Eva Grodt: The Journey of Personal Growth

Today I'm joined by Eva Grodt, the energetic force behind Shift in Action, the long-running metaphysical community in Parksville. For the last 15 years, Eva has been creating spaces for metaphysical talks, healing events, and metaphysical, psychic and wellness fairs, bringing together people who are seeking spiritual growth, self-understanding, and a clearer connection to mind, body, and spirit. Through Shift in Action, she's helped build a community where like-minded people can explore new pathways of living, expand their awareness, and cultivate more meaningful relationships with themselves, each other and the world around them. Welcome to the Sacred Sundays podcast. So happy to have you here.

Well, thank you very much for having me.

You are very welcome. Before we talk about Shift in Action, I'd love to hear about your personal journey with metaphysical work and the modalities or practices that you currently share in the world.

Yeah, it actually all happened with a fall. I damaged my shoulder and was in the hospital. I realized I was lying there talking to my shoulder, telling it, we're going to be okay, this is going to be okay. Then it so happened a minister walked by and wanted to chat, and he introduced me to Reiki. So it was that visit to the hospital. I was there for three days, but after that I started to learn about Reiki, and once you get a taste of it, you just keep going. Then came Healing Touch and a whole bunch of other modalities. I got into Feng Shui, and I just couldn't get enough of all these interesting things, and realizing there was way more to me than just eating, sleeping and working. That was how I really got started. I'm ever so grateful. I still have some little issues with that shoulder, but I am so grateful that it started me that way. Without that, I might not have started at that time.

And how long ago was that?

That was 25 years ago.

25 years. Wow. And Shift in Action has been around for the last 15 years?

Yeah. We had a small group that met here in my living room, just four or five of us, and it grew to eight. Just like-minded people talking about different things that you don't talk to just anybody about, like energy and all the metaphysical stuff, past lives and so on. Then they had a wellness fair up here at the community center, and they were looking for somebody to do something different. We offered to play that video, The Living Matrix. Then we put up a sign saying, if you would like to join our little group, you could sign up. And we had 60 people sign up. We knew that my living room wouldn't do it. I ran over to the community center and asked, we need a room, we need a room. That's how Shift in Action started. We had two speakers a month, and we also had an evening where we just did videos. It was all metaphysical related.

So it would be watching a video and then a discussion afterwards?

Yes. When we had the speakers in, I always looked at Shift in Action as a win-win, because the speakers had a chance to promote and talk about what they had to offer in the community, and the community had the opportunity to meet the practitioner before they made an appointment. It really, really has worked. Many people have told me, wow, this was all new to me, but a friend brought me and it just opened up so many avenues for me.

Wow. How do you account for the fact that Parksville is not a huge population, and yet you have these numbers? It's pretty amazing.

Well, we have Qualicum and Coombs, and people would come from Nanaimo too. I knew the people who did the metaphysical group in Nanaimo, so we alternated. They did one Thursday night and I did the next Thursday night. Over the years we never overlapped.

That's amazing. Why do you think there's so much interest in Parksville?

Well, we are in a retirement community, and I think it's also just the time. People are starting to question more what life is all about. Why am I here? We're coming into that later season in our life and we start to wonder.

There's no question in my mind, having arrived back on the island, because I was here for a short time in 2012 for about a year and a half. Back then I didn't see as much activity. Now there's so much happening in the metaphysical community in Nanaimo, in Parksville, and across the island really. How do you account for the fact that there are so many practitioners and healers doing such amazing work here?

I think it also has to do with the island itself. I truly believe the island is one big crystal that we live on. I feel very blessed to live here. Here in Parksville, we have a joke: if you're not a healer, you must be an artist. It's one or the other. We have seen so many groups show up, like the one we generated, and so much is happening right now. I also think that YouTube has a lot to do with it. People become more aware of different things, and then to have a group where you can actually go and sit and chat about it and be with like-minded people is important. For me, it's very important that people gather. There was no question in my mind that gathering people, getting people together, is a big one for me. Community, community, community.

I think that's one of the reasons I wanted to have you on the podcast, because I've witnessed that. I equate it to you being the person beating the drum, calling people out and making it happen. Your energy is so vibrant in terms of the leadership you bring to drawing those people in. I'm curious about what drives that. You just answered part of it, but what keeps you going? We are in changing times and it's been 15 years. Is it just that, or is there more?

I sometimes ask myself that question. Why am I still doing it? But there is such a draw within me. Even if I reach just one person and make a difference in their life, getting to know themselves better. I remember the day when somebody said, do you know who you are? I would say, yeah, my name is Eva. Now it is so different. I have seen myself change over the years, and I live much more peacefully within myself. If I can share any of that and introduce people to somebody who can help them get to that place... but it's something you have to do yourself. You can go to everything and hear everything, but you have to do the work. It's a work in progress to get to know yourself, but the benefit is humongous.

I would agree. I see that every day in the work that I do as well. You just highlighted a couple of things. One is the action part of Shift in Action. Whenever I say it, I can feel the intention of that. It's about doing something about what we're learning as well. Is that correct?

Yes. I guess I am known for that. People will say, be careful what you ask Eva for, because she will say, let's do it.

The other thing you mentioned was being more peaceful inside of yourself. What can you share for our listeners about that journey? I really do think that being more peaceful in ourselves, and how far reaching that is, is the thing that can impact our everyday life. What would you have to say about discovering that peacefulness within yourself?

Well, how I discovered that there was a core to me, a true essence, my connection to the source, to the higher power. I do use the word God. I discovered that there was way more to me, and that was in a meditation. Somebody kept saying, go within, go within. Then somebody said, it's like an onion, you peel the layers away. I followed that, and all of a sudden, whoa, there I was. I thought, well, no wonder I couldn't go in, because I was already there. How could I possibly go within when I was already there? It was so huge for me, pushing things away, unraveling and taking the layers away, and there I was. It was such a feeling. It was amazing. I still practice that, to be out in the world and be in contact with it, because it's there at all times. You can be in the most stressful situation, but that peace within, your connection to the higher power, is always there no matter what is happening in your life. That's what I'm practicing most these days. If something is challenging me and I catch myself, I say, go to that heart space, as we call it now. It's so interesting over the years how we started using different words. It was peace within. Now it's all about heart space. It's being in your heart, and that to me is being in my core. That's what I'm working on. It's a work in progress.

It's interesting, because I have run your Human Design chart, and we haven't really talked about it, but I know that heart space for you, that center, what we refer to as the G center in Human Design, is a very important part of who you are and how you show up and the energies that you express out in the world. A big part of that is actually your voice as well. Living from our heart really is such an important piece, and it is something that is being talked about a lot now, so I really hear that. It's the opposite of living from the mind. The mind can only create distortion, really.

Yes, and that is one thing that I have learned and absolutely agree with. I've learned that an emotion only lasts 90 seconds. I could have an anger feeling coming up in me, or a sadness, but that emotion only lasts 90 seconds. Then my chatter mind and my ego, or whatever we call it, starts to create a story. Let's say I suddenly feel so angry, and then I say, yeah, well, they were wrong, and that shouldn't have happened, and I build a story. When that feeling comes up, it usually starts in the gut. We've said it for years, I have this gut feeling about it. So when that feeling comes, I just go, wow, I'm feeling anger coming up, and it diminishes. I also know that if I can come from that heart space and be aware that I have some anger here, then I can communicate way, way better with people. When you start to scream at people because you're so upset, you totally lose your power. When you start to scream and get really angry, sometimes you can't even remember what you said. That to me is so important to practice.

I love that. It makes me want to ask, what are the kinds of things you say to people when they're starting their journey and starting this exploration? Where do you begin with people?

Well, I talk to them about my experience, like what we're doing here, saying how I got into it by accident and the importance of learning to get to know myself. I would say, just start to pay attention to what runs around in your head. What are you thinking? Not every thought is yours. Sometimes I catch myself wanting them to learn right away what has taken me 25 years to learn. It's all a process. I try to get a feeling of where people are at, and then give them little seeds, little things to practice on. The one to practice is to be aware of your breathing and to start to listen to what runs in your head. Is that really me thinking that? It's shocking when you start to pay attention. I sometimes call it stepping aside of myself. When somebody says something, I'm observing myself, witnessing myself. Sometimes I will hear myself ask, hmm, Eva, how are you going to respond to that? I take charge of my mind.

It's an interesting piece. It reminds me of one of the things I say the most. Most of us have this energy to move fast through the world, to make decisions quickly, but really we're meant to go slow to go fast. We're being asked to really slow down, and from that place be really intentional. It's the opposite of the mind. It's letting places in the body guide us instead of this mental energy. We live in a world that is asking us to go so quickly and to get results, and it's really not our nature.

No, because we're not in the present moment. That's another good starting place, to really be in the present moment. Peel a potato and really focus on what you're doing. If we start to pay more attention to being in the present moment, the time somehow seems to go faster. The more we can slow down... these last year or two, there's been so much coming to teach us how to be aware of the breath, how important that is. The term we hear a lot now is rhythmic breathing. Just be aware of your own rhythm. There are exercises you can do that are really good for you, different ways of breathing, but just paying attention is the same as when I give a Reiki session. That is to be aware of your breathing. That's all you have to be aware of, that you're breathing. That is just such a miracle in itself.

When I think about coming into the present moment, I think of those of us who are worried about paying bills and worried about family and friendships and conflicts, all of the things that take us out of the present moment. There's so much distraction. How do you help someone see that?

Well, I'm also very much looking at manifesting. I have said for a long, long time that a worry is a prayer. I have had so many people not agree with me on that. They say, how can you say that? When I worry, that's totally different from a prayer. But it really isn't, because when you're in a worry, you're so intense and so into it. When you're in a prayer, you're in your heart and you're putting all your feelings into it. It's all about feeling it, and the universe does not know the difference. It matches your vibration. If I vibrate in fear and worry, then the universe gives me more to worry about, because it says, she likes to worry, that's the feeling she likes to be in. When I'm happy, then it says, we've got to give her something to be happy about, and she runs into happy people and things unfold. We know that from the saying about getting out of bed on the wrong foot. You have a rough start to the day, and when your morning starts to flow, you try to pay attention to how your whole day starts to flow. If you start up worrying... I'm not belittling it, because I certainly can go into worry, but it actually frightens me, because I go, no, I don't want to be in that worry, because that is the energy I give out and then I get served more of that. It's a game. It takes a long time, I practice it a lot, and I still jump in with both feet. Traumatic things happen in life, but we can't worry about the world out there. We have to focus on ourselves. We have to be gentle with ourselves.

It is something to think about, and it is a feeling. It's hard to explain. My morning starts with gratitude, and I go through the day in my mind, what is on my calendar, where I'm going, what I'm doing, who I'm talking to. I see everything go smoothly and I see myself smiling. If I start my day off wondering, I have that meeting, that's not going to go well, no, no, no, that's not going to go well, then I set myself up for that. I prayed for that. I prayed for a bad meeting.

I can relate to that. I spent 27 years, I think, working in food service and corporate environments and in management positions. I think about how many days I woke up not wanting to go to work because of the things I knew were waiting for me, and the things I didn't know how to face, and the challenges. Those things can be all consuming. If I think about where I am now, it is very intentional, like you said, waking up and having a practice and creating that energy. At the same time, if I'm honest, there are still layers to this for me. My onion is still getting peeled, and I will be confronted by ideas like that. I'm still on the journey, still learning and growing, and I have those moments just like everybody else. I really feel for people who are trying to get out of that everyday energy and shift gears, and how hard it is. I love that you mentioned planting seeds and letting them grow and letting that journey appear quite organically.

Yeah, it truly is about being in gratitude. Before I go to sleep at night, I call it my gratitude time, and I always am grateful for something. It could be as simple as, I'm so grateful for the pillow that I have here to put my head on. You can be grateful for something small or something really big. Your body doesn't know the difference. It only knows the feeling of gratitude. When I go to sleep like that, I sleep a lot better.

It's so true. I worked at what was called the Chopra Addiction and Wellness Center in Squamish. They had a practice every night of having the guests come and sit together in a circle and share the things they were grateful for that had happened throughout the day. Because they did it with each other, it created cohesion between them, and it really shifted the energy. Even if people were having a bad day, the moment they heard other people share their gratitude, it would wake something up in them. It was a really powerful practice.

They can test for so many things now, and they know that even if you put a fake smile on your face, your body starts reacting. It's very true. Your body doesn't know the difference. And we know that when we're out on the street or checking out at the grocery store and the cashier doesn't have a smile on her face, well, let's give her one, or him. It makes a big difference, because when you automatically smile back, it is extremely hard to not smile back at somebody who's smiling. It's that contagious. Once they start to smile a little bit, your system changes.

Yeah, it's scientifically proven. Especially with gratitude, it lights up a very specific part of the brain. Where do you think we're headed? What do you think is coming? There's a lot of talk in metaphysical communities about the shift that's happening and the change that's happening, and I think you've been around long enough in this work to know that it's been talked about forever. We refer to it as ascension. What is it that you see is coming, and do you think it's coming sooner than later?

I don't think it's something that is going to happen overnight. I don't think it's something that is going to happen soon. We truly are on a journey. I feel extremely blessed that I was picked to be here in human form at this time to see it unravel. I have a sense I will see some big changes before my life is over. I'm positive. That is one thing I started to tell myself: be excited about the unknown. Why is it that we're programmed to think that the unknown means you have to be scared? I had years where, when the phone rang, I thought, now what? It took me a long time to tell myself, when the phone is ringing, smile and say, I wonder what good news it is. I forced myself to do that, so I didn't get that feeling of what's next when the phone rang. Now I can use that with the unknown. I welcome the unknown. The end, I know, is going to be good. I absolutely feel that with every cell in my body. This is a time where we're making a big shift. There's a shift happening, and there's a lot out there that can keep you in fear. If you don't mind having that vibration of fear, then you can fill your day with that. But why not fill your day with being happy? I can only make myself happy. Nobody can make me happy. It's up to me how I want to feel.

So I hear what's going on in the world and I sometimes go, really, Eva? Are you real? Are you truly sticking with the idea that it's all unfolding in divine order? I also believe in past lives. I absolutely believe that before I came here, I chose this life, and I have chosen many, many lives. Every living soul on this planet has agreed to the life they're experiencing right now. That's how I started to look at situations coming up in my life: wow, I'm having this experience. I truly fell in love with being a human. I love being a human. It's so exciting, all these experiences, some of them not always pleasant. But if you can catch yourself and say, why am I having this experience? I'm really, really sad. Why am I having this experience? I'm having this human experience. I have a lot of moments where I am in resistance to that human experience and going through what I need to go through. It's only afterwards that it makes sense. It's only when you look back that you think, okay, now I understand why I went through that. I'm so grateful, but I can be in so much resistance, absolutely. I could see later on that damaging my shoulder was a blessing, because I got to meet that minister who ended up bringing me to learning Reiki and then Healing Touch and all that. It opened the door for me. If you look back at many, many situations, good came out of it, so many times. I do believe that the higher power has a plan for us. You can plan all you want, I want to do this, but if you're put on a bit of a detour, that's fine. Somebody could see something that you couldn't see. You know that with starting a business, or starting anything. I know it from my first marriage. I had such a picture in my mind, it's going to be so lovely, we're going to have a little house with a picket fence and a couple of kids and I'm going to be so happy. Within a year I could see that's not how it is to be married. I saw the outcome 100 percent. If it didn't look like that, then it was no good.

It's interesting, whether it's Human Design or other modalities or belief systems, there's this expression: let God take the wheel. That's certainly been a lesson for me over the years, and I think it continues to be, of just letting it all happen. A friend recently used the analogy of going to Disneyland as a little kid and sitting in one of the cars on a ride. There's a steering wheel, but you can't actually steer. The ride is taking you where it's going. I'm realizing more and more that that is the case, and we're trying so hard to get to that outcome you described, and yet we're not actually in control of where we're going. It's predestined in some ways. If we can let go of our resistance to where we want to go, it can actually be more beautiful than ever expected.

Yes. We start to pay attention to words. We hear people say, I'm going through a really hard time. I'll say, well, isn't that good? You're going through it. You're not staying in it. When I have something coming up, I always say, okay, I'm going through this. Whatever is on the other side, I 100 percent believe that God knows what he's doing. There's something waiting. I'm just going through this. What is my lesson in it? It's not always that I'm going along saying, I wonder what my lesson is. No, I jump in with both feet, just ask the people around me. But I'm aware of it.

Eva, I really appreciate your honesty and the wisdom that you share and your perspective and your commitment to this work. It's clear that you have been living and breathing this path for so long. When I see you in person, I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your energy. I see it in your aura. I think that's why you're such a magnet for gathering all the people around at these fairs and in this work. It's because you're such a bright light. I'm so glad that we were able to have this conversation today.

Me too. For people, be aware of what you're thinking, connect with your body, talk to your body. One other thing that I say is, I am so grateful when I have pain, because without pain, I could easily die. The body is telling you something. I teach Tai Chi, and it's all about connecting with the body. The body is amazing. It's constantly talking to us. Constantly. So be aware of what's running around in the head, connect with your body, and be grateful.

It's funny, because the last question I usually ask is, what's one simple way that someone could connect with the sacred today? I think you just answered that.

I do love to be alive, and I love getting people together and seeing them interacting. We've got to have fun. You can be in the deepest meditation and getting there, but we all know when we have a really good spontaneous belly laugh, you are as present in life as you're going to be.

So true. And I'm actually a laughter yoga [?] facilitator. It's one of those things I just carry in my back pocket. At the beginning of December, I'll be doing a laughter circle at Unity in Nanaimo. It's been a while since I've done that, so I'm looking forward to it. I wholeheartedly agree with you that laughter is such a powerful medicine.

Yeah. We had Holly do laughing yoga at the Shift some years ago. It's interesting to observe people when they start, because it's a fake laugh and they're not sure and they're shy. We were like 50 people wandering around pointing at each other and laughing. You could see how people eased up, and then everybody was just laughing, laughing. It's good. We forget to laugh. Especially at yourself. When you laugh at yourself, that's the best laugh you're going to get.

Yeah. So Eva, if anybody wanted to reach out to you and learn more about Shift in Action or any of the things that you offer in the world, where would be the best place for them to connect with you?

Well, they could go to the Parksville Shift in Action Meetup, and if they are on Facebook, there's my name. There's only one in Canada with that name. You could find me on Facebook, and Shift in Action also has a Facebook page.

Okay, perfect. We'll make sure that those links are in the show notes. Excellent. Well, Eva, thank you. It's such a treat to be able to have this conversation with you, and I'm so glad that you were able to be here with us today.

Well, thank you so much. And thank you for the work that you do in getting the words out there.

And to everyone listening, thank you for tuning in. Until next time, take good care.