In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with someone whose wisdom has shaped so many of our lives for decades, spiritual teacher and author Iyanla Vanzant. In her newest book, Spiritual Hygiene, Iyanla introduces a framework for understanding loss that can transform pain into deep and abiding strength and grace. As two …
0:00 / 47:53
In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with someone whose wisdom has shaped so many of our lives for decades, spiritual teacher and author Iyanla Vanzant. In her newest book, Spiritual Hygiene, Iyanla introduces a framework for understanding loss that can transform pain into deep and abiding strength and grace.
As two mothers who have both experienced the devastating loss of a child, we speak honestly about what grief teaches us. Iyanla shares about losing two daughters, Jamia and Nisa, and how those experiences were profoundly different. When Jamia crossed over, grief taught her the difference between grief and mourning. By the time Nisa transitioned, she had already spent decades doing the deep inner work of spiritual hygiene. Because of that, she was able to meet the second loss from a very different spiritual place, still grieving but grounded in what she had learned.
Iyanla reminds us that it’s from our most broken states that we can begin to reconfigure our body, mind, and soul in new ways.
We explore:
The idea of spiritual hygiene and why healing begins with returning to wholeness
Why the loss of love pulls us into grief quickly and deeply
Grief as a powerful teacher and initiator in a grief-illiterate society
The key difference between grief and mourning
The moment Iyanla realized she had to let her daughter go nine months before she passed
How to stop the “should have, could have, would have” guilt loops in which so many grievers stay stuck.
How to release negative thoughts that feel sticky.
The spiritual moments that shaped Iyanla’s path, including a mysterious encounter during postpartum depression and the message she received after her second loss
Remember to check out Iyanla’s book Spiritual Hygiene and her new show The Inside Fix. You can also connect with Iyanla through her website and on Instagram.
If you’d like to share your story or ask a question, email cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com.
And if you want to get healing support and connect with others on the same path, visit the Grief Healing Collective.
None of us were meant to grieve alone.
Let’s cry out loud together.
