In fifth grade we were just then learning about Greek civilization, and the story about Plato’s cave so captured my imagination. The idea that shadows on the wall in the cave were illusions sent me down the rabbit hole of “If those shadows are illusions, then what is real? How do we get out of the cave? Why are we even here if all we see is illusion?” Lofty thoughts for a little girl.

I wanted to know what makes people tick. I hadn’t yet heard of astrology, but still I pictured myself sitting on a hill all night and staring up at the stars, trying to figure out the meaning of life.

These are still the things I think of every day I wake up. At some point nearly everyone wakes up and begins to question who they even are. Maybe you, too, have noticed that when people experience conflict in their life, it has to do with something not being in alignment. Maybe it’s as simple as not knowing what’s important to you or how to set a boundary. “Something’s not right, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.” Or conflict could be even bigger and go all the way to “I know exactly what’s wrong, and no matter what I do, nothing’s working.”

There was a period in my life when everything that could fall apart did fall apart. I had invested a lot of time and resources and I’d built a successful court reporting agency and was doing really well, and then I received a medical diagnosis that prevented me from continuing to be a reporter. That meant I lost my business, which meant I lost control of finances, which led to losing my home. And then the family came undone. Then I spent too much time wrestling with existential questions like, “Who am I if I’m not a court reporter? Who am I if I’m not a homeowner or a wife?” Lots of people over-identify with a job title or a role or a position, and that was me. I had no idea who I was, why I was here, or what I was supposed to do. 

Lots of us struggle with how to make a comeback from a setback. Instead of unconsciously repeating default patterns which run in the background and get us nowhere, the way out is to figure out who we really are and what we’re meant to do. 

I’ve been an NLP coach since 2011. I work with people to help them get to know who they’re meant to be and what’s important to them in life. When you know who you really are, you know what you’re meant to do, and questions become easy to answer. You experience congruency and alignment internally and externally.

To me, astrology relates to coaching because reading a natal chart is like being shown how we’re energetically hard-wired to experience reality. It shows us how we project onto other people and areas of life. It’s another tool that shows us patterns in life.

I was doing an astrology reading for a lovely woman the other day, and I shared with her my story of wanting to sit on a hill and stare at the stars. I don’t know how I’d missed it, but she said to me, “Donna, this is exactly what you’re doing right now looking at my chart. You’re staring at the stars and helping me to find meaning and purpose.”

These are the kinds of people I want to work with -- people who want to know who they really are and why they’re here, people who want to make a difference in the world, people who engage, who care about evolving, who care about personal growth, about spirituality. People who know there’s more to life than shadows on a wall.



It’s nice to meet you.