Break Free From Others' Emotional Programming With Laura Foster EP 388

You know you need something, you're just not sure what. You've been listening, you're doing the work, but there's still this feeling that you're circling the same place, like you're waiting for the thing that finally moves you. Now maybe you've thought about working with me one-on-one. Maybe something's held you back, the timing, the money, or you're just not sure you're ready yet. I get that. And I want you to know there's still a place for you. I built a resource for exactly this moment, guided meditations for when the waves hit and you just need to breathe. Workbooks to help you get out of your head and onto the page, ebooks on what near-death experiences tell us about the people we've lost, and whether they're really gone, a full course for widows and widowers who are ready to find their way back to living, and a full course for the evidence of the afterlife. And all of it is available for pay what you want. Nobody gets turned away because of money. I think these resources are valuable, but I don't want to hold them back because you don't have the money to pay for them. You don't have to wait until you're ready for coaching. The next step might be a lot smaller than you think. To find out, go to grief2growth.com/store. That's grief, the numeral 2, growth.com/store. And check out the resources I've made for you. Close your eyes and imagine. What are the things in life that cause us the greatest pain? The things that bring us grief are challenges, challenges designed to help us grow, to ultimately become what we were always meant to be. We feel like we've been buried. But what if, like a seed, we've been planted? And having been planted, we grow to become a mighty tree. Now, open your eyes. Open your eyes to this way of viewing life. Come with me as we explore your true, infinite, eternal nature. This is Grief to Growth. And I am your host, Brian D Smith. Hey there, welcome to another episode of Grief to Growth, where we help you navigate the difficult times in life and explore deeper truths about who we are, where we came from, where we're going, and why we're here. So whether you're tuning in for the first time, you've been with us for a while, I'm glad you're here. My name is Brian D Smith, and I'm your host today. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Laura Foster to the show. Laura is a dynamic and transformative force who was truly awakened by making the bold decision to cut through all the bullshit. After witnessing her parents and only siblings struggling with health, with ill health, tragedy, and depression, Laura knew she had to make critical, calculated decisions to transform her own life, and the results were nothing short of extraordinary, leading to a profound shift in her physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing that has impacted not only her story, but those around her. Laura is committed to helping others discover their joy and unpack their bullshit through innovative holistic scaffolding technology. Her approach is designed to help you take back your power, discover your true self, and break free from the human programming and conditioning that hold you back. In today's episode, we'll explore what it means to take back your power. We'll talk about the concept of the true self and why it's important for each of us to be our own guru. We'll also dive into her holistic scaffolding and talk about how that's different from most self-help programs, and how it can specifically address anxiety, drama, and trauma. And Laura is going to share with us her personal journey and the turning points that led her to develop this unique approach. So if you're ready to question everything, and start living a life designed for you, by you, for you, this episode is for you. So join us as we go into these transformative topics and learn practical steps to begin your journey towards healing and self-discovery. And don't forget to join us after the show at grieftogrowth.com/community to continue the conversation there. So with that, I want to welcome Laura Foster.

Thank you so much. It is my honor and privilege to be here. Thank you.

Yeah, I'm really glad to have you here. We were just discussing before we started recording, you're in Quito, Ecuador. And I was asking you what What brings you to keto?

And it, it's just interesting. I know it sound, may sound a little strange, but I'm at the point in my life where I just trust the universe, spirit, whatever you call it, and it sends me to where I need to be. So I reversed a lot of the programming, how I was raised of having a lot of possessions. I don't have a house, I don't have a car, I have very few possessions, and I am on fire to help humanity.

That's, that's, I think that's awesome. I, I, I admire your, your, your spirit and your spirit of adventure. For sure. Now, I, I think you got started on this journey with— there were some issues going on in your family, and you were seeing how the programming was affecting them. So tell me how you get started with this, this transformative thing you're going through.

Exactly. I, I call it moments of change, and we all have them as humans, and sometimes we have several of them that kind of have to kick us in the head to get us to wake up. One of my first moments of change was actually watching my parents living the same lifestyle as Brian D Smith and I was living. And they passed away at young ages. And then a few years after that, my only sibling, closest brother, he passed away, same lifestyle, 56 years young, you know. So it really woke me up to I'm not going to go out like that. And I can see it now as a beautiful gift that my family gave me, because it's the ripple effect. Now I'm able to help others, just like you're able to help others, um, through kind of the grief and loss that we had in this, helping other people. Yeah.

So, yeah, it's, it's amazing how grief can break us open, you know, and really make us question these patterns of our lives and where we are. And I see that with my clients. They're like, at first you feel lost. I don't know how you feel, felt, but tell me how you felt and how you, again, how you made that shift?

When I lost my parents, and they were 72 and 75, which I think is really young, they passed away 3 months, you know, my dad went first, then my mom exactly 3 months later. So I felt really lost, completely untethered from my own reality of, you know, my role as a daughter in the physical was over.. And it was really, really shocking. Um, and I'm sure you can relate to that.

Yeah.

And I'm sure our listeners can relate to that. And so I had another, you know, moment of change of, I was suffering from debilitating depression and, you know, it was a few years later, another moment of change as I call it, of just, I didn't want to, I was suicidal. I mean, there's no other way to put it. My first thought when I would awaken would be, why am I still here? I didn't want to be here anymore.

Yeah.

So it took me drawing my line in the sand. And I know there are listeners out there right now, you're going through those moments of change, whether you've lost someone or whatever has happened to your house of cards, it's just crumbled. And you are lost and you are like, may even be suicidal. So, but I drew my line in the sand and I didn't want to live like that anymore. And that's when the Holistic Scaffolding technology came through from the universe to help me. But it's not about me. I know I'm, you know, telling my story because I know a lot of other people, the emotions are very similar. Our stories are different, but the emotions are the same. But the holistic scaffolding is for humanity. It's not for me.

Yeah, well, it, it's both, right? We're— because we're all one, we're all connected, and we all— and what's for one, I think, is for all. And I appreciate humility, your humility, because a lot of times we hesitate to tell our story because it's like, well, that's just my story. But it's, it's not. It's, it's universal. Like you said, the feelings are universal. And I, and I applaud you for being, um, brave enough to say that you were feeling that, that suicidal feeling, because I think a lot of us go through that and we're scared to admit it, you know, because some people will think there's something wrong with me. But that, that feeling of loss of a sense of purpose, I think, is, is kind of universal. We can all relate to that.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And we all, all are one. That, that's the thing. When we, when we shut away our programming that we've had, we do come into alignment with our true self. And that, that's the love, that's the connection. I happen to feel it's like God, spirit. I mean, it's not religious, it's just, you know, different labels. It's your intuition. We all have it. It's under that.

So, yeah. And how would you describe the, the lifestyle or the way that your, your parents and your brother were living that you found to be not desirable. Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

You know, one of the hardest things about grief? Most of the people in your life just don't get it. They want you to be further along than you are. They get uncomfortable when you bring it up, so you stop bringing it up. And that's why I started writing. My Substack is where I go deeper. Thoughts I don't always get to on the podcast. Essays on consciousness, on continuing bonds, on what it actually means to carry a loss and still build a life. The stuff that used to keep me up at night, written out in a way that I hope meets you in the morning. But here's what I didn't expect when I started it: the community that showed up. People who are doing exactly what you're doing— listening, learning, trying to find their footing. Readers who comment, who share their own stories, who remind each other that none of us are as alone in this as we feel. And that's what the Substack has become— a place to go deeper with me and to find your people. It's free to subscribe. Find me at grief2growth.com/substack. That's grief, the numeral 2, growth.com/substack. Or just go to Substack and search for Grief to Growth. I hope to see you there.

To be honest, it was eating the standard American diet, which is SAD. So lots of meat and potatoes and processed foods, very little movement, a lot of blaming other people for things, not really taking accountability of, you know, I'm creating this for myself. Lots of illnesses. And I had already, in my very early 40s— part of my story— I already had type 2 diabetes. I spent the majority of my life being 260-some pounds. You know, all my family was obese, so I was— that was the programming. We're all obese, we all have type 2 diabetes, we all have high cholesterol. Um, so that was the programming that only I could shatter.

Yeah.

And I did.

Yeah.

And I've been, you know, I don't say this to brag, but to give people— if I can do it, anybody can do it. I've been med-free, you know, for 8 years. I mean, I was on a lot of different, you know, depression medications as well. So there was a lot of programming. So yeah, sure.

Well, that, that makes sense. We all, we all have these patterns that we think, and, and I appreciate you again, you sharing that, you know, because Um, well, my family just has this. We have type 2 diabetes, we have high blood pressure, we have— we're all, we're all obese, it's in our genetics. Um, you know, I'm depressed, so just give me a pill. I mean, that's, that's the standard, I think, you know. And it's interesting, use that analogy, the standard American diet, it's been just, you know, sad. Um, but it's also the standard American lifestyle that I think we have trouble breaking out of. Um, You know, I'm just reading a book right now about— it's called The Great Cholesterol Myth. You know, we've all bought into this idea of statins and all that stuff. And I'm— my background's engineering, I'm a chemical engineer, so I'm like, I believe in science and stuff. But the older I get, the more I realize they're feeding us a lot of stuff, uh, literally and figuratively, that's not true. That's not scientifically even true, right?

Yeah, we've been— it's part of the programming. And until you like until you have those moments of change where you draw your line in the sand and you're like going, I can't live like this anymore. And then you start, like you said, you know, you read, you start to question, and you go, oh, okay, yeah, and you rewrite that for yourself.

So was this, um, was this a download for you, or is it something that you started doing your own research and developed, or how did, how did you come about making the, the program or the, the system that you've got now?

Yeah, it's, it's actually a pretty long story, but it, it came in bits and pieces from the universe to help me shed my own bullshit programming and conditioning. Mm-hmm. Um, but it's, it is, I call it a technology because there are 6 platforms to it. And I, and I'll tell you guys what the platforms are in just a moment, but I want you guys to know that one of the things that's really, really different about my approach is that it's available for free for humanity. So, um, I have really taken a stand against kind of gatekeeping information because that's kind of how we are now in the cyber world of like, if you have something, oh, give somebody a tiny little taste, put it behind a paywall, and then charge them. I am not for that. This has not been given to me to make money. It's been given to me to help humanity. So I want people to know when they visit Souls Healing Humanity, the Holistic Scaffold thing, the whole thing is there for free. So I don't want them to— anybody to think that I'm trying to be a shyster or anything like that. I'm not doing that. Okay. But the technology itself, there are 6 platforms. Once people kind of install that technology, they have it for the rest of their life, and it kind of— it runs in the background all the time. So it's the fastest way I know that you can shed your bullshit programming and conditioning constantly in the background. You keep questioning everything, and you use the framework. Hmm.

Wow. Okay. So you said this, this has come to you in, I guess, bits and pieces, but you do feel like it's a download or it's a channel thing?

Yeah, I, yeah, absolutely. I wouldn't, yeah, it was that absolutely given. I'm a conduit. I mean, it came from the universe. I, I don't know how, I don't know why. I don't take credit for writing Fed Up, Not Fucked Up, which is the book and the course. I don't take credit for any of that. That's come through me. To help people. So yeah, but yeah, do I have like a direct channel? I don't know. I, like I said, I don't have all the answers, Brian. I'm like, I'm always learning.

That is, that is, I think, a really interesting question because I'm, you know, studying this stuff like as you are. We're all growing and learning. And so I was listening to something the other day, they were talking about, and I believe a lot of music and art and stuff is channeled, films. And I think it was, um, Prince one day called his band in the studio and said, you got to get here. It was like 3 o'clock in the morning. And they said, well, it's 3 o'clock in the morning, why do we have to get there? He says, because I've got this song, and if I don't record it, Michael Jackson will. Because it was like, it's like the stuff those people realize. It's a, I think it's a cooperative thing. We always like, do I take credit for this, or was it channeled? And, you know, I don't know, but going back to we're all one, it's like we're all tapping into the same thing anyway.

We are. Yeah. And it's amazing how it can actually be happening, everything all at once. Like you said, you know, either he was going to record it or Michael Jackson was. And, and I believe that. I mean, if he didn't go there and do that, I think it probably would have been a Michael Jackson hit.

Yeah. Yeah. So, so tell us a little bit more about the scaffolding. You said 6, 6 platforms. So can you kind of outline those?

Absolutely. The very base platform is awareness. And I always say, you cannot change what you do not see. You cannot change what you do not see. So it begins with awareness. The next platform is actually celebrating you. And that's another way that Soul Healing Humanity is different. We don't spend a lot of time excavating what is, quote unquote, gone wrong in your life. We celebrate that those things happened. Not only did you survive them, but you've thrived because of them. So celebrating and getting in you into that higher vibration, which also celebrating you being a creator, because the universe is going to keep sending you the same stuff. So if you're stuck in a lower vibration, like I was for decades, the universe kept sending me more of the same. I call it evolve or repeat, and it is your choice. The next platform up is celebrating all of you. It's celebrating the full cornucopia of the human emotion and experience. And that is so powerful because we've been programmed from, from the womb on not to accept that we're broken, we're messed up. You know, we have this, we have that. No, learning how to accept all that. Um, then the next platform up is, um, the tools and the knowledge, and it's being a lifelong learner. And I call them wisdom wands and wisdom nuggets in Souls Healing Humanity. And I've just learned ancient practices and kind of repackaged them into modern, zippy, easy to learn, you know., that you can use them all the time. So yeah, and then the next platform up from that is called Triumphs and Tantrums. We've learned how to triumph. We've learned how to celebrate when our team wins, we get the job. What we've not really learned as humanity to do very well is productively tantrum when things fall apart and people pass away, or your mate leaves, or you get divorced, or your dog dies. We have not been able to learn how to effectively tantrum. And the program— and I'm still learning that as well, learning right along with everybody. And then the final platform is alignment, and that is alignment with your true self, soul, spirit, intuition. And that is when your thoughts, your words, and your actions are all lined up with your true purpose, your true self. And the one other thing I want to say, when they go to the website, the graphic is there, and in the background of the Holistic Scaffolding, although I presented it in a linear fashion, it is not a linear process. There's a figure 8 in the background. You flip it on the side, It is an infinity symbol. So you're at different levels, different times, maybe a couple of different platforms all at once. So that's it in a nutshell. And like I said, you can learn it. You just learned it and you just started to install it. You have it for the rest of your life. You become your own guru.

Yeah, there's, well, it's it in a nutshell, but there's a lot in there. There's a lot in there, I think, to unpack. I like what you said about like our, the things that have gone what we call wrong in our lives. And I think you'd mentioned we, we thrive because of them. A lot of times, first of all, we think they've crushed us. And then maybe we thrive in spite of them. But I heard you say we thrive because of them.

Yes, we thrive because of them. We realize that everything happened perfectly. And even when people pass away in the physical, And I know that that can be a radical thing for some people to hear, to even grasp from the pain that they're in. I understand that. But from where I am now, I understand that although my brother passed away at 56 years young, his journey was perfect. He stayed the perfect amount of time. And I'm thriving because of what I've learned and what I've been able to, you know, have the holistic scaffolding. And like I said, it's the ripple effect. So it's not just helping me, it's helping a lot of other people.

Yeah, I think that's a very, very important concept. And it is difficult for people to hear the first time they hear it. It's difficult for people to hear when they're— when they've lost a job or they've gotten a divorce or they've lost a loved one. In my case, it was my 15-year-old daughter. And, you know, I remember when I first heard that concept, it was— it was— it's shocking. But if you can start— if you can just, as you're listening right now, if you can just think about the possibility this could possibly be true. And then what I encourage people is look at something that's gone wrong in your life. That's, that's in the past. And not a, not a death, but maybe, uh, you lost a job, or maybe your girlfriend broke up with you, whatever it is. See if you can see how that changed your life for positive. And universally, people can find— and almost everything, they could find something positive that came out of it.

Yeah, absolutely. And that, that is such— that's where taking back your power is, because then you are you are accepting a bit of responsibility. And no matter what happened— and I know that's also a very radical thing to say— even if it's 99.9%, quote unquote, somebody else's fault, there's still a part of you that allowed that to happen, that drew that in for you to learn, for your unfoldment. And I say a lot in the community, until you realize and you really accept that it's happening for you and not to you, you're going to stay stuck in that repeat cycle. You know, I always— I give it to people straight with no tasty chaser. I mean, I just do.

Yeah.

Yeah. So they have the power to choose.

Yeah. Well, there's, you know, you use the word responsibility, and what people sometimes will hear is the word blame. So what they'll say, what you're saying is it's my fault that it happened. But that comes from that perspective that it happened to you as opposed to for you.

Exactly, exactly. And it is happening for you, for you to wake up, for you to question, for you to shed the programming that's telling you that you're, you're broken, you're not enough, you're messed up. Yeah, your true self wants the best for you always. So yeah.

Yeah. Well, let's talk about the true self and what the true self is, because I think I know what you're saying, but there may be some people that don't know. What do you mean by my true self?

It is, and this is my understanding right now, but it is your soul, your spirit. Your intuition has nothing to do with religion. So even no matter what religious beliefs, or even if you're an atheist, it is that gut feeling when you go to make a decision, and the gut feeling may be telling you to do something else. You know, your, your gut feeling is your true self. It is your, your guidance system, in essence. And I just find, even still in my life, Brian D Smith, when I don't follow my gut intuition things go sideways, and that's when I really learn stuff. So that's why I'm saying I reframe it. It's like, oh, I, I didn't like how this turned out, but boy, didn't I learn stuff. Yay!

So yeah, which is probably how you ended up in keto, right? Your, your intuition said it, let's go to, let's go to Ecuador. Um, and that's exactly, that's a difficult thing in our, in our society to, to understand, to explain to someone, you know. Um, I, I'm at the age now where my friends and I all have kids that are their kids, they're young adults. My daughter's 27. And, you know, they'll do things and we'll ask, well, why are you doing that? What's the, what's the long-term outcome from this? Well, you want to major in this, you know, you want to go to college and major, you should major in that, or you should go to college, as opposed to you should follow your gut and become a mechanic or whatever it happens to be. So we, we try to almost drive that out of people, um, and I think that's the programming that you're talking about.

That is absolutely the programming that I'm talking about. And my daughter's 32, so I totally know where you're coming from. Um, but that— so the programming, when we talk about that, where, where does it come from? It, you know, it comes from your family, um, you know, your religious upbringing or non-religious. It comes from big time from schooling, big time from media. I mean, you know, whether it's like mass media or all the advertising, I mean, think about all what you're bombarded with. If you actually do watch programming, they call it television programming for a reason, right? Constantly trying to tell you you're not enough, you're not pretty enough. You know, I'm 55, so I have wrinkles or gray hair. You should be doing something about that. No, thank you.

Yeah, yeah.

So my true self knows I'm exactly where I need to be, and I can identify that programming now. That's the power of the holistic scaffolding.

Yeah, it's really, it's really interesting. This is something I've been pondering a lot. You know, we come in, come into this world, and I believe we're souls, spirits, you know, whatever you want to call it, uh, that is our true self. And we are conditioned, programmed, whatever you want to call it. And it's not, it's not like our parents or teachers want to do bad things to us. It's, that's why we have societies, because we have to socialize each other. We have to tell each other what's acceptable and what's not acceptable and what's polite and what's not polite. But then there's this balance, and we lose that because we forget, like us, they tell us, you know, it's not about you, it's about treating other people well, which is important, of course. But they tell us to forget about ourselves.

Exactly. And I love how you're, you're, you're framing that, that, you know, our parents and our schooling and everything, they weren't doing anything bad. And that's, that's a big part, a big tenet of Soul Healing Humanity and the Holistic Scaffolding, is that we do not play the blame game. We do not live in victimhood. Because I know it's really easy when you first wake up and you realize you've been programmed. And I went through it too, man. I blamed my parents. I was pissed off. I mean, how dare them, you know?

Yeah, yeah.

So yeah, I, I love that you're bringing that to, to people's attention because I, I truly believe that they're— they were just doing the best they could with what they had.

And yeah, well, they, they had their programming. I was fortunate enough to live with my grandmother as I was growing up. That's my grandmother moved in with us and stayed with us for, for quite a while, from the time I was 8 till I was like 21. And I got to observe her and the way she interacted with my mother. And I heard her tell her story, which was, I had a mean stepmother, so I didn't learn how to be kind and, you know, speak, you know, kindly to people. It's like that. And I realized, okay, that was, that was her thing that she passed to my mother, that these— then she passed to me. And this is the way society is, and this is the way that we are until we really get intentional, which is what you're— we're talking about here really is really understanding who we are and being saying, okay, I get to choose what my programming is going to be.

Yes, exactly. And I get to choose, yeah, what my programming is going to be. And, and it's a big thing of the awareness, you know, how have you been programmed? And then it's your choice. So going back to the marketing and, you know, I choose not to wear makeup or dye my hair. I make that conscious choice. I'm aware of the programming. Now, another layer to that is I absolutely don't judge anybody if they decide to have a lot of makeup, dye their hair, blah, blah, blah. You know, that's okay. I always say I love all you people, and I do. Yeah, I love, I love all the beautiful souls. Because I realize even if they're still wrapped in their programming, and some of the programming is pretty nasty, let's be honest, I choose to love them anyway, because I see through all that.

Yeah. Well, and the thing is also, I think, as long as you're making the choices consciously, and you're making the choice that's for you, I think the problem is when we make the choices unconsciously, we're just We're following, and we don't realize it even is a choice, um, to— and dyeing your hair is, I think, a great example. I, I see, um, more women now are starting to accept the fact that they're gray. And I, I forgot what the statistics were. It's like, you know, there's a huge percentage of women who are gray in their 30s and their 40s, but if you look at them, you would never know it because everybody's dyeing their hair.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's the thing. The conscious decision. You're aware of the programming, and then you decide. That's my message. It's like I did a blog post about 'You Define Sexy.' It's like, you get to define that, you know? Don't let a corporation decide that for you. We've had enough of that.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And, and we end up very, um, uh, we chase these images that are unattainable, and it just, it makes us sad. I think that's why we have so much depression, etc. now. So I— which leads to my next question for you. How does your system help with people with, with anxiety, depression, trauma, all these things that are becoming more and more common?

There's a platform on the Holistic Scaffolding accepting all of you, and it really is so, so powerful of understanding accepting all of the roles and archetypes that are playing in your life and becoming aware of, for example, maybe you have, maybe your husband left you and, you know, you're angry and upset over that, but there's a reason you're angry and upset. There's a reason why you're drawing that in and accepting that part of you and what you can learn from that. So it's a very empowering when you know your true self and you can— you're able to see your programming and conditioning. And that's a place of true power. We talked about it earlier, just that coming out of the blame game and victimhood and knowing your power, standing in your power, um, is, is liberating. And the other thing is knowing, accepting the full cornucopia of human emotions. So I think there's a misconception when people are kind of on a spiritual path or got a lot a lot of woo-woo world stuff out there, and you think, oh, I'm going to do this program and I'm going to follow this guru, and then everything's going to be wonderful. No, you didn't come for 100% wonderful. You came for the contrast. You came for the full cornucopia, accepting all of you, full cornucopia of human emotion. And then you realize, I'm going to have some downtime, some things are going to happen for me. But there's gifts there, there's learning there. And that's empowerment, instead of just spiraling out of control, which, you know, I did for a number of years. So I get it.

Yeah. I think that's, that's a really tough concept too, because as I'm working with clients, you know, I'll introduce this concept to them that things are happening, you know, for you instead of to you and you know, even this could be a good thing. And, but these are people who have suffered multiple deaths in their family, you know, chronic diseases, things that they're dealing with. And, you know, so people might say, well, I'm supposed to be happy about this? And that's not what it means. But then we do have people that say, well, I'm so spiritual that this doesn't affect me, that I don't, I don't have those emotions. And I've seen that with people as well. And that's, I don't hear that's, that's what you're advocating.

No, not at all. And because I still embrace my humanity, which is to me that full spectrum I did come for. I did come for sadness and grief as well. It helps. It has helped me be empathetic.

Yeah.

And not sympathy. There's a huge difference there. Not feeling sorry for people, but empathy. And that's a really deep thing. Even seeing people homeless on the street, I don't feel sorry for them. And I know that may sound shocking to people, but I empathize with them because I am them. They are me. And I see their beautiful soul. Yeah. Yeah. So sorry, I didn't mean to go a little sideways on that, but it's—

No, I think it's wonderful. I'm glad that you did, because as I said, we're talking about some pretty nuanced things here. And that, that true self— and, and we're, we're— I believe we're multi-dimensional beings, that we are a lot more complex than we think we are. Some people think we're just our bodies. Some people think we're our minds. Some people think we're our brains. But even when we become spiritual, it was like, well, now I'm a spirit, now I'm a soul, so I don't nothing bothers me. But as a multidimensional being, we're also human, and our soul may desire something. Like, our soul may say, okay, yeah, I really like to experience what it's like to lose a child, you know. But our human part of us goes, yeah, and no, I don't want that. So there's this— there's always this, this tension going on.

Yeah, yeah, there is. So, but we did, we did come for that. And I, and I don't have the answers. I don't know why I don't know why, you know, you lost your daughter. I don't know why I lost my family and had a lot of other really pretty horrific things happen.

Sure.

For this human, right? I don't, I don't know. But I know now where I am. I'm at peace with it. Yeah, I'm at real peace with it. And I see the gift. And I know that's a very it can be shocking. Like, it can be shocking for people to hear that. So yeah, yeah.

Well, as I said, what I, I try to tell people, just, just consider it, you know. Right now, if it's something that you can't swallow or doesn't resonate with you, that's fine. Think about it, you know. It took me years to get to this perspective that I'm at now, and I'm sure that it took you years. You talked about even downloading the framework. It, it takes It takes a while. And even, you know, there's a lot of speculation about why we come. We come to learn, we come to experience, we come to grow. And then people say, well, if we're already perfect, then why are we growing? I don't think we'll ever have all the answers why we're here. But the framework that you present gives us a way of coping with all this, of making at least some sense out of it. And you can take this thing that's happened to you, and you can choose to be a victim, and it is a choice. Or you can choose, I'm going to do something with it. And you're giving people a way of doing something with it. They can accept it or not.

Exactly. Yeah, it's, it is a gift for them. So, and looping back of how the holistic scaffolding, like I said, it's a very long story, but I'm going to give it just a little brief when I first was aware of that it was coming in from the universe was actually when I was in Florence, Italy. And I was standing in front of the sculpture of David, Michelangelo's sculpture. And at that time, I was severely depressed with my husband and daughter. And I stood in front of that sculpture. And Brian D Smith, I became unglued. Completely unglued, just weeping. I didn't really realize what was happening then, but the universe was helping me download the Colossi scaffolding because that's the greatest analogy for the scaffolding. Michelangelo has a quote about David was already in there. All he had to do was chip away to release him. Your true self is David. Programming that we have, have all had, is the granite. The Holistic Scaffolding and the Wisdom Wand and the Wisdom Nuggets are the tools and the framework to free yourself. And that's another huge thing, is you becoming your own guru. It's so powerful.

Yeah, that, that's beautiful. And that wasn't long at all. And I, I got covered with goosebumps as you said that, because there's such a— I love that, that analogy. And I have heard that quote from Michelangelo. And to equate that to the human, it's really interesting, because I see it as like, this is the cycle we come in. I think we're perfect when we come in. I think babies are still connected to the other side, they're perfect. But then we do take on all this stuff. And then we forget, like I said, we forget who we are. We don't even know where we we end and the programming begins. Um, and I think it's really— I'm, I'm in the movies and stuff, so The Matrix covers this. There's a movie by Pink Floyd called The Wall. I love The Wall. And I just, I, I watched The Wall. I was, I was talking with the guy— it hasn't come out yet, but I was interviewing a guy. We were talking about our favorite movies, and we both said The Wall. We're both— and we're about the same age. And yeah, it's just so well done because this guy's taking on all this stuff from his mother and his father and his teachers and everything else. And then he realizes he's built a prison for himself. And that's kind of that, that block of granite that we are, and we can, we can chip away at that and get back to our true self. That's the game I think we play as humans. And so I think the nutshell, I think that's why we come. It's, it's, it's kind of a game from a spirit perspective. It's like, can you figure this out?

Yeah, yeah.

How free can you get yourself in this lifetime while you're still in the matrix?

Yeah, exactly. It's a challenge. But a challenge that is so worth it. And you know that as well. And that's, that's a big message of hope for humanity is, yeah, it can be challenging, but it's so worth it. I wouldn't exchange where I am now to where I was 15 years ago.

No way.

Although the facade of what I had looked perfect, because it was exactly how I was programmed.

Yeah. Well, you know, just when, when you first came on the screen, I could, I can see the joy in your face and the way that you're, the way you're carrying yourself. And you're like, but I don't have the traditional stuff. I don't have, I don't have the house, I don't have the car, I don't have the stuff that people think is going to make them happy. And what's really interesting, if you, again, if you're observant, you watch people, The people that have that stuff are usually the most miserable people. It's almost— once you get to a certain point of, of possessions, your happiness actually goes down. And people, people don't realize this, and we think, oh, just that one more thing is going to make me happy. And what I sense from you is freedom.

Absolutely. Because as when I was living as I was programmed, like a lot of humans still are, We have been programmed to look for the external to bring us happiness and joy. That new job, that new shiny boyfriend, um, the new car. Oh wait, I got to get a luxury car. That's going to make me happier. How long does that last? It doesn't. It doesn't. And our ancient teachers, whoever you want to quote, the ancient ones knew That happiness, it comes from the alignment within. Yeah. So what you're talking about, you're right, it, it is freedom. It is, it is peace.

Yeah. Yeah.

And I'm gonna, and I'm gonna go just a little sideways a bit.

No, please.

We talk about, we talk about world peace and we all want it. We all so desperately want it. I do too. But it starts with your peace, cultivating it from within. Mm-hmm. If you're not at peace with who you are, you're still going out on that street or on social media or talking with your mate, such and such should be doing this, they should be voting this way, they should think that way. You're not at peace. I'm at peace. Oh, wow. I love on humanity no matter what.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's a little weird.

No, no, no, I think that's important, especially now as we're recording this in July of 2024. We're all seeing all kinds of conflict and Again, it's a lesson I'm hearing more and more from, from wisdom teachers, and this is coming from the universe. It's being channeled. So we should be— shouldn't be surprised that we're getting the same message. But the conflict we see in the world is a reflection on what's going on inside of us. So we want to go out and fix the circumstances, whereas we really should be looking inward to fix our peace. And if we all did that— and it doesn't mean that just because you're at peace that, you know, war in the Middle East is going to stop. As an individual, but collectively, if we did that, that everything would simmer down.

Yes, exactly. And I, I say that all the time. It's like, I don't want to be your next guru. I want people to become their own guru, because the only work you can do, Brian, and you know this, is on yourself. It's that settling in and doing your own work, and then it's the ripple effect. Yeah, yeah, there will We're on our way. We, we will reach that tipping point in humanity. I know that. It's, it's, it's coming. I don't know how, I don't know yet, but it's coming.

So I hear that, and I hear that from a lot of people, and I, I want it to be true. Um, and, and, you know, um, again, we look at outside circumstances and we go, ah, that— those circumstances don't really indicate that. Um, But I— what it— what it does take, and it kind of comes back to what we were talking about before, like with us individually, it takes something to kind of break us open to say, this is not working for me anymore. And I see more and more people— what I do see is a growing level of dissatisfaction with the status quo, a rejection of this is what's going to make me happy, a rejection of, you know, I should just listen to what mass media is telling me. And I don't, I don't like being a conspiracy theorist. I'm not at all. But I'm realizing that there are times, like this book I'm reading right now, The Great Cholesterol Myth, written by scientists and citing studies. And, you know, and I'm going to my doctor, my doctor's like, you've got to take this pill, you've got to take this pill because this is what they said in the 1950s. And you've got to do your own research and find out this, this—

no, that was the real story behind that, because I've read that book as well, is really, really interesting. Yeah, it's like, wow, that's not how it was intended at all. And that's not what's really true in even the scientific research. Yeah.

So yeah, well, I just started it this morning. And but that's just— I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole. But it's true of a lot of different things that we've been told. This is just the truth. You know, you talked about antidepressants, and I'm not anti-science. I'm not anti-medication. Not even a little bit. But we've been oversold the effectiveness of those. And we've been taught, instead of working on yourself, take this pill. Just keep doing what you're doing, you know, keep living a very lonely life, right? Keep working a job that you hate. And, and you're going— and then people are like, well, why am I, why am I depressed? You're depressed because you're not being fulfilled. You're not getting what your, your spirit needs.

Mhm, exactly. Yeah. And your spirit is literally kicking you in the head. And yeah, it really is. So absolutely. And I, you know, part of my story that I did share was, you know, I was on a number of different antidepressants because one of my moments of change was, you know, being so suicidal. There wasn't a suicide attempt, but, you know, I was taken to the emergency room, that kind of stuff, and then started this cocktail of, like you said, it's an external— we've been sold to think just pop this pill. And, you know, that didn't work for me. And like, you know, I'm not in the medical field, so I don't want anybody to like— but like I said, I've been med-free for 8 years. And not that I don't get SAD, that's part of my human experience, but I'm not depressed anymore.

Right.

Yeah.

Well, it's funny, I'll just tell this story really quickly. When you said SAD, because another acronym, Seasonal Affective Disorder, which I, I thought I suffered with for a long time because in the energy I have in the winter, I have very low energy and I live in Ohio. So it's gray here, it gets dark late, it gets, it gets, uh, in the morning it's late when it gets dark or it gets light and it gets dark early. And so I got this light for my desk, the SadLight, and I was, you know, using the SadLight. And, um, after a couple years I was like, but in the winter, like, the natural cycle is everything else is like low energy, you know, the The trees have lost their leaves, animals are hibernating. So I'm just going to accept in the winter that I'm not going to be as energetic as I am in the summer. Like a friend of mine said she was suffering from SAD, so I sent her my light. This was several years ago. And now I just accept this is what winter is for me.

Exactly. It's a time to— like nature, it's time for you to kind of rest, restore. You don't have as much energy. That's okay. And then when spring comes, you pipe up again. I know I lived in Michigan for a while.

Yeah, I totally get it. So yeah, so yeah, same thing, you know, if you live in the Midwest. And, and I'm so— I've learned, even though I still don't like the cold, and— but I've learned to appreciate it. Also, the older you get, the faster it gets over with anyway. So I'm like, it doesn't last that long. And this is true with anything we're going through in our life. This is, this is a— you know, I think nature gives us analogies, it gives us signs that we can, we can take wisdom from that. So when you're going through a difficult time, look at it as a season. But we typically look at it as like, it's going to be this way forever. It's never going to change. And I just can't deal with this.

And that's part of the power of celebrating you and celebrating your creator. If you're telling yourself that, it's going to be true. But if you're telling yourself, you know what, I'm drawing my line in the sand, I'm not living like this anymore. I'm going to open up, I'm going to learn, I'm going to explore, I'm going to question. And yes, I may have been like this for all my life, for 40-some years, but that doesn't mean the rest of my life has to be like that.

Yeah.

And you can change. Like I said, the Holistic Scaffolding, the fastest way I know how, and I'm using it all the time, and a lot of other people are too. So yeah, yeah, you have that power.

So with the scaffolding, now you, you said I'm giving this away, it's on my website. Do you have a book that people can buy, or any type of a course or anything?

Absolutely. Um, I'm actually the author of the book called Fed Up, Not Fucked Up, and it's available on Amazon. There's a free Kindle version, print version. It's also on my website. There's also, um, a full-blown course that's— it's 22 video modules. They're like 15 minutes, 20 minutes each. Teaches you the whole— all the wisdom wands, wisdom nuggets, all the in-depth on how to, to use the holistic scaffolding, you know, completely. Yeah. To really transform your life. But yeah, there's lots of— I've got like a quit shit workbook. I mean, there's all kinds of stuff, free stuff, assessments. Um, and, and I think we're going to link it, um, to your listeners, a Take Back Your Power. It's a free 5 days, like 10 minutes a day. You're already going to start to transform your life and take back your power.

So yeah, yeah, that's, that's extremely generous of you to do that. I know you said this isn't, you know, this isn't for you, but most people aren't making that generous of an offer. So I think it's really, it's awesome. And it shows your, you know, your sincerity and the mission that you're on. Yeah. So trying to think of the next question I want to ask you, because we've covered quite a bit. So if people are just getting started, and because you do have a lot that you're offering, so where would they start? Would they start with learning the 6 levels you talked about, or where?

I would really recommend that they go ahead and download the Take Back Your Power workbook.

Okay.

5 days, like 10 minutes a day, it walks them through and it gives them a really good flavor of the, the Awareness platform and the Celebrating You platform. So they already start learning in depth what those two platforms feel like. And yeah, it's just a really powerful tool. A lot of people have downloaded it and use it, and, and sometimes that's enough, and they, and they look at the Holistic Scaffolding and they understand it. And then other people, they come back and it's like, oh, I want to try this out, or I'm going to love on people no matter where they are.

Yeah, I—

Brian, I just want people to settle in and do their work, become their own guru, no matter if they use the Holistic Scaffolding or something else. It's time, you know. So people, you know, whenever you're going through, it can get better. Like Brian said, it's a season. And like I say, isn't it time for you to draw your line in the sand?

Yeah, well, I think it's— I, I The fact that you are— and this is my conclusion I've come to— is we, we need to empower people. And I love— you keep saying, I don't want to be your guru, you need to be your guru. And my friend Kelvin Chen, who has memories of like thousands of years of life, and he, he's like the same thing. It's like the time of the guru and man's development, or development's over. It's time for us to take back our power. So you're not— and you've been very clear, this is not a religious thing. This is not like I'm trying to get you to have faith or sell you on anything. This is really a turning within, which is, again, counter to our culture, which keeps telling us, go to an expert, go to a guru, go to a priest, go to a doctor, go to whatever. And the answers that, you know, we've always sought are within. And that's, again, yes. We were talking about— I think both movie buffs, and that's, that's the lesson from the movies that we watch. They're always like, okay, you are your own hero.

And you are.

Yeah. And so you're telling people, accept yourself, accept all of you, you know, which is another, I think, just extremely important lesson.

Yeah, it is. And it's really important to become your own guru because of the information overload that we're all And with the influx of AI, we won't go into all that, but I mean, it's just flooded information. And if you break down the word inform, is to keep you informed.

Hmm.

Inform, in programming, in the matrix, whatever. Um, and I always say, you know, who knows what's best for you? You, your true self, but you've gotta shed enough of the programming so you know what the true self is. Otherwise you're going to be stuck in that repeat cycle.

Yeah, well, again, I mean, yeah, yeah, it kind of like everything happens, I think, for us individually. I think also as, as a species, as humankind, I think things happen kind of for us. And we are at a point where there's so much information but so little knowledge, and we don't know what to trust. And that's becoming more and more common all the time. You know, just more recent events that happened just literally in the last couple days, people are questioning, is that, is that real? Is this, you know, is this real? And I think this is going to force us to rely on our intuition a lot more, to, to say, to test it against our own common sense, our own knowledge, because we don't, we don't know who the experts are anymore.

Exactly. And the big message here is that you are your own expert. You, you, your true self knows what's best for you, no one else. And I'm not saying you don't have a community of people, people that help you along the way and love you and all that stuff. I'm not saying that, like, become your own guru and just, you know, no. But trusting that your true self, your intuition, your gut, and questioning everything else.

Yeah, yeah. Well, Laura, any, um, any last words you want to tell people, you want to leave people with? You've already just given us this great stuff, but I wanted to give you a chance to, uh, so if you want to say anything else.

I just want to know, I just want people to know I love all you people. I really, really do. When I say that, that's not just platitudes. I am so honored and blessed to be here at this time in this place, and I want You— my wish for you is that you can feel the same way, that you find that peace, because it's so worth it. Wow. So worth it. That is our way to world peace.

Yeah. Awesome, awesome. That is so— that's so great and so well said. Well, thanks for being here, and, uh, enjoy the rest of your afternoon.

Thank you. You as well. Much love.

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