66. Creating is healing – Branka Androjna

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful summer. This first episode of season no 3 circles around healing, the mind–body connection and the importance of being close to nature. And many other things. ”We have a tremendous inherent ability to heal ourselves. But we are told – and tell ourselves – stories about our predicament, our sense of victimhood. We can all learn how to be the masters of our own lives”, says Branka Androjna. Branka is a teacher, life coach and podcaster who lives in a house on the outskirts of Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana with her husband (”my true soulmate”) and their two daughters. She does her coaching and podcasting under her artist name Milangela. And artistic she truly is. And good with crafts. She does this interview in a corner of her house which is  adorned with her paintings. We are all in essence creative, according to Branka. But some seem to express it more than others. Perhaps many of us have been shamed out of being creative, as Brené Brown says. ”When I create, say when I paint, I get so absorbed in what I do that I am not thirsty, I am not hungry. I am not here. After two days I awaken to what has emerged ... To me this is at first like flirting with the divine, and then it's like making love to that magical divine collective intelligence.” Experiencing the bliss in the midst of the creative process is part of the healing process, in Branka’s view. And there is something with England... Branka went there as a teenager and immediately felt at home. She fell in love with the mysterious English way of life. Not least the language. As she returned she worked for many years at different language schools. Although people around her have always confided in her, she says that she in her younger years lacked confidence and was self-conscious. At one point her life entered a downward spiral. She experienced physical illness as well as pain in the soul. ”I felt like a complete victim. I was searching for the culprit. Being a victim I deprived myself of the ability to do anything, really.” ”I was in really bad shape. I hit rock bottom when my daughter asked me if i was going to be there for my family the next day. From that day on I intuitively took all the right steps. I knew nothing of inner work, but I did it”, says Branka. Starting the podcast ”Milangela’s Soul Garden” was a leap of faith. ”I found my voice. But it was not the voice telling my story.” That’s why she decided to become a life coach. ”I opted for vulnerability. I wanted to help people not to fall into pitfalls, not to be bruised, like I was.” With her coaching she wants to equip people and make them realize the might there is in every single one of us, she says. ”I invite people to willingly suspend limiting beliefs and instead insert more positive and constructive beliefs. To put a positive thought into your mind can cut off a vicious circle and actually change the chemistry of the body.” Being in nature and eating healthy foods are also part of Branka’s coaching method. ”Without nature I think I would be in trouble in my healing process. Back when I was really frail, I used to go out barefoot and hug trees.” Branka wraps up by quoting Wayne Dyer: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Branka’s/Milangela’s podcast (Anchor); podcast (Itunes); FB page; Instagram