Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gabrielle Nora Irene Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Gabrielle, 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?
I used to think my experiences in life made me strong, made me resilient. That being, the ones which have felt really challenging and traumatic. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized those experiences didn’t me strong, but rather, when I was faced with adversity I was forced to look within to unearth the strength that was always inside of me (unbeknownst to me). So, I don’t believe you “get” resilience from anywhere. I believe it’s always lying dormant within you… waiting on a call to action, waiting on your WILL to reach for it when you are no longer able to carry on without it.
There are two ways people build confidence and strength, 1) by mastering a difficult skill that takes a lot of patience and focus, and 2) overcoming weaknesses. Life was not a walk in the park as a child, abuse and neglect ran rampant in my home. When I was five years-old, my 1st Grade Teacher told my mom I had several learning disabilities and would probably never make it to college, let alone do anything of meaning in my life due to these “limitations.” For everyone who told me I couldn’t, I would show them “I CAN AND I WILL.”
I was motivated to prove my odds wrong. I overcame each and everyone of my academic weaknesses and was awarded two scholarships to continue my higher education at the University of my choice. That little girl who was told she’d never be somebody, became somebody. In fact, I later became a public school teacher in the projects of New York City to children with learning disabilities born in hardship, just like me.. Today, I am a life coach, medicine woman and somatic therapist. Through recycling my own pain into fuel to uplift and move me forward I have acquired an innate ability to support others, which is another way I have found the endless well of resilience inside of me. When you have another human in-front of you, a human who is deeply suffering and looking to you for support, for guidance, for purposes- it forces you to AGAIN, reach within IF you have the WILL then you have the way to really hold another person through the challenges of life. Holding space for others no matter how dense and dark, reflects back your internal resilience.
Lastly, I found a way to create a sense of safety within myself, I did this through finding something I was good at that could serve as both an escape, and place for me to express myself. For me, this was all things art, writing and creation. I couldn’t do math like my peers, but my peers couldn’t make art like me. That alone was enough for me to start building faith in myself and my ability to find light in dark places. I learned how to somatically release my pain through creation, so I could not be weighed down by pain, but rather be inspired to create from my deep and sometimes dense emotions. After all, trauma is trapped energy in your body, and that weight only gets heavier when left unattended. The more space you create to let-go, the more space you will have to overcome the challenges life throws your way. Resilience requires a willing-ness to be personally accountable for your own healing, perpetuation of suffering and ambition to actively let things go that no longer serve your highest good both in your heart, mind and body.
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?
My entire practice is built around Sovereignty. Sovereignty, meaning- creating your reality rather then becoming a “victim” to it. Of course space needs to be held for the human who is suffering, but while doing so I call on my client’s higher self to guide and move them forward, to find their innate resilience! I focus on holding space for both an individuals pain and will-power.
Much of my work is focuses on intimacy, not only with others, but first with yourself and the unique blue print of your BEING. This means slowing down and being present to your body as a navigating compass, which gives us information about where we are out of alignment and/or integrity. This includes, but is not limited to: core wounding (inner child) work, shadow work, shame, grief (loss), sexual trauma, addiction, couples work, social and emotional intelligence, non-violent communication/heart-centered communication of truth, conflict resolution, conscious connection work/exercises, somatic body work/tools, nervous system regulation, consent/boundaries, getting clear on desires/your truth, masculine and feminine integration of energies, aligning the human and the higher-self, and the list goes on and on!
As of now I am offering 3-6 month coaching containers, which include an in-person “Somatic Soul Retrieval Retreat” in my home or the clients. First, I spend a significant amount of coaching sessions getting clear on what is ailing my client(s), what’s blocking them and what direction they want to move in. Then we meet in person for a 3-5 day retreat, which includes somatic body work, nervous system regulation tools and plant medicine. I work first with the mind and heart over Zoom or in-person (if they are local to Miami), and then with the body amidst the in-person retreat. All of which, works to moved trapped trauma out of the body. My six month coaching container is specifically focused on aligning and integrating the human and the higher-self, entitled “Holy and Human.” As there is so much shame in the density of this human experience, but what if we could accept the heaviness, the messiness while calling on our higher self for guidance, and in turn recognizing we are truly divine?
Lastly, I also offer an online 30 day mastermind on “Sexual Sovereignty,” which focuses on alchemizing your shadow by breaking un-healthy habits and patterns of relating to yourself and the world around you. Your shadow is all the unconscious and unintegrated parts of yourself stemming from childhood wounding (core wounding) and trauma. I also commission my artwork, which is all centered on the “Divine Feminine Expression.”
All of the work I do is work I have received myself, and have combined into my own unique formula, as each client is unique. I don’t offer any degree of work that I have not done myself, I am my own guinea pig, and I do what I do because this work has changed my life and it’d be a dis-service to the world for me to not pay it forward. After all, I feel I have found a hack to exit the matrix of suffering. For more information please email me: gabnij@gmail.com
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1) Developing and Trusting My Intuition
2) Emotional and Social Intelligence & Communication
3) Creative Expression, Play & Curiosity
You can be fearless if you become attuned to your own intuition. Meaning, your body’s innate intelligence. We all have a nervous system, a vagal nerve- this is the part of your body, which automatically puts your body into fight, flight, freeze and/or fawn when “feeling” threatened. The beauty of intuition is that it is 100% aligned with your vagal nerve, which means your body will tell you when something feel rights, and also when something feels wrong. In order to hear the messages our body has for us we first have to slow down and listen. When we become clear on what’s our intuition versus what’s a projection we set ourselves free from the prison of our mind. Not to mention, we begin to trust our own instincts, which allows us to get clear on our truth and where we have been living out of our truth. This supports in getting clear on needs, desires, and boundaries, and then communicating as needed!
Some people are naturally more sensitive, more intuitive than others, but slowing down and being present is a good way to start to practice honing in on your intuition. After all, anxiety is a focus on the future and depression is being stuck in the past. Projections feel more manic, urgent, and activated in your nervous system whereas, intuition is more soft like a tap on the shoulder. Intuition is beautiful, but Emotional and Social Intelligence will take you to the next level. This means, not only intuiting what you’re feeling or what is going on, but then having the intelligence to effectively communicate from the heart (non-violent communication) to express what needs to be said. Emotional intelligence is the acknowledgement of having a feeling or recognizing another person’s feeling(s), and then having the discernment to communicate what’s necessary. Social intelligence is knowing “for whom and when.” Meaning, having the attunement to read social situations and knowing when it is the right time for what. For example, when to have that tough conversation and when to hold your tongue contingent on the social setting.
Creative expression is JUST FOR YOU. That is what is so special about it! It’s a form of meditation and you can’t go wrong even if you don’t have the skills or are self-conscious about the end result. All expression is a form of release and release is needed to keep your nervous system in equilibrium, to keep your wellness balanced! There’s an old Mexican proverb, which goes something like this “pain hardens in your mind and softens in your hands” and that is exactly what expression can do for you. Whether it’s dance, cooking, painting, singing, writing etc, it doesn’t matter just learn to express and be in the wonderment of play while expressing. After all, true play is the strongest form of presence. One of the biggest mistakes I see adults make is losing their sense of play, their sense of childlike wonder. It is so important to prioritize this. Life can be hard, but expression, curiosity and play remains BEAUTIFUL!
Curiosity is important because it keeps you in the wonderment and out of your ego. When you are curious you are open, receptive, compassionate and willing to admit what you don’t know, the exact opposite of the ego. Meaning, you will be constantly humbled, surprised and proven wrong; We create a lot of conclusions in life, a lot of judgements, and that only keeps us stuck and our mind small. There are three types of people in the world 1) People who seek to be seen. These are the people who enjoy being the center of attention, but are uninterested in others internal world. 2) People who seek to see. These are the people who are happy being a fly on the wall in observation. 3) People who seek to understand. These are the people who are genuinely curious and make it their life’s mission to “understand” by actively staying curious. Be someone who seeks to understand and the world will be a more whole, more present and a more compassionate place!
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Although my parents put my through a lot at a young age, I wouldn’t take any of it back. Sure, the memories hurt, but the gaping wounds have become scars that throb on occasion. Despite the brevity of darkness I experienced at a young age I fully recognize that without these experiences I probably wouldn’t have found the innate strength within and I probably wouldn’t be in service to humanity. After all, without darkness light could not be recognized. I can FULLY feel joy now that I have felt the full spectrum of pain. One cannot genuinely exist without the other.
I used to identify as a victim and then a survivor. Today, I identify as a human who has gone to hell and back and am forever a work in progress. Today, I am reminded my story does not define me nor is my story my identity. Life happens and without the “happenings” I don’t know who I’d be. I do believe everything happens for some higher purpose, which we can’t quite understand in real time. But I will tell you one thing, this life I’ve lived has shaped me into the powerful, resilient and more than capable woman I have become today! I used to feel like I was would be stuck in the immediate reality I grew up in forever, but I learned to find a way or make one, and since then have traveled to over 75 countries around the world! Never, ever did my younger self think it would be possible. I thank my Mom and Dad, not for being parents, but for stretching me beyond my limits, so I could learn that I am truly limitless!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @gabnij (Peppita Ponita Bambina)
- Other: gabnij@gmail.com
Image Credits
Photographer: Janel Kilnisan Instagram: @janelkilnisan
