Awaken Your Soul's Journey

Reawakening After Brain Injury: Jessica Taylor on Grief, Consciousness, and Spiritual Truth

Podcast host Angela interviews Jessica Taylor, who describes a severe brain injury that erased much of her memory and education, brought profound grief to her and her family, and left her without adequate medical support in Toronto. Jessica says she rebuilt her life through determination, extensive reading, and 20 years of research that led to her book A Spiritual Awakening and her memoir From Tragedy to Triumph: Reawakening My Broken Brain, aiming to help families understand brain injury and offer a new perspective on life. She recounts experiences of altered consciousness, spontaneous poem writing, and a lasting disappearance of jealousy, anger, and envy, and discusses ideas about the synaptic cleft, vibration/frequency, universal consciousness, oneness with nature, and reincarnation, including theological discussions with a retired Roman Catholic canon and research claims about church history and Jesus. http://jessicaetaylor.org/ [http://jessicaetaylor.org/] https://www.facebook.com/Yiska9/ [https://www.facebook.com/Yiska9/]

Expressing the Inexpressible: The Art of Healing with Devorah Brinckerhoff

Angela interviews professional artist Devorah Brinkerhoff, who created “Soul Portraits,” a mixed-media healing practice using personal materials like letters, photographs, journal pages, and legal documents to transform trauma and release old stories. Devorah describes how creativity is often dismissed in Western achievement culture, yet drawing and painting helped her self-connect, self-witness, and survive when words and even therapy couldn’t fully hold her experience. She shares how family conflict, lawsuits, and efforts to protect her children from sexual abuse led her to intuitively rip, reassemble, and paint over painful documents, creating relief and a sense of reclaiming herself. Devorah explains how her process supports grief, shame, and fear gently and at one’s own pace, and offers commissions, courses, workshops, and upcoming smaller, more accessible mini commissions via social media. https://www.soulportrait.art/ [https://www.soulportrait.art/] https://www.facebook.com/devorahbrinckerhoff/ [https://www.facebook.com/devorah.brinckerhoff] https://instagram.com/devorahbrinckerhoff [https://instagram.com/devorahbrinckerhoff] https://www.tiktok.com/@soulportrait.art [https://www.tiktok.com/@soulportrait.art]

A No BS Approach to Grief, Healing, and the Red Folder Project with Kari Driskell

Angela welcomes grief and widow coach Kari Driskell, who was widowed at 38 with two young daughters, and discusses a direct, “no BS” approach to grief. Kari shares how platitudes and toxic positivity felt invalidating, why she believes there’s a difference between lifelong grief and “actively grieving,” and how healing can restore a fuller sense of aliveness rather than capping life at a reduced “new 100%.” She recounts her husband Eric’s sudden death from a massive brain aneurysm in 2017, the difficult aftermath of parenting through loss, and how she sought tools, experts, and community to rebuild her life without “letting go” of her person. Kari also explains her Red Folder Project—an “in case I die” folder covering key plans, contacts, wishes, and documents—and encourages listeners to take what serves them and leave the rest. Kari Driskell :: Grief & Widow Coach [https://www.karidriskell.com/] https://facebook.com/KariDriskellLLC [https://facebook.com/KariDriskellLLC] https://instagram.com/Grief.Coach.KariDriskell [https://instagram.com/Grief.Coach.KariDriskell] https://www.tiktok.com/@karidriskell [https://www.tiktok.com/@karidriskell]

Weight Loss and Wisdom: Stanley Bronstein's Story of Healing

Podcast host Angela interviews attorney, CPA, life coach, and author Stanley F. Bronstein, who describes losing his mother at age eight, receiving little explanation or support, and experiencing decades of delayed grief that contributed to obesity and disconnection. He recounts weight fluctuations through college, law school, and adulthood, a pivotal moment near age 50 when he weighed 320 pounds and committed to permanent lifestyle change, quitting alcohol and soda, progressively changing his diet to vegan, and building a daily walking practice that eventually reached 13–15 miles a day; he reports losing 220+ pounds naturally and walking 72,000 miles. A later family funeral triggered long-suppressed tears, and a return visit to his childhood home and parents’ graves brought forgiveness and closure. He shares lessons about being “more powerful than you imagine,” advocates excellence over perfection (“beat yesterday”), outlines key change factors (willingness, belief, discipline, commitment), and promotes his free resources: The Way of Excellence and the Million Pound Weight Loss Challenge. Website: https://thewayofexcellence.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleybronstein/

Finding Stillness in Grief: Fire Chaplain Lee Atherton on End-of-Life Support, Resilience, and Healing

Angela interviews Lee Atherton, a fire chaplain and end-of-life grief and resilience coach with over 15 years of experience, about helping people navigate dying, grief, and the unique challenges faced by first responders who regularly witness death. Lee shares how she moved from aspiring parish ministry into hospice chaplaincy and then fire chaplaincy, focusing on tools and resources that help people process emotions rather than suppress them, reducing fear and accumulated stress that can end careers. They discuss how grief differs across losses, how support should resonate with the individual, and how telling one’s story can aid healing without “getting over” grief. Lee also describes Shadow, her former service dog turned crisis response dog, including a story from the Florida condo collapse where Shadow helped a survivor finally share her experience. https://www.phoenixrising-sdsl.com/ [https://www.phoenixrising-sdsl.com/] http://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-atherton-67235a118 [http://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-atherton-67235a118] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYUp4_zssp4fRcg33no0Uig [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYUp4_zssp4fRcg33no0Uig]