Daily Inspiration: Meet Lauren Monroe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Monroe.

Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us how you got started?
It’s been a long transformative journey for me to have arrived at where I am, but I wouldn’t change anything. I grew up in Queens with my Italian family; I am a third-generation American and very much steeped in the NY Italian culture. Although surrounded by artists and musicians in my family, I was always the black sheep because of my experiences and insights into the spiritual world. I learned meditation when I was 5; soon after, I learned how to play guitar and started writing songs. I began using my hands to heal when I was 8. I tried to put out the light of my gifts so I wouldn’t be different, but I failed. My music was the only way I could express my relationship with the unseen worlds, so my songwriting craft began taking shape. I went to universities and received undergraduate and master’s degrees; I studied dance, massage therapy, phycology, thanatology, and energy medicine, became a licensed massage therapist, and worked with many suffering while still writing songs and playing music in bands in San Francisco and Colorado. I studied and apprenticed with Spiritual Masters, Indigenous healers, and medicine people worldwide. I met my husband in 2000 and created our non-profit, Raven Drum Foundation, to help others heal from trauma and crisis. After a trip visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital, we found our way to support Veterans and First Responders through the power of the drum, energy healing, and complementary therapies. Through this journey, I have found my authentic voice in music, teaching, and storytelling, where I share myself as a recording artist, performer, and healing practitioner.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth? Not, but I think the biggest lessons have been in creating boundaries with negative people, not always believing what I think but deeply listening to how I feel, deciphering how the mind works, and understanding how to accept myself.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am most known as a healing practitioner, energy medicine teacher, and singer-songwriter. It has only been since 2017 that I have stepped into a new paradigm combining my talents as a healer and performer. I have brought together all of my skills to be able to help people feel, heal and overcome through music, energy medicine, and storytelling. This is what I’m most proud of, and I am excited to share and watch grow and emerge in the studio and on stage. Finally, the world is ready for me and the experience I share. Every artist has something special that makes them unique. I think mine is the experience of the mystical and guiding nature.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I am a risk-taker if it aligns with my soul and feels right. I always trust my intuition even if others doubt it, which can make others uncomfortable until they get to know me. My master’s degree thesis was titled “Risk and Change,” which underscored the psychological understanding of growth and change through a suite of dances I choreographed, composed, and performed with a cast of six others. I have always needed to stretch myself to experience firsthand how the spiritual, emotional, and physiological components of being human work together. I’ve learned that growth takes vulnerability and risk; through these paths, we can transform. Vulnerability is key. A compassionate heart is the most important destination to learn how to navigate, especially when looking into yourself and your wounds. Being vulnerable is one of my superpowers on stage and in life. It can be terrifying, but it’s incredibly powerful. The risk or play it safe? I say, risk, grow, change, and then do it again and again. Your life will be rich, full of deep and meaningful experiences, and you will become who you are truly meant to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://laurenmonroe.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmonroelive/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurenMonroeMusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Iamlaurenmonroe
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe6wZQN_bHOrn4n2g790eYg
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4AMLhBHvIyC1wwMvKpirXR  and https://hypeddit.com/0dezkw