151. From Rifles to Roses - Iva Nasr

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Iva Nasr grew up against the backdrop of wartime Beirut. Her childhood is weaved with stories of being nurtured by a loving family - buoyed by a supportive international community and exceptional education - and also contending with the very real, ever-present threat of violence as battles from the war erupted regularly around her. She shares the remarkable stories of experiencing the oneness of Creation, not only in spite of such a dramatic childhood, but perhaps even (at least partially) because of it. 

In this beautiful episode, Iva generously shares inspiring stories of mystical experiences close to her heart. We explore many topics in our time together:

• The profound mystical experience in early childhood in a bomb sheltering wartime Beirut. 
• Finding her voice as she integrated into living in the US.
• Her work in North Carolina with Eustace Conway of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, The Last American Man, and the friendship which developed with Elizabeth through that.
• The roles of Surrender and the Human Will, and how these work together and against each other in the path of destiny.
• Creating your reality based on your choices.

Check out Iva's work here: https://www.ivanasr.com

and read her beautifully inspiring book, From Rifles to Roses.

[00:00:25.730] - Kara
Hello, and welcome to the meditation conversation. I'm your host, Kara Goodwin. And today I am so excited to be joined by Iva Nasr. She is a mentor, speaker and the author of an incredible book called From Rifles to Roses, Memories and Miracles. And having had the honor of getting to know Iva personally over the last several months, I'll add to that list of mentor, speaker and author that she's also a mystic, bringing forth a message of love, unity, and transformation and just this incredible light on this planet that we are all so blessed to have. So welcome. Iva such a blessing to connect with you here.

[00:01:19.590] - Iva
Thank you, Kara. And we are all reflections of each other. So light begets light.

[00:01:28.170] - Kara
Well, thank you. So let's just begin with your childhood. As you talk about in From Rifles to Roses, you grew up in wartime Beirut, and in the book, you artfully described the traumatic events you experience living with ongoing violence, spending time in bomb shelters, and so on. But in those experiences, there were weaved some remarkably mystical happenings. So can you just share a little bit about your early years?

[00:02:01.230] - Iva
Yes, of course. And you just hit on something very meaningful to me, Kara, as you all know, as you've read through my book, at some point in my growth on my journey, I deliberately chose how I introduced myself always in truth. But we have so many different aspects to ourselves. We have so many different stories that make us who we are. And how you begin an introduction and how you begin a story has its own impact, all very meaningful. So having said this, my inclination immediately is to introduce myself as a child of imagination and a child of remembered enlightenment, a child of cradled by the Angels and universal forces growing up in the war.

[00:03:10.830]
Right.

[00:03:11.910] - Iva
And then not to discount within what I'm saying that there are memories and there were traumas and there were some horrendous experiences that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. Yes. I grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, at a time when at a very still, very tender young age, the civil war, which then became a bigger platform of violence that was more global ensued. So I did grow up in kind of the cradle of that as well. So I'm not sure exactly how far you want me to go into that. Maybe.

[00:04:11.450] - Kara
Yeah. I mean, you have so many incredible stories in your book. And even as you're describing how you choose to look back on your life is so inspiring, as you say, we all have all these aspects or facets to our life and how we want to view ourselves and what we want to focus on in terms of our history. And it's so inspiring, this remarkable spiritual maturity that is there where it's like. Yes, this was the backdrop upon which I grew up in these tender years. I mean, this was very formative years. And you so beautifully talk about some of the mystical things that even with this backdrop of this trauma that was going on, you were deep in Source. So I don't know if there are one or two things that you want to pull from that that speak to you now.

[00:05:39.550] - Iva
For many years prior to writing my book, I had the nudge from friends and clients and through Source to write my book. And I had, at the time, so much resistance. I did not want to write about the war. I did not want to be one more voice advocating something that dramatic, that has such a deep imprint and consequence, knowing that I had already begun and actually well immersed on my journey of being kind of the wizard, bringing an entirely different paradigm into view. And then I had a very special experience in Southern France on a pilgrimage. Years into this journey, point being on one of those walks, I received an undeniable invitation and confirmation that kind of translated into a directive that now is the time to write the book. By then, I had made the revelation that I opened up our conversation with, which is how to begin and how to introduce and how to tell and recall those memories. It's why, with deliberate decision and channeled inspiration, I began telling the story of Mowgli and the candy maker in my book. That memory of my childhood and how I connected with Mowgli out of The Jungle Book defined and set the tone for the rest of my memories.

[00:07:50.680] - Iva
And my stories then came started coming these memories that you're talking about. And then I very quickly remember my experience when we had to rush down under duress one day to the shelter of our building, basically the basement of the building in Beirut because of rocket falling and gunfire. I mean, it was one of the more violent episodes of the war. And I described my experience. We became habituated, unfortunately, to knowing what to grab last minute that you deem important, not even valuable, like passports and food and water, which actually food and water was already stored in the shelter in anticipation. The neighbors always collaborated to make sure that that pantry was always stocked if the moment came that we needed those resources anyway. So it was scary down to the shelter. And that's where I had my experience with the candle flame. Yes, that's one of the other stories I share in my book. It was a moment when the sounds of war and the sounds of my heart beating in response to the sounds of war, like just panic within panic got harmonized in a way that allowed that sound to become my metronome for something that created a different Symphony and led me into my first transcendental memory of an experience I had in the shelter with a candle flame.

[00:09:53.190] - Iva
And the candle flame separated from its Wick and did this dance with me. And we journeyed together to a place that gave me a memory and a tangible experience of a different time and space and brought back to me the memory of innocence and purity in the midst of that chaos. And that to this day remains one of my most profound memories. And I'm happy to go into more detail on that if you would like me to. But I also don't want to get too carried away recounting that moment.

[00:10:40.830] - Kara
Right. I mean, just what you've described so far about how old are you at this time?

[00:10:48.070] - Iva
You know, you're asking a tricky question, right, about age. True.

[00:10:51.820] - Kara
I know that you don't celebrate birthdays anymore.

[00:10:54.910] - Iva
But, wow, see, you're giving me so many temptations and temptations to say it's all at once. The unattachment to age is actually, Ironically and symbolically very much connected to that moment in the shelter that I'm talking about, because it was in that moment when the seeds of non attachment to just a linear, almost man made directive to what happens to you at a certain age. Of course, depending what culture you are, what gender, all of that. But the prescription of age can be very limiting to some more phenomenal experiences. I honor celebration of each other. I honor identity, passage of time. I look forward to my later years, all of that. But the non attachment to age very much stems now, like, I'm seeing it even more clearly, Kara, as we're talking that moment in the shelter when I was oh, my goodness, I don't remember the exact age, but I was barely in elementary school. That puts it in context, just very young and like you said, still very impressionable in very meaningful and profound ways.

[00:12:33.490] - Kara
Well, in the way that you talk about that coming back, because when you were framing up how the writing of the book commenced, or at least the confirmation of the writing was in that pilgrimage in Southern France, you said that the memory came back. So was this something that you forgot over time and then it returned back to you, or has that been something that has sort of kept something aflame within you?

[00:13:05.410] - Iva
The memory of writing a book.

[00:13:07.340] - Kara
The memory of the dancing flame.

[00:13:11.350] - Iva
Oh, the dancing flame. For many years after that experience with the candle flame, it was a very pronounced point of reference for me. It helped me not only sustain the more gruesome days of the war, it also guided me to stay open to everything else in tapping more into my gifts and abilities and everything else that ensued. So for a long time, it was with me and then that whole experience and what it was meant to give me and how it sustained me and opened me up and sustained that opening, then became embodied through other rites of passage over the years and other, as you well know, from reading the book, mystical and most phenomenal experiences. So then those other graduated experiences became the more prominent point of reference. So to answer your question, when I got the confirmation and knew it was time to write my book, The Candle flame was not first and foremost on my mind. I had become it. And it brings me to tears like, there's a resonance with even saying it this way. So thank you for asking the question started writing the book. The memories and the sequence of the stories all were delivered and came to me.

[00:15:08.910] - Iva
And it's like I had my AHA, moments with them all over again. So it was a very original experience. I have home chills. I have chills right now. Me too. Yes. So there was no attachment to writing a book or telling my story and there was no agenda. And I had resisted the obvious outline for years. So it was a very pure and original moment.

[00:15:40.690] - Kara
It's amazing. And this one of the beautiful things I love that you're talking about, how there really was no agenda. One of the gifts of this book, in fact, I would say the baseline gift or the foundational gift of this book for the reader is the mystical experiences that are weaved throughout the book. That, of course, happened to you. But through the writing of this book happened for anybody who picks this book up and reads it with reverence, with openness, because through your openness and through, I'm sure, lifetimes of work that you have done moving in this direction. But it has the potential to open anybody up to this mystical way of viewing life and experiencing life. And it allows it to flow through every reader, which is an incredible gift.

[00:16:56.590] - Iva
It's the only reason that I felt justified and surrendered to writing my story. Because at some point, although for many years in the work that I do professionally with clients and delivering messages and listening to stories, a big part of my work was listening and seeing the value and the empowerment from every voice and every story told. And then I got myself out of the way and unintentionally. Sometimes we put ourselves up on a pedestal that we don't even realize exists by resisting telling our own story. So thank you for that validation and for the feedback. I don't take it for granted every time someone shares with me that by reading my book and even, like, flipping through and just getting something from a page or two brings it full circle to me. That's the only reason that I intended to write the book. Now, then through writing it, of course, I have my own cathartic experiences and even reviewing my book in preparation for our conversation today, I'm going, wow, here we go. I'm about to relive it all over again. What's next, right? Yeah.

[00:18:53.950] - Kara
It'S incredible. Ultimately, if we kind of take a linear look at your life, you did make it over to America, and now we live very close to each other. So you're here in Indiana, and so you moved here in your teenage years, correct? Yeah, I think it was in teenage years, yeah. But the mystical experiences definitely did not stop from there. They definitely kept going. But as you grew up and you found yourself in a more stable environment and quite a different environment, I'm sure, coming to the Midwest of America, where did life take you? Because I know that you've had many different versions of life since that time in Beirut. Is there anything that you want to pull from in your post Beirut time?

[00:20:10.650] - Iva
Interesting. First thing that comes to mind is the value of truly contemplated and embodied oneness in our world, especially today, and the unification of cultures and mentalities and all the wonder and chaos that we all bring to each other, no matter where we're from, including from offplanet sources. The first thing that comes to mind when you ask me this is the memory of when I took the oath when I was becoming a citizen of the United States, and I referred to this in my book, how I already knew what a melting pot of experience and culture and religions and languages was. So it felt like such a natural Union and reunion to take the oath within borders of a country that is, to this day and maybe more than ever, literally fighting so hard to preserve the essence of the melting pot of culture and heritage. So it's interesting, I'm fascinated that this is what comes to me, Kara, because my tendency is to almost lost over this part of it, this part being the more legalistic kind of governmental. Yeah. I mean, I'm deeply grateful, but normally it's not the first thing that I go to because you asked me a question about, like, what happened after I arrived here as a teenager, knowing that there were so many other phenomenal experiences that were waiting.

[00:23:05.870] - Iva
Would I have had the same or similar experiences had we not set foot in this country? I don't know. I will never be presumptuous enough to say, oh, this was my destiny, no matter what. It took choices on a guided path in alignment with divinity and the mystical and most phenomenal experiences in this universe. It took all of it to create every other experience that came after it. So soon after we arrived, my parents I mean, this is how things are orchestrated in our lives. And my parents did their own share of making choices on a guided path and all of that. They, even before they were married, already had a cross cultural experience. My father graduated two degrees from Vanderbilt University, and my mom got her master's there as well. And in those early years of their marriage, my oldest sister was born here. So she's, by birth, a citizen. So it was a natural transition in that way. We already have.

[00:24:50.890] - Kara
You had a connection.

[00:24:52.250] - Iva
There was a connection beyond just again, like this kind of connection. So being here allowed me to flourish in a way that would have happened otherwise. But maybe with more delays.

[00:25:13.930] - Kara
Okay.

[00:25:15.310] - Iva
And very quickly grew into determination to find my voice and sustain it and refine it and share it. And so many every other experience coming to think of it, like all the magical and more miraculous experiences all came back around to confirming this liberation. So straight out of high school, soon after first few years in College, I just decided life is my classroom. I can always come back for another degree. And that's when things really started happening, like my experience with the Dolphins.

[00:26:14.070] - Kara
I love that story.

[00:26:16.430] - Iva
Yeah. I mean, so many.

[00:26:21.810] - Kara
Yeah. And you went to North Carolina. Is it North Carolina?

[00:26:26.260] - Iva
Yes.

[00:26:26.740] - Kara
Where you lived? I found this fascinating from a personal perspective. There was a book that Elizabeth Gilbert wrote called The Last American Man, which I read, like 1015 longer. I read, I think, before my son was born. He was born in 2007.

[00:26:47.970] - Iva
Okay.

[00:26:48.470] - Kara
And I loved this book so much that I remember giving it to my best friend because I was like, I think your husband would love this book. I don't know. It's just like such an incredible story. And then it turns out that you worked with this man, which I was like. I felt like I kind of stumbled upon that book because Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of Eat, Pray, Love. And of course, most people know that book, but this was like just one that I hadn't really heard a lot of other people not to that I don't think they made a movie out of it.

[00:27:28.730] - Iva
Did they make a movie? No.

[00:27:32.650] - Kara
But it's a fascinating, fascinating story. There's a really small world around how he built this up. And then there you are. You had been called out there, and it seemed like from the story that was kind of you heeded a call to go and participate in that movement that he was kind of doing his own thing.

[00:27:57.730] - Iva
Yeah.

[00:27:58.280] - Kara
So.

[00:28:01.550] - Iva
In the days that I was still living in Bloomington, Indiana, and at the time, I had gotten into the healing arts and I was doing massage therapy and other related things. And I had met Jane, who had recently moved to Bloomington from New York City. She was working for GQ magazine at the time. And one day she comes to me and she said, you know, ever since I moved, I'm just now getting to the last few boxes unpacking. And there is this article that at the time was published in GQ magazine while she was still working there. And she said she kept it all these years and wasn't sure why. So she was literally, like, on her way to the shredder with it. And she felt so strongly that Ivan needs this article. She didn't know that at the same time that she had this inspiration, I was receiving through a very magical experience. The message that, oh no, you're not moving to coastal city by the ocean. That fantasy is to be lived another time. You're going to the mountains of North Carolina. And I'll spare the details and kind of leave a little bit of mystery to the pages in the book.

[00:29:56.590] - Iva
So I had just had that calling and I was still adjusting to it. And I'm sure knowing myself, I was asking for more signs and prove it to me and show me more. And so she comes to me with this article and it was a 15 page article basically about Eustace Conway and Turtle Island Preserve in the mountains of North Carolina. And fast forward, I wisely took it as a very clear sign, pursued connection with Eustace and ended up as an intern. And I smiled like, you know, to this day, city girl goes to farm. You have no idea. Yes. In my bloodline, somewhere along the line, my father and his heritage and the connection with the land and some farmers. And like all of that. Yes. Was there. But believe me, not at surface. Right. This was a very brave and bold move for me to listen with such obedience. Right. And even Eustace himself, from his own experience of attracting all the romantics out in the world to come and intern with him on the land and to watch the sunsets and gaze at the stars, he would try every trick in the book to discourage you from going basically saying this is hard work, living with the land and off the land and learning the ways of nature and all the reverence and respect and skill and perseverance.

[00:31:44.090] - Iva
It's not a romantic experience. Yes, you have some very special moments, but it's not all it is. And the time I remember telling him over the phone, I'm sure I wish I was like this little fairy or bug sitting on his shoulder to just watch official expressions on the phone, like talking to this little girl from the Middle East, saying, I got her calling and I'm coming to intern at Turtle Island and the Valley of Appalachian Mountains. So he wanted to make sure that I knew what I was getting into. And I said, Eustace, I grew up in a war. So this in a way, Kara, also answers your question that started our conversation today. Like the value of those experiences, I allowed to become blessings and gifts in my life to prepare me for more Grace and resilience in life, to be courageous, to experience Galactic induced miraculous experiences. Part of it was in that moment that I told you I grew up in a war. We didn't have water all the time. We didn't have electricity all the time. Yes. I also had the most amazing, rich experiences. And I had one of the best educations that this planet will avail.

[00:33:24.090] - Iva
It wasn't just that, but it was a good part of it. So I said, don't worry, I come prepared. Yeah, I come prepared. So then I moved to North Carolina, landed at Turtle Island Preserve. And that's how I met Liz Elizabeth Gilbert, I should say, reunited. But we met. She was in the process of writing The Last American Man at the time. Oh, wow.

[00:33:59.170] - Kara
She had not yet written Eat, Pray, Love, right?

[00:34:02.550] - Iva
No, this was early in her career. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it Pray Love was the next book after that. Yeah. So The Last American Man and I actually got to read the draft that Eustace was reviewing at the time they had met, and that's their own story that led them to each other. Now here I am learning how to light a fire without mass or lighter and learning how to make cornbread in a cast iron skillet and milking goats and all of that. And here I'm meeting Liz, and one thing led to the other that started our journey together as well.

[00:34:59.470] - Kara
It's beautiful. It's been many, many years, as I mentioned, since I read that book. But I remember even noticing as I was reading it. And she's taking you through his evolution because he essentially moved into the forest and into the Appalachian Mountains, I should say, and kind of started like out of necessity, building out his life. So building out, like, structure to be able to live off the land. But okay, now I need more stable shelter. Again, I'm like pulling from the archives here, so I probably don't have the details totally. Right. But it's like, now I require a more stable shelter. Now I need to clear some of this forest so that I have room for the life, the animals that I might need to help me to sustain life here. And it was very much a mirror of, like, the evolution of man from our primordial time of really living off the land, almost like caveman kind of things. And then out of necessity, if you want to think of it from a linear perspective, how we kind of evolved. But he really was staying true to doing things as close with the land as he could.

[00:36:45.230] - Kara
And like you say, it was a very challenging time. And he was also wanting to bring people closer to the land so that they can because of the richness that it gives to life. And I remember the point being made of like, we have these square rooms, we have these walls, everything's perpendicular. But that's not how it is in nature. We need to get out of these corners and soften everything. But then there was this sort of because we had modernized ourselves so much, he was having to tell people, Come out of the rain, don't just stand there in a rainstorm like you need shelter now. Sort of balance.

[00:37:32.780] - Iva
Yes. And Eustace Conway and I very quickly became friends. Not that that was necessary, but there was a recognition. And I saw things in him immediately, very clearly that he also was making very clear choices on a guided path in alignment with source and also in recovery of trauma in his life and also seeking refuge in sanctuary. But how many of us can raise our hand? Say, me too. In my own way, he upheld highest standards that could only lead him to the choices he made. He finished getting his degrees at ASU Epalachian State University while living in a teepee wow off of nature and learning. And he has oh, my goodness, Eustace is the one that has stories upon stories, breaking a world record unintentionally by riding a horse from the East Coast to the West Coast in 103 days and having experiences in the middle of the ocean with a sharp. He's lived a very full life that, yes, was in a way, survival base. But he had a vision, and this vision that he had that also connected him with elders from different Indigenous cultures and was honored as a gatekeeper in many ways with stories and wisdom that was passed on to him.

[00:39:48.770] - Iva
So I wouldn't be surprised if that vision that started for him, that was told in The Last American Man that we're not just beginning to see the need and the benefit of the foundation that he's created, regardless of what his personal story was along the way. How many times do we hear Doctor Hill thyself right. So he's a visionary and what is happening in our societies and to this Earth right now. This is a more kind of intense little bit more of the shadow story of Earth. We might very quickly need to learn a lot of the skills that is demonstrated and modeled and set the stage four. Right. Because we might not always have all the resources we have right now. There are some serious changes that are happening. But anyway, one thing I'll add to this, my experience at Turtle Island and so much more that happened over those few years that I was then living in Boon, North Carolina. I had some very profound experiences and very miraculous moments living on that land associated with Eustace and then the other experiences I was having simultaneously. But it got to a point where I realized that that wasn't my forever home at that time.

[00:41:42.680] - Iva
I went through the crossroads in a way beginning to leave martyrdom behind and adopting in a very clear and pronounced way that to this day, I am still refining how evolution and enlightenment and growth is not dependent on hardness and harshness and that we can get to that end, so to speak, through a more celebratory path, through choosing ease and Grace, through. And that opens up the whole other conversation of the paradigm shift which goes to the title of my book From Rifles to Roses. Right. He and I paralleled a lot along the way. And thanks to Liz Gilbert and my friend Jane and GQ magazine and forces in the universe that brought it all together. It's amazing, isn't it? Right.

[00:42:46.450] - Kara
Well, and just the fact that you listened, it's incredible because again, you represent something within all of us as well. I mean, as well as having your own remarkable story, there is something within you that is present also in everybody else. You seem to have more of a willingness to take that step that says, oh, wow, I'm really being directed. I thought I was going to live by the water. I knew I was going somewhere. But it turns out like I'm going to the mountains. But you have that ability to surrender, which is a scary thing for a lot of people because we tend to many modern people are living in their left hemisphere of their brain or however we want to look at it, that rational mind and that difficulty with surrender. But it opens up all of these possibilities. And again, this is the amazing thing with your book, Rifles. From Rifles to Roses is this continuous unfoldment of connection with source that is exceptionally mysterious, extraordinary, but again, available if we keep in an acceptance, if we stay in a yes, and in a surrender and a trust. So it's very powerful in that way and very, again, inspirational, because we can apply that to that which can continue to present for us and say, like, okay, let me stay open here, even if it doesn't really feel like what I think I want.

[00:44:58.890] - Iva
Some of it in some ways came naturally, but I say naturally or inherited or in my upbringing, in my genetics. Right. Like some of it, I had a predisposition. Well, apparently I have a calling. So some of it was natural to surrender or to know how to listen. But a lot of it took nudges from life and other guardianships up that would not allow me to get off track. However, it is always possible because the will of the human will, when it's not in alignment with our divine will, we can be very stubborn and resistant and we justify that life is life. And ultimately, there's no right or wrong. And for those who believe in reincarnation or understand, that kind of continuum will say, I'll keep trying and I'll get it better the next time. So point being, thank you for the recognition. And also I needed help and I got very strong nudges. And that's the mind blowing miracles that I experience, because miracles come in different varieties. Right. Like I say, just a seed. If you slow down enough to just contemplate a seed, let's say, of a carrot, we take it for granted.

[00:47:05.690] - Iva
We go either grow it or go to the grocery store and get an Orange carrot, sometimes red sometimes. But then if you notice, like, pause, like, wow, this one seed made a carrot. Another seed will make celery. Another seed or an Oak Acorn will make an Oak tree. Right. So that's one variety of miracles. But then as you move up the spectrum, like, to more dramatic, intense, mind blowing miracles and things that just whether you're ready or not, so to speak, it will alter your reality, to surrender and listen one more moment. Invitation to decide, blah, blah, blah. Okay. Those like, Earth shattering, mind altering experiences, a few of those came along the way that helped me. Yeah.

[00:48:19.530] - Kara
Listen to reinforce.

[00:48:21.670] - Iva
Yeah, yeah. To reinforce anyway.

[00:48:25.380] - Kara
Well, I love how you bring up the human will piece of it, because I certainly have seen in my life that you can get to a certain level. Let's say I don't like really that term, but you get to a certain place within yourself where you do trust and you're like, I just go with it. And I can feel within me whether something is a yes or a no. I mean, I've had a conversation with a friend recently where she was like, I just feel like there's no choice anymore. And you just keep going with God. And I was like, I appreciate that. And I understand that on a certain level, it feels like that. And there is always choice. So honor the fact that you actually are making choices continuously to stay in that alignment to where you and you're still trusting that. But there is always a choice. There is always a choice that you could say no and you could come out of alignment like that's. A continuous part of this experience is continuing to make the choice. And so there's beauty in there. Again, like that recognition. And I love the humility.

[00:49:43.720] - Kara
I appreciate the humility. And it's also this acknowledgment of like, also you continued to say yes and to refine and to get deeper into that alignment and recognize like, oh, okay, here it comes again. This is that same thing. So I didn't listen the first time. Now I need that second remind. Okay, I'm starting to kind of listen. But it is that like. And that's also where that humanness comes in, that spark that this is within all of us, it's accessible to all of us. But that importance of remembering that choice, that choice piece of it, that it's this continuous foundation that we're building as we go.

[00:50:33.870] - Iva
Absolutely. And really, in a way, that's a pretty good summary of my book, because choice is perspective, the perspective we have on life perceptions, how we perceive things. Like, let's say someone is still rightfully no judgment, but someone is still jaded by a certain experience and hasn't dealt with the release of that trauma or has not really gone into forgiveness. All of these things that are virtues of pretty much every spiritual path of every religion or way of life. So that jaded view sets the tone for a series of choices and how something is perceived. And so you create your own reality in that respect.

[00:51:55.690]
Right.

[00:51:57.010] - Iva
I'm not saying that everyone who is born into fortune or misfortune has necessarily made that choice. I'm not going to even go into that more philosophical without having a much longer conversation and saying that maybe even that or so. But at some point, with awareness, to make a choice, to let go or to make a choice to open up is what we're talking about. And it creates the paradigm shift. So From Rifles to Roses, like even the title of my book has different layers. It's like just visualize, almost like a wedding cake. From Rifle Cirroses was my very personal story, from kind of a war, maybe written experience to peace, et cetera. From Rifles to Roses. And I tell a story in my book exactly why I used that title. And in gratitude to my father rest assault, who passed away a few months ago, the cover of my book turned out not deliberately being a tribute to him. So I'm just acknowledging that right now and enjoying the blessing of his presence from beyond the veil. From Rifle Steroses was my personal story. And then the next layer of it from Rifle Steroses is exactly what we're talking about.

[00:53:44.460] - Iva
Are you going to choose this set of perspectives and perceptions? The more Rifle, the more the anger, the greed, the jealousy, whatever, right?

[00:53:55.510] - Kara
Like kind of bad dramas.

[00:53:59.790] - Iva
Or the rosier, not from a place of oblivion and denial, but from an actualized memory of self and our birthright and who we are, right? So From Rifles to Roses implies that's a good chunk of the conversation, this embedded dialogue, invitation to dialogue in my book, not just demonstrating by example, but inviting a conversation, a dialogue. How can we make these choices, and those of us that are a little bit more liberated with less daunting experiences, or somehow have a skill like you alluded to me, of maintaining that openness? Can we unite and let the ripples of our strength ripple to those who aren't able to make those choices yet and kind of move along collectively? Which takes it then to the next layer of the title, which is a call to action at a time when time is of the essence, to collectively bring enough unity to making certain choices based on pureness and alignment within ourselves with the divine Presence to make a shift. So all of that goes back to choice. I listen really well, Kara, and still aiming for more of a finer ability with it. This is a moment for me, again, in my own way, to reboot and bring everything that I've demonstrated through truth and just telling my story to its next level.

[00:56:24.210] - Iva
And this is where I told you before we begin this conversation, that you are one of my Guardians and messengers in exactly this moment on this day of 21, to listen very carefully to the acknowledgement you're giving me, so that I look at myself and say, okay, take a deep breath Iva, and turn off the voices that are distracting you and keep going. So I'm looking forward to that next level of listening.

[00:57:07.060] - Kara
Oh, that's beautiful. Thank you so much. I had more questions, but that so beautifully encapsulates everything. That seems like the right place to wrap up for now. I mean, you're so full of insight, and you carry this presence that is very full. It's full of wisdom, clearly, but it's full of source and the beauty and the mystery. That's kind of the word that keeps coming up here. But your presence is very full of so much. So it's been an honor, really, to have this discussion with you. You're welcome back at any point because there are lots of different ways that we could take this discussion, and it would be a joy to Peel another onion with you before we do sign off here. How can people learn more about you and connect with you and find your book?

[00:58:26.590] - Iva
Thank you. It's been such an honor to be with you today. Thank you so much. And as it continues to be led for the benefit of all, I'm very happy to join you again anytime in an ongoing dialogue. I look forward to it. So these days, mainly until further notice, view readings. I offer readings.

[00:58:59.830] - Kara
Oh, there's some kind of a clicking on your side.

[00:59:04.990] - Iva
Okay.

[00:59:05.340] - Kara
It stopped now.

[00:59:06.680] - Iva
Interesting. What was that clicking?

[00:59:09.200] - Kara
I don't know.

[00:59:11.350] - Iva
I didn't do anything, by the way. I didn't do anything differently. I know that the listeners aren't seeing us right now.

[00:59:21.070] - Kara
You haven't moved.

[00:59:22.650] - Iva
Yeah. But as I was saying what I'm saying, I felt something shifting. Anyway.

[00:59:28.010] - Kara
Okay.

[00:59:29.410] - Iva
So a precursor for our next conversation. How about that? Let me answer your question directly. I can be found with more details about what I offer on my website. Ivanasser.com, that's Ivar.com. And my book is from Rifles Two Roses, and it can be ordered online. And also I can be reached directly. I have a lot of copies and boxes that are waiting to be in all the right hands. Thank you so much.

[01:00:27.590] - Kara
All right. Well, thank you so much, Iva. What a beautiful discussion. I hope that everybody here enjoyed it. So many layers to what she has to say. So I hope you could feel into that. I really encourage you to get her book From Rifles to Roses again, so many layers within this book, and it's simply fascinating. Any way to hear all of or to read her very rich experiences and messages and takeaways from all of that. Again, her website is Ivanasaur.com. Yeah. So be sure to check her out. And thank you so much for listening. I hope, again, that you've enjoyed this, and I appreciate you subscribing and rating reviewing all that good stuff and do share this episode as well. So many people can benefit from hearing her message and the transmission that happens when she's communicating. So thank you again. And I wish you many blessings. And I look forward to the next meditation conversation.

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