The Capacity Of The Heart: In Memory Of Justine Ruszczyk Damond | Don Damond
Nov 8, 2022
#235 Loss affects every area of our life. Whether we
lose a loved one to death or divorce, or experience challenges
financially, physically, emotionally, or spiritually, we can find
ourselves struggling, questioning, confused, not realizing that
instead of “going crazy,” we are simply grieving. What can we do to
ensure that we honor the losses, grieve in meaningful ways, and yet
live our lives with meaning and purpose, even joy?
In this episode, I will
bring on a very dear friend, Don Damond, to help us answer that
question. In 2017, Don’s life was torn apart by the tragic killing
of his fiancee, Justine Ruszczyk Damond, at the hands of
Minneapolis Police. Justine called 911 to assist someone she
thought was being assaulted and, instead, ended up becoming a
victim herself. While standing in her alley, barefoot and in
pajamas, she was shot and killed by a police officer.
That loss led Don down
a very difficult path, but her memory ended up becoming his guide
through the tragedy. He learned so much about love, resiliency, the
human spirit and healing. Since then, he has been working
tirelessly to make sure Justine’s death leads to real public safety
reforms, and so far so good, because there have been some really
positive changes in their city.
By sharing his story
with you, Don hopes that you will be inspired to start “the next
chapter” of your beautiful life beyond the trauma of grief as you
engage in deeper self-exploration and bring greater purpose and
meaning out of the losses in your life so you can live
intentionally and with joy. He will highlight several action steps
that you can take including appreciating life, building a
relationship with yourself and others, personal strength, new
possibilities, and spiritual development, which are all vital to
helping you heal. I hope our conversation will mean as much to you
as it did to me. Enjoy!
About Don: Don Damond is enrolled with the Iroquois band of Oneida
First Nations. He passionately worked for the Shakopee Mdewakanton
Sioux Community, running their casino resort operations for 29
years. He is passionate about conscious leadership and leading with
care, presence and love. He recently stepped away from that amazing
career to step toward purpose.
He teaches meditation
to incarcerated men and juveniles, knowing these teachings can
reduce stress and anxiety and ultimately help these men create a
different life. Don has led men's groups for several years and
recently stepped into using ancient sacred plant medicines in
sacred circles. Don teaches a weekly meditation course called High
Vibe Tribe and he can be reached at damonddon@gmail.com for more
information.
Key Points Discussed:
- From Loss To Life: In Memory Of Justine Ruszczyk Damond (00:00)
- Stepping away from doing to focus on “being” (01:05)
- The meditation that led to the love of his life (05:12)
- Experiencing the magical energy of love (10:48)
- Horrible tragedy that tore his life apart (16:00)
- Dealing with the sadness and grief of his loss. (26:45)
- Stepping away from the global attention that surrounded his fiancee’s murder. (32:5)
- Love is never lost: Discovering what forgiveness really is and the beauty that came with it. (35:00)
- Trying to work on taking meditation to the police force to help them emotion regulation. (40:52)
- The heart’s unlimited capacity to love despite the pain and trauma we experience in life. (43:29)
- How he surrendered to his heart’s journey. (58:30)
- From the darkness of loss to stepping into his amazing evolution. (1:04:42)
- Experiencing healing that spreads to generations before and after. (1:08:47)
- Using our pain to ascend, evolve, and grow. (1:16:00)
- On a mission to heal the police and his community with breathwork, mindfulness, and other traditional practices. (1:24:00)
- The value of being in community with loving people and embracing ancient practices that will help you heal. (1:30:45)
How to Contact Don Damond:
- Email - damonddon@gmail.com
About me:
My Instagram:
www.instagram.com/guyhlawrence/?hl=en
Guy's websites:
www.guylawrence.com.au
www.liveinflow.co