. And it is here that I am wholly aimed.

I’m taking risks in the direction of Truth and the feeling of my freedom merging with Life’s freedom is absolute bliss.

I’m reflecting on the journey in which Life has taken me and I am left in awe at how it has unfolded and a deepened understanding of my role as it continues to unfold:

One of presence.

One of surrender.

One of complete trust.

One where there is nothing to do but be open to instruction.

One where I commit to nothing but Truth.

One devoted to the expression of this Love.

feel free to share this post or my publication with loved ones <3

On my walk yesterday under the bright and blinding winter Sun, I received the guidance that I am the offering.

The Truth of who I am and have always been and will always be is my ultimate offering to Life, God, Love, and All.

There is nothing else needed from me. There is nothing else expected of me. There is nothing else desired from me.

And this is true for everyone.

What could Life be like if our presence invited others to experience the Eternal?

What could Life be like if our focus was union with God with Truth as our compass and Love at our center?

What becomes possible then?

These questions excite me as much as they expand me and I know that they are guiding me on my own evolution.

I love this journey I walk… and I could spend an eternity being led by that which has guided me here.

So, you shall find me here in this glorious dance with the Beloved with arms and hearts open to all who wish to join.

Thank you for engaging with my expressions. There are many ways to support Sacred Pathways. Becoming a paid or free subscriber is one of them!

Blessings Beloveds!

an offering from my own process - Mashallah! I have been and will be in deep refinement - becoming closer to the Divine who is strengthening me on the path set before me. I pray you are all in peace and presence and that this story offers you love and support through the wholeness our journeys Home hold. May you trust in the perfection and mercy in every step and remember that renewal is a promised blessing by the Beloved to all who seek Him.

Here are the resources mentioned in the episode:'When the Heart turns to Stone: Ancient Sufi Secrets for Spiritual Renewal' : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnLEx3Bz0fI "Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam" by A. Helwa https://sultanbahu.net/storage/pdf/pdf/books/46_A.%20Helwa%20-%20Secrets%20of%20Divine%20Love_%20A%20Spiritual%20Journey%20into%20the%20Heart%20of%20Islam-Naulit%20Publishing%20House%20(2020).pdf