#94 From Near-Death to Spiritual Awakening

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.153 --> 00:00:02.423
I remember one woman I'll never forget.

00:00:02.999 --> 00:00:04.349
Deeply spiritual woman.

00:00:04.389 --> 00:00:10.573
I actually, she was in her sixties dying and she's like really conscious of the process.

00:00:10.592 --> 00:00:17.332
And she would even with me, like I'm leaving, kind of like voicing, like, like she was leaving, coming back, leaving, coming back.

00:00:17.352 --> 00:00:22.823
It was just like, Oh, profound, very, very sacred.

00:00:22.832 --> 00:00:38.171
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

00:00:41.631 --> 00:00:50.311
Welcome to the new age human podcast, where we have inspiring conversations with spiritual entrepreneurs in the areas of mindfulness, longevity, and innovative technology.

00:00:50.631 --> 00:00:58.692
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.

00:00:59.161 --> 00:01:04.072
Remember the journey starts within please like, and subscribe wherever you're listening or watching.

00:01:04.402 --> 00:01:06.382
And with that said, let's get to the show.

00:01:06.406 --> 00:01:06.725
All right.

00:01:06.725 --> 00:01:16.195
So today we're hanging out with Catherine Duncan and integrative spiritual consultants and author of everyday awakening.

00:01:16.415 --> 00:01:21.126
she previously served as a trauma and hospice chaplain.

00:01:21.415 --> 00:01:27.046
And today we're hopefully going to go into her profound experiences of nearly dying.

00:01:28.546 --> 00:01:37.126
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.

00:01:37.436 --> 00:01:40.006
I'm excited to chat with you, Catherine.

00:01:40.215 --> 00:01:41.126
Thanks for coming on the show.

00:01:41.896 --> 00:01:43.165
Great to meet you, John.

00:01:43.286 --> 00:01:44.006
Great to be here.

00:01:44.421 --> 00:01:46.350
Yeah, you have awesome energy.

00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:47.911
I just want to throw that out there.

00:01:48.081 --> 00:01:52.811
I think we're going to have a really cool conversation, especially when it comes to feeling more alive.

00:01:52.831 --> 00:01:54.781
I feel like a lot of us need that.

00:01:54.950 --> 00:01:58.210
And there's a lot of people that might be feeling alone out there.

00:01:58.221 --> 00:02:01.831
Just there's a lot of separation going on.

00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:04.161
Let's just say on every aspect.

00:02:04.521 --> 00:02:07.240
And I think today would be very powerful.

00:02:07.251 --> 00:02:09.945
So Very cool stuff.

00:02:09.975 --> 00:02:20.186
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.

00:02:20.975 --> 00:02:28.346
Can we start with Though like what happened there and let's see what where it takes us.

00:02:30.256 --> 00:02:44.545
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.

00:02:44.616 --> 00:02:47.246
I was, my parents took me to the hospital.

00:02:47.246 --> 00:02:51.656
I was diagnosed with a very rare childhood cancer.

00:02:51.686 --> 00:03:00.795
Um, I was given a 20 percent chance to live for two years and, um, started really intensive treatments.

00:03:00.816 --> 00:03:08.295
And so this is back in the seventies and, uh, no one talked to me about what was happening.

00:03:08.295 --> 00:03:20.455
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.

00:03:20.455 --> 00:03:24.145
I felt like I was on a tightrope walking between life and death.

00:03:24.175 --> 00:03:27.996
And um, you know, no one talked to me.

00:03:27.996 --> 00:03:32.725
My mother, I'd say religious, would say you're going to be fine.

00:03:33.105 --> 00:03:54.295
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.

00:03:55.015 --> 00:03:55.536
20.

00:03:55.825 --> 00:03:58.806
I thought if I could be 20, I would see the world.

00:03:59.385 --> 00:04:07.506
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.

00:04:07.506 --> 00:04:12.876
It was just like, took my breath away and a deep knowing that I was going to live.

00:04:12.925 --> 00:04:13.966
I was okay.

00:04:14.026 --> 00:04:15.195
I wasn't alone.

00:04:15.195 --> 00:04:19.175
And that really started me on this whole journey of life.

00:04:19.175 --> 00:04:20.875
And what does it mean to be alive?

00:04:20.875 --> 00:04:22.156
And here I am.

00:04:22.675 --> 00:04:43.370
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.

00:04:43.380 --> 00:04:45.300
Like how how old were you again?

00:04:45.300 --> 00:04:46.781
And how far was 20 from you?

00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:50.221
I was, I was 11 when I started praying this.

00:04:50.221 --> 00:04:51.540
I was so little, you know?

00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:54.240
And I thought 20 would be like a dream.

00:04:54.690 --> 00:04:58.350
So yeah, big birthdays, and I have another big birthday coming up this summer.

00:04:58.355 --> 00:04:59.581
It's like, oh my gosh.

00:04:59.581 --> 00:05:00.300
Wow.

00:05:01.771 --> 00:05:03.031
It's the gift of life.

00:05:03.036 --> 00:05:04.651
It's like, oh wow.

00:05:04.711 --> 00:05:05.281
I feel it.

00:05:05.286 --> 00:05:05.911
I get it.

00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:06.781
Mm-Hmm,

00:05:07.011 --> 00:05:12.490
honestly, um You look so young you said oh, this was the 70s.

00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:16.591
I'm like that doesn't the math is not adding up right now in my head, you know,

00:05:16.661 --> 00:05:18.701
No, I'm turning 60 this summer.

00:05:18.701 --> 00:05:19.060
It's like.

00:05:19.815 --> 00:05:20.946
I can't process that.

00:05:20.946 --> 00:05:25.016
You look at anybody watching this on YouTube, she looks very young.

00:05:25.026 --> 00:05:26.485
She is young and

00:05:26.490 --> 00:05:28.420
because I don't get sun, I'm too fair.

00:05:28.810 --> 00:05:31.050
Uh, right.

00:05:31.050 --> 00:05:32.430
And then, you know, smiling.

00:05:32.451 --> 00:05:34.180
I mean, you're smiling year to year.

00:05:34.790 --> 00:05:37.750
Um, the appreciation of stuff brings more of it.

00:05:37.750 --> 00:05:39.490
So appreciation of life.

00:05:39.490 --> 00:05:41.721
I can only imagine more of it comes to you.

00:05:42.230 --> 00:05:48.350
Um, now the when you said to near death experiences.

00:05:48.786 --> 00:05:56.545
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.

00:05:56.545 --> 00:05:58.005
Like I got past 20.

00:05:58.415 --> 00:05:59.276
Give me another chance.

00:05:59.446 --> 00:06:00.096
I'm curious.

00:06:00.505 --> 00:06:12.105
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.

00:06:12.146 --> 00:06:16.026
I, um, went through high school, college, my family.

00:06:16.315 --> 00:06:17.755
I have a lot of older siblings.

00:06:17.966 --> 00:06:19.696
Everyone was in business.

00:06:19.940 --> 00:06:31.451
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.

00:06:32.021 --> 00:06:36.466
And, um, this actually, this experience happened on a time in Carthage, Virginia.

00:06:36.605 --> 00:06:40.235
Corporate trip, whitewater rafting in 2000.

00:06:40.286 --> 00:06:44.435
Um, and this trip was for the top salespeople in the country.

00:06:44.446 --> 00:06:48.815
And we went whitewater rafting and I had a lot of trepidation.

00:06:48.815 --> 00:06:52.995
The rivers were actually really high because of rain.

00:06:52.995 --> 00:06:59.646
So instead of level three, level four rivers, um, it was a whitewater rafting experience where I had this.

00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:08.560
Yeah, near death experience that was life changing and transformative for me and choosing a whole other path for my life

00:07:08.935 --> 00:07:09.446
Wow.

00:07:09.495 --> 00:07:18.565
So see, like you went whitewater rafting and I think like level one and two is like calm waters.

00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:23.461
And then level three and four is like, you know, you're going to have to paddle away from rocks.

00:07:23.461 --> 00:07:30.081
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?

00:07:30.571 --> 00:07:44.706
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.

00:07:44.706 --> 00:07:49.565
He was going straight down the middle, you know, I had a life vest and helmet.

00:07:49.615 --> 00:07:54.065
I was in the very corner and I just didn't have the weight to hold the boat.

00:07:54.086 --> 00:07:59.877
And next thing you know, I was deep underwater and it was pitch black.

00:07:59.886 --> 00:08:01.406
And I was just like, this is it.

00:08:02.105 --> 00:08:02.975
I'm going to die.

00:08:03.045 --> 00:08:06.105
This is the fear of my childhood.

00:08:06.105 --> 00:08:07.446
I'm going to die now.

00:08:07.485 --> 00:08:07.846
And.

00:08:09.370 --> 00:08:51.730
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.

00:08:51.730 --> 00:08:52.390
It was interesting.

00:08:52.390 --> 00:09:10.556
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.

00:09:10.566 --> 00:09:17.466
She said Catherine I dreamed that I slipped into a river and I almost drowned and then I woke up.

00:09:17.576 --> 00:09:20.155
And it was actually the day that that happened.

00:09:20.155 --> 00:09:23.505
It was just like, but it was a, you know, this was a significant experience.

00:09:23.505 --> 00:09:24.566
It was a turning point.

00:09:24.576 --> 00:09:32.105
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?

00:09:32.125 --> 00:09:34.905
And it gave me the courage to be like, I'm done.

00:09:35.155 --> 00:09:37.346
I need to create space to listen.

00:09:37.346 --> 00:09:38.816
Where am I being called?

00:09:38.895 --> 00:09:40.855
And within a few weeks I gave my notice.

00:09:41.216 --> 00:09:46.225
And, um, thought I need to, and I picked up some odds and ends jobs for money.

00:09:46.225 --> 00:09:47.725
And I just like, I need to listen.

00:09:48.135 --> 00:09:49.765
Where am I really being called?

00:09:49.765 --> 00:09:53.155
And I started really intensely praying and meditating and journaling.

00:09:53.166 --> 00:09:56.296
And that then led me to the path I'm on now.

00:09:56.650 --> 00:09:57.331
Wow.

00:09:57.791 --> 00:10:03.400
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.

00:10:03.400 --> 00:10:06.441
And that's like, not normal for her, which is huge.

00:10:06.441 --> 00:10:07.130
You guys must be

00:10:07.244 --> 00:10:07.815
Yeah.

00:10:07.815 --> 00:10:08.385
Mm

00:10:10.561 --> 00:10:19.191
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.

00:10:19.530 --> 00:10:23.150
Um, I think she had that, that wouldn't be a prophetic dream.

00:10:23.150 --> 00:10:24.941
That's more of like a connected dream.

00:10:24.941 --> 00:10:26.120
Like she's really good.

00:10:26.160 --> 00:10:27.431
Cause that was like real time.

00:10:28.416 --> 00:10:29.735
Yeah, we're very close.

00:10:29.735 --> 00:10:35.796
And when I went through all that cancer treatment, she was with me every step, every path, I mean, completely.

00:10:35.806 --> 00:10:36.985
So we're super close.

00:10:36.995 --> 00:10:39.245
So not surprising that.

00:10:39.265 --> 00:10:39.826
Yeah.

00:10:39.926 --> 00:10:42.196
I mean, it was like, Whoa, but

00:10:42.860 --> 00:10:46.900
So what was that conversation like when she told you that she had that dream?

00:10:47.630 --> 00:10:48.451
I'm curious.

00:10:49.535 --> 00:10:51.096
I mean, I was just shocked.

00:10:51.105 --> 00:10:52.936
I just was, I could hardly speak.

00:10:52.936 --> 00:10:53.796
And then I had tears.

00:10:53.806 --> 00:10:57.285
I'm like, and then I told her, mom, this is what happened.

00:10:57.285 --> 00:11:01.676
And we're just like, Oh, we both were just like, Oh my gosh.

00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:02.971
Wow.

00:11:03.610 --> 00:11:03.890
Right.

00:11:03.890 --> 00:11:07.100
It's like a, like at that movie moment where everybody's just like blown away.

00:11:07.100 --> 00:11:09.020
Like, did this really happen?

00:11:09.030 --> 00:11:10.030
This is nuts.

00:11:10.640 --> 00:11:20.730
Um, and it's interesting how you're, you have a successful career with time magazine, you have this near death experience.

00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:24.650
Your world seems to have completely changed.

00:11:24.650 --> 00:11:25.645
And that that's, that's awesome.

00:11:26.265 --> 00:11:42.186
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?

00:11:42.780 --> 00:11:43.201
Yeah.

00:11:43.230 --> 00:11:52.451
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.

00:11:52.451 --> 00:11:53.341
I need silence.

00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:54.120
I need listen.

00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:58.071
So I really intentionally mindfully added in more practices.

00:11:58.110 --> 00:12:02.811
Um, so to kind of sense the guidance, it was a huge departure.

00:12:03.341 --> 00:12:06.875
I mean, when I told, um, My siblings, you know, I quit timing.

00:12:06.926 --> 00:12:08.525
I mean all of them were like what?

00:12:09.426 --> 00:12:18.446
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.

00:12:18.456 --> 00:12:20.846
That was the paradigm in my family system.

00:12:20.885 --> 00:12:31.010
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.

00:12:31.010 --> 00:12:35.061
Meanwhile, I've been reading books on life, meaning purpose since a teenager.

00:12:35.110 --> 00:12:38.780
I mean, can't take it, you know, read enough and like, why am I here?

00:12:39.341 --> 00:12:44.240
So when my girlfriend Connie said this at midnight, strange, we were even talking so late.

00:12:44.581 --> 00:12:45.910
I'm like, Oh my gosh.

00:12:45.941 --> 00:12:47.910
And then I looked into.

00:12:48.221 --> 00:12:49.360
Graduate schools.

00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:52.140
And when I got materials from the college of St.

00:12:52.140 --> 00:12:55.181
Catherine, my body started physically shaking.

00:12:55.191 --> 00:12:58.350
I was just like, I don't knowing this is it.

00:12:58.350 --> 00:12:59.610
And I applied, I got in.

00:12:59.610 --> 00:13:08.240
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.

00:13:08.250 --> 00:13:09.910
He started yelling.

00:13:12.280 --> 00:13:14.051
He started hitting the table.

00:13:14.750 --> 00:13:19.841
He's almost screaming at me like what and he first thought it was geology.

00:13:19.841 --> 00:13:28.681
I'm like, no, it was just like, like, how do you make a living?

00:13:28.691 --> 00:13:30.931
You leave time magazine to study.

00:13:31.250 --> 00:13:33.431
It was just not the paradigm of our family.

00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:38.240
And, but I'll tell you before he died, he became my biggest supporter.

00:13:38.541 --> 00:13:39.451
Really?

00:13:39.490 --> 00:13:41.211
What do you think, uh, made him turn around?

00:13:41.250 --> 00:13:44.921
Because that's two major, like, opinions and perspectives.

00:13:46.625 --> 00:13:57.655
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.

00:13:57.686 --> 00:13:59.785
And it was really beautiful.

00:14:00.301 --> 00:14:00.890
Hmm.

00:14:01.691 --> 00:14:09.711
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.

00:14:09.760 --> 00:14:11.551
You know, he's like, I see it now, right?

00:14:11.591 --> 00:14:17.490
I can only imagine what the brain starts to do and the energies of the body as you get closer to that.

00:14:17.562 --> 00:14:26.941
Um, so you had these experiences, you had this, like your body was shaking out of excitement.

00:14:26.971 --> 00:14:31.581
You're studying theology and that's something that I'm looking to currently as well.

00:14:31.581 --> 00:14:33.421
So very fascinating stuff.

00:14:34.081 --> 00:14:37.650
Um, but you are, I forgot what it's called.

00:14:37.671 --> 00:14:38.931
Is it a chaplain?

00:14:39.400 --> 00:14:39.860
Right?

00:14:39.990 --> 00:14:43.071
And you helped walk thousands of people.

00:14:43.071 --> 00:14:45.260
That's a lot at the end of their life.

00:14:45.561 --> 00:14:48.395
And How, what was that like?

00:14:48.395 --> 00:15:00.076
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.

00:15:01.235 --> 00:15:03.166
Um, I would say all the above.

00:15:04.275 --> 00:15:05.125
all the above.

00:15:05.846 --> 00:15:11.485
When you're a hospice chaplain, I also worked at our loved one trauma hospital, but just look the take the hospice chaplain.

00:15:11.535 --> 00:15:15.495
I mean, full time you're with people dying and the life.

00:15:15.951 --> 00:15:20.081
Every day that and I, it was so sacred.

00:15:20.091 --> 00:15:29.331
I felt so called to the work and it just, for me, I, I just have experienced from my experiences and losing family members.

00:15:29.331 --> 00:15:31.780
I've lost five family members I've experienced.

00:15:32.650 --> 00:15:36.510
That death is not an end, that we transform, that we go on.

00:15:36.561 --> 00:15:41.471
And also my ability to mystically, I see spirits, I see angels, I see a lot.

00:15:41.941 --> 00:15:50.341
So the sacred work, I just felt in the depth of my being that I was helping people transform and leave their body.

00:15:50.490 --> 00:16:03.530
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.

00:16:03.721 --> 00:16:04.291
So

00:16:04.615 --> 00:16:05.255
saw that

00:16:05.410 --> 00:16:07.301
I saw a lot, felt a lot.

00:16:07.341 --> 00:16:07.921
Yeah.

00:16:07.921 --> 00:16:17.610
And, and some patients in hospice, probably not surprising to hear a few, you know, we're so conscious, deeply spiritual.

00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:19.880
I remember one woman I'll never forget.

00:16:20.456 --> 00:16:21.806
Deeply spiritual woman.

00:16:21.846 --> 00:16:28.755
I actually, she was in her sixties dying and she's like really conscious of the process.

00:16:28.775 --> 00:16:35.515
And she would even with me, like I'm leaving, kind of like voicing, like, like she was leaving, coming back, leaving, coming back.

00:16:35.535 --> 00:16:41.005
It was just like, Oh, profound, very, very sacred.

00:16:41.015 --> 00:16:43.895
And then I write about this in my new book, everyday awakening.

00:16:44.806 --> 00:17:00.546
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

00:17:01.326 --> 00:17:02.125
Wow.

00:17:02.265 --> 00:17:04.496
So, let's reel it back a little bit.

00:17:06.121 --> 00:17:16.611
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?

00:17:16.611 --> 00:17:19.121
Is it the top of the head every single time?

00:17:20.066 --> 00:17:29.836
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.

00:17:29.836 --> 00:17:32.506
I could see different spirits in the room.

00:17:32.586 --> 00:17:33.036
Yeah.

00:17:33.037 --> 00:17:34.467
Yep.

00:17:34.730 --> 00:17:40.800
spirits as in, um, let's say people meeting up with them?

00:17:41.121 --> 00:17:42.161
I'm guessing, right?

00:17:42.681 --> 00:17:43.171
Wow.

00:17:44.431 --> 00:17:45.701
And were

00:17:45.846 --> 00:17:47.076
This is horrible for me.

00:17:47.381 --> 00:17:50.611
yeah, you're like, yeah, why, why, why do you ask?

00:17:53.580 --> 00:18:01.010
Um, and then, uh, when, when your father passed, were you there, were you able to experience that?

00:18:01.536 --> 00:18:03.066
You know, interesting you say that.

00:18:03.145 --> 00:18:05.665
Yes, it was pro found.

00:18:06.355 --> 00:18:19.596
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.

00:18:19.605 --> 00:18:26.665
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.

00:18:27.476 --> 00:18:29.036
And I, here's what's interesting.

00:18:29.165 --> 00:18:38.455
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.

00:18:38.965 --> 00:18:45.546
I thought that, and my father was laying there on, you know, not conscious, his head was turned a different direction.

00:18:45.945 --> 00:18:52.246
And all of a sudden I felt this wave of energy flooding the bedroom.

00:18:52.256 --> 00:19:00.935
I was like, And then my father became conscious, turned his head and looked right at me and then left.

00:19:01.486 --> 00:19:03.096
It was just incredible.

00:19:03.125 --> 00:19:08.695
And the nurse saw all of a sudden something was happening and yelled for all my siblings to come in.

00:19:08.695 --> 00:19:18.806
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.

00:19:18.806 --> 00:19:19.205
Yeah.

00:19:19.207 --> 00:19:19.226
Yeah.

00:19:19.556 --> 00:19:22.395
Here's a takeaway, but my view, we're not alone.

00:19:22.405 --> 00:19:23.066
We're not alone.

00:19:23.066 --> 00:19:24.806
When we die, we have angels.

00:19:24.806 --> 00:19:28.486
We have spirit guides to help us when we leave our body.

00:19:28.865 --> 00:19:30.205
And that was another example.

00:19:30.246 --> 00:19:32.556
It's just profound example of that.

00:19:32.935 --> 00:19:38.705
In this case, I didn't see the spirits and angels, everyone coming in, but I could feel it.

00:19:38.715 --> 00:19:40.746
It was so powerful and it was magical.

00:19:40.746 --> 00:19:47.036
It was honestly, instead of scary, it was at least like inspiring, magical when he died and left his body.

00:19:47.580 --> 00:19:48.111
Wow.

00:19:48.621 --> 00:19:49.161
Wow.

00:19:49.570 --> 00:19:54.851
And when he looked at you, was he, did he look at you with his physical body?

00:19:54.881 --> 00:19:56.540
Like he turned and looked at you physically.

00:19:56.621 --> 00:20:01.201
Yep, his head turned and looked at me and then, vroom, was gone.

00:20:01.711 --> 00:20:02.381
Wow.

00:20:02.895 --> 00:20:03.885
That's wow.

00:20:04.816 --> 00:20:08.016
And, and now do you tell your family what you saw?

00:20:08.026 --> 00:20:10.935
Like, how do they feel about, uh, your experiences?

00:20:11.145 --> 00:20:13.115
I'm curious, like, what was that dialogue like?

00:20:13.911 --> 00:20:25.550
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.

00:20:25.550 --> 00:20:38.435
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,

00:20:38.806 --> 00:20:39.415
Oh, man.

00:20:39.935 --> 00:20:40.996
And, wow.

00:20:41.056 --> 00:20:41.435
I mean,

00:20:41.462 --> 00:20:45.536
hmm 100

00:20:45.736 --> 00:21:02.175
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.

00:21:02.185 --> 00:21:07.786
You were just in and out of the gym of spiritual connection and this contemplation of life.

00:21:08.236 --> 00:21:17.185
And I can only, I can only imagine, um, somebody that, uh, I mean, all these thoughts are coming into my head.

00:21:17.185 --> 00:21:34.905
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.

00:21:34.905 --> 00:21:45.925
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?

00:21:46.736 --> 00:21:55.221
percent I, with patience, it did get to a point one time where I was like, okay, That's enough.

00:21:55.871 --> 00:21:59.701
Actually, where I said you can't, I just would go to bed and I'd bring on tension.

00:21:59.701 --> 00:22:02.201
You cannot come within 20 feet and wake me up.

00:22:02.830 --> 00:22:29.971
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

00:22:31.115 --> 00:22:32.516
So you gave them permission.

00:22:33.155 --> 00:22:34.885
Let's stay within 20 feet while I'm sleeping,

00:22:35.270 --> 00:22:35.570
Yeah

00:22:37.550 --> 00:22:38.040
Wow.

00:22:38.270 --> 00:22:48.181
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?

00:22:48.510 --> 00:22:51.171
Were you constantly trying to sort?

00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:57.631
Because just walking through the halls, I can, I can just imagine, like, people, um, following you around.

00:22:58.010 --> 00:23:00.381
Or was it more like people came and gone?

00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:04.451
Came and went where it was just like quick visits, like high by just touch and go

00:23:04.921 --> 00:23:05.310
Mm hmm.

00:23:05.351 --> 00:23:06.320
They were quick visits.

00:23:06.330 --> 00:23:28.050
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.

00:23:28.540 --> 00:23:42.705
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.

00:23:42.726 --> 00:23:44.826
I can feel it, sense it, see it.

00:23:45.415 --> 00:23:50.306
Which is, in a way, not surprising, given how much I've worked in the End of Life field.

00:23:50.996 --> 00:23:52.736
Um, but working with energy.

00:23:52.766 --> 00:23:53.955
I'm a toon from the future.

00:23:54.486 --> 00:24:00.046
We Are Energy, in fact, the latest medical textbook called Integrative Medicine by David Rakel.

00:24:00.046 --> 00:24:04.675
In fact, myself and two colleagues wrote a chapter in this textbook.

00:24:04.715 --> 00:24:10.185
Well, in this textbook, the latest edition, they have a section on what I'm talking about energy, energy boundaries.

00:24:10.185 --> 00:24:13.576
It's finally really being accepted more in the medical community.

00:24:14.020 --> 00:24:21.411
But you can, every one of us listening, set up energy boundaries so that be conscious of how much energy are you taking in?

00:24:21.451 --> 00:24:22.340
Are you not?

00:24:22.391 --> 00:24:31.961
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.

00:24:31.990 --> 00:24:37.990
And it's game changer of how I experience life because I'm so sensitive and empathic.

00:24:38.800 --> 00:24:41.280
and and you said it right there empathic.

00:24:41.361 --> 00:24:43.820
I was, I was like, I know what you're talking about.

00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:52.330
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.

00:24:53.336 --> 00:24:58.385
And to your point, yeah, I, I've had to do it myself where like you create that bubble.

00:24:58.385 --> 00:25:00.496
Everybody has like their own way of doing it.

00:25:00.496 --> 00:25:08.945
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.

00:25:08.945 --> 00:25:14.715
I feel like just more like this as each generation happens, more and more people are sensitive.

00:25:15.465 --> 00:25:17.556
Do you, I'm just curious, just throwing it out there.

00:25:17.566 --> 00:25:31.445
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.

00:25:31.455 --> 00:25:35.675
Do you feel like there's a correlation between early trauma and sensitivity?

00:25:35.675 --> 00:25:37.405
And I have another question to follow up on that.

00:25:38.260 --> 00:25:39.010
I do.

00:25:39.040 --> 00:25:39.520
Yeah.

00:25:39.520 --> 00:25:43.810
And it's also related to how we're wired, how we come into this life.

00:25:44.290 --> 00:25:48.221
I'm a, I'm a believer in reincarnation.

00:25:48.580 --> 00:25:57.221
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.

00:25:57.846 --> 00:25:58.326
Hmm.

00:25:58.746 --> 00:26:03.875
And I like how you brought up reincarnation because you just expanded the dimension of that question.

00:26:04.385 --> 00:26:35.471
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.

00:26:36.355 --> 00:26:44.226
You left, can you speak on your transition between working as a Chapman or chaplain and then what you're doing now?

00:26:44.246 --> 00:26:52.365
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.

00:26:52.695 --> 00:26:54.105
Like there's different directions you can go.

00:26:54.105 --> 00:26:56.256
There's paranormal investigator.

00:26:56.496 --> 00:26:58.385
There's connect with your family.

00:26:58.806 --> 00:27:01.976
You can make a big show of it or, uh, or do other things.

00:27:01.976 --> 00:27:04.185
So I'm curious, like how that happened for you.

00:27:06.796 --> 00:27:08.806
I, um, am a mystic.

00:27:08.846 --> 00:27:12.736
I'm an intuitive and they're right on many paths.

00:27:12.796 --> 00:27:18.125
I could have chosen to be, I think, a psychic, a medium, a channeler.

00:27:18.496 --> 00:27:20.756
Yes, but I've chosen not to.

00:27:20.786 --> 00:27:27.826
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.

00:27:28.375 --> 00:27:31.705
I can see them, but I don't need to channel through my body.

00:27:32.236 --> 00:27:43.976
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?

00:27:43.976 --> 00:27:44.705
What are you choosing?

00:27:45.441 --> 00:27:58.451
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.

00:27:58.451 --> 00:28:00.070
It's really, it's sacred.

00:28:00.080 --> 00:28:01.300
It's really intensive work.

00:28:01.300 --> 00:28:09.330
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.

00:28:10.221 --> 00:28:11.161
Death and dying.

00:28:11.250 --> 00:28:13.391
So it was just, that was coming through me.

00:28:13.621 --> 00:28:19.996
And I think an impetus with that also was Um, around, this was a huge turning point as well.

00:28:20.046 --> 00:28:36.316
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.

00:28:36.846 --> 00:28:40.296
He's doing well, hopefully can live a long life.

00:28:40.776 --> 00:28:46.685
But that was just the, another added layer of like, wow, I'm with people end of life dying every day.

00:28:46.685 --> 00:28:49.836
And then I'm navigating this pretty hardcore family situation.

00:28:50.615 --> 00:28:55.855
I think all of that combined of like, I want to work with a broad spectrum of people.

00:28:55.875 --> 00:29:03.185
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.

00:29:03.185 --> 00:29:06.276
And so it just organically came through me.

00:29:06.921 --> 00:29:23.080
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.

00:29:23.080 --> 00:29:23.651
His name is Dr.

00:29:23.651 --> 00:29:25.671
Greg Plotnikoff He's amazing.

00:29:25.681 --> 00:29:29.060
He has a clinic Called Minnesota personalized medicine.

00:29:29.060 --> 00:29:32.381
He's very well known when people can't figure out what's wrong with him.

00:29:32.381 --> 00:29:33.181
They go see Greg.

00:29:33.181 --> 00:29:34.171
He's like Dr.

00:29:34.171 --> 00:29:34.570
House.

00:29:35.161 --> 00:29:39.980
Um, so I get, I work with people that have chronic health conditions alongside with Greg.

00:29:40.080 --> 00:29:42.320
Um, but I also work with a lot of people.

00:29:42.951 --> 00:30:02.961
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.

00:30:03.111 --> 00:30:07.611
So I just feel so grateful to work with so many amazing people.

00:30:08.820 --> 00:30:09.121
Okay.

00:30:09.121 --> 00:30:10.340
And it makes perfect sense.

00:30:10.381 --> 00:30:31.806
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?

00:30:31.865 --> 00:30:40.425
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.

00:30:40.435 --> 00:30:42.766
And I, and I hopefully am helping to do the same.

00:30:43.375 --> 00:30:46.241
Um, There's interesting in your book.

00:30:46.672 --> 00:30:47.731
Is it in your book?

00:30:47.781 --> 00:30:52.201
You have like five essential practices for for opening your heart and soul.

00:30:52.642 --> 00:31:02.561
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?

00:31:02.561 --> 00:31:03.951
And maybe a tip or two.

00:31:06.352 --> 00:31:12.481
these are five practices I've lived organically about how to awaken into your soul, awaken into your heart.

00:31:12.481 --> 00:31:15.801
What does it mean to really live and be fully alive?

00:31:15.801 --> 00:31:24.961
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.

00:31:24.961 --> 00:31:27.392
It can be just energy or true nature.

00:31:27.892 --> 00:31:33.991
So the second is connect with something greater than grow your trust, embody love and hold openness.

00:31:34.011 --> 00:31:40.741
And so these five practices and I actually have 42 exercises in my book.

00:31:40.751 --> 00:31:41.652
So how do you do it?

00:31:41.662 --> 00:31:44.741
How do you feel into just this moment?

00:31:45.162 --> 00:31:46.471
How do you feel love?

00:31:46.491 --> 00:31:48.082
How do you feel flow?

00:31:48.511 --> 00:31:57.332
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.

00:31:57.342 --> 00:32:00.152
And are we living in our mind like head up?

00:32:00.152 --> 00:32:17.412
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.

00:32:17.461 --> 00:32:18.971

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

Catherine Duncan

Listen On

Recent Episodes

Immersive Meditation Experience Episodes

Browse episodes by category