Grief and Light Podcast Nina Rodriguez

How do we free ourselves when we’re confined?
How can we heal from the trauma of our lived experiences?

THE OCEAN INSIDE ME is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling, spiritual memoir about healing racial trauma as a person of color incarcerated in an almost all-white prison. Amidst harsh conditions and blatant racism, R.G. Shore learned to meditate by going into his body, befriending his shadow, and learning to sit with the traumas held by his younger self.

Through his journey within, R.G. Shore learned to love and accept the cause of his deepest pain -- his brown body. His prison radio became the conduit by which he transcended the limitations of prison. The static white noise helped transform a world of concrete and injustice into a world where he could connect to nature and find healing through the element of water. 

His embodied spiritual journey eventually led him to studying law, where he advocated for the very men who oppressed him.

A Master in meditation, R.G. Shore found a way to liberate his inner child in the most unlikely place, and is now offering a path for you to find healing as well. 

This spiritual memoir also offers practical guided steps for you to begin your healing journey.

R.G. Shore Social & Website:
Instagram: @northwest_wisdomWebsite: northwestwisdom.orgBuy the Award-Winning BookMasterclass: Healing Trauma Through Visual MeditationBook a Reiki and Spiritual Counseling SessionJessie Shore YogaContact: r.g.shore@northwestwisdom.orgReferenced in Episode:
Race, Space, and Resistance in America's Whitest Big CityOxford Academic Article“The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America” published in The AtlanticStudy: Portland is one of whitest cities in US
Nina Rodriguez Social & Website:
Instagram: @griefandlightWebsite: griefandlight.comWays to Work with Me1:1 Grief SupportGrief & Light PodcastSubscribe to my newsletter
Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safety
Support the Show.
Thank you for listening! Please share with someone you love.

Want your story featured in a podcast episode?
Please contact me via IG @griefandlight, via email at nina@griefandlight.com.

“Not everything happens for a reason, but sacred gifts MAY be found in everything that happens – even (and especially) in the most painful things.”  – Not Another Self-Help Book
That’s a quote from the newly published Amazon best-seller titled, "Not Another Self-Help Book: Finding Gifts in the Midst of Life's Sh*t," by guest, Lindsey Kane Leaverton,  who bravely shares her personal journey through grief, loss, and trauma, navigating life's challenges with resilience and humor.

A multifaceted individual, Lindsey serves as the director of wealth management at a boutique financial planning firm in Austin. 

She has seven recorded albums under her belt, is a self-taught guitarist and vocalist, a mother of three, an Amazon best-selling author, and has been featured on The Today Show, The New York Times, People Magazine, and TIME.

Beyond her professional pursuits, she has a strong sense of faith, a vibrant personality, and not-so-secretly dreams of pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian someday. 

In this candid episode, we delve into various pivotal moments that shaped Lindsey's life and personal story, including undergoing conversion therapy, reconciling her faith and lived reality within a conservative religious community, experiencing various traumas, losses, and finding the little miracles and hope in life's most challenging moments.


Lindsey Kane Leaverton's Social & Website:
Website: notanotherselfhelpbook.comGet the book on AmazonShe's a Lot Interview SeriesInstagram: @lindseykaneleavertonFacebookListen on SoundCloud
Nina Rodriguez Social & Website:
Instagram: @griefandlightWebsite: griefandlight.comWays to Work with Me1:1 Grief SupportGrief & Light PodcastSubscribe to my newsletter
Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

#griefandlight #griefandlightpodcast

Interested in sponsoring an episode? Contact us via info@griefandlight.com.
Support the Show.
Thank you for listening! Please share with someone you love.

Want your story featured in a podcast episode?
Please contact me via IG @griefandlight, via email at nina@griefandlight.com.

What role does movement play in grief?

Emily P. Bingham is a certified grief educator, grief coach, widow, and founder of moveTHRU, which she created after the loss of her husband, Ian, in 2019 to Uveal Melanoma.

moveTHRU was born as a way to create new meaning out of her tragedy by helping others heal.

Her book -- LOVE AND GRIEF: Find Healing, Meaning & Purpose in Life After Loss -- teaches readers how to survive early grief, how to find meaning and purpose as you grow from this experience, and how to rebuild a life where you ultimately thrive.

Emily has worked with hundreds of clients in both private and coaching groups. Additionally, she has reached millions of followers through her social media content.

Her goal is to help anyone who has experienced a loss embrace grief through movement and mindset.

In this open conversation, Emily shares her journey from caretaker of her beloved husband Ian, to newly bereaved widow and mother of two under the age of 3, to how she rebuilt her life helping others, and how she's ultimately thriving through grief and love.

Her story is ultimately one of resilience, surrendering, and deeply understanding that "nothing is ever lost".

Emily P. Bingham's Social & Website:
Website: movethrugrief.comInstagram: @emilypbinghamFacebookTikTokBuy the book: LOVE AND GRIEF
Nina Rodriguez Social & Website:
Instagram: @griefandlightWebsite: griefandlight.comWays to Work with MeSubscribe to my newsletter
Episodes of topics referenced in this episode:
Continuing Bonds: Death ends a life, but not a relationshipThe pain is real, but the suffering is optionalGrief and personal boundariesDisclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

#griefandlight #griefandlightpodcast

Interested in sponsoring an episode? Contact us via info@griefandlight.com.
Support the Show.
Thank you for listening! Please share with someone you love.

Want your story featured in a podcast episode?
Please contact me via IG @griefandlight, via email at nina@griefandlight.com.

In this episode, we deep dive into the reality of experiencing life's duality in its fullness as guest, Kera Sanchez, experienced both the birth of her daughter and the unexpected loss of her mother only a few days apart.

She shares how her grief left her with no choice but to turn "lemons into lemonade" as she learned to navigate loss and joy through the power of dark humor and community.

Kera channeled her love for her mother through her creative gifts, creating legacy journals, a first-of-its-kind magazine for grievers, and a welcoming space for all through her social media channels.

Kera Sanchez is a High School Spanish teacher in the Chicago area, a wife, and mom of two. After her mom unexpectedly died while on vacation in Italy at the age of 57, she dove deep into a grief journey, where she channeled her unexpressed love in the form of the Legacy Letters guided journal, offering a way to write and leave handwritten legacies of love, advice, and support for loved ones, to ensure families all over the world don't have to face unexpected loss without a legacy left behind. She also released a second journal, "No Legacy Lost", a guided memory and grief journal. Through her Instagram community, she pokes fun at her grief journey with relatable memes and dark humor. In early 2024, she launched Get Griefy Magazine, as a community outlet for grievers to publish their poetry, writing, art, photography, and more.
 

Kera Sanchez Social & Website:
Website: getgriefymagazine.comSubscribe to GET GRIEFY MagazineInstagram: @getgriefymagazineWebsite: legacylettersjournal.comPurchase the JournalInstagram: @legacylettersjournal
Nina Rodriguez Social & Website:
Instagram: @griefandlightWebsite: griefandlight.comWays to Work with MeSubscribe to my newsletterDisclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

#griefandlight #griefandlightpodcast

Interested in sponsoring an episode? Contact us via info@griefandlight.com.
Support the Show.
Thank you for listening! Please share with someone you love.

Want your story featured in a podcast episode?
Please contact me via IG @griefandlight, via email at nina@griefandlight.com.

Trigger Warning: Discussion of sensitive topics. Listener discretion is advised.

What role does creative expression play in navigating the complexities of grief?
Eileen Kielty, founder of Kaia Evolutions,  a culmination of her life’s work and a love letter to her sister, Katie, who died by suicide in June of 2019.

She has degrees in both dance and psychology, as well as extensive training in somatic integration, embodiment and intimacy practices, and is passionate about consent-driven spaces with an emphasis on social justice.

She recognizes the importance of illuminating the darker, often hidden, parts of the human experience through sharing openly and authentically, as we’re not meant to do this alone. Eileen believes in the power of creative expression and its ability to reveal the unspoken language of being alive; that the body always knows, and that movement is our direct connection to our deepest truth.

In this candid episode, Eileen shares her perspective and experience as a surviving sibling, and trauma survivor, as well as how the creative expression of dance and movement has helped her and her clients navigate some of life's biggest challenges.


Eileen Kielty's Social & Website:
Website: kaiaevolutions.comInstagram: @kaia.evolutions & @ekieltyOfferings (use code GRIEFANDLIGHT for 22% discount on H.O.P.E. Coaching)
Nina Rodriguez Social & Website:
Instagram: @griefandlightWebsite: griefandlight.comWays to Work with MeSubscribe to my newsletterDisclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

#griefandlight #griefandlightpodcast

Interested in sponsoring an episode? Contact us via info@griefandlight.com.
Support the Show.
Thank you for listening! Please share with someone you love.

Want your story featured in a podcast episode?
Please contact me via IG @griefandlight, via email at nina@griefandlight.com.

“Grieving room is endangered in a culture that thinks it is more helpful to rush past grief than to lean into it.”

Leanne Friesen is the brilliant soul behind the groundbreaking book, "Grieving Room: Making Space for All the Hard Things After Death and Loss."

As the curator of the popular Instagram platform, @grieving.room, she has cultivated a nurturing space for those navigating the tumultuous waters of grief.

With a profound understanding that grief defies easy solutions, Leanne advocates for the power of creating room for the complexities of grief, rather than rushing to fix or diminish it.

Drawing upon her extensive experience as an ordained minister and grief educator spanning over two decades, Leanne offers invaluable insights into the sacred process of grief, and how the cognitive understanding of loss and grief falls short of the lived experience.

She learned this heartbreaking reality after the loss of her sister, Roxanne, after an eight-year battle with melanoma.

In this episode, we discuss imperfect goodbyes, sibling loss, living the "are you serious?!" era after loss, making room to grieve, and so much more!

Leanne Friesen Social & Website:
Instagram: @grieving.room & @leanne_friesenBuy GRIEVING ROOM bookWebsite: leanfriessen.comNina Rodriguez Social & Website:
Instagram: @griefandlightWebsite: griefandlight.comWays to Work with MeSubscribe to my newsletterDisclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

#griefandlight #griefandlightpodcast

Interested in sponsoring an episode? Contact us via info@griefandlight.com.
Support the Show.
Thank you for listening! Please share with someone you love.

Want your story featured in a podcast episode?
Please contact me via IG @griefandlight, via email at nina@griefandlight.com.