#94 From Near-Death to Spiritual Awakening | Catherine Duncan

0:00 I remember one woman I'll never forget. Deeply spiritual woman. I actually, she was in her sixties dying and she's like really conscious of the process. And she would even with me, like I'm leaving, kind of like voicing, like, like she was leaving, coming back, leaving, coming back. It was just like, Oh, profound, very, very sacred. And then within a week many patients would come back and in the middle of the night I'd open my eyes and like zoom there they would be in a spirit form just looking at me I felt this thankfulness love and then then they'd be gone Welcome to the new age human podcast, where we have inspiring conversations with spiritual entrepreneurs in the areas of mindfulness, longevity, and innovative technology.

0:50 I'm your host, Jon Astacio, and I'm on a mission to help humanity discover our human potential so we can together create positive change. Remember the journey starts within please like, and subscribe wherever you're listening or watching. And with that said, let's get to the show. All right. So today we're hanging out with Catherine Duncan and integrative spiritual consultants and author of everyday awakening. she previously served as a trauma and hospice chaplain. And today we're hopefully going to go into her profound experiences of nearly dying. And how that shaped her guidance and awakening into the heart and soul of what she's doing and working with clients on living fully and intentionally.

1:37 I'm excited to chat with you, Catherine. Thanks for coming on the show. Great to meet you, John. Great to be here. Yeah, you have awesome energy. I just want to throw that out there. I think we're going to have a really cool conversation, especially when it comes to feeling more alive. I feel like a lot of us need that. And there's a lot of people that might be feeling alone out there. Just there's a lot of separation going on. Let's just say on every aspect. And I think today would be very powerful. So Very cool stuff. But let's um, if you don't mind, let's start off with the juice, which is Not everybody has a near death experience and you had two of them.

2:20 Can we start with Though like what happened there and let's see what where it takes us. Well, first really big life changing experience for me was when I was, I was 10, I was just turning 11 and I was suddenly very sick, very ill. I was, my parents took me to the hospital. I was diagnosed with a very rare childhood cancer. Um, I was given a 20 percent chance to live for two years and, um, started really intensive treatments. And so this is back in the seventies and, uh, no one talked to me about what was happening.

3:08 And I was going through really intensive treatments and It was really a huge cracking open for me at age 11 of feeling like I was between life and death. I felt like I was on a tightrope walking between life and death. And um, you know, no one talked to me. My mother, I'd say religious, would say you're going to be fine. But there was no sense of reality of what I was seeing and witnessing every week going through treatment and, um, I organically started to pray actually because I knew I was like between life and death and I just started to pray to live and my prayer and faith had meant nothing to me and I just started to pray could I live to be.

3:55 20. I thought if I could be 20, I would see the world. And, uh, that's when after praying and praying and I told no one, all of a sudden one afternoon, this just like peace poured through my body. It was just like, took my breath away and a deep knowing that I was going to live. I was okay. I wasn't alone. And that really started me on this whole journey of life. And what does it mean to be alive? And here I am. Wow it's it's Shocking or it's interesting for me when I hear someone say I want to live at least to 20 Right and how much appreciation of life Did you have once you hit that 20 mark and then 21 and 22 like was that like It's gonna be okay type of thing.

4:43 Like how how old were you again? And how far was 20 from you? I was, I was 11 when I started praying this. I was so little, you know? And I thought 20 would be like a dream. So yeah, big birthdays, and I have another big birthday coming up this summer. It's like, oh my gosh. Wow. It's the gift of life. It's like, oh wow. I feel it. I get it. Mm-Hmm, honestly, um You look so young you said oh, this was the 70s. I'm like that doesn't the math is not adding up right now in my head, you know, No, I'm turning 60 this summer. It's like. I can't process that. You look at anybody watching this on YouTube, she looks very young.

5:25 She is young and because I don't get sun, I'm too fair. Uh, right. And then, you know, smiling. I mean, you're smiling year to year. Um, the appreciation of stuff brings more of it. So appreciation of life. I can only imagine more of it comes to you. Um, now the when you said to near death experiences. Um, was that in and out of that first experience when you were younger or was there like a second time where you had to be like, okay, like give me another chance. Like I got past 20. Give me another chance. I'm curious. Yeah, so the experience that was truly like, I'd say a near death experience was when I was in my 30s and I, you know, I got through everything as a child.

6:12 I, um, went through high school, college, my family. I have a lot of older siblings. Everyone was in business. So I went into business and I went into advertising and I ended up, I was actually with time magazine selling regional advertising, fabulous job, you know, great money, really glamorous. And, um, this actually, this experience happened on a time in Carthage, Virginia. Corporate trip, whitewater rafting in 2000. Um, and this trip was for the top salespeople in the country. And we went whitewater rafting and I had a lot of trepidation. The rivers were actually really high because of rain.

6:52 So instead of level three, level four rivers, um, it was a whitewater rafting experience where I had this. Yeah, near death experience that was life changing and transformative for me and choosing a whole other path for my life Wow. So see, like you went whitewater rafting and I think like level one and two is like calm waters. And then level three and four is like, you know, you're going to have to paddle away from rocks. It's going to be a little bit of a ride, but it sounds like it went from like three to four to five and six, right? Yeah, well and interestingly The head of our raft was if you can believe it the head of the coast it was in Costa Rica Olympic team crazy like all the other rafts We're going like away from the heavy rapids.

7:44 He was going straight down the middle, you know, I had a life vest and helmet. I was in the very corner and I just didn't have the weight to hold the boat. And next thing you know, I was deep underwater and it was pitch black. And I was just like, this is it. I'm going to die. This is the fear of my childhood. I'm going to die now. And. Everything was black and all of a sudden this white light surrounded my body and this voice crystal clear to this day said living or dying is fine, and I felt this again peace pour through my body and I didn't I didn't know what was gonna happen But I just trusted this peace and I let go and I think my body just uncurled and I came out You From under this rapid they pulled me on this boat and I was in shock I couldn't talk and we had to finish going down the river to get out because we're in such a remote area We got out out and here's the thing.

8:51 It was interesting. I didn't talk about what happened a day later Flew home to Minneapolis where I live and I happened in a taxi to call my mom To tell her I'm home and my mom being religious, you know, doesn't share dreams Nope, not her thing and I didn't know her without me even telling her what happened. She said Catherine I dreamed that I slipped into a river and I almost drowned and then I woke up. And it was actually the day that that happened. It was just like, but it was a, you know, this was a significant experience. It was a turning point. I was making, you know, a lot of money and it was fun and all this, but there was this gnawing inside of me like, is this really it?

9:32 And it gave me the courage to be like, I'm done. I need to create space to listen. Where am I being called? And within a few weeks I gave my notice. And, um, thought I need to, and I picked up some odds and ends jobs for money. And I just like, I need to listen. Where am I really being called? And I started really intensely praying and meditating and journaling. And that then led me to the path I'm on now. Wow. And that's, well, first of all, I, I, I love the fact that your mom had a dream and then she shared it with you. And that's like, not normal for her, which is huge. You guys must be Yeah. Mm She hasn't done it since well, hopefully, you know, she'll have like regular dreams and, um, but yeah, I, I've had dreams.

10:19 Um, I think she had that, that wouldn't be a prophetic dream. That's more of like a connected dream. Like she's really good. Cause that was like real time. Yeah, we're very close. And when I went through all that cancer treatment, she was with me every step, every path, I mean, completely. So we're super close. So not surprising that. Yeah. I mean, it was like, Whoa, but So what was that conversation like when she told you that she had that dream? I'm curious. I mean, I was just shocked. I just was, I could hardly speak. And then I had tears. I'm like, and then I told her, mom, this is what happened. And we're just like, Oh, we both were just like, Oh my gosh.

11:02 Wow. Right. It's like a, like at that movie moment where everybody's just like blown away. Like, did this really happen? This is nuts. Um, and it's interesting how you're, you have a successful career with time magazine, you have this near death experience. Your world seems to have completely changed. And that that's, that's awesome. a huge move to just leave that and then start that inner work and if you don't mind What type of inner work did you work on because I know you said you did meditation and journaling What made you start meditating and did you do that prior to that experience?

11:42 Yeah. I mean, I've had a steep prayer practice since I was young, but I really thought I need to be able to listen and hear where I'm being guided. I need silence. I need listen. So I really intentionally mindfully added in more practices. Um, so to kind of sense the guidance, it was a huge departure. I mean, when I told, um, My siblings, you know, I quit timing. I mean all of them were like what? You know and my father who's been gone many years now, but he was this Entrepreneur, you know, and this is the world you're in the business world. That was the paradigm in my family system. And so When it you know came to me about studying theology actually a friend out late at night midnight said if you're thought of studying theology Spiritual direction.

12:31 Meanwhile, I've been reading books on life, meaning purpose since a teenager. I mean, can't take it, you know, read enough and like, why am I here? So when my girlfriend Connie said this at midnight, strange, we were even talking so late. I'm like, Oh my gosh. And then I looked into. Graduate schools. And when I got materials from the college of St. Catherine, my body started physically shaking. I was just like, I don't knowing this is it. And I applied, I got in. And when I went out to tell my father, so I'm in my middle thirties, not only did I quit Time Warner, but I'm going to study theology. He started yelling.

13:12 He started hitting the table. He's almost screaming at me like what and he first thought it was geology. I'm like, no, it was just like, like, how do you make a living? You leave time magazine to study. It was just not the paradigm of our family. And, but I'll tell you before he died, he became my biggest supporter. Really? What do you think, uh, made him turn around? Because that's two major, like, opinions and perspectives. Well, I think when he was starting to face into his, you know, end of life and dying, it just, it opened him and he really could see who I was and see this was my calling.

13:57 And it was really beautiful. Hmm. That is beautiful because he was, he was there with you at the, at those important moments and it's aligned with your work as well. You know, he's like, I see it now, right? I can only imagine what the brain starts to do and the energies of the body as you get closer to that. Um, so you had these experiences, you had this, like your body was shaking out of excitement. You're studying theology and that's something that I'm looking to currently as well. So very fascinating stuff. Um, but you are, I forgot what it's called. Is it a chaplain?

14:39 Right? And you helped walk thousands of people. That's a lot at the end of their life. And How, what was that like? Just like, were you talking to them as they crossed over, and there's some interesting, let's say, gifts or talents that you have that incorporates that, and I want to get into that a little bit. Um, I would say all the above. all the above. When you're a hospice chaplain, I also worked at our loved one trauma hospital, but just look the take the hospice chaplain. I mean, full time you're with people dying and the life. Every day that and I, it was so sacred.

15:20 I felt so called to the work and it just, for me, I, I just have experienced from my experiences and losing family members. I've lost five family members I've experienced. That death is not an end, that we transform, that we go on. And also my ability to mystically, I see spirits, I see angels, I see a lot. So the sacred work, I just felt in the depth of my being that I was helping people transform and leave their body. And I could, when I was with people, you know, feel their spirit and even their spirit coming up through their body and like coming out of their head and like there they were, and then they were hovering above their body and it was amazing.

16:03 So saw that I saw a lot, felt a lot. Yeah. And, and some patients in hospice, probably not surprising to hear a few, you know, we're so conscious, deeply spiritual. I remember one woman I'll never forget. Deeply spiritual woman. I actually, she was in her sixties dying and she's like really conscious of the process. And she would even with me, like I'm leaving, kind of like voicing, like, like she was leaving, coming back, leaving, coming back. It was just like, Oh, profound, very, very sacred. And then I write about this in my new book, everyday awakening.

16:44 That within a week many patients would come back and in the middle of the night I'd open my eyes and like zoom there they would be in a spirit form just looking at me I felt this thankfulness love and then then they'd be gone Wow. So, let's reel it back a little bit. You're saying, uh, when you're working with these people and you're helping them out, as they die, you see visually their spirit coming out of their, the top of their head? Is it the top of the head every single time? Not every time, but I could see and sense the energy and often come from the out through the top of their head and like, and then the energy in the room, I could feel it.

17:29 I could see different spirits in the room. Yeah. Yep. spirits as in, um, let's say people meeting up with them? I'm guessing, right? Wow. And were This is horrible for me. yeah, you're like, yeah, why, why, why do you ask? Um, and then, uh, when, when your father passed, were you there, were you able to experience that? You know, interesting you say that. Yes, it was pro found. My father, um, was in hospice for a week and in at home in his bedroom and all my siblings were there around his bed that afternoon that he died.

18:19 And then all of a sudden everyone left, but only me, I was there by his bed and there was actually a nurse helping in the very corner of the bedroom. And I, here's what's interesting. I was hard to let go of my father and I just, in my vivid memory, I remember my mind saying, okay, dad, it's okay to go. I thought that, and my father was laying there on, you know, not conscious, his head was turned a different direction. And all of a sudden I felt this wave of energy flooding the bedroom. I was like, And then my father became conscious, turned his head and looked right at me and then left.

19:01 It was just incredible. And the nurse saw all of a sudden something was happening and yelled for all my siblings to come in. And he was just, he had, he had gone, he had left his body air coming out of him and all my siblings run in and yeah, it was profound and profound in that. Yeah. Yeah. Here's a takeaway, but my view, we're not alone. We're not alone. When we die, we have angels. We have spirit guides to help us when we leave our body. And that was another example. It's just profound example of that. In this case, I didn't see the spirits and angels, everyone coming in, but I could feel it. It was so powerful and it was magical. It was honestly, instead of scary, it was at least like inspiring, magical when he died and left his body.

19:47 Wow. Wow. And when he looked at you, was he, did he look at you with his physical body? Like he turned and looked at you physically. Yep, his head turned and looked at me and then, vroom, was gone. Wow. That's wow. And, and now do you tell your family what you saw? Like, how do they feel about, uh, your experiences? I'm curious, like, what was that dialogue like? You know pretty soon after I told my mom I did not tell my siblings for quite a while because I thought they were like, oh my gosh We were with dad when he died and they were Actually a few years later. I told some of my siblings and they just were like, oh, yeah I mean, I've always in my family been the one that's like, hmm, Catherine, You know, I had some different life experiences, Oh, man.

20:39 And, wow. I mean, hmm 100 Your experiences, your gift was strengthened by your first near death experience because it seems like you were surfing in and out of like the possibility of living and not living and that's almost like going to the gym. You were just in and out of the gym of spiritual connection and this contemplation of life. And I can only, I can only imagine, um, somebody that, uh, I mean, all these thoughts are coming into my head. I'm thinking of, uh, that movie, the sixth sense, you know, um, I, you know, They make that very cinematic and I can only imagine people wanting to see people pass on and at the same time Some people don't because they see maybe too much.

21:34 Has it ever been Overwhelming for you like that kid in the sixth sense where you're like, alright enough's enough Like I need to like put a pause on this and because some people just like they don't want to see it anymore What's your take on that? percent I, with patience, it did get to a point one time where I was like, okay, That's enough. Actually, where I said you can't, I just would go to bed and I'd bring on tension. You cannot come within 20 feet and wake me up. It was just too much, you know, between being the daytime with people dying and then in the night and then it got to the point the last few years with hospice My work that I would be intentional about inviting someone to come and see me who would maybe someone deeply spiritual And we were able to kind of go to a deeper place in our conversations And I would say, you know, if you want to come and see me after on the other side Yeah So you gave them permission.

22:33 Let's stay within 20 feet while I'm sleeping, Yeah Wow. And working at that place, I can only imagine it was probably, uh, fully packed for you, uh, just, like, would it go on and off? Were you constantly trying to sort? Because just walking through the halls, I can, I can just imagine, like, people, um, following you around. Or was it more like people came and gone? Came and went where it was just like quick visits, like high by just touch and go Mm hmm. They were quick visits. Also Hospice work I did I was going to people's homes majority home some nursing homes, but also one key Takeaway that I learned then and to this day practice every day of my life and that is how to work with energy I mean we are energy our body's energy Everything's energy.

23:28 I'm so attuned to energy and as you were saying just a few minutes ago You For me, because I've witnessed so much, been with so many people at End of Life, really, truly, that veil between here and the other side is very thin for me. I can feel it, sense it, see it. Which is, in a way, not surprising, given how much I've worked in the End of Life field. Um, but working with energy. I'm a toon from the future. We Are Energy, in fact, the latest medical textbook called Integrative Medicine by David Rakel. In fact, myself and two colleagues wrote a chapter in this textbook. Well, in this textbook, the latest edition, they have a section on what I'm talking about energy, energy boundaries.

24:10 It's finally really being accepted more in the medical community. But you can, every one of us listening, set up energy boundaries so that be conscious of how much energy are you taking in? Are you not? And if it's like a bubble or mirror or a grid or there's all different ways, but this is something I do every day of my life and have for over 20 years. And it's game changer of how I experience life because I'm so sensitive and empathic. and and you said it right there empathic. I was, I was like, I know what you're talking about. And, um, a lot of people that have on the show tend to be empathic, tend to have, um, high sensitivity to the world around them.

24:53 And to your point, yeah, I, I've had to do it myself where like you create that bubble. Everybody has like their own way of doing it. And it's interesting how it's becoming more accepted in more mainstream outlets where people wouldn't normally hear about that because it's overwhelming. I feel like just more like this as each generation happens, more and more people are sensitive. Do you, I'm just curious, just throwing it out there. Do you feel like there's a correlation between, uh, Early trauma and then sensitivity because I know people, well, let's just leave it at that. Do you feel like there's a correlation between early trauma and sensitivity?

25:35 And I have another question to follow up on that. I do. Yeah. And it's also related to how we're wired, how we come into this life. I'm a, I'm a believer in reincarnation. I think we come back, we have many lifetimes, and all of that informs who we are and how we feel and experience the world. Hmm. And I like how you brought up reincarnation because you just expanded the dimension of that question. Because there are people that could be, let's say, sensitive, but did not consider having, you know, Childhood trauma in this lifetime, and it could be an overlap of prior experiences, and so that could also make sense to why more people nowadays are more sensitive and it's becoming more, um, more accepted, more just the dialogue and conversations, more podcasts like this, more authors like yourself and consultants and people helping out, um, going that direction.

26:36 You left, can you speak on your transition between working as a Chapman or chaplain and then what you're doing now? I'm curious about like how that transition happened because I've seen shows of people saying, you know, I'm going to talk to your, your family. Like there's different directions you can go. There's paranormal investigator. There's connect with your family. You can make a big show of it or, uh, or do other things. So I'm curious, like how that happened for you. I, um, am a mystic. I'm an intuitive and they're right on many paths. I could have chosen to be, I think, a psychic, a medium, a channeler.

27:18 Yes, but I've chosen not to. I mean, that's a, that's one profession where you're literally channeling people's spirits and like, don't need to do that. I can see them, but I don't need to channel through my body. Um, so it just came to me, interestingly, again, tuning in, noticing awareness, how am I feeling where I'm, I'm being led, which is a lot of, you know, my book of like, how, where, how are you living? What are you choosing? I started to feel the last couple of years of my work as a chaplain and a hospice chaplain was my last job, that being with someone every single day dying is very vertical. It's really, it's sacred.

28:00 It's really intensive work. And I started to feel like I'm ready to work in a broader capacity with the living and with what life is, not just. Death and dying. So it was just, that was coming through me. And I think an impetus with that also was Um, around, this was a huge turning point as well. My husband, eight years ago, completely healthy, really athletic, never a health condition, collapsed after running, was in the ICU for ten days, he flatlined, he was diagnosed with an extremely rare heart condition, I'm happy to say today. He's doing well, hopefully can live a long life.

28:40 But that was just the, another added layer of like, wow, I'm with people end of life dying every day. And then I'm navigating this pretty hardcore family situation. I think all of that combined of like, I want to work with a broad spectrum of people. So it kept, it kept coming to me about having a practice where I work with a breadth of people, not, not just end of life. And so it just organically came through me. To start a business a woman even a nurse practitioner said hey, she had an independent practice Can I send you some people to work with emotionally spiritually and well, there we there we go So that's how my company started and now I I actually work with a medical doctor.

29:23 His name is Dr. Greg Plotnikoff He's amazing. He has a clinic Called Minnesota personalized medicine. He's very well known when people can't figure out what's wrong with him. They go see Greg. He's like Dr. House. Um, so I get, I work with people that have chronic health conditions alongside with Greg. Um, but I also work with a lot of people. It can be from, um, you know, women, men starting in their thirties, forties to eighties, nineties, who are just wanting more, needing more, just like they're feeling an emptiness, a gnawing as well, like executives and doctors and attorneys, like I've done it, but I feel nothing or I feel numb or there's got to be more to life.

30:03 So I just feel so grateful to work with so many amazing people. Okay. And it makes perfect sense. And at the same time, you're going from helping people on one end of their life to now the other end where it's like, they're going to start stepping into that part of your experience of away from the, uh, Let's just say the norm life, the old norm and stepping into the new norm, right? The new, let's say whether it's new age or just there's a, there's a shift happening and it's pretty cool how you're helping people go from one side to the, to the other. And I, and I hopefully am helping to do the same.

30:43 Um, There's interesting in your book. Is it in your book? You have like five essential practices for for opening your heart and soul. Um, if it's not obvious to the audience as far as what that means and how that helps, could you give like a little highlight of like what that is and what they can expect? And maybe a tip or two. these are five practices I've lived organically about how to awaken into your soul, awaken into your heart. What does it mean to really live and be fully alive? And the practices are, come back to the present moment, connect with something greater, and I'm really inclusive of whatever that kind of language is.

31:24 It can be just energy or true nature. So the second is connect with something greater than grow your trust, embody love and hold openness. And so these five practices and I actually have 42 exercises in my book. So how do you do it? How do you feel into just this moment? How do you feel love? How do you feel flow? These are all practices, things I practice, it's a conscious choice of how every one of us, you know, how we're living every single day. And are we living in our mind like head up? I think so much of the world lives in their mind, but can you live an embodied life, mind, body, spirit, and knowing that we are not our thoughts, we're not our feelings, we're that essence, that stillness, that spacious, you know, spaciousness, that, that soul essence, that's who we are.

32:17 And how do you live from there? Yep. Yeah, and there's different ways to get access to that part, right? Because I agree a hundred thousand percent. Most of us, especially on the Western side of the world, in our heads. You're forced to be more logic driven than heart driven. And part of what I'm You know, working with people to is just, you know, getting out of the head. I, I honestly, I was the guy and still am to a certain degree. You're, you're too much in your head. John. Um, someone called me cerebral, which I think of like the, the movie Megamind where you have this huge head.

32:57 Like, I just, I'm like, that's the image I'm like, I hope people don't think I have like this huge head walking around, like constantly processing and thinking and, um, to your point, right? Connecting to your heart, connecting to the present moment. It's huge. What are some practices that you've seen help people? I know that that helps you get there. I know one major thing for me is meditation. Just stopping. You don't have to clear the mind. Just stop. the first practice, come back to the present moment is key. You know, how do we experience being here now? Nothing necessarily new in the self Eckhart Tolle, who is amazing, um, who talks about this, but it's just.

33:43 Awareness. Where am I? Where am I all day long? So everyone listening right now, can you tune in midday, mid afternoon? Wow. Have I been in my mind all morning? Have I been able to just feel into just this moment, take a break from my mind? Am I, is my mind running me or am I running my life? So a quick exercise, things I like to do are, you know, feeling your hands, your feet. Let's just say your hands right now, feeling your hands. your fingers, whatever you feel, can you just drop your attention there? And when you do, your thinking mind slows down and can just stop. It just brings you in.

34:25 Or like you said, meditation or breath work, breathing, you know, even putting your hands on your, on your lower abdomen when you breathe in, our lower abdomen expands on the in breath and recedes on the out breath. Again, just bringing you into just this moment and start to sense like, Oh, what does that feel like? And growing that even just if you take a minute a day, then maybe five minutes a day and you start to mindfully incorporate that into your life or using your senses is another one. I, I love the example of in the morning, do you drink?

35:08 Coffee tea, like I have one cup of coffee and you know, you get the cup of coffee after you've made coffee and you hold the coffee cup, you're just fully present. Mm hmm. feel the cup, you take a sip, you're not having TV, radio, all that, all the extra, you know, that's not going on. And you're holding a coffee cup. You take a sip, maybe look out a window. You do that for a minute, a few minutes. Like, it's like, Oh, here I am. Yeah, and I agree with that, right? Having that morning practice and there's something about like the sound of something hitting a coffee like the right that just the it's like a trigger like I've I if if you're like a very consistent um routine person and let's say coffee at the same time same cup whatever and then you hear the little right it's almost like hypnotic and your shoulders drop and you're just like ah I'm about to drink some coffee Right, or tea or whatever the case and, um, it's, it's interesting, like the smells and stuff, um, with the meditations and, uh, it's interesting.

36:20 You gave, A couple of like intros into like mindfulness and I, I, I'm like, I feel bad. Cause if anybody's driving right now, just stay alert, please stay alert. Um, when you, when you work with your clients, is it mostly on the phone? Is it in person? Is it, is it a mix? Um, I, interestingly, majority of clients I see are on zoom still from the pandemic. They're still on zoom. I have an office one day a week where I see people in person. A lot of people, I see people actually all over the country. So on zoom and my visits with people, yes, it's emotional, spiritual, it may go back to any.

37:01 unrest, needing for integration, forgiveness, any of that family of origin. But then I'm really big on experiential teaching people. I'm trained in a range of healing modalities. If it's, if it's breath, if it's a meditation practice, if it's tapping or sound healing or energy healing, I mean just helping people learn skills and tools so that they can learn how to find that deep peace within, how they can self regulate, how they can, you know, start to deeply listen within. I'm really big on sharing any kind of tools and ideas. Hmm. I like that self regulate, right? You, you start to use what works for you.

37:45 Right. Yes, and every one of us is different. What really speaks to each one of us. And I feel like we're very fortunate to have this. Ability to virtually communicate because I haven't just solely relying on local, um, physical places can narrow down your ability to influence and help the masses. Right? Like my clients. I'm sure you have clients that are global, right? Like, what's the furthest client like that? You had that is that just shocked you? Just I'm curious. A client in London. Yeah.

38:25 And, um, has there ever been a client where like, uh, I'm just curious as far as like, uh, the communication where let's say a thick accent and, and, and all that, like how, how, how, how, do you work with, with that? Is it more of like, you keep it slow and this could be a very simple, like whatever question, but I'm just, something's telling me to just ask. Hmm. Well, I'm actually navigating this right now in that it's so interesting on my social media platforms. On my Facebook business account, I have so many followers. I mean, we're talking like 10, 15, 000 from Mexico and Brazil.

39:08 It's fascinating. And so I keep getting inquiries. Can we have a session? And so then I actually used to be fluent in Spanish and maybe I need to just revisit and pick that up. But I'm like, can we use a translator or so just navigating? How could that work? Yeah, fluent in Spanish. That's from school, from family. I'm curious cool. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um, interesting how you're, you're, there's something going on in Mexico and you're being called. That's pretty cool. I know. It's fascinating. Wow, and if I know of a translator that I know you're gonna find it and it's gonna be amazing And I would love to hear more about like that experience that you're having because That's really cool.

39:56 I would say I have a friend that is from Liverpool if he's listening he knows who he is and We I remember thinking I'm like his accent is really thick And he's a real cool, cool dude. I'm going to have him on as a guest. Let's see how this goes. And some of the responses I got were, we love his accent. We just, it's, it's like a breath of fresh air. It's just a different dynamic. And I can only imagine it's probably hitting different parts of your brain that weren't hit before. That might, might be a little bit different. Change your perspective of what you're listening to. So there's a lot of stuff to just pull from something as simple as like, uh, as I would say, a semi language barrier, right?

40:38 You're going into that linguistic area and that whole magic piece. But, um, that's pretty cool. So yeah, you have your, your first time author, I'm sure many more to come. And, uh, I'm excited cause you said. What, like 42? How many different, uh, practices and tips and stuff? Like you, 42 exercises in my book, it's like having a mini session with me. So yeah, but I want to teach people, try this, try this. Here's a meditation. Here's a breath exercise. Here's a body movement. Here's how to work with energy, cutting cords. There's just a lot of things I've practiced and used in my life.

41:19 wow. And for anybody that is like, you know what, I need that book. Where do they go? What's, where's the best place for them to contact you or go and grab your Mhm. So my website, you can go to Everyday Awakening is the name of my book, everydayawakening. com. I'm also on Amazon, I'm on Barnes and Noble, I'm, if you Google Everyday Awakening or Catherine with a C, Catherine Duncan, you'll see a lot, a lot out there. Hmm. And I'm going to try something new. Let's say I want to ask you a question. Let's see where it goes and I want to close off with this question. So the question is with what you're doing work wise and the people that you're helping Where do you see the world in the next 10 years?

42:08 I think people from going through the pandemic globally was a wake up call. I do. I just, and there's research on this, you know. Every single one of us walking through the pandemic experienced grief in the United States here. One out of two people now are lonely. There's research that we went from acute stress living through a pandemic to now chronic stress. And in fact, even delayed stress. So I think there's just been, uh, on some level an awakening in the world. And I think everyone now, I have a sense are. Feeling more, experiencing more, and at a decision point of opening, expanding.

42:52 I see that a lot with people I work with. I see that a lot just in the world amidst, amidst, there's chaos. There's a lot of chaos in the world. And my message is about what are you choosing, how are you choosing to live? And we can, every one of us listening, you know, decide and choose, I want to keep opening and growing and feel that deep preciousness of life. And we can all do it. And it's a choice and it's a practice. Well said and I agree. I totally agree. Well with that said, thank you for giving us that light and Highlighting how amazing your life has been and just the potential for anybody to make their, I guess, their change their, their imprint on the world for the better.

43:43 So thanks for coming on the show. Thank you. So fun to meet you. Great conversation.