Meet Lara Brekken

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lara Brekken. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lara below.

Lara, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from many experiencing many challenges throughout my life, including my parent’s divorce when I was fifteen, two divorces of my own, and two broken engagements. Through it all, I have sought to understand the “why” of every experience. I’ve considered myself and others involved through a spiritual lens. There is always an opportunity to learn and grow, and what I’ve been growing towards is alignment with the highest part of me-my soul.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

After experiencing two divorces and a broken engagement, among other challenges, I had an epiphany. I realized that I had been basing my life decisions on fear and the illusion of security. No matter how hard I tried to make the people in my life happy, I ended up alone. I decided I would rather risk everything for the chance of true purpose and meaning in my life, and consequently, true happiness, joy, and love. With only a couple thousand dollars in my bank account, I quit my job, left a relationship of five years, and moved my daughter and I to a new city. I started rebuilding my life from the ground up, with authenticity as its foundation. In 2016, I received my coaching certification and True to Soul Life Coaching was born.

As a Spiritual Life Coach, my mission is to raise the vibration of the planet by empowering others to live in alignment with their souls, creating a life of power, purpose, and passion. I think the number one reason for discontent with life is due to misalignment with one’s soul. Society teaches us to conform. We are taught to disregard our intuition, the voice of our souls. We learn to make choices based on the fear of what will happen if we fall out of line, instead of what our soul calls us to do. This cognitive dissonance leads to much unhappiness. Through coaching, I support my clients as they journey to reconnect with their souls and come back home to themselves.

One exciting announcement is that I am in the process of completing a book manuscript and hope to have it published before the end of the year. It is about the dark night of the soul that I experienced from 2016 to 2018 and offers a unique, fly-on-the-wall perspective. I hope the authentic format will offer readers valuable support during challenging situations.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three of the most critical qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that have been game changers in my life include meditation, journaling, and belief in the spiritual realm.

I started meditating nearly 20 years ago. My marriage was struggling and I knew I had a choice to make – leave or stay – and if I was going to stay, I had to focus on myself. I took a World Religions class in college and learned about Buddhism and the claim that meditation made people happier. I decided to give it a try. I started meditating for one minute and gradually worked up to 45 minutes. The results were unexpected. I was calmer and more aware. I didn’t get attached to the thoughts that led to negative feelings. I cultivated a strength and courage that I didn’t know I had. I was able to move forward with confidence.

Meditation also helped me create a relationship with my inner world that was drowned out before. I wanted to develop that relationship further and did so by starting the practice of journaling. I realized that it was an incredible way to work through difficult feelings and emotions, and after I got them all out on paper, I felt better. In the past, I likely would have acted on those emotions by getting mad at someone else, but by journaling, I could discharge the emotions and then make more clear-headed decisions. Often, the emotions would dissipate completely, and I could move on with my day without projecting needlessly onto others. Journaling is an invaluable part of my day, and I highly recommend it to anyone on a self-love, healing journey.

Finally, the foundation of my life is the belief that we are spiritual beings living a human experience. This belief gives my life meaning and purpose and helps me feel that I’m not alone. This is important because there have been many times in my life when I have felt alone. I was a single mother for fifteen years, and it was very challenging. But I believed in the spiritual realm and developed a relationship with my soul and what I call my Spirit Posse. This Posse consists of spirit guides and angels who assist and guide me through even the darkest times. They make their presence known through signs, synchronicities, dreams, and intuitive thoughts. Their love and guidance have helped me develop resilience, tenacity, and trust in myself.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

My coaching certification program, iPEC, was the single most transformative education of my life. In learning how to coach others, I first needed to learn how to coach myself. This instigated my self-reflection journey and empowered me with the skills and tools I needed to be successful. I know firsthand how transformative coaching can be when one is truly dedicated to transforming their lives. I use the coaching tools on myself daily and consistently with family and friends, in addition to clients. It has completely changed how I communicate with myself and others and has transformed my relationships. I highly recommend coach training, even if it is only used for one’s personal development. It’s the best investment one can make.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Jay Claus

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where does your optimism come from?

Optimism is the invisible ingredient that powers so much of the incredible progress in society

Confidence
Stories of Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Learning from one another is what BoldJourney is all about. Below, we’ve shared stories and

Resilience
The Power of Persistence: Overcoming Haters and Doubters

Having hates is an inevitable part of any bold journey – everyone who has made