America's Shadow: Finding Inner Peace in National Chaos

When the world feels like it’s unraveling, how do we stay grounded without turning a blind eye? In this episode, we explore the deeper spiritual meaning behind America’s upheaval—what if the chaos isn’t collapse, but transformation in disguise?

We’ll examine the hidden shadows woven into the nation’s foundation and how confronting them might actually be the key to true freedom. But this isn’t just about American politics or history—it’s about us. Where do the same patterns of division, power-seeking, and judgment show up in our own lives? And how can inner work become a powerful force for collective change?

Plus, I share practical ways to stay centered in turbulent times—how to stay informed without spiraling, reclaim personal sovereignty, and tap into a deeper wisdom that can’t be manipulated. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world, this conversation might just shift your perspective.

Tune in—this one goes deep.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introducing Shadow Work for America
• 4:23 America's Faulty Foundation and Shadow Side
• 10:29 Finding Discernment in a World of Corruption
• 16:45 Doing Your Own Inner Shadow Work
• 22:04 Staying Grounded Through National Chaos
• 27:27 Heart Coherence and Sending Love Practice

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Rise and shine everybody. It's time to wake up with Susan. Spiritual awakening can be a beautiful, messy and sometimes lonely journey, so let's do it together. I'm your host, susan Sutherland. I'm an intuitive healer and spiritual mentor. We are all called to rise up above our conditioning and limiting beliefs and shine our light on ourselves and others. So let's get to it.

Speaker 1: 0:28

Hi, family, thanks for joining me this week broadcasting live from the dumpster fire. That is America, just kidding. But I am going to get real about my opinion on the circumstances we're going through, because I want to talk to you about what I see as the shadow work that America needs to do, how we can contribute to that work while also grounding and finding inner peace. When it seems like everything is chaotic around us, you can still feel content, you can still feel at peace and you can still send love and help everyone out there, those that you are concerned about, from your peaceful living room, and so you can create that peace and you can also send that peace. And so I want to talk about some of those practices today, but I will share with you first that I know a lot in the spiritual space don't share their opinions a whole lot. They feel that neutral is the place to be, and I'm going to share a differing opinion where I feel like we are not called to not have opinion or not take action. In fact, a lot of times we're called specifically to take action or to have an opinion, and you will know it in your heart when that is true for you. What is important for me now is to teach you, from my perspective, how we do this, while not casting judgment, while not putting another person or anything outside of divine order because I do see divine order in the chaos so we can accept everything as part of the unfolding the perfect unfolding that we are experiencing, while also knowing our part in seeing things for what they are and pressing our hand on the side of the scale that we wish to move things towards. So that's kind of what I'm talking about today.

Speaker 1: 2:37

Now, y'all know that I am a Hamilton junkie. That spirit has worked with me so much through Hamilton, waking me up with these songs and really speaking to me through that show. And a friend of mine went to the show this week and I sent her a message because she was like, oh my God, it was so phenomenal and I said isn't it kind of wild to watch simultaneously the anticipation and the expectation and birth of a country while also watching its demise. And when I say that, trust me when I say it with a very open judgment, I'm not saying like the end is near. That is not how I feel.

Speaker 1: 3:20

So I'm going to share with you my perspective because I hope it gives you hope. I hope that you will be able to see things in a new light, that perhaps, in this chaos is order and maybe just an expedited timeline of what we were moving towards anyway. So, of course, hamilton is set in the revolution when we are establishing ourselves as a free nation and it has this feeling of newness, of excitement, of potential, of immigrants coming and starting a new life and it is really beautiful. And I think a lot of us have claimed for so long America being like the dream nation for so many. And it has been. I mean, I am married to an immigrant who came here from a third world country and has built a beautiful life here. I understand and I know and I believe in that American story and that's the only one we tell ourselves.

Speaker 1: 4:21

And last week with Rob, I was talking about our shadow side and how opening up to your shadow is not accepting like condemnation forever. It is bringing light to the shadow and that is how we eradicate. It is by being real, by holding ourselves accountable. That is how you make progress. And I feel like for a long time we have had several cover-up methods of how to deal with our shadow in America. Some of it is to blatantly ignore it and pretend it never happened, or to kind of move quick and fast through it and just say, okay, we moved on past that. But we've kind of regressed now and we're trying to pretend that things didn't happen. And so I certainly would not want America to be in the victim mode and saying this is a land with no opportunity. But we are really, really fooling ourselves when we are not willing to look at the faulty foundation that this country was built upon, when it was built with the foundation of freedom and equality, for all that all actually only meant white men. And so we are seeing the fruits of our labor now, where we have established a country where white men thrive and that is coming to the forefront. You know, exhaustingly apparent that that is who is meant to thrive in the system we have created.

Speaker 1: 5:55

How I see. This is that we've we've been ignoring problems for a long time. We have given away our personal power to our religion. We have given away our personal power to our government, to agencies, to our employers, and now we are giving away our personal power to our phones, when we mindlessly look at them for hours and we are not connecting with this internal discernment that we have. We are pretending that somehow we were not gifted with this beautiful, beautiful gift of discernment, this Holy Spirit, this voice for God that is within us, and we have cast all of our decision-making out to corporations and agencies to make decisions for us. That we can now see, it is now beginning to. We're peeling back the layers to see that it has not been done in our own interest. Like these agencies are not working on our behalf.

Speaker 1: 7:07

Even if you look at the food that is manufactured for America versus the food from the same companies that are manufactured through Europe, we get garbage ingredients, we get completely manufactured waste in our food, and they are capable of producing better food and they send it outside of here. However, we have so many government officials that are on the take or we have corporations who are buying out. I mean, I read an article where American Heart Association accepted $20 million to say that seed oils were better for you than something else, like just that is how deceived we've been. And so what's happening now and why I see it as a good thing is that we were kind of going about dismantling the wrong things, like the things that have been built in the wrong way, brick by brick, like one little brick by another, and it's almost like if you're building a sandcastle and you're trying to put it up before the wave comes in, and so you get like two things up and one thing washes down, and then two things washes down and one thing gets up. And that's kind of how our reckoning has been going with this faulty foundation that we built our country on. We do something right and then two things wrong happen. You know, and that's how I've seen it. And now we are taking a effing grenade to the whole situation and just deciding to expose exactly how corrupt it is. And I know that's scary and it feels unsettling, but perhaps we are just expediting the process. And in the same way, for me is before we have seen things, and it's like you, you side with one and they do you wrong, and then you side with another and do you wrong.

Speaker 1: 9:14

And my hope is that in the next few months, as more corruption is exposed on both sides, that we will start understanding it is not one side against the other. It should be the people against the systems. It should be the people who have now tapped into this internal discernment to be like wait a second. That doesn't feel right. That's not right for me. I don't agree with that. But we've been snowed y'all. They have kept us in fear, they have kept us in a poor health, they have told us wrong information and we've trusted them. And I did see something, and it's like the problem is no longer that they're lying, it's that we continue to believe it. And isn't that true? Isn't it true? I mean, we've trusted these people who are just. I mean, most of it is corrupted by power of money. That is how our systems in this country work. Is that somebody's on the take and they would rather have the money than have a good conscience, actually, and tell you correct information. But we have to collectively see that this has been going on so that we can demand better, and my hope is with how chaotic and crazy and across the board bad for everyone.

Speaker 1: 10:40

This administration is taking things that that that could be a really, a really positive move for our country, because we can now have Nebraska farmers aligned with gay people to say wait a second, this isn't working for me. You lied to me. You told me one thing, you're doing another. This is creating an opportunity for us to align in ways that we haven't before, and so what it's had me thinking of is truly what America's shadow parts are, and because I know my outer world is reflecting my inner world, that has me thinking too. Where is that showing up in me? So, where is this discrimination showing up in me? Where is this quest for power showing up in me? Where are the people that I'm putting outside of my love or outside of my scope of who I feel belongs?

Speaker 1: 11:45

And that is the kind of introspection that I think we all should be doing right now is collectively having a look, because we founded our country on these values that were really effed up, that put a certain swath of people ahead of the other, and I know you're like oh, women have rights. Like we couldn't even get credit to buy a house until relatively recently. It was not founded on equality, and so for us to, you know, be touting our free America has been ignoring the fact that it was based in inequality. So this is not like a woke position. This is an opportunity for us to really have a look at ourselves and really choose new values. Choose new values or maybe choose the same values, but in a broader perspective, a span that includes everyone.

Speaker 1: 12:40

And what does that look like? What do we want our values to be? What do we want to put on a pedestal? Because I think if we look at what we have put on a pedestal in this country, we might want to renegotiate that. We might think, oh, wait, a second, is this how we really want to do things in this country? But you have to look at what your own priorities are. Who are, who are you putting on a pedestal? And so, as I've kind of been watching what's happening and as I have these thoughts of like oh my god, america, I am trying to then say, oh my god, susan, like let's have a look inside and find out where this is mirroring me. And I think this will help us do the shadow work that each of us as individuals need to do for us to create a country in a new way to create a country that truly is heart-centered and based on truth and transparency and for the good of all.

Speaker 1: 13:48

Because even those who say they're pro-people and pro-whatever, they have also been creating systems to keep us small. They have been creating wars to benefit economy. They have been creating disease to benefit pharmaceuticals. They have been creating pharmaceuticals to benefit addiction that benefits the same pharmaceutical company that has an addiction clinic. Like the whole cycle of corruption is so magnificent, like holy cow, but we have just been drumming on with blinders, on not taking accountability and responsibility for our own health, for our own education, for our own awareness and participation in the system. We have been sheep and we have a freaking wolf as a shepherd.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Like it is our job to be accountable, to have that inner work, to have that inner reflection and say where's this showing up for me? But also, how have I just been blinded to the process? How have I been taking somebody's word for a vaccine or medication or a diet or a supplement or whatever it is? How am I taking this and not checking in with myself? So I really think what we're called to do right now, when everybody feels like, oh my God, I can't do anything, no, you can, you actually seriously can do stuff right now, and that is to tune into your inner voice, your inner guidance system, because the more we have that sovereignty, that knowing within, the less we can be duped by everybody.

Speaker 1: 15:40

All right, and I mean it is widespread. There is nothing that I read online now that I would not fact check before I shared it with somebody else. Like I don't trust any of it, any of it, and I'm grateful to me for doing that, because I certainly know many who will post absolutely anything and it takes me 20 seconds to be like that's, that's not even fact, but they post it anyway. But there there's like no real information out there. But we have to check in with ourselves. We've done it for decades with our bodies where it's like fat is bad for you and we all go to a no fat diet and they bump us up with all this sugar and then they go no sugar and they create all these chemical sweeteners and give us that Like we don't tune in and say what is good for me, does this feel right? And you have that inner voice that is meant to give you this guidance, so as we strengthen that, we are going to be less susceptible to being snowed by all of these people whose whole job is to feed us garbage I mean, and actually literally garbage. But they are telling us garbage and we're just like hook, line and sinker because it's easier to just believe you than for me to tune into my inner voice. Well, we are done with that. You have this inner voice that is meant to provide you guidance and we have given away our power by listening even to your physician.

Speaker 1: 17:17

When you go to your physician, you should also consult yourself and yourself may be like you need a second opinion. You need to go to a holistic doctor. You need to go to your physician. You should also consult yourself and yourself may be like you need a second opinion. You need to go to a holistic doctor. You need to go to a specialist. You need to do nothing but to have this inner conversation that says does what he is or she is saying feel right to me. We have to start tapping into that and you don't need to be a psychic to do this. You have to just start knowing your internal cues.

Speaker 1: 17:47

Knowing when something resonates how does that feel in your body? Knowing when something doesn't resonate, like do you feel a little iffy when he's having this conversation with you? Are you like? That doesn't sound. If so, your body is trying to help you. It is trying to communicate to you to get a second opinion, but we have been just so programmed to just go with the flow of whatever we're fed, and we have to be done with that.

Speaker 1: 18:17

So the first thing you can do for America and for the world if you're not here and for yourself, is to find that inner voice and know that that is your power. Your power comes from within, it does. And that way, when you start tuning into that and you hear your minister telling you to discriminate other people, that inner voice would be like hmm, does that feel like something that aligns with the God that I know? Like, does this really align with my belief, or could this have been manipulated by man? Yes, that's a little cheat there, but when we start hearing things that don't feel in resonance with our body, that's when we know that we can make choices, we can stand out differently. But we have to allow ourselves to have that sovereignty, to have that power of discernment, so that we are not just going with what has been taught and what has been said and what has been. You know from everybody, it's total garbage, right and on every level. So this is not like you know. Look at what Trump's doing. Well, look at what she did. No, look at what everybody's doing.

Speaker 1: 19:39

If it doesn't feel in resonance with you, like we are called now to find truth, to find transparency, okay, because that's not what we've been given so far. So it's not about comparing this party to this party or even this country to this country. It is about, if we want to know things anew right now, we have to be able to discern for ourselves when something is true. So it's finding that inner voice that can help guide you. That's really important. Y'all Also doing your shadow work.

Speaker 1: 20:17

When you find yourself in judgment, even if the judgment is about somebody acting in an unconscious way, that is judgment and that is showing unconscious parts of yourself back to you. Find them. Find it when you are seeing a group of people and you're like, whoa, how could they be this way? If it is triggering you, there is still something in you that wishes to be seen. Y'all, I know that's hard to hear. It's hard for me to hear too, because that is calling on work that I need to do, and I'll go ahead and tell you I can be as guilty of judging a group of people as anybody else can be as guilty of judging a group of people as anybody else, and I would say that while saying I believe everybody is equal, all of this stuff.

Speaker 1: 21:07

But there is a certain group of people where, if you show me a picture of them, I am going to tell you a hundred different adjectives that none would be positive and every bit of it would be out of my own ugly perception. So I am admitting that I have work to do, okay, and if they could get rid of red hats, that would really help me. But I do have work to do because that is just showing me that for everything I don't like about them, I have it in myself. I have it in me and that's my work. And in order for me to create a country that is based on really unity and love and togetherness, which is what I say I want, then I can't put anybody outside of that and my goal is to do my inner work so that I can let that go to where that doesn't trigger me and I would know that I have done that work. I mean in a lot of areas when I see people who have unconscious behavior, it doesn't spark me up. When it sparks you up, that's when you know you better grab your journal, you better take a walk in the woods and see what's going on there, because you've got the work to do and that's that's what comes up for me when I'm watching some of these videos or news tapes. It's it has that spark for me and I know that I have the work to do and so while I see it in America, it is only reflecting back what I need to be doing as well.

Speaker 1: 22:39

So, definitely, if you feel called to stay on top of the news, limit, limit your, not limit your sources, like stay in your echo chamber, because that's not good, but if you can find a couple outlets that seem like they are at least fact-checking their information before presenting it, or perhaps finding information from a couple different sources. But do not sit in this information all day. Do not put on a 24-hour news cycle and let it run all the time. You can get quick clips to know what's going on. My favorites lately have been the speeches from leaders in Europe. What are they saying to their people, and that will shed some light on what's going on in America. So I have been watching those, but trying to limit my intake to enough to keep on top of things and find what work Susan is doing for America on healing my own shadow, while hoping that America is healing her.

Speaker 1: 23:42

But don't sit in this news all day. It is, it is no place to be. Stay on top of it, but you can stay current and up to date and also not swim in the vibration of negative news cycle. So, in order to stay grounded, when you feel like chaos is all around, go outside. There is nothing more grounding than time outside. It is. The weather is getting nicer. Go walk, if you can walk barefooted, like connect with the earth, and that is a beautiful way to ground. Eat healthy food. Try to find some whole foods, some good foods that are nourishing to your system. It is a great way to ground, meditate and just connect with that quiet voice that is meant to give you the guidance during this time. It can be the eye of the hurricane. That can be your quiet space where, regardless of what is going on, you can find that quiet voice.

Speaker 1: 24:45

Use the mute button on your social media, not just for people who have differing opinions, who you're just like. How can you even think that For the people who have the same opinions but have them 10 times a day and are that constant voice of spark and fire, you don't have to listen to that all the day? In fact, turn your social media off for a little while and just connect with your family, connect with your friends, and you will find how much more peaceful you are by keeping it close. Which we're really called to do right now is connect in these small groups and support each other in that way. I find it really interesting right now to read up on some history. There has been some really interesting things that have come up from the civil rights movement, from women's rights movement, that I find really fascinating. And it's interesting to watch how the country became what it is as we're going through this period of adjustment right now. But it helps me kind of realign what I think it should be, so you can kind of contemplate in your ideal world what would this country look like.

Speaker 1: 26:01

And self-awareness also leads to social change, and so when we are able to take our awareness into our real world through action, that is wonderful. Remember to balance your inner work and your outer action without burning yourself out, because what we need you to do is maintain as high a vibration right now as we can. We need you to feel rested and peaceful and joyous as much as you can. Now. If you have had some inner reflection and you know which are the points that really matter most in your heart, those are the ones that you could find action on. If it is about the education system, or about the food that we eat, or about the rights of people, find a point or two points that really call your heart, and then you can take action from there. There is a lot going on and there is too much to really grab onto. So find something that you feel connected to and take action there. Whether it's calling your congressperson or showing up at group movements, whatever you feel called to do, do it from the place and the values that you hold true to you and the values that you hold true to you.

Speaker 1: 27:25

Now, something I think we should all be doing right now is learning heart coherence, and so when we drop out of our mind and into our heart and make decisions there, we are operating from heart coherence. So one thing great about that is you can make decisions with your heart and bypass your analytical mind. So when you drop into your heart, you bypass your analytical mind and there you can make decisions like that from a place of personal power and discernment, without negotiating your power out to other agencies or even your spirit, guides and angels. A lot of times we look outside of ourselves for guidance, and before you do that, before you have a board of directors that you consult, make sure you are the CEO and that you have that strong inner voice, that strong inner knowing, and then you can seek counsel. But what I really like doing if you are called to take action but don't know how to take action, this is what you can do right now is you can sit and you can drop into your heart.

Speaker 1: 28:29

And when I say that this is what I mean when I drop into my heart, I envision myself breathing. So I'm breathing and I see myself breathing in and out of my mouth and then, as I'm breathing, for over the next minute 90 seconds, I see the breath coming in and out, lower into my neck, lower into you know my sternum and then lower down into my heart, as if I'm breathing in and out of my heart. And for me, I have a, a green green, an emerald green ball in my heart and as I breathe, I just allow that ball to get bigger and bigger and bigger. And so I'm breathing in and out from my heart and this is just a visual and my green ball is getting bigger to where my heart is just growing and growing and the energy from my heart is growing and growing and then I send. When I inhale, I receive love, and then when I exhale, I am sending love.

Speaker 1: 29:32

And so if you want to find a country or a group, it could be our country or your community, or laid off workers or veterans or whatever is on your heart. This is a great way to send love and comfort and hope and promise and acceptance to these people. This is a way to uplift those and know that you're doing this in service, that you are uplifting and you are taking action, and so a lot of times we feel helpless, we feel like we can't do anything, and this is a great way to take action and I promise you it actually reaps benefits. There is something to sending energy and sending love and this is an intentional way and what you send, you receive. And so, as you do it, if you would take, kind of a check-in point before you start the practice. And after you start the practice, I guarantee you you will feel a little different and it might just feel like peace, or it might feel like you've done good in the world, and doing good feels good, and so that's just a small way that you can connect with those that you love that might be struggling, that you can do your part right now. So it's really important for us to stay grounded, but taking action feels good too. So if that feels in alignment for you, then know that I will be here sending love from my heart as well.

Speaker 1: 31:09

I just wanted to share this. I don't think it's it's not that I don't love America that I would see her shadows. It's because I love her so much that I want to bring light to them. It's no different than our journey, and I know that her journey is marrying mine. So I appreciate her for reflecting back some work I still have to do, and I hope you'll kind of take that nudge too, as we, as hopefully our goal now is to join with all of our brothers and sisters and try to build this anew, to try to build this with true values that include everyone and has opportunity for everyone, but based on a foundation of truth and transparency.

Speaker 1: 32:01

And I think we can do that truth and transparency. And I think we can do that. But in order to build a new building, you know, the old one's got to go, and so we have to kind of hold on and do what we can in these chaotic moments. But what you can do is your little part in your little home, and I thank you for doing it. Thanks for listening. I love you. Thank you so much for joining me this week. Be sure to not miss any upcoming episodes by subscribing to the podcast. That way, it's available automatically in your RSS feed. This is a crazy journey. Let's do it together.