Sah DSimone - Spiritually Sassy: 8 Radical Steps to Activate Your Innate Superpowers

Acknowledgments

A huge thanks to my agent Coleen OShea for your vision and your loving support. Thank you to my editor, Diana Ventimiglia, for being a champion for the book throughout this journey, and for all the times I needed a cheerleader. Thanks to everyone at Sounds True for believing in this book and bringing it into the world. I want to thank Melissa Valentine for your hard work, your patience and kindness through this process, and for your beautiful inquiry into my mind that insured I brought the best, most clear heart wisdom through.

Tenzin Chogkyi, one of my teachers who helped me simplify some of the most complex teachings in the bookthank you for your wisdom.

I want to thank Tenzin Palmo for reinforcing the importance of teaching about joy. Im so grateful for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for being an example of who we can become. I want to acknowledge Lama Zopa Rinpoche who saw something in me before I saw it in myself.

Im so grateful to my friend Karen Chodron, for her teachers, and for the wisdom in her that is reflected back to me. I would like to thank Venerable Sarah Thresher and our guides who made visiting the holy caves of Guru Rinpoche possible. Ezra Johnson, you were instrumental in encouraging me to always write my truth and be myself. Thank you, Jackie Cantwell, Ian Daniel, Alexandra Roxo, Ashley Elizabeth, and Lisa-Marie Schneider.

An enormous thanks to my family. I am so grateful for you, Mommy, your love is why I believe in myself today. My sister Moun, you have been a guiding light, I dont know where I would be if it werent for your support. To my brother Micky for being a fierce critic in the most loving way. My dad, for teaching me that love languages dont always look the same for everyone.

I want to acknowledge my friend Gabriel Marques for making me laugh, hosting me in his home, and always being such a sweet and funny friend when I most needed it. Youve been there for me for so many years. A special thanks to Ruby Warrington for your book wisdom, for your compassion and friendship as I embarked on this journey.

Lastly, I want to thank all the incredible people, friends, and teachers Ive met on my travelsyou are all my teachers.

Also by Sah DSimone

5-Minute Daily Meditations

About the Author

Sah DSimone is a spiritual guide, meditation teacher, transformational speaker, and bestselling author--leading a heart-based healing movement rooted in tried-and-true techniques, and pioneering a spiritually sassy approach in which joy and authenticity illuminate the path to enlightenment.

Born in Brazil, Sah immigrated to the US at age 16. By his early 20s, he had found great success in the fashion industry as co-founder and creative director of an international fashion magazine, and yet he was overwhelmed by addiction, depression, and anxiety. In 2012, he walked away from everything and began an intensive search for health and well-being.

In 2013, Sah embarked on a journey to Nepal, India, Thailand, and Indonesia to study with great spiritual masters like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, and countless others. Sah developed a revolutionary healing approach, blending ancient Tantric Buddhism and modern contemplative pyschotherapy served with a twist of his trademark sass. He is also passionate about mental health and well-being in the LGBTQIA+ and POC communities.

Sahs teachings have helped enrich the lives of thousands, and he has shared the stage with Deepak Chopra, Yung Pueblo, Ruby Warrington, and Dan Harris. His first book, 5-minute Daily Meditations, is an international bestseller, translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Dutch. He has been invited to speak at TEDx, and his client list includes Google, MoMa, Kanye West, Cannes Lion, American Express, the United Nations, New Balance, Bloomingdales, and Havas.

Learn more about Sah on his website: sahdsimone.com

About Sounds True

Sounds True is a multimedia publisher whose mission is to inspire and support personal transformation and spiritual awakening. Founded in 1985 and located in Boulder, Colorado, we work with many of the leading spiritual teachers, thinkers, healers, and visionary artists of our time. We strive with every title to preserve the essential living wisdom of the author or artist. It is our goal to create products that not only provide information to a reader or listener but also embody the quality of a wisdom transmission.

For those seeking genuine transformation, Sounds True is your trusted partner. At SoundsTrue.com you will find a wealth of free resources to support your journey, including exclusive weekly audio interviews, free downloads, interactive learning tools, and other special savings on all our titles.

To learn more, please visit SoundsTrue.com/freegifts or call us toll-free at 800.333.9185.

Coming Out of the Spiritual Closet

Congratulations, my love. You have taken a step in the direction of your well-being, in the direction of your heart. I am honored to have your trust as I share with you what I know to be true about what it takes to heal and be happy. Your wellness requires all of you: a trained mind and body so that you can listen to your heart. I promise to be honest and vulnerable and to hold your hand as we walk across the bridge together. Are you ready to go on this journey together? Are you willing to do the work?

This will not be easy, but I promise it will be worth it. In fact, sometimes it might be fucking scary. But guess what? You are worth it. Take a vow now. Repeat after me: I am worth it.

In this chapter, Ill go over the eight steps of the Spiritually Sassy curriculum so you know whats to come. Ill share what my spiritual coming out looked like, and you will begin to map out your own unique way of coming out of the spiritual closet, because being spiritual for ten minutes in the morning wont cut it. You are a mega boss, honey! You are a living legend, and you can spiritualize everything.

A NEW KIND OF SPIRITUALITY

So, what the heck do I even mean by spiritually sassy? There are many paths to freedom; whats so interesting about the sassy path? Spiritually Sassy is the culmination of all of my studies, from the West to the East and back. This vocabulary is not Buddhist per se. Rather, its my own interpretation of everything Ive learned through my study of Tantric Buddhism and contemplative psychotherapy, and through being a total junkie of liberation. It is the wisdom that I live by and that has become my guiding force. My teachings in this book will digest all of the things Ive learned through the Buddhist path, and Ill share them with you in a very accessible, revolutionary, and rebellious way. While this book uses some Buddhist principles, it is not a Buddhist book. In fact, Im going against what some of my teachers are telling me. Its a rebellious act but its what I know and what has worked for me.

Its no secret: I am queer as fuck, I am brown as fuck, I am long- and curly-haired as fuck, I am Brazilian as fuck, I laugh loud, Im extra, I love to dance, I call everyone my love, I will tell you I love you after meeting you just once. These are also real things about me: I used to be an addict, I had shame about my sexuality, I thought I was worthless, I was severely depressed and anxious, I thought no one would ever love me, I fed my body garbage. These things are also real: Im Buddhist, I meditate every day, dancing is one way that I practice freedom, I have studied with spiritual masters around the world, I practice kindness and forgiveness of myself and others as part of my daily work, I am not perfect. All of these things are parts of me.