Spiritual Sugar: Insights on Healing with Love in Midlife

Lisa Manyon Interview

[00:00:00] Welcome to Pause to Go, the podcast that's all about making the most of life's transitions from middle school through menopause. I'm your host, Brie Luck, joining you as we embark on a journey of self discovery and questionable decisions. Get ready for heartfelt conversations, expert insights, and personal stories that'll have you laughing, crying, and saying, thank goodness I'm not alone.

If you've lost your midlife crisis survival kit, we've got you covered. So join me, won't you? And together we can pause to go.

[00:00:44] Bree Luck: Welcome back to the pause to go podcast. It's been a minute and my children have left home. I've been traveling a lot with my husband for work and for pleasure and that's been delightful and [00:01:00] now I'm back, I'm back. In the pod room. Ready to talk about pause to go. I am. Going to talk about mid-life identity soon because that's definitely. Where I am personally. And. I just want to acknowledge that before we move on. But. Today. I'm especially delighted to introduce you to my friend, Lisa Manyon Lisa in this conversation. Really talks about her healing journey. And there are a lot of us who are struggling with health issues or worried. About health issues. And her book. Can be a really wonderful manual. To get ahead of that or to support your healing journey. Wherever you are in the process. So let me tell you a little bit about [00:02:00] Lisa. Lisa is known as the business marketing architect. She's the president and founder of right on creative. And she's the host of the podcast. Your message matters.

[00:02:12] Bree Luck: She's also a bestselling author. She teaches trains and transforms on two core topics. The first is marketing with integrity, and she says, it's time to take the pain out of planning and the pain points out of your marketing message. And I could not agree more. And, the second topic is healing with love. And that's really what we're talking about today. This is based on her best-selling book. Spiritual sugar, the divine ingredients to heal yourself with love. And stay tuned until the end, because, , right now, There's an opportunity to get the digital version of this book for free. And I'm going to tell you, you're going to want to [00:03:00] get it. I've. Read it twice myself. I've shared it with friends and family members. And I just think it's a great resource, but you know, listen to this conversation with Lisa first because she's fantastic. And she'll tell you all about it

Before we get too deep into this conversation, though. I want to remind you that this podcast is not a replacement for any kind of medical care. We are not medical professionals. Lisa is sharing her personal healing journey because we believe in the power of community to help us feel less alone.

As we make informed actions about our health. And our wellbeing. If you or a loved one are having health issues or health concerns. Please see a trusted medical advisor

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[00:03:50] Bree Luck: hi, Lisa.

[00:03:51] Lisa Manyon: Hey, Bree. It's so good

[00:03:52] Bree Luck: to see you. Oh, it's so good to see you too. I just reread Spiritual Sugar. So I feel like [00:04:00] I've been spending a lot of time with you,

[00:04:04] Lisa Manyon: Oh, I love that. I've been rereading it myself. It's for everyone, including me.

[00:04:08] Bree Luck: Sometimes we need to remember what our own medicine is,

[00:04:12] Lisa Manyon: It's so true. It is so true.

[00:04:15] Bree Luck: I'm so happy that you're here today to talk to us about Your midlife journey and your path to healing I'd love to begin with a question which is how old are you and where are you in your menopause

[00:04:31] Lisa Manyon: journey?

[00:04:32] Lisa Manyon: So, I am 54 now, which seems so wild, but it is, it is a thing, and, right now I'm in the midst of perimenopause, and what I think is interesting about that is, I didn't even know there was a such thing as perimenopause, right? The only thing I'd ever heard about was menopause, and that was just, you know, boom, your cycle stops, and You experience some things, but it's always been sort of mysterious.

[00:04:58] Lisa Manyon: No one really gave us a [00:05:00] playbook for this hormonal adulting journey.

[00:05:03] Bree Luck: So we're creating one now.

[00:05:05] Bree Luck: Yes, we have to,

[00:05:06] Lisa Manyon: and hopefully it will help others because honestly, without the information and it just kind of takes you by surprise and you're like, what is happening to my body?

[00:05:14] Bree Luck: What are some of the things that you've noticed that have happened in your body that you feel comfortable sharing?

[00:05:20] Lisa Manyon: well, there's the hot flashes, which I think is the one thing that I did know would happen, but cold flashes. So immediately after cold flashes, right? Little bit of moodiness as well.

[00:05:32] Lisa Manyon: And You know, just some fatigue, all kinds of different things that we didn't know were going to happen and then most recently, well, I would say about a year ago, I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids, which apparently are very, very normal when you're in the throes of perimenopause, and for those who are listening, if you're not sure the difference between perimenopause and menopause, perimenopause is

[00:05:58] Lisa Manyon: when you start having [00:06:00] irregularities in your cycle, so you may not have a cycle for several months, but then it will come back. And until you've actually stopped cycling for 12 full months, you're considered in perimenopause and then menopause starts after you've stopped your cycle for 12 full months.

[00:06:16] Lisa Manyon: So there's some differentiation there that not everyone knows about. But anyway, back to the fibroid. So apparently. In perimenopause, another one of the joyful surprises that we get to experience as women is often these uterine fibroids, which are kind of like, little, growths, don't necessarily hurt anything.

[00:06:35] Lisa Manyon: They'd no one knows exactly why they appear or what the deal is. But when we discovered them. Because I was having some irregularities and some breakthrough bleeding and things like that happening, which is not a fun thing to talk about. But the truth is, if we don't talk about this, no one will have a roadmap because we're just kind of winging it here, right?

[00:06:53] Lisa Manyon: It's true.

[00:06:53] Lisa Manyon: Anyway, we just, I know we discovered that I had these uterine fibroids and one of the options I was given was, well, [00:07:00] you know, your insurance will cover a hysterectomy. And I was like, whoa, wait a minute. I mean, I know in some cases this can be necessary, but if anyone is familiar with me at all, you know, that I'm going to try anything natural possible.

[00:07:14] Lisa Manyon: So instead of chopping out all of the bits. that, you know, I may or may not use, I decided to go the natural route. And I did some Chinese herbs, a specific Chinese herbal blend that was prescribed from a friend who's an acupuncturist. And then also curcumin suppositories specifically compounded from a wellness compounding facility.

[00:07:40] Lisa Manyon: And we did a scan recently, they're 100% gone and the doctors were amazed. They're like, what happened? These usually just continue to grow until you reach menopause. And sometimes they, you need to do surgery. Or, you know, sometimes they just disappear on their own. So they were really baffled by that. And [00:08:00] that's why I always tell people, you know, yes, our doctors are amazing resources.

[00:08:04] Lisa Manyon: They are partners in part of our healing, but they only know a slice of the picture, so to speak. And there are so many other methodologies and modalities and ways of approaching our health that are natural. that can supplement Western medicine. So I always tell people question everything and listen to your body.

[00:08:24] Bree Luck: Great advice. You're not saying to throw out medical, advice or help at all, but to really, to listen to your body first. It's come up so many times in discussions ,about menopause and perimenopause and women's health.

[00:08:41] Bree Luck: In general, so, you have had A really exciting and at times terrifying and, also quite beautiful story of healing your body [00:09:00] before these uterine fibroids, right? And you wrote a book about it, spiritual sugar the divine ingredients to heal yourself with love and it really is Like a cookbook, like a cookbook for life

[00:09:17] Bree Luck: it is a manual. And in the manual, you really show that you walk the walk of healing with love. Can you tell us a little bit about that journey?

[00:09:29] Lisa Manyon: It's a little bit wild because I've always really, um, followed my intuition and I call them either God nudges or divine downloads.

[00:09:37] Lisa Manyon: And in 2015, I got this download that I was to write a book and it was to be titled spiritual sugar about healing with love. At which point I honestly kind of freaked out because I thought, what I'm not even remotely healed. I think it's an ongoing journey and Why I'm already doing this marketing with integrity stuff.

[00:09:56] Lisa Manyon: And it's considered sort of an oxymoron in my whole industry. It's finally [00:10:00] catching on after decades and you want me to do what and add this on. So I journaled about it and kind of set it aside. And then fast forward two years later when I was really navigating some well facing mortality quite.

[00:10:13] Lisa Manyon: Frankly, I wasn't aware of it at that very moment, but I was sitting in inquiry in my office and I got a message that said, don't worry, you'll heal this with love, which reminded me of the journal entry. So I went back and I pulled that up and I really, you know, did some meditating on it. Of course, I immediately bought the domain name and true entrepreneurial fashion and started building out the brand.

[00:10:34] Lisa Manyon: But what I realized is. I had ignored this nudge that I was getting, right, that I needed to slow down and start taking better care of myself. And so, I was shaken into a very big journey. And I do say that it was a blessing to get cancer because it taught me how to slow down and a lot of different things there.

[00:10:53] Lisa Manyon: And, you know, we're just not promised tomorrow. So, we need to take care of ourselves the best way [00:11:00] possible. So, I basically was led divinely to all of these different ingredients. To heal myself with love. Yes, I did trust in Western medicine to a degree and I had a surgery. So it was throat cancer. We're talking about throat chakra.

[00:11:16] Lisa Manyon: You know, what are you saying? What are you not saying? It all, all goes hand in hand. I did not do chemo and radiation at that point. I just decided, you know, let's, let's do this thing. And so. You're right in the book, as you say, it's kind of like a manual because I do, I overview about 30 different spiritual tools that I used in my healing journey or tried, and some people will call them non traditional modalities, and they truly are just ancient wisdom that's being revived and brought back into our lives as we slow down and spend more time in nature and really pay attention to what matters most, and that is our self care.

[00:11:54] Bree Luck: I really was struck by the generosity of your offering in the book because you [00:12:00] share so many resources and you don't just talk about the methodologies that you use. You also give links to other books, to other meditation resources, to all sorts of things. It truly is a treasure trove within the book.

[00:12:19] Bree Luck: And I have it. It's great because I, I have the digital version because I, have a spreadsheet where I take my notes from each chapter and then put the links that go with it. I am such a nerd. So

[00:12:31] Lisa Manyon: I

[00:12:32] Lisa Manyon: love that. I love that.

[00:12:34] Lisa Manyon: That's so great. You know, it's so funny. This is, this is a confession. I probably shouldn't tell people this, but I haven't seen the digital version. Um, my mom read it and looked at it, but I don't read digital books. I am a, I'm a hard copy book girl. So. Uh, I wanted to make sure that I had that version and I'm getting tons of requests for an audio version, which hasn't happened yet, but I know that it's it's to come.

[00:12:55] Lisa Manyon: And it's just a matter of, you know, this is truly a love letter to humanity. And so it's [00:13:00] something that I self funded and I self published and I'm really blessed to have 2 incredible bookends in the form of a. Forward and an afterward, and the forward is by Dr. Joe Vitale, who is just someone that I really admire and respect, and his partner, Lisa Winston, is a dear friend of mine, and then Neal Donald Walsh, who has been really instrumental in a lot of my spiritual awakening, he offered a really beautiful afterward, and he said something similar to what you're sharing is that He's just never seen anything like this book.

[00:13:28] Lisa Manyon: He was so amazed by all of the resources and that I did the legwork and it's Wasn't even like I was doing legwork. It was all part of my journey and I thought, you know Clearly I got a message two years prior to even having to go through this whole dance with cancer to write the book So I needed to get that done and I released it in november of well, november 22nd of 20 22.

[00:13:51] Lisa Manyon: And it is the number one international bestseller. And I did that because it was the anniversary year of five years being [00:14:00] cancer free.

[00:14:00] Lisa Manyon: And it was 11,

[00:14:01] Bree Luck: 22, 22. Yes. So, so for those of you who are into angel numbers, There's some fun woo around that too, and that's all part of this too.

[00:14:12] Bree Luck: What I really love is that you don't really prescribe what Spirituality needs to look like for anyone you share what it's like for you and you honor that each individual is coming with their own perspectives and beliefs. some of us might be put off by feeling like there's going to be some dogma that we have to adhere to and you really.

[00:14:38] Bree Luck: Don't prescribe any kind of specific spirituality. You encourage people to, to embrace , what their spirituality is and to move forward with that.

[00:14:53] Lisa Manyon: Yeah. And that's such an important point because I will be fully transparent. You know, I'm writing about some topics that are triggering [00:15:00] God, faith.

[00:15:02] Lisa Manyon: Spirituality, cancer, you know, healing with love, nontraditional modalities, these are all things that can trigger people. It was almost a challenge for me to include the word God in there, even though I use that term and. What I was shown very clearly is this has nothing to do with any specific religion.

[00:15:20] Lisa Manyon: And I've been asked that multiple times when I've done book readings at bookstores or presentations or employee wellness programs, or any of the things I've been doing with the work. And people were saying, well, what, what religion is this affiliated with? And I said, it's not affiliated with any religion whatsoever.

[00:15:35] Lisa Manyon: Spirituality is all about your individual faith. And to me, faith is just believing in something bigger than you. You don't need to know what it is. Although I would prefer that it's something that, you know, Kind of surrounded and attached to light that's It's my preference, but it's up to anybody to choose to believe in whatever they want.

[00:15:53] Lisa Manyon: And the bottom line is one of the other messages that I received was when writing the book to really keep in mind that we've lost a lot of [00:16:00] faith and hope and humanity and to lead people to nature, to lead them home to themselves. Because once you get out in nature and you look around, there's no denying that there's something bigger than us.

[00:16:10] Lisa Manyon: Now can I tell you exactly what that is? Absolutely not. But we each can develop our own relationship with spirituality and with nature. And that all does activate our healing,

[00:16:19] Bree Luck: You can hear.

[00:16:20] Bree Luck: Lisa's not coming at it with like the gentle, floaty woo kind of voice like I might use. You are so practical and pragmatic in your spirituality. And it's, it's such a breath of fresh air for me. And as As a Capricorn moon, I really like, that balance, right? Looking at faith from that place of pragmatism.

[00:16:49] Bree Luck: And I just think you do that so well, I would love to just get right into your map to bringing love and spirituality to our healing journeys. You [00:17:00] have seven spiritual sugar principles. This is just one part of the book, but it's a really key part of it. And it's in many ways sort of the heart and everything else relates to this.

[00:17:14] Bree Luck: Can you walk us quickly through those seven

[00:17:16] Lisa Manyon: principles?

[00:17:18] Lisa Manyon: Absolutely. So it's really all about fortifying our lives in whatever way we can. And I encourage people to review the spiritual tools in the book and add those to activate each of these areas. You know, try something new that you haven't tried.

[00:17:32] Lisa Manyon: So, first of all, you know, we touched on this just now talking about a fortify your faith, right? There is something much bigger than us at play here. Again, I can't tell you what it is. I don't know. You can figure that out on your own. I never believe, or, totally absorb anything that I read or hear.

[00:17:48] Lisa Manyon: I'm a critical thinker, right? So, I don't know, but what I do know is there is definitely something much bigger than us, and so we do need to have some faith, because if we believe in something bigger than us, that momentum will [00:18:00] carry us forward and help us heal. So, figuring out some type of spiritual practice for yourself, which could be as simple as taking a walk in nature.

[00:18:08] Lisa Manyon: It doesn't have to be, you know, sitting in the lotus position doing mudras and mantras. You could do whatever you want. So I think that's really important. And then fortifying yourself and your family. That is huge. Um, it does start with us and with self love and we've all heard the term, you can't give from an empty cup.

[00:18:29] Lisa Manyon: So true. So we have to fill ourselves up. And we have to make sure that we really are doing the best that we can to take care of ourselves so that we can take care of our family, our friends, our clients, all of that. And there are tons of tips into how you can integrate more self care into your life in the book and then fortifying your mind.

[00:18:47] Lisa Manyon: I mean, our minds are incredible. The power of our mind just blows me away and I want to share something just briefly in that context is we've all heard of placebos where they may be [00:19:00] conducting some type of medical study right to see if something works, and they might give sugar pills to half of the room, which is the placebo, and then the actual medicine to the other half of the room and oftentimes.

times the people who just believe they're taking the medicine will heal. So that's the power of the mind. But on the flip side, there's also something called a nocebo where you can be given an expiration date. You have some type of, of dire something like cancer or whatever it might be. You're given an expiration date saying you're only going to live to a specific date.

[00:19:33] Lisa Manyon: And studies have shown that there have been instances where people have been misdiagnosed. There wasn't actually anything wrong with them. They were given that expiration date and they rolled into that fear and that despair. And they believed it so strongly in their mind that they actually checked out and, and died on that actual day.

[00:19:52] Lisa Manyon: So that's why the power of the mind and us fortifying that with, with meditation, with books, with [00:20:00] podcasts, with whatever we can to uplift ourselves is just hugely important, especially. When it comes to healing with love. I mean, that's just huge. And then, of course, our body. You've got to fortify your body.

[00:20:11] Lisa Manyon: And, you know, this is one that I, full transparency, still struggle with sometimes. Even though I try and swim every day, at least during the summer, the pool does close and I can't do that, you know, in the winter months. And I try to get out and walk every day. We've had times here where I live in Southern Oregon, where the smoke has been so thick from fires that you can't even get outside.

[00:20:31] Lisa Manyon: So you have to motivate yourself to actually move inside, do some cardio or whatever you want to do in your home. But it's, our bodies are truly a temple. And I write about that in the book. And I think that it would be so helpful if we were taught that from a very young age and understood how important this, this beautiful vessel is that we have been gifted.

[00:20:53] Lisa Manyon: So for that, just. Create your own routine , and to speak on that, that's why the subtitle of the book [00:21:00] is, the divine ingredients to heal yourself with love because many people have said, well, Lisa, what was your recipe? My recipe will not necessarily work for everyone else. That's why there are tools for you to craft your own and we have to, it's all individualized.

[00:21:13] Lisa Manyon: So that's super important. And then let's see fortifying your environment and your community. We want to be in beautiful spaces, our environments directly reflect what's going on within us. And hey, I struggle with that sometimes too. Sometimes my car is clean and sometimes it looks like it is kind of a mobile junk pile.

[00:21:34] Lisa Manyon: You know, because I have so many things in there and not organized just because I go to the river a lot and I go to nature a lot and I travel a lot and throw my golf clubs in there sometimes and all kinds of things. But. What I realized is when it is in disarray like that, and I'm just calling myself out because I'm human and on this journey with everyone else, everything feels more chaotic.

[00:21:53] Lisa Manyon: But then when I straighten it up, clean it out, then I feel more on track. Same goes with your home, your office and [00:22:00] everything. And then rolling out into your community. How are you giving back to your community? How are you supporting and uplifting your community? And again, no judgment about any of this.

[00:22:09] Lisa Manyon: You figure out what works best for you. But when you find that your environment isn't supporting you or your community isn't supporting you, it's time for you to make some internal changes as opposed to trying to project it onto something external because it all starts within us.

[00:22:26] Lisa Manyon: And then fortifying your creativity. I love this one because we get so stuck in our routines and in ruts and we're all creative beings, even if you just draw stick people, which is kind of what I do. You can learn to do other things that harness and unleash your creativity. So I actually do a little bit of painting.

[00:22:48] Lisa Manyon: I talk about that a little bit in the book and all kinds of other things, but finding a creative outlet, even if it's an adult coloring book, whatever it is, something that helps relax you. Because again, we go back to stress [00:23:00] being one of the biggest things that can impact us. Creativity helps. Clearly erase that stress.

[00:23:06] Lisa Manyon: So whether it's writing or painting or molding clay or I mean, whatever, you know, cooking even is kind of creative for me. I love that and actually use that as a meditation and it's both like meditation and creativity all rolled into one for me. And people will say, well, Lisa, that's not really meditating.

[00:23:24] Lisa Manyon: You're not sitting there again in that Lotus position, doing your mudras and mantras. I'm like, it doesn't have to be that way. So many people don't realize that anything that you enjoy can be a meditation. Maybe not a official meditation, but it will work and it will calm your immune system and really kind of help you recalibrate.

[00:23:41] Lisa Manyon: So do something creative, buy yourself a box of color crayons. Remember those big boxes of like 64 color crayons that we all wanted when we were a kid? Get some! So, yeah, it's fun. So that, and then also fortifying your intuition. And I think this is probably, you know, when it comes [00:24:00] to the importance of these, they're all super important, but I would say your faith and your intuition are the two most important because that's what will drive your ability to fortify everything else, believing in something bigger through the faith, but also through your intuition, we are constantly being given messages.

[00:24:16] Lisa Manyon: And one of the things that I love about what Neal Donald Walsh teaches in his work with conversations with God is that we all have the ability to tap into not only our own intuition, but our own connection with source or the creator, whatever you want to call it, he also calls it God. But when we tap into that connection, we are given guidance to help us, but often we are going so fast in life that we don't slow down enough.

[00:24:44] Lisa Manyon: To really, truly focus on those messages. And I'm, I'm absolutely 100% guilty. I got a message that I was supposed to write this book two years prior to then a major diagnosis and facing mortality. [00:25:00] So I thought, Oh, great. So I didn't listen. So I was shaken into something new and it was a beautiful journey.

[00:25:07] Lisa Manyon: And it is not for the faint of heart. However, it did show me that it is possible to course correct, and it showed me how important it is to fortify these seven areas of our life because we're simply not promised tomorrow. And while I'm happy and healthy now, we don't know what's going to happen, and we need to look at that, and we may be faced with more.

[00:25:28] Lisa Manyon: Parts of us that need to be healed, and that doesn't mean we're broken. I also want to say that it just means that there are pieces in us that need to be addressed because we've all experienced abuse, trauma, and addiction in some way, whether it was personally or on our peripheral, our immediate family or friends.

[00:25:46] Lisa Manyon: So trusting that intuition to guide you and really tapping into that and honestly, I just say questioning everything. And challenging the status quo and engaging critical thinking and really getting down to, [00:26:00] um, the root cause of everything because , well, society doesn't set us up for success in many ways, right?

[00:26:06] Lisa Manyon: There's people always trying to catch up with the Joneses and do all these different things. And quite frankly, we were designed to. Be happy and healthy and breathe and breathing means slowing down so many times. We're just breathing in a very shallow way, not really taking that oxygen fully into our lungs and that actually causes health issues.

[00:26:28] Lisa Manyon: And I used to think it was so weird when people would say you need to slow down and breathe. I'm like, I don't have time for that, but it's essential. It's so essential. So, those are really the seven areas that I would say. Okay. Take a look at those, see how you can fortify each of those areas and pull a couple of the spiritual tools from the book and incorporate them.

[00:26:48] Lisa Manyon: I led a group through this process of reviewing all of these and I suggested to them choose one of the areas to focus on for the next 30 days. and choose two of the spiritual tools to [00:27:00] incorporate in amplifying that area of your life. And it was very powerful. It was very powerful. And I have to remind myself to do the same thing because I am here with all of you continuing to do the work.

[00:27:12] Lisa Manyon: You know, so many people say, Oh my gosh, you wrote a book. So now you're an expert. I wouldn't say so I just went through this and I want to share what worked for me that may work for you. And again, it's just my love letter to humanity.

[00:27:25] Bree Luck: . when we're in moments of crisis.

[00:27:28] Bree Luck: Or we are in the process of healing and we're much more aware of it. , we can adopt the new habits a little more fully because we can feel the shift that happens with it. More quickly. And then when we get into the rhythm of life beyond that time So when we've when we've gotten the five years Cancer free clearance and then we're like working and doing our thing It's easy to fall out of the habit [00:28:00] of staying spiritually engaged so that it takes conscious effort I'm glad to hear your candor about that because it's, it's refreshing and it's, uh, it gives me some hope.

[00:28:13] Bree Luck: I got mad at myself this week because I, And one of those people who starts working and gets really into it I'm hyper vigilant and hyper focus. And then the next thing I know, I've worked an 80 hour week and I know that this is not good for me. And I found myself falling into that pattern again.

[00:28:34] Bree Luck: So actually. rereading spiritual sugar reminded me, Hey, don't forget to stop and breathe. Don't forget. So thank

[00:28:45] Lisa Manyon: you. Yeah. Oh, of course. And thank you for sharing that. And I'm doing the same thing. That's why I'm revisiting it. And I'm like, you know what? Got a little cocky. I've been cancer free for a while and I got off some of my regimens.

[00:28:56] Lisa Manyon: It's time to just course correct and get back into them. And you know, it's, [00:29:00] It's easy to do because again, society does not really set us up for success with the types of foods that are being presented to us that aren't really food with all of these other things. And you know, even water. Yes, we need to drink more water, but if we're drinking water out of plastic bottles, the plastic is off gassing into that water and getting into our systems.

[00:29:19] Lisa Manyon: And it's simply not healthy. And so many people don't realize that, you know, things have been packaged for convenience. Maybe convenience, but what are convenient, but what is the outcome? What is the result of that? And what is that convenience costing you? I think those are good questions to ask ourselves.

[00:29:35] Lisa Manyon: And it's hard. I'm not going to say it's easy. You know, it's it's totally possible. But I've had a couple of people say, well. This sounds like a great healing journey for you, Lisa, but it feels like this is really coming from a place of privilege because not everyone can spend copious amounts of time in, uh, nature and do all these things.

[00:29:55] Lisa Manyon: And what I say to that is, um, I think we're all [00:30:00] privileged as, you know, living here in the United States or wherever you are, we are very privileged to just have this life. But It's not actually a privilege to embrace this. It's a choice to commit to you. It's a choice point. And so what I say to that is You've got to make a choice.

[00:30:18] Lisa Manyon: Do you want to be healthier than you schedule in time to go and be in nature and if you're in a city, go to a park, figure the way, figure out ways that you can restructure that. But what that does mean is it does mean letting go of a lot of things that we're used to doing. It means getting off of autopilot.

[00:30:34] Lisa Manyon: And it means adapting a healthier lifestyle that maybe our friends and family are not adapting. And I'm going to tell you that's one of the hardest things for me because you know one of my passions is wine. I love wine. It's really not that great for me though. So I have to be really careful about intake and all of that because, uh, you know, now being a cancer thriver, I'd have to watch the sugar levels and do all of that.

[00:30:58] Lisa Manyon: So it's not easy because [00:31:00] then we're, you know, like this weekend, the Oregon wine experience is happening. I'm going to go, but I'm just going to sip and I'm not going to drink much. And it's been a new shift for me, right? and it's a challenge. So I'm just letting people know, you know, it isn't necessarily easy.

[00:31:15] Lisa Manyon: And so you want to try and get people on board with you because doing it by yourself is a challenge. And if your friends aren't making the same changes as you, it means you're going to have to have an even greater resolve, your, you know, your friends or family, whatever it may be, you're gonna have to have an even greater resolve to stay on your own path.

[00:31:31] Bree Luck: Yes, . We often look for points of resistance for, we look for the reasons that we can't do things so often. Right. You have some resources in the book that are somewhat extravagant, but most of the things, most of the resources are very, very accessible.

[00:31:53] Bree Luck: Getting outside, stopping, breathing. Breathing is pretty cheap.

[00:31:58] Lisa Manyon: Right. If we [00:32:00] just slow down and do it, right?

[00:32:02] Bree Luck: I mean, it really is. And, and we spend so much time absorbing social media, absorbing input from from, well, absorbing media. Really? I mean, we're doing it right now. If you're listening to this, you're doing it right now.

[00:32:20] Bree Luck: So,

[00:32:21] Lisa Manyon: so this is a positive form of media. So I'm really happy to be here and just share that. But you, you touched on something about a lot of these things not being, you know, very cost exorbitant. And I also say, you know, for example, if you can't go and experience an in person singing bowl session, You can go and Google it on YouTube and listen and get some of those benefits.

[00:32:42] Lisa Manyon: And if you don't have your own computer, I mean, we'll just keep ratcheting it down. If you don't have your own computer, go to the library. You can listen there. You can check out audio books. There's lots of things that you can do. The, my book's available to libraries. It's in a couple of libraries already.

[00:32:58] Lisa Manyon: I still need to kind of get out and [00:33:00] do that some more. And I make sure too that, you know, it's just accessible to people. And many of these things you can do on your own. But I will say when it comes to things being, you know, kind of cost prohibitive, some of the things that are going to be required for healing ourselves from something serious will not be covered by insurance.

[00:33:22] Lisa Manyon: And you'll have to figure out ways to manage that out of pocket. Luckily, I have really beautiful friends and family that helped support me, which was also a point of embarrassment for me, right? You feel like you take on some kind of sickness. And for some reason, there's a bit of guilt and shame around it because we're programmed to just produce and everything's going to be fine.

[00:33:43] Lisa Manyon: And we're invincible, but we're not, we're people. And when these things happen, we definitely need support and there are ways that you can get support for that and even even eating organic food and starting to juice and things like that. People say, well, that's so much more expensive. Not necessarily. It [00:34:00] can actually be far more cost effective than your standard diet.

[00:34:04] Lisa Manyon: But it takes more time and effort and preparation. And again, that's the choice point you have to decide. Am I going to change my lifestyle and really amplify my health? Or am I going to continue eating processed food and drinking water out of plastic bottles? And, you know, drinking alcohol excessively or whatever it might be.

[00:34:21] Lisa Manyon: I don't say that with judgment. I just say that to create awareness, like, you know, what do you want to feel your body with and how you feel when you eat or drink certain things. And it just brings us kind of home to realizing these are choice points and we can make it happen, but it's, it's a challenge because we're all programmed to be on autopilot and to have a very specific way of eating and living and.

[00:34:46] Lisa Manyon: Specific schedules and this disrupts everything when you start taking full care of yourself and making yourself a priority and it disrupts the people around you and some people will be supportive and some people won't and that's why it's really important to find that tribe [00:35:00] that's going to be on that same level with you and is going to be committed to health and you know bringing it all together.

[00:35:07] Bree Luck: There are two things that I'd love to touch on from that. Number one is moving back to some things are going to cost money or they can be expensive. I can also say that there's an opportunity to looking back at the seven spiritual sugar principles, the fortifying your environment and community when you're talking about some things overlapping or working together.

[00:35:33] Bree Luck: One of the things that I've done with my community is we do trades. Right. Like, so, so maybe I do a workshop. That's a creative workshop that I let some of my friends come to. And then they bring me some vegetables from their garden, right? This is a way of life that we used to have that we can reclaim.

[00:35:56] Lisa Manyon: I love that you're saying that because it is really true. [00:36:00] In fact, uh this afternoon i'm going to a singing bowl session that was gifted to me and i'm going to have a lymphatic massage because My dad gifted me some birthday money, you know, it's like so these things aren't necessarily things that I had in my budget, but now they they happen.

[00:36:17] Lisa Manyon: And also when we open ourselves up to receiving and we start looking at you touched on this a little bit. We're looking always looking for reasons why we can't do things and excuses. What if we open up? To receiving and say, how can this happen? And I have to remind myself this on a regular basis, too. I don't have this mastered yet.

[00:36:34] Lisa Manyon: I'm working on it. I'm course correcting too, but I'm ready to receive. So, and I want people to bring refresh vegetables. I'm just telling you right here. I love it.

[00:36:43] Bree Luck: My mother says, and maybe it's a famous maxim, but my mother says the only two things money can't buy are true love and homegrown tomatoes.

[00:36:52] Lisa Manyon: I think that's very true. She's wise. She is. She is grown. Tomatoes are the best.

[00:36:59] Bree Luck: [00:37:00] They are. And she is. a tomato maven. , she lives on top of a mountain and and grows, I don't know how many different varieties of heirloom tomatoes, but my mother has a wonderful green thumb. I cannot.

[00:37:14] Bree Luck: I can grow mushrooms. I can't grow much else. I can grow fungus.

[00:37:18] Lisa Manyon: And those are so good for you, right? They're so good for

[00:37:21] Bree Luck: you. They are. So you've touched a little bit on the response from your readers. What is one wish that you have for other people who are going through a health crisis? Thank you.

[00:37:35] Lisa Manyon: I really just wish they would begin to course correct their health now because it's possible. And for those who are not going through a health crisis, course correct your health now so you don't have to face one. I never want someone to hear those three words that I heard. You know, it was either you have cancer, it is cancer, it doesn't matter.

[00:37:54] Lisa Manyon: It was three words that changed my life, but also in a sense, it was really a blessing and a [00:38:00] miracle because I was able to course correct. And I've been gifted an additional, well, it's almost six years now of, you know, cancer free living. We don't know what's going to happen next, but what we do know is we've got a much better chance of extending our longevity and our lives when we focus on fully embodying our commitment to

[00:38:20] Bree Luck: ourself.

[00:38:21] Bree Luck: Can I ask you one more question?

[00:38:24] Lisa Manyon: Totally.

[00:38:25] Bree Luck: Totally. One more question before the last question. Um, you mentioned earlier. Shame, the shame that came up for you. And I think that that is so real on so many levels. I, I had Lyme disease. I had really severe Lyme disease, chronic and was very sick for a long time.

[00:38:49] Bree Luck: And I had a lot of shame around being sick. And then I had a lot of shame around admitting it and then I also [00:39:00] had in some way shame from healing from it because I felt like I made, why was I so lucky to heal? Why did I? And I just wonder if you could speak a little bit about how you moved beyond shame in your story, because we're all human, we live in human bodies, and our bodies are going to body. And

[00:39:27] Lisa Manyon: right. And

[00:39:28] Bree Luck: so, how can we what is your strategy for moving beyond shame?

[00:39:35] Lisa Manyon: Well, first of all, I was really surprised. When I was hit with that guilt and shame and even it was embarrassment because I, you know, I'm, I'm well known for my body of work through writing on creative.

[00:39:46] Lisa Manyon: That's a totally different thing, but it's always felt like I've had to hold everything together and be an example for others. So then I'm like, oh, my gosh, you know, first of all, here I am in this massively vulnerable place.

[00:39:58] Lisa Manyon: My body [00:40:00] is giving out on me. And that's, you know, kind of a heavy place to be, and I realized, oh my gosh, I feel absolute guilt and shame and embarrassment for being in this situation. And I think that's because I was blaming myself a lot for not taking better care of myself.

[00:40:17] Lisa Manyon: And while that was true, it also wasn't really my fault. Nor is it anyone else's fault that gets sick or has any kind of serious ailment. We are not set up for success. And if we are not taught these things, how are we going to course correct? So everything that I was exposed to and I learned along the way, I've, I've packed into the book.

[00:40:35] Lisa Manyon: There'll probably be another one because I realize I forgot a few things. But to move through , that guilt and that shame and that embarrassment, you know, I just had to give myself some grace. I had to really give myself some grace, and I had to realize that it isn't, it isn't my fault. Society is not setting us up for success.

[00:40:57] Lisa Manyon: And I had to do a lot of self care rituals, and a [00:41:00] lot of things to just really kind of heal that inner child inside of me that was looking for outside validation and really cared what other people thought. Because really, now I don't.

[00:41:10] Bree Luck: That could also be perimenopause.

[00:41:13] Lisa Manyon: Oh, I think, I think it is.

[00:41:14] Lisa Manyon: Once we get into this specific phase of our lives, it's like, I'm over it all. I'm just going to be who I am and move forward. But yeah, I think anyone who's experienced any type of guilt or shame, it's really not your fault. And we're human. It's natural. And honestly, it's been so freeing to be able to share the story and to be this vulnerable because it's tapping into the essence of who I truly am.

[00:41:37] Lisa Manyon: Not that I haven't always been me, but there were more of a business persona going on, even though I do believe that business is personal. This is it. Intimately personal and that's why you know I crafted this love letter to humanity to help others heal in any way that they can and it doesn't mean you have to dig in and stay stuck on a specific area I [00:42:00] think sometimes we fixate on what we think needs to be healed a little too much we can actually release that and a dear friend of mine who I mentioned in the book as well she often says you don't need to excavate everything you need to activate your potentiality.

[00:42:15] Lisa Manyon: And I believe that that is 100% true.

[00:42:18] Bree Luck: I love that. How can people find your book? How can they access it?

[00:42:23] Lisa Manyon: Cruise over to spiritual sugar. com and actually there's a complimentary, um, Journey of Awakening audio and some journal prompts directly from the book.

[00:42:31] Lisa Manyon: If you want to taste before you buy, you can also order from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, it's at local independent bookstores because I love indie bookstores and you can order signed copies directly from my website. So totally up to you, whatever works for you. And if you have a bookstore in your neighborhood, please go and request it by name because they can order it in.

[00:42:50] Lisa Manyon: And I want to support bookstores.

[00:42:53] Bree Luck: Thank you so much, Lisa, and I wish you continued health and Grace.

[00:42:58] Bree Luck: Here are my [00:43:00] key takeaways from this conversation with Lisa Manyon. Number one. Embrace holistic wellness. Wellness is not just about physical health, but encompasses all aspects of our lives. By recognizing that our wellness is a personal journey, we can start to take steps to fortify our lives and unlock our true potential. Number two. Heal with self-compassion. Lisa candidly discusses her battle with cancer in the emotions of guilt, shame, and embarrassment that often accompany health crises. She highlights the importance of self compassion and giving ourselves grace during challenging times. . Accessible wellness. Contrary to the misconception that wellness is expensive. Lisa believes that many accessible resources can support our wellbeing from mindful breathing to community trades and creative outlets. She encourages us to explore various avenues that promote holistic wellness without breaking the [00:44:00] bank. Uh, small, intentional changes in our daily routines can lead to significant transformations. Hey, listen, Lisa's book spiritual sugar is not just a guide to holistic living. It's a Testament to her personal journey. I encourage you to check it out at your favorite local bookstore. And for a limited time, you can get the digital version for free on Amazon. Check out the show notes for more information

[00:44:28] Bree Luck: Here's my call to action for this episode. That's what they call it. When I'm trying to get you to do something, I want you to do something and that is to share your story. So if you would like to share an experience of your midlife delights, agony, or just plain humor, you can leave me a voice memo on my new website.

[00:44:48] Bree Luck: Pause to go podcast. com. There's a tab on the right side of the website that says something like. Leave me a voice memo and you can, you can just record a [00:45:00] voice memo for me right there and I'll get it. And if you feel comfortable having me share your voice on the pod, then I can share that with everyone.

[00:45:08] Bree Luck: It's so nice to hear other people's voices. But if you don't feel comfortable having me share your voice, I can just anonymously share your story. It'll be great to have your stories on the Pause To Go podcast. All right, stay curious y'all

[00:45:29] Bree Luck: Thank you for listening to the pause to go podcast. Special thanks to code base co working and WTJU radio for their support. This has been an awkward sage production.