Episodes

  • Ep 288 - Every little thing matters and community is how you keep going
    Sep 11 2025

    Even when you don't see immediate results, it's so important for us to keep going. To understand that every little thing we do matters and that every little thing we *don't* do also has an effect.

    In this week's episode, I'm talking about an insistence to make the effort even if it feels too hard or feels too insignificant. For example, sometimes it's easier just to put on sweatpants and a sweatshirt. But if we can make the effort to put on jeans and maybe a clean shirt, we can feel better on the inside. Similarly, in our fight for a liberated world, every little action matters. From buying a bar of soap from a Pal/es/tin/Ian vendor to attending a rally, we might think it doesn't do much, but these build momentum and soon change will happen.

    Listen hear about why our efforts are necessary, how we can tap into our innate strength and compassion, and how community can help us to keep going. Tune in!

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NmlshGX4ijHPXmFIgT1Nu

    Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-grit/id1497436520

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    Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

    • Tarot/Oracle Card: Strength

    • “The Clay Bowl’s Destiny” by Hafiz

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    Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

    • Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”

    • Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

    • Instagram: @leslieannhobayan

    • Email: leslieann@suryagian.com

    • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRy

    • Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini
      Speak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

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    37 mins
  • Ep 287 - Best of Spiritual Grit - Growth (and evolution) hurts
    Sep 5 2025

    As we enter a portal into more darkness, we need to remember that change equals growth. And while nobody really talks about this, growth is painful. How can we stay steady and endure the discomfort, knowing that change is inevitable? How can we reframe challenges in order to learn from the pain? To learn that we are not being tested nor are we being punished. We are just being pushed to grow.

    Tune into this week's episode to learn how to stay steady in the chaos. How to be like a seed in the earth.



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    Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

    • Tarot/Oracle Card: Doors are opening for you: you decide rewards and wildcard

    • “I saw two birds” by Hafiz

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    Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

    • Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”

    • Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: ⁠leslieann.substack.com⁠

    • Instagram: @leslieannhobayan

    • Email: leslieann@suryagian.com

    • Writing as Resistance: https://www.suryagian.com/writing-as-resistance

    • Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini


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    23 mins
  • Ep 286 - Global / Local Vibes: Navigating our personal lives while fighting for collective líberätion
    Aug 28 2025

    We're all struggling in our personal lives, from financial strain to job insecurity and beyond. AND there are so many fires burning both in our communities and at the collective level. So how do we navigate it all? How do we keep going and not burn out?

    In this week's episode, I'm talking about how the global and the local are intertwined, how what we do on the personal level affects the collective in ways that we may not yet see. Tune in to hear more about how we can hold both, how we can sustain the work we need to do, and how we can discover our heart’s desire in the midst of it all. We can have the courage to dream big and manifest it for the highest good of all!

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NmlshGX4ijHPXmFIgT1Nu

    Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-grit/id1497436520

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    Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

    • Tarot/Oracle Card: King of Pentacles

    • “A Cushion for your Head” by Hafiz

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    Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

    • Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”

    • Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

    • Instagram: @leslieannhobayan

    • Email: leslieann@suryagian.com

    • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRy

    • Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini


    Speak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

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    36 mins
  • Ep 285 - Listening for and Hearing your Inner Voice
    Aug 21 2025

    What does our inner world have to do with our external actions? What does meditation have to do with activism? How can we discern between my inner voice and the voices of others?

    In this week's episode, I'm talking about the connection between spiritual practices and external activist action. Also talking about a longing for home and how we can find it in meditative practices. Tune in to learn more!

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NmlshGX4ijHPXmFIgT1Nu

    Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-grit/id1497436520

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    Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

    • Tarot/Oracle Card: Hiraeth from the Starseed Oracle

    • “Cucumbers and Prayers” by Hafiz

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    Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

    • Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”

    • Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

    • Instagram: @leslieannhobayan

    • Email: leslieann@suryagian.com

    • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRy

    • Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini
      Speak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth

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    34 mins
  • Ep 284 - How Mindfulness and Intention Help the Revolution
    Aug 14 2025

    When we practice mindfulness, we can pay closer attention to how we move in our lives. And when we have that power, we can choose how to take aligned action and create the life we want along with the liberated world we dream of.

    In this week's episode, I highlight the importance of relationship audits, intentionality, and mindfulness in the continuing work towards collective líberätion. Tune in!


    Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

    • Tarot/Oracle Card: The Lovers (Reversed)

    • “Dropping Keys” by Hafiz

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    Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

    • Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”

    • Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

    • Instagram: @leslieannhobayan

    • Email: leslieann@suryagian.com

    • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRy

    • Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini

    • Speak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth


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    31 mins
  • Ep 283 - Spiritual Practice is Part of the Revolution
    Aug 7 2025

    What does it matter whether or not we have a spiritual practice? Does that truly make a difference as we fight for collective liberation? The short answer: yes! The longer answer is in this week's episode.

    How do spiritual practices help us with our activism? Why is it important for us to connect with our interior world? How do we even do that? Tune into this week's episode where I offer some practices to help fortify us as empire crumbles and we help midwife the birth of a liberated world.


    Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

    • Tarot/Oracle Card: The Hangman (Reversed) and The Two of Pentacles (Reversed)

    • “If You Don’t Stop That” by Hafiz

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    Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

    • Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”

    • Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

    • Instagram: @leslieannhobayan

    • Email: leslieann@suryagian.com

    • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRy

    • Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini


    Speak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth



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    38 mins
  • Ep 282 - Pause, Rest, Ask: Who Are You Being Now?
    Jul 31 2025

    The pace of life keeps rapidly increasing. Many of us feel like we can't catch up, like it is a race uphill with no end in sight. But what if you rested? What if you took the time to just pause and look around? To tune into your body and understand how the external changes are affecting internal ones. Who we are being is changing, whether we like it or not. How you handle it is the key. Tune in to hear more!

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    Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

    • Tarot/Oracle Card: Four of Swords

    • “A Root in Each Act and Creature” by Hafiz

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    Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

    • Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”

    • Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

    • Instagram: @leslieannhobayan

    • Email: leslieann@suryagian.com

    • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRy

    • Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini

    • Speak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth


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    26 mins
  • Ep 281 - Energy, Ghosts, and Integrity During a Time of Gen-side
    Jul 24 2025

    With each passing day as the situation in Gázä becomes more and more dire, it is hard to not feel the energetic shift of dramatic loss. In Buddhist tradition, the soul wanders 49 days after death. Imagine: so many ghosts have been wandering around for the past 22 months. What energy imbalance are we grappling with?

    As the gee-side continues, it is also hard to hold respect for those who have remained silent or have looked away.

    In this week's episode, I get real with my feelings about all of the above. It's messy and fumbly, but it's human. That's the whole point. Are you able to articulate the multitude of feelings and emotions that you might be experiencing right now? Are you able to identify and speak your truth? Tune in to feel less alone, find words, and articulate aligned action.

    Full episode here:

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    Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

    • Tarot/Oracle Card: Page of Swords

    • “Like Passionate Lips” by Hafiz

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    Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

    • Subscribe to mailing list + community: suryagian.com/subscribe and get the 7-day meditation challenge, “Spark Joy in Chaos”

    • Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

    • Instagram: @leslieannhobayan

    • Email: leslieann@suryagian.com

    • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxAeQWRRsSo5E7PBJdZUeoEAYXnAtuyRy

    • Kundalini Yoga Classes: https://www.suryagian.com/anchor-amplify-kundalini

    • Speak Your Truth: https://www.suryagian.com/speak-your-truth


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    32 mins