Ep 132: Trusting The Dawn with Mary Firestone
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Ep 132: Trusting The Dawn with Mary Firestone
Episode 132: Show Notes
Today’s guest is the wonderful writer and founder of Firestone Sisters, Mary Firestone. Mary is here to tell us about a series of traumas that she has experienced throughout her life and how she overcame them on her path to healing.
Tuning in, you’ll hear all about Mary’s family, her childhood and early adult life, her studies in psychology, and why she decided to venture down that road. She shares a potentially triggering and emotional account of being molested as well as her life-threatening experience of being caught in the Montecito mudslide that tore through her home in 2018.
Join us as we discuss what Mary believes trauma is, how she began practicing healing modalities, her experience in shamanism, and what she believes it means to be healed. Mary is an incredibly inspirational person dedicated to helping people work through their trauma in order to become “initiated" into their true selves.
She tells us why she believes her life was divinely protected in the mudslide, why she does not want people to see themselves as victims, and why our bodies are our true homes, plus she shares her perspective on luck, how her experiences have helped her in her coaching, and so much more.
Mary has just written a book called Trusting the Dawn, and today, she also lets us in on why she decided to write about her trauma, where the book’s name came from, and what she hopes to achieve with it. To hear this truly inspirational conversation about how trauma ignites the beginning of true living, press play now!
Key Points From This Episode:
Mary tells us about her childhood, her family, and her hobbies as a little girl.
Why she felt like an underachiever as a child and teenager.
How she landed up working at Julia Roberts’ production company.
TW: For listeners who wish to skip Mary’s account of child molestation, please skip audio between [00:17:05] and [00:19:28].
How Mary’s trauma led her to study psychology.
The unhealthy behavior that Mary noticed while working with people in Hollywood.
Why she chose to pursue her master’s degree in Pepperdine.
Why she believes psychology portrays adverse childhood experiences in a limiting way.
Mary gives us a definition of what trauma is.
What led Mary to practice alternative healing modalities.
How Mary’s form of depression manifests within her.
Why her perception of what being healed means has changed over the years.
The importance of connecting with yourself in order to make the best possible decisions.
Mary describes her traumatic, life-threatening experience in her new house in Montecito.
Why she feels she was divinely protected from death during the mudslide.
The importance of not seeing yourself as a victim of your trauma.
Mary’s exploration of shamanism.
Why healing isn’t always an upward journey.
What made Mary realize that your body is your true home.
How her trauma gave her a sort of initiation to herself.
How Mary’s traumatic experience has framed her as a facilitator in her women’s retreats.
Where the title of her book, Trusting the Dawn, came from.
Mary shares her interesting perspective on the concept of luck.
Why she decided to write a book about trauma.
A look at how Mary thinks about success nowadays.
Tweetables:
“Each contraction and each trauma, if healed properly, can be a portal to a more connected, awakened life.” — Mary Firestone [0:19:09]
“Instead of making people feel cursed and damned for what they've been through, how can we shift that, so it's more of a call to action for greater hope?” — Mary Firestone [0:24:18]
“Trauma is defined as any time that we feel we will not survive, that our mortality is called into question.” — Mary Firestone [0:24:43]
“There's this perception that healing goes [upward and] we just keep getting better and better and better and better. In reality, it's a bit more like [a] wave and [we must work on] not feeling frustrated when we dip down.” — Mary Firestone [0:53:26]
“Because of all of the healing work that I have undergone as a result of the trauma, I think it broadened my perspective and gave me new tools to help other people.” — Mary Firestone [1:02:04]
“I find, when we're so vulnerable and open about what we've been through, it gives people permission to be vulnerable as well.” — Mary Firestone [1:02:30]
“Luck, I think, is what comes from the inside out, going back to our home, our bodies, and our souls.” — Mary Firestone [1:07:21]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Trusting the Dawn: How to Choose Freedom and Joy After Trauma