Have you ever felt the yearning for deeper spiritual understanding, one that transcends the traditional boundaries of organized religion? That's precisely what Shannon Savage-Howie, a contemplative coach with a rich spiritual tapestry, shares with us in a heartwarming narrative of transformation and enlightenment. From her Protestant roots to a robust spiritual practice, Shannon's journey is a beacon for those navigating the tumultuous seas of life in search of peace and purpose. Our discussion unpacks the essence of contemplative coaching and how it can be a lighthouse for anyone seeking to anchor their experiences in the depths of spiritual growth.
The episode takes a poignant turn as we commemorate the resilience of a community scarred by tragedy. We pay homage to the indomitable spirit of Thousand Oaks in the wake of the grievous 2018 shooting and wildfires, exploring the cathartic "Thousand Oaks Remembers" storytelling project. It’s a narrative of healing, of stitching together the fabric of a community with threads of shared memories and collective strength. And as we conclude, we celebrate the everyday heroes like Shannon, who cultivate havens for healing. Let their stories of kindness remind us all that our actions can indeed pave the way for a more compassionate and connected world.
If you'd like to follow Shannon you can do it here: Instagram Facebook
Do you dread Mondays? Does the thought of another Monday steal the joy of your weekend? Let me tell you about a product I have found and tried that can do away with the Sunday Scaries. Oddly enough, it’s from a company called Sunday Scaries. I have personally tried their products, gummies and tinctures and I can personally attest to their efficacy. If you go to their website and order any product, use the code Kindness20 to receive a 20% discount on your order.
Do you like good coffee? Are you like me and go to bed in anticipation of a great cup of coffee in the morning (and afternoon, maybe). Then let me introduce you to my newest sponsor, Coffee Bros. They have built their business on the cornerstones of sustainability, quality, consistency, and freshness. From coffee to brewing techniques to coffee and espresso machines, they should be your go-to for all things coffee. And if you order from them, use the code Kind10 to get a 10% discount on your order.
Did you find this episode uplifting, inspiring or motivating? Would you like to support more content like this? Check out our Support The Show Page here.
Have you ever felt the yearning for deeper spiritual understanding, one that transcends the traditional boundaries of organized religion? That's precisely what Shannon Savage-Howie, a contemplative coach with a rich spiritual tapestry, shares with us in a heartwarming narrative of transformation and enlightenment. From her Protestant roots to a robust spiritual practice, Shannon's journey is a beacon for those navigating the tumultuous seas of life in search of peace and purpose. Our discussion unpacks the essence of contemplative coaching and how it can be a lighthouse for anyone seeking to anchor their experiences in the depths of spiritual growth.
The episode takes a poignant turn as we commemorate the resilience of a community scarred by tragedy. We pay homage to the indomitable spirit of Thousand Oaks in the wake of the grievous 2018 shooting and wildfires, exploring the cathartic "Thousand Oaks Remembers" storytelling project. It’s a narrative of healing, of stitching together the fabric of a community with threads of shared memories and collective strength. And as we conclude, we celebrate the everyday heroes like Shannon, who cultivate havens for healing. Let their stories of kindness remind us all that our actions can indeed pave the way for a more compassionate and connected world.
If you'd like to follow Shannon you can do it here: Instagram Facebook
Do you dread Mondays? Does the thought of another Monday steal the joy of your weekend? Let me tell you about a product I have found and tried that can do away with the Sunday Scaries. Oddly enough, it’s from a company called Sunday Scaries. I have personally tried their products, gummies and tinctures and I can personally attest to their efficacy. If you go to their website and order any product, use the code Kindness20 to receive a 20% discount on your order.
Do you like good coffee? Are you like me and go to bed in anticipation of a great cup of coffee in the morning (and afternoon, maybe). Then let me introduce you to my newest sponsor, Coffee Bros. They have built their business on the cornerstones of sustainability, quality, consistency, and freshness. From coffee to brewing techniques to coffee and espresso machines, they should be your go-to for all things coffee. And if you order from them, use the code Kind10 to get a 10% discount on your order.
Did you find this episode uplifting, inspiring or motivating? Would you like to support more content like this? Check out our Support The Show Page here.
Speaker 1:
This podcast is part of the Deluxe Edition Network. To find other great shows on the network, head over to deluxeeditionnetworkcom. That's deluxeeditionnetworkcom.
Speaker 2:
Kindness, we see it all around us. We see it when someone pays for someone else's coffee or holds the door open for another person. We see it in the smallest of gestures, like a smile or a kind word. But it's different when we turn on the news or social media. Oftentimes what we hear about what outlets are pushing is the opposite of kind. Welcome to the Kindness Matters podcast. Our goal is to give you a place to relax, to revel in stories of people who have received or given kindness, a place to inspire and motivate each and every one of us to practice kindness every day. Hello and welcome to the Kindness Matters podcast. I'm your host, mike Rathbun.
Speaker 2:
Before we get into the show, let me ask you have you ever had the Sunday Scaries? You know that feeling of dread that you get on Sunday evenings. Well, let me tell you what I got. Hooked up with these tropical THC gummies from Sunday Scaries. They're called Couch Potatoes. Yes, they're legal. Yes, they're real and yes, you'll get high. No, you probably shouldn't drive. Couch Potatoes come with four tropical flavors. They're so tasty they'll have your taste buds signing up for jury duty. They're ideal for boosting your happiness and relaxation by entering a mild euphoric state. Whether you had a shitty day at work, the kids are finally asleep, or you spent the weekend with the in-laws, just take one gummy and watch your stresses melt away. And when you order, you can get 20% off with the code KINDNESS at checkout. That's at sundayscaariescom S-U-N-D-A-Y. Oh, never mind, the link is going to be in the show notes. Afraid, don't be. There's a 100% money back guarantee on all purchases, so there's no buying risk. And as long as I'm promoting things, you might want to check out deluxeeditioncom and check out their podcast of the month for the month of March.
Speaker 2:
First up, bacon is my podcast. Host Mike Waman and Jimmy G created the show after friends and fans asked what it was like to be a quote-unquote fly on the wall. During their weekly pre-songwriting hangouts, they decided to let the cameras roll, resulting in random and often hilarious conversations over a few whiskies, which evolved into inviting interesting guests from all forms of entertainment to find out what their Bacon is. Next is I Need Some Creep. Two very real comedians discussed their other dark addiction horror movies. Tune in as they talk about the genre, monsters, creators and movies that send tingles creeping up your spine. Welcome to your daily dose of creep.
Speaker 2:
And finally, the Beard Laws podcast. It's a show where Beard Laws, toby, brandon J McDermott, logan Richie, producer Zach and special guests have free-flowing conversations as if they were sitting around a bonfire having a beer or seven. Sometimes it's serious, sometimes it's heated, but every single time it's fun and you'll laugh at least once during the show. And speaking of shows, let's get into ours. Here is the Kindness Matters podcast. My guest today is a contemplative coach. You know I want to say it another way and I can't, and I'm sorry. A contemplative coach, it's all my tongue. Contemplate, contemplate. I have a good authority that she's up for the Nobel Peace Prize. Please welcome to the show, shannon Savage Howie.
Speaker 1:
Hi, hi, thank you, it's going to be here Excellent.
Speaker 2:
I am so happy to have you here because we've talked, obviously, and so there are some people like myself who maybe have never heard the term contemplative coach. Did I do it?
Speaker 1:
You did it, you did it.
Speaker 2:
Contemplative coach. Before Fill us in, what does a contemplative coach do?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so I go by really kind of two different terms. One is contemplative coaches. Also, sometimes people call it a spiritual director, but it's you know, I work with people, I sit with people and provide space and sometimes teach people contemplative practices, that kind of help with grounding and centering and reflecting and kind of integrating our life experiences into these deeper life questions.
Speaker 2:
Okay, Because now and you said as a matter of fact, you say on your bio page that you experienced life when you were younger You're still a baby but when you were younger, from a traditional religious background but you never felt quite what you needed there, but there's always had like a seeking spirit.
Speaker 1:
You know there's more yeah.
Speaker 2:
Right. And so you try different religious type or spiritual type what word do I wanna use, I don't know. And just nothing kind of felt right. You, just you weren't quite there. Yeah, is that what led you to contemplative?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so you know, I did grow up pretty deeply embedded in kind of a Protestant tradition and I'm still tied to that in a lot of ways. But I've kind of been on my own seeking journey to really broaden, you know, what I have access to religiously and spiritually and have a much wider language now and kind of toolkit that I've been trying to draw from than what I was raised with.
Speaker 2:
Sure, because I know a lot of people. You are definitely not alone, I'm sure you know that, but there are people who are religious and maybe they just you know. It's like well, it meets some of my needs but not all of my needs Right, and then you're led down the path of well, do I go searching for something else or do I stay where I'm at and just Deal with it Is?
Speaker 1:
that the other you were. I think there's a lot of people there, but I don't think there's much community there and so I think people feel like they're doing all of this work alone. You know, world that doesn't understand it, and I think there's actually a majority of people who fit that kind of middle ground of. I was raised this way. I don't really hate it, but it doesn't totally fit anymore and I'm kind of interested in these things over here, but I don't really know how to go about sorting that out and how to integrate these things and Right.
Speaker 2:
And, as a matter of fact, I love this quote from you. I found that my place, the sacred space that I tend, is standing in the middle between institutional, slash, traditional religion and what some call woo woo spirituality. I am not ready to talk today, but and that really spoke to me because I think again I've been where you were at, I didn't move past it, but but you offer this space then for others who can, and there's another part of your. You have a video on your website, by the way. That's ransactsoulcom Link will be in the show notes. It's such a great website where you talk about all the things that are going on in the world and where do you find?
Speaker 2:
that calm, so that you can not only survive but thrive.
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 2:
And that's it's very inspirational.
Speaker 1:
Well, thank you.
Speaker 2:
I had to cough. I'm so glad this is a audio only podcast. So so what did you find when you, when you, went looking? What was it that led you to? I'm not going to be able to do it again.
Speaker 1:
Contemplative spirituality. That's the one. Yeah, you know, I was working in institutional church settings and it just became really clear to me, almost in a very clear moment of I think I think there's something different ahead of me. And at the same time I met someone who was a spiritual director and said have you heard of this? And I hadn't at the time. And everything she described to me about sitting with people and holding the questions and creating this space for people to wonder about where they're at, I just everything locked in for me of this is the kind of space I want to hold for people. And then I just from there, I just followed it and everything I've done has been kind of this broadening of those tools and those experiences.
Speaker 2:
Nice, that's so cool Because, yeah, and what you said in that video is, I mean, even though we're not maybe necessarily dealing with the pandemic anymore, there's still so much going on in the world and I think everybody just kind of needs a place where they can almost, you know, just kind of zone out and take a stock and re-sender, yeah, and you provide that?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's my goal, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:
Well, and apparently you're doing very well at it.
Speaker 1:
Well, thank you.
Speaker 2:
From what I hear. But I mean talk to me about. How does one center ones? What's your practice like? What's your coursework?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, well, the course I have the online course is really kind of this overview of all sorts of spiritual practices and embodied practices and even just some kind of processing tools along the way. Some people know spiritual practices and sometimes even the people who know them forget oh, I did learn not a while ago and I totally lost track of it, right and sometimes we just don't have the tools, and so it's really an overview of a lot of that to help you find and try things on. Does this really? Does this help me center? Does this help me ground? Does this help me ask my deeper questions in a meaningful way? And so it's really just a series of those experiences.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so do you draw from all types of and we'll use air quotes here, you can't see it because it'll be an audio podcast but Traditional religion, from some of your practices?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I Kind of stick to, personally, kind of the the more anciently rooted ones, right. So I I do have some kind of these ancient Christian practices from, you know, centuries and centuries ago. I have a strong background in yoga and yoga philosophy, and that as a spiritual practice, not just as a physical workout, right, but the practice of yoga, and so I draw on those aspects and and then some of these embodied, other embodied right yoga as an embodied practice, but also, you know, some of these that are kind of outside of Traditional religions, like labyrinths, are kind of cross-cultural and and Some art practices that kind of don't fall within a religion, right. But you know, we kind of all can connect with and did you say art practices?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so what kind of art practices? That's interesting to me because I'm a I'm a failed, frustrated artist.
Speaker 1:
Well, I think that makes you an artist.
Speaker 2:
I'm not a starving artist.
Speaker 1:
Well, you know part of part of the course and why it's so broad is that Really, how we connect to our sense of spirituality is so individual and so particular to our Context and these maladies and and so it gives this broad range so that you can really try things on that fit you, and for some people that's really through art, and so I am trained in a practice called soul collage, which is creating these specific cards that that help your soul kind of get a voice on a page through collage and interesting.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, yeah. And where did you learn about that?
Speaker 1:
It's like just done these deep dives across the board of that's something interesting. I think I'll go get trained and I'm trained in like a thousand things, because every time I'm like that's interesting, I guess I'll get certified in it.
Speaker 2:
So you're just like a constant learner and researcher, and and is that always been part of who you are?
Speaker 1:
Yes, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:
All right, I notice behind you the bowl with the Uh-huh. Where does that? Is that I associate it with buddhism? But is that? That's not it, is it?
Speaker 1:
I mean it's it kind of comes probably from more into, or um, eastern religions. Right, it's just a singing bowl or meditation bowl, um, you can use it a few different ways, but I usually use it to kind of start sacred time and close sacred time when I'm with people.
Speaker 2:
Okay, all right. So if somebody came to you and said I just I need to find a space where I can Shut out the division and the politics and the this and the that and Everything I'm hearing on news, I mean, aside from saying, well, don't watch news, I mean that's one way to do it.
Speaker 1:
It is an option.
Speaker 2:
But what? How so you?
Speaker 1:
you sit with person and you listen, obviously, and then you make recommendations or you just sometimes, you know, sometimes that's what people want and sometimes people really just need a, a place to be heard, because there's not very many places where we can actually be heard in this very true, that is so true.
Speaker 2:
Wow, um, and you've been doing this since Before the pandemic.
Speaker 1:
Oh yeah, yeah, I've been doing this for I don't know, somewhere between 12 and 15 years.
Speaker 2:
Wow. Yeah would you start when you were 10? Um, stop, I, I just that whole, this whole. And this is not. I mean, because when we hear about coaches, we hear about life coaches or whatever. I had never actually heard of your particular coaching. Do we call it a niche? Sure, I don't know. As a matter of fact, I've never even seen a certification offered in that particular space. So that's so cool.
Speaker 1:
Well, you know, partly I kind of chose the title. It really really I'm trained as a spiritual director, but I I tried to shift the language a little bit because spirituality is a really loaded word for a lot of people.
Speaker 2:
It automatically brings up religion.
Speaker 1:
It brings up religion. But I've also found that spirituality is Is defined very differently person to person. Sure, and and you can have people in one room and say we're going to talk about spirituality and they have a very different understanding of what that's going to be.
Speaker 2:
There's 30 people in the room and you have 30 different. Exactly ideas of what that is and it's.
Speaker 1:
It's one of those things. We use the word all the time, but a lot of people have a hard time actually understanding their own definition of it. Right, and so we're actually. What ends up happening is we talk past each other or we walk into it with certain assumptions, and so part of shifting to the term contemplative coach is actually just to shift the language so that people can Read it a little differently, but it's essentially the same thing as a spiritual director cool, cool, and I Never again outside of church, I'd never heard of spiritual director Right.
Speaker 2:
So there you go, um, but you have, besides being an amazing coach, which you are Uh, you have kind of a A giving side to you too. We'll be right back with more of my conversation with Shannon Savage Howie, but first here's a message from a Deluxe Edition Network Podcaster. Are you looking for a place for all things horror and don't know where to go? Well, you've come to the right place, my friend. We had a great, very cool podcast for all your horror needs. Visit us on YouTube and Spotify, and you can follow us over on Instagram at the Graveyard Club Pod. See you there. Ciao, you lived, or lived at one point. Do you still live in Thousand Oaks?
Speaker 1:
Yes.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so in 2018 something really horrible happened there. Yeah, yeah, it was a mass shooting, I believe was it yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so on a Wednesday night in November 2018, it was college night at a local bar, and around 11 pm, shortly after, there was a mass shooting. 12 victims died that night. Hundreds of people were in the room. There were over 200 people there for that night and they were almost all college students, and so that happened late at night on a Wednesday, so most people woke up to that news in the morning because it did happen so late, and anytime you're around something, it's just so much trauma and tragedy to experience that, whether you knew the victims or not, to have it in your space. Most people in this town grew up knowing that bar, having gone to that bar in their young adult years, so the place held a lot of meaning for a lot of people. They were all young people that were there, and so it was very traumatic for this community to wake up to that news. And so what happened is I don't know if you've ever been in a community where something like this happens, but immediately the helicopters are just going.
Speaker 1:
So, that night. We have a teen center that was turned into the reunification center for families, and probably a mile, mile and a half triangle section was the bar, the reunification center in the hospital, and I live right in the middle of that triangle and so the helicopters were just nonstop.
Speaker 2:
Oh my.
Speaker 1:
God Right, going over all of the sites, all of these locations, just constant. So then, I, like many people in the community, went to a vigil that morning, at 11 am approximately, and when we walked out of the vigil that morning, there was smoke in the sky.
Speaker 2:
Wait what?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so while so within 12 hours, this community, thousand Oaks, experienced this mass shooting, didn't even know all the names of the victims, yet I mean they still weren't being released and two fires started at the same time, flanking the town.
Speaker 2:
Holy sh.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it was, it was a lot. That's one way to put it yeah, yeah, wow. So it was just this very complex trauma, right, and so you have the helicopters and then more helicopters.
Speaker 2:
Right Sure.
Speaker 1:
Because it's not just the news. Then you've got the water helicopters.
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 1:
It's, it's the whole, it's everything right.
Speaker 2:
It's like the sky is a is on is alive.
Speaker 1:
Yes, and so the next two to three days were absolute chaos in this town. There's, you know who are the victims and trying to figure all of that out, and are there vigils? Are there vigils for certain victims? What's happening around all of that? Right, trying to wrap your head around this giant tragedy. At the same time, people were being evacuated from one fire, and then they ended up having to be evacuated from the other fire because of where they had gone to.
Speaker 2:
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1:
And firefighters who, you know, showed up on the scene for the for the shooting were then immediately dispatched to defending homes.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, not even time to process that trauma.
Speaker 1:
No no.
Speaker 2:
And you're right back into it.
Speaker 1:
Yes, yeah, and so most of our town had to evacuate and the freeways were shut down and traffic was gridlocked, and when we did have people lose homes and and the Reunification Center had to be evacuated because it was in the fires out. So I mean, it was just I can't even imagine that's crazy.
Speaker 2:
Yeah and then you said I'm gonna do something about this right, um, yeah, so within the next year.
Speaker 1:
You know, I was part of a storytelling project that was created and we called it thousand oaks remembers and and and the. The whole concept behind it is that you know, when tragedy of any sort happens, people are holding it in a variety of ways. Sure, right, you have the people who are immediately impacted by the impact of the tragedy. Right, the right victims, the families victims right and. Those are specific stories, right, yeah, but then there's this ripple that goes out from there, right, you have the people who are close to those people, right?
Speaker 2:
I went to speak with that kid.
Speaker 1:
Yes, there you have the. You know I'm the best friend, but I wasn't there when it happened, or I'm. You know, I live out of town now, but we used to know each other and that's the bar I went to, or you know right. So all of these ripples or this happened in my town and I thought we were safe here, right?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I'm sure you got that a lot.
Speaker 1:
Yes, yeah. So what happens is we're all holding these stories and a lot of times, especially with a big trauma, people feel like their story doesn't deserve a voice because it's not the most traumatic story right right. I just knew them.
Speaker 2:
I wasn't impacted. It wasn't somebody yeah, my family right what have you yeah?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and so what happens is the stories just live in us and we never speak them Right and they never, they never go anywhere. And so the storytelling project was a way to give the community space To hear the stories speak. The stories hold the stories right. Sure.
Speaker 2:
Because speaking the story kind of releases that from you right, yes, so let it live outside your body Matters you know, right and so we did.
Speaker 1:
It was kind of multifaceted right. It had, you know, people from the fire department and the sheriff's department and the government officials and Pastors and you know kind of lots of community representatives. Sure, we're part of this planning team and we trained facilitators to do these listening circles around the community.
Speaker 1:
I was people would just come and share their stories, right, and we did have some podcast episodes that are on the website and we had. And then we did at the one-year anniversary, we did a live storytelling event where five people told their stories. Oh, wow from from that time and it was just really powerful to Sit in those spaces.
Speaker 1:
And you know, most people didn't lose a family member and most people didn't lose a house, but everyone was impacted sure right and you know the stories that you would hear people finally saying, like my house caught on fire but it didn't burn down. But I never had anywhere to say that right or you know People you know. We had one pastor who shared that he had done this listening group within his congregation and people were sharing stories and People who sat next to each other for 15 years were looking at each other going. I had no idea. Wow going through that oh.
Speaker 2:
That brings the community a lot closer, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:
It does. It does it just helps you feel seen and acknowledges your humanity.
Speaker 2:
Sure Sure.
Speaker 1:
It was really beautiful in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2:
Wow Is Thousand Oaks. This was 2018. That was six years ago. It doesn't seem like it was that far.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, just finished. November was the five-year anniversary.
Speaker 2:
Oh wow, yeah, Are you guys healed? Are you back together?
Speaker 1:
Well, you know, we live in a complicated place, right? And?
Speaker 2:
I have a quote I wrote down and I'm not sure.
Speaker 1:
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:
Paradise built in hell.
Speaker 1:
Yes, that is a book, oh wow.
Speaker 2:
That's a book that I've read.
Speaker 1:
But what I love about this book is that you know, when we think of tragedy happening, we go immediately to these Hollywood scenes of apocalyptic people turning on each other and you know, ransacked buildings and just utter destruction and hatred among people. Right. And this book Paradise Built in Hell. What's really beautiful about it is that it looks at the statistics and the stories throughout real history and it shows us that what actually happens in those spaces is that people show up for each other time and time and time again.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that's what we seem to forget, don't we? We think about all these horrible things going on, but in the real world there are people showing up for you. Over the last weekend, in another city, in the Minneapolis St Paul area, where I live, two cops and a paramedic were killed.
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 2:
And the outpouring of support and love and the. It's just so incredible. The city hall down there was just absolutely flooded with people bringing flowers and food and all of these things for the families, obviously, but just coming together and it kind of sucks that it took a tragedy for that to happen.
Speaker 1:
Because we do.
Speaker 2:
We see so much division today in the country, and you don't wish for something bad to happen, but you kind of wish everybody'd come together, right? So that was fantastic. Thank you, shannon, for taking time to come on and chat with me a little bit and talk to me, and I so appreciate what you do. I appreciate your time for coming on and sharing your story.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I'd love to come back sometime.
Speaker 2:
This was great, we could absolutely do that, absolutely do that. But yeah, we will talk again soon.
Speaker 1:
Wonderful. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:
Thanks, shannon, talk to you later.
Speaker 1:
OK.
Speaker 2:
So much fun to talk to Shannon Savage-Howey. I really do admire what she does. I wasn't just saying that earlier. I think every single one of us could really benefit from finding a space, finding a little piece in this world, and people like Shannon that do that are just remarkable to me. If you're interested, I will have all of her contact info and her website on the show notes, and that will do it for another episode of the Kindness Matters podcast. We will, of course, be back again next week, but until then, be that person who roots for others, who tells a stranger that they look amazing and encourages others to believe in themselves and their dreams. You've been listening to the Kindness Matters podcast. I'm your host, mike Rathbun. Have a fantastic week.