Content Warning for sexual trauma and gender-based violence.

Have you ever felt a spiritual connection with an ancestor or other higher being? Have you ever had difficulty recognizing when your intuition is guiding you? These are just two of the eye-opening concepts explored in this Coach Chat conversation with Anita Kopacz. Anita is a spiritual psychologist, and author of the newly released novel, Shallow Waters, published through Black Privilege Publishing at Simon & Schuster. The novel imagines Yemaya, an Orïsha—a deity in the religion of Africa’s Yoruba people—in mid-1800s America. Readers meet Yemaya as a young woman who is not yet fully aware of the spectacular power she possesses to protect herself and those she holds dear.

When we're open, we can experience a lot through our senses, yet many teachings tell us to ignore those experiences. In this episode, you'll hear about Anita's first connection with a spiritual being, and how she was treated by others when they learned of her gift. She shares in the conversation that she has been connected to Yemaya since she was 18 years old. Coach Colette and Anita discuss how Western psychology fails to incorporate spirituality and indigenous traditions, and how this initially made accepting her abilities challenging for Anita. The two also explore how Anita's childhood experience of molestation became an inspiration behind her campaign, Zero F's Given, which aims to raise awareness and help survivors heal from sexual trauma, find their voice, and reclaim their power.

If you're looking to hear about monumental transformation and spiritual growth, or you just want an amazing teaser of Shallow Waters, this episode is a must-listen! PS -- Enter our book giveaway to WIN a copy of Shallow Waters here!

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends on social media! Follow @coach_colette on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Clubhouse. Get healing and self-care tools from Coach Colette on Gumroad. Have a question or topic suggestion? Send us a message here.

Help us create more great content by joining our Start Within tribe! Support this podcast with a donation to sustain future episodes here. While you’re at it, we’d appreciate a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Thanks for listening!