Spirituality Archives - Kathleen Hassan

How Do I Learn to Love Myself?

Did you know that if you type, how do I learn to… into Google, the #1 searched skill is—you guessed it—love myself. Why is it that so many of us never learned this essential and vital ingredient to living a life of wholehearted happiness? Oftentimes, it’s the negative messaging that we received as kids that has become our conditioned and programmed response to life. Like an operating system that’s been running in the background, it affects our self-image and the way we see ourselves in relation to the world. My negative programming was installed and had been operating beneath the surface since childhood. My dad died when I was ten years old and my mother died when I was sixteen. The six years between their deaths were not happy times as my mother, a widow with five kids, suffered from a debilitating heart condition and a broken heart. She [...]

By Kathleen| 2021-06-07T13:37:50-05:00 June 7th, 2021|

Healing Teen Anxiety: 5 Ways to Break Free

There's an anxiety epidemic in our culture today and it's affecting millions of teens, especially girls. Nearly 32 percent of adolescents in the United States have an anxiety disorder, according to survey data reported by the National Institute of Mental Health. Society's solution is often prescribed medication to alleviate the symptoms, but like a bandaid on cancer, it only masks and rarely eradicates the problem. In order to heal it, we have to fully understand it and become aware of the insidiousness of this disease. Make no mistake about it—this is indeed a disease, as in, not being "at ease," and it's literally killing our kids. According the CDC (Center for Disease Control), suicide rates are up 30% since 2000. 23% of high school girls seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year (YRBS - Youth Risk Behavior Survey). Just last year alone, four of my teen girl coaching clients [...]

By Kathleen| 2021-06-07T13:35:42-05:00 April 3rd, 2019|

Wanna Make God Laugh?

You know the old joke, "Wanna make God laugh? Tell him your plans!" Well no doubt, God is laughing his ass off right about now as I embark on a mission trip to Medellin, Colombia this summer. Never in a million years did I imagine I would be a freaking missionary traveling to remote regions to share the love of God. It was never part of my five, ten or even twenty year plan. But four years ago I walked into a church and it felt like home. I'm not even sure I was looking for a church, but happened to see a sign on the main road one day for Life Christian Church. The logo was a tree and I always loved the symbolism of the tree of life and so I decided to check it out. Six months after that, I got baptized in the Gulf of Mexico! [...]

By Kathleen| 2018-04-06T14:23:10-05:00 April 6th, 2018|

Grace Under Fire: Turning My Mess into a Message

Over the past twenty years as a professional speaker, I’ve had my fair share of speeches that didn’t go my way. But last week’s presentation to the National Charity League in San Antonio was an epic disaster. I was so excited because the NCL’s mission aligns so well with my message of fostering the mother daughter relationship and developing confident young women leaders, and 250 mothers and daughters would be there for my talk. Never in a million years did I imagine that weather would be a factor in traveling from Florida to Texas, but that day 50 mph winds prevented us from landing in San Antonio and we were diverted to Houston. My speech was at 4:00pm and it was already 12:30. As we sat on the tarmac, I kept telling myself, “God makes all things come together for my good,” even though things didn’t look so good. Then [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T11:02:22-05:00 February 6th, 2017|

Create Dangerously: As If Someone’s Life Depends On It

The other day on Facebook I read the transcript of a speech delivered by a girl from York PA. Her name is her name is Devon Hornberger and she gave the Valedictorian Commencement Address at her high school graduation ceremony. I was blown away by her speech that began by recounting the abduction of 276 girls from their dormitories in Chibok, Nigeria. They were kidnapped because their abductors believe that girls should not be educated. Her message to her fellow classmates was about the privilege of their education and how young people around the world are risking their lives for that same right. In her speech, she also sited a quote by Edwidge Danicat, an award-winning Haitian-American author: “Create dangerously, for people who read dangerously. This is what I’ve always thought it meant to be a writer. Writing, knowing in part that no matter how trivial your words may seem, [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T11:44:34-05:00 June 2nd, 2016|

One Mother’s Advice is the Answer to ALL Your Problems

The Monday morning after Mother's Day I crawled into yoga with an emotional hangover. It had been a long trying day and I was ready to put it behind me. “Hey Kat… How was your Mother’s Day?” asked Laurie, my yoga instructor. “Ugh,” was about all I could muster. After my less than enthusiastic response, Laurie moved on to the two women on the mats next to me — a mother and daughter who were taking the class together. “So how was your Mother’s Day?” she inquired. In unison, they both raved about what a wonderful day it was. Four generations had gathered together to celebrate and the grandmother was 92 and still going strong. I turned to both of them, bowed and jokingly said, “Namaste Bitches!” My own mother died when I was sixteen so Mother’s Day has always been a little tough. But this year, my sons were [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T11:45:46-05:00 May 18th, 2016|

I Got My Daughter Back!

“I got my daughter back!” Those are the very words I heard this week from a client who hired me to coach her daughter that had lost her way and was in crisis. Nothing brings me more joy than to see a girl begin to really understand her own worth and power while helping both the mother and daughter learn how to communicate more effectively while creating a relationship based on trust and mutual respect. I can’t think of a more perfect Mother’s Day gift than this. Today I am honoring and celebrating this most sacred relationship and over the next few months will be sharing some of the strategies I used to coach this amazing turnaround. Just two months ago, I received an email from a distraught mother, begging for help. Her fifteen year old daughter had been sneaking out of the house and getting into all kinds of [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T11:48:29-05:00 May 8th, 2016|

Want Peace? Think on such things.

My son got married last weekend and gave me the greatest honor by asking me to do the blessing and say grace over the meal at the reception. The moment he asked, I started to think about what I wanted to say and immediately thought about my favorite bible verse; Philippians 4.8. I wanted these words to reflect all that was in my heart and be a blessing to everyone there as well. But as with most things that begin with “I want”, it’s so easy to get caught up in self-will and lose sight of God’s will. And so, I paused and prayed. I wrote in my journal and asked that I might be a channel for God’s love and that he give me the right words to say. I turned the page and there on the very next page, was Philippians 4.8! Whatever is true, whatever is noble, [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T11:51:56-05:00 November 17th, 2015|

Destination Unknown

Some people think that a destiny is a place - somewhere you’re trying to get to. Like the word destination, the place you arrive at when you go on vacation. But your destiny is not an actual place or somewhere to get to, it’s more about finding out who you really are and simply becoming that. Destiny is the hidden power within you that controls what will happen in the future. So it’s not so much about getting anywhere, but it’s about discovering that hidden power - the God force within, that will help you and guide you through life. Know this... There is NO "there"... There is only NOW. Any time you are trying too hard to get somewhere, or think that you should be somewhere else besides where you are in that exact moment... You are Not Here! God's grace and power can only be accessed in the [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:20:37-05:00 May 21st, 2014|

Say YES to What’s Next

This morning I sat at Starbucks, sipping my soy latte with pen and journal in hand, (ironically, at that very moment I was writing about the desires of my soul vs. the demands of my ego,) when I glanced up and saw this message on the window: Say YES to what's next! It was the perfect writing prompt and got me thinking about the things that I want to conjure and manifest into my life from a place of pure desire rather than ego that only wants from a sense of lack and unworthiness. The very first thing I said "YES!" to was being open to receive... and with the pump primed, the pen started moving across the page, as if of its own volition and I could barely keep up with my own full-on voracious appetite for everything I desire. We're often taught that we shouldn't be too greedy [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:26:12-05:00 May 3rd, 2014|