Julia Butterfly Hill ascended a 1500-year-old redwood tree on December 10, 1997, and remained there for 738 days. Affectionately named Luna, the redwood and others surrounding it were in danger of being taken down by a logging company that was clear-cutting the area. After two years of enduring extreme weather, helicopter harassment, angry logger intimidation tactics and a ten-day siege by the company's security guards Hill saved her tree and all of the others within a 200-foot zone. Today, a motivational speaker, Julia is commonly heard asking her audience one question. "What is your tree?" What is it that you are passionate about in life and what makes you feel purposeful? These are the questions that we get to answer if we are willing to ask them. Kathleen Kastner, our guest today, is living in her tree and her road to finding this home within herself has been via a series of Hail Mary passes. Having the approval of those around her never stopped Kathleen from answering the deep calls from within, and as you will hear in our conversation, her leaps of faith have been perfectly supported by powers far beyond the approval of family and friends. It may be easy to listen to Kathleen's story and think that you are different and that life could never end up so joyful for you. The truth is, the differences are found in each individuals' willingness to jump when the universe calls. When I am feeling shaky in my discomfort, and the idea of curling up in a space of comfort seems like the only reasonable action to take, I remind myself that I am here on purpose. I remind myself that I have an ever evolving purpose and outright obligation as a human to unearth the gifts I came here to share. Is this scary? Hell yes. Bumpy? For sure! But my experience has shown me that when we follow our hearts the universe conspires to support us. The path to purpose is not always pretty, I can't stress this enough. Kathleen spent much of her life addicted to exercise, sugar and caffeine. She partied hard and like so many people, used external substances to avoid feeling true life. This is what most of us do because it's socially acceptable to wake up to coffee and go to bed with wine. It feels better to grab that 3 o'clock latte and vent to a friend than to feel the weight of our choices. These cycles are so common, they are normalized and for Kathleen, it wasn't until her first yoga class, on account of Dr. Deepak Chopra, that everything started to shift. Kathleen holds a master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. She is a Certified Food for Life Plant-Based Instructor with the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine and has been vegan since 2002. She has written two books, Yoga’s Path to Weight Loss: A Mind Body Spirit Guide to Loving Yourself Lean and The Cheerleader Speaks: What God Taught Me About Men and Myself. Both books include deep insight into Kathleen's journey. A journey of intuitive strength, overcoming unworthiness and finding her tree. Thank you for tuning in, we greatly appreciate your support and for the notes that you are sending us. Please go to iTunes and leave a review for the show, we are actively growing our reach and iTunes reviews are very helpful for our mission.

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