066: Conscious Motherhood, Purpose and Italian Plant-Based Cuisine with Srimati aka Julie Piatt

Namaste, it's Sahara Rose. And welcome back to the Highest Self podcast, a place where we discuss what makes you your soul's highest evolvement. Before we get started with this week's episode, I am so excited to announce to you my new offering. The Doshas and Dharma program is back. It is all about how you can discover your purpose and make an impact in a four week immersive experience that is totally online so you can be anywhere in the world coaching with me and other phenomenal people in a group coaching setting through the power of the Internet. So this is for you if you know that something else is out there and that it is possible to make a living doing what you love, but you just don't know what that thing is and you're a little bit confused on which path to turn and what you're really good at and how you can make money doing it. And you need the support of a coach and a community to help you see the other side. And I get it because I've been there, lost, confused, not trusting myself and even the last year, drastically changing my life around from blogger to best selling author and really making my dreams, my goals and my visions, my reality. And I created this Doshas and Dharma program to show you that the doshic constitution that you have, the gifts that you are born with, is exactly related to your Dharma, your life purpose. And when you're stepping up to that purpose, that's how you can serve the world and help more people. So if you're interested, head over to my website. I am Sahara Rose. I am taking applicants now. Every week there's going to be a video, a live call with me, plus a group coaching program with your Doshas and Dharma coach in a small group coaching setting. So you're going to get all of that as part of the program. I have the syllabus, more information, everything on my website. It's also on the show notes, so head over there. We're getting started at the beginning of May, so I left a little bit of time because I want you to hear the call and either jump on it or know that it's not for you. But if you're feeling the call, you want to work with me on a closer setting and you want to be motivated and inspired. Inspired and on the path and you don't want to waste any more time because that's what happens when we don't sign up for programs. We don't invest our money, we don't invest our time and action. We end up just wasting our time wasting our life and not making as big of an impact as we can. So I'm so excited to introduce to you the Doshas and Dharma program. How is everyone doing this week? I'm in New York City. I'm doing my live event on the 19th at Ishta Yoga, all about discovering your dosha, the healing secrets of Ayurveda, in a really modern and fun way. If you're in New York, you haven't gotten your tickets yet and you want to come join me, come join me at ishta Yoga on April 19. I will be there from 6:30 to 8:30. I'll stay afterwards as long as you guys want and we'll have a ton of fun. So head over to ishtayoga.com to get your ticket and I am so excited to introduce you. This week's episode, Julie Piot. She is a yogini, a singer, a sweet songstress, a poet, and truly, as I mentioned on this episode, an incarnation of Saraswati. And you know, when I see one, I see another fellow Saraswati person out there. I'm like, yep, you got that energy. So she's a true embodiment of that. We talk about some amazing topics, especially motherhood, which is a topic that I haven't gotten to get so much into on this podcast yet, and something that's so important because a lot of us listening want to become mothers, or maybe we are mothers. And it's such an important thing to discuss because it plays such a large role in many of our lives, but we don't really get the blueprint for it, especially doing it in a conscious and evolved way. And she shares with us about her experience homeschooling her kids and being totally different from any mother I've ever heard about. And her kids grew up to become truly amazing embodied beings. So I'm really excited to discuss with you all of these topics, share this episode with you, and dive deeper into there. And first, a special shout out to our sponsor, you Veda. You Veda is an ayurvedic modern supplement line. They have an incredible formula, their mood formula, which I've been taking to help me fight my adrenal fatigue. Talk about that in episode 59. And it's really amazing because they incorporate different adaptogens like ashwagandha, bacopa, medicinal herbs and spices like saffron, as well as vitamins and minerals we need for a healthy mood, healthy brain, so you can get it for 35% off. All you have to do is use code Sahara S A H A R A@uveda.com and you will get 35% off your order. I highly recommend the Mood. They also have digestive formulas, immunity joints, all sorts of stuff so definitely check it out. I also want to share a review of the week. I've been loving the reviews you guys are sending in and I want to do a review of the week to to shout you guys out and just know that I'm I'm reading all of them every day. It's the highlight of my day and it means so much to me. So this review of the week is by the Devil Mama and her review says Truly enlightening. At the risk of sounding cliche, Sahara Rose is well wise beyond her years, very much so. Her personal interests and ambition, experiences and personality, along with possibly a little bit of fortunate cosmic alignment have cultivated cultivated an extraordinary woman with an extremely positive, valuable perspective and insight to share about this existence in which we've been placed. As I've entered my 40s, I've personally felt unsure of my purpose and how to finally figure it out. Listening to Sahara Rose's Highest Self podcast, especially in combination with other practices such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness, has helped me clear and focus my mind and feel a sense of contentment in where I am, where I've been and where I can go. The discussion of past lives was particularly interesting and eye mind opening. I purchased and read Sahara's Idiot's Guide to Ayurveda before I began listening to the podcast and followed her on Instagram. First and foremost in Sahara Rose and what she shares with us, we are fortunate to have such a passionate and accessible source of positive influence and enlightenment. Thank you so much the Devil Mama for this incredible review. It truly touches me and inspires me in so many ways. Thank you for shining your light. So let's hop into this week's episode. We have Julie Piat AKA Sri Mati. She is an author, podcast host, plant based chef. She just came out with a new book that's going to be out next week, Plant Power Way Italia, which is a vegan cookbook based on Italian cuisine. I actually met her when I was speaking at WITMA a few weekends ago, Wellness in the Modern Age. And she was speaking on another panel and I just loved what she had to say and after I was like I need to have you on the podcast because I just so resonated with what she was saying and I know you guys are going to also. And it's as I mentioned with these podcasts, they're super free flow. And I just let what comes through, comes through. And really the topic of motherhood really anchored in and something that, you know, I think we're all rewriting the stories of what it means to be a parent, a conscious parent, a mother, a daughter. And it's so important to offer in different perspectives on how to do this, because we oftentimes repeat that the same patterns our parents did to us, and they're just repeating what their parents did to them. And for us to rewrite the story and have a new way of being, we have to step into other possibilities of, wow, maybe, you know, she didn't even teach her kids how to read. And they taught themselves not didn't teach how to write. They just learned themselves. So maybe if we just trust, maybe if we just surrender and we just say, you know what? Kids are enlightened, ancient beings in these little brand new bodies, and they actually have been here many, many times, and they know actually much more than we do. Because every generation, we keep on getting deeper and deeper, older souls. And we're coming in with this Indigo era, these Indigo children, which are born knowing things that a lot of the older generation still haven't figured out. So I love this episode because it's. It shows us that we can trust our kids. I think a lot of us were like, oh, these kids these days, they're on their phones. They don't know what they're doing. They don't know what it's like, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, no, what if we learn for them? What if we see them as humans? What if we respect them? What if we give them equal opportunity to speak and talk and show up in this world and follow their own lead? What would that look like? So I love this episode because that's exactly what we talk about. So welcome Shrimati to the Highest Self podcast. Welcome, Julie to the Highest Self podcast. It's so great to have you here.

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I'm honored.

Oh, well, I'm sitting in front of your book that's open wide, and just like, literally, my mouth is watering. So I have so many things I want to discuss with you, but the first question I want to ask you is, what makes you your highest self?

Oh, my gosh. Let's see. What makes me my highest self? Well, what gives me the most authentic connection to my highest self is spontaneously creating just from a pure. That pure connection.

Beautiful. Yes. You're so Saraswati, like, your vibes from actually Playing the sitar and your art. And you just really remind me of Saraswati, who is like my favorite goddess. So I love how you said that, and I would totally answer in the same way. And I think Saraswati would too, if she were here.

That's a huge compliment to me. And as you might guess, she's actually one of my most beloved energies that I connect with. And it's something about her that is she is opulent, she is abundant, but it's beyond wealth. So it's coming to a place of connection with creativity where you're just purely, spontaneously and authentically creating. And this is what gives you this richness of life. And so it's funny because you dialed right, right in on that.

Totally. I mean, I'm staring at my Saraswati statue. I love her so much. And I love how you said richness, because in a lot of, you know, Hindu mythology, it's, you choose Saraswati or Lakshmi. You cannot have both. You're either choosing the knowledge and the arts, or you're choosing the wealth and the money. And I really find them. They dance together. So what, like, what has your experience been with that?

Yeah, you know, it's funny because I've never done any devotion to Lakshmi. Never, ever. Never chanted for that, Never looked to that. And I think it's because, I don't know, my life is about embodying something beyond that. So it's the wrong place to look. For me. It's the out of alignment to look. So it's not like, don't misunderstand, I will have a lot of money and have and will play with money, but money is not the focus. Wealth is not the focus. It's this authentic creative expression that is the true juice that then brings the other as a side note, like, as a. Just as a consequence, as a result. And it's this authentic, rich connection that can never be taken from you. You can lose your wealth, you can be stripped of all material possessions, but you cannot be stripped of your soul connection.

Absolutely. And I think especially now, our creativity is what creates the wealth. So you can't separate that. I feel like in the past, it's been like you go either the money route or the creative route, and now they can be one in the same.

Yeah, definitely.

So I would love to talk to you about your cookbook writing process. Your cookbook is coming out. What day is it coming out?

It actually drops April 24th.

Oh, my gosh. So right around the corner, right after this podcast comes out, it's called the Plant Power Way Italia, and it's delicious vegan recipes from the Italian countryside. So can you share with us a little bit about what this. It's your third cookbook, right?

Yes.

So can you share a little bit about what this process was like?

Yeah. Well, the Plant Power Italia came about from an amazing love affair that I've had with the country of Italy. And again, it starts back with yoga. So I was invited to a birthday party at this amazing villa at Ayis Solana, which is the location that we hold the retreats at. And I had recently rediscovered yoga in this lifetime and I was just compelled to practice, like, couldn't not practice. So I was in a group of people who did not practice yoga, but I was practicing yoga and I just, it was so, so magnificently beautiful. And the energy there was so divine that I, I felt that I wanted to return and bring people to practice yoga in Tuscany. And after the retreat, I actually went to Ravello and I went into some ruins to practice yoga. And about halfway through the practice, I realized that half of the village had come into the ruins to watch me. So I've opened my eyes momentarily and I'm in Down Dog looking around and I'm thinking, okay, should I stop or, you know, what am I going to do? And then I just decided that I would continue with my practice. So I finished my practice, opened my eyes again and realized the entire park had cleared except for one man. And he was in his 80s, very well dressed, like, beautifully dressed, like, you know, so Italian, typically Italian. And he got up and shuffled over to me and he reached his hand out, like to take my hand. And I was not sure what was happening. I wasn't sure what he was going to do, you know, was he going to pinch me, like, what was happening? And I put my hand in his and he looked in my eyes and he smiled and he had no teeth and he bent his head down and he kissed my hand. And then he looked at me again and he turned and he shuffled out of the park. And it was a moment where I had a contact with an energy. It felt like a master energy that had been making a very deliberate connection with me. And I felt as if that was an invitation for me to bring yoga to Italy. So I launched my retreat company the very next, not even next year, like within the next six months. And I brought groups to Italy to practice yoga. And this was before any high end retreats were happening. Like, I was one of the first, you know, that my retreat was at like a five star place. And I did it in partnership with Structure, the infamous and amazing Steve Ross. And so we traveled to Tuscany and we had these extraordinary experiences. And there wasn't like a big spiritual program. It was just basically yoga twice a day, amazing food and a lot of laughter. And we would also go to the fashion outlets and shop like in between yoga sessions. So we called it Pradasana. So and for months I would get back in LA and I'd walk, you know, I'd walk into a cafe in Santa Monica and I'd see 15 of my people connected. Like these trips, like there was no nothing that could parallel the connection that was being made. It was really quite beautiful. And so then I would marry Rich and I went through financial collapse with him. And when we recovered and the opportunity was to start going back, we had books and we had a message and we had podcasts. And so I knew that the experience was going to be quite deep because it had been deep with nothing right before with just the basics. And so we've been teaching these transformational retreats that are literally life changing. I mean, they're a complete journey of discovery that's based around yoga and meditation and inspirational aspirational workshops taught by Rich and by me. Different kind of healing modalities running through the forest and of course eating delicious plant based food. So I designed the entire food for the week. So we're there for seven days. So it's about seven full days of three meals a day of plant based food. And it was just an obvious, it was an obvious for me to honor Italy in this way and to bring this level of food. And the beautiful thing is that my first cookbook, the Plant Power Way, is a family based, very flavorful, very hearty, creative, real food meals for my athlete husband and my growing young boys. Then I did this Cheese is Nuts, which was a total innovation of plant based cheeses. So once I mastered the cheese, I was able to bring the plant based cheese into the plant based Italian dishes with a tremendous success. And so the recipes are super delicious. And we call it the Evolution of Italian cuisine 2.0.

I love it. And when I look at the pictures, it looks like the cheese melts so well. And a lot of times with plant based cheeses, you can't really melt them. What did you find to be able to master that?

Well, you know, with this Cheese is Nuts, which I just published last June, so it hasn't even been a year. I spent two years in an innovation and much in my Saraswati way. I don't read other people's things. I don't look to other people to try to figure out how to create something. And I've always had a knack in the kitchen. Like, it wasn't really stressful for me to cook for 50 people. That's not a big deal. And I had experienced the deliciousness of warm cashew cheese sauce on a pizza instead of like a store bought grated dairy or even grated vegan cheese. And it leveled the taste up. I mean, when you have a pizza with warm cashew cheese sauce and like a vegan Caesar salad on the top, you're gonna maybe fall down on the ground with delicious effects. But what I found out from the cheese was really profound because it showed me that in creation, there are many ways to do things. So if you have a childlike nature and you have this extreme faith and the dedicated devotion, you open up a space for something to be shown to you. And what I can tell you is within my cheese recipes, they are creamy, tangy, cheesy, and they feel great in your body, and they have a very high vibration. So I was able to achieve this with very high quality ingredients. And there are just a few specialty ingredients in a few of the cheese flavors or varieties that you have to use. But overall, I was able to just, what I believe and know is just a better evolution of cheese, you know, one that feeds your body, fuels your body, and completely satisfies our love of cheese, you know, humanity's love of cheese.

I love that so much. And yeah, cheese, I feel like, is like that one thing that people have the hardest time giving up, like, oh, I could never be vegan, because cheese and knowing that there's so you could really create any type of cheese in a plant based way. And I love how you give different options of, you know, fermented cheese. If you want to go that route with the probiotics or just like a quick, like, cashew cheese and just, just blend it up and you have it. So it's like there's really a cheese for everyone.

Yeah, there is. And, you know, I also want to say that I really wanted to be, you know, a doyen of cheese. I wanted to have mastered this plant based arena. And so I wanted to set up a rind, like in a gourmet cheese, you know, application. So I sent away for these molds that arrived in the mail, and they were named things like penicillium bactilium. And, you know, they're asking for the quantity to be 1. 64 of a teaspoon. So that's how small, that's how powerful this bacteria is. So I added it to my cheese, and it was a little bit of trial and error. And I had to combine a couple of them to get this rind to set up the way that I wanted to set it up. And it did exactly like a French smelly camembert. But there was no dairy in it. Right. Only cashew nuts in this specific recipe. And first of all, my kids wouldn't even touch it because they were never raised on cheese. And they're like, that smells disgusting. So they were running away. But I went to college in Paris and loved cheese throughout my life. So I tasted this, and I woke up the next day with cystic breakout on my chin. Those underground pimples that I had struggled with well into my adult life. And I finally put it together that eating mold in that application and wellness is not something that I find in alignment. So I made the decision to not have molds on cheese 2.0 on this cheese is nuts cheeses.

That's so interesting. So do you think it was just a reaction to the fermentation or the actual type of bacteria that it was?

I know it's the mold. I mean, absolutely, it's the mold. And in addition to that and another. Another trial when I snipped the bag open and added it to my cheese and I went to bed, I woke up at 1 o' clock with a complete sinus blockage. And then I also have a friend of mine who just spent two years trying to get mold out of her brain. So if you really think about it, it's not that hard. It's pretty logical. We don't need to be eating that. That's probably not good for us. Like, something that's called Penicillium bactilium is probably something that we don't need to be eating.

Totally. Yes. And yeah, it's crazy that in France, like, molded cheese is still such a delicacy. I'm amazed sometimes when I go there, I'm like, how are you guys, like, eating all this cheese and drinking all this wine? And you're like, okay, I know.

Well, I will say that there's something in the wine that counteracts, you know, so. And wine is such a big part of their culture that they probably have that covered. But I also had the amazing experience of two of my friends live part time in Paris, and they're, you know, really some of the most, you know, celebrated fashion photographer. Fashion Designer and they live here half the time. And they were my main cheese testers for this Cheese is Nuts. So they have begged me to commercialize my cheese and that gives me a lot of pleasure and a lot of confidence because obviously they know cheese so totally.

And I don't think that it exists, at least when I've gone to Europe. I've never seen like plant based cheese options. So I think it would be a huge hit there.

Yeah, it's definitely, I mean, it's, you know, more on its way here, but there's definitely a huge market there for sure.

Definitely. Well, keep us posted if you choose to do that.

Yeah, I'm going to actually. That's actually in development right now. So it's going to be under my spiritual name. It's Srimati. This Cheese is Nuts.

Oh my God.

And we are actually plant opulent. So it is with the Saraswati energy within the brand.

I love that so much. I can't wait to try it. So I would love to know more about how you find time to do all these things. You're a mother of four, correct?

Yes.

And you homeschool them? Do you still homeschool all of them?

No, no, no. I'm further down my path now. So I had four kids of my own and then my nephew lived with me for seven years. So I had five kids. My older boys went to private school in their early years, then came home to homeschool and now they've moved out. They moved out in January. They're 23, 26, 23, 21. And then I have a 10 year old and a 14 year old now and they actually go to a plant based school, local school called Muse. But I unschooled the girls and I need to be very clear about that because I want to be. I want to let mothers and parents know that I'm not this superhuman creative person that can do all these things that they can't do. I unschooled my kids, which means I have a strong conviction in leaving life forms alone, leaving our children alone until they're eight or nine so that they can find their own voice and they can find who they are and they can settle with their own energy. So I did homeschool them, which required basically allowing them to go through life. And then when they showed an interest in something, then I would rush to support that interest. It was a pretty unconventional and very effective and very powerful method.

Wow. So what is that process like? Like the kids wake up and they can just kind of play and then if they ask you about something, you go deeper into that subject.

Yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny, it's really interesting with homeschooling because, you know, there's that implant in the collective. It's the same way when you vegan. And then the first question somebody asks is, but where do you get your protein? Right. I mean, a three year old will ask you that question and they don't even know what protein is. Right, yeah. It's the same thing with homeschooling. The first question that they ask you is, well, how are they going to be socialized? Right. It's the first thing that they say. So, I mean, we live in a super creative house. You know, there's nine years difference between the oldest and the youngest. And even more with my nephew, like 12, I guess. And we spend a lot of life together. So we're musicians, we're artists. You know, their dad is an endurance athlete. We have people coming over here all the time. I'm always making food. We're always having dinners and pool parties and gatherings and, you know, singing and traveling and so there's a lot of life happening around our, you know, just around our normal family. So what that looks like. It was funny because I have this amazing, in these amazing family, Byron. And I'm forgetting her. Annette. Byron and Annette Davies. And Byron was an Olympic swimmer. He was on the COVID of Time magazine, you know, back in his day, in the 90s, and he's a minister. And they homeschooled their kids. So they came over and, you know, their kids are like the president. Like, they walk in and they're like, hello, how are you? You know, and you just, you're like, oh, my gosh. Like your kids, you know, and they were homeschooling their kids. And at the time, I was, you know, I wanted to do that. I was already doing that. And Rich was struggling because he was Stanford educated. And, you know, it was really a leap for him. He was like, what do you mean? You know, you're gonna just leave them alone? Like, that's frightening beyond. And what Annette just told us, she was like, if school's working for you, then stay there. You know, if that works for your kid and that they're thriving, awesome. But if it doesn't, homeschool is a whole other opportunity. It's not like you set up a classroom and then, you know, develop a curriculum and get your kids out of bed and put them in front of the chalkboard. It's that you use life as an opportunity for learning. So if you have that lens on your life, everything is an opportunity for learning, you know. And in the early days of doing it, I got excited about it and I was like, okay, well we could study gorillas this week and then we could do like, we could go like see a gorilla. We could watch a film like with Jane Goodall. I would plan the whole thing, then you could do a painting. And even that level of interference my kids rejected from me. They were just like, oh please, don't even bother. And so I just learned to follow their lead. And they ended up teaching themselves to read, teaching themselves to write. They're both highly able to self advocate. They're amazing. So, you know, again, it's like you go with the flow of life. You don't have to wake them up and get them out of bed. You just get up and you go and you flow and you live and you go to the beach, or you go to the forest, or you go camping, or you spend time with your brother in law who's a graphic designer, or you go to the museum or, you know, there's a million things in life that you can learn from.

I love that. And I think, I mean, it says so much about you, this total surrender of this just trusting that life will teach them exactly what it is they need to learn.

Well, I think this is a key thing and I think this is the big issue with parents and with us as humanity, you know, humanity at large around education. I wrote a homeschool model and have had a dream of creating a new paradigm of education. And I was ahead of my time. I was able to unschool with two other families for one year and this, this model of education will make its way into a book. I think the younger ones are going to be the ones that embrace this from me. I think I was just a little too ahead of the curve at that time. But what I see and what I learned is that one of the biggest issues that people have is around education. We have a lot of hang ups around it. And I think what we do is we have traumas and pains and things that happen to us in our childhood and then we give birth to children and we make this overwhelming kind of statement that we're never going to allow these same things to happen to our kids. And in doing that, we are asking our kids to resolve our unresolved trauma for us. And I think that is the big misstep. Because the truth of the matter is the kids are. Your child is not living your life. It's a completely different, energetic moment in time. Life path blueprint. Sure, there can be genetic similarities, but I think if we take the responsibility as parents to heal our own issues and simply meet our children in awe and wonder of who they are, that is our job. And I think it is more honoring to them and more supportive of them and more loving of them. And anyway, in the end, you know, we are but vessels that these life forms come through and they truly belong to consciousness. They are their own life. They don't belong to us.

I love that and just felt so much just resonating with every word that you said. And I wish, like, every mother would just listen to this episode and listen to you share that, because I think a lot of moms are really coming from a place of fear and feeling like if they don't control everything in the kid's life, then they're not doing their jobs as mothers, as protectors.

Yeah, it's true. And it's this. It's this again, it's an intelligence. So we have to stop and we have to look at what is being presented to us. First of all, who told us that kids become screwed up if they're not put into a standardized educational system? My experience is actually contrary to that because my daughters now are in a private school that's supposed to be a sustainable school, a conscious school. And in her teens, my daughter is being bullied on a daily basis. Now at this stage, it's her choice to stay in. I've given her the option. And she actually is going to a very prominent art school for high school that she applied to and worked on a portfolio for a year and was accepted. So she's going to be moving from this population. But my thing is, why would you drop your children off with somebody you wouldn't spend five minutes with and make them spend the entire day in that population? Like, is it really supportive? In my case, my sons asked to come home to homeschool after spending one year in high school, in ninth grade, because they found it to be completely unsupportive. So they felt threatened in their own high school. They felt not safe enough to share their feelings, thoughts, expressions. And my boys are developed musicians, extremely well read. Like, I mean, they're the most, like, personable, you know, charismatic. Like, if you met them, you would remember them. And the fact that they couldn't go to high school is a big indication of what is going on there. So. And we have all these studies now. The beloved Sir Ken Robinson, who I had the pleasure of meeting a couple years ago, and he just hugged me and was like, you unschool. Like, yay. And he's such a hero. But he is an educator. He comes from that environment, and he's presented very, very clearly and in a very balanced way that that system is obsolete. So we are facing critical challenges right now on planet Earth. And where do we think these solutions are going to come? We need quantum solutions, like, quantum. To get us, you know, to raise us out of the issues we're facing. And those answers are coming in the form of our beautiful children, this evolution of these kids that are coming. So if we take a kid and we put them in a box or in an environment that shuts them down, we're going to miss those miracles. And one of my, like, just a very simple example was my youngest daughter. I didn't teach my girls how to write. I didn't put the dots on the page or buy those workbooks where you trace an R, and, you know, it's an R or a T. I just left her alone. And when she started writing, she has this beautiful style to her writing. It's got, like, these curlicues on it and this whole thing. And it was such a physical, visceral demonstration that if I had showed her, jaya, this is the way you make an R, she would have never made the R the way she did in her beauty. So this is where we're missing. And we're missing it because we're afraid that of our own insecurities, of not being accepted by society. And then we're projecting this onto our kids, and we think that it's important for them to learn to be test takers or, you know, excel on standardized testing. I mean, listen, if you have a kid who's a scientist or they want to be a doctor. Yeah, they need school, do it, you know, but there are many colors of creation, and they don't all fit in that box.

That's such a beautiful story. And, you know, makes me think back, like, of being a kid. I went to Farsi school, like, Iran in school. And we would just sit and, like, repeat one letter over and over and over again. And then she would come with a ruler and hit your hand if you weren't writing it correctly. And it was like, so, like, this is the way. And your hand, everyone's handwriting has to look the same, and it totally kills your creativity.

Yeah, I'd say that that's a very visceral, very, very valuable experience that you have. Sure.

I'd love to learn More also about how you brought up the whole spirituality conversation with your kids, especially because, you know, I feel like a lot of parents who are listening, they don't even really know how to bring that up. Without sounding too preachy. So what was that like for you?

Well, it was very natural because it wasn't something that I started, that I stumbled along in a new way. It was like, I have always been spiritually inclined, so it's been part. It's part of my language. It's part of how I breathe through the day. It's everything but what I would say. Kind of the new awarenesses that have come to me. So my children were involved in ceremony and ritual and, you know, a lot of it was super fun when they were little because, you know, they love all that stuff. So, you know, Mathis would, you know, on Ganesha's birthday, we would float a surfboard down the pool, and she would have had an offering, you know, altar that she made. And we would have candles lit and incense and, you know, and we would play music and sing. And so, you know, we've had that. And then within the homeschool community that I had, we would have council circle where they would hold a big talking stick and come into the room, be saged. Come into the room and be received and seen. Mathis baby naming ceremony was in a tepee on a night where the planets formed a star of David in the sky. And 13 of my goddess friends made offerings to her before she was born of creativity, of paintings, of song, of music, of poetry, of prayers. And I have this chest for her, you know, that I kept. You know, my sons, I became a musician with them over seven years. And we did weekly meditations and circles where we would communicate our feelings and our dreams and our hopes for our music and, you know, well into there. I mean, they just moved out in January, so I had them longer than most, very close, you know, close to me. And. And then there becomes a moment where your children will rebel and negate everything that you stand for, because they must separate to find their own voice. And, you know, I don't think that children in general need to be taught to meditate. Children are already in it. They're already in the moment. And what I've been learning to do and what this last year has taught me is to allow them, my children, their exploration of darkness, of whatever their life is bringing to them, because that is valuable. They need it in order to truly find their resonance in who they are. So, as mothers, we are really guides we bring them in, and you have this moment with them, and then they leave. And they really are just with us for this moment now. They'll come back. You know, they'll come back and in and out, and life will be like that. But that is the honor of being a mother is allowing that movement of this energy to move through. And a lot of it is without recognition or maybe even gratitude for all those moments of presence, of guidance that the mother has given or the father has given, you know, through. In the middle of the night, you know, during times of sickness, you know, it's just. It's really overwhelming. It's quite a profound thing, what motherhood requires of us.

Totally. And, yeah, I think it's. You explain it in such a beautiful way of that we really have these children for a moment, and then they go on, and then it's sort of like it's just a different level of relationship. And I think that. That letting go, that empty space in your heart is something a lot of mothers struggle with. And then they forget, you know, who am I without these kids? Because it's like such a vast part of your life. So what was that process like for you of the empty nester and filling up your soul again?

Well, it's so funny because, you know, first of all, I was never a mom who. I didn't live through my children. So the whole time that I was mother mothering, I was still creating. So there were albums and paintings and podcasts and books and retreats and all kinds of things. And yet there is little that I love as much or treasure as much as my role of mother. And I gave it my all in devotion to create something that was unique, that was outside of the box. And my children saw me go to their. To, like, stand for them in multiple circumstances, like, against society, against family beliefs. I really, really stand for them because I know them to be ancient beings who have lived thousands of years. And the one thing is, I never felt them to be less developed than me or smaller than I am or younger than I am. It's just not my lens. So that allowed us a very intimate relationship. And so when my boys were gonna move out in January, I cried the whole month of December. And I just. I didn't hide it from them at all. Like, I was just like, okay, I'm gonna just break down right now in your arms, and that's it. And, you know, we just kind of went through it together in a way. And they've only moved, you know, 40 minutes away. They're across town. Like I see him once a week or once every two weeks. We have dinner, we do something, you know. But yeah, it's the end of an era. It's an end of that moment. And I want them to leave, you know, like it's appropriate for them to leave, but it still is a bittersweet goodbye to that part of your life. And I still have a 10 year old and I still have a 14 year old. But it's funny because Rich and I do feel like we're empty nesters because I had a lot of people here a lot of the time and like two kids is very mellow for us. So it does feel different. Yeah, it's a journey and an ongoing journey and I'm not separate from the human experience of it. Even though I understand the greater spiritual picture.

I love that. And yeah, I think for. I just saw my own mom really struggle with that. And I'm sure a lot of people listening have felt the same way. And it's so important to not lose yourself for a lot of people listening who don't have kids yet, to not lose yourself in that process. Because it's really easy to, as a mother, just genuinely want to give your all to that child. But it's really doing a disservice not just to you, but also to them by putting all this pressure on the relationship.

Yeah, definitely. And that's the thing is like you want to be a living, thriving example of a being for your children. So that's why actuating through your children, it's an experience, but it's a sticky experience and you really want to show them, you know, and that's for me, it's like if I could be an example of how to create or how to, you know, stand for something I cared about or how to see something through from beginning to end, that's, you know, those are some of the greatest, greatest, greatest gifts of being a mother, for sure.

Beautiful. And I would love to know your advice for people who didn't raise their kids this way. They maybe are just opening up to spirituality, but they want to kind of incorporate more ceremony, more tradition, more just ancient wisdom into their life. How do you think they can start this journey?

Well, I think it's important that as parents, we need to walk our walk and talk our talk. Right. Like, you can't talk about living a spiritual life or, you know, eating healthy if you're not doing it yourself because it becomes like a. It's just lip service. It's not a true embodiment of the energy. And kids can call bullshit quicker than anyone. Like, they'll just know it, even if you never say it. So it would be, you know, I don't know. I would say the. The most opportune time is around the family table creating, like, this moment of gathering around the table where you acknowledge the gratitude for the ingredients, for the hands that prepared, and for this opportunity to share this meal and actually share life experiences with each other. Another way is with ritual. And ceremony is just starting to create an altar in the home in some place this is free of religion or free of isms or dogma of any kind. It's simply a place where you can light a candle or offer some food or offer some rose petals in some sacred floral water, Remembering the gratitude of the life and the connection to nature, you know, at large. And one way that's been really amazing for me was having a family council once a week where we would, late at night, after the sun went down, just light some candles and pour some puerto, or it could just be hot chocolate or whatever it is that you like, and. And go around the circle and have every family member talk about what they're struggling with and what's working for them and what things that they could use help or support with. And simply that process of being heard was really transformational for my boys. And the one thing that I can say with great. I don't want to say pride, because I don't own them, but great celebration is that they know how to conflict resolve. So they're very adept at talking, communicating about issues or how somebody felt, listening and taking ownership of things they need to take ownership of, and also just communicating their vulnerabilities and just saying that and communicating it in the space is extremely healing. And I think it provided us a lot of supportive energy.

That's beautiful. And I love the idea of a family council where everyone shares and, you know, no one else speaks while that person is sharing. Because I see just in a lot of families, it's like the parents are the decision makers and the kids listen, and then because of that, the kids eventually rebel or call bullshit on everything their parents say because they notice discrimination, discrepancies in some things. So just having that, like going back to the ancient ways where there was like a community council and everyone spoke. Having that same level of respect with your children and not assuming that you've lived longer, so you must know more.

Yeah, exactly. And I think this other key thing has been a great wisdom that I've learned, and that is that I think as parents, in an old paradigm way, we think that the best way to deal with our children is to make them think that we have everything figured out always. That the parents have everything in control. Right. So I think this is a very dangerous position to take with your children because your children will never want to disappoint you. And if they see you as perfect, as being someone who has never fallen, never made a mistake, never done anything that you've regretted, they will hide their imbalance from you and you will not know who they are because you've presented a one sided view of life. And this is really key. If we can have the courage to admit our humanity to our children, they will sit closer to us and feel a little more comfort and at ease when they're around.

So beautiful and so true. And I think a lot of us listening can think of times where we wish our own parents would just say, hey, I apologize for doing that, or I messed up and we didn't get that. And then that created like this, this underlying resentment.

Yeah. It's very important to take responsibility when you screw up. And as parents, we do it a lot.

Yeah.

So, you know, it's not about never yelling or never, never losing it or never misstepping, and also being honest and transparent about your own childhood. Like what went down in your childhood, you know, this idea of only. It's sort of like an Instagram, you know, Persona. Right. Like, I'm only gonna tell you that I was perfect, so you be perfect like I am. And then because humanity is not like that, they start to have inner feelings and then that, that creates a conflict within them already.

Right? Yeah. I feel like a lot of parents don't want to say like, oh, I actually failed school or something, because they think that maybe that will give their kids permission to do the same. Whereas really it's just humanizing you.

So humanizing. And the hilarious thing is most likely it will mean they won't do that same thing.

So I want to close with, because this is just an important subject for everyone. But how do you handle, like social media with the family?

Oh, yeah, that's something. Well, it's its own beast, isn't it? And you know, you and I met via that. So it's like, it's an amazing thing. Like my podcast is, you know, like yours. It's reaching people all over the world. It's insane. It's so crazy that, you know, I can hold a retreat and, and I have people coming from all over, you know, it's such an international tribe. It's really beautiful and yet we are at a very interesting moment and I don't think any of us really has the answers to it. So with everything in life, it's balance. So I try to have no electronics up in the bedrooms ever try to take a break on the weekends. And yet, you know, my 14 year old, like they're communicating on social media, like with new platforms that I don't even understand now, like she was doing something in the car yesterday where they're sending facial reactions to each other like on another app. And you know, they're connected, like eight of them at once over the network, you know, and it's a, it's like a social gathering, you know, via social media. So I don't have the answer. The only thing that I would say is healthy living, eating plant based, taking walks, being out in nature, having a creative outlet that is physical. Like writing on paper, painting on canvas, dancing on the earth, playing an instrument. We need these visceral, other modalities because we must remember that AI does not have the divinity of a human being. The human being is divine for its her, his empathy. And any modalities of AI are not divine and are not in the highest expression. So we are at a very interesting moment on planet Earth and it's going to be a wild ride. But we need to understand and be as conscious as we can about really what are we doing. So I kind of view it like we've got a few years to use social media to activate as many people as we can, but I don't think for a minute that it's always going to be there. And like I said, we actually talked before you turned on the recording that the world's changing so quickly, we don't even know what's going to work in three months. So you have to remember that your life is not happening in your phone, it's happening in your presence of your physical being. So let us all find a way to commune and interact with that physicality more in our lives.

I love that. So beautiful and so well said. And yeah, there's so much beauty and connection that comes from, from social media and so much disconnection and unpresence. So it's, you know, I feel like for a lot of people who live in parts of the country or world where there isn't really a conscious community around them, it's like their lifeline into this sort of stuff, into these types of conversations. Maybe they don't have anyone around them to talk about these type of things. But then also it may be preventing them from. From beginning these dialogues because they're just, you know, tapping into previously recorded conversations without engaging in their own live ones.

Yeah. And in response to that, there is a quote from. I believe it was Ken Carey who offered this. He said, if you feel as if you don't fit in, possibly it's because you came here to create something entirely new that's never existed before. And this quote gave me a lot of comfort in a moment where I was being dismantled and going through a spiritual, dark night. And so for anybody listening, that if you feel like you incarnated into an alien family, if you feel as if you're the only one in your community that is speaking your language, understand that we incarnated at this moment in time for a very specific purpose. And you came here to create something entirely new. So, you know, gather your strength from the podcasts and from those people that inspire you, but take that information into your own life and create it in your own part of the world, wherever you are.

Love that. And I couldn't agree more. Where can listeners connect with you, get your book and listen your to podcast?

Awesome. Well, they can go to shrimati.com so that's S R I M A T I dot com and there you can find all the links to the book. I'm Hrimati on Instagram, so if you pre order the book, the Plant Power Italia, you can go to my website and enter. To win. We're giving away one free spot on our retreat that's coming up in May. May 19th to the 26th. You do have to be a woman. It's a female spot in celebration of woman, but it's a $5,000 value and it's an insane experience, so that would be cool. But anyway, you can find my podcast on SoundCloud or on iTunes. And again at Shrimati.com, you can find out everything that I'm doing just on my site.

Great. Well, thank you so much for sharing so much wisdom with us. I think it's so important for people, whether they're a mother or not, to listen to this, this message, this whole new way of conscious parenting and unschooling and just these wisdom traditions that have lasted for thousands of years and just in the past few hundred years, we've forgotten about. So thank you for bringing them back to light.

Oh, thank you so much. Such a blessing to be with you and connect with you and meet you, and I look forward to the weeks, months and years ahead Definitely. Yeah.

Yes. Thank you so much. Namaste.

Namaste.

Wow. I just loved that episode so much. I didn't know where it would turn. And I love how it went deep, deep, deep into motherhood. Because I want to be a mother one day. Some of you guys already are mothers you want to be, or maybe you don't want to be because you didn't have a good relationship with your mother. You don't even really know the role the mother plays in today's modern society. So I loved how this interview really went there. And if you love this podcast, it would mean so much for me if you could write a review in the itunes store. All you got to do is head over there, write a nice review, take a screenshot before you hit submit, and send me over a screenshot of it@saharaatfieldfresh.com and as a free gift, I will send you you the first half of my unreleased book, Eat Right for your Mind body type, which infuses ancient ayurvedic wisdom with modern nutritional science. This is my free gift to you. This book is not out. It will never be out. It is now my 12 week program. It's part of it and if you want to get it for free, the first half of it, 70 plus pages, all you got to do is send your review over to me again. My email is sahara@eat feelfresh.com and I will send you back the first half of the book. Hope you enjoyed. Namaste, J.