This week we interviewed Jannecke Øinæs, the founder of Wisdom From North – platform for expansive spiritual growth and empowerment. We discussed the idea behind her platform, and how she helps transform people’s lives through it.
Please describe the story behind Wisdom From North. What sparked the idea, and how has it evolved so far?
Wisdom from North didn’t happen by coincidence – it came from the urge to understand big questions of life. I have been feeling lost a lot of my life. I started out as a musical theater artist in Norway and was also a part of a soap opera.
I lost my voice in my twenties and got nodules, which made me fall into a deep depression. All of a sudden I did not know who I was, and I had trouble understanding what my purpose was.
In 2012 I had this moment that I will never forget. I was sitting in this café with my father. I just became a primary school teacher and was good at it, but I realized that I want to do something else with my life. I want to travel around the world, interview people and spiritual teachers about the big questions of life.
Things happened very quickly from there – I bought a camera, put up a website, and reached out to spiritual teachers, authors, and visionaries, and just started interviewing. Eight years have passed and I have interviewed over four hundred people about the existential questions of life.
My career has evolved since then; I still do some interviews, but now we focus mostly on my membership. This is the heart really of Wisdom From North. It’s an online portal for those who want to dive deeper, want to step into their power, and be supported in their awakening process. We have different masterclasses each month with new teachers and I have hand-picked the teachers from my YouTube interviews that I resonated most with.
We have also started producing online courses and we do “Wisdom and Wonder” live evenings from Oslo and we have an online magazine. It is growing all the time and we are helping more and more people transform their lives.
What services do you offer?
As a member, you receive one new masterclass every month, access to live Q&A’s with the teachers, and the members get live sessions with me. It’s a place to come back, again and again, to expand your consciousness, and take the journey of empowerment. We have online courses, an online magazine, meditation bundles that you can purchase, and different separate classes.
How can Wisdom From North help a person transform their lives?
Our approach is to offer different perspectives and help you find your way. I don’t believe that there is one solution that fits all, I believe that sometimes we need to try out many things to find what works for us.
That was the case for me, and I think that we all have individual needs that need to be addressed. This is why we offer teachings from many different teachers. If you receive teachings from different angles it is more likely that you will “wake up” to what works for you.
What is the most important detail of maintaining the relationship of mutual trust with your customers?
I think that it is important that the business we are doing is coming from love, coming from the right place. When you come from the right place, people notice that and feel that energy. You need to ask yourself “why am I doing this?” and to make sure that you align yourself with it, and constantly course-correct yourself. It is important that you treat customers with patience and respect.
What do you love the most about your profession?
I love that I have the freedom to create things out of thin air. I get to hang out with beautiful people, both customers, and teachers, with whom I have deep conversations which enrich my life.
In this field, it is often thought that word of mouth and personal recommendations are extremely important. Is this true?
I am not sure if that’s true. I have discovered a lot of spiritual businesses and personal development programs just by searching online and hanging out on Youtube. I think that spiritual seekers seek very individually – you seek what you need.
Do you have a special message for our readers in these difficult times?
I believe that it is not a coincidence that we are going through what we are going through right now. It is a really great time to go within and ask yourself what you really want from life. Are you living the life that you want to live, and if not, what changes can you make right now? These times call for us to listen more to our inner divine guidance.