Discover the transformative journey of Bev Janisch, a former nurse turned spiritual life coach, meditation teacher, and author, in her latest MysticMag interview. Through her signature coaching approach and book, “Awakening a Woman’s Soul: The Power of Meditation and Mindfulness to Transform Your Life,” she empowers individuals to reconnect with their true selves, find purpose, and live authentically.
Who is Bev Janisch? Can you share a few details about yourself and your professional journey with our readers?
I’m a former nurse turned spiritual life coach, meditation teacher, and author dedicated to helping individuals find deeper meaning, purpose, and authentic happiness. My signature coaching approach and writings empower awakening souls worldwide to reconnect with their true selves and live lives aligned with their souls’ desires.
Professionally, I’m trained as an Integral Associate Coach™, Certified Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher, Enneagram Practitioner, and Master’s prepared Nurse. I’m passionate about empowering individuals to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and personal growth. My passion arose from the “soul hunger” I experienced a decade ago. It was a confusing time when I had retired from nursing, my children were grown, I was married to my high school sweetheart, and I had much to be grateful for. Even with all this, my life lacked a sense of meaning, purpose, and authentic happiness.
I felt lost, confused, and stuck, and that began a long and transformative journey to get to know myself and who I was beyond all the roles that defined me. Through the journey, I found my way back home to myself and a meaningful life aligned with my soul.
What are some main ideas behind your coaching?
I created a signature coaching approach for people who are experiencing what I call “soul hunger.” Soul hunger is a term I use to describe a deep longing or emptiness that people may feel within themselves. It often manifests as dissatisfaction, lack of purpose, or a yearning for something more meaningful.
The approach was designed to help individuals understand and address their soul hunger by exploring their core values, passions, and holistic well-being. I help clients reconnect with their inner selves, explore their purpose, and cultivate a fulfilling and meaningful life through personalized guidance and support.
What sets my coaching program apart is a holistic approach to addressing soul hunger. My coaching approach combines tailored inner practices such as meditation and mindfulness with the transformative power of the Enneagram of personality. This fusion enables a holistic transformation from within, fostering a profound shift in people’s lives.
What can a person hope to achieve with your spiritual guidance?
The people I work with achieve a deeper sense of inner peace, presence, and purpose. I developed the seven pillars of awakening that highlight seven fundamental principles or key elements crucial for awakening or self-realization. These pillars represent essential aspects or guiding principles that support and facilitate personal growth, transformation, and the awakening of our true nature. Each pillar corresponds to a specific area of focus or practice that contributes to the overall journey of awakening. These pillars are foundational and provide strength, stability, and structure to the path of awakening
The seven pillars of awakening are captured in the SPARKLE acronym. These seven pillars empower people with the tools and knowledge to settle their mind and nervous system, practice mindfulness, arm themselves with self-love and compassion, release and replace limiting beliefs, kickstart the forgiveness process, listen to their inner wisdom, and energize a new way of being that enables them to bring their gifts to the world for the betterment of themselves and others. Spiritual guidance gives people the tools and insights to connect with their deeper desires for fulfillment and purpose.
These deeper desires arise from our souls and are messengers from beyond. They inspire us to contribute to something bigger than ourselves and to enter into the right relationship with ourselves, others, and life’s mysteries. These soul desires to tip the scale towards healing, growth, and transformation, leading to deeper inner peace, service, compassion, and the realization that we’re all connected.
As a meditation teacher, can you tell us the benefits of regular meditation?
The benefits of meditation and mindfulness are well-researched and documented. They help people cultivate a healthy body, mind, and soul and build our resilience to stress. Something powerful and transformative begins to happen when a person commits to a simple meditation practice daily. Beyond the benefits of helping to deal with the accumulative effects of stress, such as sleep issues, anxiety, depression, physical ailments, hormone imbalances, etc., a person begins to reclaim a feeling of personal power over themselves and their lives.
Even starting with 5 minutes daily begins to shift how a person views themselves and their lives. Although I experienced it myself and witnessed it in hundreds of others, it always feels like a miracle when I hear how a person’s life has changed with a simple practice. I find it helpful to view our minds like a garden. Meditation and mindfulness practices give us the tools to tend to the garden to grow beautiful flowers.
Some of our meditation practices enable us to cultivate healthy soil. Others help us to focus and observe the garden without doing anything. Some practices are intended to help us pluck the weeds, while others are valuable for planting the seeds we want to grow. Without these tools, it’s virtually impossible to grow a healthy, sturdy garden to withstand the occasional storms and create a life that brings us deep meaning and authentic happiness.
You are also an author. What is your book “Awakening a Woman’s Soul: The Power of Meditation and Mindfulness to Transform Your Life” about, and why should people read it?
This book is deeply rooted in my journey of self-discovery and incorporates stories from the women I’ve coached. Through “Awakening a Woman’s Soul,” I delve into the experience of soul hunger and the vital importance of living authentically.
Despite having financial security, happy adult children, and a fulfilling marriage, I couldn’t shake off dissatisfaction. I felt confused as if something essential was missing from the beautiful life my husband and I had built together. It wasn’t until I embarked on the challenging climb up Mount Kilimanjaro that I realized I would only find true happiness by delving deeper within myself rather than seeking external accomplishments. This book explores the battle modern-day women face with soul hunger—a profound longing for change to live in alignment with our true selves. Our souls yearn to shift from living according to our conditioning, societal expectations, and obligations to embracing our true essence and purpose.
In “Awakening a Woman’s Soul,” I share my transformation journey and delve into mindfulness and meditation practices that can deepen our connection with our souls. Our souls thrive when given space, freedom, creativity, self-expression, connection, growth, love, and a sense of presence with nature. Forgiveness and self-compassion also play crucial roles. As women, it’s time to awaken and listen to the longings of our souls, as our deeper desires hold the key to our health, connection, and fulfillment.
