In this podcast episode, JD and Mordecai are joined by guest, Emily Shaughnessy. Emily was raised in an evangelical Presbyterian family.  Her education was individualized as she was homeschooled until high school. Her parents instilled in her the importance of giving back to others. Although Emily moved away from a traditional religious structure, her path brought her to deeper levels of spirituality and connection to God.  Emily's dad was a role model for her in terms of constantly giving to the community and giving of himself, which has influenced Emily's worldview and sparked her mission orientation.  Her childhood experiences helped shape her views of humanity and the world and allowed her to follow her passions in making the world around her a better place.

Emily is active in building “asset-based communities,” which is a grassroots approach that focuses on individuals and what they bring to the table, rather than an outside perspective of what needs to be fixed. Influences in her life include Alan Watts, Buddhist thinkers, Pema Chödrön, Marshall Rosenberg and his work on nonviolent communication, and the Internal Family Systems framework. These influences have helped her move away from a good-bad duality and toward a more compassionate understanding of herself and others.

00:04  Introduction to today’s guest.
01:32  Emily’s upbringing and mission-driven worldview.
06:18  What’s changed in her view of spirituality since her parents.
11:02  Breaking apart the binary perspective of our society.
15:54  What have been some of your learnings from any other surprising stories?
21:25  What are some of the influences that have shaped his life?
27:01  How did you get through the loss of your father?
33:32 The dying to be reborn and the shedding of some of the ideas and cultures and parts of oneself.
38:00  The idea of “being like us” is part of human nature.
43:58 What are some of the things that really like light up Emily’s life?