Hello beautiful souls! I had so many ‘ah-ha’ moments during this interview. Jacqueline seems to me to be a healer who connects to energies of flow within the Earth and the seasons. She helped me to see poetry in a different way: As mini flowing messages from the angels. As you listen to today’s episode, I want you to pay attention to how grounded Jacqueline’s energy is. Just listening to her and being in her energy will help you feel grounded too. And her message will give you an entirely new perspective on how to flow through your year in deep connection to the seasons and to life itself!

To learn more about Jacqueline Suskin’s work:
JacquelineSuskin.com
[IG] @jsuskin
Jacqueline’s book A Year In Practice is available at all major book retailers

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TRANSCRIPT

Julie Jancius: Want to know what’s coming up on today’s episode? Here’s a preview.

Jacqueline Suskin: So I got these juxtaposed kind of sensations of like the importance of a season and how at this point I’m even like, you know, in the middle of summer and the height of summer, sometimes you need a little bit of that winter energy and you need to like, tuck yourself in for a minute to recharge because summer can be overwhelming if you’re seeing people all the time.

Julie Jancius: Hello, beautiful souls. You’re listening to the angels and Awakening podcast. I’m your host and author, Julie Jancius. Did you know that you can listen to this show everywhere podcasts are found? It’s true. Now I have three free gifts just for you. First gift, I give away a new reading each week to a person who’s left a five star positive review of this show, then submitted it to me using the contact form@theangelmedium.com. contact I hope I’m calling your number next. Second gift. If you’d like a new daily angel message, join me on Insta at angelpodcast. Third free gift. If you’d like to know the name of one of your guardian angels so that you can work with them even more closely, go to the homepage of my website, theangelmedium.com, and submit your contact info at the very top. I’ll email you back personally with the name of one of your angels. Okay, as we begin the show, I want you to feel the presence of your angels surrounding you. And just know that the loving, positive messages you resonate with today are messages for you from your angels and loved ones on the other side. Hello, beautiful souls. Welcome back to the Angels on Awakening Podcast. I’m your host and author, Julie Jancius. And we’ve got on, poet Jacqueline Susskind today. She’s got a new book out. It’s called a year in practice. And Jacqueline, this is going to come out over summer, so maybe we can tune into the summer energies. But I want to start with this. A year in practice, I believe, is something that really came to you in a beautiful way. Would you talk to us about how this book kind of naturally came in for you to write?

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah, this is my second book with sounds true. And as a publisher, they tend to put things out in the world that are meant to kind of nurture others and maybe like in the self help, creativity kind of readers who want to do the work. And so the books that they put out into the world are meant to nurture that process and practice. And after my first book with them came out, which is called every day is a poem. And it’s about writing poetry and kind of, tuning into having a poetic mindset and practicing being a poet in the world, I was struck with the great opportunity to write another book for them. And I knew I wanted it to be something that was still tied to creative practice, but that was also tied to earth practice and earth based worship or earth based experience. People who are interested in the earth or maybe looking to turn towards the earth for guidance. And for me, the earth is my main muse. And so I had a few different angles of how I could kind of go into that. But the seasons were sort of the greatest framework and rhythm that I knew I followed. And I’ve learned so much about my own creative energy by paying attention to the seasons. So I had a lot of offerings there. And that is what the book is about. A year in practice is about just following seasonal and earthly guidance to kind of figure out your creative rhythm, but also just your practice of being alive on planet earth and remembering to pay attention to those things that are there guiding you. That, you know, so many comforts and conveniences in our life. they cause us to forget that. They cause us to forget that the earth is booming. Its guidance constantly. And maybe telling you to slow down when it’s winter time, and maybe telling you to, you know, gather up things slowly and carefully when you’re coming out in the spring, and then when you’re in the summer, to be in the sun and be together, and then in fall to kind of start turning inward again. And that practice applies to, I think, so many things. So it’s been a really amazing experience to create, a book like that for people.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, I think that that was one of my first entryways into spirituality was a friend who, was also a colleague. And we were walking from one building to another for a meeting, and she goes, I noticed that you didn’t even notice that the flowers were in bloom. And she goes, Julie, look at the flowers. And she goes, and you didn’t even hear me. And you just kept talking about work. And, so that was really, really interesting. And that was almost ten years ago. And I’ve noticed that ever since then. I pause more, and it’s really pausing, like, throughout the day in different ways, to just see life and be with life and to see the tulips and to see the bunny hopping in the yard. And from my office, there’s just this ginormous tree that sits across from one of my windows. And I’ve always had an obsession with some trees. Just some trees. It’s like an art. they just pull at my heartstrings, and I love just the energy of this tree. I wonder if you can kind of talk to us about some of those energies of summer, because one of the other things that I’ve noticed is we can be so busy. Like, my. My daughter, there’s got to be, like a tick tock trend happening right now where her and her friend are like, can we go to the dollar store? We have to get this, like a, ah, spiral, notebook and paint. And we’re going to create our summer to do list. And I started to think about how I’ve created summer to do lists in the past and had all of these ideas of all these things that I wanted to go do and concerts and festivals, and then you kind of miss it. Like, m you’re just not with the present sunshine and being outside and enjoyment.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah, I think it’s interesting just talking about kind of like, that busyness and the to do of it all. And that’s definitely something that plays a large role in the book, which is this idea of kind of learning how to harness the energy of each season and act accordingly, instead of, kind of going against it or trying to recreate the wheel. and sort of noticing, like, like, you know, summer is really this, like, relaxed time, and it is like that for the earth also, because it’s already, like, pushed out all of its flowers, it’s already done all of its big growth, and now everything is just sort of soaking in the nutrients. And that’s also what we’re meant to do. And I think that there can be action that’s related to that. And I do think that a lot of the book focused on, ah, it focuses on rest, but there’s also, like, these actionable ways that we can kind of get in line with what the earth is up to each season. And I think in, in summer, the actionable things are usually tied to togetherness. So if you want to plan something, hopefully the thing you will plan is just being with the people you love or going and experiencing some kind of, you know, creative output or something like that in togetherness in community, and then that’s it. Like, that’s enough. Even if going to do the thing is actually just being together and sharing a meal or just being together and enjoying, like, music in the park or whatever it is, all these things that people do in summer are actually tied to togetherness. So I think sometimes we can take the pressure off of it being like this to do season, when really it’s just to be together season, and to be in the sunshine and to kind of like, restore and soak up the nutrients that then charge you up for fall, which is a very active time, which is a very, like, you know, really productive time. And I think that there has to be these, like, ebbs and flows, and we forget that they exist. And our society doesn’t do a very good job of reminding us of that, but the earth does. The earth is constantly reminding us of that. So that the book is basically, the thesis is just like, remember the earth is telling you exactly what to do. And my hope with all of my work in getting folks to kind of tune into the earth and remember the earth is that then they will remember to take better care of themselves, and in that they’ll take better care of the earth because the two are wholly combined. And so I’d say that that’s like, the spiritual aspect of things, is that our creative output and our connection to the planet and to the cosmos then does create this action and this change. And, like, this is what humanity is built on, like, responding to these things, responding to the seasons. And I think, you know, if we can kind of help each other out, we need tools to remember these things and to figure out how to get in a little deeper. And I think that’s that’s my goal often as a, creative person, is just to be, I’m accessing something, I’m taking the time to translate it, and I’m trying to offer it up in the most accessible way possible so that other people can utilize it.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, so we’ve already talked about one of those tools because it’s it’s awareness. And when you’re aware of just the energies of the earth and where the earth is at, you’re kind of connected to this constant thread that’s grounding you into where you’re at right now. What are some of the other tools that you like to use to just be in connection with earth energies?

Jacqueline Suskin: Well, it’s interesting, like that idea of awareness. It takes such incredible practice. It’s something that can be spoken about, I find, in a very sort of simple and direct way. But it’s often not very simple or direct to achieve awareness and to be a person who kind of operates within a poetic mindset all day long because there’s so much to distract us from that. So I do think, like, general practices around, like, discipline and meditation and repetitive practice, like, daily ideal lists of gratitude, these things that are, like, keeping you tethered to what you believe in or what you would like to be focusing on. And when I turn my focus on the earth in that realm, I feel like I’m just, if I’m paying attention to the planet, it’s constantly telling me something just by being itself. It’s like, okay, so now, you know, the birds are all here. The birds are doing their thing. You cannot deny it. And if you tune into the birds, there’s probably some sort of message there for you about the energetics of the day, which is, like, if it’s raining, if the energy is calm, like they’re maybe not singing as hard, they might not be all around your window like they were. And you can kind of pick up on, like, the little fluency of the earth in this, like, way that it’s working. But I also think that that can be really translated into something really simple, because a lot of people will ask me, like, how do you cultivate and keep your connection to the earth for yourself? And I’m like, oh, I just go outside. And I don’t think that it’s actually that easy for people to just go outside sometimes. So I think that the impetus to kind of instruct folks to go outside and just pay, like, look around. Like, every day during my work day, I just take a few minutes to, like, go outside. No matter what the weather is, just kind of look around, take note of things, breathe in, like, feel myself on this spinning planet. And it just helps me with that sense of awareness and presence. You know, it’s like a, I like to call it like a bell of mindfulness. Like, if you go outside, and then whatever happens is the thing that’s kind of connecting you to the current moment. And, you know, no matter what, no matter where you are, even if you’re in a city, that moment is earthly because you are on the earth and you are of the earth. You are an earthling. So you and the planet are the same. And I think that that’s kind of something that I’m always trying to tap into. And it really can be as easy as just, like, going out your door and looking around, seeing the sky, seeing a cloud, like, taking a deep breath, and just remembering, like, where you are in the grand scheme of things, I think, can kind of, like, drop you into awareness in a pretty direct way. And that’s, like, physical, and it’s also, like, environmental. There’s so many different things that are operating in that moment that can can nurture that.

Julie Jancius: Friends, guess what? We’re hosting two live in person events, an in person angel Reiki school and an in person spiritual retreat. The first event is the weekend of June 1 in Oakbrook, Illinois, where I’m teaching the Angel Reiki School. This is where you get certified in mediumship, angel messages, and energy healing all at once for a limited time. When you register for the Angel Reiki School in person. You’ll also get my eight week online Angel Reiki school. Visit theangelmedium.com backslash get dash certified for details. You’ll also find that link in the show notes. It’s theangelmedium.com. get certified the second live in person event this year is a spiritual retreat, the weekend of October 4 in Oakbrook, Illinois. The spiritual retreat is different in that it’s for your own personal growth. The spiritual retreat is all about your own personal healing, your journey, reconnecting with yourself, learning to connect with your angels. And I’m going to talk about all new angels that I’ve never talked about before anywhere. This spiritual retreat is going to leave you with more personal peace, purpose, clarity, and confidence than ever before. Learn more@theangelmedium.com retreat that’s theangelmedium.com backslash retreat. So just to recap, we have the in person spiritual retreat October 4 for your own personal healing and growth. And the in person angel Reiki school, June 1 is where you become a medium, angel, messenger, and energy healer all at once. Links to details are in the show notes. I can’t wait to meet you and hug you in person. I’m thinking, like, as you’re talking, it’s making me think about, we used to live in a neighborhood, about a mile and a half away from where we live now. And in that neighborhood, it was kind of an older neighborhood that just didn’t turn over like we were waiting for it to turn over. And we had a younger daughter, and it didn’t. And a lot of people were just inside a lot more. And when we move to this new neighborhood, everybody’s constantly outside, which you were talking about that connection to one another. And as you’ve been talking, I almost can’t separate out the two energies completely of just being outside, because we’re right next to a prairie path that takes you in two different directions to just the most gorgeous parks, in the area. And people are just constantly going for walks, even around the neighborhood. And the dogs are out just walking around. And when you watch the dogs too they’re always so in tune with what’s happening and the squirrels and the bunnies and the birds, and it’s fun kind of seeing life through their eyes, too. How, in your year of practice, how did you tune into that ebb and flow of being with the earth and that connection to other people?

Jacqueline Suskin: Well, I think a piece of what really informed this book, which is important to say, is that I moved from California to Detroit and then wrote the book in Detroit. Started it in California, but finished it in Detroit. So I had these very stark, four solid seasons, and I wrote the book along with each season. And what’s interesting about it to me is that I got the idea for the book while living in California. While living in Los Angeles, where a lot of people say there are no seasons, but because the seasons are so subtle there, I really paid attention as, especially as a poet and writing about that place. I was, like, keyed into every tiny little detail that marked the season. And here in Detroit, a huge mark of the season is that, yes, there are these periods of time where people do not hang out. And it was honestly such a relief to me. Cause I was like, great, I have a break. I have a time of year in the winter where no one expects me to do anything or go anywhere. And we all kind of just hole up for a little while. And the juxtaposition of experiencing, like, 24/7 every day of the year in California is you’re like, going out. It’s nice. It’s almost always nice. It’s definitely never snowing or below freezing. So you’re like, oh, okay. especially in LA. So I got these juxtaposed kind of sensations of, like, the importance of a season and how at this point, I’m even like, you know, in the middle of summer and the height of summer, sometimes you need a little bit of that winter energy and you need to, like, tuck yourself in for a minute to recharge. Because summer can be overwhelming if you’re seeing people all the time. And so I think there’s just these energies to learn from each season. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that every season has to be like that from start to finish. It’s more just like here. Remember, like, as an animal on the planet, you need these rhythms and you can learn them and then you can apply them as you see fit because you’re a human. So you have this great gift of choice for whenever you want to, like, tune into your solitude and go inward. If you’re in the middle of the height of summer, and suddenly you need to rest and turn off, you can. And if you’ve paid attention and memorized the way that feels and know what to do for yourself in those moments, which tools to use? Like, for me, I have to go on some sort of retreat every year, even if it’s just for a little while, even if it’s just in my own home. And I’m telling, you know, my spouse, like, hey, I’m going to do this for a week. I would love to have, like, a lot of time alone in the house, or I need some space, or I’m going to be in my office, please just don’t interrupt me. And what happens when you choose those things for yourself accordingly? And you’ve based that information on what the earth has shown you, you know, like, there’s, you’re not alone in it. And that’s also something I think that’s important. Like, you’re not arbitrarily making these things up. You’re responding to cycles that exist inside your body. And your body is the earth.

Julie Jancius: Yeah. Yeah, I love that your body is the earth. It’s beautiful. So you kind of address my next question. I wrote down, I have a love hate relationship with Chicagoland and the Midwest. I was talking to my mom the other day, and it’s interesting because about a week after I graduated from college, my mom had prepared everything, was out of here, Illinois, down to Florida. She was just ready to go. and my mom and my sibling, you know, asked if I wanted to come with them, and I just felt like my life was here in Chicagoland. Felt this huge draw to just stay here. and it was a great decision because I met my spouse, and we’ve got this beautiful family, and I, I love that piece. But now I think, what the hell was wrong with me? Like, I would love to be in the sunshine all day. it’s more so, just that seasonal depression which, me, my husband, my daughter, we all have it. For people who are not familiar with the energies of the midwest, specifically chicagoland. I say that there’s, like, this cloud that rolls in sometime the beginning of November. And when I say cloud, it blankets the entire sky. Right? It’s just this.

Jacqueline Suskin: That’s the worst part.

Julie Jancius: You can’t see the sun. and actually, I was trying to record social media videos in December and January, and I tracked it last year. I, got three days of sunshine. Those were the only three days that you could see the sky. And that lasts sometimes for months. November, December, January, February, March, and then sometimes you even get that snow in April, towards the end of April.

Julie Jancius: And I don’t want to move. I love where I am, but I wish I had more tools. And I think that that one that you just gave us of, hey, it’s great to like come back inside and not have to see people 24/7 like you do in the sunny states.

Jacqueline Suskin: Right? Like there’s a reframing that happens there. But I think to speak on, you know, and I do, I do mention it a few times, the like, truth of seasonal depression and I experienced it this year. So hardcore. But I feel like what was fascinating about it to me was the first year when I moved back here. I was just so tired and so happy after moving to not have to do anything and I didn’t really have to go anywhere. I could just like read, study and write and that’s what I did all winter. And it was awesome. And I was like, this is amazing. I got into a flow. I had an exercise routine. it snowed a lot. So I would go out and walk in the beautiful snow. I think there’s a big thing where, you know, when it snows, you get the magic of this white light. It reflects. It’s so magical to be in the snow.

Julie Jancius: Yeah.

Jacqueline Suskin: The second year, my second winter I was writing, I had this book to work on. So I was very focused and I was busy with that and I was totally immersed in it, so I was focused. Didn’t bother me. This year, the book came out in December. I had to go on a book tour. I didn’t get my time of rest at all. I was promoting the book, traveling with the book, working. I was teaching, I was in school teaching and I was like, oh, this is what, this is terrible. It’s like, this is not sustainable for me. Whatever this is, it works. If I can create my cave, if I actually am afforded a period of rest, which I talk a lot about in the book of how do you actualize that, especially in our lives where we are busy and we do have to work and leave the house and go and do stuff all winter long, like how do you pull in the energy of hibernation, which is what you really need? And a lot of that involves choice. A lot of it involves being like, I’m actually going to forfeit certain things that are very in high demand in our society in that time of year, which I think culturally is bizarre that we are expected to go be with our families and travel in the winter.

Julie Jancius: Yeah.

Jacqueline Suskin: And I think that this all, like, directly applies to creative and spiritual practice as well, because we have this opportunity to design our own lives. Like, even if we’re working full time, even if we have these very, like, modern, you know, family lives, whatever, we can make our own choices. We can build our own way of being. And it doesn’t mean that it’s easy. I don’t want to say, actually that any of this is easy, but I do think that there is enough, like, ritual and enough, there’s enough tools for us that have all been documented. Like, this is the thing about where we’re at. We have access to all the information so we could adapt and make choices differently around the truth of, like, what’s happening with the weather and, you know, on, on huge levels, what’s happening with the, with the weather will continue to reflect, like, what’s happening in the world, and there’s going to be a lot of struggle around that moving forward. So that was also impetus for me to write this book where I was like, now’s the time for us to tune into this and learn and utilize this natural rhythm that we’re part of before we forget that it exists and then it fully changes and we have no access to it anymore. Like, it’s teaching us something. It’s been teaching us something. What can we grab onto at the last moment and look at and listen to and learn from and then, like, pay our respects to. And I’m really interested in that. And there is an urgency in that, I think.

Julie Jancius: Yeah. You know, the angels are saying to ask you this, and I think you might be the best person to ask. Do you think it would change anything energetically if we stopped as a country doing daylight savings time?

Jacqueline Suskin: Oh, yeah. Yeah. There’s got to be some kind of shift there. What’s that? It’s based on some old way of being so many things like that. That’s my. My response is, like, that is, like, symbolically an aspect of some way where we’re just, like, stuck as, you know, humans. We’re just stuck in these old ways that are, like, woven into, like, you know, the industrial revolution and, like, the agriculture systems that are failing us and all these things that we actually are really being called to, like, re envision and rework and remember the. The ways that, you know, they were functional before we got in there and meddled with them for the sake of profit. And so I think, like, it makes sense to ask about that. It’s like a perfect symbol for, like, this whole kind of reworking that needs to happen. And also a perfect symbol as, like, it’s just a choice, it’s arbitrary. Like, we just call that how it is. And we could easily say we’re not going to do that anymore. And it would shift some things, but at this point, the way that the system is built around time and light, I, don’t actually think it would cause that great of an effect for that not to exist anymore either.

Julie Jancius: I don’t think so either. And I can say as a midwesterner who has lived here for almost 30 years, it, creates a lot of anxiety and PTSD in people that it’s coming because you just don’t want to deal with not having sun at 04:20 p.m. it’s a very hard shift.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah, both of them. Both shifts. It’s hard going forward, it’s hard going back. It’s hard to do that. Yeah. Yeah, that’s such a funny concept. And, like, now that it’s over and we’re far past it, I’m just like, oh, right, I forgot that that happened because that’s another piece is like, we adapt so quickly, so we forget. And, again, that’s like, the whole thesis of a year in practice is like, we have to remember, like, we have to remember, we have to remind each other. We have to consistently practice remembering the greater story here because our lives are very busy and we instantly get swept up and lost in the flow of, you know, the to do list. And it’s like, actually, there’s a lot of really potent choices that could be made about the way we approach these things that would really change a lot of things for everyone and for the better.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, you’re, I’m just going to say, like an earth energy healer, right? Like, you’re so in tune with the earth. And when I travel out to the west and there are the mountains, I get that, just such a great energy from the mountains when I travel to the beach. Oh, my goodness. Just being by this huge body of water, even if it’s the great lakes, because from Chicago, like, you cannot see across, it looks like an ocean.

Jacqueline Suskin: Oh, the great lakes. Oh,

Julie Jancius: My God, they’re amazing. When you’re on the Michigan side, it. It looks. Some places in Michigan, a lot of places on the beach of lake Michigan looks exactly like being in Hilton head or South Carolina. North Carolina, Virginia. Just right on the ocean because you cannot see across it. But I’m in a space where you can’t see mountains and you can’t see an ocean every day. And I just wonder how you’ve shifted energetically, not being around the mountains and just having that energy around and being at the plains.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah, I think it’s twofold. One part of it, I’ll, start out with, the honest grief of it, is that I feel a large loss not being just able to walk out my door and be part of this landscape that I’ve grown so familiar with. I’ve spent a lot of time in northern California with the redwoods and deep in the forest and.

Julie Jancius: Best energies ever.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah. Like my beloved, you know, like, and I grew. I was born here. I was born in Detroit. So I have a connection to this land that is very childlike, and I remember all of these plants, and the earth is booming here. You know, I think that there’s a common conception that, like, in cities in general, that. And I’ve had this idea, you’ll be totally removed from the earth. But even living in LA, I was like, oh, my gosh, the plants are. They’re fine. They’re like, we’re good, actually. Like, you know, and there’s a lot of work to be done around, like, restoration and preservation and, like, cultivating proper species and things like that. And I do think that that’s, like, a callback to, you know, making sure that we remember we are not separate. So our hands are helping hands. You know, like, we can do the work of the earth and, like, nurture the species that need to grow to, like, not only help preserve the natural habitat of the environment where we live, all of us, but also, you know, to clean the air and to clean the soil and to provide habitat and to. There’s so many different, like, aspects that can come into play for, like, an actual active relationship with nature. And I really, really feel that way in Detroit. Like, this place is not separate from the natural world. It’s everywhere you look. You know, it’s. There’s a lot of work to be done in that way. And I think that that’s, like, kind of what I was looking for where I was, like, oh, in the forest in Humboldt County, I am just, you know, bowing to the throne of the earth there. But here, I’m, like, helping it. we’re working together in a totally different way. And I appreciate kind of the challenge of that. To me, it’s been like learning a new language, and when I say that, I have this childlike connection to it that’s been really important because my kid self fully remembers this earth here, and I’m like, oh, I remember these plants. I know all their names. I never forgot them. They were my friends when I was a child and they’re my friends now. And so there’s something in that that has been really hopeful for me actually, which is like reinforced this sense of, yeah, I’m an earthling, I am planetary, I am of this place. It doesn’t matter where I live. Honestly, when I moved here to leave California was very hard. and I, I mean, it was not something I really was sure about, but I did always somewhere deep down feel that I would live here again. I just always knew that. And when I was leaving, I hiked out to like my favorite old growth spruce forest. And I was crying and I was kind of singing and praying and I was communing and these giant trees were like, hey, you can leave California, you don’t have to stay. The land needs less people anyway.

Julie Jancius: And I was like, oh, that’s kind.

Jacqueline Suskin: Of rude, but you’re right, you know, it was very much like these like massive grandparent trees were just like, hey, it’s okay, like, you can go, we’re good here. Like, we don’t really need so many people. And you’ve done your task and we’ll be here and you can come back whenever you want.

Julie Jancius: Yeah.

Jacqueline Suskin: And I was like, okay, like got schooled by the spruce.

Julie Jancius: I know. I didn’t just hear that. I felt that as you were saying, that’s amazing. So do you have a favorite way of like when you’re just in nature in general to tap into your own inner wisdom and to tap into the inner wisdom, like you just said, that’s flowing to you through nature itself?

Jacqueline Suskin: I think for the most part it’s a, quiet listening and walking through the world as opposed to just sitting and witnessing, I feel like helps me kind of be present with like this rhythm of breathing and the planet is breathing and I’m breathing and I’m walking in this rhythm and then there’s almost like song that comes from that and it’s very, yeah, I think that like moving through and even here in Detroit there’s a place that I go all the time to walk and it’s by the water, it’s beautiful. And just to kind of like have that silent listening time because I can go there with people and talk about people stuff, you know, and the earth still has things to say. But if I’m quiet and I’m really like practicing listening, I’ll probably receive a lot more information. and you know, a lot of information from the earth in human words is usually like a sentence, so. Or like one lyric of a song, like, so I’ll just sing over and over again and kind of repeat whatever I hear or write it down and always take a little notebook with me.

Julie Jancius: Awesome. So I have a friend who’s just more prone to being in nature. Like, she just loves it. I mean, it feeds her soul and her spirit so much. And we were out last summer walking in the forest preserve I mentioned earlier, and she’s talking about, tree bathing and tree hugging. And she’s like, you’re an energy person. Just go up. Go up right now and hug that tree. And so I was like, okay, okay. So I go over and I hug the tree. And just the massive wave of energy vibration that you’re tuning into. And I’m so familiar with my own vibration that it’s very easy to tune into another vibration and feel the separate vibration of the tree, but feel the interconnectedness and the oneness of hugging the tree and just being one with the earth. It was very, very powerful. It was very, very moving. And so I just wondered if you have any insight into tree hugging and tree, what do they even call it? Is it tree bathing or forest bathing? I think forest bathing, yeah. Yeah.

Jacqueline Suskin: Okay. There’s something, yeah. That I find very important. When these conversations come up around, like, communing with and receiving the energy of the planet, whether it be from flowers or trees or water or whatever it is. I think that sometimes people can have a little bit of hesitation where they’re like, I don’t know, is this like me? Like, just kind of making this up? Is this my imagination or am I intuitively aligned? And I have a friend, Natalie Ross. She’s an, incredible Earth worshiper. And we were talking about this, and she was like, oh, well, there’s no difference between your imagination and your intuition. That’s the same.

Julie Jancius: Exactly.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah. So whatever you hear or feel inside of yourself in these moments, even if you are actually pushing yourself to make it up, it’s the same. There’s no difference between it, what you hear within yourself in your imagination, whether it’s prompted, whether you’re, you’re practicing it, or whether you just kind of naturally step into this flow of feeling that connection. Either way, it’s the same thing. There’s no restriction there. And I think that’s important for people to remember because I do think people get hung up on this, like, oh, I’m just sort of, like, making up the fact that this plant is saying something to me and I’m like, yeah, so what? Like, what’s the difference? Like, go ahead, make it up. Like, I mean, that’s what I’m doing as a, as a poet. And I consider it to be channeling and translating and all of these things. But to me that’s also the same as whatever’s coming from, you know, inside my vessel, because I am, I am of this cosmos. So I’m like, whatever it’s telling me is what it’s offering. And I think that’s why cultivating your creativity and trying to cultivate your imagination, I think that’s why that’s so important, because it’s really like we are only as limited as we feel we are in that sense. And it’s amazing to remember that you can cultivate it and nurture it. Like it can grow and expand. So that means then your experience of receiving these messages m or feelings or vibrations or however you want to describe it, like that also expands as you expand your practice of your imagination or your creative ability.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, 100%. Gosh, there’s so many different ways I want to go. But you know, one of the things that’s just come into mind to say is that I did a TED talk recently and as I was doing that TED talk, the committee really prepares you for, for it. And what they suggest to all speakers is really putting in as much scientific data as you can find. And there is a ton of scientific data on being in front of water and like what it actually does to your nervous cellular level.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah, yeah.

Julie Jancius: And I mean, there has to be that type of, there is that type of information too for just being in nature. And like when you’re in nature, it resets your system. So it. For my dad, he was that outside person too. And the only way that I can describe it is like we’ve got two little shih tzu’s, right?

Julie Jancius: And fluff is an indoor dog. Like he could be in all the time. If he has to go outside, he will. And he’ll sniff around every once in a while. But he has this happy place inside. Lulu can be outside 24/7 it could be hotter than hell outside. It can be snowy. And she, her little teeny tiny body is like traping through 3ft of snow and she’s getting all matted underneath. But she doesn’t want to come in ever. Like I have to go out at night and hunt her down and like bring her in because she would be out so long.

Julie Jancius: And I think there are a lot of humans who are that way, too. Like, one or the other. I’m more like fluff where you have to pull me outside. But my dad loved being outside. Like, that was where spirit spoke to him. Like, he just goes sit and fish. And that was his meditation. We’re walking past a golf course the other day, and my daughter and I were talking. I was like, just so you know, men’s form of meditating sometimes is being on a golf course, because they can be silent and quiet and in a beautiful. And they’re outside. Yeah.

Jacqueline Suskin: They’re focused. Yeah.

Julie Jancius: But it is. It’s. It is church for so many people. Maybe it is the original church. Nature. Yeah.

Jacqueline Suskin: I mean, I think it is. I think that’s. That’s what’s up. It’s like garden of Eden vibes, you know, that’s the feeling is. And I think I. I like to circle back to that, like, indoor outdoor cat or indoor outdoor dog, because my friends and I would talk about that. Like, I have a friend who calls himself, you know, he’s like, I’m an outside cat. Like, he does really want to be in a house ever.

Julie Jancius: Yeah.

Jacqueline Suskin: To be in the garden. He wants to be in the forest. He doesn’t want to be inside. And I’m like that, too. Yet I work a job that often asks me to be at a desk or inside. You know, I can do some of my writing outside, but I’m, you know, doing a podcast or I’m writing emails or I’m running, you know, what is actually, like, a full time small business to be a writer. So I have to, like, schedule in all my outside time, or my whole self just kind of takes a dive. And there’s a lot of times where I’m like, why don’t I work a job that has me outside all the time? Because I am an outside cat. So why did. Why am I doing this? But I think there’s, like, inherent lessons in kind of, like, straddling both worlds, because that’s what we do as humans. Like, mostly because of the weather. In a lot of places, we’ve created all these infrastructures for us to, like, be comfortable indoors. And I think that there’s a point in the book where I mentioned that, where I’m just like, yeah, these comforts, they’re incredible. And, like, we can call them progress, you know? But actually, they’ve, like, in a lot of ways, removed us from our very natural and easeful connection with the outdoors. Like, people have a lot of hang ups about being connected to the earth because of bugs or because of the weather or because, you know, certain things that when we were just animal selves, those things weren’t even, you know, I mean, sure, they made this uncomfortable, but I think, like, that level of discomfort can sometimes actually offer a lot, like, a lot of innovation and ingenuity comes from moments of discomfort. And so I think sometimes, like, we keep ourselves from that a little too much and then we’re not asking ourselves to, like, be in that place of innovation, which is really crucial for our growth.

Julie Jancius: Yeah, that is interesting. I am more of an indoor cat by nature, but, I had this conscious evolution that spirit was walking me on a couple of years ago where I noticed that every day, when my husband would get home, he would say, you want to take the dogs for a walk? And I’d be like, no, I don’t want to go outside. No. And I just kept saying, no, no, no, no. And spirit just kind of made me more and more conscious that I was saying no every single time to not taking a walk. And spirit just said, and I could hear the garage door going up. He just got home while we were filming this, and, and he’s taking them for a walk right now. Spirit said, every time he asks you, you have to say yes for the next year. So I did, and I started getting outside, and I started to feel better. Like, my back didn’t ache as much and I’m starting to stretch out. And, just being in nature just reset a lot of things. So I would come back to my work and just be ready to go or, like, hop into a project. but it was a conscious evolution of my friend saying, hey, you’re not noticing the flowers. To me, noticing that I wasn’t going on walks with my spouse, to really enjoying, I would say, movement and actually enjoying being outside.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah.

Julie Jancius: And I think that that’s okay. For us indoor cats, it takes practice.

Jacqueline Suskin: I mean, I really think that, like, most great things take practice. And the reasoning behind that, the need for that practice is complex. Humans, we’re up against a lot. So for us to need to practice remembering our connection to the earth, it’s clunky sometimes, and that we have to find our own way with it. And so that’s a big part of this book, is that it’s not a prescriptive book. It’s not like you do a and b and then you get c. It’s like you try on these different things at these different times of years. In your own way. Here are examples how I have done that or other people I know who have done it and it’s worked for them. Maybe you want to tweak it like this or your own way that I haven’t thought of because I’m not you, but it would, like, give you a spark of information or let you kind of just be open to it. And that’s why I do think that, like, the importance of, like, communicating about these things, like having a podcast or writing a book or just, like, trying to, like, put the information out there in the world, it’s. It’s important we all do stuff like that, because who knows how you get the information? Who knows how the tool falls into your lap? What matters is that you utilize it. Like, that’s what matters. And, like, that’s the practice. Like, you keep showing up and trying, you find a different way and try on a different hat and a different method. And I think, like, a lot of times, I think people want results to be really fast, and sometimes they are. You know, sometimes you can receive a message and try it on for size, and you are shifted and everything’s transformed. But most of the time, it takes a season of effort. And I think that, like, there’s a lot of beauty in that and that when we rush through things, it’s never, never a good idea. No rushing, no grasping, just, like, receiving and then carefully experimenting. And I think that’s what we’re here to do.

Julie Jancius: Really amazing. Amazing. Oh, I know we’ve covered so much, but is there anything else that spirit has got in your heart to just share about all of these beautiful topics with our listeners?

Jacqueline Suskin: Well, I always like to just remind people to read poetry and to engage with poetry because poetry is like this direct portal to touching depth and spirit in, like, a very concise way. And I do think that it’s, like, very crucial piece of, this toolkit for our times because we don’t have a lot of time and there is a lot of urgency. So, like, receiving these deeper messages and then also, like, letting them live inside of you or creating them yourself. Like, you don’t have to be with your pen to the paper to be a poet. You can let poems flow through you all the time, and doing that takes practice also. But I think, like, reading and engaging with poetry and then trying to write it is this really powerful, transformative tool. And I always like to remind people of that. I’m like, remember the earth and then remember poetry and practice your, you know, however you want to connect to those things. And I think a lot of, a lot of other pieces of your life touch that. So it’s, it’s an all encompassing kind of gesture to say, like here, poetry lives inside of you. You can access it. It’s all around you all the time. It’s a mindset. It’s not necessarily even, like a practice that has to be outcome oriented. And then, yeah, connecting with the earth and finding your way to, like, do it every single day, even if it’s really small, and just remembering to kind of note the information that you receive.

Julie Jancius: I’ve never thought of poetry as messages from spirit, but as I’ve been just in your energy and talking to you today, that’s what it is. It’s many messages, deep messages from spirit.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah. Should I read a poem to close us out?

Julie Jancius: Yes, please.

Jacqueline Suskin: I’ll just randomly m find one.

Julie Jancius: Oh, yes.

Jacqueline Suskin: This is good. This is in the summer section. the poem is called jade. Like the plant, the roots of the jade clippings have been growing since last August, almost a year, and they thick up the jars as shocks of hair, clumps of mane. I found the mother plant on a hillside, big body drooping downward, her weight carving out a cave of shade below. She sang for me to harvest her. I scooped her lengths and cut at the knuckles, dropping swollen stems into the cup of my shirt. I drove across town and stroked the petals until back in my kitchen, I gave each stalk wet residence. I sat back to watch what life would make of itself.

Julie Jancius: You m could feel the energy moving through the words. Amazing. Jacqueline, your book a year in practice is out. Now tell everybody where they can find that and where they can find you. And put those in the show notes below.

Jacqueline Suskin: Yeah, you can find the book anywhere you buy your books. It’s, very readily available a year in practice, published by sounds true. And then I have a sub stack. I do monthly newsletter and a monthly paid subscription piece. and I also use Instagram for kind of just updates and sharing poems. So you can find me there.

Julie Jancius: Where are you on Instagram?

Jacqueline Suskin: Auskin. S u s k I n. Yeah.

Julie Jancius: Oh, awesome. Thank you so much.

Jacqueline Suskin: Thank you for having me.

Julie Jancius: Love your energy.

Jacqueline Suskin: Thank you.

Julie Jancius: Of course. Friends, I need your help reaching as many people as possible. If you’d like to support this podcast and help us, spread more hope to the world, please book a session with me, join my angel membership, or take my angel Reiki school. What’s the difference? If you’d like to know what messages your angels and loved ones have for you. You’ll want to book a session with me. The angel membership is all about your own personal spiritual healing. The membership takes you on a spiritual journey that teaches you how to create your own heaven on earth. And the Angel Reiki school is for those who want to get certified in mediumship, angel messages and energy healing all at once. These are three ways you can help us share a message of hope and love with more people than ever before. Register for one or all three at ah theangelmedium.com. that’s theangelmedium.com. now let’s pray together. As we do, I want you to pray in a way where you feel as though everything you want for yourself and the world has already come true and you’re giving thanks. Why? Because this is the best way to manifest. So let’s begin. God universe source thank you. We’re so grateful that you’ve blessed this world with calm and peace for all. This calm and peace has spread like ripples, soothing the hearts of every soul. Thank you for opening our hearts to abundance, allowing each of us to live our most authentic life and helping us to create our own heaven on earth. We thank you for the love and deep heart to heart connection that surrounds us every day in our relationships. We thank you for the abundance of health and aliveness we feel radiating from every cell in our and our families bodies. Thank you for the gift of walking this life with us and guiding us every step of the way through your messages. We hear you through our own intuition and we feel you walking right by our sides and we overflow with gratitude. Thank you for financial abundance and abundance of opportunities and miracles, blessings and prosperity in every way. We know that you want us to succeed so that we can show others how you want them to succeed too. Thank you for the boundless love, kindness, empathy and compassion that binds us all together. Thank you for the laughter, fun moments of pure delight that fill us every day, especially today. God universe source thank you for blessing us beyond measure and allowing us to use our souls gifts, talents, skills and abilities to serve the world. We love you. I love you. And in this we pray. Amen. Friends, we’re working on some pretty major things over here and if you wouldn’t mind saying a little prayer that these things come to fruition, if they’re God’s will, we’d so appreciate it. And please add a little prayer in for any specific thing you need right now to have a beautiful, blessed day. And don’t forget to submit your contact info@theangelmedium.com. if you’d like me to channel the name of one of your angels for you, sending you peace, bliss and many blessings.