“You Answered the Call” Kristi Hall- Creator of Conscious Connections

Contact:  480.789.0681 Website: www.consciousconnectionsglobal.com

Answering the “call” in life takes courage and deep faith.  Sometimes, it is leaving a “certain level of comfort” behind while on an amazing journey of synchronicity, intuition, faith, growth and miracles.  It is learning to follow your heart and passion. There is a sense of magic and possibility that takes over in life when answering the call.  Warning: once you do answer the call, you won’t ever want to go back to the way of life you left.

Kristi Hall embodies this journey.  She is a visionary in creating conscious business concepts and conversations within the business world. These conversations and concepts are becoming necessary to develop lasting business relationships and to create evolved, responsible business practices that are evolving with the consciousness of the world.  She saw a need through her own desperation to have these conversations within her corporate business career and she boldly forged ahead in creating Conscious Connections Global which is a networking personal and professional development group for like-minded conscious women.

Kristi is amazing in her courage and vision.  She has created a community that feels like home for the women involved where they can come together and help each other and have deep, conscious conversations.  This is a reflection of the beautiful, powerful and amazing soul who Kristi is.

Kristi you have created a like-minded networking community for professional women with Conscious Connections.  Can you tell me more how this came about and what it is about?

I have always worked in community relations-to build community around worthy causes.  I have also created many business education programs.  Personally, I was always fascinated with personal development and spirituality.  I didn’t feel that the companies I was working for aligned with those deep, spiritual concepts and new thought. I believe that we can have these new thought and spiritual concepts in business.  This is where Conscious Connections was born.

How did creating Conscious Connections unfold?

I left Corporate America about 7 years and I was doing management consulting while I was studying for my Master Degree in organizational psychology.  I was using assessment based tools such as DISC, motivators and emotional intelligence in companies to help them with hiring and leadership.  I am really interested in human potential and psychology to truly align with who we are for greater fulfillment and to make a bigger impact.  Even though I was doing what I was passionate about, I felt I was still in a box.  I am even more interested in some concepts or tools that may not even be proven by science yet.

Conscious Connections was a natural progression for me from management consulting in order to have more progressive conversations without limits.  Did you do create Conscious Connections while working your management consulting business? No, I shut down the management consulting business and created Conscious Connections which was launched about 2.5 years ago. It has been my full focus since I launched it.  Really, I received the inspiration for Conscious Connections through meditation by asking; “What is my right work? What exactly am I supposed to be doing right now? How can I best serve?

Do you remember any one defining moment that changed your whole outlook on life and your journey?

I went into a really deep depression around 35 and tried all the traditional things such as talk therapy and medicine. On “paper”, I had everything; married with a home, college degree a good job etc. I didn’t think I would feel this way after achieving these things.  How could I be so unhappy?  I couldn’t understand how I could not be fulfilled or happy. I came out of the depression and I met a consciousness teacher at my new job. She gave me hope.  She expanded my consciousness to the interconnection of all things, the magic of life and possibility. The traditional perception wasn’t working for me and this was a new way that gave me inspiration to move past my depression.  I started to enjoy life versus suffering.  I didn’t grow up in a spiritual or religious upbringing.  Once I discovered this spirituality, I wanted to help all the other people who are suffering and living in the traditional unhappy paradigm.

On your journey to this call to greatness, even though it may have had ups and downs, when you look back, would you do it all again?

If I had the choice, I would hope that I wouldn’t have to go so dark. It was really hard, painful and scary.  I believe it was an experience to show me the way to a different state of being. It gave me my range of the states of being.  I wouldn’t have the perspective I have now.  I would love to do it without so much suffering and pain. But, I wouldn’t have started Conscious Connections or have taken the risks that I have without this experience. I learned so much about compassion.  I don’t know if you can learn compassion without experiencing pain.

You are passionate about overcoming limiting beliefs and perceptions that hinder our ability to achieve our greatness.  Can you describe to the readers how you did it?  Any key books, quotes or people that were defining in how you changed your own life?

One of the books and movies I love is The Celestine Prophecy.  It resonated with me and I felt was very true.  I love Ester Hicks books and Oprah is my role model. I have watched her from the beginning.  I love how she provided a safe space to talk about challenges and truths. One of my goals with Conscious Connections is to create a safe space to talk about challenges and truth in life and business.

What were the top two beliefs you had to overcome to create the life you have now?

My top belief is victimhood: We are the conscious creators of our own lives. With the depression, I felt the rug was pulled out from under me. I had to look at how and why I could have created this in my life as a learning experience. In taking personal responsibility for the life we have created we can shift to create what we really want. Until we take personal responsibility, we don’t feel empowered. Taking personal responsibility for the life we have created is the first step in becoming empowered and shifting things for yourself.

The next one was: “You can’t make money doing something you love”.  This is a poverty sentence. I watched my parents work hard in jobs they disliked to provide and support us. I never knew or watched someone who did work a job or career they loved that gave them joy and money. I always believed I had to have a job and didn’t believe other options would work. It is still a deeply ingrained belief. I pinch myself when I look at my day and who I get to spend it with and what I get to do. My business does not feel like work at all. I am blessed.

What are some of the greatest lessons and growth opportunities you have learned on your journey?

I am still learning this more and more everyday but the number one is compassion and letting go of judgment. In our journey in helping people, we think we know the answer and want to give advice or help with what has worked for us. We do not know what another person’s life path is. Accepting I may not know and not judging and advising another is a major lesson for me. I can share what worked for me and I can ask questions but I do not know nor may I understand their life journey.  It is challenging for me to watch people struggle and I want to fix it.  I had to make peace with that I don’t know the solution and just be there to share my experience while understanding that different things and approaches work differently for everyone. It is about offering options and perspectives that they can pick from for themselves.

What do you feel is the greatest need for people to be their greatness?

To be able to listen to their heart and to what really brings them joy, meaning and satisfaction. Then have the courage and trust in being that.  We are so conditioned and have so many naysayers, it can be really challenging to hear what our heart wants. Many of the limiting belief systems we have to unravel are not our own.  Do the limiting beliefs jump out at you when you hear them from others or yourself? Yes and even my own limiting beliefs jump out at me.  I am really observing of words and language to remind myself.

What would you tell someone who is struggling with fear and belief systems that keep them from being in their greatness?

They are actually here to thrive!!!  Believe that everything is conspiring in their favor. That concept alone gives comfort and relief. We can lose sight of the big picture.  We can lose perspective.  Believe everything is working on your behalf and have faith. Asking the right questions such as “What is right about this?” leads to the belief that everything is conspiring for my greater good.

Let go of control! This can be difficult and I tend to like my vision.  I have thrown my own “temper tantrums” before because things were not going as I envisioned.  Letting go of control is best. We allow the energy to become what it is meant to become.

What do you feel from your experience is the key to happiness?

Serving a higher purpose and making a contribution that benefits other human beings.

Thank you Kristi for taking the time to inspire our readers to “Answer the Call”!  You are a role model and inspiration for all of us to forge forward and take the leap to answer the call in our lives. For more information on Kristi and her business go to: www.consciousconnectionsglobal.com