A Skeptic and a Believer: There Are So Many Things We Experience That Cannot Be Explained

Another great introduction from Shelley Brown, Kat Barker was a fabulous guest on this episode of Your Stories Don't Define You.

Kat’s mom was a therapist and her dad a writer. They self-analyzed themselves into a mess, and she struggled to find ways to address her inner emotions. She craved something completely different, and worked hard to avoid a career in any field related to her mom’s.

What's the perfect contradiction & complement to therapy? Comedy, of course!

After finishing her degree, she moved to Chicago to try her skills at improvisation, and landed a career with Second City.

It was her exploration into her own healing that changed her path. As much as she loves the work of improvisation as a business tool and strategy, she found herself continually drawn toward not only the observation of humanity necessary to be great at improvisation, but the part of humanity that needs serious attention - our internal dialogs, the way we hold trauma and stress in our bodies and neural pathways, our thoughts about who we are and how we show up.

Her first foray into something that wasn't traditional therapy, but did lean in that direction, was cranialsacral therapy. It appealed to the comedian part of her, which might seem strange. It's a process of using light touch and attention to address trauma and unexpressed emotion caught in the body, to stabilize the central nervous system. It's what people call "energy work." Her first story in the episode explains why humor plays a big role in her work.

If you loved this episode, please give it 5 stars and maybe write a review? And be sure to get in touch with Kat to learn more about her, visiting her website: Sheholdsthelight.com

Here are references for topics from our conversation:

Somatic Therapy: https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/somatic-psychotherapy

Akashic Records: https://www.edgarcayce.org/the-readings/akashic-records/

Sarah walking on Mt. Helena, Helena, Montana, Fall 2020

ABOUT SARAH:
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.

My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.

The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!

Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.