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Discovering Self with Kimberly Braun

Release Date: 12/12/2023

Making Room for Love in the Justice System with Cathy Harvey

Fierce Conversations with Toby

Trigger warning/disclaimer: This episode contains discussions about death, including personal experiences and journeys. The content may be emotionally intense and could be triggering for some individuals. If you find these discussions distressing, it may be advisable to skip this episode or listen with caution. Remember to prioritize your mental and emotional well-being. “And so she (our daughter Anna who was nearly her college graduation) signed off her Facebook that morning with four words, “getting near the end.” That evening there was a knock on the door and two men dressed in...

One Little Pearl with Judy Helm Wright

Fierce Conversations with Toby

The symbol of the artichoke has great meaning for Judy in her teaching and writing. As she works with families, she sees that frequently only the outer edges are exposed, which can be prickly and sometimes bitter to the taste. But, as you expose the artichoke - and people - to warmth, caring, and time, gradually the leaves begin to open and expose the real treasure–the heart. Judy has written more than 20 books, and hundreds of articles and speaks internationally on family, parenting, and relationship issues, including communication, encouragement, and end-of-life. Some of our fierce...

Focusing on the Next Best Step with Charli Hoffman

Fierce Conversations with Toby

“It isn't that I had it all figured out, it's that I just focused on the next right step.” - Charli Hoffman, CEO of Time Hackers Unite, Founder of Sparkle Warriors Book Club, and today’s guest on Fierce Conversations with Toby Some of our fierce topics today: [04:58] At 13, I came home from school one day and my mom had put all of my stuff in garbage bags on the porch and locked the house and told me I didn't live there anymore. [06:39] Books were my salvation. [07:49] I was in so many unsafe situations, but I could make someone laugh. [10:11] There's great value in putting...

The Age of Invisibility with Susan J. Godwin

Fierce Conversations with Toby

“And the point is, you can do it. You have more strength than you think you do. You can go through these tough situations. You move through that adversity, and you move through those struggles. And you keep going.” Susan J. Godwin, fervent educator, writer, freelance artist, and today’s guest on Fierce Conversations with Toby Some of our fierce topics today: [03:28] It shouldn't be called breaking up, because that implies a quick break. It's more like a taffy pull. [04:50] I discovered a female court of writers in the late 17th century....

Stories that Matter with Pat Black-Gould

Fierce Conversations with Toby

“And the point is, you can do it. You have more strength than you think you do. You can go through these tough situations. You move through that adversity, and you move through those struggles. And you keep going.” - Pat Black-Gould, Ph.D., clinical psychologist award-winning children’s book author, fiction author, playwright, and today’s guest on Fierce Conversations with Toby Some of our fierce topics today: [09:19] The Paperclip project, is a teacher’s desire to show her students just how big a number is. [11:43] Turning a...

I Could Hear Their Voices... Speaking out of the Darkness with Jean Trounstine

Fierce Conversations with Toby

“The women of Framingham (Prison) sought a way out and their struggles gave them dignity. I could hear their voices speaking out of the darkness.” - Jean Trounstine, author, activist, professor emerita at Middlesex Community College in Lowell, Massachusetts, and today’s guest on Fierce Conversations with Toby Some of our fierce topics today: [02:57] I began working with people in prison and, it changed me, it turned me into a prison activist, and it turned me into a writer. [04:50] If my students tackled Shakespeare, a writer they thought beyond reach, they would also be...

I Am Enough with Tanaine Jenkins

Fierce Conversations with Toby

“For eight years, I was ashamed of my story. I learned that my story is freeing. Other people need to know that in telling their own story you can take your power back. And it takes away the power of those who are holding your story against you. Don't be the person others believe you should be just because you're a felon. I am enough. And so are you.” - Tanaine Jenkins, best-selling author, TedX Speaker, Director of The Florida Safety Coalition, and today’s guest on Fierce Conversations with Toby Some of our fierce...

Filling a Niche with Hannah Rumsey

Fierce Conversations with Toby

“I feel like it's gotten to the point where we're so scared of crossing a boundary that we just say nothing.” - Hannah Rumsey, developmental editor & writing coach for Sara Connell Coaching, Inc., creator and host of the podcast “Friends Missing Friends”, and today’s guest on Fierce Conversations with Toby. Hannah Rumsey talks with those who have experienced the death of friends, grief experts, and more, to normalize the complex grief of losing a friend in a world that often doesn’t understand. “I lost a dear friend several...

Together We Can with Natasha Dasher

Fierce Conversations with Toby

Natasha Dasher is on a life mission to help Returning Citizens realize their true potential. She is an appointed Commissioner for Returning Citizens and Re-Entry Affairs and the co-chair of the DC Democratic Caucus for Returning Citizens. Some of our fierce topics today: [7:38] Natasha started the ButterFly village to help children deal with social media and the stigma of having an incarcerated parent whose case is in the news. [14:07] Choosing not to be a victim by taking ownership of your poor decisions. [19:14] The power of community. [27:42] The importance of a re-entry plan begins...

The Importance of Contradiction with Brittany Means

Fierce Conversations with Toby

Find all interviews at Transcripts available at In this episode, Brittany Means discusses her new memoir, Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways. About Brittany Means: Brittany Means is a writer and editor living in Albuquerque, NM. A graduate of Iowa's MFA Nonfiction Writing Program, Means has worked with Inara Verzemnieks and Kiese Laymon. She has received several awards for her work, including the Magdalena Award, the Herodotus Award, and the Grace Paley Fellowship at Under the Volcano. Notes from Toby: I have long been a fan of Jeannette Walls. Her memoir Glass Castle gave me...

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Transcripts available at https://tobydorr.com/podcast-schedule/

When we know the hard choice is right, in a way, it's not hard because we can't not do it.

- Kimberly Braun, TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and today’s guest on Fierce Conversations with Toby

Join us as Kimberly Braun shares her extraordinary life journey with us. Kimberly discusses her challenging decision to join a monastery at the age of 24, becoming a cloistered nun, and the emotional difficulty of leaving the monastery after ten and a half years. She recounts a profound spiritual experience that led her to question her vows, ultimately receiving permission from the Pope to leave. Kimberly also reflects on the transition back to the secular world, the overwhelming noise and technological changes, and the emotional challenges of reintegrating with her family. Together, we will learn about the transformative power of healing.

Some of our fierce topics today:

[00:05] Introduction

[1:57] Joining the Monastery

Kimberly discusses the hardest decision she ever had to make, which was joining the monastery at the age of 24.

[06:59] Leaving the Monastery and Inner Illumination

Kimberly shares the moment of inner illumination in her hermitage in August of the year 2000, leading to her decision to leave the monastery after 10 and a half years.

[20:58] Changes in Childhood and Parental Busyness

Reflecting on the differences in childhood experiences, emphasizing a shift in parental availability and busyness.

[23:10] Mentors and Spiritual Exploration

Kimberly’s perspective on mentorship, including finding wisdom in various people and spiritual experiences.

[24:15] - Discovering Self Summit

Introduction to Kimberly Braun's online summit, "Discovering Self," with details about the summit's format, contributors, and the broad theme of self-discovery applicable to all individuals.

[33:06] - Overcoming Challenges and Kimberly’s new book Miracles in the Naked Light.

About Kimberly Braun:

Kimberly Braun, impelled from earliest childhood experiences, has spent over a decade as a monastic nun exploring the path of Presence. With a master’s in theology, she lives to inspire others to connect to, and live from, Divine Love at their center.

She is a TEDx speaker and former meditation faculty at the renowned Omega Institute. Kimberly’s communication skills ignite transformation on all levels serving others to lives of greater freedom and joy.

Kimberly also has three books currently in publication, Love Calls: Insights of a Former Carmelite Nun, Beloved Found: Poems from the Source, and her latest release Miracles in the Naked Light: The Extraordinary Life in Every Moment.

Curious by nature, deeper questions have been a big part of Kimberly's life from those moments forward. And these deeper questions lead her presently to believe that Source/Spirit/Life Force are within our very center (figuratively.) Yes, in this LOVE, people live and move and have their being.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Kimberly Braun and Toby Dorr will both be speaking at the Discovering Self Summit (hosted by Kimberly), happening virtually Friday January 5^th through Sunday January 7^th. Find out more and get your tickets here!

Kimberly Braun:

Website

All Books by Kimberly Braun on Amazon

Miracles in the Naked Light Audiobook

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Toby Dorr:

Or head to https://linktr.ee/fierceconversations for all things Fierce Conversations with Toby.