Speaker 1: What if justice wasn't just about systems, but about the soul.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Spiritual Justice Show with me, Eric s Lee.
Speaker 2: You've heard me say it before.
Speaker 1: For too long we thought restorative justice alone could save us.
Speaker 1: But repairing harm without changing systems doesn't end the cycle.
Speaker 1: Social justice fights for equity, but without spirit, the work
Speaker 1: becomes a grind. Transformative justice seeks culture change, but without compassion,
Speaker 1: it struggles to hold. Spiritual justice completes the circle. It
Speaker 1: heals the heart while changing the system. It restores dignity
Speaker 1: while shifting culture. It brings spirit back into justice. Each week,
Speaker 1: I'll bring together leaders, healers, and change makers to explore
Speaker 1: a new vision of justice, restorative, transformative, and deeply spiritual.
Speaker 1: Like you, spiritual justice warriors who choose courage, compassion, and
Speaker 1: creativity in action.
Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 1: I am excited and nervous about today's show because I am.
Speaker 2: Today's special guest.
Speaker 1: You know, we've had about twenty episodes now and we've
Speaker 1: either had a guest or had a conversation with me
Speaker 1: and doctor Pat who's just been marvelous throughout this whole process.
Speaker 1: But now's the time for me to just sit and
Speaker 1: have a conversation with you all and answer some of
Speaker 1: the questions that I've been receiving this in this process
Speaker 1: and on this path of the Spiritual Justice Show and
Speaker 1: now the Spiritual Justice Foundation, which at the end I'll
Speaker 1: have some very very exciting news about the Spiritual Justice
Speaker 1: Foundation as well. So first, you know, I normally build
Speaker 1: up the guests, so I'm going to build myself up today.
Speaker 1: For those of you don't know, I'm Eric Estley, executive
Speaker 1: director of Full Circle Restorative Justice. I am a former
Speaker 1: business owner, I'm an author of three books, and my
Speaker 1: favorite thing my entire life has been my role as
Speaker 1: a dad.
Speaker 2: But that has shifted over the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: And many of you who our grandparents will understand why,
Speaker 1: because now I'm a granddad of two beautiful little girls
Speaker 1: and with a third on the way. And so my
Speaker 1: favorite thing right now is I'm gonna say dad slash granddad.
Speaker 2: And that's that's what drives me.
Speaker 1: It drives to work seeing those those beautiful little souls
Speaker 1: and and just it's They're just a representation of every
Speaker 1: young person that we aim to try and help and
Speaker 1: uplift and support so that they can live lives that
Speaker 1: are as transformative and transcendent and beautiful and rewarding and
Speaker 1: purpose purpose field as my own. UH. And that's what
Speaker 1: we have been about, UH in the work we do
Speaker 1: at Full Circle Restorative Justice. That is what we are
Speaker 1: about in the work that we do here on the
Speaker 1: Spiritual Justice Show, highlighting individuals who are doing the good
Speaker 1: work of uplifting young people. And so that today would
Speaker 1: be me, And so let me jump in to the
Speaker 1: first question that I get, and I get a lot,
Speaker 1: and that is Eric, what do you mean when you
Speaker 1: say spiritual justice? Because it is a term that not
Speaker 1: too many people are familiar with. It's kind of a new,
Speaker 1: a new phenomenon and putting those two words together. But
Speaker 1: to me, it's just that we have acknowledged that those
Speaker 1: two words belong together and they do naturally go together
Speaker 1: and how we want to live life. And so when
Speaker 1: I say spiritual justice, I have to think back to
Speaker 1: my own journey and you know, the tightrope rope that
Speaker 1: I have to walk in this work that I do
Speaker 1: around restorative justice and the work that I've done in
Speaker 1: the past coaching individuals to overcome obstacles and overcome oppressive
Speaker 1: systems and all of that, because you know that fine
Speaker 1: line is and let me back up for a minute.
Speaker 1: You know, I was talking to a young lady at
Speaker 1: the Restorative Justice conference that I attended a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks ago in New Orleans. And Andrea wrote a book
Speaker 1: that is, you know, based on the right use of
Speaker 1: power and using power for good, using powerful relationship. And
Speaker 1: what she started talking to me about in this the
Speaker 1: concept that I had become familiar with about a year
Speaker 1: ago through my daughter, and that is just the layers
Speaker 1: of power and the and the different ways power shows
Speaker 1: up in our in our in our lives personally and societally.
Speaker 1: And so, you know, there's personal power, which is you know,
Speaker 1: us coming into our own and being able to have
Speaker 1: influence and change and direct our own courses and impose
Speaker 1: our will to do.
Speaker 2: The things that we want to do.
Speaker 1: And then there is role power that gets assigned to
Speaker 1: us when we have a certain job or position. And
Speaker 1: then there's status power that comes with you know, resources
Speaker 1: and money and those type of things. And then there's
Speaker 1: collective power, which is you know, a group of individuals,
Speaker 1: you know, movements are formed with collective power. And then
Speaker 1: there's systemic power, which are the power structure that are
Speaker 1: in place that many of us are working to either overcome,
Speaker 1: show people how to overcome them, or dismantle them altogether.
Speaker 1: Because there's these systems, these systems of power, the systemic
Speaker 1: power can be oppressive and destructive to people's lives and
Speaker 1: do a lot of harm.
Speaker 2: And then.
Speaker 1: There's the power that I became first familiar with, not
Speaker 1: versy familiar with, but as I began to explore and
Speaker 1: become more first on what I was up against and
Speaker 1: how I was developing and how I was growing.
Speaker 2: And that is universal power.
Speaker 1: And that is that that that spiritual nature that pervades
Speaker 1: all of it. I mean universal power is that that
Speaker 1: thing that originates us. It's the creative power that had
Speaker 1: created us in the first place. It's the power that
Speaker 1: creates the sun and the stars and the universe and
Speaker 1: all of those things. And once we get in touch
Speaker 1: with that universal power, then what can stop us? What
Speaker 1: can we not overcome when we become aligned with our
Speaker 1: spiritual nature, our universal power, and that is something that
Speaker 1: is available to all of us. And so when I
Speaker 1: became familiar with how to term.
Speaker 2: Those things and those layers of power, it.
Speaker 1: Became clearer to me, something that I had always been
Speaker 1: working on and something that I had been you know,
Speaker 1: in conversations with and sometimes debates with people about. And
Speaker 1: that is, you know, and I talk to people about
Speaker 1: when I first got into the restorative justice movement and
Speaker 1: my daughter recruited me, and I go back, you know,
Speaker 1: years with discussions with my oldest Erica, and she is
Speaker 1: a social justice warrior herself, and you know, her attitude
Speaker 1: was burned the system down, tear it down, tear it down,
Speaker 1: tear down, tear down.
Speaker 2: And as a.
Speaker 1: Coach, my approach was more, you know less, strengthen an
Speaker 1: individual so that we don't have to necessarily tear that
Speaker 1: system down. That we create individuals who are strong enough
Speaker 1: and foundationally rooted in their personal power where they can
Speaker 1: overcome whatever systemic power is in place. But it doesn't
Speaker 1: have to be either or. And as I learned and
Speaker 1: grow and achieved success and wrote books and opened restaurants
Speaker 1: and had businesses and was reaching down to help other people,
Speaker 1: you know, I really felt like once we become aligned
Speaker 1: with our spiritual nature and the origins of our creation
Speaker 1: and are in tune in alignment, that will there is
Speaker 1: nothing There is no system. There is no person that
Speaker 1: can stop us.
Speaker 2: And so you know that that that that.
Speaker 1: Brought me to, you know, an interesting place when I
Speaker 1: started doing restorative work, because then I saw an opportunity
Speaker 1: to do that, but in the context of that, began
Speaker 1: to transform a system so that that system was more
Speaker 1: nurturing and supporting and helped individuals reached that level of
Speaker 1: spiritual alignment and that that spiritual power or that universal power.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of the space where spiritual justice lives,
Speaker 1: that space in helping individuals understand the power that is
Speaker 1: inherent within them, while we at the same time are actively,
Speaker 1: intentionally and consciously working to transform our system so that
Speaker 1: it does support that type of growth for every person,
Speaker 1: regardless of where they come from, what they look like,
Speaker 1: what race they are of, what challenges they encounter, what
Speaker 1: trauma or toxicity is in their environment that could possibly
Speaker 1: be deterring them from reaching the highest level of what
Speaker 1: they want to achieve or can achieve. And so when
Speaker 1: we talk about spiritual justice, we talk about that as
Speaker 1: kind of the foundational principle that first of all, within us,
Speaker 1: we are all blessed with the capability for our own
Speaker 1: great selves and greatness is divined by us. It's not
Speaker 1: externally dictated by somebody else to judge us what greatness means.
Speaker 1: And we know our greatness when we are aligned with
Speaker 1: purpose and meaning and we are doing things that make
Speaker 1: us come alive, and a lot of times that means
Speaker 1: we're in service and helping other people. And that brings
Speaker 1: me to the other piece about spiritual justice that came
Speaker 1: up a long time ago. And it's like many of us,
Speaker 1: our spiritual seekers, on a spiritual path.
Speaker 2: And on that.
Speaker 1: Path, you know, we meditate, and we we go within,
Speaker 1: and we go on silence retreats, and we find teachers
Speaker 1: and like minded individuals who are on the path itself.
Speaker 1: And sometimes that becomes its own cycle and its own
Speaker 1: hamster wild where we can never get there because we're
Speaker 1: always seeking. And what I realized in the level of
Speaker 1: work for me and the self work for me, was
Speaker 1: that the next step was actually being there for the
Speaker 1: next generation, being a mentor, reaching out and being of service.
Speaker 1: And that was the final piece that put the two
Speaker 1: pieces together and made everything charged to the point where
Speaker 1: I feel joy.
Speaker 2: Doing the work.
Speaker 1: I feel joy having conversations, I have joy for facilitating
Speaker 1: a process. I have joy just sitting in my computer
Speaker 1: sometime making sure that the organization can go by filling
Speaker 1: out a grand application or talking to a funder or
Speaker 1: talking to a community supporter, so that they understand how
Speaker 1: important and how meaningful this work is and how it
Speaker 1: does uplift other people, specifically young people. So that last
Speaker 1: piece has really been the focus the push for the
Speaker 1: Spiritual Jokes, the Spiritual Justice Show, and the Spiritual Justice Foundation.
Speaker 1: And I want to make sure that you know there's
Speaker 1: an understanding for that, and and hey, there's there's times
Speaker 1: and we'll we'll open up other spaces to deepen that conversation.
Speaker 1: We'll we'll open up spaces for you to interact with
Speaker 1: me to have conversations about what you can do to
Speaker 1: deepen your practice, to deepen your alignment with your spirituality,
Speaker 1: and step into the fulfillment of what spiritual justice actually means.
Speaker 1: So that I'll wrap up that and we'll we'll go
Speaker 1: to the next question that I get. And I get
Speaker 1: this question a lot, and I get it a lot
Speaker 1: from people who know me. They see where I am,
Speaker 1: they see the work that I'm doing, but they also
Speaker 1: know a little bit of my history and where I
Speaker 1: come from, and you know the question, I'll read it.
Speaker 2: Eric.
Speaker 1: You've You've overcome addiction, bankruptcy, cancer, and many setbacks. Looking back,
Speaker 1: what have those experiences taught you about living a meaningful life?
Speaker 1: That is a great question, because you know, looking back,
Speaker 1: and it's and it's funny because sitting sitting here where
Speaker 1: I'm at, I'm living a life or my dream here
Speaker 1: in front of this camera, uh, you know, with Emily
Speaker 1: over there producing the show and making sure that it
Speaker 1: all comes out. And and that is a dream come
Speaker 1: true for me. So in this moment, I am just
Speaker 1: living my best life. And it you know, not to
Speaker 1: say that those things don't matter or they're behind me,
Speaker 1: because I sit with them and they visit me all
Speaker 1: the time, and memories or in sharing with other people people,
Speaker 1: or just in what I have to deal with physically.
Speaker 1: But this moment is the most important thing. And as
Speaker 1: much as we can become present, that is what it
Speaker 1: is taught me, first of all, you know. And there's
Speaker 1: a lot of things, and I don't want to turn
Speaker 1: this into a promotion about any of my books, but
Speaker 1: I will talk about twenty nine degrees how to live
Speaker 1: a life of inner piece, joy and purpose regardless of
Speaker 1: Circumstances and it's available on Amazon. And you know in
Speaker 1: that book, it was my first self help book. And
Speaker 1: there's others coming, but those of you are familiar with
Speaker 1: the twenty nine degrees principles, it's in my experience and
Speaker 1: looking back at all of those things. And I talk
Speaker 1: about this in twenty nine Degrees when I look back
Speaker 1: at my life and it's like, let me phrase it
Speaker 1: like this. It's like, you know, how many of you
Speaker 1: out there have experienced something and you phrase it as
Speaker 1: oh my god, that was messed up or that was
Speaker 1: terrible or whatever way.
Speaker 2: Some tragedy hits you, and that's how.
Speaker 1: You respond to it, and you know, you go on
Speaker 1: in your life, you overcome that obstacle, and then six
Speaker 1: months later you're doing something completely different. You got a
Speaker 1: new job, or you met a new person who you
Speaker 1: fell in love with, or you end up on a
Speaker 1: trip of a lifetime going around the world, or something
Speaker 1: happened then that one thing happened or the place you
Speaker 1: are in your life was facilitated because of that messed
Speaker 1: up thing that had happened six months ago. And then
Speaker 1: you go, oh, well, that was the best thing that
Speaker 1: could have happened in the moment, and I look back
Speaker 1: at my life, and this is what twenty nine degrees
Speaker 1: is based on. Get back in my life, and one
Speaker 1: hundred percent of the instances that at the time I
Speaker 1: thought were setbacks or disasters or pain or miseraby or
Speaker 1: miserable turned out to be the biggest blessing in my
Speaker 1: life percent of the time.
Speaker 2: And so.
Speaker 1: Knowing that, why don't I, in this moment when I
Speaker 1: encounter these things try to close that gap so that
Speaker 1: I'm not looking back saying that was a big blessing,
Speaker 1: but going Okay, this seems messed up right now, But
Speaker 1: I know, based on my history and experience that this
Speaker 1: is a blessing.
Speaker 2: I just don't know how right now.
Speaker 1: And that brings us to, you know, the exercise and
Speaker 1: being able to look at a circumstances, sit in and go,
Speaker 1: I don't know what this means, and we and when
Speaker 1: we can come to that level of neutrality, we really
Speaker 1: can find peace in this present moment more readily because
Speaker 1: we're not judging things as good or bad.
Speaker 2: We're saying, I don't know.
Speaker 1: And the other piece is those of you who are
Speaker 1: religious or spiritual know the concept of faith or trust,
Speaker 1: which is very very important in that and when you
Speaker 1: trust that the universe or your God is a loving
Speaker 1: one and has your best interests at hand, then you
Speaker 1: understand why those blessings occurred and why you deserve them,
Speaker 1: and that you also understand that this opportunity that sits
Speaker 1: in front of you that looks like a challenge, is
Speaker 1: also a great opportunity for you to go deeper into
Speaker 1: your faith or into your trust. And that's one of
Speaker 1: the big lessons that I have learned earned going through
Speaker 1: all of those things. And the question ask about addiction
Speaker 1: and bankruptcy and cancer and any other setbacks.
Speaker 2: The other thing is like, and I want.
Speaker 1: To talk about cancer a little bit more specifically, because
Speaker 1: you know, I had the cancer diagnosis last last year.
Speaker 1: It was it was January of twenty five, and I
Speaker 1: sat in the hospital in the doctor's office and I
Speaker 1: got the I got the diagnosis, and you know, it
Speaker 1: hit me, but my wife Trudy was there too, and
Speaker 1: it hit her harder. And it's just like, I laugh
Speaker 1: and I tell people about this story, and it's like
Speaker 1: I'm sitting there, I just got the cancer diagnosis, and
Speaker 1: I look over at.
Speaker 2: Trudy and she is balling. She's like it hit her
Speaker 2: harder than me, and I'm like leaning over, Oh.
Speaker 1: Baby, it's gonna be okay, it's gonna be all right.
Speaker 2: You're gonna be okay.
Speaker 1: Like I'm good selling her, but I'm the one with cancer,
Speaker 1: right was just like, it's just the difference of us.
Speaker 1: It's like, you know, different level of faith, you mean,
Speaker 1: something different. You know, we come to terms with things
Speaker 1: in different ways.
Speaker 2: But then it did hit me.
Speaker 1: It was it was really a serious thing, and it
Speaker 1: was it was it was I don't know what the
Speaker 1: right word is. It was almost a traumatic emotionally taken
Speaker 1: on that Okay, I don't know what this means, but
Speaker 1: it could mean that my life is coming to an end.
Speaker 1: And you know, even if it wasn't coming to an
Speaker 1: end and I could overcome it, just being diagnosed with
Speaker 1: cancer was a big wake up call and reminder.
Speaker 2: Of our mortality.
Speaker 1: It was a reminder that, yeah, Eric, you do have
Speaker 1: a shelf life and you're getting closer to it, and
Speaker 1: you know, you could have a week, you could have
Speaker 1: two months, you could have six months, you could have
Speaker 1: twenty years, but you do have a shelf life here
Speaker 1: in this incarnation and what's important to you, And that
Speaker 1: was the biggest message. It was, Oh, it was it
Speaker 1: was family, it was connection, It was doing work that
Speaker 1: is meaningful and of service and uplifting to others. And again,
Speaker 1: I look back at my cancer diagnosis as the biggest
Speaker 1: blessing that could have happened to me in my life.
Speaker 1: At the time, you know, thank goodness, I was already
Speaker 1: doing the work that I wanted to be doing. Spiritual
Speaker 1: Justice Show was on the horizon, but it came up
Speaker 1: and it was the perfect thing, because this is a
Speaker 1: dream come true for me to be able to share
Speaker 1: ideas and bring people on or doing great work and
Speaker 1: do all of these wonderful things on this this venue,
Speaker 1: with with this, with this exposure, and so you know,
Speaker 1: the work pieces there and then just lean into and
Speaker 1: I had the conversation with every member of my family
Speaker 1: is like all.
Speaker 2: This means is we got to connect more. In this year.
Speaker 2: It's like, you know, I'm sixty, I'll be sixty five
Speaker 2: in two weeks.
Speaker 1: My brother's in his seventies, and it's like I buckled
Speaker 1: down and you know, went and visited him while he
Speaker 1: was dealing with some some medical things and spent five
Speaker 1: five weeks in Detroit to connect with family, and I
Speaker 1: connect with my kids, and I connect with grandkids and
Speaker 1: my friends and more unintentional about that. So that is
Speaker 1: the big, big, big takeaway for all of that. So
Speaker 1: my message through all of you is, you know, please
Speaker 1: don't wait for something like that to make the decision
Speaker 1: to sit down and write down what is most important
Speaker 1: to you in your life and do that. It's like,
Speaker 1: I'm sitting here, you know, I picked this up. This
Speaker 1: sits on my desk, and it's something that came to me,
Speaker 1: you know, twenty years ago, and it's a little metal
Speaker 1: bar and engraved in it is what would you attempt
Speaker 1: to do if you knew you could not fail?
Speaker 2: And you know, the other phrase that.
Speaker 1: Really inspires me is and somebody asked me this about
Speaker 1: twenty years as well, it's like, if you had six
Speaker 1: months to live, what would you be doing and would
Speaker 1: you be doing the thing that you're doing now? And
Speaker 1: for me, blessedly, it's an emphatic yes in most of
Speaker 1: the things that I spent my time with in my
Speaker 1: life right now. So those were the biggest lessons with
Speaker 1: overcoming those those obstacles.
Speaker 2: It's just you know, lean into life.
Speaker 1: Lean into your heart, find out what what is something
Speaker 1: that is bigger than you, that that gives you purpose
Speaker 1: and meaning. Do that and really really connect and love
Speaker 1: on everybody that's in your life and make sure that
Speaker 1: they know how you feel about them. So we're coming
Speaker 1: up on a break here we are. I was worried
Speaker 1: about what's I going to be able to spuild, spend
Speaker 1: time and talk to you. I love to talk. I
Speaker 1: love sharing ideas. So we're moving right along. We're going
Speaker 1: to take time for a break. If you need to
Speaker 1: get a hold of me, you can contact me at
Speaker 1: Eric dot Lee at full Circle RJ dot org. You
Speaker 1: can visit Full Circle Restorative Justice the on the webpage
Speaker 1: at www dot full Circle RJ dot org, or you
Speaker 1: can visit us at the Spiritual Justice Show on Facebook.
Speaker 2: See you on the other side.
Speaker 3: Hi everyone, I'm Doctor Pat. I'm the host of the
Speaker 3: Doctor Pat Show, and I am the creator of the
Speaker 3: Transformation Network. Doing what we do in the world of
Speaker 3: positive radio, informed educative positive media. Independent radio hosts and
Speaker 3: independent networks have been the face of positive messaging over
Speaker 3: the past decade. So all of us here have decided
Speaker 3: we're going to put together an independent network that is
Speaker 3: going to enable people to bring their positive message of hope,
Speaker 3: inspiration and conscious action to the forefront. Help us create
Speaker 3: a future of amazing, uplifting stories that can be told
Speaker 3: so we can tell our children and they can tell
Speaker 3: their children of what hope and conscious action is all about.
Speaker 3: I want to thank you all for tuning us in
Speaker 3: turning us on on Transformation talkRADIO dot com.
Speaker 4: Tune in to the Flourished Frequency Show with me Beth
Speaker 4: Larsen every third Thursday at eleven am Pacific time on
Speaker 4: Transformation Talk Radio. Get ready to activate and amplify the
Speaker 4: frequencies of success.
Speaker 3: Do you want to.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Spiritual Justice Show where inner peace
Speaker 1: meets collective purpose. We're having a conversation with me. I
Speaker 1: am just sharing ideas today and connecting with you, answering
Speaker 1: some questions that have been asked of me along the
Speaker 1: way since we started the show, and it's fun. It's
Speaker 1: like I was worried about how if I was going
Speaker 1: to be able to talk, But you know, I should
Speaker 1: have known better.
Speaker 2: I love talking.
Speaker 1: I do trainings, speeches and stuff, so I should have
Speaker 1: known this was going to be fine. He's just sitting
Speaker 1: here talking to all of you and sharing my ideas. However,
Speaker 1: we will have some wonderful guests coming up. Devaki Dullard
Speaker 1: just booked for September.
Speaker 2: First.
Speaker 1: She is the executive director of More Boisa and I
Speaker 1: may be saying that wrong. More basa foundation that does
Speaker 1: a lot of work with investing and uplifting folks in Africa,
Speaker 1: and I can't wait to have the conversation with her
Speaker 1: in a few weeks. So yes, stay on board. We're
Speaker 1: gonna have many, many wonderful guests. Again, I got some
Speaker 1: news about Spiritual Justice Foundation before we leave today. But
Speaker 1: let's jump back in and answer some more questions. So
Speaker 1: the question, and this one, this is going to be an.
Speaker 2: Interesting room for me. And see, I don't even know
Speaker 2: how I'm going to answer that.
Speaker 1: I looked at the questions, I didn't think about them
Speaker 1: too much because I wanted to be able to just
Speaker 1: kind of answer them as I was being interviewed by
Speaker 1: somebody else. So the question is, if you could change
Speaker 1: one thing about how we see one another as human beings,
Speaker 1: what would it be?
Speaker 2: Boy?
Speaker 1: That is a big one, And it's like it's a
Speaker 1: hard question to answer because you know the first part
Speaker 1: of it if you could change one thing means that
Speaker 1: I'm having to change people or someone to fit my
Speaker 1: idea of how they should be, which is what we
Speaker 1: try to lean away from. We try to lean into
Speaker 1: acceptance and and and you know, realizing that we are
Speaker 1: different beings and we do have different perspectives, and you know,
Speaker 1: changing somebody to fit our ideal isn't necessarily the best thing,
Speaker 1: but I'm going to give it a shot anyway. And
Speaker 1: I think it is, you know, And it's like, this
Speaker 1: is a really hard question because there's so much nuance
Speaker 1: to it. And yes, there are ideals for how we
Speaker 1: want society to function and how we treat one another, and.
Speaker 2: Those are more.
Speaker 1: How I would have to answer this, and because this
Speaker 1: strikes me as how we see one another really strikes
Speaker 1: me as individual and how one individual sees another individual.
Speaker 1: But I think it's more how, you know, we collectively
Speaker 1: go through processes and how we collectively treat people and
Speaker 1: create spaces where you know, like we talk about the
Speaker 1: working through at Full Circle restorative justice, and we want
Speaker 1: to create an environment where every young person, every student,
Speaker 1: feels like they matter and they belong. You know, we
Speaker 1: just went through a process of creating an assessment for schools.
Speaker 1: And you know, there's ten aspects of a restorative of
Speaker 1: organization or restorative school that we ask school leadership to answer.
Speaker 2: In our assessment. And the last.
Speaker 1: One is a reflection, not to answer and submit, but
Speaker 1: just to take and reflect on as a principal or
Speaker 1: a vice principal or a superintendent of school. And that
Speaker 1: last question is does every student in my classroom or
Speaker 1: does every student in my school know that they matter?
Speaker 1: And so, you know, what we're trying to do is
Speaker 1: create the environment that creates that feeling within individuals. And
Speaker 1: so if I could change one thing about how we
Speaker 1: see one another as human beings, that would be it.
Speaker 1: And it's not just that we see them that way
Speaker 1: and see them as someone who matters and someone who
Speaker 1: has value, regardless of how they look or what their
Speaker 1: orientation is sexually, or where they came from, or what
Speaker 1: they smell like, or if they have any physical challenges
Speaker 1: or what language they speak. You know, it's like everybody
Speaker 1: has value and everybody matters, and.
Speaker 2: We really.
Speaker 1: Should create environments and systems that reinforce that concept. And
Speaker 1: I guess I'm really gonna I'm really going to change
Speaker 1: that and go to if I could change one thing
Speaker 1: about how we see one another as human beings, it
Speaker 1: wouldn't necessarily be how we see one another as human beings,
Speaker 1: you know, it would be the change would be, you know,
Speaker 1: how we oriented orient humans and bring them into along
Speaker 1: with in life, so that the change is really that
Speaker 1: everybody sees themselves as someone who has value and who matters.
Speaker 2: Because I believe that.
Speaker 1: Once everybody takes that on, then how they see everybody
Speaker 1: else changes and gets accepted in a different way at
Speaker 1: a different level level, And there's a different level of acceptance,
Speaker 1: a different level of collaboration, a different level of community
Speaker 1: and being in contribution, a different level of how people
Speaker 1: strut sure and design their lives, and how they prioritize
Speaker 1: their connections with other humans, how they prioritize the work
Speaker 1: that they do or the projects that they take on
Speaker 1: and the projects that they work on.
Speaker 2: That everything that they do then takes on.
Speaker 1: An added level of sacredness because it's coming from a
Speaker 1: place of heart centeredness and value and an understanding that
Speaker 1: these inspirations that guide their life and guide them in
Speaker 1: their community as the community supports them, are of the divine,
Speaker 1: And I mean you know, it's basically back to you know,
Speaker 1: what spiritual justice is about, right and just making sure
Speaker 1: that we are all plugged in to our own divinity
Speaker 1: and that we are free to express that in ways
Speaker 1: that are uniquely ours and it is encouraged, It is appreciated,
Speaker 1: and it is encouraged. And you know, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of I think things that get alleviated that our societal
Speaker 1: challenges that we deal with now, Like.
Speaker 2: The other othering is a big challenge in our society
Speaker 2: right now. It's like we.
Speaker 1: Divide ourselves into sects of people and we have to
Speaker 1: have an enemy. We have to have somebody who is
Speaker 1: a threat to us and you know, or somebody who
Speaker 1: is oppressing us, or somebody who's taking our jobs or
Speaker 1: taking our resources, and we really have to be protective
Speaker 1: of that. And you know, it really doesn't have to
Speaker 1: be that way. And I really believe that once we
Speaker 1: see ourselves differently and we create systems where we can
Speaker 1: see ourselves differently and see all of our natural beauty,
Speaker 1: than a lot of those things end up getting alleviated.
Speaker 1: So a great question, and that was a tough one
Speaker 1: because you know, it took me to a lot of
Speaker 1: places and I know I did not necessarily answer the
Speaker 1: question as asks, but that's just how my mind works sometimes.
Speaker 2: And that brings us to the last question.
Speaker 1: That someone that we're going to actually deal with today
Speaker 1: what we put on the agenda for today, and it's Eric,
Speaker 1: what legacy do you hope to leave? So you know,
Speaker 1: I think everything that we've been talking about today is
Speaker 1: pointing to the legacy that I would like to leave.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's there's legacy on different levels. And I talked,
Speaker 1: you know about all the things that I've accomplished restaurant
Speaker 1: owner and and you know, executive director and author and
Speaker 1: speaker and and all of these things that are fun
Speaker 1: and great and rewarding and help me help other people.
Speaker 1: But but my favorite thing is, you know, again, for
Speaker 1: years and years was being called dad and and the
Speaker 1: role that is and being dad and doing the things
Speaker 1: that dad that does.
Speaker 2: And now it's Dampa, Gampa, grandpa.
Speaker 1: There's a little emmy, uh you know, having me dance
Speaker 1: and jump with her, uh you know, and play play
Speaker 1: play thought right, or just you know, holding little Luna.
Speaker 1: You know, those are the things and and so there's
Speaker 1: a I can see of love. And you know, I
Speaker 1: think that in the work that I do, and as
Speaker 1: I've experienced life for so many years, and I've seen
Speaker 1: people who have challenges in lives and have difficulty adjusting
Speaker 1: to life and and and making headway and achieving success
Speaker 1: and having fulfilling relationships. A lot of times it's because
Speaker 1: that they did not feel that deep foundational sense of
Speaker 1: belonging in connection and love in their families of origin.
Speaker 2: And so, you know, the.
Speaker 1: First piece for me is is making sure that that
Speaker 1: I've done that and that and I and I and
Speaker 1: I have and kids tell me if I was wrong, Uh,
Speaker 1: but they they helped me that I do. So I'm
Speaker 1: going to trust.
Speaker 2: Them on that.
Speaker 1: But but to make sure that those closest to me
Speaker 1: feel the legacy of my love for them and how
Speaker 1: much And I talked about this generally or not generally,
Speaker 1: but just in society and work we do in schools,
Speaker 1: and how we how like all humans to treat each other,
Speaker 1: but my family to know how much I value them. Trudy,
Speaker 1: I love you, I value you, Erica saying Forrest, Justin Brock, Gerald, Vick,
Speaker 1: Britney Brand, Nicole, all of my nieces and nephews. You know,
Speaker 1: it's I love all of you, and I just make
Speaker 1: sure in that legacy that that is there. But then
Speaker 1: the other thing is, you know the work that I
Speaker 1: that I do and you know right now it's full
Speaker 1: circle restorative justice. And boy, the heart and passion that
Speaker 1: that brings out of me and being a part of
Speaker 1: an organization that is tasked with making a difference in
Speaker 1: so many young people's lives in so many different ways.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, the work that Cindy's doing in the Diversion
Speaker 1: program is just exemplary. And she's been doing it for
Speaker 1: years and she's she's mastered it and continues to grow.
Speaker 1: And Sandra and now Lindsay doing work in the schools
Speaker 1: and making sure that the schools, excuse me, the schools
Speaker 1: can create that environment that we talked about where every
Speaker 1: child feels like and understands that they matter and that
Speaker 1: they have value and that people in that school feel
Speaker 1: that way about them.
Speaker 2: And to leave that as a legacy.
Speaker 1: And now, you know, with the Spiritual Justice Show, and
Speaker 1: we created the Spiritual Justice Foundation because one of the
Speaker 1: things that we're moving to and this is the news
Speaker 1: that I wanted to share, is that you know, we
Speaker 1: started the Spiritual Justice Foundation. We registered and changed the
Speaker 1: name with the State of Colorado as a charitable organization.
Speaker 1: And so then we went and applied for our five
Speaker 1: to one C three and this this morning I went
Speaker 1: to the mailbox. Sure enough, we got our letter of
Speaker 1: determination from the I R S that we are a
Speaker 1: five to one C three tax exempt organization, so that
Speaker 1: now we can start soliciting we should, we can start
Speaker 1: soliciting donations from people who want to support the organizations
Speaker 1: we bring on the show, and we can actually and
Speaker 1: our goal is to make sure that we can give
Speaker 1: grants to the people who appear on the show. And
Speaker 1: I am really really excited about that in transitioning the
Speaker 1: Spiritual Justice Show to the Spiritual Justice A Show and Foundation,
Speaker 1: so that we cannot just give highlights and exposure and
Speaker 1: and and elevate, you know, through media, those organizations that
Speaker 1: are doing this wonderful work, but we can also give
Speaker 1: them financial resources that we go out uh and solicit
Speaker 1: through grants and donations with all of our supporters out there.
Speaker 1: So I am really really excited about that as a legacy, UH.
Speaker 1: And it's something that we started uh and and create
Speaker 1: it and and we hope that grows and grows and
Speaker 1: does good all over the country. I mean, we want
Speaker 1: to we want to bring people doing wonderful work from
Speaker 1: all over and highlight them and spotlight them and then
Speaker 1: give them some money because you know, I'm in that
Speaker 1: position of a nonprofit leader and I know it gets
Speaker 1: hard out there, and you know, every every little bit counts,
Speaker 1: So we're going to be there for that.
Speaker 2: So I'm going to wrap up this is this has
Speaker 2: been great.
Speaker 1: I am so glad I got the opportunity to sit
Speaker 1: in front of you just have a conversation, share a
Speaker 1: little bit more about me, answer some of the questions
Speaker 1: that you guys have been asking me throughout this process
Speaker 1: once we started the Spiritual Justice Show, and then some
Speaker 1: you know, just things that I've experienced in my life.
Speaker 1: I look forward to having more conversations like this. I
Speaker 1: may find a topic and just want to get down
Speaker 1: here and just kind of riff off on a topic
Speaker 1: in the future. And I also look forward to giving
Speaker 1: back and having some of our wonderful guests join us
Speaker 1: on the Spiritual Justice Show. So remember, you know, don't
Speaker 1: just go into silence. It's important. Yes, silence is great,
Speaker 1: meditation is fantastic, Going within is wonderful aligning with the divine.
Speaker 1: There is nothing more precious and fulfilling then that alignment.
Speaker 1: And trust me, what can be justice fulfilling is sharing
Speaker 1: that with another person, specifically a young person. So again,
Speaker 1: if you want to get a hold of me, contact
Speaker 1: me at Eric dot Lee, Full Circle, Restorative Justice at
Speaker 1: Full Circle RJ dot org, or you can visit the
Speaker 1: spirit of Us. I'm getting confused. You can visit Full
Speaker 1: Circle Restorative Justice at Full Circle RJ dot org, or
Speaker 1: you can visit the Spiritual Justice Show on our Spiritual
Speaker 1: Justice Show Facebook page. Thank you so much for joining
Speaker 1: us and we'll see you next time on the Spiritual
Speaker 1: Justice Show. Thank you for joining me Eric s Lee
Speaker 1: on the Spiritual Justice Show. You've heard me say it before.
Speaker 1: Restorative justice alone can't get us there. Repairing of wom matters,
Speaker 1: but if the system keeps cutting the wounds return. Social
Speaker 1: justice fights for equity, but if we forget the human spirit,
Speaker 1: policy feels hollow. Transformative justice shifts culture, but without compassion,
Speaker 1: the changes just don't last. That's why spiritual justice completes
Speaker 1: the circle. It heals the heart while changing the system.
Speaker 1: It restores dignity while shifting culture. It brings spirit back
Speaker 1: into justice, and that's where you come in. Tune in
Speaker 1: each first and third Tuesday at ten am Pacific Time
Speaker 1: on the Transformation Network as we rise up spiritual justice warriors.
Speaker 1: This means you choosing courage, compassion, and creativity in a
Speaker 1: call to action Until next time. Walk with courage, lead
Speaker 1: with compassion, live with spirit because justice becomes here in
Speaker 1: the soul and it continues with warriors like us. Join
Speaker 1: our community at spiritual time Justice dot net