KAREN BASHFORD

POWERHOUSE GLOBAL MAGAZINE (PGMAG)

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

KAREN BASHFORD (KB)

PGMAG: Karen, welcome to today's interview with Lady Anita.

KB: Thank you, Lady Anita. I am grateful for the opportunity.

PGMAG: Please briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

KB: I am an award-winning Empowerment Mentor and Soul Growth Therapist and Founder of the KB Method and The D.R.E.A.M. System. I live in Hampshire in the UK with my 23-year-old cat, Saffy, the love of my life. My passion and purpose is to empower 5 million women to stop self-sabotaging their lives. I know how much my health, wealth and relationships suffered because I self-sabotaged. Now, with my acquired knowledge, experience, and wisdom, I am an inspiring speaker and author of five books. I mentor and support women in transforming their lives. Everything can change when you review, reflect, reframe, release and replace limiting beliefs and stored emotional energy.

PGMAG: Karen, I have known you for over a decade and we each have evolved through time. What are some of the shifts that have taken place in your life within the last ten years?

KB: There have been many shifts over the years. However, I would say my nervous breakdown in January 2023 caused the most significant change in my life. It was the catalyst for massive growth. I had no option but to surrender to my body's need to recover from the decades of inner conflict and pain from my childhood trauma and abusive marital relationships.

But the most extensive change came when I acknowledged I couldn't continue ignoring the lack of support from my brother and sister with my emotionally needy mother. Between the 3 of them, I was physically and emotionally exhausted.

In surrendering, I found myself connecting to my feelings and allowing myself to cry. I cried for the lost me, the me that had given the utmost to support my mum over the years without any respite. I cried for my Inner Child, who felt abandoned and rejected by her family and those who promised to love and protect her but only hurt her through their words and actions.

Recovering from the breakdown helped me to set rock-solid boundaries. I could choose how I wanted to live my life and not be concerned about what my family or anyone else thought – it did not matter. I was the one that mattered; when you give to yourself, you can give more, but only to the right people.

Knowing how much I had selfsabotaged my health, wealth, and happiness helped me to become calm, confident and curious. I laugh and smile a lot as I allow myself to enjoy life. I no longer feel guilty or blame myself for not being enough –which, unfortunately, trauma and abuse cause.

That curiosity and confidence gave me the courage to go to Egypt in July on my own. I walked out into the forecourt of the airport without cash or the means to contact my tour organiser until I replaced my English SIM card with an Egyptian one.

Foolish, perhaps, but I knew I had made the right decision because help arrived immediately. I trusted myself and the Universe, which didn't let me down. I let go of the need to control and went with the flow, which was so liberating.

PGMAG: What would you say to a young adult who is trying to discover their purpose in life?

KB: I believe everyone knows their purpose from birth. But it is hidden deep within your subconscious under the beliefs, behaviours, habits and your family history. Unearthing your purpose requires you to ask yourself questions and to get to know yourself as a person.

What do you love? What makes you feel happy and willing to keep going when you think life is too hard? What are you good at that is easy for you? Your purpose, as many believe, doesn't have to be related to helping others directly.

It can be more subtle, such as creating art, writing, inventing, or even nurturing a peaceful environment.

PGMAG: In your opinion, as a leader, what are some of the key elements to leading a successful team?

KB: From my experience, effective team leadership involves several key elements, with active listening being paramount. By actively listening, you gain valuable insights through attentively observing both verbal and non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions and body language. Another crucial element is clear communication. Thereby preventing misunderstanding, enhancing efficiency and ensuring team members understand their roles, responsibilities and the team's goals.

Additionally, encouraging members through delegation to empower themselves is vital. By delegating tasks appropriately and giving team members the autonomy to make decisions, you foster a sense of ownership and accountability. Demonstrating that you value their contribution boosts morale and inspires innovation.

PGMAG: Let's talk about 'selfsabotage' and the effect it has on people – especially women. What is your take on this?

KB: If you consider self-sabotage as an intentional or unintentional act that impedes our progress, preventing us from achieving our goals. It gives us a clue as to how self-sabotage affects our lives. For example, the words we use are often dismissive of our skills and abilities.

As women, we are taught not to praise ourselves. Therefore, we ignore our successes and focus on the negatives. We find fault in ourselves and fear expressing our desires and needs.

I appreciate many men experience the same. But for women, this is something that repeats through the generations. You only have to look around the world to see how women are treated and suppressed.

Self-sabotage is a reaction to feeling overwhelmed, disconnected from our emotions, separated, lonely and uncertain in a world where judgment, shame, blame, lack of love and respect all contribute to how we cope with the many challenges we now face.

We sabotage our health by listening to the 'experts' who speak to the masses rather than listening to our bodies. When we take time to know our bodies, we discover they continually communicate with us, indicating when things are out of balance. If only we listened and chose to work with our bodies to deal with emotional blockages, limiting beliefs, the overload of stress, and harmful ingredients we place on, in and around our bodies. Our lives would improve.

As women, our ability to build both fulfilling and financially rewarding careers is affected by our responsibility for our children and caring for loved ones. This is compounded by the need to prove ourselves in the work environment, together with the disparity between male and female pay.

This is balancing itself out with more women choosing to be entrepreneurs and business owners responsible for their financial well-being. Regretfully, childhood trauma and beliefs of not being good enough play a part in how successful they are. In relationships, the inbuilt programming passed down through the generations from family and society leads to women being the target of abuse and trauma physically, sexually, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. We are judged and criticised in the media on social media and by society. If we dare to take action to protect ourselves, we are wrong.

Therefore, from the perspective of women, we must empower ourselves.

Empowerment enables women to be free from the past. Freedom means we can stop repeating the old misconceptions and unconscious bias that women are less than men.

In doing so, love will replace self-sabotage, as women claim their power and are seen for their achievements and capabilities.

PGMAG: Please tell us more about your business and any upcoming projects.

KB: My business focuses on empowering women to empower future generations. Once empowered, a woman contributes to her family, community and the world in numerous ways, which will lead to a world of stability and harmony over time.

Working with women who know deep down they have yet to reach the point where they have found the actual root cause of their sabotaging, beliefs, habits and behaviours.

Often, they have had coaching, counselling and other therapies, but there is still something that needs harmonising and alignment within them.

Root causes lie in generational, cultural, ancestral, family, environmental, societal, past lives, trauma and abuse –which we rarely explore when working on ourselves because accessing our subconscious is not possible while attempting to ask questions of ourselves.

I offer personalized 1-21 mentoring and healing programs based on The D.R.E.A.M. System, designed to delve deep into your childhood programming. This approach allows you to access your subconscious without experiencing further trauma, facilitating self-healing at the soul level. You receive all the guidance and answers you require from your connection with your Inner Child (Soul).

This results in rapid and permanent transformation. I am excited to announce that I will be hosting a retreat in Egypt this October. This retreat will provide an immersive experience to deepen your healing journey, surrounded by the serene and spiritually rich environment of Egypt. Join us to unlock profound self-healing and transformation.

PGMAG: How would you describe yourself as a leader?

KB: My leadership style is rooted in the principles of empowering and respecting the individual. I create an environment where a person can use their unique skills, strengths and abilities to thrive and excel. This approach fosters individual growth and collective success, reflecting my commitment to empowering 5 million women.

PGMAG: Finally, what would you say to your younger self?

KB: I would say to my younger self, empower yourself; listen to your innate wisdom, not other people. Your innate wisdom won't let you down – it knows you. Your ego seeks to keep you safe and could hinder or harm you by restricting your choice.

Love yourself, be responsible for yourself, and be willing to face life head-on. You are more resilient than you give yourself credit for, so don't give up on yourself. Be curious and playful, but have clear boundaries to say no and mean it.

And more importantly, don't be fearful of walking away from relationships that harm you, especially abusive, narcissistic or disrespectful. You deserve love and respect.

PGMAG: Thank you for sharing your brilliance with us.

KB: Thank you for your invitation to participate in this 50th edition of The Powerhouse Magazine. It's been my pleasure to contribute my views and experience.

PGMAG: Please share your website/links with us.

KB: Website: https://karenbashford. com

Egpytian Retreat: https:// karenbashford.com/egyptianretreat

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin. com/in/karen-bashfordempower-you/

FB: http://www.facebook.com/ KarenABashford

Instagram: Karen Bashford (@ karenbashford4243)

Book: How To Be Imperfectly Perfect; A Practical Spiritual Guide To Becoming YOU!