What If The Extraordinary Is Just Being Here with Reverend Julie Moret

Cold Open And Shadow Truth

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I just got up on stage and I was doing what I came here to do. I was shining and I was beaming. But let me be so clear, I still had all the stuff. I have all the shadow feelings and all the negativity, and I have all of it. But what's different is I'm learning how to stay on track anyway. I'm learning how to stumble and fall and get back up anyway. I just, it was so precious to me that he was under the impression that I'm like all love and light all the time.

Rebrand And The Show’s Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Welcome to Chasing the Extraordinary. I am Alexia Malocki, your host. We started with the heart of show business. Then we went beyond Hollywood. Here are conversations with trailblazers, game changers, and leaders who don't just pursue the extraordinary, they live it. Find your extraordinary here. Welcome to everyone to a brand new season of my Heart of Show Business podcast, which is now being repurposed and called a new fabulous title that apparently my guest also approves of, called Chasing the Extraordinary. As you know, so many of you have had amazing people on my podcast that I go above and beyond the show business crowd. It's people who are making change, expanding consciousness, wanting to do something with their lives that they're just feeling called upon, that it's not just about being famous and rich. And so everybody's doing something extraordinary in their own way, whether it's raising a child or helping nature or just being part of a lovely community. And so I have here the leader of an amazing community. I have with me today, Reverend Julie Moray of Agap International Spiritual Center, which I also call my spiritual home whenever I need to go and find solace. It's been founded by Reverend Michael Beckwith of The Secret. He was also my podcast. As so many of you, it's one of the most listened episodes in all my 130-plus episodes. But Reverend Julie has a light of her own. And whenever she gets on stage, or even whenever she sits like literally in front of me, I just like feel her light. And I'm so happy to have her. She's an author. She wrote this book called What's Your What, which I am reading it and I absolutely love. But she's also a TEDx speaker and spiritual teacher and someone who just devoted her life to helping people discover who they truly are and what they're here to contribute. So, Julie, welcome.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Uh thank you, Alexia. I'm so happy to be here. This is fun. And I do, I love the title, Chasing the Extraordinary. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Yes. Okay, good. I got the approval of a fabulous leader in our community. So it will stay. So going into before you started, going into obviously teaching others and getting on stage with agape.

Mystical Beginnings And Redefining Extraordinary

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Let's start with you. So, like, what was there a moment in your life where you realized the life that you were here to live was not what you expected at the get-go?

SPEAKER_01 3:02

So I've from very early on in life, I had experiences of astral traveling. I would see angels and spirits. I couldn't wait for bedtime because I would have that complete lift-off experience. So from very early on in life, I knew that there's more. Like what I'm experiencing isn't matching up with day-to-day. And so I spent much of my early life chasing that extraordinary, chasing that experience of being up and out of my body. And so it's really been an arc for me to learn that it for me, it's more like chasing the presence. Like, how fully can I be in the present moment? And that's the extraordinary. That's kind of the whole arc I've been on in my journey. But I would say that from very early on, I felt like there was a disconnect between this kind of mystical experience that I would have by myself, and then what I experienced in day-to-day lives. And I became an avid runner. And again, it was running for those few milliseconds of the runner's high. Same thing through my yoga practice, my meditation practice. It's what I do when I'm on stage. I don't particularly love speaking, like putting on spanks and heels and all the things. Like, not my favorite thing. But what is my favorite thing is to see how open I can become, how fully available to the present moment. And then it's it's just those like few seconds. If I can get a couple of seconds on stage where there's something that transcends where we together as speaker and those listening, where we wake up to something more, like that's compelling, that's exciting. So that's kind of been my journey is chasing the extraordinary. But the definition of extraordinary has changed for me.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Yeah, it's interesting that you're talking about running and almost seeking to be outside of your body, because it's people thinking that presence is just being in your body, but it's just as vivid when you are outside of your body in the moment. And so I love what you said because I think so many people they think I can be present, I think both within my body, but also outside of my body, as long as it's that moment where I guess we see everything and we have a feeling of oneness with the universe.

Flow States And Everest Level Challenges

SPEAKER_00 5:30

And I think we're all chasing that. I yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

There's a renowned psychologist, Mihai Chixant Mihai. Good luck to anybody that can spell that. And he wrote a book about flow. And flow is the experience when hours pass like minutes, when you're doing what you came here to do. It's it can be a challenge, but there's such exhilaration and satisfaction in it. A couple of years ago, I climbed to Base Camp on Mount Everest, and it was so challenging, like so supremely physically beyond anything I could have imagined, challenging. But that just the exertion alone of doing something that was beyond what I thought was possible for myself, it's it's that kind of opportunity opens us up to what else is possible. Like if you can get through a hard thing like that, then guess what else is possible? And then there's an opening up to you were mentioning the oneness when we're in that flow state. Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith speaks of it as meditative when we're meditating. And it's when the known boundaries between the self and the world dissolve, and we feel this overwhelming sense of oneness with the universe itself. To me, that's chasing the extraordinary. That's what I'm going for, whether I'm climbing a mountain or meditating or teaching or speaking, it's or running. It's all those moments when you can transcend the day-to-day and move into more of an awakened state of our oneness with the whole of the universe. That's very exciting to me.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

And it's possible. It is. Oh my

Finding Your What With Real Clues

SPEAKER_00 7:10

God, I love what you said. And I think that's very much in line also with your book. I love the title, What's Your What? And it's, I would love to know like what is exactly your what and how do we recognize it?

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Oh, I love that. You just reminded me, I actually have my for anybody that's watching, this is my base camp picture on my nose. Isn't that cool? Oh my gosh. I keep that. That's actually part of what's your what is about. That's my book. Yeah. What's your what is about clarifying and activating our uniqueness, what is your thing. And when you clarify it, when you get really clear about why you're here, it's we start to, and you give it a yes, we start to oscillate, function at the frequency of what it is you desire, what it is, who you came here to be. And then you begin to attract people, places, circumstances, and events at that energetic frequency. It's only when you're a congruent yes to whatever it is that you want. When I was, I'll give you an example. When I first became the title minister, I'm a minister through the Agape International Spiritual Center, which is transdenominational. It's every religion shows up, it's a spiritual title. But when I first got that title, I noticed that there were some people in my life that had a lot of judgment around it or didn't feel good about it. And I wasn't congruent with it yet. And so as long as I wasn't congruent with it, the people around me, it's like people can sense a whole because I wasn't solid with it. But as I have grown to step into this kind of mantle of spirituality and of being a teacher of spirituality, there's no wiggle room. Like this is just who I am. And so the people around got on board. It's about giving a yes to your own life. And when you yes that thing, the universe rallies. So for me, what's your what was the culmination of about five years of studying people who had made it to the highest level in their professions because I felt like, what am I? I'm good at a lot of things, but great at nothing. Like, what is my what? What's my purpose? Why am I here? And so at the time I happened to be coaching people, and I was coaching some of the best. I had an Olympian and Academy Award winners and several New York Times best-selling authors. So I started noticing what are these folks doing? Like, how are they getting to this level of success? And then I started distilling practices. And so that's what's your what, how to ignite your unique brand is. It's a lot of very doable practical tools. And one of them, this is like the simplest thing, but I just find it so awakening to me. Is you can take out all your old yearbooks, any cards, birthday cards, notes you've ever been given, and just make a list of all the adjectives that have ever been used to describe you, the positive adjectives. And then you'll start to notice that some adjectives are used over and over again. That's a clue. We are seen. We have always been seen. And what was really interesting to me, Alexia, is I was seen by people I didn't think saw me. Like I was seen by family members that I was like, they don't know me, they don't get me. And when I looked at my baby book, my grandmother on my dad's side, what she inscribed when I was just a few hours old, I was already known. I was already seen. And so that's a nice kind of external validation, a great way to see like what are some of your gifts. And then a second part to that is our purpose evolves as we evolve.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

And so when I began, inspiration was what I'm here to do, what I'm here to shine. And so a lot of times I would speak and I would always write the adjectives people use after they would hear me. I would write those adjectives down, and inspiration came up over and over again. And then in the last handful of years, something shifted and I've moved to another level. I still desire to be a presence that is inspiring, but there's something else that I'm seeking to express and be and beam as. And all of a sudden, my the feedback that I get is talking about that, that next thing. And so that's what's your what is. It was really my own personal journey of getting clear about like what's my purpose. And I don't know if you've found it in the book yet, but there's a story I was friends with an artist years ago. And he was, he lived in Paris. I lived in New York City, and the nature of our relationship is we were pen pals. And so I would write him these long, like angst-ridden letters about like what is life and what is the meaning of life and why am I here? I was like 20 years old. And he would send back one of his canvases, and he was pretty successful at the time, but he would inscribe a poem to me. And after this went on for a while, and I have many of his canvases, at one point he said, You should take really good care of these because they're going to be worth a lot of money. And so years passed, I had folded them up. Alexia, they were in a shoebox in my storage unit, years and years past. And then he called me completely out of the blue. We hadn't been in touch for many years. And he said, I just wanted to call and thank you. And and I said, For what? Like I had no idea. And he said, Well, you were my muse. And I was a little insulted because I didn't know what that exactly meant. And I looked it up and it said, source of inspiration. And that was when it was like the message from the universe of, oh, that's my purpose, because I always seem to be at the side of very famous people. And then it was like, oh, I can take that on. That's my gift, is to be a source of inspiration. So I was telling a girlfriend about the phone call, and she said, Well, if you were his muse and he's this big famous artist now, he owes you a lot of money. And as soon as she said that, I was like, I went and grabbed the shoebox and all the canvases. I sent it to a friend of mine who's an art dealer in New York to restore them and hang them nicely. And I had an appraisal and it's a fortune. Like it's like I'll never sell it, but it's a complete fortune. So the message in that is that when we be who we came here to be, it will provide for us. I was being sourced even though I didn't know it. I didn't get it. So that's why when I had that moment of realizing, oh, that's my purpose. That's why I felt it was so important to write what's your what, because I kind of wandered lost for so long. And then when I claimed that's what I'm here to be, that's when I started getting experiences and opportunities.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

Oh my God, what an amazing story, I have to say. So inspirational. No, I didn't get to that part of the book. So now I'm like, okay, I gotta get to that part. But you know what? It's interesting. You wear his muse because basically, through communicating with you, he made affirmative statements of his own greatness by saying that and writing to you, watch, this is gonna be worth a lot of money. And I love that because I think there's so many people in my business, in show business, with all the artists that I deal and I work with, that there's always this scarcity mindset. Like what if what if somebody gets this, that means I'm gonna lose. And I think we all need

Fear Of Potential And A Service Lens

SPEAKER_00 14:40

to know that if somebody succeeds at something and you celebrate that, there is some way where you're also gonna enjoy in that success. Is that I think many people are frightened more about their own potential than their own failure. And I think what many people are afraid of, and myself included, and I've gone through it, and it seems you have, is that when you embrace your potential, people are gonna fall away. You're probably gonna lose friends, you're probably gonna lose some people, and then they're gonna say, gee, it's lonely at the top. Like I am not gonna be approved of by some people, but I don't think so, because exactly like you said, your people will find you as you go higher. There will be another echelon of contacts, and we need to not be afraid of that. And I think many people are. If I step into myself, will I lose my friends? Will I lose my boyfriend, girlfriend, family? Like, what would we say to those people who have that kind of consideration about it?

SPEAKER_01 15:46

You know what? I find this a very exciting topic because when I think of my goals and of wanting something, that could put me in that headspace of being nervous if I get it. When I think of myself as being of service, like what am I, how am I here to serve? Before I get on a stage, and it's a bare, very large venue at Agape, we stream to over 170 countries and territories every week. So it's like I'm in front of a lot of people. If I were to think of it in that terms, I would be nervous or self-conscious. But when I think of it as how much love can I share? How much can I shine? How uplifting can I be? How much can this make a difference, be a healing? Then it's like no sweat on me. I'm just there to serve. So it's a mindset thing that works really well for me. And to your point, I've been very fortunate to have Michael Beckwith as my mentor and my dear friend because he's one of those people that it there isn't a competition. There's just complete elevation. And so he's really supported me and stepping into my own. And by not attaching, like I love doing things both pronged. I do have goals, I do have a vision board, I do have the things that I want. But mostly what I focus on is what's the quality I desire to be as. And when I focus on those qualities, things come to me that I could never have imagined. Like a couple years ago, I got a phone call from South Korea. Okay, South Korea was not on my vision board. They wanted me to come and speak. And Michael Beckwith and I flew to South Korea. And when we landed, there was this great big building that had a banner of the full length of a building, never on my vision board. But having the desire to be light, to be a source of healing and nurturance and inspiration and that thing that helps somebody get back up when they've stumbled and fall, fallen, that energy will provide for us in ways we couldn't imagine.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Yeah, no, you're so right. Because you know what? Somewhere, somewhere out there needs to hear your voice. And I always say to people, maybe you're publishing a book and maybe you're thinking, oh, my friends didn't buy my book and therefore they didn't support me. But I'm like, what if that book gets picked up or that talk that you've just done for Agape online gets picked up by somebody somewhere who maybe was gonna off themselves or who maybe they're going through a hard time and they're gonna be on the street. That's who you do it for. You don't do it for your friends and your family. Great, if they approve it, that's fabulous. But you're not doing it for them, you're doing it for those people out there. They need to hear the message. That's what we do it for. And I always say to even to the writers and the creators, you don't know. You don't know, right? I know you're also talking a lot in your book and also in your website about

Saying No To Strengthen Your Yes

SPEAKER_00 18:45

reconnecting with our no's so we can truly live in our yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:50

Why can be saying no be such an important spiritual practice?

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Good question. I'm mindful that recently I heard there was a billionaire that was asked, like, what's the key to his success? And he said, saying no. I think Oprah Winfrey's done a similar thing, like how important it is to get to your no. And that was really hard for me. It's hard for me in a lot of areas of life, but boy, I'm getting so much better at it. Out of necessity, one is just an energy suck all the times that I do things or go along with something that I don't want to go along with, to not make waves, to get along, to be polite, to be the good girl, whatever. It's an energy suck. And it also doesn't honor what my yes is. And so the more that I become clear about my divine purpose, every single one of us has a divine purpose. The more I'm clear about what it is and I honor it, the rest of the stuff is an easy, it's in or out. There are some acquiesces, like there's some things I'll do that are like a favor for a friend or something. Like, so there are times when I do it, but I'm mindful now when I go along with something that isn't 100% how I'd want to be spending my time. But I think the every time I say no, it like zhuzhes up my yes. It reinforces it, it makes it more powerful. So for me, that's a big part of honoring why I'm here and really validating it. Yeah, I think you what's how would you answer that?

SPEAKER_00 20:21

No, honestly, I think that I would call it like almost empath. I won't even call it a disease, right? Because it's not a disease, but when we are empath and we want to help everyone, we do tend to say yes to everything. And then it does drain us. The way that I recenter myself, and I think it's kind of like a saying no, but also saying yes to something at the same time. I'm thinking if I can put this next five hours instead of getting upset on this animal, just I can use this five hours to create more abundance for myself and more abundance and awareness for the other people around it. Maybe so that's kind of like how I cheat myself out of saying no, because otherwise I would say yes to everything. I say no, as long as my yes has like a bigger purpose to it. And I feel that it's the same thing that you just said. I kind of like I'm saying it in my own way.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

But that what everything you just said is the theme of my TEDx talk, clarifying and activating your uniqueness. And at one point I say, somebody came in here to save the whales, somebody's getting plastic out of the ocean, somebody's taking care of the children, somebody like we all have our real big passions. So clarifying what yours is, when you stay on yours, it's like we're all this great big mosaic. And when I do my piece, we're creating the masterpiece. So that's how, and it sounds like with you, it's making your films, it's doing your creative work, your work. So that's what brings me back over and over again. Am I staying on target with what I came here to be and beam, shine in this lifetime?

SPEAKER_00 21:57

Oh, that is so beautiful. Yeah, it's true. Because we all have to use our gifts, right? I'm going, okay, maybe I can do a docuseries about animal rescues and I can put the spotlight on them, and that's my way to contribute. And I know you spoke a few times about having feeling lost in the past without going into the details on it, if you do not want to, but is there a

Breathwork For Emotional Regulation

SPEAKER_00 22:20

way that you can tell someone who feels disconnected with themselves? Like what is that one thing that they can begin today in finding their way back?

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Yes, I'm giggling because I got off stage. I was in between talks on Sunday, and this beautiful person in our spiritual community came up to me and he asked if I would mentor him. He said, I'm taking all the classes, I'm doing all the spiritual practices, and I still get angry and I still have negative thoughts. And I just started laughing because I thought I just got up on stage and I was doing what I came here to do. I was shining and I was beaming. But let me be so clear, I still had all the stuff. I have all the shadow feelings and all the negativity, and I have all of it. But what's different is I'm learning how to stay on track anyway. I'm learning how to stumble and fall and get back up anyway. I just, it was so precious to me that he was under the impression that I'm like all love and light all the time, which I shared that with my husband later. And he was like, huh, I'd like to talk to that guy. Like, no, I have everything. It's just that now I have some game. I have some skill set. So for anybody, which I think is everybody that deals with all of the feelings, I think one of the first things is learning how to regulate our emotions, our nervous system. And so for me, Dr. Dan Siegel, famous psychologist, he says that felt feelings flow on. I think too many of us try to stuff down a feeling or hide it or bury it, especially if you're in a spiritual community and you want everybody to think we're just love and light all the time. And it's those those stuffed down feelings, they don't disappear. They stagnate in the body, they coagulate, they become the seeds of disease. So the first thing I would say is to take time every single day and simply move into the stillness. And you take a swift breath in through the nose and then a slow exhale through slightly parted lips, and that begins to regulate the nervous system. Even if you're in a heightened state, even if there's something going on in the moment, it allows us to move into a brain state that can actually make an intelligent decision or next step choices. So I would start with the breath and then become a witness. Just notice, like, oh, I'm feeling really what's the feeling? I'm feeling anxious, I'm feeling jealous, afraid, nervous, whatever the feelings are. And you keep breathing, and then you can add in a layer of becoming aware what's your favorite place in nature? Like, what's a place in nature that you love, that you feel good in, that you're in Cannes in your background right now, south of France. What's a place in nature where you feel your very best? Mountains, valley, desert, ocean, field, forest. And as you breathe and you imagine yourself in that place, our subconscious mind can't tell the difference between a real event or an imagined event. So as you imagine yourself in that favorite place in nature, your nervous system begins to calibrate as though it's in that environment. And then as your nervous system calms and soothes, now you have a brain state that can say, okay, this is what's going on. Here's the next step, here's the next thing from a more regulated brain. So that's like everything to me is learning how to regulate my emotions.

SPEAKER_00 25:49

I love what you just said, Rev, because you know what? I think that there's people that think that the feelings is who they are, but the feelings is something that they are experiencing. And so, in like in line with exactly what you said, I always go and do a somatic check-in with myself. And I'm always gonna go say, in my body, I, and I'm gonna feel like what's happening with my body, like what's here? Am I feeling tight? Am I feeling relaxed? Am I like agitated? And then, like I said, the witness, I'm observing it and then admitting it out loud. I am experiencing, I am experiencing anxiety, I'm experiencing fear, and just admitting it without judging it. And when I say I'm experiencing doesn't mean I am anxious or I am not confident, I am having that experience. And so I think when you call it out, you can transcend it. And it goes back into the breath. And I love this added element of also visualizing a place where you really feel safe.

unknown 26:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:48

And believe that I think of us as having three different kinds of brains. We've got survival brain, which is very reactive, and it's necessary. If you're in an African savannah and a lion starts to chase you, you want a good, strong survival brain. The problem is when we start to function in day-to-day life from uh hyperactivity of our brain, of that survival brain state. So learning how to soothe it in day-to-day life when there isn't an immediate threat is very important. Then we've got our emotional brain, which is when I'm like all in my feelings and I'm gonna make it have an emotional response. And what we want to do is learn how to regulate both of those brain states so you can move into your executive, clear thinking, higher brain state. And that's where we can make decisions and choices. So it's powerful to get some game and necessary in this life.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

Yeah, no, you're right. And like you said, none of us are perfect to all the listeners. The Rev is gonna need help when she needs it. I'm gonna need help when I need it. But I think it's surrounding ourselves with good people, having a good mentor, having a good coach. I'm gonna drop where you can find Reverend Julie in case you want to have a one-on-one with her and talk to her. But I think really it's about finding the place where you're gonna feel safe and you're gonna feel the alignment emerging out of yourself. Because how many times have we all heard somebody like random tells us something that we just needed to hear in the moment? It's like they're not even like somebody

Angel Winks And Training Your Awareness

SPEAKER_00 28:20

we know, right? Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

I call that an angel wink. I call that an angel wink when you get when somebody says something or you see something, or there's this thing, and it's almost like the way that the universe says, I gotcha. You're everything's all right. I gotcha. You're moving in the right direction.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

Yep, like here's the answer for you. I just came from some random person or an animal or something, but here's the answer.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Here's the next step to that. The angel winks are all around us. So as we spend our days on the hunt, like today, this moment to move forward, looking for where's an angel wink, where's there some confirmation for the universe? When you start to acknowledge those things, I keep a list of them now, I call them little miracles. Then you notice they're more and more, more and more. It seems like more and more are happening, but really we're just expanding. It's called the reticular activating system. We're expanding our awareness to experience what's always there. The universe is always on your side, it is always rooting for you. It's just what direction is our thinking.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

Oh my goodness. When you then before I ask you the two questions, I'm gonna ask you, it we're talking about extraordinary, right? And everybody's always chasing something outside of themselves. So what's Julie Moray chasing right now?

SPEAKER_01 29:39

I am chasing the presence. I am I am honestly and sincerely seeking to see how deeply, how fully I can be in the present moment. Because what I find that's there is it is mystical, it is magical, it is beyond anything I could strive or vision board for. So I am seeking to be as fully in the present moment as I possibly can in every moment.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

Wow, what a pool, full, perfect

Three Words Plus Closing Invitation

SPEAKER_00 30:10

circle. We started with presence, we're ending with presence. This has been such a great conversation. Now let's see. Are we gonna do the three words or are we gonna do the life mantra or both? Which one do you want to do?

SPEAKER_01 30:24

The three words. Remind me, what is that question?

SPEAKER_00 30:26

So, how do you define yourself in three words?

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Okay, so I am growing, I am shining, and I am nurturing. Like I am here to shine, I'm here to nurture, and I will always be evolving.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

I could not have said it better, and I would add, and I would add to that magnetic. To me, it's probably a fourth word, but thank you. Yes, to me, it that's what I would also say magnetic, because people are naturally drawn to you. And yes, so yes, this has been so wonderful. Thank you for coming on my show. For anybody that wants to check out agape, you don't have to be physically here to actually meet Reverend Julie Moray on stage or on the front row of Agape in Beverly Hills. You can go and obviously go to service on Sundays, it's twice, but you can also go on her website, you can pick up a copy of her book, you can watch her live streaming, or you can work with her personally. I'll be dropping all the info. So there's no way that you can find her, although don't look for where she lives, but look for where you can find her on stage.

SPEAKER_01 31:32

Instagram. Instagram is a great way to message me.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

Yeah, really great clips. And they were talking about her having her little before going on stage from the laundry room from the theater, the backstage and coffee. Yes, yeah, which is so fabulous. So, yes, if you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, rate, review the new version and improved of the Heart of Show Business now. Call Chasing the Extraordinary. There's been yet another amazing conversation and so propos for this new season. Thank you, Reverend Julie, for coming on board. Oh, my honor. Thank you, Alexia. Over and out, everybody be blessed, and everybody keep chasing the extraordinary. Thank you for joining me. Remember, extraordinary is not reserved for a chosen few. It begins with the courage to follow what calls you. I'm Alexia Melocki. If you've enjoyed this episode, please do subscribe, rate, and review. I'd love to hear from you.