Life – William Mackenzie-Smith

William Mackenzie-SmithIn this episode of the Poetic Resurrection Podcast, we have William Mackenzie-Smith. We discuss the various medicinal properties of CBD, CBDA, and THC for healing purposes. We laugh about youth mishaps with cannabis and how everything is dosage. His journey with shamanism, ayahuasca and soul retrieval. A really interesting, informative and enjoyable episode. Tune in!

William Mackenzie-Smith Bio

Described as an alchemist by LA Weekly, William Mackenzie-Smith was a photographer and cinematographer in England before moving to the United States where he began his study of shamanism and ethnobotany. A life-changing trip to the Amazon confirmed his belief in the healing power of plants and on his return, he successfully treated his own skin cancer with topical cannabis. Soon he was making medicine for family and friends and Mackenzie Medicinals was born.

Mackenzie Medicinals supplied major dispensaries in the L.A. area with cannabis oils, oral tinctures, and topical oils for many years. The family owned company has won numerous awards for almost all their products. Full legalization brought changes to the medical cannabis landscape and Mackenzie Medicinals is currently in the process of launching unique and potent formulas that combine CBD and herbs to target specific conditions.

You can reach William at Instagram @mackenziemedicinals

Listen to episode here

Life – In Loving Memory of Martina Aviles

In Loving Memory of Martina AvilesIn Loving Memory of my mother, Martina Aviles

Welcome to the January episode of the Poetic Resurrection Podcast. As, many of you might know, I have slowed down the podcast over the holidays. I thought I would get a head start and work on creating new episodes and possibly have more episodes during the month. Well, that didn’t happen. On January 3rd I lost my mother and I dedicate this episode to her. She had dementia for several years but after several falls which lead to brain bleeds, which she bounced back from and we thought it was getting better. On January 2nd I saw my mother at the nursing home via FaceTime and she was being her fisty self and my sister was by her side. My mother had a habit as we were children to always kiss us on the forehead. My sister kissed her on the forehead several times and mom had this big smile on her face. I said “look at her smile”, it was beautiful. The feeling that I received from her smile was as if she was stating: “It’s okay to go now. I know love.” I couldn’t sleep that night, but I also accepted that if she wanted to leave us, it was okay. I didn’t want her to suffer. Those words are hard to say, but I felt I was being selfish because knowing her personality, she didn’t want to live the way she was living. She passed the following morning. To state I miss her is an understatement. I don’t know how to feel. There’s an emptiness and numbness.

I flew to Chicago for the wake and the funeral. It was surreal. She looked as if she was sleeping in the coffin. I spoke at the wake and told a funny story about my mom and the next day at the funeral I read the poem I wrote about her called “Warm” because that’s how she was. The poem which I will read at the end of this podcast states how she kissed me on the forehead. This poem is several years old. Synchronicity is strange, isn’t it?

I am mourning. The APA Dictionary of Psychology states “mourning is the process of feeling or expressing grief following the death of a loved one, or the period during which this occurs. It typically involves apathy and dejection, loss of interest in the outside world, and   in activity and initiative. Bereavement and grief are similar in definition but different. Wikipedia states the following: Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, spiritual, and philosophical dimensions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, while grief is the reaction to that loss.”

Death of a Parent – For an adult

As you get older, many expect it to be easy to lose a parent because you have had many years and it’s expected. It’s not easy. Especially when the parent is loving and caring. Wikipedia: “When an adult child loses a parent in later adulthood, it is considered to be timely and to be a normative life course event. This allows the adult children to feel a permitted level of grief. However, research shows that the death of a parent in an adult’s midlife is not a normative event by any measure, but is a major life transition causing an evaluation of one’s own life or mortality. Others may shut out friends and family in processing the loss of someone with whom they have had the longest relationship.”

I’ve been studying grief and what to expect and work through during this difficult time. I’ve enrolled in grief consulting, taking a meditation course on grief, and learning to be kind to myself during this process. I know I will dip in and out of grief. As mentioned to me, it never goes away, but it can subside. There was a card made from the funeral home in honor of my mom. My mom was religious, and we picked the following poem to match her beliefs and how we felt about her.

Our Mother’s love, had no strings attached.
It was unconditional, truly unmatched.
She stood by us, through thick and thin.
She was strong in faith from deep within.
Everything she did, was with us in mind.
A giving Mother, the unselfish kind.
She lived her life, with little regret.
Our cherished memories, we will never forget.
She put us first, above everything.
For her now, God’s angels sing.
Though invisible, to our eyes, thus.
She will always be, watching over us.
She’s in heaven now, with all her family who has passed.
She is with her glorious host, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

As a lover and writer of quotes, I find knowledge in them. Here are some quotes that have comforted me:

  • “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.”
    Author unknown
  • “The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.”
    Marcus Tullius Cicero
  • “Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.”
    Earl Grollman
  • “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.”
    Washington Irving
  • “Grief changes shape, but it never ends.”
    Keanu Reeves
  • “The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.”
    Marcus Tullius Cicero

I wish anyone that is going through grief to be kind to themselves. Some helpful self-care tips that have helped me are:

  1. Meditation—there are many great apps that are free I.e., Insight Timer in which I am a teacher there. https://insighttimer.com/sonia.iris.lozada.
  2. Prayer–whether religious or secular. There’s a healing feeling to them

Wayne Dyer once stated and I paraphrase—Prayer is when you talk to God and meditation is when you hear God. We can interchange God with higher energy, higher self, universal knowledge. Whichever is your belief.

  1. Keep a journal.
  2. Keep in touch with family & friends.
  3. Pamper yourself.
  4. Be kind and patient with yourself.
  5. Seek help.
  6. Take it one day at a time.
  7. Eat a well-balanced diet.
  8. Drink plenty of water.
  9. Avoid using excess alcohol, medications or drugs to mask the pain.
  10. Try to keep up basic hygiene. Remember basic grooming and appearance.
  11. Get enough sleep, but if you can’t sleep, just lie down, close your eyes, and rest.
  12. Get some kind of exercise. Even walking can help relieve stress and tension.
  13. If at all possible, try to maintain some type of normal routine, such as sleeping and eating at your regular times.

This is the poem Warm from Inspire Me: Perception and also in the newly released compilation book Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2

WARM

Loving smile
Warm embrace
Gentle forehead kiss
Singing me to sleep

Sad child
Needing safety
Warm drops cascade face
She wipes them

Years pass
Fragile in time
Wrinkled smile
Love’s blank gazes

Destiny gifted you
Being loved, a blessing
Devotion everlasting
Ease in loving you, mom
Thank you so much for joining me on this podcast. I wish you love, happiness, and many blessings.

Listen to the episode.

https://insighttimer.com/

Happy New Year! 2022 Yearend

Happy New Year! Poetic Resurrection 2022 YearendHappy New Year! It’s that time of the year where most of us reflect on what we did or didn’t do in 2022. Looking forward to an upward emotion in 2023. I’m hopeful. Even though, like many others, I’ve had a challenging year in various aspects of my life. I feel hopeful and excited about the new year. It might be a dream, but I’m okay with it. We need to flourish with possibilities.

As many know from my podcasts and blogs, I love comedies, enjoying a quiet evening with family and friends and quotes.

Salvador Dali “Have no fear of perfection—you’ll never reach it.”

Dr. Seuss “You’ll never get bored when you try something new. There’s really no limit to what you can do.”

Pablo Picasso “Action is the foundational key to all success.”

Alan Cohen “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.”

Antonio Banderas “Expectation is the mother of all frustration.”

C.S. Lewis “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

Melody Beattie “The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.”

Taken from the Loving Kindness Meditation

May you be happy, May you be healthy, May you be safe, May you live with ease

Que seas feliz, que estés sano, que estés a salvo, que vivas con tranquilidad

I wish you a safe and Happy New Year.

Listen to this episode

Life, Grief and the Holidays with Adriana Avila

Adriana Avila Life, grief and the holidays with Adriana Avila. During this time of the year is when many of us reflect on those we love who have passed and other changes in our lives where there’s a loss. Be it a family member, friend, pet, or a career. We all grieve in various ways. In this episode, Adriana Avila M.S., LMFT explains what we feel and what we can do to help ourselves during challenging times. A must listen.

Grief, what describes your grief? Grief is unique to each and one of us. There is no wrong or right way to grieve, and it can turn your world upside down. Grief needs to be acknowledged, expressed, and spoken about to bridge our sadness to joy, hopelessness to hope, and powerlessness to empowerment. I, like you, have felt the depth of grief, and when I thought I would never find hope again, day by day, hope started showing up in my life. My relationship with grief led me on a path, a journey, and a deeper connection with myself and others. Because of my life experiences, life led me on a professional grief journey.

My trainings include: training with grief expert, David Kessler through his grief educator program, Paul Denniston, founder of grief yoga, trauma informed yoga, and I am also EMDR certified. I have learned to embrace my life journey, and I am humbled by those that I work with in my practice. I guide you to tap into your strengths, your resources, at your pace and your time, with kindness and compassion. I offer individual therapy, group therapy (pet loss groups, healing after loss groups and grief and trauma informed movement groups) and I also enjoy speaking at events. Part of my self-care/self-love is hiking, yoga, reading books, spending time with my dogs, and running.

Listen to Poetic Resurrection episode

Adriana Avila, M.S., LMFT-116562

EMDR Certified, Grief Yoga Certified, Trauma Informed Yoga Facilitator

Grief Educator (Trained by David Kessler). 

https://www.traumasensitiveyoga.com/

https://griefyoga.com/

https://grief.com/

 

Life with Jeanette Yoffe

Jeanette YoffeJeanette Yoffe is the guest this month on the Poetic Resurrection Podcast. We discuss her life as an adoptee, her solo show, we laugh and get emotional in this episode. Tune in to hear this amazing woman enlighten us about adoption. November is adoption month in the USA.

Jeanette Yoffe, M.A., M.F.T. earned her Master’s in Clinical Psychology, specializing in children, from Antioch University in June 2002. She treats children with serious psychological problems secondary to histories of abuse, neglect, and/or multiple placements. She has specialized for the past 20 years in the treatment of children who manifest serious deficits in their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development.

As the Clinical Director of Yoffe Therapy Inc. A mental health center in Los Angeles providing services to families, children, teens, and adults connected by foster care and adoption. Learn more here.

Jeanette’s desire to become a child therapist, focusing specially on adoption and foster care issues, derived from her own experience of being adopted and moving through the foster care system. Her personal experience has informed her education and provided insight into the unique stresses involved with these issues.

For more info visit JeanetteYoffe.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanetteyoffe/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanetteyoffe/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanetteYoffe

These books are available on Amazon and Audible.

What’s Your Name, Who’s Your Daddy?
What’s Your Name, Who’s Your Daddy? Audible
What is Adoption?
What is Foster Care?
Working with Traumatized Children, Teens and Families in Foster Care and Adoption

Life and Helplessness

Life and HelplessnessWhy do we feel helpless? What causes helplessness? I’m usually independent but currently what makes me feel helpless is the state of the world. I know I can’t change the world by myself. But I can do something big or small to help the community. So, how can I give back? One way I give back is with this podcast. I search for topics that can help the listener ask introspective questions. The only one that has the answers to those questions would be the person asking them. I sometimes get those ah-ha moments, and I might have asked myself the same question many times. Sometimes, it’s just the phrasing of the question. The Cambridge Dictionary defines helplessness as: The feeling or state of being unable to do anything to help yourself of anyone else.

GoodTherapy.org: Feelings of helplessness can be fueled by trauma, grief, stress, mental health conditions, isolation, and many other factors.

“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” F Scott Fitzgerald.

“It takes courage to grieve, to honor the pain we carry. We can grieve in tears or in meditative silence, in prayer or in song. In touching the pain of recent and long-held griefs, we come face to face with our genuine human vulnerability, with helplessness and hopelessness. These are the storm clouds of the heart.” Jack Kornfield

“One of the biggest defects in life is the inability to ask for help.” Robert Kiyosaki

Asking for help is difficult, especially when you don’t know what to ask for. You just need help. I have found myself in this dilemma many times. Sometimes, just stating you need help will let others know you need help. I was once told when I asked for help that I surprised them because I needed help, since I usually look like I can do it all. I can’t, it isn’t possible.

A few suggestions I’ve tried on asking for help.

  1. Talk to someone you trust.
  2. Write it down. I wrote several books of poetry to get through my emotions.
  3. Meditation helped me be clearer minded, so that I can ask for what I needed.
  4. Always be kind to yourself. You are valuable. Know your worth.

The poem for this week is Frozen from Inspire Me: Raw and also in the compilation book Inspire Me Series: Book 1 and 2.

FROZEN

Sitting on a stoop in a barrio of Chicago
Summertime and everyone’s outside
Escaping sweltering heat from
Un-air-conditioned apartments

Everyone vocalizes in Spanish accents
Puerto Rican, Mexican—some Gypsies too
It’s Bucktown in the sixties

No attention to their surroundings
Cars breezing by—open windows
Giving relief to drivers

A two-year-old
Trotting down the sidewalk—Mom unaware

He steps out onto the street
Pounding heart—can’t speak!

I see, but no words
Feel guilty, but can’t move
He walks and hits side of moving car
Is thrown into the gutter
His mom screams, but he’s okay
Life continues. Reliving that moment…

I did nothing. I froze.

Many Blessings

https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/helplessness

Life with Leon Conrad

Life with Leon ConradOur guest is Leon Conrad, an author, educator, and story structure consultant and author of the recently released book Story and Structure: A Complete Guide.

In this episode, we discuss harmony and how it relates to writing. We review different styles of writing with an emphasis on poetry. I was listening and learning at the same time. He’s entertaining and if you want to know about story structure, this episode is for you.

Story and Structure: A complete guide is about story—as a dynamic force of life. More importantly, it’s a book about how to find harmony—by following story back to its source, so we can find more flow in our lives.

What excites me most is that story has a purpose. Story generally appears when we face problems. Most story structures arise because we face different kinds of problems. There are problems we can easily solve ourselves, for instance, and others we can’t easily solve without a little help from our friends. It’s the differences in the kinds of problems that we face that give
rise to different story structures.

Website leonconrad.com—find the latest information, social media and contact.

Amazon: Story and Structure: A complete guide.

Episode available here and Apple/Itunes, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart and most podcast platforms.

Season 5 Life Intro

Life Intro with Sonia LozadaAs I start season five, I give much thought to what this season is and I’ll call it life, because that is what happens when we are making plans. Life sometimes defies us, challenges us, yet what I have learned is that it teaches us to move forward and when we refuse to move forward is when we see and feel the challenges. I’ve learned to stop and ask why. Why am I going through this? What am I to learn? What is my lesson? I find life can be challenging when I want it to go in one direction, but that isn’t what my heart and soul wants.

As Roy T Bennett states from his book The Light of the Heart “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.”

In this season, the theme is life and what we can make of it. The dreams we have. The people we love. Caring for ourselves and others. This is life, and it is a gift to cherish. Let go of anger, hate, anxiety, fear, depression, jealousy and resentment, but don’t suppress them. Face them and let them go, so that you can be free. Your body will be grateful, those around you will see the lightness in your being. Be love and know that you have always been love.

Here are a few quotes on love:

Lao Tzu “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

Rumi “Love will find its way through all languages on its own.”

Jesus Christ “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Dalai Lama “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

Taylor Bennett of Thriveworks writes: Spiritual love can refer to love rooted in a spiritual connection that helps us find meaning and purpose in our lives. These spiritual loves can serves different purposes. Some are meant to walk with us through life, while others are meant to teach us lessons.

Learning from these lessons can be challenging and taking responsibility for our actions is the first step into finding love for ourselves and others.

I close this episode with another quote from Roy T Bennett “Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.”

Many blessings.

PR Podcast  available on all podcast platforms.

Music: Timebeing by Airtone

Thriveworks Spiritual Love

Sonia’s current book: Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2

Awakening Dreams – Season 4 Recap

Awakenig Dreams Season 4 RecapAwakening Dreams has been my longest season and mainly to be honest I just didn’t know what theme I wanted for the next season. I feel it should be about life. It’s been challenging for many and myself so I figured let just discuss life’s journeys. I’ll be having more guest and as you probably have notice I’ve changed Poetic Resurrection Podcast to every two weeks with one guest per month and releases on either of these days: Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

We discussed the following topics in this season. I’ve added the links in the notes.

  1. Ep16 We discussed the difference between Emotional and Mental exhaustion with a reading of the poem “Love and Blessings” from the Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2
  2. Ep 15 Prioritizing and promises and why we break them.
  3. Ep 14 Self-forgiveness – letting go of feelings and emotions and why we prolong self-forgiveness. A reading of the poem “Alliance” from the Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2
  4. Ep 13 Doreen Calderon a fellow actor and transformational coach. We discuss acting, our experiences and how it led her to assist other actors in recognizing their talents.
  5. EP 12 Thierry Kehou from Lampblack and Poets and Writers Magazine. We discuss publishing and his journey in translating to English literature from black Francophone.
  6. Ep 11 Expectations – what are expectations and are they beneficial to our life now.
  7. Ep 10 Evelyn Eccard from Bravo Leadership – we discuss the importance of employment, leadership and what makes us happy.
  8. Ep 9 Paul Meixner a military veteran discussing what Memorial Day means to him.
  9. Ep 8 Mark A Pearson, an entertainment attorney discusses copyright law. If you want to know about copyright law this is the episode to listen to. Great advise.
  10. Ep 7 Memories – this is a heartfelt episode for me as I discuss my mom’s dementia during Mental Health Month and read the poem “Memories”.
  11. Ep 6 Diana Rosen – poet. We discuss her journey and she reads her poems “Bus Stop Story” and “Nectarines: from her book High Stakes and Expectations.
  12. Ep 5 Overwhelmed Yet Excited. When we acquire our desires only to be overwhelmed by them. A reading of the poem “Vulnerable” from the Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2
  13. Ep 4 Martina Reisz Newberry poet reads Glyphs in the Canyon from her book Glyphs.
  14. Ep 3 In observance of poetry month. A reading of the poems “Silhouette, Food and Tomorrow” from Inspire Me Perception Also, available on the Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2
  15. Ep 2 Inspire Me Raw for poetry month. Reading of the poems “Citizen, Forget and Go-Go Boots”. These poems are also available on the Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2.

You can get your copy of the Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2 on Amazon.

Awakening Dreams-Prioritizing and Promises

Prioritizing and PromisesPrioritizing and Promises. This past weekend, I had everything planned. I was going to organize my guest/craft room by taking everything out and only keep what I will actually use and need. I woke up early on Saturday and then realized that I had an audition self-tape. On Friday, I remember replying to my agent that I will look at the sides for this TV show. Something was nagging at me to look at the sides in the morning. I figured I would clean the room then spend the rest of the day reviewing them. Didn’t realize this was an important audition and merited much of my weekend.

I like to memorize my sides (script section) because it makes it easier to perform. As I read the breakdown and reviewed the sides, I realized I needed a coach and a reader to help me learn the lines. Saturday was gone and even though I spent most of the day learning lines, they wouldn’t stick. After making a list and prioritizing what I needed to do, I saw the problem with memorizing my lines.

I just couldn’t get away from breaking a promise to myself, YET AGAIN. The truth is housework will always be there. My sister pointed that out to me and she’s correct. I had a great opportunity to work on a funny script. I asked a friend if she knew anyone who’s a coach and can help me with the lines. She did. I set an appointment and headed to Ojai with my friend for the day. Well, at least I thought it would be for about three or four hours, but no, it was the day.

The coach was great. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s also a stage director and had brilliant advice on the character. We were able to record it there. I am grateful to him and my friend who, by the way, drove.

The fact that I actually hesitated to stop everything I was doing to delay this great opportunity surprised me. Why would I do that? I dream of opportunities like this. Was it fear? Was it not feeling that I’m good enough?

Louise Jackson states: “We often have opposing desires, feelings, beliefs, and ideas. These can create internal conflicts and struggles that mean clashing forces feel like they’re fighting each other inside your brain. And expecting dramatic change overnight is incredibly stressful. …Trying to do too much at once makes you way more likely to break your promises to yourself.”

Yes, this was me. I had opposing desires and ideas. I rather be working on my creative endeavors, acting, writing and my podcast, yet, I like calmness. For me, calmness comes from a clean and organized home. I’ve started so many projects around the house only to leave them partially finished. I’ve worked on all my creative projects, just not the chores.

“Think about this same scenario, but played out in your relationship with yourself. You break your promises so many times you can start to doubt yourself. Even if your intentions to change are good and pure, it can be difficult to change because you lost credibility with yourself.” Ayodeji Awosika

So, what to do? I left the housework behind and decided not to beat myself up. Maybe I set too large an expectation. I then learned the script lines, got coached and recorded my self-tape. I understand that the biggest hurdle I had was that I didn’t want to once again break a promise to myself. I learned to practice self-kindness and to acknowledge that I might have perceptions (ideas) for the day, but life happens and there are gifts in the unpredictability of it.

So, I’m taking my sister’s advice and I’m spending an hour or less on clearing the guest room every day until it’s done.

Be kind to yourself. Understand life happens and many blessings.

Get a copy of my latest book: Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2