EPISODE SUMMARY:
In this deeply reflective episode of The Conscious Consultant Hour: Awakening Humanity, Sam Liebowitz explores what he calls “the gift of devastation.” With his scheduled guest unexpectedly absent, Sam turns the show into a powerful solo conversation about how breakdowns, losses, and sudden disruptions can become catalysts for growth.
Drawing on personal stories—including a canceled trip that revealed hidden blessings—Sam shows how devastation can teach us resilience, humility, flexibility, and compassion. He reminds us that while life rarely unfolds according to our plans, these moments of collapse often carry the seeds of clarity, transformation, and even protection.
Listen in as Sam invites you to reflect on your own experiences of devastation, discover the hidden gifts within them, and embrace life’s challenges as opportunities to awaken and grow.
In this week’s Conscious Consultant Hour, Sam Liebowitz invites listeners into an intimate conversation about embracing breakdowns as a path to deeper surrender. Through his personal story of canceled flights and unexpected disruptions, he highlights how resistance only amplifies frustration while acceptance opens the door to resilience, creativity, and transformation. Sam reminds us that true spiritual growth often emerges not when life flows smoothly, but when we learn to show up with grace, presence, and compassion during times of challenge.
In this segment of The Conscious Consultant Hour, Sam Liebowitz explores the theme of “the gift of devastation” by reflecting on how unexpected losses, failures, or breakdowns can deflate our spirit and shake our assumptions. He shares examples ranging from personal heartbreak to global challenges, emphasizing that devastation can strip away illusions and force us to confront reality with greater honesty. Sam reminds listeners that while life will never flow perfectly to our expectations, these moments invite us to cultivate resilience, compassion, and resourcefulness, turning even painful disruptions into profound opportunities for growth.
In this segment of The Conscious Consultant Hour, Sam Liebowitz reflects on how canceled plans and unexpected delays often carry hidden wisdom, sometimes protecting us from unseen harm. He shares how moments of frustration can shift into clarity when we surrender, teaching us flexibility, humility, and the ability to flow with life’s impermanence. Sam emphasizes that devastation, while painful, can cultivate resilience, compassion, and presence—reminding us to meet challenges with open hearts and clear minds as opportunities for transformation.
In the closing segment of The Conscious Consultant Hour, Sam Liebowitz shares that the deepest gift of devastation is the experience itself—showing us that we can endure hardship, surrender to impermanence, and rise renewed like the Phoenix. He emphasizes that devastation clarifies what we value most, strengthens resilience, and opens us to compassion for ourselves and others. Sam invites listeners to reflect on their own moments of devastation, discover the hidden gifts within them, and remember that even in the darkest times, there is always the possibility of transformation and rebirth.
00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:55.809 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Good afternoon, my conscious co-creators! Welcome to another edition of the Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity.
00:00:55.950 --> 00:01:10.350 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I am very, very pleased you are all here with me today. I'm still recovering from this chest cold, so you might hear me cough now and then. My energy might not be quite what it normally is. I'm better than last week, though.
00:01:11.110 --> 00:01:15.770 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But, yeah, still on the road to recovery.
00:01:16.590 --> 00:01:21.230 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So yes,
00:01:21.370 --> 00:01:38.410 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: This week, we were supposed to have a guest who is MIA, so it looks like it's just you and me for the show. So please, if you're listening on the live streams, please post your comments and questions. We're still going to talk about the same topic.
00:01:38.410 --> 00:01:44.619 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But it's gonna be a conversation between you and me, as opposed to me and a guest.
00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:46.120 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hope you'll join in.
00:01:46.670 --> 00:01:49.680 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Regardless of what platform you're listening in.
00:01:49.930 --> 00:02:01.709 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Okay, so let's get started with our blog post for this week from a couple of years ago, and I guess this is a very apropos blog post for this week.
00:02:01.990 --> 00:02:10.640 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And the title of this blog post is, Breakdowns Are An Opportunity to Learn How to Surrender.
00:02:11.920 --> 00:02:14.450 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You can't make this stuff up.
00:02:14.720 --> 00:02:21.800 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I swear to God, I did not plan this blog post, it's just the next one on the list. Okay.
00:02:21.940 --> 00:02:23.020 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Here we go.
00:02:23.410 --> 00:02:26.799 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Sometimes, things break down.
00:02:27.020 --> 00:02:30.200 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Things do not happen according to our plan.
00:02:30.410 --> 00:02:34.640 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The unexpected replaces the expected.
00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:38.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And now we have to deal with the consequences.
00:02:39.020 --> 00:02:45.240 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Perhaps we miss an important meeting, but we cannot get to our destination in time.
00:02:46.410 --> 00:02:53.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Once we see the disaster that replaces our dream, we spring into action.
00:02:54.030 --> 00:02:57.900 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We call everyone we can and ask for help.
00:02:58.540 --> 00:03:05.689 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Or we might reach out to the people or organizations involved To fix the problem.
00:03:06.690 --> 00:03:09.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That might work on occasion.
00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:15.650 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Otherwise, we could be met with resistance or a lack of understanding.
00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:25.950 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And end up shouting at some poor representative on the other end of the phone who is just trying to do their job.
00:03:26.390 --> 00:03:27.990 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yes, I did that.
00:03:28.330 --> 00:03:38.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The system that is in place doesn't know how to deal with a situation that doesn't conform to a typical day.
00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:45.679 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So we get more and more frustrated the more we try to find someone who can help us.
00:03:46.390 --> 00:03:53.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For in the end, nothing might work, and we are just in the middle of a breakdown.
00:03:53.390 --> 00:03:59.249 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And our plans are broken, and no one can fix it for us.
00:04:00.710 --> 00:04:03.859 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I just remembered why I wrote this blog post.
00:04:03.990 --> 00:04:08.999 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And it's very, very timely that it should be coming back around today. I'll get to that.
00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.769 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: This is kind of a long one, so please bear with me.
00:04:12.970 --> 00:04:18.730 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The anger might well up inside us. Our voice becomes harsh and biting.
00:04:19.070 --> 00:04:27.799 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The harder we try to fix things, the further we spile into a mad rage, until we can no longer be heard.
00:04:27.930 --> 00:04:31.789 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And the situation is beyond repair.
00:04:32.210 --> 00:04:35.429 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So how do we handle this breakdown?
00:04:36.450 --> 00:04:41.270 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: How do we move forward when nothing seems to be working?
00:04:41.990 --> 00:04:45.550 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Perhaps this is the time to surrender.
00:04:46.270 --> 00:04:48.319 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To just give up.
00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:53.580 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And let things unfold however they are going to unfold.
00:04:54.430 --> 00:04:59.630 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For life continues whether we get what we want or not.
00:05:00.390 --> 00:05:04.870 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The more we focus our attention and energy on the breakdown.
00:05:06.250 --> 00:05:10.140 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The less energy we have to pick up the pieces.
00:05:11.650 --> 00:05:17.749 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To work on breaking through the breakdown by looking for other possibilities.
00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:22.650 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For there is never only one solution to a problem.
00:05:23.290 --> 00:05:28.490 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And a breakdown is an opportunity for a transformation.
00:05:29.910 --> 00:05:32.710 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: A transformation of our ideas.
00:05:32.940 --> 00:05:34.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: of ourselves.
00:05:35.210 --> 00:05:41.070 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Maybe that breakdown is here to teach us something about ourselves.
00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:45.370 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: About our resilience. About our potential.
00:05:46.380 --> 00:05:55.729 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For we learn more about what we are capable of when we are challenged than when everything is going fine.
00:05:58.470 --> 00:06:04.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It is in these moments The fire that our metal is forged.
00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:09.930 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And who we are as a person is truly revealed.
00:06:10.910 --> 00:06:14.730 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We can take the opportunity to be creative and novel.
00:06:15.100 --> 00:06:20.760 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Or we can let it tear us apart inside and be forever lost.
00:06:22.270 --> 00:06:28.230 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Breakdowns are becoming more prevalent as we continue on our course.
00:06:29.470 --> 00:06:38.079 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The world is not as it once was, and even basic things are not as reliable as they once were.
00:06:39.020 --> 00:06:45.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: This is the new reality we live in, and we must learn to adapt to survive.
00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:51.950 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, how can we deal with breakdowns being more and more common?
00:06:53.100 --> 00:06:59.289 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: By surrendering to the moment, and just allow what is to be.
00:07:00.590 --> 00:07:05.569 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And by being present to the breakdown without judgment or resistance.
00:07:06.370 --> 00:07:09.650 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For then, we can truly access
00:07:10.400 --> 00:07:14.629 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: More of our creativity and inventive sides.
00:07:15.020 --> 00:07:19.279 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So we can find the solutions we need in this situation.
00:07:20.010 --> 00:07:24.729 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Even if they are not the solutions we would have chosen to begin with.
00:07:25.630 --> 00:07:31.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For who knows if that solution might not have been the better option all along.
00:07:33.320 --> 00:07:37.429 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Learning to flow with what life presents us with.
00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:44.180 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Is the skill that will soon become the most essential thing to master.
00:07:45.610 --> 00:07:48.570 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we can start mastering it.
00:07:49.520 --> 00:07:58.120 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: By being flexible and adaptable to the little inconveniences we all experience.
00:07:58.930 --> 00:08:05.450 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That way, When the bigger ones come, We know how to be.
00:08:06.410 --> 00:08:12.730 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So we can learn to thrive instead of just surviving through our challenges.
00:08:14.470 --> 00:08:16.890 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Are you experiencing breakdowns?
00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:22.120 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Can you learn to surrender to the breakdowns when they occur?
00:08:24.380 --> 00:08:29.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, as I mentioned earlier, It's actually kind of interesting.
00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:39.690 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That this blog post came up this week, because… this blog post I wrote, after.
00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.620 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I had an experience, Two years ago.
00:08:44.420 --> 00:08:51.030 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: where I was going to fly up to… Boston.
00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:54.519 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: to, go to New Hampshire.
00:08:54.700 --> 00:09:02.089 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: to do some group work, a small group with some people I knew up in the Portsmouth area of New Hampshire.
00:09:03.790 --> 00:09:08.219 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And it was raining that day. I think there was a storm coming up the East Coast.
00:09:10.560 --> 00:09:13.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And they get there to Newark Airport.
00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:21.269 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And… I'm waiting around for things to start boarding.
00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.790 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It's taking a while, and you know what? I decide…
00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:40.489 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know what, let me see if there's an exit row seat available, if I can upgrade. I think they made some announcement that, you know, if you want to upgrade your seat, come up to the counter. So I go up to the counter to upgrade my seat. I thought, you know what?
00:09:40.820 --> 00:09:43.579 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, why not treat myself a little bit?
00:09:44.350 --> 00:09:56.300 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And… and I come up there, and I'm like, you know, I'd like to upgrade my seat to an exit row, and the guy starts typing, the phone rings, he picks up the phone, he gives me the, like, wait a minute, he's talking to somebody.
00:09:57.140 --> 00:10:01.279 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then I see the look on his face, and he's like, oh, are you sure?
00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:03.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Oh, okay.
00:10:03.990 --> 00:10:09.629 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Alright, and he hangs up, and he tells me, The flight is canceled.
00:10:10.670 --> 00:10:20.129 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: He said that the… the crew that was supposed to man this flight got stuck in the storm in the southeast, and they're not here, so there's no one to fly the plane.
00:10:20.230 --> 00:10:37.549 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because I saw the plane land, I saw the plane at the gateway. And he said, you know what, I'm about to make the announcement to everyone. If you go now, and you go downstairs to the ticket counter, maybe you can get rebooked on a later flight before everyone else rushes down there.
00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:40.970 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Like, okay, thank you for letting me know.
00:10:42.390 --> 00:10:45.069 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I go downstairs to the ticket counter.
00:10:45.770 --> 00:10:49.069 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: They're just, like, 3 or 4 people in front of me.
00:10:49.420 --> 00:10:56.550 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And as I'm waiting, because it takes a few minutes, then the line behind me gets huge, because everybody comes down.
00:10:57.560 --> 00:11:04.270 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And while I'm there, I'm texting the people, letting them know, oh, my flight got canceled, I'm trying to get on a later flight.
00:11:04.640 --> 00:11:21.210 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I get up to the counter. They book me on a flight that's supposed to leave, like, 2 hours or 3 hours later. I thought, oh, okay, I'm still… I'm gonna get there around 7 o'clock, we'll start at 8, you know, it's a little bit late, but yeah, we can still do it.
00:11:21.950 --> 00:11:29.089 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And they said, you know, keep an eye on the flight, we don't know if this flight's really gonna take off or not. I'm like, oh…
00:11:30.250 --> 00:11:33.630 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I get my ticket, I go back upstairs.
00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:38.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm keeping an eye on the flights on my phone, on the app.
00:11:39.400 --> 00:11:46.890 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then I see, after about an hour, it gets… maybe not even an hour, about 45 minutes, it gets canceled.
00:11:47.980 --> 00:12:03.289 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then after that, like, the next poss… I call them up, I don't even go down to the counter, I call them up on the phone to see if there's any other flight, and the next flight that they could possibly get me on isn't until, like, 11.30 at night.
00:12:03.310 --> 00:12:18.099 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Which, by the time I get there, would be way too late, no point in going up. I said, forget it, just refund me my ticket. I call up the people in the group, I go, look, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna make it, it's the next… I can't get on a flight until, like, 11pm.
00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:31.429 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And, you know, I was trying everything I could to make this happen, and it just was not going to happen. And I just… in the moment, I just had to surrender and say, you know what? This isn't to be.
00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:37.760 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And the reason why I'm saying it's so funny that this is coming up now is because
00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:49.320 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: After I finish my show today, I'm heading down to Penn Station, we're taking the train up to Boston, and having a group up in New Hampshire this weekend, starting tomorrow night.
00:12:49.540 --> 00:12:53.229 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, it's kind of the two-year anniversary of this.
00:12:53.800 --> 00:12:58.260 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Thankfully, I'm taking the train, not the plane. It is raining today.
00:12:58.380 --> 00:13:00.409 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Funny how things repeat.
00:13:01.850 --> 00:13:06.080 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But there are a number of things in this blog post that I talk about.
00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:12.390 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: that are deeper than the actual experience, and I really want to get to these before we go to break.
00:13:14.520 --> 00:13:17.210 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And… and so just the whole…
00:13:17.540 --> 00:13:21.839 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Basic idea, and this kind of will feed into our topic for today.
00:13:22.780 --> 00:13:25.450 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Of how do we handle breakdowns?
00:13:25.900 --> 00:13:31.779 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Of how do we handle When things are not going our way.
00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:38.170 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Our normal instinct is to fight it.
00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:44.529 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We're gonna try and get past this breakdown no matter what.
00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:52.009 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yet somehow… Life keeps putting more and more and more things in our way.
00:13:55.510 --> 00:13:57.739 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Some things are just not meant to happen.
00:14:02.420 --> 00:14:10.610 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: However… The really important part about a breakdown is how we show up.
00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:18.519 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: How do we treat other people when we're in the middle of a breakdown?
00:14:20.760 --> 00:14:24.620 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What shifts or changes in our posture?
00:14:28.110 --> 00:14:33.139 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, I often have said to my wife, and she agrees with me, that…
00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:40.139 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You really only see a person's true character.
00:14:40.310 --> 00:14:42.639 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Really, how they are.
00:14:43.060 --> 00:14:45.359 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When things are not going their way.
00:14:45.810 --> 00:14:53.099 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because when everything's going our way, it's easy to be nice and kind and good to other people.
00:14:55.520 --> 00:15:00.579 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But when things are not going our way, when we're in the middle of a breakdown.
00:15:00.780 --> 00:15:04.590 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That's when you see a person's true colors.
00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:09.119 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That's when you see what they're truly like underneath.
00:15:10.630 --> 00:15:13.200 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because now things aren't going our way.
00:15:13.420 --> 00:15:16.209 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Now, we're under stress.
00:15:17.300 --> 00:15:19.550 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And how we show up.
00:15:20.140 --> 00:15:25.340 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When we're under stress, Says much more about us.
00:15:27.700 --> 00:15:30.189 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Than how we show up when everything's fine.
00:15:32.060 --> 00:15:34.399 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That's one important point in this block.
00:15:36.990 --> 00:15:43.149 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The other thing I mention… And again, keep in mind, this was written, like, 2 years ago.
00:15:45.410 --> 00:15:50.490 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: was how… More and more things are breaking down.
00:15:52.510 --> 00:15:58.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: How… The stores might not be stocked the way we're used to.
00:16:01.110 --> 00:16:05.649 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Eggs might not be available. Toilet paper might be scarce.
00:16:06.010 --> 00:16:13.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Whatever we're used to getting, prices might start going through the roof that make things, you know, more difficult to afford.
00:16:16.250 --> 00:16:21.979 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We're heading into a greater and greater period of uncertainty in the world.
00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:31.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: things are not working the way we're used to, the way we've been brought up. If you've been brought up in the United States, like I have.
00:16:32.130 --> 00:16:35.109 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, we're used to things just working.
00:16:39.050 --> 00:16:42.670 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Now, things are not as reliable as they used to be.
00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:52.699 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so… I'm gonna talk about… Why this is important.
00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:57.990 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I'm gonna talk more about… What is the gift?
00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:02.430 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: In things breaking down for us.
00:17:03.260 --> 00:17:08.140 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we're going to talk all about the gift of devastation throughout the show today.
00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:20.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I see loyal listener Patty is back. Yes, Patty, it's good to see you're listening. She just finally catches us on YouTube. I'm so happy, Patty.
00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:31.879 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So please, let me know what you feel about today's topic, which is the gift of devastation. So, you are listening to the Conscious Consultant Hour.
00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:43.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Awakening Humanity. We do this every Thursday, 12 noon to 1 p.m. Eastern Time, right here on talkradio.nyc, and on YouTube, and Facebook, and Twitter, and LinkedIn, and Twitch.
00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:46.090 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we'll be right back.
00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:53.830 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And discussing our topic of the day, the gift of devastation, In just a moment.
00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:15.620 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And welcome back to the Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity.
00:20:15.950 --> 00:20:28.759 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: My guest is MIA today, so it's just me and you on the show, so please join in, comment on the livestream. We're talking today about
00:20:28.890 --> 00:20:31.640 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The gift of devastation.
00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:37.959 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And, I, I, I, and it was just very timely.
00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:44.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: My blog post talking about breakdowns,
00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:55.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because the… just 2 years ago, I had also a breakdown that was, I guess you could say, a devastation of sorts.
00:20:55.870 --> 00:21:00.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And now, here I am today without a guest.
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:12.800 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So it's just me and you, so let's have a conversation together. Let me know how you deal with devastation. How do you deal with things when they don't go your way, and how do you find a way through it?
00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:14.610 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Soap.
00:21:19.630 --> 00:21:26.569 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: when we talk about the gift of devastation, what is devastation, right? Let's define our terms to begin with. So…
00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:39.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Devastation is what we experience When we experience… A loss of some kind.
00:21:39.290 --> 00:21:42.250 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: A failure. A breakdown.
00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:45.149 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: A heartbreak.
00:21:45.570 --> 00:21:49.610 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: A sudden, unexpected change.
00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:54.779 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, devastation is what happens when
00:21:57.110 --> 00:22:03.339 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Like, we're a balloon filled with helium, rising up, and we feel great.
00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:08.529 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then somebody does something, says something, something happens.
00:22:08.830 --> 00:22:16.190 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, it could be man-made, it could be a natural catastrophe, and it just pops our balloon.
00:22:17.290 --> 00:22:19.960 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we're suddenly deflated.
00:22:20.420 --> 00:22:29.949 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Suddenly, all of our joy and enthusiasm And… and all of the… The things we…
00:22:30.080 --> 00:22:33.520 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We were so looking forward to suddenly disappear.
00:22:34.590 --> 00:22:48.490 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we're left… With, potentially, anger, frustration, pain, suffering, grief.
00:22:49.550 --> 00:22:51.520 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The sense of loss.
00:22:57.690 --> 00:23:05.330 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so, sometimes… that devastation… occurs…
00:23:08.130 --> 00:23:19.499 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because, as I have been accused of earlier in life, we see the world through rose-colored glasses, meaning we see things better than how they really are.
00:23:21.250 --> 00:23:27.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so then, when the reality shows up in front of us, It can be devastating.
00:23:29.890 --> 00:23:35.590 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And it doesn't matter whether it's in the form of relationships, a job.
00:23:35.850 --> 00:23:38.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Maybe someone's trying to scam us…
00:23:39.150 --> 00:23:41.999 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It can show up in a million different ways.
00:23:47.830 --> 00:23:53.289 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But it's like we have this ideal. Maybe we feel we're in love with this other person.
00:23:53.390 --> 00:23:55.650 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we feel they love us, too.
00:23:56.520 --> 00:24:00.199 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then one day they say, I've got to talk with you.
00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:07.070 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then… We can feel like, oh, this doesn't feel like it's going to be a good talk.
00:24:07.420 --> 00:24:15.860 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And they're like, I know you really like me, I know things have been okay with the relationship, but… and then comes the but.
00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:28.250 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But for some reason, it just… I'm not happy, this is not what I want, I want something different, and I really think we should end it.
00:24:29.290 --> 00:24:32.109 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And suddenly, we're devastated.
00:24:33.580 --> 00:24:34.620 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because…
00:24:34.830 --> 00:24:44.899 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We thought everything was fine. We were in love with the person. We liked the person. We were having a good time, like, everything was good. What do you mean?
00:24:46.540 --> 00:24:49.690 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so, because we're unprepared for it.
00:24:50.040 --> 00:24:54.309 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because we're not expecting it at all.
00:24:55.200 --> 00:25:01.199 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I'm using, you know, a breaking of a relationship as an example, but it could be
00:25:01.580 --> 00:25:03.470 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Somebody getting sick.
00:25:03.750 --> 00:25:08.330 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Maybe a close friend or relative passing away in an accident.
00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:10.389 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It could be…
00:25:10.790 --> 00:25:17.999 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I don't know, maybe an erosion of our civil rights and what's going on in the country today?
00:25:18.180 --> 00:25:23.300 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The, you know, how free speech isn't so free anymore.
00:25:23.470 --> 00:25:26.029 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: How a certain…
00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:38.359 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: political figure who I shall not name is taking his playbook straight out of Hitler's Mein Kampf and following what he did during World War II.
00:25:38.860 --> 00:25:43.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And if you don't believe me, please Google
00:25:43.860 --> 00:25:51.509 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, what are the similarities between what's happening today and what happened in the early 1930s in Nazi Germany?
00:25:53.310 --> 00:25:56.809 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And you might be surprised at what you find out.
00:25:57.690 --> 00:25:59.740 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That can be devastating.
00:26:00.750 --> 00:26:04.229 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: This is supposed to be a free and democratic country.
00:26:04.890 --> 00:26:08.700 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doesn't seem to be that way anymore, in certain ways.
00:26:09.510 --> 00:26:15.349 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But again, the devastation can be many things. It can be something global, like…
00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:20.410 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because of global warming, and food prices start shooting up.
00:26:20.600 --> 00:26:25.319 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Or… or… or an island getting wiped out.
00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:33.439 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I mentioned in a prior episode how, during my trip to China, it was…
00:26:34.040 --> 00:26:39.940 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: ungodly humid in Beijing, which is known for being dry and dusty.
00:26:40.510 --> 00:26:53.350 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And how, just a few weeks before I was there, there was a massive flood that literally washed away a five-store… five-star resort overnight.
00:26:55.830 --> 00:26:58.559 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and fellow…
00:26:58.760 --> 00:27:16.049 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: TalkRadio.nycost Jacinta comments on LinkedIn. Thank you for tuning in, Jacinta. Devastation teaches us to be more resourceful and resilient. It makes us stronger and be more compassionate. Absolutely, Jacinta, if we're open to the lesson.
00:27:17.020 --> 00:27:18.610 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And that's the thing.
00:27:20.260 --> 00:27:22.470 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Devastation's always gonna happen.
00:27:22.710 --> 00:27:32.760 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Life is life. Life is never going to go our way 100% of the time. It's not supposed to.
00:27:34.970 --> 00:27:38.580 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Life is gonna go the way life goes.
00:27:41.210 --> 00:27:48.279 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It is our job To learn how to respond to life.
00:27:48.530 --> 00:27:56.810 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: In a way that helps us, exactly what Jacinta says, to be more resourceful, more resilient, more compassionate.
00:27:58.310 --> 00:28:03.099 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So just as I talked about in my blog post in the first segment of the show.
00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:11.670 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: when I'm there trying to figure out how am I gonna get up to Boston that night.
00:28:11.870 --> 00:28:21.850 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm… I'm practically yelling at the customer service person on the phone, like, that's too late, can you get me somewhere else? Like, what do you mean? I gotta get up there.
00:28:22.120 --> 00:28:25.549 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I wasn't very kind to them. I wasn't.
00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:29.109 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And being nice and being kind are two different things, but…
00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:38.190 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I admit that the stress of the moment And the devastation of…
00:28:38.930 --> 00:28:46.649 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: My expectation of what was supposed to happen that weekend, that not going to happen got to me.
00:28:48.190 --> 00:28:52.789 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I started to treat the other person in an unkind way.
00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:59.769 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So yes, even me, your conscious consultant, even I sometimes succumb.
00:28:59.890 --> 00:29:01.749 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To the stress of the moment.
00:29:02.510 --> 00:29:04.509 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But it was a lesson for me.
00:29:07.730 --> 00:29:10.099 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It was a lesson that…
00:29:10.300 --> 00:29:16.599 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'll talk about after the break, but there was something that I learned about after that didn't happen.
00:29:17.330 --> 00:29:21.789 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And actually, that particular group, or that particular…
00:29:22.270 --> 00:29:25.680 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Ceremony never happened after that point.
00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:29.860 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: for a very important reason.
00:29:30.050 --> 00:29:34.009 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I had no clue, I had no idea until afterwards.
00:29:35.230 --> 00:29:47.459 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So it's interesting how sometimes devastation reveals information That we had no idea Before the incident happens.
00:29:49.430 --> 00:29:54.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so, I'm gonna get into that, along with…
00:29:54.410 --> 00:30:05.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, leading into what are the lessons, what are the universal lessons that we can learn from experience devastation, from experience
00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:13.039 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The… the collapse of our expectations of the way things are supposed to be and what's supposed to happen.
00:30:13.520 --> 00:30:21.939 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we'll get into that right after this break, so please stay tuned. You are listening to the Conscious Consultant Hour.
00:30:22.050 --> 00:30:31.909 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: No guests this week. My guest is MIA, so it's just me and you, so please keep the comments coming on the live streams, and we'll be right back in just a moment.
00:32:39.510 --> 00:32:44.819 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And welcome back to the Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity.
00:32:45.600 --> 00:32:57.160 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We're talking this hour about the gift of devastation, and my guest, unfortunately, is not here, so it's just me and you, so please keep the comments rolling. So…
00:32:58.310 --> 00:33:04.449 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I spoke about how, you know, a couple of years ago.
00:33:05.020 --> 00:33:07.829 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The source of my blog post for today.
00:33:10.030 --> 00:33:19.579 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Actually, you know, I never said, like, if you like my blog post, don't forget, you can always catch it every week on talkradio.nyc slash blog. Anyway, back to our topic.
00:33:20.800 --> 00:33:26.329 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: that… You know, having this trip canceled at the last minute.
00:33:28.090 --> 00:33:30.979 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Was upsetting at the time.
00:33:32.050 --> 00:33:37.490 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I was all the way out in Newark Airport, I had taken the train out there.
00:33:37.800 --> 00:33:53.350 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I left, I was there, I think it was a 1 o'clock flight I was supposed to be on. I think it was after 7 by the time I got home. I was just so tired and so exhausted of dealing with all the things and coming back.
00:33:53.880 --> 00:33:57.399 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That I, I just kinda, like, I'm done for the night.
00:34:00.450 --> 00:34:05.030 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And… You know, when the unexpected happens.
00:34:05.890 --> 00:34:12.230 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When things don't go our way, When our plans get interrupted.
00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:16.949 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: In a way that we just, like, are so upset.
00:34:17.620 --> 00:34:21.619 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Look, there are emotions to process around.
00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:29.400 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, first, there's… typically, there's denial, There's resistance…
00:34:30.170 --> 00:34:36.470 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Until we get the point of realizing that, you know, they say it just ain't gonna happen.
00:34:37.219 --> 00:34:46.690 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So then there's grief, depression… eventually surrender… And when we surrender.
00:34:47.260 --> 00:34:53.000 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When we surrender to the fact that life is not gonna go the way we want today.
00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:57.830 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Then we get more clarity.
00:35:00.310 --> 00:35:04.309 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Then, we can see things a little more clearly.
00:35:04.520 --> 00:35:07.900 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then, we can learn things.
00:35:08.060 --> 00:35:09.640 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That we didn't know.
00:35:11.140 --> 00:35:12.310 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For example.
00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:18.269 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I was supposed to go up there that weekend two years ago to do a ceremony.
00:35:18.630 --> 00:35:21.210 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: In a house I had never been in.
00:35:21.930 --> 00:35:26.180 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: A couple who had been to our ceremonies, they wanted to host us.
00:35:26.570 --> 00:35:31.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It was ending up only going to be, like, 3 people there, so it was just gonna be a small group.
00:35:33.490 --> 00:35:39.230 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But what I learned from a mutual friend And from…
00:35:39.530 --> 00:35:43.879 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The woman who was gonna host us, one of the people who's gonna host us, was…
00:35:44.400 --> 00:35:47.820 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: There was a lot of icky energy around the house.
00:35:48.290 --> 00:35:54.350 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That there was a lot of palpable negative energy in the house.
00:35:54.870 --> 00:36:05.200 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so, it would not have been a good place to do a spiritual ceremony. It would not have been appropriate to be there. It could have caused a lot of trouble.
00:36:07.100 --> 00:36:15.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so we never ended up doing, a ceremony at that house, and I had a consult with the person.
00:36:15.830 --> 00:36:27.830 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: told them, you know, gave them certain things, crystals to buy, and other stuff to do to clear the energy of the house, and what was going on. I could feel into it once I was aware of it.
00:36:29.850 --> 00:36:37.399 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So it's interesting how… I was so upset that I'd made all this effort to get up there.
00:36:38.550 --> 00:36:46.510 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But life had other plans, and then I find out after the fact… that…
00:36:46.730 --> 00:36:58.030 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: it probably was a really good thing that that did happen, that I didn't make it up there, that that ceremony never happened, that we never held that group in that house.
00:37:02.230 --> 00:37:06.519 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So… There's a huge lesson in that.
00:37:07.290 --> 00:37:13.080 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And the lesson is… Sometimes, not all the time.
00:37:13.650 --> 00:37:18.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Sometimes, when something doesn't go the way we expect.
00:37:18.410 --> 00:37:22.860 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doesn't happen the way it's supposed… quote-unquote, supposed to happen.
00:37:23.320 --> 00:37:27.199 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doesn't turn out the way we want, or not available.
00:37:29.970 --> 00:37:34.249 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That it's to avoid something bad from happening.
00:37:37.270 --> 00:37:40.859 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I cannot tell you how many times in the past
00:37:42.430 --> 00:37:45.999 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: when I had to drive somewhere, typically with a rental car.
00:37:46.460 --> 00:37:51.639 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Like, traveling someplace, you get to the airport, you get the rental car, and then you drive someplace.
00:37:53.370 --> 00:37:57.730 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When there has been a delay, And,
00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:03.050 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: A half hour, 20 minutes, 45 minutes later than
00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:05.800 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I expected, and then was the plan.
00:38:06.110 --> 00:38:08.510 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I'm a little antsy about being late.
00:38:09.030 --> 00:38:13.579 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then I'm in the car, and I'm driving to where I'm supposed to go.
00:38:14.500 --> 00:38:18.529 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and I see an accident on the side of the road.
00:38:18.940 --> 00:38:27.860 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: on the way, that if I had been a little bit earlier, if I had been on time, I could have been right in the middle of that accident.
00:38:30.600 --> 00:38:33.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It has happened enough times in my life
00:38:34.140 --> 00:38:38.000 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: that I have learned, when there is a delay.
00:38:38.980 --> 00:38:42.370 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Not always, but most of the time.
00:38:42.590 --> 00:38:46.790 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: There's a delay for a reason, and not to get so upset about it.
00:38:51.280 --> 00:38:59.220 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: over the last, I would say, 10, 11 years, I have been developing
00:38:59.420 --> 00:39:03.860 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: A practice of being flexible and adaptable.
00:39:04.400 --> 00:39:07.760 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: In a way, I have never been before in my life.
00:39:09.760 --> 00:39:13.639 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Learning to go with the flow that much more.
00:39:13.830 --> 00:39:20.140 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Learning to be present to what's right in front of me, and not judge it.
00:39:20.670 --> 00:39:23.989 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And that's very, very hard for us as human beings.
00:39:30.600 --> 00:39:37.510 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And one of the things that developing this practice of flexibility has taught me
00:39:38.530 --> 00:39:42.470 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Is, first of all, things rarely go the way we expect.
00:39:43.890 --> 00:39:48.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I mean, it is practically a daily occurrence
00:39:48.860 --> 00:39:56.729 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That meetings are getting canceled or moved on me, people are not showing up, like my guest today, not showing up.
00:39:58.180 --> 00:40:06.089 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I mean, this is… I mean, you can't make this stuff up, like, this is the epitome of what I mean by being flexible.
00:40:06.560 --> 00:40:10.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: By facing the devastation, quote-unquote.
00:40:11.300 --> 00:40:22.569 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: of something that was supposed to happen. We had scheduled this months ago. We sent out several reminders to this person, messaged them every way I could think of.
00:40:23.800 --> 00:40:38.549 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: didn't hear a word, don't know what happened to them, they're just completely… I don't know, like, maybe something bad happened. Maybe they got sick, maybe they're in the hospital, maybe something worse, or whatever. I have no idea.
00:40:39.820 --> 00:40:53.749 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But I do know that the show went live at noon today, and so 40 minutes ago, regardless of whether my guest shows up or not, I'm doing this show, because I need to be flexible, I need to show up in the moment.
00:40:55.140 --> 00:40:59.969 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And you know what? We've all faced the gift of devastation.
00:41:00.460 --> 00:41:04.070 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We all have had times in our life.
00:41:05.620 --> 00:41:14.070 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so, I just have to pull from my experiences and relate to you examples of why
00:41:14.460 --> 00:41:20.649 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When things don't work out the way we expect, it can actually be a very good thing.
00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:28.499 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I'm sure you, as a listener, you have experienced things in your own life
00:41:29.230 --> 00:41:35.889 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Where, in the moment, it felt like the most worst, awful thing, and you couldn't believe this is happening to you.
00:41:36.610 --> 00:41:42.120 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then years later, when you have a different perspective, you're like, oh my god, what a great gift that was.
00:41:44.670 --> 00:41:46.170 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And that's the thing.
00:41:47.280 --> 00:41:53.450 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The devastation, the unexpected, the unknown, what we get thrust into
00:41:53.600 --> 00:41:55.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That we were not looking for.
00:41:57.270 --> 00:41:59.129 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Is often a great gift.
00:42:01.710 --> 00:42:05.490 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And one of the… basic things.
00:42:05.910 --> 00:42:11.649 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: One of the basic ways in which it is a gift It is a reminder
00:42:11.900 --> 00:42:16.669 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Of how we are not the masters of the universe.
00:42:17.490 --> 00:42:20.990 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That things are impermanent, they never last.
00:42:23.010 --> 00:42:29.249 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That when we show up with humility and flexibility and adaptability.
00:42:29.620 --> 00:42:32.450 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We can make the best of that situation.
00:42:33.370 --> 00:42:44.499 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And how When we can then learn to be resilient, To find that inner strength.
00:42:45.300 --> 00:42:56.989 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And have greater compassion, first for ourselves, for experiencing the devastation that we're experiencing, and then to everybody else who might be involved with it.
00:42:59.060 --> 00:43:04.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That then we truly learn The gift of compassion.
00:43:08.660 --> 00:43:09.680 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, look.
00:43:10.010 --> 00:43:11.000 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I get it.
00:43:11.280 --> 00:43:18.470 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Devastation can be a financial devastation, which doesn't feel good at all. It can be a devastation of our health.
00:43:19.250 --> 00:43:34.510 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Which… which nobody wants to go through. Devastation in our relationships, in our career, in our business, in our friendships, in our family. I mean, there… there are a million different kinds of devastations out there.
00:43:35.690 --> 00:43:43.759 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And they don't feel good when we're going through it. Of course they don't. We're not built for that.
00:43:49.280 --> 00:43:53.219 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But I guess the message of this show, this episode.
00:43:55.540 --> 00:44:01.770 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Is that when we have built the internal resilience.
00:44:02.020 --> 00:44:08.550 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When we have built that internal muscle, of being flexible.
00:44:10.140 --> 00:44:15.989 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Of being able to not be so attached to things the way they are.
00:44:16.450 --> 00:44:19.850 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So that when they change and shift.
00:44:20.750 --> 00:44:29.000 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We can still go with the flow, and still be present, and still meet the situation.
00:44:30.520 --> 00:44:32.259 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: With an open heart.
00:44:32.660 --> 00:44:34.469 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And a clear mind.
00:44:36.440 --> 00:44:41.389 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Like, that is the best way we can possibly show up.
00:44:42.410 --> 00:44:45.180 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To an incident that's devastating.
00:44:46.770 --> 00:44:48.620 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doesn't mean it's easy.
00:44:49.700 --> 00:44:52.090 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doesn't mean we're gonna like it.
00:44:52.590 --> 00:44:55.520 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doesn't mean it's gonna feel good, it's not.
00:44:57.760 --> 00:45:03.460 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doesn't mean we're not human beings, and it doesn't mean we're not gonna get upset. We are.
00:45:06.410 --> 00:45:16.879 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm not saying we're gonna be monks. I'm not saying we're gonna be just totally devoid of emotions. Of course not. We're not Spock, okay?
00:45:17.080 --> 00:45:18.240 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We're human.
00:45:22.780 --> 00:45:30.690 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But if we can just hold onto… the… the notion…
00:45:30.950 --> 00:45:39.979 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That maybe there's some kind of gift Inside of this awful-feeling situation.
00:45:41.390 --> 00:45:46.070 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That maybe as we're going through it, or once we get through it.
00:45:46.720 --> 00:45:50.359 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We can see what that gift truly is.
00:45:54.750 --> 00:46:00.290 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And so… When we come back from this break, let's talk about
00:46:01.420 --> 00:46:04.679 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What are the potential gifts of devastation?
00:46:05.820 --> 00:46:09.660 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What is it that the devastation can bring to us?
00:46:10.560 --> 00:46:14.359 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That can truly help us in our lives, that it can teach us.
00:46:15.240 --> 00:46:19.739 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That it can give us, that can actually make us better human beings.
00:46:20.040 --> 00:46:26.100 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: More conscious and better with able to stand… withstand the next devastation.
00:46:28.810 --> 00:46:32.170 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So that's what we're going to talk about when we come back.
00:46:32.780 --> 00:46:38.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You are listening to The Conscious Consultant Hour, Awakening Humanity.
00:46:39.010 --> 00:46:43.230 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we will be right back with our last segment to wrap it all up.
00:46:43.590 --> 00:46:44.800 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: After this.
00:48:35.220 --> 00:48:37.199 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And… welcome back.
00:48:37.410 --> 00:48:45.939 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: to the conscious consultant, our Awakening humanity. And we've been talking this hour about the gift of devastation.
00:48:46.700 --> 00:48:49.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And the gift of devastation comes.
00:48:50.210 --> 00:48:56.710 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: When something completely unexpected happens. Like, your guests not showing up to your show.
00:48:59.040 --> 00:49:06.709 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So I've been talking about… The experience of devastation, The lessons of devastation.
00:49:09.430 --> 00:49:13.260 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But what truly is the gift of devastation?
00:49:16.280 --> 00:49:28.639 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, when we experience devastation, And we get through… The challenge in the moment.
00:49:31.050 --> 00:49:39.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we've surrendered to it, and understood the impermanence of everything.
00:49:41.570 --> 00:49:51.329 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we look back for the gift. And I mentioned, you know, the incident that happened a couple of years ago, and how that was an unexpected gift in an unknown way.
00:49:53.000 --> 00:49:57.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But the gift… Is actually the experience itself.
00:49:58.320 --> 00:50:03.240 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It actually… we might learn things from it, we might, you know, understand, like.
00:50:03.320 --> 00:50:22.520 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, a business deal going south, and then we learn that the person we were going to do business with that was gonna make us millions of dollars, that they were a crook, or, you know, that this person we thought we were in love with turns out, like, they actually were a pretty nasty person. That…
00:50:22.970 --> 00:50:28.069 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That… Other than the things we learn, which are gifts.
00:50:29.680 --> 00:50:32.790 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The experience itself is a gift.
00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:40.739 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It's the experience of learning that we can survive this trial by fire.
00:50:43.090 --> 00:50:51.929 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That, like the archetype of the Phoenix, we can rise from the ashes, no matter how painful, how difficult.
00:50:52.030 --> 00:50:59.369 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: How distressing, how tormenting the experience might be in the moment.
00:51:02.210 --> 00:51:02.930 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Nope.
00:51:03.440 --> 00:51:06.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The fact we were actually able to get through it.
00:51:07.370 --> 00:51:13.969 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And learn to surrender, to learn to be more flexible, learn to be present.
00:51:14.070 --> 00:51:18.919 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Even when it is so painful to be present.
00:51:19.420 --> 00:51:22.420 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That that is a real gift.
00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:35.290 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So often, painful experiences just totally take us out of presence. We disassociate, we, like, I don't want to be here, I want to be anywhere else but here.
00:51:37.740 --> 00:51:44.159 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But when we do that, we're… we're bypassing the situation. We're not truly living life.
00:51:45.980 --> 00:51:49.619 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And the more we can be present to this…
00:51:49.920 --> 00:51:53.659 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Ungodly situation we're trying to get through.
00:51:53.960 --> 00:51:55.790 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: This heartbreak.
00:51:56.390 --> 00:52:07.480 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: this… this… complete… Burning of our soul inside our bodies, this dark night of the soul.
00:52:09.290 --> 00:52:11.940 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The more we can be present to it.
00:52:12.800 --> 00:52:15.969 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And see, it's not the end of us.
00:52:17.450 --> 00:52:19.420 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It's not our death.
00:52:21.330 --> 00:52:24.080 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Then we can be reborn.
00:52:24.530 --> 00:52:26.710 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Into the new you.
00:52:33.890 --> 00:52:39.349 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It can… the gift of that devastation is clarity.
00:52:40.620 --> 00:52:44.340 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It helps us to see much more clearly
00:52:45.260 --> 00:52:53.529 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What we value, what's important to us, How strong we are?
00:52:57.030 --> 00:53:06.989 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And how, even though we have… may have one plan for our life, life has a completely different plan for us, and that's okay.
00:53:07.750 --> 00:53:09.750 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: May not be what we want.
00:53:10.790 --> 00:53:14.760 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: May not be what we desire in the moment.
00:53:18.980 --> 00:53:21.810 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But in the end, it truly serves us.
00:53:23.880 --> 00:53:26.499 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So how do we integrate this idea?
00:53:26.920 --> 00:53:30.919 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Of the gifts of devastation. The gift of devastation.
00:53:33.400 --> 00:53:41.789 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The first thing, most importantly, It's to have compassion for ourselves, the person going through the devastation.
00:53:42.490 --> 00:53:47.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To have compassion for our pain, our anguish, our loss, our grief.
00:53:51.620 --> 00:53:55.990 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because when we can have compassion for ourselves for going through it.
00:53:56.720 --> 00:54:01.459 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Then we can have compassion for the other people involved in the situation.
00:54:02.690 --> 00:54:07.880 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That then we can have the humility to learn that it's not all about us.
00:54:18.040 --> 00:54:22.130 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And then we can truly find our resilience, our core.
00:54:22.840 --> 00:54:24.200 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Our strength.
00:54:25.120 --> 00:54:31.059 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That part of us that survives even through the hottest of fires.
00:54:33.890 --> 00:54:39.460 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yes, some devastation Some people never get over.
00:54:41.570 --> 00:54:47.910 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Maybe because they don't have the emotional fortitude, maybe because they don't have support.
00:54:49.430 --> 00:54:52.610 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Maybe because they just can't see a way out.
00:54:59.130 --> 00:55:00.020 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yet.
00:55:01.660 --> 00:55:09.080 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: If we can learn to not judge the present moment, and not judge the pain we're going through.
00:55:09.740 --> 00:55:12.349 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We can actually get through it.
00:55:12.600 --> 00:55:14.190 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Much easier.
00:55:15.160 --> 00:55:18.340 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And we don't have to have it all figured out.
00:55:19.760 --> 00:55:23.059 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We don't have to know how it's gonna turn out.
00:55:24.600 --> 00:55:42.219 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: when I was stuck in the airport and trying to rebook my flight, and getting canceled, and trying to see what to do, and okay, we're gonna have to cancel it for this weekend, and maybe we do it another time. I didn't know in the end how it was gonna work out. I didn't know, you know, if we were going to be able to do it a different time, whatever.
00:55:43.590 --> 00:55:45.639 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But then I learned that, like, oh.
00:55:45.900 --> 00:55:49.889 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Doesn't sound like it's actually supposed to happen at this house.
00:55:58.250 --> 00:56:03.599 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And, you know, the interesting thing is, the more we face devastating circumstances.
00:56:06.010 --> 00:56:15.360 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The easier it is to be less attached. The easier it is to be more present. The easier it is to be
00:56:18.110 --> 00:56:23.139 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To have that knowing that this too shall pass.
00:56:24.210 --> 00:56:27.970 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That we will get through it. That we will survive.
00:56:29.070 --> 00:56:32.740 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And life is going to continue one way or another.
00:56:33.170 --> 00:56:40.380 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: May not continue the way we expect, may not continue the way we want it to look, but it will go on.
00:56:42.900 --> 00:56:52.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So I ask you, what is your gift of devastation? What have you experienced in your life that was devastating
00:56:52.430 --> 00:56:55.499 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: At the moment you were experiencing it.
00:56:56.170 --> 00:57:00.569 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: That later on, After you got some perspective.
00:57:00.890 --> 00:57:05.189 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: After you got through the heartbreak of that devastation.
00:57:05.390 --> 00:57:09.979 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You could actually see there were gifts in there for yourself.
00:57:13.240 --> 00:57:18.160 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And if you have a hard time seeing what those gifts might be.
00:57:18.440 --> 00:57:20.429 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Feel free to reach out to me.
00:57:20.880 --> 00:57:25.979 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You can always reach me through my website, theconsciousconsultant.com.
00:57:27.820 --> 00:57:30.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Through talkradio.nyc.
00:57:34.230 --> 00:57:38.360 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And if you're having a challenging time and you need some support.
00:57:39.300 --> 00:57:42.340 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, we can always find a way to work together.
00:57:42.960 --> 00:57:46.809 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To support you through the process in a way that actually
00:57:47.500 --> 00:57:51.989 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Helps you define what are the gifts for you in whatever you're going through.
00:57:52.510 --> 00:57:54.980 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Because even though they may not be obvious.
00:57:55.230 --> 00:58:01.470 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Even though they may not be in the… Obvious in the moment.
00:58:01.880 --> 00:58:03.029 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: They're there.
00:58:03.520 --> 00:58:06.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: They're just waiting for you to discover them.
00:58:08.240 --> 00:58:10.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So that's our show for the day.
00:58:10.710 --> 00:58:12.700 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The Gift of Devastation.
00:58:13.170 --> 00:58:14.960 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I hope you enjoyed it.
00:58:15.660 --> 00:58:29.429 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And of course, if you did miss any part of today's show, you can always catch the replay on talkradio.nyc, on all the podcasting platforms, Apple, Spotify, Pandora, IR Radio, Amazon.
00:58:30.100 --> 00:58:38.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And please, if you did get something out of this show, don't keep it a secret. Share it with your friends, your family, your colleagues. Let others know.
00:58:40.860 --> 00:58:48.370 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And as always, check out the other shows on talkradio.nyc. Frank Harrison and his show, Frank About Health.
00:58:49.280 --> 00:58:54.459 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Art Fromm and his show, Making Seamless Sales, if you're in the sales arena.
00:58:55.000 --> 00:58:58.340 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: If you're into nonprofits, philanthropy and focus.
00:59:01.230 --> 00:59:07.670 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And, of course, Mira Brancou and Siobhan Larisse and Jacinta Yang with their shows.
00:59:08.170 --> 00:59:17.710 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You can find it all at talkradio.nyc. Thank you all for tuning in today. Take care, we will talk to you all next week.
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