Ep. 40: Zia -- Peace in Practice

In this episode, Vera sits down with Zia — a longtime Wild Lotus student, recent yoga teacher training graduate, and (until recently) immigration attorney — for a conversation about what it means to be a householder mystic: someone with a deep spiritual well who's still fully out here living in the everyday world. Zia opens up about a childhood spent hopscotching between the Bahá'í faith and Catholicism, becoming a "loud and proud" atheist in adulthood after years of wanting to feel God and never quite getting there — and then, at 41, having an acid trip that cracked everything open. She talks about the years of practice since: Bhakti yoga, rolling OMs, and the ongoing, humbling work of telling the difference between efforting and allowing. Along the way: a birth-chart mystery involving a farmhouse delivery and a crowd of witnesses, years of being "one foot in, one foot out" of the Catholic Church, and a small parking lot moment that says more about spiritual practice than almost anything else in this conversation. If you're craving support on your own spiritual path or seeking meaningful work, you can find ways to work with Vera at veralester.com. Timestamps: 00:00 – Welcome & meet Zia: student, teacher, immigration attorney 04:18 – A childhood between faiths: Bahá'í, Catholic, and belonging nowhere fully 21:56 – Becoming an atheist, then the acid trip at 41 that changed everything 31:04 – Today's practice: Bhakti, collecting traditions, and experiential knowing over doctrine 39:36 – Sound, surrender, and the difference between efforting and allowing 55:21 – The parking lot story, and closing thoughts 🧭 Learn more about Vera at https://veralester.com/ 🌀 Need support? Schedule a coaching inquiry: veralester.as.me/coaching-discovery 📝 Read the full Substack reflection on this episode: https://veralester.substack.com/ 🎧 New episodes every week — subscribe so you don't miss one.