66: (Ret) Sgt. Major Sebastien Lavoie - How Do We Cultivate An Indomitable Spirit?

Elise also shares her own personal story of what her childhood looked like. Elise believed her childhood was “normal” until she began doing some of the challenging work required to see our childhood for what it truly was. Elise then began to challenge herself to move beyond the trauma of the past and learn how to grow beyond her experiences. This required learning new coping behavioural mechanisms. Learning how to challenge your own anger and resentment. In this episode we focus directly on the concept of forgiveness and how this may look differently for us during different phases of our healing and acceptance journey. We also look at how to create boundaries in order to help us thrive beyond what was imaginable. 

Join me this week as I sit down with Jon Archambault. Jon served with the military for over twelve years. He then transferred to Calgary Police where he served for another six years; however, trauma began to impact Jon in ways he would be required to better understand. Jon shares what his journey looked like; however, how it also created an opportunity to reconnect him with nature. This ultimately lead to him launching Wired Different, a veteran owned company focused on providing apparel solutions to those who understand the value of outdoor exploration, adventure and connection.

Join me as I sit down with Julia Shelley. Julia was a flight attendant for the United Nations and during this time visited many war torn countries. Julia recounts how feeling unsafe in these environments contributed to health issues. We discuss the impacts of unsafe environments and how they can shape us we begin to adapt to them sometimes in unhealthy ways. We also discuss how this impacted Julia and caused her to begin to socially isolate. Julia's journey does not end there. Julia recognized that she this role was having a significant impact on her and reached out for help. Julia's story is incredibly inspiring as she recounts not only the difficult chapter she faced, but how she recognized that this no longer served her and how she moved on. Julia is now a fitness coach and trainer and is helping so many of people in her community achieve their goals.

Join me as I sit down Jeff Brown. Jeff is an author seven times over. We discuss how Jeff initially chased the concept of becoming a prominent Lawyer in Toronto. Jeff quickly rose to success in this role; however, faced an emptiness within that could not be avoided. Over time Jeff realized that this was not his true passion and that ultimately was losing himself in this pursuit. Jeff had a pivotal moment where he knew that in order to better connect within and the external world he would have to sacrifice his dream and pursue his own healing journey. Jeff leaped for fate which challenged him in ways he never expected. He began process years of stored emotion through traditional and non traditional ways. Upon releasing years of stored emotion and energy Jeff began to write about his journey and new found passion for life. Seven books later Jeff has amassed a wealth of wisdom and perspective into how society faces so many difficult subconscious struggles that most are unaware of. Jeff highlights how important it is to wake up on this journey in life for yourself and for others. The story doesn’t  change when we pretend it was all an illusion. The story doesn’t change when when we get addicted to transcendence and float above it. The story doesn’t change when  fain forgiveness and resolution. The story doesn’t change when we  confuse dissociation with expansion.  The story doesn’t change when we tell ourselves there are no victims.  The story changes when we own our pain. The story changes when we work it through to the lessons at its core. The story changes when we are truly seen in our suffering. The story changes when we heal our heart. We are made of story, there is no shame in that. Either we work through our story or our story will work through us.  ~ From the Book Hearticulations by Jeff Brown

Join me as I sit down with David Sadai. David spent years serving in the Canadian Armed Forces and recognized the impact that military life was having on himself. Through adversity David challenged himself to expand his approach to life and ultimately left the Canadian Armed Forces to begin his own healing journey. Join me as David shares how he "unravelled the madness" which later fuelled his project to become an author and write a book "Unravelling the Madness". David shares how the journey into confronting the things he avoided for years ultimately brought him healing and better connection on all realms in life.

Join me as I sit down with Jeff Depatie. Jeff served as a Joint Task Force for many years which lead to significant stress and trauma. Jeff also began his healing journey as he began to notice the impact of trauma within. Jeff shares his how his approach to acceptance, love based emotions and neutrality has changed over the years. Trauma teaches us much about ourselves; however, it is upon us to move toward enlightenment and harmony. Jeff shares his upcoming release of his project called, a documentary “Dark Night Of Our Soul”. By unlocking the mysteries of trauma and embracing adversity as an art form, this exploration of post-traumatic growth helps us remember that we are a far more resilient species than our current systems, conditions, and narratives imply.

Join me as we sit down with Retired Sgt. Major Sebastien Lavoie. We discuss an array of topics that cover a broad range of lessons learned from a life of service as a First Responder. We cover areas such as failure vs growth and why both are important. We explore gratitude and how identity is an important component of longevity. We also touch on how to accept the thought of our own death as we may take on roles in our professional lives that carry significant risk. Sebastian has become a key figure in mens leadership, not only from a performance perspective, but from a Mental Health aspect as well. Sebastien shares his wisdom on how he has managed to perform at a high level all while ensuring that he continues to grow and give back to others in need.

Join us as I reflect on season three which featured some of the amazing people that help first responders begin their own mental health journey. With gratitude we finish the season and dive into Season four!

Join me as I sit down with Avery Breau. Avery embarks on her journey into becoming a RCMP Officer this year. Making the transition from civilian life to policing is a large undertaking. Many times we may feel like this challenge is insurmountable; however, often times many not only achieve this but flourish in the profession. We discuss different perspectives of what it means to become a cop and some of the challenges in the profession. Join me in a three part series where we focus on the journey from civilian life to that of a Police Officer.

Join me as I sit down with Avery Breau. Avery embarks on her journey into becoming a RCMP Officer this year. Making the transition from civilian life to policing is a large undertaking. Many times we may feel like this challenge is insurmountable; however, often times many not only achieve this but flourish in the profession. We discuss different perspectives of what it means to become a cop and some of the challenges in the profession. Join me in a three part series where we focus on the journey from civilian life to that of a Police Officer.