Meet Vanessa Hardy

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vanessa Hardy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from a belief in love. I know that there is nothing that can happen to me that I cannot work around in the name of love.

I tend to hold a lot of grief and sadness inside. So much so that I developed some issues with my heart years ago. When I went through the process of diagnosis and healing, I started to understand how important an open and gentle heart is to our overall wellness. As I reoriented my life back towards finding joy and connection, I remembered that had been the point all along.

I had a very challenging early life, but one thing that was clear to me is that many of my family members were trying their hardest to love each other and that intention is what helps me get back up over and over again.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I get a deep thrill from inspiring or motivating someone to take a chance on themselves and from illuminating their path towards a more resonant life. I do this working as a Casting Director and Astrologer / Spiritual Counselor.

I was thrilled to find myself surrounded by artists and sensitive people in my 20s. People who had experienced a lot of life and had a lot to say. But among us all was so much turmoil. We didn’t have enough language around mental health or spiritual topics at that time, so I started building a toolkit of ways I could support the people around me. I started studying astrology, reiki healing, meditation and other modalities. Meanwhile, I was also working as an actor and casting assistant.

I had to opportunity to work for an amazing casting office, Wulf Casting, so I took that and soon after had the pleasure of working at Maha Rose Center for Healing in Brooklyn, NY. Now I spend equal amounts of time casting commercials and film and seeing clients 1-1 for astrology and spiritual counseling.

I also write a Substack, View of an Hour. At View of an Hour, I synthesize larger planetary movements with the social and political to situate us all together in space and time. It is a heightened version of what is going on in my head and what motivates the way I move through the world.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

First of all, boundaries. I am still learning them. The thing about boundaries is that they also shift and change; which is why it is a lifelong practice. Keeping healthy boundaries is like any other wellness practice, consistency is key. Sometimes, after years of the same thing, you suddenly need a new way of taking care of yourself because circumstances have changed. This is the same with your boundaries. Because of this it is crucial to continually work at them.

Second, nervous system health and stress management. No matter what you are pursuing, you will bottom out if you are not modulating stress. In my work in the entertainment field, I learned alot about the long term consquences of pushing without replenishing. And in my spiritual work, I cannot support others ethically if my fuse is short. Sometimes this means declining an opportunity, sometimes this means investing in something that will help me fully restore so that I can perform. Either way, you must be real about your limits.

Finally, money safety. Overall, getting healthy with money on an emotional level is crucial for anyone trying to carve their own path, but I find the safety piece to be most relevant. If you are pursuing entrepreneurship or working in a creative field, you have to be able to ride ups and downs without attaching them to big feelings. When the big feelings come up, it is important to have done the work to know where they are coming from and how to resource yourself.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I’m always interested in connecting with new people. I’d love to work with more indie filmmakers. I also would love to do more commissioned writing for brands. I recently worked with Crown Affair haircare and Kinn jewelry. There are many other creative ways to collaborate. I’m always open to ideas.
You can find me on IG @vhardytv

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @vhardytv
• Other: https://viewofanhour.substack.com

Image Credits

Film Posters

” No Other Gods But Me ” Director Alex Spott
“NYC Tips and Tricks” Director Amber Schaefer
” A Life, Lost” Director Andrew Nisinson