We had the good fortune of connecting with Lyndsay Hailey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lyndsay, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
Being present with others. Observing human life. Being on the inside of things. Yoga, meditation, art, dancing, and singing. Really deep connections and mining the human experience. Even discomfort makes me happy because I am growing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art… I find that as I expand in my spiritual path, I also find I have a little more judgment for my own art and the perceived “consciousness” of the art that I put out into the world. And that isn’t the point now is it? The way I see it, artists’ excavate themselves to find deeper truth in their expression and existence and they share that with the world in an embodied way. Sometimes that comes through me in a poem that is the most divine thing I’ve ever created and later that poem gets a song added behind it that requires me to scream the lyrics. Bridging the divine with the primal and giving it voice. I suppose my job is to get Lyndsay out of the way so that I may be a clear channel for what moves through me from spirit and not judge anything as light or dark, it just is and what is – IS everything. What sets me apart I suppose is that my divinity is as loud as my primal, my comedy is as loud as my poetry, I can’t pick a lane. I can’t pick an identity, I can’t represent myself as a “brand” because I am all of it and that doesn’t feel truthful to my expression. How did I get to where I am today is a funny question for me – because where am I? I’ve followed the subtle and not-so-subtle clues from the Universe and treated this path like a great treasure hunt, following my heart and my spirit and doing my best to allow my mind be the passenger inside my dream car and not my driver. I have taken great risks on myself, and made giant leaps without knowing how it would turn out. There have been lots of bruises, lots of falls, and some highs, but as the great Rue McClanahan said in her Emmy acceptance speech, “every kicks a boost.” And I know that, so it makes you just as excited for the kick as the boost. No this has not been easy, it has been all of it. To follow your soul is — exhilarating. The lessons. Accept what is, the way you frame your reality determines the quality of your experience, be in the present moment, and every kick is a boost. What do I want the world to know about me, my brand, my story? That they aren’t mine at all and I am not any of those things.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Griffith Park and the Observatory, I Met Her At a Bar, Maru Coffee on Hillhurst, Semi-Tropic, a walk around the Silverlake reservoir at sunset, Lakeshrine Self Realization fellowship in Mt. Washington or the Pacific Palisades, the Lake Hollywood reservoir, The Elysian Theater for Comedy or watching the Improvised Shakespeare Company at The Largo – the founder is a dear friend. I love Tej at Nine Treasures Yoga, and the Kundalini community, the improv scene is heating up again, and the underground philosophy scene, if you can find it – is enchanting.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people I want to shout out, but I recently lost a dear friend who is legitimately the only reason I am still alive. In my early 30’s I was dying from a rare condition, it was some hybrid between an autoimmune disease and burnout. The name they gave it eventually is “Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome” but it manifested in me as life-threatening food allergies and chemical sensitivities. I was living a very partial existence, overly sensitive to everything and having anaflatic reactions to most foods and environmental toxins. Conventional medicine turned me away. One woman believed me. She had a tiny holistic clinic in Northbrook Illinois, at the time in a hair salon. And she single handedly saved my life. Her name is Dr. Kerry Heitkotter. She was a dear dear friend and I owe her any success I have. I love her dearly.

Website: lyndsayhailey.com

Instagram: lyndsayhailey

Linkedin: Lyndsay Hailey

Twitter: lyndsayhailey

Facebook: Lyndsay Hailey

Other: Presencepractice.com, improv-international.com, shoesbeforepants.com

Image Credits
Liza Boone (Photographer of Vintage Images) Gaby Duong (Photographer of shot in Desert) Jesse Morales (model with Turkey) David Terry (model with breakfast)

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