Episode 20: Inner Work, Outer Impact with Dr. Susanne von der Becke

Scientist, business owner, board member, environmental advocate, and mindfulness guide Dr. Susanne von der Becke, author of the upcoming “A Mindfulness Guide for Business Leaders Who Want to Change the World.”

Actions, interactions, all the ways we show up in the world: they begin with us. Our inner state sets the stage for whatever happens next.

Our thoughts and actions have a big impact on the world around us, and very much on the people and scenarios we affect through our thoughts and actions.

It’s easy to think that these thoughts and actions simply “happen,” yet – as Dr. Susanne von der Becke, a deeply credentialed meditation, mindfulness, and breath coach who guides individuals and organizations to elevate their positive impact in (and on) the world, teaches – everything we do begins with an intention, whether we’re aware of it or not.

In this episode, Susanne, whose experience includes contributions in the world of global finance and economics, service as a board member to environmental and for-good organizations, and as a leadership guide, shares the mindsets and practices that guide not only her teaching but the way she lives her life.

I absolutely loved getting to know Susanne, who is authoring the upcoming book “A Mindfulness Guide for Business Leaders Who Want to Change the World,” and feel honored to share her wisdom with you.

Take a moment to learn more about Susanne through the videos shared below.

Wonderful tips from Susanne on cultivating a satisfying meditation practice. She removes the all-too-frequent self judgement from cultivating a practice. Inner work, she teaches, is key to a path of alignment with our desired personal growth.

“We keep forgetting that we are already having an impact with everything we do.” The power of intention and choice is Dr. von der Becke’s key to escaping from autopilot – and elevating our desired impact in the world.

Explore the resources Susanne shares on her website, www.vdbinsights.com – and be sure to follow her on Instagram, where she shares guidance on leadership, meditation, care for the planet, and other gifts of wisdom. You can also follow her on LinkedIn.

Learn more about the Klosters Forum, a global ecosystem elevating collaboration and connection between people shaping solutions to global environmental issues.

I encourage you to visit Susanne’s excellent online Resource Page, which features video, audio, and written teaching and reflections from Suzanne. It’s a generous and actionable collection of ideas; highly recommended.

Change, it’s said, begins within. Susanne von der Becke teaches how. Visit her website at vdbinsights.com.

Global Indigenous wisdom carries an essential message for our time: one that connects to ourselves, one another, and to the sustainer of life: our earth. Countless voices are rising around the globe, reawakening wisdom that sustained our ancestors and that keeps Native and land-based peoples from a vast range of traditions holding on, even with hope, today.

I am grateful beyond words for the teachings of American (North and South) Indigenous teachers, from Australian Aboriginal and Maori leaders, from countless African traditions, and from the preserved memories of pre-colonial Europeans in Wales, Scandanavia, France, Britan, and other areas. There are so many more to name, and I often wonder: for each of us, how many generations do we need to go back before we encounter OUR ancestor’s story of earth-based knowledge being “civilized” out of us?

Please enjoy the inspiring voices below. Their messages are but three of many.

Peruvian healer and spiritual guide Arkan Lushwalla is the author of three books on traditional knowledge systems and how they apply to crisis resolution in the world right now.

Dr. Lyla June Johnston, who holds her PhD in Indigenous Pedagogy, is an activist and community organizer who offers a wealth of insight from her traditions and studies to the world. Learn more about her at www.lylajune.com.

Perhaps you’ve read Braiding Sweetgrass or another of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s luminous books. Dr. Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Her writing shares indigenous wisdom with a poetic voice and deep reverence for the earth.

Tyson Yunkaporta weaves folk wisdom from his Apalech clan in northern Queensland, Australia with deft perceptions on quantum physics, world history, literature, and more. He’s the author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World and the newly published Right Story, Wrong Story: Adventures in Indigenous Thinking.

About that Barbie Movie reference…

I surprised myself by enjoying The Barbie Movie as much as I did. Something about the contrast in how the Barbies show up when under the “brainwashing” of patriarchy – which places them in dutiful, subordinate roles disconnected from their talents and desires – and how they show up when the game is flipped really landed for me. Not to mention the empathy for Ken, maybe all Kens, as they too turn inward to figure out who they are without Barbies being responsible to pump up their identities.

I know some folks don’t love the movie and I definitely don’t want to detract from the key message here, which is about Suzanne, not Barbie. That said, to listen in on the short segment where she and I talked about the movie – which she hadn’t seen at the time we recorded. Check it out: ”Barbie Bonus Page.” Enjoy!

As we both reflected on our interview, I asked Suzanne to add a few thoughts about how her ongoing inner practices have changed her. She shares her thoughts here.

Susanne speaks of the importance of a “conscious response” to the challenges we face in our interview. Her insights remind me of a 2016 conversation with Pamela Weiss, a respected Zen Buddhist scholar and teacher, author, and leadership guide focused on the importance of “Appropriate Response.”

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Look below for info on our beautiful theme song, used with permission from the artist.

Best, Ellen
ellen@thebrainandbeyond.com

I hope you enjoy the music I’ve arranged with artist Lucia Lilikoi to share on my podcast.

Here’s her website, lilikoimusic.com … and you can listen to the full version here, and follow her on Apple Music and Spotify. Her website links to a range listening platforms. Enjoy.