Walking the Camino with Medium Suzanne Gibson-Foy!

In this week's episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Suzanne Gibson-Foy. Suzanne hails from England and is a tutor at Arthur Findlay College, teaching courses in mediumship and spiritual development. Suzanne is also a psychotherapist and a medievalist. She combines her spiritual training and development with psychotherapy to help her clients release psychological and relational blockages that impede spiritual development and the development of mediumship.

As some of you know, I have taken many courses at Arthur Findlay College, and I consider it a home away from home. I first reached out to Suzanne two years ago for a spiritual assessment because I was having difficulty letting go and trusting more in my communication with the spirit world. It was a wonderful experience working with Suzanne. She connected with my spirit guides and loved ones on the other side to help me see myself in a different light and trust the path that I was on.  

I discovered afterwards that Suzanne has walked The Camino De Santiago in Europe seven times! Last year she walked The Camino Frances from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, which is 500 miles, or 800km, or 1.15 million steps over the month of August.  

If you are not familiar, The Camino de Santiago is a historic pilgrimage dating back to the 9th century. It is believed that the remains of the Apostle St. James rest in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, so all paths on The Camino lead to this cathedral; a spectacular homage to St. James which translates to “St. James of the Field of Stars.”

Show Notes:

Learn more about Suzanne's generous self-reflection about her last walk on the Camino on her website www.suzannegibsonfoy.uk and learn more about her many offerings related to mediumship courses, mediumship readings, spiritual assessments, dream analysis, and mentorships. 

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The intro song “To Meet the Light” and outro song “Where the Light Is” by lemonmusicstudio

Transcript

Kristen O'Meara: 0:44

Hello everyone. And welcome to intuition talks. I am Kristen O'Meara. And today I have the pleasure of speaking with Suzanne Gibson Foy. Suzanne hails from England and is a tutor at Arthur Finley College teaching courses in mediumship and spiritual development. Suzanne is also a psychotherapist. She combines her spiritual training and development with psychotherapy to help her clients release psychological and relational blockages that impede spiritual development and the development of mediumship. As some of you know, I have taken many courses at Arthur Finley College, and I consider it a home away from home. I first reached out to Suzanne two years ago for a spiritual assessment because something was blocking my ability to let go and trust more in my communication with the spirit world. It was a wonderful experience working with Suzanne. She connected with my spirit guides and loved ones on the other side and helped me see myself in a different light. and trust the path that I was on. So I discovered afterwards that Suzanne has walked the Camino de Santiago in Europe seven times. Last year, she walked the Camino Francis from St. Jean Pied de Port, which is 500 miles. or 800 kilometers or 1. 15 million steps over the month of August. So if you're not familiar with the Camino de Santiago, it is a historic pilgrimage dating back to the 9th century It is believed that the remains of the Apostle Saint James rest in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. So all paths on the Camino lead to the Cathedral. And it's a spectacular homage to St. James, which translates to St. James of the Field of Stars. So I was so curious about Suzanne's spiritual adventures on the Camino that I asked her to join me today. Hello, Suzanne. Thank you for joining us. How are you?

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 3:28

Hi, Kristen. I'm well and um, it's such a, it's a real pleasure to be here and to come and talk about this

Kristen O'Meara: 3:35

subject. Yes, yes. I have been dreaming about walking the Camino for a long time and I have this Amazon cart filled with stuff from my research. So one day I hope to go and I have a who's getting ready to go. So I, I just want to let folks know, and I'll put it in the show notes, um, the details of how to, uh, go to Suzanne's website, but there you talk about your last trip on the Camino and you describe it as a breaking down and rebuilding or building up process. So I thought it would be nice for you to share with us. Perhaps what led you to take maybe your first walk on the Camino and a little bit more about this breaking down and building up process.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 4:43

Okay, so, um, so, Kristen, I have, I can't talk about the Camino without mentioning my husband, who

Kristen O'Meara: 4:53

is

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 4:53

a key part of the Camino experience, because we were watching the film, the Martin Sheen film, The Way. Yes, I've seen it.

Kristen O'Meara: 5:03

Yeah.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 5:04

Yeah. It just kind of, now I didn't know this. So we were watching this in the Christmas of 2011. So it had just come out and so we were sitting at home watching it and, and my, my husband was very emotional watching it and he just said, you know, shall we do it? And I looked at him and I said, are you mad? Are you mad? I can't walk 500 miles and, um. He kind of said, well, why, why don't, why don't we try? And it was a, it was a big year, Kristen, because the summer 2012, I'd already decided at that point I was leaving my job. I was head of history, uh, in a private school. And I was leaving that summer to pursue work as a private psychotherapist, but also to create the opportunity for more mediumistic work, which I couldn't do if I was in a tied full time position. So we decided that we would kind of tie all these things together. It would be the end of my, uh, kind of teaching career in terms of teaching teenagers. Uh, so that would be coming to a close and it would be welcoming in this new life. And. I could take five weeks off because, you know, this, uh, summer holidays. So I said, yes. And, and the reason I said yes, mostly was because my background is a medieval historian. So it was, I

Kristen O'Meara: 6:39

read that you were medievalist and I was like, Oh, I have to ask her what that means. Yeah.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 6:44

So, so my first degree, which is in history was 90 percent of it. 80, 90 percent of it was medieval history, medieval European history, English and French in particular, a bit of Spanish. So my desire to do it was really based on, on the buildings, because I love the buildings and I love churches. So that was why I wanted to do it because I wanted, yes, the religious aspect of it very much so, and the walking through history. The touching of all these wonderful places. So I said yes. And the other reason, and this is just funny really, my husband never likes going away. So the idea that he's actually offering, saying let's go away for four weeks. I thought if I say no to this, I'll never have a, have an offer of a holiday again. So I took it. We went in July, we went, I finished school on, it would have been something like, you know, the 10th of July, something like that. And then the next day we were off. We did lots of planning. Um, my husband, I kind of planned the route, the logistics of, of, uh, you know, the travel, how we would get there, where we would stay, how far we would walk. I did all of that. And my husband did the, The equipment side of things. I'm just laughing because I tell you what, every Camino we've done, there's always been something slightly disastrous about it, one way or another. And, We prepared equipment wise, um, I didn't have time to do any, any physical training because I was coming to the end of my job and I was working so hard. I think I went for one walk in the park. And I think the park was about three miles round. So, you know, so I walked it five times. So I had 15 miles under my belt. Yeah. That was it. But the joke of it is, Krystal, and I have to share it, because, because you learn things and then, and then you unlearn them. So then you make the same mistake again and then you think, I can't believe I've just made the same mistake again. So this first time, Krystal, my husband has an old shoulder injury, so he thought that he couldn't carry a rucksack. Um, somebody who makes trailers for walking the mountains found them in Germany. Really? Yeah. So this is like, so this 2012, so he found someone who specifically makes trailers and you can measure yourself up and they measure them kind of for you. So we spent around a thousand pounds. on this amazing trailer. Um, and then we started to think of what we would need. And, you know, just in case we're just in case people, Kristen, so just in case it rained, just in case there was no food, Jim would need to cook, you know, just in case. So the the tripod went, cameras went, cooking equipment went, um, it's sleeping bag went. Anyway, we arrived and um, you know, the getting there, it's not an easy place to get to St. John. You can't get there directly. So however you get there, it's, it's going to be tricky. It's either going to be several train rides or planes and trains and whatever. It's not easy. But we set out on the first morning, my husband with his, and my husband's called Carlos. So, you know, he's half Spanish, doesn't speak Spanish, but he's half Spanish. So he has a love of Spain, which at the time I'd never been to Spain. So I didn't, I didn't have that myself. So we set off with him, with his trailer. And you set off and you kind of, you're in the Pyrenees, and you come out of Saint Jean, which is, I mean, it's beautiful, it is so beautiful, I could have spent days there. And it's in, in France, it's, it's beautiful, it's in the mountains, it's, there's lots of Napoleonic, um, Defenses there. It's just beautiful. Anyway, so we set off to the Pyrenees

Kristen O'Meara: 11:13

with

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 11:13

a trailer

Kristen O'Meara: 11:14

and Can you just tell me, the trailer, is he pulling it? How is the trailer working? It kind of works around the waist. Oh, I see, so he pulls it from his waist. He

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 11:25

pulls it from, it sits on the hips, yeah. Ah, okay. But we had it, you know, overloaded, Kristen. I mean, it was a joke. It was literally, it was literally beyond overloaded. And people were laughing as we walked by, you know. They

Kristen O'Meara: 11:43

were

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 11:44

like,

Kristen O'Meara: 11:45

look, we're not going to go hungry on this trip.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 11:47

But we didn't have any food with us. You know, you look at the map and there's one place to stop on the day one, one place. And it's only seven kilometers along, which is about four miles. And I just thought, I don't believe it. I thought, I don't believe there's only one place. So I didn't believe it, but it was true. So, so we're going up, you know, going up a mountain, which is, it's on the road to begin with. And then you come off the road and you're on the grass. Um, But it was tough. And then we had a disastrous first day. You know, we set off at seven in the morning. It's about roughly 25 kilometers. It's about 18 miles. Um, and it's up and up and down and up and down and up and down and up through a forest, which is a nightmare. It's a nightmare. Um, And I think in the forest you come down. Pretty steep. It was just, we arrived at our destination at 9 o'clock at night. So we've been 14 hours. I'm laughing because it was the most horrendous experience. We were in 14 hours, we arrived at this place, unbeknownst, I had been very silly. I brought walking shoes that, that, that, um, seemed to fit my foot. And of course, walking for 14 hours, my foot had doubled in size, but my shoe hadn't. So, So I won't be too graphic, but I lost, I think, three toenails on day one, and we didn't have any food. So we arrived at nine o'clock at night and we got to the reception place and, um, you know, They weren't very interested, they were answering the phone, doing this and doing that. And I just burst into tears. I just burst into tears. It was, it

Kristen O'Meara: 13:44

was all

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 13:45

too much.

Kristen O'Meara: 13:47

And then I'm sure, are you thinking like, how am I going to continue week after week? Because that was your

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 13:52

Well, my, my husband was, I have to say, was like, I don't want to do this. That was him. I don't want to do this. Whereas I was actually You know, no, come on, come on. We can do this. We've, you know, we've, we're going to do it. It was set in my mind. We were going to do it. Um, and that night my feet hurt so much. I couldn't sleep. I was just in agony all night. And then the next day we threw, you know, we left in the hotel. That's the other thing I need to mention, you know, in the hotel, we left an erect camera tripod, sleeping bags. Cooking equipment. You know, we left about 500 worth of equipment. Um, we set off the next day, but I think, you know, most people when they do the Camino, Kristen, they, they tend to think of doing it that they're going to stay in hostels, which are called, um, Orberg's, and they're going to really, you know, be very, very basic and being dormitories and we were never going to do that. We were always going to do. Nice buildings, when possible, because it's not always possible, but when possible, nice buildings, historic buildings, nice places, um, and have some quality time. Because, you know, I was naive, I was, I thought I was having a holiday. Right. And that I was going to see all these magnificent sites and walk as well. And so, And so the next day, right, I dragged, come on, come on, I said to my husband, we're going to do this. Um, but he didn't want to do it. And we walked, we probably walked about seven miles the next day. And day two on the Camino, um, you've come down the Pyrenees. Oh, it's beautiful. It's still, I think to me, the most beautiful day. on the Camino. The scenery is beautiful. The smells are wonderful. Um, the villages are just, they're so pretty. There's cows everywhere. It smells, it's, you know, you've got the lush green grass of, of the fields and you can see the mountains in the background. It's beautiful. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Um, but we, we struggled and I have to say that first Camino we, we did about, we must have done about six days but we really struggled and I had set this itinerary, Kristen, that we were gonna, you know, who needs to do one day at a time? Well, I walk 25 kilometers if you can walk 40. So I had these crazy, I had these crazy schedules, crazy schedules. And that, you know, you can look at it as a breaking down, but yeah, we had to really sit and say, okay, what are we going to do here? Because we can't. We can't do this the way that we've planned it we can't do it. And, and I couldn't see all the beautiful buildings that I wanted to see. And so the first Camino we actually after about five days we quit.

Kristen O'Meara: 17:06

And

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 17:08

we hired a car and we went back to the places we'd been and visited all the places that I hadn't been able to go to. And, and then we drove to Burgos, beautiful city, we stayed there. And then we, We traded in the car and we got back on the road again, um, at Leon. So we did kind of about, we did probably, what would you say, two thirds of the whole distance? With that, with that bit in the middle on the car, but we had to just start again. And, and, you know, at the end of it, There's so much, so much you learn the first time around that you really don't need very much at all. You know, when I got home and you look at all the stuff, you just think, I just don't need this stuff. A lot of it I like, but I don't need it. And I think that's the big difference of I like it, but I don't need it. I like it. But if it went tomorrow, it's no longer the end of it. The world.

Kristen O'Meara: 18:20

If you don't mind, I just, I had a thought of. The movie, um, I don't remember the name. It could have been called the way I think with Martin Sheen. Um, and I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but there is a point in the movie that he, I think he loses his backpack a couple times, right? I think once it was stolen and it was returned perhaps and I find that really interesting too because there was a process I think for him that he didn't need all this stuff. Absolutely. You really, really

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 18:54

don't need it, you know, and I think that's in a literal sense. as well as the metaphorical sense. In the literal sense, you're not in the middle of nowhere. There are, there are a few days where you don't hit many towns at all, but most of the time you're within Let's say seven to ten miles of a town

Kristen O'Meara: 19:20

at

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 19:22

any one time. So you can always get what you need. And yeah, you don't need to carry so much stuff, either physically or metaphorically. So, so, you know, that first Camino, when we got, when we got home, um, you know, I, Or even when we got to Santiago, I thought never again. I'm not doing that again. So the first experience, I was a bit disappointed because I had wanted to walk the whole thing, but we couldn't do it the way that I planned it. And as I said, my husband was quite, he wasn't really having any of it until we, we reestablished. And from then on, I think he really enjoyed it. But it is that what You do start to question, you know, what's important, what, what do I need? And one of the things that really struck me was that I, at the start of it, I, I was unfit. I hadn't done anything exercise wise for quite a while. But in my youth, I was very fit. And, and the body remembers. And even just walking up the Pyrenees when it was, you know, It didn't, I didn't find it hard till towards the end. And I was like, this is amazing. My body is just, you know, back into feeling something, feeling good. And that was remarkable to me that having not really done probably, at that point I was 42, I probably hadn't done any decent exercise for about 10 years. Yeah. And the body, remembered. And that was amazing. And I, and I'd been really worried about a very badly sprained ankle I'd had from my early twenties. And I just thought my foot is no way is that gonna, and it was, it was fine. And I went from walking in these heavy boots to protect my ankle and shoe. And we ended up walking in, um, walking sandals. So they're really flexible shoes and because you're going over stones all the time and you know, uncomfortable terrain, you actually need flexibility and not stiffness. So I had these shoes that were at least one size too big for me, um, leather but really flexible and they had holes in them so my feet could breathe the whole time and. Oh, that's great. So, you know, almost the opposite to what you expect it to be. What brought you to go again? Your second time. Oh, precisely. So again, so got home thinking no way. And then we watched the film again. We've watched this film many times. And my husband just, I just love that.

Kristen O'Meara: 22:19

So beautiful.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 22:21

And my husband is like, you know, let's do it again. And I said, on the one hand, I think you're mad. But on the other hand. We have unfinished business. So two years later, we did it again, same route. Um, but being, I'm going to say slightly more sensible, but only slightly, this is, you know, how long does it take you to learn a lesson? So there's, there's several books about the Camino and with all the maps and how to walk it. And, um, There's a really common one, which I think is excellent. I've got it here. The John Brierley one. Okay. I've seen that. Um, yeah, when I was going through my Amazon. It's the most used one and it is excellent, Kristen, and he does it in 33 days.

Kristen O'Meara: 23:14

Oh, wow.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 23:15

Okay. And so, and so we did it. in 27. So the second time we did it, I laughing because I was really, I see it starts off fine and then, you know, then I just got really miserable and I got really miserable because I can remember one place in particular where the earth is kind of really red, real red orange, and you leave this town, uh, called, uh, Puente la Arena, beautiful, beautiful medieval bridge. You leave the town and then you start walking up this hill that's like that, which Most of them are and you've got this blue sky above you and your nose is like two foot from the ground as you're Walking up this hill and I just thought what am I doing? I can't even look up to see the sky. I'm just, you know, focused on not tripping and not, oh, and I just, I had a bit of a fit with myself, Kristen. Um, and I think it's one of those things I then started into, you know, why do I make life so hard for myself? Why do I keep creating this kind of struggle? You don't, it doesn't need to be that. Why do I make it so difficult? And that kind of, you know, starts off that inner journey of, Of that Camino was. That was one of the realizations of just, you just keep walking. One foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other, no matter how hard it is. You just, one foot in front of the other, that's all you focus on. And you can, you can keep going.

Kristen O'Meara: 25:07

Oh, I'm so sorry to interrupt. I just got excited. It reminds me of what you wrote on your website about resistance. So it's almost like I can imagine because it would be hard for me. I'm not in shape. I have injuries and I imagine doing this, this journey and walking at such a steep incline And also wanting to enjoy where you are or where I am say, I can imagine fighting with that, with that Hill and being in resistance to one more step. Darn it. I just want to look, I want to look and enjoy. And isn't this a, also a holiday and, but. It's like a letting go and an acceptance of, of where you are. I imagine. Absolutely.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 26:06

And I think each, each community that I've done has been difficult in its own way, partly because of the, you know, the, the, Partly because of my logistics of how far we can walk, which is always what I've set, nobody else. And although I've always built days in, I've each, apart from a couple of times, I've had to keep rescheduling it. So my days off disappear as I try to make, make the walk more reasonable. So it ends up that, you know, no days off. Well, you've had one day off. on each of them. Um, but, but the resistance, and that's so the right word, Kristen, because, because we go in the summer, we usually go July or August, and it gets really hot, you know, by one o'clock, it's going to be 30 degrees, sometimes, sometimes higher.

Kristen O'Meara: 27:05

And

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 27:07

walking in that becomes miserable. So you have to get up early, get out on the road early, sometimes in the dark because it doesn't get light there. Until gone seven in the morning. So if you're going to start walking at six, you need a torch. Um, and that was this kind of breaking down. I think, I think there were three, maybe more things that over time, really, I came to enjoy. One was you have to get up early. You have to. And I, I, I hated that at first, you know, going to bed. I don't get to bed at nine o'clock so I can get up at five o'clock so I can be out on the road for 5. 30. You know, why am I doing this? But in the end, I loved that. And food, you know, The Spanish, they don't really get going until eight o'clock in the morning. So you're not, you're not going to get breakfast, you're not going to get, yeah, you're not going to get breakfast unless, you know, something's been left over from the night before. So I was very much a three meal a day, nibble person and, and I would say by the end of eighth, maybe even the last one, actually, maybe the last one by the end of last year, I'd come into being a one meal a day person. Oh, that's a radical shift. Um, you know, from someone who would get grumpy with low sugar and all of that. Um, yeah, I got through that and that. Then that's the Camino that did that. Absolutely.

Kristen O'Meara: 28:52

Wow.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 28:53

Absolutely. So I'm not always a one meal a day person, but I can, but I can be. Right. That's the thing. I can, and at home normally I just would have two meals, don't have three meals anymore at home.

Kristen O'Meara: 29:06

Do you feel that there's a resiliency? I, I imagine an inner and a, a physical resiliency that builds. Because of the pilgrimage you're on for whatever reason, everyone's got their own reason, but for the extent that you're putting in this, this energy, you know, you're, you're going every day walking so much that. I, I, I can see it just being almost like an athlete training where you just have to let go of, of these expectations that you would have and, um, and, and accept that, okay, a meal, you're not going to have the meal. And it's like this, almost like a, I see this ping pong kind of like, you know, aware, being aware of it and let, trying to let it go, or maybe even not trying, but, um, Yeah. Coming into that acceptance of three, we're going to have three hours of walking and there's not going to be a breakfast for me. I get really frustrated when I'm not, when I'm hungry, like food is really important to me, but for everyone, of course, but I really, um, I used to get really hungry. Yeah. It gets, it activates a very, uh, old wounding for me. And, yeah.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 30:31

Absolutely. So that food was a big theme, a big theme. And, um, I think if I'd have just done one Camino, that would not have been solved if you like. So it's, it's doing the many that has, has changed my relationship with food and And, and I quite like that. I think that's a good thing. And I, and I actually like the discipline of the Camino. Whereas, whereas the first two, I really resisted it, really resisted it. I wanted to, I didn't want to be, um, you know, constrained so much by time. And I think that's partly, you know, having taught for many years, when you are by the bell. All the time you are ruled by a very strict timetable and you're ruined by the bell and you're, you know, you're training people to, what you're teaching people to sit exams. So you have a daily bells, but you've also got through the year, you've got, you know, specific points that you're very constrained by. So I think I wanted to go on holiday and, you know, be free. So I found it really I didn't want to do it,

Kristen O'Meara: 31:50

but

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 31:50

in the end, and I think this is, this is the, you know, the spiritual part of it, the same when, you know, you look at any religious practices with prayer and meditation, it starts off with perhaps a desire, then it doesn't go how you want to, so you don't want to do it, and then you have to do it, and then you come to okay, you grudgingly trudge through it, and then from trudging you start to enjoy it, and then you start to look forward to do it, and then you, then you, you need to do it for your own inner well being. So I think the walking is the same as a meditation practice, a prayer practice, this whole, a relationship that we have with, with God. It, it is this dance of something I want and I don't want and I don't want it on your terms, I want it on my terms. You can't have it on your terms, you have to surrender. So there is this, this dance that gets played out through the physicality of the Camino.

Kristen O'Meara: 33:02

Oh, wow. And so I, I imagine, and I remember you writing about more specifically about your last time, but every time you go, I love what you said that, You're not the same person, even though you're going perhaps maybe in the same, um, starting on the same path. I know you've done it differently because all paths lead to, to the church, to the cathedral. Okay. Yeah. So you, you're going perhaps through the same terrain, but you're not the same. No.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 33:36

I would love to hear

Kristen O'Meara: 33:38

about that self reflection. Well, do

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 33:40

you know, I think what was really interesting because the last, last year when we did it, it was probably, I'm going to say it's the hardest, but that's not true. It was as hard as one of the earlier ones, particularly because Kristen, I was really unfit. And

Kristen O'Meara: 33:59

I've

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 34:00

gained a lot of weight over the last couple of years because we hadn't been during COVID. We booked it and had to cancel, booked it and canceled

Kristen O'Meara: 34:08

it.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 34:09

So yeah, so we hadn't done it for a while. And I was really, um, Yeah. a bit heavy. Yeah. And it made it very hard, made it hard. And, and again, you see, Kristen, I'd stupidly had us doing doubles here and one and a half there in terms of the distances. So again, I had to reschedule it and, and scale it back. So it was, it was tough, but I think, I think what was very different. Is, is the expectation of it and I took, I took a lot of books with me on my Kindle and, and I read a lot and I took it as a time of the walking. The first half was hard. And then after that, you know, again, the body. was much better and I'd lost, I lost a bit of weight, thank goodness. So the walking got easier and I read, I just read and I read, um, and it was, you know, a real time for just, just reading and, and having space rather than just collapsing in a heap, being exhausted. It was the having space to read these other, you know, these spiritual writers and to, and to just, yeah, to take stock. But it was hard and, and I think, I suppose the doing it over the time span, and I know that we'll probably do it again next year, and it's then the taking into account your age and, yeah, changes. So it's being kind of realistic. It's being realistic, isn't it? That's the thing.

Kristen O'Meara: 36:11

Well, and I think that's, I can relate so much to what you're saying. When I, when I apply it to caregiving, cause I have a, a teenager on the autism spectrum and I'm taking care of my mother in the home. We all live together and I go through almost my own, um, Camino in a way where sometimes I feel like my wings are clipped. I, I'm in a situation where I have to really. Accept that I'm doing certain things that are perhaps, uh, repetitive and exhausting and, but when I step back and through a practice, like what you're saying of that, uh, mindfulness or meditation or prayer, however I can connect, I have to. Look at my experience differently and, and know that even though I may want to go take a week away or have more time for myself, the spiritual aspect of, of. Connecting and being with my family, um, is more important and I have to see myself and them as spiritual beings to like, it has to, it needs to eclipse the, oh my gosh, you know, the toilets clogged and Austin's having a hard time, you know, putting too much toilet paper in the, you know, it's just that thing where it's just, it's happening constantly. And, and, um, It's always an opportunity for me, as hard as it can be, to help me change my perspective.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 38:10

I think that's the bigger thing. I think it is the, the, the letting go of certain expectations that obviously are not just to do with the Camino, that are much more about, about the bigger picture. In your own life, you know, the disappointments are tied up with expectation, aren't they really? So once you, once you start to let go of expectations and the idea of how things should be, then your perspective actually changes. Yes. And the more you, you know, the more you align to that inner power. I can remember one Camino and it was, um, it was a really short, it was a short one actually. It must have been 2015 when we just did what's called the English route and it's only about five days. It's about 120 kilometers, but it's about five days and there's, it's not a route that many people do. So there's not many facilities. on that route at all. Um, and it's, so it was quite tough. There weren't many, you know, weren't many places to grab a coffee or to sit down. And, and I just remember on that one, because of things that had happened in my own life, I just on that one got to the point where I just, I just surrendered. I just surrendered. And it is a kind of, as long as, as long as I serve you. That's all that matters in this world. And so there was a big, I suppose that was the movement from, I want it on my terms to, okay, I'll have it on your terms. And that was a big, big shift,

Kristen O'Meara: 40:12

a big shift. Did your trips to, on the Camino, did they help you in your development, uh, as a medium and as a teacher?

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 40:24

I, I think it, it's that, that big, as I talked about, you know, it's the dance that you do between this is what I want. You know, I want to be a medium. I want to be a tutor at the college. I want it to be this way into the, into the letting go of that completely and moving into, well, if it's your will. Okay. I will be there. So, so I think there's that on the one hand, but the other, Kristen, more and more, I would say I now see, and it's not very popular view, but I now see mediumship as a by product of the relationship between between us as individuals and our spiritual self

Kristen O'Meara: 41:18

and

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 41:21

those who work with us and God. And I think our mediumship is a byproduct of that and a reflection of that. So while mediumship has been at the center of my world for a long time, um, and it still is at the center of my world, my way of approaching it. is different. It's almost like my mediumship sits on the side and all the other stuff is what's important. And my mediumship changes, changes as I change. As I change and my energy changes, my mediumship

Kristen O'Meara: 42:02

changes. So, so let me understand. So what you're saying is, is that your connection, your communication, your spiritual self connecting with, and having a relationship with God, with spirit is paramount. And the mediumship is just this, uh, experience or, uh, avenue or path or a way, but you don't maybe, and I'm, I'm guessing, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but you don't necessarily need it. Is that, is that what

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 42:37

it is? I'm not saying that I disagreed to it, I'm saying that I'm saying that needed

Kristen O'Meara: 42:42

to communicate or to connect or yeah,

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 42:45

I'm saying my mediumship changes as I change and I change because of all of those other things.

Kristen O'Meara: 42:55

I see. So that's where the byproduct come in. Your mediumship changes. Yeah. As you change. So it's not the stagnant. I do this and I, you know, it goes this way.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 43:09

And I, and I would say then your mediumship is a reflection of your own relationship with, with your own spirit and God and the spirit world. So, oh, yes. Do you see what I mean? So it's no longer I'm trying to achieve x, y, and z. It's more that I do these things and the result is that my mediumship's better.

Kristen O'Meara: 43:35

Yes. I totally agree with that. Oh, yeah. I feel that. And let me see if I understand you because I think what you're saying is so important. I really want to get it. Every time I go to Arthur Finley, kind of like what you're describing with the Camino. It's the same place. The teachers seem, you know, many of them are the same. Even the courses can be similar. But every time I go, I'm different. My mediumship is different. I've experienced a lot of things up until the year before. I'm trusting more. I'm letting go more. I'm able to connect more and my experiences are are different. They're clearer. I trust more and I have experiences that I, I wouldn't have been able to have per se than the year before. Is that kind of what you're saying? Yeah.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 44:34

Yeah,

Kristen O'Meara: 44:35

absolutely.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 44:36

So yeah, so there has to be an inner journey taking place for your mediumship to come into its potential and to keep evolving. There has to be an inner journey and a willingness to undergo that inner journey, which means sometimes you do things that feel like it's taking you away from your mediumship, but it isn't. You're just doing, you know, a slight, you're going off route slightly, but you'll come back on and you'll be, you'll be stronger. Oh, I love that. So there is that, that sense of sometimes you get pulled away deliberately because of the changes that are going to take place within you so that when you return to your mediumship You know, something has changed or something, something, yeah, something will be more beautiful can happen. So to me, mediumship is always about the mystery of life. And in a way with mediumship, we're trying to demystify it. But as you know, that what we talked about beforehand, they keep showing us. They keep showing us that it is all about the mystery of life. And so as you, as you unfold yourself and you let go of all the kind of human expectations we have, you know, that's the stripping away, isn't it? The stripping away is of all the, all the material and what goes with that material and psychological expectations that we have, all of that gets stripped away. And you're just, you get stripped to the core in that sense. And it's within that, that you, that the spirit in a way becomes stronger because you have to surrender to it. You have to surrender to it. You're not in control anymore. That's, that's the point where you recognize you're not really in control here. So there's a That's been the hardest

Kristen O'Meara: 46:52

for me to learn, is the surrendering. And I can imagine you on the Camino so many times just doing just that, but in a different way. I, I just, I, I admire you so much for, for all of the trips that you've taken there. And, and, um, it's so inspiring. It really is.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 47:22

Well, there are, there are times when it is, it is so beautiful and it's so, you know, wonderful to be doing it. Wonderful to be alive. And then you think you're just so lucky to be in a position where you can do it.

Kristen O'Meara: 47:39

Yes. Oh gosh. I can't wait to go. I just can't wait to go. Well, thank you so much for sharing time with me and us and, um, I just really appreciate it. And I appreciate you. And I hope one day I can get to Arthur Finlay and take a class with you.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 48:04

That would be lovely, Kristen. And just before I go, I have to, I have somebody sitting next to me that I have to show you because it's just funny. So this is, if I can lift him, so this is St. James. Oh, I love that. Who sits by my fireplace. And this is, uh, St. James that you probably won't find one like this. Because this was from the first Camino. And I found him in a shop, and the shop seller did not want to sell him. And, um, and we left that place, but then of course we hired a car and we went back and, you know, he was for sale. So I didn't barter. I offered the full price. So the shopkeeper had to part with him because he's not a mass produced one. I think he's a properly, properly carved one. But the joke is, Kristen, that that my husband then, when we started the Camino again, my husband had to carry this. I don't think it's light. No, it's over a stone, so it's over 15 pounds. Oh my gosh. He carried this. About 200 miles. Oh

Kristen O'Meara: 49:30

my

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 49:30

gosh.

Kristen O'Meara: 49:31

Oh my gosh.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 49:32

In his rucksack. Sometimes on his trailer, other times in the rucksack.

Kristen O'Meara: 49:40

So special. And I know folks can, can Google St. James, but before we go, I do want to, I'm going to share with everyone how to get in touch with you. If they want to learn more about you and your thoughts about the Camino and your offerings, but can you share just a little bit about St. James before we wrap up?

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 50:02

Well, I can't share a visual because I'm not from a Christian background, but yes, James is one of the apostles and he is believed to be buried at Santiago. Yes. So, so when you get to Santiago, you can I don't know if they can do it anymore, but you used to be able to go into where he is and to put your hands on the statue above him and to, to give your thanks, your gratitude, all your prayers, which just before they started to, um, do a lot of work on the cathedral, I, I did. And as I, I put my hands on the, on the head where so many other hands have been, I just felt this beautiful presence. Oh, you did. Oh, wow. I'm not saying who it was, but just a beautiful presence. Um, and it was, it was wonderful. So yeah, so James, one of the apostles, he goes off to spread the word. The word,

Kristen O'Meara: 51:03

yeah.

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 51:05

So he goes off to spread the word and ends up allegedly in Galicia.

Kristen O'Meara: 51:11

Yes,

Suzanne Gibson Foy: 51:11

takes his way across from

Kristen O'Meara: 51:13

Galicia. Oh, that's so special. Well, everyone. I've had two spiritual assessments with Suzanne. She's amazing. Amazing. I highly encourage you to check out her offerings. She offers mediumship readings, spiritual assessments, and mentorship courses. And dream analysis, which is amazing. So her website is Suzanne Gibson, foy. uk, and I'll have it in the show notes. Please check out Arthur Finley college. She's teaching quite a bit this year and thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Been a pleasure.