…I feel that by growing and evolving, I am becoming more alive and more peaceful within, having more fun, being more fun to be around, experiencing greater love and loving, joy, and being more joy-filled. When I come from that place within myself, it seems to motivate others to “be” that (inside) — and to experience that (outside) themselves. It inspires them to seek more of the same for themselves and to clear the path, from the inside out, for themselves. Again, I consider it an honor and privilege to assist others on their transformational journey. I feel like I am making the world a better place by my allowing myself to authentically express my True Authentic Self, living my entelechy with great enthusiasm and joy and assisting others in doing the same. At least I am experiencing “success” in my inner world by doing this and as within — so throughout.
As a part of my series on strong female leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Linda Humphreys. Dr. Humphreys is an “inner tour guide”, coach (life, relationship, spiritual), author, and the creator of Inside Out Transformation®. Through her practice, Dr. Humphreys helps her clients move beyond pain, negativity and imbalances to experience inner growth. Through years of study, writing and work, Dr. Humphreys has established herself as a relationship and spirituality expert. Her business came about after her own quest to find more joy, love and inner peace in her life — she merged her expertise in metaphysics with that in psychology, and gained new tools to help herself on her mission. Dr. Humphreys has a Ph.D. in Metaphysical Counseling and two Masters degrees in the psychology and spirituality fields. She is currently writing a book about emotional healing.
Thank you so much for joining us Dr. Humphreys. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
My parents were born and raised on the East Coast during the economic depression in the 1920s. They instilled in me an extremely strong work ethic. They also instilled some very “hard” (sic: negative) programming and beliefs such as: you have to work hard for what you want, and the “going” will be hard. The big takeaway was meant to be that it is hard to get ahead.
While informing my Dad about wanting to quit my first “career” job (which included benefits) to explore independent contractor work, my Dad, who was normally a very calm and easy-going kind of guy, became very upset with me. “You don’t leave a job! You stay with it! You keep going!” exclaimed a man who had one “career position” his entire work life. That was his experience, that was his work paradigm — not mine.
What was the catalyst from transforming your hobby or something you love into a business? Can you share the story of your “ah ha” moment with us?
Through a series of events, I felt as though I lost my “North.” I had been challenged with depression my entire life (chemical and/or emotional). I hit my rock bottom.
Actually, I thought that I had hit rock bottom before. This time, however, was different: I did not land on my knees — I landed, face down, on the floor, in total and utter exasperation and surrender. I cried and verbally stated as a prayer — a declaration: not my will be done — but THY will be done.
I knew that my challenge was an “inside job”. I started to “go within”: I meditated. I decided to dig deep, using all of the spiritual and self-help lessons, teachings, programs, courses, workshops, conferences, and expos (to name a few) I could muster. I even had a “come to Jesus” meeting with Jesus!
One day, I had an inner tirade towards God. This time, however, I decided to do something different: I decided to actually wait and listen for a response.
My desire to transform myself, from the inside-out, became my full-time job. That, and volunteering — giving selfless service, opened my heart in a way that my head / thinking mind could never do. I became more connected to my heart. I experienced love and compassion within myself, towards myself and others.
My life instantly took an upward trajectory, both internally and externally. People around me began to notice a positive change in me and in my life circumstances. People started to approach me to ask what I had done: Did I get a new hairstyle? Change hair color? New make-up? When I shared with them what I had been doing and how I had been doing it, they asked me to assist them. As a result of our collaboration, their lives began to change — from the inside out — in miraculous ways, too!
Assisting others became my business: Inside Out Transformation®. I assist people with identifying and clearing energetic blocks and imbalances, both conscious and subconscious, or even unconscious, to help clear their path towards living the quality of life they want to live and that we’re all meant to live. The blocks and imbalances can be within any and/or all levels of one’s life: emotional, physical, spiritual, and so on. I offer support in the realms of financial prosperity, all relationships (including work, family, romance, relationship with themselves and their “inner child” and even their relationship with God/Spirit to name just a few. I feel greatly honored to collaborate with others who are highly motivated to take steps towards healing themselves, which in turn, helps to heal the planet.
I feel what sets me apart is that I approach spiritual, transformational, and energetic practices and principles, in an easy to follow, practical manner. I share with people my victories, and I share my slip-ups. I also share that by practicing and applying loving compassion to all things (especially to ourselves) and by seeking the spiritual lesson within everything we experience, we can transcend and elevate to even higher levels of loving, compassion, and consciousness.
When I approach spirituality/God/Big Love with my clients, I do it from a non-religious/non-denominational/non-dogmatic manner. I like to portray God as I believe God intended to be: user friendly. HA!
As you can probably tell, I also use humor, a lot! I love to laugh. Laughter carries an elevated frequency of energy. I cannot take anything, especially myself, too seriously.
There are no shortage of good ideas out there, but people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How did you overcome this challenge?
In some way, I feel like I am “winging-it”: via the wings of prayer and by the wings of angels. Having said that, in practical, non-etheric terms, here is one of the most important things I learned to practice when faced with any challenge: I would ignore the voices of any “naysayers.”
“Naysayers” are both external and internal. They say things like:
● “Oh — that’s already been done before.”
● “Everyone wants to do that!”
● And the classic: “Who do you think you are to be doing this?”
I also use some other tools that I have learned through personal experiences and various studies and programs:
● Visualize — taking time to “see” and inwardly “experience” the qualities of:
○ what I want to experience in my professional life
○ my “ideal clients” and our professional relationship (i.e.; open-minded, motivated)
○ how and what I want to contribute professionally
○ my perceived ideal outcomes/ideal scenarios
● Set my intentions — doing so several times a day on a daily basis
● Pray — asking for guidance
● Meditate — listening, on a deep level, for answers, awarenesses, and guidance
● Remember to always be flexible and fluid
● Remind myself that everything has a spiritual lesson/gift within and
● Everything happens in support to learn the spiritual lesson/experiencing the gift.
● Have confidence in God, Spirit or Highest Power.
● Remain enthusiastic (meaning “infused by Spirit”), centered within myself, and grounded in spite of perceived challenges
● Remember and embrace: God’s got my back.
Additionally, to help keep myself on-track, I remind myself of my vision, intentions, entelechy and mission by creating heart- and soul-inspired affirmations. Here are two of my favorite “professional” affirmations:
● I Am an open heart, open mind, and open vessel for God — for good.
● I Am God’s hands and feet, mind and heart.
What advice would you give someone who has a hobby or pastime that they absolutely love but is reluctant to do it for a living?
Ask yourself these questions:
● If I had a finite time to live (for example: one year to six months), how would I like to spend my time?
● What do I want to contribute to the world? What do I want my legacy to be?
● What do I want to experience in my inner world? How do I want to “be”?
● With my remaining time, who and/or what do I want to contribute my time, energy and resources to? (Detail: what that would look like? Feel like?)
● What makes my soul “sing”? What lights me up? What gives me, what I call, my inner Christmas bliss? What would make me spring out of bed each morning, with great joy and enthusiasm?
If your answers revolve around what you absolutely love doing, give yourself permission to do it — and go for it: all-in. full throttle, with all the gusto you can muster.
Howard Thurman said: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
I say: Come alive! Follow your enthusiasm!
It’s said that the quickest way to take the fun out of doing something is to do it for a living. How do you keep from changing something you love into something you dread? How do you keep it fresh and enjoyable?
Through the years, I have learned a lot about myself: my learning style, my preferences, my limits, boundaries, and so on. What I have learned about myself has provided me some guide-posts — both externally and internally that serve to keep me on track as to how I want to “be” (inside) and what I want to be doing (outside).
I have also learned to be flexible and to, as quickly as I am able to, adapt to new situations and circumstances. I thrive on variety yet I cherish some aspects of “my familiar.”
What is it that you enjoy most about running your own business? What are the downsides of running your own business? Can you share what you did to overcome these drawbacks?
I love that I do not have to explain, defend, or diminish myself to or for anyone. My intention is to continue to grow, change, and evolve and to live as my Authentic Self and share my (capital “T”) True Authentic Self-Expression. I give myself permission and the opportunity to explore that practice each and every day. I also enjoy assisting others in doing and experiencing the same thing.
Being what I call a solo-preneur or specifically, in my case, a “Soul-Preneur”, what I do crave is a supportive and uplifting community. With this in mind, I call up other heart and soul-centered women entrepreneurs and go out to eat or talk on the phone to just connect! We give each other personal and professional updates, sometimes ask for advice, feedback, and/or business referrals.
As a matter of fact, I just had what I call a “virtual tea party” with someone. We each prepared a cup of tea and snacks for ourselves and had a virtual conversation — as if we were having a “live” tea party. Fun!
Can you share what was the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?
What a great question! Hmmm…
Actually, my present-day reality is much more fun and grander than I ever imagined it to be. While I do not live a palatial nor grand lifestyle outwardly, I feel extraordinarily rich within. While I have not won any of the state’s lotteries (yet;) I feel like I won the lottery inwardly. I never knew I could be this happy.
One of the key lessons I have learned while experiencing and creating Inside Out Transformation® is: as within — so throughout. My Truth: as I grow and evolve, I experience even greater riches (tangible and intangible, internal and external) — both within and throughout my life.
Has there ever been a moment when you thought to yourself “I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to get a “real” job? If so how did you overcome it?
Oh my goodness! YES!!! I do have my moments and thankfully, they are exactly that, simply moments.
If I remember, I laugh. Laughter usually dissipates my “angst.”
However, if I forget to immediately laugh and allow that thought to linger (by feeding it with my emotions, attention, energy, past memories) to the point that I notice that the thought has disturbed and/or altered my inner peace, I use my “Spiritual Toolkit” to remember who I Am (a beloved Daughter of God — in whom God is well pleased) and who my Source of All actually is — Spirit/God/Highest Power.
When I center myself in this Truth, I regain my inner peace and move-on from there — with renewed enthusiasm which, (friendly reminder), means “infused by Spirit”.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
— NA — I can’t think of anything right now.
Who has inspired or continues to inspire you to be a great leader? Why?
Gratefully, I have many way-showers and personal touchstones that motivate and inspire me. One archetype that I resonate with is Abraham Lincoln — his vision of establishing peace, his sense of compassion and his appeal to the “better nature of our Angels”. On some days, when I feel like I want to rally some troops, I seem to tap into the archetype of Joan of Arc. Go figure.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Again, I am reminded of the Howard Thurman quote about the world needing people who “come alive.” I feel that by growing and evolving, I am becoming more alive and more peaceful within, having more fun, being more fun to be around, experiencing greater love and loving, joy, and being more joy-filled. When I come from that place within myself, it seems to motivate others to “be” that (inside) — and to experience that (outside) themselves. It inspires them to seek more of the same for themselves and to clear the path, from the inside out, for themselves. Again, I consider it an honor and privilege to assist others on their transformational journey.
I feel like I am making the world a better place by my allowing myself to authentically express my True Authentic Self, living my entelechy with great enthusiasm and joy and assisting others in doing the same. At least I am experiencing “success” in my inner world by doing this and as within — so throughout.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Actually, “6” things come to mind:
- Not everyone has to like me and not everyone has to be my friend
- Some relationships (friendships, partnerships, business connections) have seasons. Seasons have beginnings and endings.
- Strive for personal excellence not perfection.
- I can and will make mistakes. Love myself through all of it.
- Always seek what the spiritual lesson is within everything. Ask: How can I grow from this?
And most importantly —
- God ADORES me! (and everyone, too!)
The sixth point should actually be #1.
What person wouldn’t want to work doing something they absolutely love. You are an incredible inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Oh my goodness!!! My husband teases me that I should have a radio show called, “Don’t Get Me Started! With Your Host: Dr. Linda Humphreys!” because I always say, “don’t get me started!”. Well, you just got me started — ha!
Actually, I have several:
*Getting more in touch with the True Nature of God: I wrote two books based on my personal spiritual journey, including struggles and epiphanies. I share techniques to assist with the exploration, identification, and removal of conscious. subconscious/unconscious energetic blocks and imbalances regarding one’s relationship with God — to assist with having a more loving and intimate relationship with The Divine:
● GETTING GOD®: The Guidebook — Exploration & Conscious Connection Support for Your “GOD Project”
It is my intention to offer workshops and retreats based on these books, principles and practices.
- Loving yourself + loving others is the topic of a current book I am writing
- Prison reform and “re-entry” support: I am a long-time volunteer working inside prisons with incarcerated men and women, as part of an organization called Freedom To Choose. I am also friends with formerly incarcerated and now released individuals and want to draw attention for the need of “re-entry” support.
- I am currently seeking assistance and feel called to be part of a movement that helps to bring us back to the heart and soul of who we truly are and who we were created to be as individuals — and as a country.
My foyer into this realm was a recent article I wrote: Drowning in Confusion About Deep State Delusions: An Open Letter to Michele Bachmann Addressing Radio Show Interview Statements — and to Anyone Interested in Exploring the Current Political Climate and Approaching It in a Radically Different Way. Additionally, I have an upcoming blog entitled: Are You a CHRINO? Are Our Politicians CHRINOs? (I coined a new term: CHRistian In Name Only or in the case of politicians, CHristian Republican In Name Only.) As of September 11th, you can find both articles on the My Musings page of my website.
It is my intention, prior to the 2020 elections, to be part of an event that I had an inspiration of creating and being part of during a dream and subsequent meditations. As I experienced it, it is meant to be a day of diverse prayer, music, and connection, to unify Americans on a heart and soul level, as One.
Additionally, I experienced it as a way to support other countries to connect among themselves — and with other countries. We would support and pray for and with other countries as they support and pray for our country. This event is meant to embody the true essence of Namaste:
The Christ / The Enlightened Aspect Within Me / My Soul
salutes / honors / recognizes
The Christ / The Enlightened Aspect Within You / Your Soul
I have no idea where to begin getting this off the ground. During meditations, I received specific images: name of the event, logo, location, time of year, musicians, speakers, and so on. Something else that came through very clearly: no professional politician or person running for any political office will be featured and/or on stage.
If anyone reading this has the calling, the time, and /or resources to assist in making this happen, please let me know.
Thank you, Alexandra, for asking this very important, to me, question. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my visions and intentions.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I collect quotes. You are asking me to make an extremely hard decision. For me, it is akin to asking me, (if I had any children), which one of my children is my favorite!
Having said that, at this moment, I am going to choose one that I briefly mentioned earlier:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
~Abraham Lincoln
You know, I thought I would be able to “color between the lines”, but I simply can’t. I have to include this quote, too:
“Our lives begin to end the day we keep silent about things that matter.”
~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This quote means a lot to me, too — and I just could not keep silent about it.
Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Once again, Alexandra, you are forcing me to make an extremely hard decision! Well, I want to “fill my dance card” and table so here I go:
Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Lady Gaga, Marianne Williamson: to express my gratitude for their courage and strength to be themselves in spite of many obstacles, for their generous spirit, and for their enthusiastic support of others regarding self-love and love for one another.
Don Lemon, Anderson Cooper, April Ryan, Van Jones, Rachel Maddow and others: some of these journalists, who in spite of receiving death-threats for speaking Truths, are continuing to speak Truth to everyone. Regardless of any level of actual threats received, it takes courage to speak the Truth these days. I would like to thank them all for their perseverance and for being models of courage and bravery in not-so-safe times.
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama: to give them a hug and to thank them for “walking their talk” and for demonstrating what “go high” truly means and looks like.
Sir Richard Branson: What a visionary! What a “manifestor”! I could learn a lot from him.
The Dalai Lama: I am in awe.
Wanda Sykes, Leslie Mann, Tina Fey, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Maya Rudolph, all of the Amys (Poehler, Schumer, Sedaris), Samantha Bee, Zach Galifianakis, Gabriel Iglesias, John Mulaney, John Oliver, Trevor Noah, John Stewart, and so many more: they just make me laugh! Some even make me laugh, think — and sometimes cry. I want to thank them for that, and laugh some more with them.
Keanu Reeves: I have heard about how kind, respectful, introspective, and generous he is. I would also like to thank him for being a great inspiration and role model (on a personal level) for many young men. I would love for him to share more about his life’s lessons with other men — especially those who are currently incarcerated and/or tittering on their life’s journey and headed towards incarceration. We need more men with his character and strength of heart to share with others about those qualities. I would also like to share about some of the amazing experiences I have had and people I have met doing transformational work with incarcerated men and women.
Lisa Ling: By doing one simple thing, Lisa changed an incarcerated man’s life forever. Through the transformational work I do within the prisons, I met this man. He became a friend of mine and shared the story with me. I want to share the story with her — and thank her for her simple act of human kindness that had a profound effect on his life — and as a result, his family members as well.
Kim Kardashian: to thank her for turning much needed attention to the prison system and for personally working towards actually reforming it. I would like to share some stories and my experiences with her, too.