Sense of Soul - Soul Statements

Episode Date: February 19, 2024

Today on Sense of Soul podcast we have Corey Lyon Folsom, in his twenties and thirties, he was an aboriginal skills instructor, professional tracker, vision quest leader and wilderness guide for newly sober people. He loved leading people deep into the mountains and desert and being inspired by the courage and creativity of his students. His early intimate relationships were filled with heartache and poor patterns and found myself in a sexless marriage. After a spiritual soul-awakening in 2009, he hired a relationship coach and dove into personal growth, eventually becoming a Certified Tantra Educator, NLP practitioner and relationship coach who gets to assist persons from all over the world to increase the soulfulness, clarity and ease with which the experience life. He’s passionate about helping people enhance their empathy and communication. The work of Marshall Rosenberg (Non-Violent Communication) informs his life and work. He’s a Sun Dance singer and proud father of two sons. His book, Soul Statements, achieved Amazon bestseller in two categories: Communication and Meditation. https://corerelationship.com Learn more about Sense of Soul Podcast: https://www.senseofsoulpodcast.com Check out the NEW affiliate deals! https://www.mysenseofsoul.com/sense-of-soul-affiliates-page Check out the Leap Year Event! www.patreon.com/senseofsoul https://www.eventbrite.com/e/transform-your-reality-the-quantum-leap-experience-registration-807297527637?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios  

Hello, my soul-seeking friends. It's Shanna. Thank you so much for listening to Sense of Soul Podcast. Enlightening conversations with like-minded souls from around the world. Sharing their journey of finding their light within, turning pain into purpose, and awakening to their true sense of soul. If you like what you hear, show me some love and rate, like, and subscribe. And consider becoming a Sense of Soul Patreon member, where you will get ad-free episodes,

monthly circles, and much more. Now go grab your coffee, open your mind, heart, and soul. It's time to awaken. hey listeners did you know that 2024 is a leap year and for this cosmic event jennifer mitchell is joining us in sense of souls a sacred circle to facilitate a quantum leap experience so coming up february 29th it's only 29 and as a member of sense of Soul's Patreon, you even get 25% off of that. Join us and embrace the cosmic influence of this transformational event to propel you into the future you desire. You do not want to miss this. You can find the link in the show notes, or you could visit www.senseofsoulpodcast.com. And for today's episode, I have Corey Lyon Folsom. He's an author, certified Tantra educator, NLP practitioner, and a relationship coach.

But that's not all. Corey has been an aberrational skills instructor, professional tracker, a vision quest leader, a wilderness guide, and much more. And he's joining us today to tell us all about his journey and to tell us all about his new book, Soul Statements, a love coach's guide to successful communication. So welcome, Corey. Hi. Hi, how are you? Very well, thank you. I'm super excited to talk about your book and it seems like you have a wide variety

of wisdom. Some of the things I'm curious about, like sun dance singing. Yes. Sounds amazing. And I want to know about it. Okay. I'm excited. This is my first podcast interview of the year. Oh, yes, it is 2024. Do you have any resolutions? Just to keep looking 2020 forward ah i like that i really like my son came up with that that's really cool i like to say you know keep your face pointed to the sun so do you have a love for the sun i love the feeling of sun on me i spent many many years in southern utah and if you don't love the sun, you should live

somewhere else. I've definitely done some moon dancing. There you go. There you go. Well, you know, I read in the news that you can bring the cremated remains of your loved ones to the moon. And the Navajo Nation has filed a formal protest on behalf of the moon. I saw that. I thought that was very interesting. My experience with Native peoples doing ceremony with them and other things is that it's all very real. We say white buffalo calf woman or grandmother moon, and it's not just a word. It's not just going through the motions, but it's a real relationship that they have personally with these forces and influences. Right. Yeah. And you were an aboriginal skills instructor. What did that look like? That looked like teaching ancient life ways

to people that wanted to learn them. So for instance, you go out in the woods, and you just have your bare hands, and how to construct a warm, cozy shelter for any weather condition, we were teaching people, not just to survive, but to thrive, to feel comfortable and know the edible plants and be able to make buckskin from a deer hide or fire without matches, that kind of stuff. And so it was really fun. It was my high interest. I was really interested in that animal tracking, you know, as a high school age person. And so I just, I was living my dream as a 19, 20, 21 year old, like, wow, I get to teach and learn simultaneously to people that like what I like. Beyond that, I've moved to a

program in Southern Idaho that brought early recovery people. So they might be off whatever drug only a week. And they have some semblance of desire for sobriety and they're total novices in the wilderness. And I'm there 21 days with barely anything for supplies. And we get to walk around and find water or not and learn to live as a little pseudo family. Meanwhile, we're lighting fire without matches and we're building shelters and we're doing those kinds of things as the, as the form, but really it's just learning how to be human with each other and how to handle frustration. And when you feel slighted by another person, how to just, you know, hey, let's circle up and talk about it. Oh, I love that so very much. I mean, I would assume Colorado would have something like

that. I should look it up and try to find out if they do. Yeah. Because, you know, I would definitely recommend that to a lot of the people that I know are struggling. Yeah. I feel like I had a soul statement that I received not too long ago. And because I was reading some of your book and I also listened to you on some other people's shows. And I love that you call it soul statements. They are like affirmations, but they seem a little bit more personal. What I received was in a circle, Gnostic Sophia circle. So there's a lot of feminine energy. And we were praying at the end of the circle, but I decided not to put out and I decided just to receive. It came in so quickly. There was no way of thought of this. So it was really divine. So, but it was, I belong to no one and I am home to all. I would say it was a soul statement,

but tell me about what soul statements are and how did you come into that? Sure. Well, I'm thinking about your soul statement and the thing is, it's so much more powerful than a normal thought, because it's in your bones, and it's in your center. And it's, you're imbued with it, and you're aligned with it. And so I would imagine there's some feeling that goes along with it. And feelings are what will move the needle in terms of how we experience life and how life comes to us. And so soul statement is something that you can pull up in present time as a reminder of what's true and what's good and what's eternal about you as soul. And your soul statement, I don't expect it to change. Like that will always be true about who you are and what you are.

And so in moments of distress and worry and not sure or not certain about this or that, we can say, oh, wait a minute, what's really true about who I am and what I am? And let's remember that and let's color this decision or this thing I need to think about. Let's color it with that. And so I'm bringing my deeper self,

I'm bringing access to better answers, maybe better questions. We can start with better questions. What should I be asking right now versus what I'm thinking? You know, so it's a way to calibrate your surface thoughts with what's really true about who and what you are. And sometimes I like to, for shorthand, I can say it's an emotional postcard from your center. Yeah. So I feel like there is a reclamation of power for women. And I feel like also the divine masculine is coming forth to hold that space.

And I think it's very beautiful. That to me is intimacy, whether it's sexual or not. And I don't know much about Tantra only from the people I've had on my podcast. I've done a little study. But tell me how you got into that and how you feel about reclaiming this divine. I wouldn't just say the divine feminine, the divine masculine also is being reclaimed. Well, I would describe a heroine's journey, a true heroine's journey. You have to not just accept the plate that's in front of you, what life has served you up, but to question, starting maybe with a little spark of awareness, which grows and say, oh, there's something

greater. I'm not contained within this smaller circle. I'm everything. I'm all circles. And well, oh, that's all well and good to think and feel and then you have to say well how do I live this you know how do I live as a heroine as a self-source self-sovereign woman or being tantra is something that I had a brief contact with back in 01 and And it was comes under the heading white tantra, which means it's just solo practices, you're not doing practices with another person, it was the school is called absolute. And I loved it. I really liked the, the techniques for moving energy in different parts of your body. And so using the breath to move energy, that was the real concept. And years and years and years later, I kind of fell backwards into it. Another tantra

school, somebody had suggested it like, oh, you might like this. And I wasn't doing anything that weekend. And so I thought, okay, well, that that came a multi year journey of, you know, going through all of that school's program and becoming a teacher and then becoming a level two teacher. And, but to distill it down, I think of Tantra as an attitude. It's an attitude of acceptance of what is meaning in the moment and it's paying attention to to now to not be thinking about the future to not be dwelling on the past but being embodied and aware in your skin for whatever's happening acceptance of whatever's happening. Acceptance of whatever's happening doesn't mean no boundaries. It just means you're not fighting it or wishing it was different or just saying, well, this is what it is. And then from that, you can have your voice, whatever form of protection you need to

have to stand up for yourself and say, these are my values and these are not my values. And this is what I'm going to do. This is what I want. So it's really that the more deeply you inhabit that present time embodied, I'm right here and I'm sovereign and I have claimed my power and my voice, the more I think you're being tantric. And so you can have a tantric phone call saying, you know, I'm aligned, and I will speak up as I need to. What I think comes along with that, at least for me, is a sense of wonder to the wonder of life, like life is happening, I get to be here, that's enough. And so a soul statement might be living in wonder is a gift and a joy.

I love how you've, you know, weave these two together, as well in your book. Oh, thank you. And something else I was thinking of, you have your soul statement that came to you and that's beautiful and incredible and awesome. And some people have that one soul statement that is so encapsulating of just who you are and powerful, and that's all they need. They can just keep coming back to that and taking a stand for yourself. Then other people might like to have a soul statement for each situation, like living in wonder, or I have a beloved that dwells within my center informs me. And so they might have a plethora. It just can be an inspired in the

moment soul statement. And it could be both. They can have that meta soul statement, if you will. And they can have lots of little ones for, you know, to counteract, oh, I'm thinking an unhelpful thought. Let me insert something that's really more accurate and more empowering right here, right now. That would be a in the moment soul statement. I belong to no one. I am home to all. I mean, every person I would tell them that statement, they would receive it differently. And that's what I thought was so divine about it because it could be personal. It could be collective. It could mean so many, I mean, home can mean so many different things. And it wasn't, I belong to no one, like nobody. It was,

I belong to no one and have no limits or boundaries. But I think, so tell me the power of a soul statement because they've even done research on the power of affirmations. Yeah, I found that. Well, soul statements really came about from me hearing myself asking client after coaching client, you know, what were you saying to yourself in that moment? And is it possible to say something different when you're in a similar moment again? And what would be a more empowering thing to think? And so, you know, we can spiral down. Our brains aren't really designed to make us happy as much as they're designed to keep us safe from danger. And so a lot of us can hear that kind of thing. It's like, what's wrong? The brain's like, oh, there must be something wrong. And there is always something wrong, actually.

And there's also always something right. bird, Carrie has put together an exclusive package for sense of soul listeners. You can take Carrie's mini course sacred living with the four directions and also get a 30 minute shamanic healing, full cleanse of heavy energy and fill up your tank with high vibrational light and amazing opportunity at a great price. You definitely want to take advantage of her amazing offer. You can go to www.senseofsoulpodcast.com and look under the Network of Lightworkers or you can find this link directly to Carrie's amazing offer in the show notes. And so if we're having an unhelpful thought,

like, you know, I just can't do this, we can counteract that. God doesn't give me anything I can't handle or whatever is feels powerful to you to claim some strength and for what you have to do. And you're giving your brain a better message, which then leads to the next thought being a little better than it otherwise would have been. And so, you know, a lot of people like to script in advance how they want to speak to themselves. So, oh, when I'm feeling afraid, I'm going to say something empowering. I grew up Catholic. So, you know, every time I was afraid at night, as a child, even sometimes, you know, as an adult, I would say I plead the blood of Jesus. I mean, that is in some way a soul statement, is it not? Absolutely. Another one I like is I am a loved child of God.

Yeah, it's a lot better than I plead the blood of Jesus. Well, I mean, something's just sick. Yeah. Well, another one I like is I am held in God's palm. And so if we think that, if we have that thought of, oh, I'm held in God's palm, there's a feeling that comes with it. And that feeling is the power. A feeling is easier to believe than a thought because, you know, it's a feeling. You can experience it. And so, so yeah that's

our true experience is the feeling and so then that feeling of okayness of protection of being loved that gives us more security do you have your go-to soul statements i do I have like kind of the ones that I just fall back on as the default. And it's not like I'm having to think of them. It's like, Oh, if I want to have a soul statement, it just, Oh, there it is. And then I might be creative and create other ones according to a situation. But yeah, like one of my go-tos is the stillness inside me heals me. I love that. I have contentment deep inside me. One that I say a lot that I never really noticed.

I'm just thinking back that I say with all my clients a lot to let go of all that doesn't serve you. Let go of all that doesn't serve you. Absolutely. Wonderful. So that must be that doesn't serve you. Absolutely. Wonderful. So that must be a soul statement of mine. Yeah. I love this because you know what?

When I think about old traditions, I mean, they used to do stuff like this all the time. This is why the church has so many different things that they say and chant together. And we lost that kind of, we've lost these small, unique traditions that are still used in religion because they're powerful. Absolutely. Absolutely. And also, I'm a big fan of ritual to set the intention, like me feeling like I'm in my right place.

Really making like a declaration. And I also think that we're so busy, we don't stop to do these things. And that's why I think that if you have some sort of ritual, it'll help you. You can ritualize anything you wish. You know, you ritualize tying your shoes if you want to. I'm not sure where the benefit would be. But if you wanted to say, oh, this is my good start for the day. And this is how I'm going to do it. And now I'm feeling ready. I mean, you can, it can work. Yeah. You know, when I think about soul statements, you know how a lot of times people will have these affirmations, you know, I am beautiful, I am smart, but yet they don't believe it. And so it doesn't work. I had one time heard

Wayne Dyer say, put it next to your bed by your alarm clock. And so that way, when you wake up in that theta brainwave and it's the first thing you see, your thoughts will not reject it. It will actually receive it for the day. But I mean, do we really have to trick ourselves? You know, I like this better than affirmations. Well, yeah, I mean, it's a subset of affirmations. It's a type of affirmation. And there's no need to trick your brain into, you know, some desired future that is still coming. And so you're just affirming what's already you and versus what you wish to become. It's like, no, I, I got this, which you do. And that's can be enough of a soul statement. Some people that's their only soul statement. I got this, you know, there was this well-known Navy SEAL. They called him Mr. I got this because he was volunteering. Like I got this. So it's just, you're reminding yourself of what's already resourced within you. Like this is

who and what I am. And that's as simple as that. And the soul statement of self is just simply bringing attention to your deeper resources, to what's right and true and good. When your cells kind of vibrate with like this little, yes. Yeah. Have you read the five love languages? Yes. Gary. Everybody in this house seems to be different things, which is so funny and so difficult. I had heard one time you should ask like how to find out, you say, how do you know your mom loves you? And so I asked my oldest son, how do you know I love you? And he said, well, cause you always tell me, you know, that I'll be able to overcome things and

you're always cheering me on you know he's words of affirmation so something like this would be very powerful for him and with the love languages one way to figure that out is when this or that happens does your brain say oh I'm loved like that little do you have that thought of telling your brain oh I'm loved. Like that little, do you have that thought of telling your brain, oh, I'm loved. You should have that internal message. And then, you know, oh, that's when my brain thinks it's true or accepts it as real. Right. Yeah. But in some way, is that not like a conditioned love? You know, it's part of how we've learned to think about things. I know. You know, so that doesn't mean we should fight it.

Yeah, for sure. I just have, I've pondered on it because I love, you know, the books. And then as I started to seek more within, I started to think, well, yeah, I don't need anyone to tell me, you know, add a girl or, you know, anything like that. Sure. And when you see someone else making, you know, a bid for connection, expressing love in the way that they think this is how love is expressed. Yeah. If it's not your love language, you can still say silently to yourself, oh, this is a loving act. I can

recognize this as a bid for connection as a, this person is acting from love. And so that, that can help bridge the gap because we typically offer love in the way that we wish to receive it. Yeah. It's helpful to check in with your chosen beloved or child. Yeah. And I have a high value. I mean, I love understanding things. And so I love clarity. I love clarity of communication.

And so I write about in my book, activating your awkward radar, which means, oh, something feels a little awkward. And then hopefully that's joined with some level of courage to speak up and say, that felt a little strange. And I'm just wondering what you meant by that. Or I heard it this way. Is that, is that accurate? That kind of clarity, I like to say clarity helps friends stay friends. Yeah, that's so very powerful. Thank you.

Well, one more thing. I want to know what's sun dance singing. What is that about? Sure. How do you do that? So a sun dance is a Native American ceremony of the Northern and Central Plains tribes. So from the Kiowa up to the Blackfeet and Pigan. And they all had some version of a Sundance where there is a big circle

and there's tons of people all around the tribe or tribelet. And in the center is this big cottonwood tree. And it's a four days of singing and drumming and dancing. And so I'm on the drum. So I'm singing for four days. And then there's dancers in the center. They're dancing also fasting for four days. And the people all around, they can be singing or not. It's just like, I think of it like a giant prayer machine. You know, it's like this same step the dancers are doing. The men are pierced with wooden sticks through their skin and tied to the tree and they're pulling back they're blowing eagle bone whistles so they're like little baby birds and the women almost sounds

like a powwow yeah very much and then the the women they have special dresses with slits in the arms because they somebody takes a needle and a thread and puts it under their skin and ties a feather from each arm. And they're dancing like that. Cause they don't, they don't really have to give blood. They do it every month. Right. So it's like, they're not. And so, but the men they're giving blood real, you know, from there and eventually kind of tears out and then they were carried off. And so it starts before sunrise. And as the sun's coming up, we start drumming and the dancers come in. And it's just a community ritual that has power.

And we're praying. The main kind of theme of the prayer that individual prayers kind of support is that my people may live. Oh, I do love how the indigenous cultures, I mean, are just coming into everyone's consciousness. You don't even have to seek it. I mean, we're looking to them for medicine, for wisdom, how to maybe save the earth, what to do, what not to do. And I have a hard time when I think about where I live. I live in Arapahoe County. I live here in the plains, in the highest parts of the plains, where you can see the full mountain range. And you know what was here, and you know what was taken.

And it never sits right with me. And I do think that it is all about awareness, right? Yeah. I know we have new traditions now. Right. Yeah. Yeah, you have to. You have to just be true to your journey.

And we have that choice now. It's not here. It's always funny to me how, you know, people, I would hear what as a kid or whatever. Oh, that's just, you know, mumbo jumbo or some silly ritual. And I'm thinking, well, the Easter bunny isn't like totally like serious. Like it's a little funny to a little mumbo jumbo. Come on. Thank you.

A little creepy, actually, isn't it? Right. You know, and these kids are coming in so advanced it was my daughter was eight years old when she came to me and said so are you telling me that a easter up like a bunny brought this in the house last night how and i was like dude you're just supposed to believe this and then she was like don't lie to me and I was like oh boy and so I was like just don't tell your friends not everybody you know knows this at your age but it was soon after she was like either you're doing the elf on the shelf

or that's the laziest elf I have ever heard of because it never moves yeah yeah yeah I know I always I remember when my children were very young and they asked me but what's what's the deal with Santa Claus and I mean we didn't even have a chimney but yeah right and and I said they're like is this real I like, well, there was a person a long time ago, that taught people about the beauty of giving gifts. And, and so we give gifts to kind of remember him and how he taught us just, you know, think of other people and give gifts. So that's how that's what I'm up with in the moment. You know, there was that my neighbors had a sign this past Christmas, and it said, don't forget the Christ in Christmas.

And my 11-year-old saw it, and she goes, I'm pretty sure that Jesus was born in the springtime. And I was like, who are these children? Right, right, right. That's pretty interesting. But, you know, I just think that with more awareness in the world, we're just being more true to ourselves, to our bodies, right, to our statement of who we are. Yeah. And I truly believe the world is getting better, even though it doesn't say it's also kind of falling apart. But it's it's the old world that's falling apart. And this new one. I mean, I have a grandson who

is eight, and it's going to be his time before we know it. And it won't be my time, it'll be his time. And so these young ones, I think they'll do a better job than we've done. Yeah. I mean, you know, as when anything falls and is about to be rebuilt, I mean, there's chaos. I mean, it's just the way it is. Right. But I do agree with you. And I think that's a very positive way to end this because, you know, so often we're so focused on the negative and so do you have any wise soul statement that you could leave us with okay how about there is a place at my center where i can tune out everything that's not me there's a place in my center where I can tune out everything that's not me. Yeah, that's a very safe space.

If anyone's ever stressed, that's a good one. Yeah. Thank you so much, Corey, for all that you're doing and you're putting out there. Oh, thank you. This has been a pleasure. Yeah. You're talking about my favorite subjects, so it's all great. Can you tell everybody where they can find you and your website.

Sure. My website is simply core relationship.com. And I have a 25 plus blog articles and other resources. So core relationship.com. And your book? Soul Statements. Yeah. And they can buy it anywhere. Anywhere. Awesome. So is core like Corey? I loveements. Yeah. And they can buy it anywhere. Anywhere.

Awesome. So is core like Corey? I love that. That's right. That's right. Or like our center and, you know, Goodreads, bookshop.org. I love bookshop.org because you can purchase the book online and at no extra cost to the purchaser, you can say, oh, the portion of the purchase can go to a bookstore that you pick.

Oh, my favorite bookstore can get, you know, their commission or their normal amount. And it just, it's not extra to do it that way. Favorite bookstore that I contribute to is Arc Bookstore in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I love that place. All right. Well, take care, Corey. Thank you. Very nice. Thanks for listening to Sense of Soul Podcast. And thanks to our special guests for joining me. If you want more of Sense of Soul, check out my website at www.mysenseofsoul.com where you can work with me one-on-one or help support

Sense of Soul Podcast by donating to my coffee fund. Thanks for listening.