We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elizabeth Janowski . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elizabeth below.
Elizabeth, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
One of my most repeated sayings is : one woman’s story is every woman’s story. I could broaden this statement to say, one person’s story is every person’s story. By this, I mean, if we take the time to listen, to learn and to move beyond the boundaries of ego, we come to understand that there are universal themes in every person’s life story that unite us all.
Operating from a framework of deep empathy allows us not only to move beyond the artificial separateness we sometimes impose upon ourselves that keeps us lonely and afraid, it also opens us to a worldview that looks for commonality over division.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I teach a form of movement that has roots in sacred sexuality work, but has evolved over the years in to free form movement that explores esoteric and spiritual themes. The practice is for women, and I am passionately about the cultivation of not only the practice, and my ever growing garden of ideas, but to the women and their families themselves. I believe the whole woman needs to be supported for any practice to be sustainable. I myself am a mother of two children, and I love to think holistically about who we are as people while delving deeply into the somatic and the spiritual.
As a separate but related part of my work, I am a photographer and I create images that help women see themselves as complex, evolving beings. I do this work on 35mm film which allows me to be the most present with my subjects.
I am a bit of a purist, and am obsessed with form, ideas, research, and being as “in relationship” with truth as possible.
In 2024, I will be starting PhD work in Women’s Spirituality and The California Institute for Integral Studies and I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity.
I am committed to reclaiming the voice of women in spiritual spaces in our contemporary times and tracing that line all the way back to our most ancient ancestors.
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?
I would offer yourself a healthy dose of grace and patience. Life is a journey and none of us can see what is coming and so it is so important to be gentle with yourself.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
You are the leader you seek. You are the truth teller you are needing to hear. Your voice is the strongest guide. It takes practice to hear yourself. You will have to slow down enough to recognize the sound of your self, but there is no stronger guide than you. There is no partner, no lover, no mentor, no coach, no job that can fill the void you are seeking to fill – only you can do that – through a conscious return home to your self over and over again. You are the healer you seek.
Contact Info:
- Website: Permissionary.com
- Instagram: @permissionary
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ElizabethJanowski1
Image Credits
Julie Harris Photography
