— Change is one of the few certainties of life. Sometimes we choose it, sometimes it arrives unexpectedly, and sometimes it completely changes the direction we believe our lives are taking.

Today, J. Reed Durand joins me for a conversation about self-mastery, resilience, personal responsibility, and our ability to navigate change with greater awareness and intention.

We explore the idea that adaptability is not simply something we are born with—it is a skill we can develop and strengthen. We look at how we recognize our patterns and blind spots, remain grounded under pressure, question the beliefs and biases that influence our decisions, and become clearer about our values, purpose, and intentions.

We also explore the important difference between trying to control what happens around us and learning to master how we respond to it. True self-mastery isn't about having all the answers or eliminating uncertainty. It's about knowing ourselves deeply enough to remain centered when life changes the plan.

Ultimately, we ask: Can learning to accept, navigate, and grow through change become a pathway to greater freedom, meaning, resilience—and joy?

Valeria sits with J. Reed Durand — He is the author of "Train to Change: Phase One: Self-Mastery."

From Private to Chief Information Officer, J. Reed Durand is a realist and change practitioner with 40 years of frontline leadership experience in one of the world's largest and most complex institutions—the U.S. Army.

Throughout his dual military and civilian careers, he led personal, team, and enterprise-level transformations while refining practical, field-tested approaches to navigating change in high-stakes environments.

After retiring twice and reflecting on the patterns behind continuous change, he created the Train to Change series—blending leadership, psychology, philosophy, and organizational behavior into grounded, immediately usable strategies for personal and professional growth.

His first book, Train to Change: Phase One – Self-Mastery, is available worldwide, and his follow-on Kindle eBook, Train to Change: Realism, continues the series into Phase Two.

Reed's work bridges theory and lived experience, offering audiences a disciplined, deeply human approach to self-mastery.

His core belief is simple: lasting transformation begins with taking ownership of your own development. He helps others understand change, prepare for it, and use it as a catalyst for growth in an increasingly complex world.

To learn more about J. Reed Durand and his work, please visit:

https://managingchange.xyz/ and https://jreeddurand.com/

Some battles leave visible scars. Others unfold quietly within us—in fear, uncertainty, grief, anger, or the struggle to keep believing when life becomes painfully difficult.

Valerie Sullivan, author of ZAY: Put on the Whole Armor of God, knows something about walking through those battles. Her journey has taken her from homelessness in Baltimore, where she arrived with a backpack and two young children, through profound challenges involving each of her three sons. Through it all, Valerie says her faith became the armor that helped her family keep moving forward.

Inspired by her youngest son, Isaiah—Zay—the book transforms that message into the story of a young spiritual warrior who encounters forces of fear, confusion, and envy. Along his journey, family members equip him with the biblical armor of God: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit.

Our conversation explores what that armor can mean beyond the pages of a book. How do we choose faith when fear feels stronger? How can prayer change the way we respond to adversity? And how do we teach children that courage is not always about fighting back, but sometimes about finding the spiritual strength to remain grounded in love, truth, and hope?

Valerie's story reminds us that even when we cannot choose the battles that come into our lives, we can choose what we carry into them.

ZAY is a faith-centered children's book inspired by Valerie's three sons, Curtis, O'shawn, and Zay. Through Zay's journey as a spiritual superhero, Valerie teaches children that life's challenges can be met not only with physical strength, but through faith, prayer, God's Word, and the support of family.

Her message is deeply rooted in her own experiences of hardship and resilience—from homelessness with her young children to seeing her sons overcome a shooting, serious mental-health struggles, and other life challenges. Through it all, Valerie credits her faith with carrying and protecting her family.

Her journey from arriving in Baltimore with little more than a backpack to later appearing on a Times Square billboard reflects her central belief: our circumstances do not have to determine our future. Valerie's work is ultimately a message of faith, perseverance, hope, family, and choosing spiritual strength in the face of life's battles.

To learn more about Valerie Sullivan and her work, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/@valeriesullivan-l7u6i

— Today, we're exploring a fascinating question: What if healing involves more than the conscious mind—and more than the stories we're able to put into words?

Howard brings together the worlds of Western psychotherapy, energy psychology, and shamanic healing through an approach called Dynamic Energetic Healing, or DEH. It's a model that invites us to look beyond traditional talk therapy and consider the deeper emotional, energetic, and spiritual dimensions of our experiences.

We'll explore how unresolved trauma may continue to influence our lives, what it means to carry energetic imprints, and why healthy energetic boundaries may be important to our well-being. We'll also talk about behavioral muscle testing, shamanic journeying, the healing potential of imagination, and how ancient spiritual practices can be thoughtfully integrated with contemporary psychotherapy.

Along the way, we'll ask some bigger questions: What does the body know that the conscious mind may not? How do we distinguish intuition from imagination? And can healing sometimes require us to explore parts of ourselves that cannot easily be explained through words alone?

This is a conversation about expanding our understanding of what healing can look like—moving beyond what keeps us stuck and opening ourselves to greater awareness, connection, wholeness, and joy.

Howard is also a psychotherapist, energy psychology practitioner, and teacher dedicated to bridging the worlds of psychotherapy and energy-based healing. With over 44-years of experience in trauma-informed care, Brockman integrates traditional therapeutic models with shamanic practices such as soul retrieval, extraction of psychotoxic energies and spirit-guided interventions.

As the developer of Dynamic Energetic HealingÔ, Brockman helps clients and practitioners alike explore the deep connections between the body, mind, and spirit. His work is rooted in both academic training and lived spiritual experience, offering a truly integrative approach to emotional and energy-based healing.

When he is not writing, Brockman offers private sessions, workshops and practitioner trainings, helping others access the transformative power of blending Western psychotherapy, energy healing and shamanic practices in their personal and professional lives.

To learn more about Howard Brockman and his work, please visit: https://www.dynamicenergetichealing.com/