Ways to Practice Spirituality: In Conversation with Robin Von Schwarz
In this episode of Making Meaning I sat down with author, yoga instructor, and life coach Robin Von Schwarz, a friend of my mom’s and a beautiful human being! Robin is best known for her book, Thresholds: 75 Stories on How Changing Your Perspective Can Change Your Life. Thresholds explores the way meaningful moments in our lives can allow us the space to grow and change in our worldviews and approaches to life. Robin goes so far as to define a “threshold moment” as a point in our lives when we are pushed to reconsider our current state and grow to a new level of consciousness as we cross the “threshold.” In our conversation, Robin and I explored her own threshold moment, the synchronicity of religion, and a multitude of spiritual experiences that she has had throughout her life.
Beginning with Robin’s threshold experience, she explained how she had a difficult conversation with her father which created a moment of reflection. Robin was initially extremely upset, and felt the need to share this with her sister. Robin explained how this work actually happened very quickly, but I want to slow down this instant when Robin first experienced the hurt. Not only did she pause, and choose not to react negatively, but she also paid deep attention to what she needed. Once she realized that she needed to share this experience in order to process it, she discussed it with her sister who had a similar emotional reaction to Robin sharing the information with her. This is another moment that I want to slow down. While Robin was completely justified in pursuing her own emotional needs, she recognized that in trying to take care of herself, she inadvertently hurt someone else. In reflecting on this experience, Robin gained a newfound appreciation of being able to process and work through difficult moments on our own, and even work towards being able to release the hold that other’s actions have on us.
I want to note that, while it is important to work on being able to emotionally support ourselves, there is absolutely nothing wrong with reaching out to those around us for support. Further, I think asking for help is one of the most courageous, and most important, steps in the healing process. The difference for Robin in this example was that relying on her sister inadvertently caused pain. When you reach out for guidance while working through something, it’s important to advocate for yourself and your needs while considering the needs of those around you. One of the best ways to ensure that your needs are not inadvertently hurting someone else is to ask. Starting a conversation like this can begin with, “Do you have the mental and emotional space to talk about this with me?” When you create the space for your friends and family to own what they need at that moment, you not only create a safer relationship, but you also advocate for your own needs. When you rely on other people in your life, as we all must (and should) both parties owning their own needs allows everyone to better tend to the needs of others.
Robin discussing her threshold moment led us to discuss how the people who we allow to love us the most are the ones we allow to hurt us the most. When you have a deep emotional relationship with someone, you are both inevitably vulnerable. In any relationship we are going to step on toes, put our feet in our mouths, and hurt each other whether we are trying to or not. However, when we were talking about this level of vulnerability, Robin expressed how she disagreed with the common notion that, when we are hurt, it is because of us. However, she believes that while we can’t control our feelings, we can control our reactions and monitoring and mediating our reactions is our responsibility. When Robin is personally hurt, she believes it is best to allow yourself to feel hurt, let it process, and then let it go. This allows you to work through negative reactions more quickly and gives you more control over how you choose to respond. Hearing Robin describe her process for dealing with negative reactions reminded me of how helpful mindfulness is as a tool in our daily lives.
As a daily tool, mindfulness can help us take a moment to pause, and assume an observer's point of view to better understand the reality of whatever situation we are in before choosing how to react. As a practice, mindfulness can remind us to return to the observer’s point of view to better understand the nature of our consciousness and elevate our awareness. When Robin and I discussed awareness, we discussed her yoga teacher certification process and the similarities that can occur between seemingly discordant belief systems. So much of what her yoga mentor practiced and taught, Robin explained, was reflected in the 10 Commandments and other Christian beliefs. Further, Robin’s experience with the community that lived on top of a mountain in Ecuador showed how, while western or largely practiced spiritualities had not reached them, spiritual practices were still an integral part of their lives. While all of these practices are deeply personal and unique, Robin explained how the heart of each of these religions and philosophies all come back to finding peace and spreading love.
At the end of the episode, Robin offered a quote from Dr. John Beaulieu that reads, “Trees, plants, rock, people are all music that has taken on physical form.” In light of this quote, Robin asked me what song I felt was most in my frequency. I would love to know your thoughts on the quote and what song reflects you energetically. Head to @thecoherecollective on Instagram to let me know! So let me know on Instagram!
I hope you all gleaned something from Robin’s rich expertise in so many practices - I will be ruminating on this conversation for a while! If you want more content, subscribe to Making Meaning on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and subscribe to the blog so you never miss a post! If you want to join the conversation, follow us on Instagram @thecoherecollective and leave a comment sharing your thoughts on this episode. If you want more of Robin, check out her book, Thresholds: 75 Stories on How Changing Your Perspective Can Change Your Life.
Until next time, so much love!
XX
Reese, Founder
The Cohere Collective
