Interview with Karen V. Johnson

Karen V. Johnson is the author of Living Grieving: Using Energy
Medicine to Alchemize Grief and Loss. In 2014, her
twenty-seven-year-old son, Ben died of a heroin overdose. She
shares on her website: “it never occurred to me to see grief as a
journey of transformation, or to find the blessings in the
grieving process, or about allowing myself to grow into the state
of living with grief. I had to figure it out by myself. It was a
lonely path of self-discovery that was not mainstream and not
accepted.” She decided to retire, sell her house, and went on a
two-and-a-half year journey that took her all over the world on a
search for meaning in her tragic loss. This was especially
surprising to others considering she had spent the previous
thirty years as a criminal and energy law attorney and
administrative law judge in Washington D.C.


During our conversation we talk about the following:


How she moved from a state of sadness and despair over her
son’s death to finding greater meaning and purpose in it

Her two year journey across the world learning how to use
energy medicine and shamanic healing practices

Specific advice and ceremonies people can use to help them
transform their grief

How people can better manage sadness, guilt, anger, and
despair when they are grieving

How she transitioned from being an administrative law judge
to having a deeply fulfilling career as an author, consultant,
and energy medicine practitioner

How you can follow your dreams and create a deeply fulfilling
life