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Welcome back to Part Two of my conversation with Ana Megrelishvili. From Ana’s challenging life in Eastern Europe to finding healing and purpose in the United States, discover how silent retreats and a newfound faith transformed her life. This episode delves into the profound impact of understanding trauma, separating it from identity, and the powerful practice of silent retreats for deep spiritual and emotional healing.
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
00:38 Recap of Ana’s Story
01:50 Understanding Trauma and Identity
02:36 The Power of Hypnotherapy
03:36 Journey to Faith and Healing
04:35 Silent Retreats: A Path to Deep Reflection
06:28 Writing and Publishing a Book
07:27 The Impact of Silent Retreats on Life and Business
08:24 Practical Advice for Silent Retreats
21:23 Connecting with the Guest
22:27 Conclusion and Farewell
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Biography:
Ana Megrelishvili is the visionary founder of the Christian Professionals Network Worldwide (CPNW) in Atlanta, Georgia, where she skillfully blends her passion for positive change with actionable initiatives. CPNW transcends traditional networking by integrating business relationships with service-oriented values, fostering global community transformation. Grounded in Christian principles, Ana ensures CPNW serves as a collaborative hub, uniting leaders to pursue societal betterment. The foundation’s mission is to combat relational poverty through faith and community. CPNW pairs mentors with shelter residents, encouraging regular church attendance and community integration, providing a consistent support network to help them build positive relationships and professional connections. Over a year, mentors provide support, fostering a community of encouragement and love. Monthly networking events not only facilitate professional connections but also spotlight local non-profits, offering hope and inspiration. Graduates of the program join a networking community, with membership funded by CPNW’s for-profit business, enhancing their career opportunities and ensuring sustained success. Ana’s dedication extends to her roles as a board member for Gift-Wrapping Stars for Children and chair of the Saprea gala committee, where she leverages her expertise to uplift vulnerable communities. Her impact is also reflected in her literary contributions, sharing her journey of healing and resilience in her book, “Finding Courage to Change,” and in “Powerful Female Immigrants: Volume 3,” which narrates her inspiring journey from Georgia to the US. Co-authoring “Success Redefined” with Jack Canfield, Ana has earned recognition as an Amazon Best-Selling Author. Her academic credentials include a BS in Business Management from Berea College and an MBA from the University of Kentucky, completed in just 11 months. Ana’s unwavering commitment to fostering faith-based community support and professional growth continues to inspire and transform lives worldwide.
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Ana Megrelishvili Part Two Transcript
[00:00:00][00:00:00] Welcome to the Wounds of the Faithful podcast, brought to you by DSW Ministries. Your host is singer, songwriter, speaker, and domestic violence advocate, Diana Winkler. She is passionate about helping survivors in the church heal from domestic violence and abuse and trauma. This podcast is not a substitute for professional counseling or qualified medical help.[00:00:26] Now, here is Diana. Welcome, welcome back to the podcast. I’m so glad you’re here. We are going to hear the second half of my conversation today with Ana[00:00:44] Megrelishvili. Last week, we talked about her coming from Eastern Europe as an immigrant from the country of Georgia to Russia, and she was part of a family [00:01:00] that was very abusive and poor, and she was scraping together money to buy bread and stole from her classmates. Her mother told her to steal and they were just trying to survive.[00:01:16] And then a big change came when she moved here to the United States to go to college on a scholarship in Kentucky and lots of twists and turns in her story, which we will continue today. Now of course, as always, if you have not listened to Part 1 of Anna’s story, please go back and listen to that first before continuing here.[00:01:40] She tells her story much better than me, so I don’t want to wait any longer to hear the conclusion of Ana’s story. So enjoy.[00:01:50] And so one of the things that I always talk about is we have our trauma and identity intertwined, we really need to separate it [00:02:00] and understand that some of the behaviors that we have, some of the patterns is because of the trauma and it’s not truly who we are, because what I keep hearing other, Survivors say is I just don’t understand why I keep doing this, why I keep attracting same kind of men or all those different things, right?[00:02:18] And I’m telling them, okay, this is a trauma response and you’re just continuing this cycle. You’re not stupid. Stop calling yourself that. Your identity is not the same as what the trauma is dictating. So one, helpful tip there. I personally have also tried hypnotherapy.[00:02:39] That was really deep. I would say every session that I’ve done felt like three months of regular therapy. Just, you just really go deep into your subconscious. And during that is when I realized I had a lot of suppressed anger toward my father. So anger stage is one of the longest [00:03:00] stages in the healing process because sometimes you can get stuck there for many years.[00:03:07] And mine was so suppressed that I didn’t even know I was there until it came to surface. Because I had a lot of suppressed memories and that’s a common response of survivors. If I hear somebody who says, Oh, I don’t have a lot of memories from my childhood. That’s A alarm goes off okay, so they must have experienced something that their brain is protecting them from.[00:03:30] So as those memories came, this anger finally came on surface and I was able to deal with it. And here I want to mention, as I was going through all this healing processes, I was an atheist. While it helped me progress in my healing, truly healing came after I became a Christian and a believer because that’s when I truly started understanding how God views me. For the first time in my life.[00:03:59] I [00:04:00] realized that my value is not based on what I can do, what I can produce, what I can give to people, but it’s because of how God views me and my value is in Him, right? And that’s just been so incredible and so liberating because, cannot do everything for everybody. You constantly feel like a failure because you’re not doing enough.[00:04:23] And so I want to say that I think therapy is important and I think faith is important, but both together is really the way to go through that healing process.[00:04:35] So 1 of the practices that I’ve been also doing now for 2 years is every 3 to 4 months, I go on a silent retreat. It allows you to really go deep inside yourself and also[00:04:49] to allow space for God to speak. So what that entails, I typically go away to different monasteries for five days and there’s no talking, [00:05:00] there’s no phones, you’re completely disconnected from the world and your only obligation is really just to be there and let God speak and for you to speak with God and that’s just such a beautiful feeling.[00:05:15] When I go, it feels like how I felt when I was a child and I was going to my grandma’s house when I had no obligation. And I knew I would be so taken care of and loved. That feeling came back when I started going to silent retreats, because really it’s I’m going to talk with my heavenly father, all week.[00:05:35] And that’s just so beautiful. So what ends up happening this first day and a half? is really detoxing time. And what I mean by that, and that I’ve asked other people who’ve gone through it, then they experienced something similar is you go and you suddenly feel so tired, like you just worked in the fields for days.[00:05:57] And sometimes they sleep for 16 hours [00:06:00] nonstop. And I really just fast and I sleep and I pray. And that’s all I do for the first day and a half is just really just shedding everything that I’ve been carrying for this month. And on the third days, when really it starts, like you have this jolt of energy and I go out in nature and I just start really allowing God to work and God to speak.[00:06:25] And so incredible things happen during these times. So during my first retreat, I wrote my book called Finding Courage to Change. God gave me the title. It gave me the vision of what the cover needs to look like, where I detail my healing journey. And, I asked him and I said, do you want me to publish it?[00:06:48] Or is this just for me to process my trauma? And he said, no, it needs to be seen. And I was like, okay, Should I self publish or should I send it to [00:07:00] publishers? And God gave me like, okay, how about option C? And he says, you don’t need to do anything. I’m going to send you somebody who’s going to help you.[00:07:08] And I kid you not, four months later, I was telling somebody that I just wrote a book and need to publish it. She said, Oh, let me introduce you to my friend. She can help you publish the book. And that’s exactly what happened. Didn’t have to do any work. God brought me the person to help me publish the book.[00:07:24] But it’s really incredible things started happening. Some other survivors have started coming, sharing their story after they read my story and saying me too, this happened to me too. But more so beyond healing, I’ve had somebody Who through it also asked me about my relationship with Jesus.[00:07:46] And so then asked me to go to church. I think God is really using it for bigger purpose, not just for me to heal, for other women to have courage, to also find healing, but also maybe to bring some people [00:08:00] closer to him. Be grateful that he allowed me to have that opportunity, a year long sabbatical.[00:08:06] Between Christians and homeless here in Atlanta helping them to really and come to know Christ. And so I highly recommend silent retreats. I, like I said, I go again in August because they’re really incredible time. And to spend with God and seek his wisdom. It would be really a challenge for me to have a silent retreat for five days and trying to find the time to do that.[00:08:33] I started by going on five day retreats just because I wanted to really get into the practice of a silent retreat. When you arrive, typically you just immediately turn off your phone, right? You let your loved ones know, I’m here, I’m safe and then you are disconnected completely from the world. Nobody in the silent retreat complex can talk.[00:08:56] So it is completely silent. [00:09:00] And a lot of people think that was the hardest part, but honestly, not talking was really easy, even though I’m an extrovert. The hard part was really that losing that sense of connectivity. I think right now with the cell phones, we’re so used to constantly having immediate access to information to, reaching out to people.[00:09:22] And I just remember On the third day, I had this kind of thoughts that I wanted to explore about my business. And I was like, Oh, but I can’t Google it. Oh, I can’t look it up. So you are really forced to slow it down. And I don’t know if I think a lot of people can relate My brain is constantly going, right?[00:09:44] Even when I’m on a walk or something your thoughts could be just racing from thought to topic.[00:09:50] But when you are on these kind of retreats, you really are there to go deeper inside of yourself and really tap into God’s wisdom, and starting to [00:10:00] really listen to what he wants for your life. I fast during that week just to really tap into that power. And the third day really is that monkey brain suddenly gets quiet. And then it’s more if our thought process was like a river beforehand, it was like this fast mountainous river that was rushing and having a lot of turns.[00:10:25] And suddenly on the third day, it becomes this really slow flowing river. And you really start thinking about different topics deeper, so you go really deep inside. And so with the healing what experience I’ve had and it’s a pretty unique one. During my first retreat on that third day, third and fourth day, I wrote my book, Finding Courage to Change in two days at the silent retreat.[00:10:53] And it was really just this kind of download of everything I’ve experienced, all that, trauma put down on paper. [00:11:00] And it was really interesting because I never thought of myself that I would ever become an author, but it almost felt like all these thoughts that were inside of me, like a dam broke and all of it flew into this world and on the paper.[00:11:14] During the silent retreats, when we allow God to really move through us, when we become this kind of clear and empty vessel for Him to communicate, He allows us to really know what the best route is.[00:11:28] Cause we can get from point A to B by meandering and going through wrong doors and right, extending a lot of energy. You still get to point B eventually. But you might extend so much energy versus if you listen to God’s voice, you’ll get there a lot faster and without, extending a lot more time.[00:11:51] And so again, the most common thing that I hear when I share my experience is people say I can’t afford to take five days off work and [00:12:00] go on the silent retreat, right? Yeah. And, but what I say is that honestly, once you adopt it, I not afford to do it because in my life, since I started doing it, I’ve done in a year and a half, what most people thought could not be possible in more than five years, right?[00:12:21] Because I’m cutting a lot of the trial and error kind of stuff. thought process in my business. Instead, now God is telling me, no, you need to go this way. And, and I follow it and it just gets a lot faster. So second silent retreat was two months later after the first one, when I published my book.[00:12:42] And that purpose for that particular silent retreat was that I was going toward the end of my sabbatical and I’ve yet to really hear from God what is it that he wanted me to do. So at that point, I was praying and, and God was really quiet. [00:13:00] So I was there for, five days, four days and really nothing was coming through.[00:13:05] So on the last evening, in my last prayer session, the next morning I was going to check out and go home. I’m praying and I say, Okay, Lord, I haven’t really heard anything from you. So I guess I’m just going to continue on this path. Maybe go back to sales because that’s what I know. And then wait for you to really move and tell me what you want to do.[00:13:28] And as soon as I started saying that, whoosh, suddenly there was this overwhelmingly big vision that he gave me. And there was this, vision and a business plan really for everything that I’m doing right now. So everything that I’m doing is really came from that experience of the silent retreat.[00:13:48] I found my true purpose. I am so fulfilled and I’m doing God’s work, what he’s asked me to do. And, how amazing is that I can say that I [00:14:00] am stewarding God’s plan. What he wanted for this world to have. And I’m just so grateful. And frankly, I can say that even if I won a huge lottery tomorrow, millions and millions that sits in my bank account, I would still continue doing this same thing.[00:14:17] The only difference would be is that I would achieve the vision a lot faster because I have all these resources. And not many people can say that. I ask people this question and, I hope that was will resonate is that close your eyes if you’re listening to this and imagine that in your bank account there is 300 million dollars sitting right now and ask yourself, how would I live my life?[00:14:44] Now that I have this $300 million sitting in my banking account, 99% of people will say, oh, I will change this, do this, buy that. Not many people can say, I will continue exactly living the life that I’m doing and continue doing [00:15:00] what I’m doing now. I’ll just do it faster. Yes. And but to me, if you cannot say that you want to continue living your life, that means you’re stuck in life that you don’t wanna live.[00:15:11] That means we’re dreaming about something else. And so I really encourage people to go on these silent retreats and really open up that path for God to speak to you and say, God, what is it? What’s my purpose for life, right? We, each of us has that something that God wants us to fulfill on this earth. So what is it?[00:15:32] Tell me, God, right? And I know that it’ll just happen. And so I just continue on this path and, it’s interesting. I’ll share one more story from the silent retreat. So on my third silent retreat, it’s really incredible when you experience really amazing signs like I have, right? I’m really blessed that God has shown me signs through audible voice that I heard when I first became Christian and then, I’ve during this vision [00:16:00] at the silent retreat, it’s an incredible high that you feel like, you’re like, wow, I’ve experienced the signs and you crave it.[00:16:08] And so that’s what happened to me. And so I started going really on silent retreats because I really think I was craving that. What else? Show me more. I want more, right? And so this is what happened on my third silent retreat. I was again, probably third or fourth day. And again, God is quiet.[00:16:26] I don’t really get anything. And I’m sitting in this prayer garden, just quiet and just praying and Lord, just, just talk to me. What is it that you want? And my expectation is, Oh, I’m going to get this vision or something, amazing is going to happen. But this time there was this quiet voice.[00:16:44] The Holy Spirit just says, no more signs will be given to you. Now your faith is strong enough where you need to seek my voice in quiet places. And and you’re like, oh, and that’s when you realize, oh, [00:17:00] I was seeking the signs. Where now, and I think God knew that my faith was not strong enough.[00:17:06] I was a brand new Christian that I needed something like this. But in that moment, in that third silent retreat, he said, now your faith is strong enough. You don’t need signs anymore. Now you really need to just seek my voice in quiet places. And I’m there for you. And so moving forward, that’s exactly what happened.[00:17:24] I have not received any more signs or visions or anything. Supernatural, except just the Holy Spirit talking to me, but he does talk and he delivers and, the most recent retreat honestly saved me probably, I don’t know, thousands of dollars of investment in a business and probably a lot of time and maybe I wouldn’t have succeeded, but the pathway I was going to take my business in was not the pathway that God told me to take.[00:17:52] He’s, he completely 180 told me to do something else. And instead of expanding the networking side to open the [00:18:00] foundation. And at that point, it did not make sense. But once. I started on this path completely. I was like, Oh, so this is why. So it’s now a complete picture so that it works together. Sometimes you just have to not question, but just follow that voice, whatever, and the end it’s just always for your good.[00:18:20] And it’s been just an incredible experience. I had never heard of silent retreats. Most of us have been on women’s retreats or men’s retreats, but to be quiet so you can hear God’s voice. Usually think of a monastery, like you say. Are we able to go on these silent retreats with you?[00:18:39] I mean, You have your own silent retreat that you offer? Or what resources do you have for the listeners here?[00:18:47] Not right at the moment. I think maybe in the future, I really advise when people go on silent retreats, go by yourself because when you go with a big group it’s still you feel like you have [00:19:00] to sit together for meals.[00:19:02] really the experience is to just not be accountable for anybody, right? It’s just you and God. And this practice is very important in Christianity because think about all the examples we have in the Bible when Jesus just goes away to solitude, right? And he goes in Desert places by himself.[00:19:23] That’s silent retreat. So really, the first example that we, see is from the Bible. And it makes sense because, that’s when we truly can tune into God and really speak about it. And the thing is, yes, I started with monasteries, and I think it’s a good practice for somebody who’s just first, Just because, you have your own room and bathroom and then they cook meals three times a day.[00:19:50] So you really don’t have to worry about anything. Now that I have that practice and discipline of unplugging the last silent retreat I went to, [00:20:00] I actually organized myself, my favorite place is at this particular beach in Florida. So I just rented a condo, pre cooked all my meals, drove there, parked my car, turned off my cell phone, and really just Was there still doing the same thing fasting going on long walks at the beach and just really enjoyed it in solitude because I really enjoyed the ocean.[00:20:24] That’s my kind of happy place, right? At that point I already had the discipline. And so you can do, if in your area, there’s no monastery, what I would advise is do not do it in your home. If you do it in your home, Always going to be something you want to do errands to do something.[00:20:45] No. It has to be a place where. Even if it’s your friends are out of town and you can stay at their house, something where you cannot really do much about around the house and you’re away from your familiar surroundings. [00:21:00] That’s the key.[00:21:01] And I know sometimes five days is really not an option for many people, but what I would advise do at least three because we’re really first day and a half, two days is that detox time when you’re really clearing space. And the third day is really when you’re ready to start. Excellent. That sounds exciting.[00:21:21] Something to think about doing. So if the listeners want to connect with you and relate to what you’re saying, we talked about a lot of things. How can they get in touch with you? Absolutely. So the easiest way is probably to go on our website, just because there you can see everything work wise that I’m doing.[00:21:42] You can connect to, you can find the book and everything. Our website is www. cpnworldwide.[00:21:53] com. It’s cpnworldwide. com. I so enjoyed our [00:22:00] conversation and I appreciate you taking the time out to come on the show. Definitely keep in touch and God bless you. Thank you so much for having me. I hope that whatever I shared on this podcast might help you. And I’ll leave you with this just, Seek God’s guidance for your life and really surrender because when you do, it’s just beautiful things start happening.[00:22:24] That’s great advice. Thank you so much.[00:22:27] Thank you for listening to the Wounds of the Faithful podcast. If this episode has been helpful to you, please hit the subscribe button and tell a friend. You can connect with us at DSWMinistries. org, where you’ll find our blog along with our Facebook, Twitter, and our YouTube channel links. Hope to see you next week!