Episode 250: Turning Grief Into Growth | Anne Watson | Watson Ranch Vineyard, Wellness & Creativity
After losing her husband to cancer, Anne Watson found healing through creativity, motherhood, and entrepreneurship. In this inspiring episode, Kara talks with Anne, a food photographer, wine grower, yogini, and reiki master, about how she rebuilt her life through Watson Ranch Vineyard, Anne Watson Content Development, and Watson Wellness. They discuss navigating grief, raising a creative son, finding purpose in wellness work, and why building a business with heart matters. If you've ever wondered what it looks like to run a business that aligns with your values while staying grounded in personal healing, this episode offers insight and inspiration. Anne shares stories about her journey from Orange County to her rural farm in Fallbrook, her son's passion for metal music and the healing power of sound, and how grief opened the door to her own spiritual path.
“If you are open to the change that dark times can bring, there is light at the end and there are gifts that appear.”
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Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Meet Anne Watson: Chef, Photographer, Wine Grower, Reiki Master
(00:03:10) A Metallica Mom-Son Bond: Music, Grief, and Healing
(00:09:15) Living on a Vineyard: How They Left Orange County
(00:13:50) Starting Over After Loss and Planting Grapes
(00:18:05) Life Without a Five-Year Plan
(00:20:50) “There Will Be Ebbs and Flows”: Money, Mindset, and Spiritual Grounding
(00:25:10) Budgeting as a Creative: Making It a Game
(00:27:45) The Origin of Watson Wellness and Reiki Work
(00:32:50) Lessons from Cancer and Love That Lives On
(00:36:40) Raising a Healer: Her Son’s Music and Wisdom
(00:39:15) What Rock and Roll Teaches Us About Wellness
(00:42:00) Why Love Is the Answer (and Always Was)
(00:45:00) Defining Powerful & Lady: Soul-Centered Wisdom
(00:48:15) Final Questions: Dreams, Goals, and What Anne Needs Help With
Even with finances, like there will be a natural ebb and flow and there will be periods of influx and outflux like it's just going to happen. And I think that panicking during the moments when it's not all coming in, that is something that I have definitely worked on.
That's Anne Watson. I'm Kara Duffy, and this is The Powerful Ladies podcast.
Welcome to the Powerful Ladies Podcast. Thank you. It's so wonderful to be here. Let's tell everyone who you are. Where you are in the world and what you're up to. Who the heck
are you? So I am, uh, Anne Watson, and I live in Fallbrook, California, which is rural northern San Diego County. I live out here in the boondocks in the boonies, I should say, on a farm.
I have a little five acre ranch called the Watson Ranch. And it is here that all my various things. I am a woman who wears many hats. It is never, just no two days ever look the same. And everything comes out of this ranch. It's either I, I do wine growing which we can talk about Watson Ranch Vineyards.
I am also a food photographer and a chef. Sort of culinary world expert, if you will. And so that's a big passion. And probably my main business actually, it's called Anne Watson Content Development. But I do that all here out of, I'm actually in my home office and prop closet right now that I use for food photography.
But I have a home studio as well, studio, kitchen. And then I'm also a yogi knee yogi is what most yogi knee is the female. I'm a female embodied person in this lifetime. But yeah, Yogi, who practices meditation. And I'm a reiki master, so I have, Watson Wellness is my third business, and I have a healing space here on my property and I do that as well.
Like I said, love and a mom. I have a 10-year-old son who is a heavy metal guitarist. And, that is, yeah. A whole other part of the conversation.
That's actually the one I wanna jump into first. Awesome. Because I've been watching you guys on Instagram going to Metallica concerts. Oh my God, yes.
And you guys are having so much fun. Yes, I am envious. I'm like, how do I get on one of those next trips? Because they're having way too much fun together. And to see a mom supporting her son's like passion and interest and how excited he is about it it's just so cool to see like the level of fun and excitement, at least through the Instagram world is level 200.
So how has that been? How did that start? And is it as amazing as it looks?
Okay. I absolutely love you for starting with this because
this is seriously,
it's so fun because I find this to be, I. It is a part of my life that has emerged recently that is unexpected in the best of ways. And this is it, and it ties together.
Oh God, just so many parts of my life, but okay. Yes, it is level, it's like level 7,000. It's so much fun. And if you wanna join the next trip, we are literally flying to Detroit next week. I love it. I love it because we're insane. And I'm taking him there are. Two Metallica shows that they're closing out their 2023 US tour in Detroit on the 10th and the 12th I believe.
So we're going the ninth through the 13th to Detroit, which happens to be where I was born and raised outside of Detroit. So it's not too weird to go to Detroit. It's still pretty weird. Still pretty crazy. And I literally sold a car so that I could make this trip happen. I love that. It's so fun. 'cause yeah, okay.
Metallica for sure is a big, we're metalheads, but music in general I guess I can back it up. A huge part of my story, which is very personal, but I'm extremely open about speaking about because it's been such an impetus for all the various areas of my life and growing and where I am now.
Is that I actually lost my husband to cancer. It will be three years already. Gosh. Next February. And yeah, he passed in 2021. At the tail end of the pandemic. And my goodness, talk about, ugh, I don't, there's a book I'm reading right now and it's so beautiful. It's actually called Yoga and the Dark Night of the Soul.
Ooh, that sounds
so interesting.
I highly recommend it. It's just so beautiful and what it talks about and it every page I'm reading, I'm like yes. Because it talks about how like the darkest times of our life often are the times that offer the biggest opportunity for growth. If we're open to it, if we don't resist it. And and that oddly they can become, dare I say, gifts because if you, again, are open to the change that these dark times can bring, at the end of it, there is light. And so that's where I am. And my son was seven years old when my husband passed and when he was eight.
So my son just turned 10, two weeks ago. So two years ago, my son discovered School of Rock. We were driving for Temecula and he was like, what is that place that looks amazing? And I was like I don't know. Let's go check it out. Anyways he found his people, he found his calling, he found his thing, it's like school, not his thing.
School of Rock, his thing. And music and. Again, being like in the world of healing, and this is how it ties it all together, like vibrational healing and sound healing is something I do. I'm like, music is healing. Yeah. And it has been this unbelievable way that my child has found to move through his own grief is to write music and let it out.
He plays metal because I think there's so much anger and frustration and I don't know, I don't shy away from big emotions. It's like that's part of this whole thing. And yeah, he writing his own music, playing it, finding people he can make music with, collaborating, that kind of stuff. That was already happening.
But what I really saw was like, okay, now Metallica's on tour. Yeah. And I'm gonna take my kid and introduce. So his very first in-person concert ever was literally just this last August. We went to see Metallica in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium. And it changed everything. Like it was like, I saw this light in my child, just, oh my gosh, this is it.
This is it. I have found not only have I found my people, but I have found this world where it's like he just. Becomes alive is all I can describe. But yet it's so fascinating watching my kid because now like I said, I'm like, I'm selling cars to take him to the, we go front row. Like I'm like, we need to be up there with the band because I want him to see their fingers and watch them play.
Because what he does is I'm there, they've been my favorite band since I was 13. So I'm headbanging and going nuts and like being a total lunatic. My kid, like some people look at him and they're like, is he even having fun? Like he doesn't, he's barely move 'cause he's just absorbing yeah.
Everything. And so we enjoy it very differently. But it's been so fun. So yeah, we've done Metallica and we did like the Power Trip Festival. We went out for three days and saw Iron Maiden and A CDC and Tool and Oh my gosh. And yeah, and now we've started going to smaller shows as well. Like we just went to a punk show over the weekend and Garden Grove and saw one of his favorite new bands called Auto.
And and then we'll go to Metallica and I'm trying, yeah. December, we're gonna go to a couple of smaller shows at House of Blues and
It's just so fun. But he can see himself on stage and whether or not that happens. I am completely detached for that's not the point. The point is just to live and experience this and yeah.
So that is our musical journey and I'm all for it. I know. Yeah. I have a lot. Love it. It's very sweet. I have a lot of guys, it's mostly men actually who will write me messages on Instagram just being like, you have no idea how much I wish I had this when I was a kid.
That like my parents took my Metallica CDs away and threatened to Yeah.
Destroy them and that yeah. So it's funny 'cause. What a gift. It's just a gift. It's, yeah. It's so fun.
For a sidebar, my sister is a singer songwriter and been making her album, she has EP out and has been working in the studio more. So there could be potential love it. Pop into a studio day that we could create as well.
Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah, this
is what he's like right now. It's very sweet. All he wanted for his 10th birthday I noticed. I was like, ah, we're switching from the child into like preteen. Yeah, because no toys. There were no toys on the wishlist. It was just like, oh my gosh, mom, if I can get this connector cable that can connect this foot switch to the amp and then if I can get this like cool thing for the microphone stand, I'm just like, oh my goodness.
Yeah, this is definitely shifted and it's so cute. 'cause he does, he has one of his best buddies. Happens to be our neighbor who's 13 years old. He'll be 14 in December and is a self-taught drummer. And they jam to get has played drums for five years now. 'cause he started when he was eight and Is amazing.
Absolutely amazing drummer. Yeah. And so it's so sweet 'cause Russell's been recording their jam sessions but he just puts his iPad down by the amp. Yeah. Because it's oh my god, he can barely, so yeah. Real studio. That's Wow. That would be how cool that your sister does that. I love that. What kind of music does she,
All like all different kinds.
Kind of like pop rocky things. Cool. But she's also an audio engineer so she's the engineer for this podcast, oh, beautiful. I'm sure I have equipment at my house that he would be jealous to have. 'cause it's the same stuff to record. Of course it is. Yeah. This versus album.
Oh that's it's so weird.
The universe is amazing. 'cause I literally, this morning woke up, this is so strange. And I had a note, like a reminder, 'cause my son has guitar lessons this afternoon and I literally had this thought. I went. I wonder if School of Rock would ever offer like an audio engineering kind of Yeah. Class or seminar.
Anyways. Alright. That's a sidebar. Yeah, we'll definitely have to talk. Yes, because I like we, we sign my son up for a lesson or something and yeah. Oh, that would be,
I think she'd get a kick out of it. I'm sure she's listening. She'll be listening to this replay to edit it being like oh, fun.
Yeah. Exactly. Yes, please. My son would love to meet you. I'd love to come back to you and all the amazing things that you're doing. Thank you. And you are doing a lot, like even in your website, there's three key pillars of the things you're doing. And I think it's so great that you're just showing up and saying this is all the things I do.
How do you wanna hang out? If we go back to 8-year-old, you, would she have imagined that you have these three parts of your life that you're living in Fallbrook today? Is this the life that you had imagined?
So interesting. No, I don't think she would've even dreamed. I I was about to say, even dreamed this big, that's not true.
I've always been a big dreamer. But 8-year-old Anne, let's say I was living outside of Detroit, playing with Barbies. I was very into Barbies, which is really funny because I haven't even seen the Barbie movie. I'm not into that at all anymore. But I think what I loved about Barbie and playing that with my friends and stuff was like the creation of an imaginary life.
Yeah.
And that's something like, I see my son do it now with Minecraft. That's sort when you create these worlds and so that was always something I was always imagining. I was never a kid that was like, when I grow up, I'm going to be blah, blah, blah. It's really strange because for all the businesses that I run and all the things I do, some people.
I'm not gonna like that. I say this, I have no plans. Like I've never been a planner. I, and I don't have a five year plan. I don't have I, I, my plan is always here's what life is presenting me. Let's give this a try. Yeah. And sometimes it works and sometimes, oh, it always works. It's just sometimes I learn from it and have to move on and other times keeps going.
That's honestly Yeah. How I've always been. So what would 8-year-old, 8-year-old Anne would be like, this is awesome. How fun that you're doing all this stuff, Anne. And Yeah, I think that she would, she definitely would've approved of all the animals that I have. I am very much living out 8-year-old and there was a period of time where I wanted to be a veterinarian.
Until I realized that you have to be the one that puts the animals down and then I couldn't do it. Yeah. Oh wait, you deal with the sick ones, nevermind. No, I don't wanna do that. Yeah. But no, I think that she would be very happy and excited with how things are going.
I got to meet you on a wine tasting fundraiser through an eco preserve.
Yeah. Which was one of the most interesting, unique things I've done probably this summer. And you were there representing Watson Vineyards. Which from my understanding when we talked then, that was your husband's business that you've chosen to keep going. Exactly, yes.
So
Did you move to Fallbrook because that was his business already?
Or did you guys decide to do that together?
That's a whole, that's so funny. What a great question. No. So what the impetus for moving to Walbrook Prior to this, we lived in Orange County, up in Orange County, California in Santa Ana. We had a little bungalow house not far from downtown. It was a very urban setting, and it worked great when it was just the two of us and our dogs.
But then we brought our son home in 2013 to that little house in an urban setting and went, oh my this might not be the most peaceful place to raise a child. And frankly, it all came to a head when, oh, this is terrible. There was literally a gang brawl on our front lawn and it was like locked down helicopters overhead.
And I'm like in the back room with our baby and my husband and we're like, okay, we can't do it like this. Yeah, this is crazy. My husband was English and grew up on a farm in England and always had a rural background and we also both rode motorcycles together. Yeah, very, again, another thing I tried and it was pretty fun.
So we wanted to be out somewhere where we could ride our bikes and we could have lots of great riding roads nearby, safe environment for child, and it was just crazy. And so my son was born in October, 2013, and then by June of 2014 when he was just a little over six months old, a friend of ours had a wedding out here in Vista, not far from us.
Yeah.
We went to the wedding and that was in June. We were like, this area is amazing. Yeah. And the following week, I remember I called a realtor and was like, show us some places. And he said, gimme your wishlist. This was the first place we saw. We put in an offer and we were moved in by August. So it was again, this is how I live.
Yeah. Yeah. It was just my gut, just, and Tims we were both like, oh no, this is definitely where we're living. And when we bought the property, it had a defunct avocado grove with a bunch of root rot and stuff. And so we knew we were gonna have to do something to clear the land. Yeah. And we explored a few options.
We looked at putting in some citrus trees or something like that. But basically we knew that like by moving out here we were gonna be self-employed. Yeah. And I already was being a food photographer that was my main thing. And so really it was like, okay, I'm gonna continue doing that, Tim, what are you gonna do?
And it was like let's use the land to do something. And we ended up finding grapes. That was what we decided to put in. It's really funny, my husband never even drank wine. It wasn't even his thing. Like he was a beer guy. Yeah. Yeah. So for him it was very much about the farming.
And the
grapes and the vines themselves and like the land and Oh God, he kept it so immaculate.
I try my best to do as well as he did, but goodness, he was incredible at it. Yeah. And it, and then we connected with the local winery and the winemaker. There is this amazing person named Yuan Parker, and he has just done such a tremendous job of transforming our fruit into beautiful wines.
And yeah. Next thing we knew, we had a wine label and it was like, oh, okay, I guess we're doing this now. Yeah. And so when Tim passed, I did, I entered this stage where it was like what do I do? Because I know for sure I don't wanna ever move like this is, yeah. My home. And the vineyard is so sacred to us that like I even scattered half of his ashes there.
It's very special. Yeah. So I wanted to stay here. I dunno. So I just thought, what the heck? I'll give this a try for a while, we'll see how it goes. And that's what I'm doing is I'm in the middle of it right now going, let's see how this goes. I'm having fun with it. I'm not gonna stress and just, yeah, there's no five-year plan.
And right now I get to meet lovely people like
yourself, and that's what
it's about for me.
Yeah. Yeah. As a business coach and consultant, you do not need a plan.
I love it.
You just don't. No. It never goes according to plan anyways. No. You like, you really need micro plans, Yes. Yeah. How do we execute this thing right now?
How do we test it? How do we confirm it's working? So many people jump into these big plans and they're so worried about too big things that don't actually move it forward. A business and a hobby have the same steps. One, you give money to, one you make money from, like they're not, there you
go.
It's all the same. But people aren't focused enough on, does anybody wanna buy this or pay me for this? Then it becomes a decision tree of yes, no, yes, no. And you keep making choices as you go. So my approach to business is very similar to how you've been doing it of awesome it. Like I have a post-it that I can see right now that says if it's not fun, I'm not doing it.
Amen, sister. Yes. That's the way. Yes.
Especially when you can make money doing what's fun
to you. Thank you. And what you're passionate about. I'm like, yes. If something starts feeling soul sucking to me, yeah, I'm done. No, and that can include a client. Like I've learned to break up nicely with clients.
Even if the best paying client I have, it's not worth it. It's just not like I, and I know that it's so weird because there's something definitely. Yes, there is the practicality of this small thing called money. Yes. That is extremely important and can be extremely stressful. And I have just to be extremely vulnerable, I can say that financial worry as something that has plagued me my entire life.
I just have always been. Like I started a savings account when I was eight, like I was that person. So I've very much been a saver and a I don't trying to be as savvy as I can with my finances, but I think what I keep learning, and this is where my yoga practice, frankly, has helped me a great deal.
And also the loss of my husband helped me. Which sounds bizarre, but, is that again, even with finances, like there will be a natural ebb and flow and there will be periods of influx and outflux. Like it's just gonna happen. And I think that panicking during the moments when it's not all coming in and ah, jumping ship and freaking out and whatever.
Yeah. Worst case scenario, that is something that I have definitely worked on. There's literally a practice that I believe in firmly, like again as a yogi that you detach from results, that it becomes more about let's work because this is my dharma, this is what I am meant to do and this is what I am passionate about.
This is the right action to take. Right now, like I can't decide or even know what that outcome is going to be. It's actually not even up to me because there's about 5 million. Things that, factors that are going to play into the outcome so I can take the right action and then work with whatever outcome there is.
That's something I've very much been learning firsthand, and sometimes it's a really awful, scary feeling, and I would lie if I said there weren't even recent times, everybody's going through a really hard time right now. I've probably i'm assuming it's not just me, with the big inflation and you're dealing with sales may trickling off and we're getting into the holidays and it's, it can be daunting.
And there are feeling, the word that I always use is dread. I get this like I'll wake up with a dread. Oh gosh, what if this, what if that, oh, like this is where I'm really grateful for a daily meditation practice. And yeah, to just come back I have everything. I need right now.
Yeah. And take the right action, like you're saying, micro steps, do the right action moving forward. Keep moving forward. And then work with the results that you're given
Yeah.
That are trying to control every result. 'cause it's never gonna, yeah. Anyways.
No, you can't. And there's your energy when trying to manifest the sale or the client or the abundance.
It, when you're just creating from a place of of joy or ease and flow.
Versus
when you're creating from a place of I have to like
desperation. Yes.
Yeah. And when everything is tense, it's not gonna work. Totally.
Oh my gosh. Yes. I couldn't agree more. I think it, the desperation is never a good place to be and or, like I said, that feeling well, your post-it note, when it's not bringing any joy to you whatsoever. And it feels like this dreaded chore. Yeah. Like they're just completely fighting it and yeah. I totally agree with you.
I work with a lot of creatives and when I say creative, I just mean anyone who's wants to be thriving and doing what they love.
'cause there's always a creative passion of some kind. Doesn't have to be little art though. I do work with artists and there's of course, for creative people, there's usually a longer list of things that don't bring them joy in the business space. So we have to put into practice some things of okay, this doesn't bring you joy, but if you don't do it, someone does.
So how do we. Automate it, delegate it, or delete it because I love that someone has to pay the bills. So let's set up your auto pay.
There does need to be a budget.
Yes.
Oh, I've definitely fall into that creative category. 'cause there is a lot of that, what I call mundane stuff that I'm like, oh, the business stuff.
And I am extremely blessed that I have two brothers. They're identical twins. They're younger than I am, but almost five years younger than I am. Both of them are in business. One's an entrepreneur and he actually owns coffee shops in orange County. Awesome. Bear Coast Coffee. Give him a little plug there.
But my, my other brother so that's Jeff who lives in Orange County. My other brother, Trevor, he lives up in Fresno and he. Has his MBA worked for years in finance and oh my gosh, I can't tell you like I, how many times I have called him crying and the poor man, he had a nickel, he'd be a billionaire because seriously, I'm always like, Trevor, help me.
I don't even know. And he's bring it back. And he's helped me see it. This, I'm like, I say this for any creatives out there because I dreaded, like getting my budget on a spreadsheet. First of all those, okay. Budget and spreadsheet, those two words. I'm like, ah, like my whole soul recoils. But he helped me see it as a game.
He's and yes, it's a game. Like it's okay to have some fun with this. And yeah, you might think, oh, I can't make that payment. Yes you can. How can you do it? Everything is possible. And I think also what he taught me was that once I can, 'cause I'm a visual creative, he's once you're seeing it you're gonna feel so much calmer, because right now it's all up in here just going, I need to make money. But there's not like an exact amount. There's not a target. There's nothing. And so it's just this nebulous thing that feels daunting and huge. Where it's like when I see it in front of me, yes it's in a spreadsheet, but now it's a game.
Yes. And it's okay, I can do, and it makes it manageable. Fun and a lot less stressful. So yeah, it's just getting over that hurdle of the resistance to doing the finance, doing the mundane. I know. Yeah. It's hard. No,
It's, I am take pride in converting people to enjoying spreadsheets.
'cause Nice. It shows you things and then that's it. I think people forget that when you write down where your money's going, you get to be like, I don't like where it's going. I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna have to make another sales call to cover that expense that I don't care about. Totally.
Totally.
I think that was it too, is that when I finally wrote everything down, I was like, oh, appalled in some ways of oh my God, I spent how much on Starbucks? Yeah. Like that kind of stuff. Yeah. That just, I always let free flow and whatever and then would stress out because I suddenly, oh God, how do I pay this invoice?
And it's now I feel very. There is a control thing there too that it helps you feel more in control and a lot less spirally. But yeah, it's definitely some, the game thing for me was very important. To make it fun. And it didn't have to be, I don't know. It daunting.
Yeah.
Where did, is it, and correct me if I'm saying the business name wrong, is it Watson Wellness? Yeah. Yeah. Where, okay. Where did that come from? How did you fall into that? How does it fit into you as a human?
Oh goodness. That's another great question. It's really funny because I actually asked myself that question quite a lot.
Over the course of last year, like 2022 was a year where, like my website as it is now, um, anne watson.com became those three doorways. I always struggled 'cause I was like, okay, Watson Ranch Vineyards. Anne Watson, content development, Watson Wellness, how do these three things even remotely go together?
And then it was great. 'cause I have a really wonderful woman who I work with on branding, and she was like, Ann, it's you. Like you are how they all go together. I was like, oh yeah, okay. That's right. Anne Watson. That's what it is. It's that I am the umbrella. So that helped me come to grips with how a reiki master, so a reiki is like a Japanese form of it's a complimentary therapy.
It's a form of relaxation technique that allows your body to get into such a subtle state that it, it opens up your energy and it allows your body's innate ability to heal itself, take place. And so it's really it's so beautiful. I love it. Have you been to a Reiki practitioner? Oh, awesome.
Yeah.
I'm already writing down. When can I go work with Anne?
Yes, please. Honestly, this is what I'm like of the three businesses, I will say Watson Wellness is the one that I. Ooh, talk about sparking joy. Like I just, I am so passionate about it because it has helped me tremendously personally, but also friends, family, and now like client base that's growing and it's just so beautiful to see.
Anyways. How did it come about? Again, another thing that I am grateful to my husband's cancer journey for that it really happened when he was diagnosed in 2019 his story just in a very brief nutshell was that he had not been feeling well for a while. And I was like, go to the doctor.
Go to the doctor. And he was a typical man of no, I don't go doctor. I don't wanna, anyways. But unfortunately, by the time he did go see the doctor he was very sick. He was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer that was no longer in his stomach. It had spread everywhere. He had, one of the most significant things was a grapefruit size tumor on his liver.
He was. Very ill. It was in his lungs. And anyways and so unfortunately when they diagnosed him, literally they gave him the doctor was like, you are so sick that if we don't admit you to the ICU and give you emergency chemotherapy now you will poten you probably have days to live, maybe a couple weeks.
It's holy smokes. So that was extremely heavy.
Yeah. That's being hit with a Mack truck with information
big time. It was. I'll never forget being in that, what do you call that treatment? I wanna call it a treatment room. 'cause I'm thinking of a radio practitioner, but the, oh gosh, what is that called?
Where you are when you see the doctor, their doctor's office, the waiting room the doctor. But it's the little, it's like you're in that like room with the table and the computer. Yeah. And what, anyway. And he gave him his diagnosis. And I am telling you, Kara, the floor fell out. Like I like felt my guts Yeah. Fall out. Like it was like every bit of stability in my life fell away like it was. And it was, that was the beginning of what I would call the dark night of my soul, where it was like, I thought I knew what I was doing and I thought we had a plan and I thought we had this yeah. This life and then.
In that moment, it was like, because then he said, and then we'll give you chemo and that hopefully should buy you up to a year. So it was like, no matter what you're dying this year was like the prognosis.
And my husband, of course, he was like, I say of course, because people who know him, he was just so no, that's not gonna happen.
He was just so no, I'm fine. Don't. And I'm like, no, you don't understand. The doctor went away and gave us a minute. And I was like, what is happening? And Tim was just so stoic. He was so English. And he was just I know that's what he says, but no, that's, I, no, I don't do this, I'm not dying today.
No, that's, it was just so funny. He didn't cry. He wasn't, it was just very practical about it. And where I was a freaking mess. And they admitted him. And the long story short of it, I will make it very short now, is that miraculously the chemotherapy that they gave him did, work, and I think I attribute a lot of it, frankly, to his mentality where he was like, Nope, not dying today.
Go ahead, gimme what you need, and I'm fine. And that was beautiful, but once we came home, it was like, oh my goodness, what are I just, I bet, I think I've said this before, but like that it's like a boat being capsized that you've, it's like you're sailing along smooth sailing, and then the whole ship just gets dumped in the ocean and you're just like flailing around and you can't even grab onto the boat. The boat's gone. It's just what? Yeah. And so we spent the next it was beautiful. We were gifted 18 months together actually is how long. He ended up living with us with this cancer, and it was an unbelievably transformative beautiful time because first of all it brought us closer together than ever before.
It taught us both to appreciate this moment that we have and this I appreciate life more than I could possibly fathom. 8-year-old Anne has no clue. Put that way. And during this, so to get back to your question, during this time I felt this sort of calling is all I could describe it as I had this awakening and a calling towards healing.
I wanted to help him and I'm like, I'm clearly being put in this position to help him somehow. Yes. Food and nutrition and that was doing some of it. But he was a stubborn man that he was a meat and potatoes man through and no matter what I was trying, he wouldn't touch kale with a 10 foot pole.
So it was not gonna happen. Like the healing through food was not happening. So what could I do? And I found Reiki. And so it became, I learned reiki, I became attuned to reiki with the initial thought of just for him. It was like, I'm just here for him. And then it was so amazing because this was a man who again, like stoic English, very not Yeah.
Yeah. Brick wall. It broke him down a little bit in the most beautiful way to where he started asking for reiki. He was like, he wasn't spiritual, but he was always very I feel something. And this is very soothing. And I honestly do attribute the reiki session. We would, I gave him reiki nightly.
And in the hospital, whenever he was in the hospital, all the, like every chemo treatment I sent reiki to his like pump to every, the drugs themselves. Yeah. All of it. And. Honestly, I know that it helped with prolonging his his material life here. So yeah, it was that, that brought me to reiki.
And then when he was dying, once he finally accepted like, okay, I'm this Time's Up. It was so beautiful because it was like two months before he died, he took me, we went shopping for sheds. It was, and it's literally a shed that I have, but it's a glorified shed that's been a shed conversion.
And it's this beautiful healing space. It's all, lined in Cedar. And he was like, what you have been doing for me? I want you to do this for others, please. You need to how beautiful it, right? And so now I do, I give it to my son daily myself. But then, yeah, I've just felt this calling.
To bring light and healing and peace to, especially right now. My gosh,
yes.
This world man needs it more than ever. And so if I can even just again, micro one person at a time. Yeah. I'm not looking to go do mass healings on, entire groups of people. It's more just like one person at a time who needs some peace in their life. Yeah. Yeah.
I'm gonna add a big yet to your mass healing. Yeah. Yet yes. I'm just imagining you in the same stadium that Metallica is at Mass Healing now.
There you go. You know what's so cool? It's really, so it's funny you say that my son. Such an enigma. He's so interesting.
He's a very old soul. And obviously has been through a tremendous amount for such a young age, yeah. To have not only, oh, gracious, like the stuff that poor kid has been through. 'cause he, not only did his dad get diagnosed with terminal cancer, and that was in August of 2019, then the pandemic hits, six months later he's having to be homeschooled and not see anyone, like no friends. Yeah. No interaction. Just literally locked in a house with his mom and his dad going through chemo. Oh, it was just, and dying, and yeah. And then literally it was like, that period was so intense.
It like feels like one long day. It's so hard to describe, but that once Tim left his body in February of 2021. I feel like it, I don't, it was deeply transformative for Russell in that, on a lot of levels, but he sees things differently than not only most kids, but frankly most humans. Yes. And he sees people as a soul.
He always talks about people like, oh, that soul or this soul, it's very cool how he just does this. And the other day we were coming home from school Rock, and he's in a Van Halen cover band right now, which I absolutely love.
Love it. And so he
was a Van Halen practice and on the way home he was like, mom, I'm gonna heal people with my music.
He just comes out with this. I'm like, oh. And of course there's some like Bill and Ted's references we can make here, but I'm not gonna go there. I'm not going there. But truly, I was like, okay, this is like a cool moment. So I'm trying to like keep my poker face, I'm like, what do you mean buddy?
Yeah. And he is. So here's the thing, mom, is that most people go to rock concerts because they're really angry. He's but there's no reason why you can't play the same kind of vibration. I was like, what? The same kind of vibration? But with a healing message. And I was like okay,
kiddo. Thank you Yoda Child.
I'm like, how do I came and wrote it down in my journalism. I was like, I can't believe my child just said this. But he was like, honestly, mom, I think that's what people are looking for, even when they're going, because I think he is, like he's going to these shows like wanting healing.
And it's been really quite cool. And part of why I like Metallica and taking Kim there is that these are people who have been through some stuff in their life. And James Hetfield's been in recovery, goodness knows how many times. And to hear even it's interesting some of their songs that are like darker, like Fade to Black.
Yeah. It's all about suicide and stuff at the end. Or even in the middle of those songs now when they're playing them, they'll pause and like the lead singer, James is saying this song's about suicide. You're never alone. Make sure you're talking to your friends. I'm like, this is so cool.
I feel like we're just in this Yeah. Period of like awakening. In a different way. That it's not just sex, drugs and rock and roll, that it's actually, yeah. So much more than that. So much deeper. And it's like you don't need the sex or the drugs. It's the rock and roll. And some like awakening.
Yes.
I just listened to Lars, the drummer. Oh, really? Yeah. On the Smart List podcast. Oh, great podcast. Highly recommend it. But his interview was so interesting. I had no idea he was from Denmark or he used to, he was trying to be a tennis pro. Yeah. So in Corona Delmar High School. Yes. So random. I'm like right here.
Yeah. But I think of all the, there's so many musicians who have made it way past when rock and roll bands have ever made it before. Just look at Rolling Stones, right? Oh my gosh, yes. The setting of record Energizer
Bunny of bands. Yes.
But everyone knows that if you're going to perform anything, whatever your gift is, if you're going to perform it at the highest level Yep.
You have to take care of yourself. Like they are now doing green juices. They now have Pelotons backstage. Yes. It's become a thing of if I wanna keep doing what I love, I can't destroy myself at the same time. Totally. And it's so interesting to see this shift. I used to work in skateboarding and action sports and Oh
gosh, to see
the transition.
I was right on the tail end of the party phase of it because so many of those athletes are sober. So many of them are doing
all the energy healing, going to yoga, they've turned into artists. It's so cool. And it's just it's a completely different expectation. Yes. I think of what, where it could have gone because they saw their heroes doing it the wrong way and were like, we're not gonna, Nope.
We can do it
better. I don't wanna be dead when I'm 25. Exactly. A hundred percent. Like literally. That's what, absolutely. Yeah. And I think also it's so cool to see some of these musicians and or, athletes who have also miraculously, frankly made it to this later stage in life. And they now have the perspective that age brings.
And they are oftentimes parents themselves. Yes. And I find that yeah, it's, this is, it's so funny 'cause a lot of people are like, I can't believe you would take him to a Metallica show. I'm like you have no idea. This is not a Metallica show of 1991. This is Right. Totally different. And I'm, and yes, there is still a CD underbelly wherever you go. Like it doesn't Yeah. But I feel like the general, I love hearing that about the skateboarding community too. That's so cool. 'cause that's what I'm seeing and this is what I'm so excited about, is I'm like, another reason why I'm like pushing.
Absolutely. Whatever you, if you want this. Yeah. You are being raised in a home. I believe enough in what I'm teaching him and how he's sees me and the values that he has that get in there. Like I'd rather you be in there and change the trajectory than Yeah. Be fearful that you're gonna become a statistic of it.
Do you know what I mean? Like I know. Yeah. That's e
Especially when the statistics are changing so rapidly. Yes. And I think it's also because I remember when I was growing up, like there was so much pressure to pick a side. Like you could either be into. Punk rock or rock music, or you can be into hip hop.
Or
You couldn't do both. And I was always like, why? Why? I like both. There's, they actually influence each other so much, I think that there's more people who are just like your website being like, I'm all these things. And they don't, we can pick and choose what we like from all of them, and it doesn't have to be just the sex, drugs, and rock and roll component.
I'm gonna take the rock and roll, I'm gonna take the yoga.
Absolutely. It's, yeah. I also think whenever I see someone wearing like a misfits t-shirt, I'm like, do you need a hug? They always needed a hug. Do you need a hug?
Yeah, just a hug. Exactly. Yes. A little reiki a little healing. Yes.
Yeah. But that's ultimately, honestly, you hit the nail on the head because that is what we I have come to find. Through again, all the reading and practice and everything and the path of yoga. I follow a path of yoga called bhati. And Bhati is the path of love and devotion and literally like you're just devoted to love, like you're devoted to loving every living creature, every living being. And you can see, I do use the word God, I see God everywhere, but God, put whatever word you want in there, I don't care. Makes no difference to me. But I definitely so I follow Bhati and that, what I find is that the reason why I follow that is that honestly when you boil everything down, and what I witnessed, again, not to like bang on about this, but like, when I witnessed my husband leave his body.
'Cause I got to be there like when he left his body. And I put it that way because I, firsthand witnessed and anyone who has witnessed someone died probably has experienced this as well. That we aren't our body. We occupy this body, but we aren't are the body. The body is a vehicle, is a thing that's carrying us through this life.
Yeah. But that ultimately the soul is who we are and that, that soul is made out of love. Like it is literally made out of loving energy. Yeah. And of course the thing we crave and why we wear a misfits t-shirt is because we want love, like you want Yeah. We are seeking love. And that I think that like we, we do a lot of things in our life, including sex and drugs, including, drinking or whatever it might be.
Oh, overeating. Who, there's a gazillion things that people grasp onto again when their boat cap sizes, it's what can I do to fill this void? And ultimately what I've found is literally, there is no other answer than love. And that sounds so like hippie dippy, I'm like gonna see with the Beatles now, but it is so true though. It's so true. That you, and this is why. Yeah. Okay. Maybe if I were to do healing on a mass scale, it would literally just be so that everyone that is feeling such deep sadness, anger frustration, those are all secondary emotions. Like it's especially anger. Yeah. Anger is not a primary emotion.
Anger is a result of deep pain. And so that's what, when I seek to help people, when I have clients coming, we spend at least a half an hour before we even go into my healing space just talking. So I can hear, I'm like, what's happening with you? Let's get that up and out, and what do I need to send healing to today?
I'm not gonna just send it to your hip that's hurting. Your hip is hurting because you're carrying around a pain that you're feeling emotionally. And we're all interconnected beings like this that are not just machines. Yeah. Anyways,
and it brings me so much joy that modern science is validating all of it.
Incredible. And it's, yes, and it's makes me smile because this is again, I studied the Vedas and Vedic knowledge and it's these are things that the yogis were talking about thousands of years ago. Atomic particles and like I love, there's a thing in yoga called a samskara, which is an energetic.
Scar, an energetic mark that you carry with you based on an experience and emotion. Or you can even inherit it from past lives or from your parents. Anyways, all this stuff. So Sams Scarra and I'm like, yes, this is what we call epigenetics now. I'm yes, thank you.
We're validating a hundred percent and it's so cool. It, yeah. It's just amazing.
You're of course on the Powerful Ladies Podcast, so I wanna know what do the words powerful and ladies mean to you? And the second question is, do their definitions change or shift when they're used next to each other?
A very deep question. It's really interesting. So for me, I'm just gonna shoot from the hip here. The word powerful to me, I think I can best describe it by how I would see it embodied. I, it's hard for me to define. But if I were to describe what I'm gonna actually say, what does a powerful lady look like to me?
Some of the words that I would use actually initially would be humble. Wise. This is gonna sound strange, but I'll say it anyways. Quiet. And I don't mean quiet in like meek. Yeah. No. But I think not quick to react, but instead a powerful lady responds. Does that make sense? We don't react.
We respond. That's powerful. That we don't have to be run by external forces. That to me being powerful is seeing that your power is already in you. You don't need to seek external validation. There will never be enough of that if that's what you're seeking. You don't need to seek external direction if that makes ex Yeah.
External approval or direction. Like someone else is never gonna be able to tell a powerful lady where she's headed because her compass is an inner compass.
And it's really interesting. Okay. So powerful. I guess those are a lot of words that I would use to describe powerful is inner wisdom.
Is how I say powerful lady. Gosh,
that is a really complex subject. Yeah, it really is. It's such, oh,
wow. This is why I find this question so interesting, because it's been, it is, it's such a variety of responses and i'm ex Yeah. I'm sure I'll give it to a psych expert one day to really evaluate everyone's answers, but
Yeah, because see, to me, like the minute you say, lady, I actually don't go straight to a physical embodiment.
And perhaps again, this might be because I've been hanging out with my kid who talks about souls so much.
Yeah.
But I believe that our souls don't have a gender, and so the description of what a, a lady would be is someone who. Embodies grace. Again, humility, wisdom, always, these are ladylike attributes, but they don't have to be in a woman embodiment.
Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. So to be a powerful lady would be to be a wise soul. That's what I would say. Yep.
Yeah. It's a reason why someone like Jonathan Van Ness is on my list of guests.
Beautiful.
Because I absolutely, I think he fits the definition that you just created or they just Yes.
Yeah.
It's, yeah, it's, there's so much complexity and since I think also 2016, there's a lot more. Color around that word and who gets to use it and who does it and who wants to and who doesn't.
It's, there's been many conversations about it internally on our team. I, and then externally.
I bet.
Yeah. 'cause it could probably be triggering for some people too. Yeah.
Yeah. There's, yeah, there's been two people I can remember in particular. One of whom has not been on the podcast was what was participating in an in-person event that was really triggered by the word and almost didn't wanna be part of the event because they were like, Ugh.
I'm like maybe that's why you should be part of the event.
And it actually became
a really amazing event
that, that which we resist is meant
to teach us.
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
I have some rapid fire questions to wrap us up for today. Cool. The first one is, where do you put yourself on the powerful lady scale?
If zero is average everyday human and 10 is the most powerful lady you can imagine, where do you put yourself today and on an average day?
I would say that if that's, I have two answers to that quick fire. Yeah, sure. Because again, on a physical level, I would put myself, maybe even a, I don't wanna say a zero, definitely not a zero, scatterbrained running amuck, losing my patience, being a human being.
I'm a five, I'm an average physical, powerful lady, but on a spiritual level, I'm an 11.
Beautiful. Love it. There we go. For everybody who wants to find you, follow you, support you, where can they do all of those things?
Thank you. I would love to connect with the place where I think I probably post the most and interact the most is on Instagram and you can find me there at the Anne Watson and it's Anne with an e. Um, so the Anne Watson is my handle on Instagram, but you can also go to anne watson.com and that's the website where you'll find those three doorways into the three businesses that I run. And I would love to connect with people at events, especially things that I'm gonna be doing something actually in Orange County in a few weeks, so yeah, those are perfect.
The two best places.
And then what are you excited about for either wrapping up this year or kicking off 2024?
Oh my goodness. On a personal level, I'm really excited to go see Metallica next week, wrapping up the 2023 touring season that way. But yeah, I would say on a personal and professional level that I am most excited to wrap up.
The 2023 growing season for wine, it has been a tremendously challenging year as a farmer. So I'm very much looking forward to taking a deep breath after that and getting to enjoy some holiday time with my son. Yeah.
And the last question for today is how can we help you? What do you need?
What do you want? What are you manifesting? What can we put out to this community of powerful ladies? Could be small, could be big, could be something that. We have no idea how to work on, but this is a pretty powerful group.
I love that. And I welcome and am honored by any support. In all seriousness, I guess it ties into the last question I didn't say.
What I would love to see moving forward is I would love to see my reiki business grow. I want to extend healing and so I would love to manifest more clients. I would love to see more people. I would love to help more people in that healing space. And then also connected to me through a virtual umbilical cord.
I would love to support my child's dream. I'd love to see his music grow. It's making me emotional.
I love it. Yeah. It's I know for me, I get emotional when I'm speaking the deepest truth that,
that we can say I like.
Wow.
I just see him. As an extension of the healing that I'm trying to offer.
I see him being the one that does it on that bigger scale. Yeah. And he's just, I know every parent is supposed to feel like this about their kid. My kid's amazing. But the stuff that boy has seen in his life and the fact that he is so positive and so grounded and so kind is giving me hope for the future of this planet.
Literally. Yeah. Yeah, I'd like to see that.
Okay. All right. That's a fun game, I think, for all of us to play both of those more Reiki clients for you and making all of Russell's music dreams happen. Yes. We can all get behind those things. Thank you. Thank you so much for being a Yes and sharing your story and your wisdom with all of us today.
It has been such a pleasure to hang out with you. I've made a list of all the ways I wanna hang out with you more. Good. And yeah, I just thank you for being a yes and for doing the things and for saying yes to crazy people who walk up to you at events. Always
say yes. Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here.
Thank you.
All the links to connect with Anne Watson Ranch Vineyards, Watson Wellness, or Anne Watson Content Development are in our show notes@thepowerfulladies.com. Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening, and if you can leave us a rating and review, join us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies and to connect with me directly, visit kara duffy.com or Kara under Duffy on Instagram.
I'll be back next week with a brand new episode and new amazing guest. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
