From Police Officer to Healer: Her Journey to Alignment

Edith [00:00:00] I began creating more consistent offering, leading group meditation, facilitating sound bath, and, like, a lot of collaboration, developing workshops, and, like, really building a real community around my work.

Edith But those things required a different type of courage than leaving, because that'sleaving asks you to leap, and building asks you to stay. And another major challenge has been the pressure to prove myself,

LuRae Welcome to And Then I Did This. Prepare to be inspired as we celebrate the unique journeys of individuals who've had the courage to break free and live life on their own terms. Their lives prove that you truly can be free to live your best and most authentic life.

Edith Let's get to it

LuRae Welcome to the [00:01:00] show.

LuRae Today I have a special guest. Edith Vincent is a former police officer turned hypnotherapist. After years of living in high-performance, high-stress environments, she stepped away from her career in policing, and now supports people moving out of survival mode into a more grounded, aligned, and embodied way of living through one-on-one sessions, group experiences, and transformational events.

LuRae Edith, welcome to the show.

Edith Thank you so much. Thank you so much for inviting me over. I think it's beautiful what you're doing, and we need more of you, inviting us into your space. So thank you. Thank you.

LuRae Yes. Yes. And I mirror that back to you with what you're choosing to do. Walk us through your journey, how you got to this point, where you started and, and what made you pivot, and anything else you'd like to share.

Edith Okay. Super. Thank you. So I'm a hypnotherapist, a meditation [00:02:00] teacher. I do also yin yoga, as a teacher, and I do sound healing as well, based near M- Montreal. So I do a lot of things, but it's all tools to get in touch with our body, the somatic. But I think that the deeper truth about me is that al- I've always been someone searching for meaning, belonging, and a real understanding of why we're here, why I'm here.

Edith For much of my life, I felt different. I often, felt as though I was trying to understand where I belonged and how I could become a part of something, like, meaningful. So that led me eventually to being a police officer, which I love, the... I was looking for structure, unity, purpose, and a way of contributing, and I really wanted to help people, and I [00:03:00] believed that becoming a, a, a police officer would allow me to make a real difference.

Edith That career taught me a lot about human beings. I saw people in moments of fear, trauma, crisis, survival, and a lot of, vulnerability. But over time, I realized that I didn't ev- didn't truly believe in the way that the system was trying to create in the change, So I didn't really want to intervene with people who were already in crisis.

Edith I wanted to understand what was underneath that behavior, their suffering and their survival responses- I wanted to help people reconnect with their own power rather than feeling controlled by the power and, or defined by what that, what happened to them, you know? So [00:04:00] my own life eventually brought me into that work personally.

Edith So I experienced myself trauma, anxiety, health, challenges, nervous system dysregulation like crazy , major changes, and periods where I no longer, recognize the life that I've built. So meditation, hypnosis, plant medicine, breathwork, sound bath, and body-based healing become ways to come back to myself.

Edith Today my, my, my work, my purpose is about creating spaces where people don't have to perform, prove anything, or force, like, themself to heal. That is not, why I'm doing this. It's help- to help people understanding their inner world, feel safer into their bodies, and reconnect with the parts of themself that [00:05:00] maybe aban- were being abandoned in order to survive.

Edith Yeah I also share my, my story because I believe that our truth can be- become a form of permission. When one person has the courage to live more authentically, it can remind someone else that there's another life that is possible for them, too.

LuRae Absolutely. Yeah, so beautiful. Yeah, so beautiful. Ah, so the journey from going down one path to another,

LuRae talk a little bit about how you I'm assuming, and I shouldn't assume. I, I should ask you how you prepared yourself to be able to step out and do what you're doing, 'cause I think that fear from, you know, what I hear from people when I, you know, get, you know, newsletter signups, and people will fill out the little survey there.

LuRae You know, the, the... They'll say, you know, "Afraid I [00:06:00] might not make it, afraid I won't be able to make money." How did you walk through that, and how did you manage that transition?

Edith Yeah, so ve- very great question. So I wouldn't recommend it to people the way I did it, because it was, like, really sudden, and, like, at that time, my, my brain, my subconscious mind was like, "This is the way, and there's no other way."

Edith Yeah. But I would recommend that it's more like a nervous system, regulation first, and then you go. So it wasn't one perfect moment where I was like, "Oh, it's really clear." It's more like life begin, dismantling the version of me that- Could no longer continue. So at different points, I experiences the, I ex- experience, career losses, a car accident, physical and mental ex- [00:07:00] exhaustion, anxiety, health issues, and nervous system symptoms.

Edith It was,it wasn't like, "Oh, I, I can continue." It was like, "Bam, you cannot, and this is your new life." So my body was expressing what I had been trying to push away, like, mentally. For a long time, my way of functioning was, like, to keep moving, stay responsible, work harder, and find the next solution. But eventually, I reach a point where pushing through was no longer strength.

Edith It was self-abandonment. So I begin to realize that I didn't s- simply need a different job. It was more like I needed a different relationship with myself and life, which is totally different. there was a very strong urge to, for me to live differently. At [00:08:00] first, I responded to that urge really quickly.

Edith I made major, major changes. I travel. I left my family structure, and I tried to create a new life. So I moved to Mexico. I left, really fast my job, but that was, like, I didn't leave the, the police work for, like, two years. There was, like, this,this in between, but, some of those decision were really necessary, but I also learned that changing your environment doesn't automatically transform everything around you, inside of you, because you carry yourself wherever you go.

LuRae Exactly. Yeah, there's that saying, you know, "No matter," you know, "w- wherever you go, there you are," because, you know, sometimes environmental changes can make you look at things differently, and I'm sure it helped facilitate a [00:09:00] little bit of, "Oh, I'm out of my," you know, say, "comfort zone." people say that.

LuRae Once you get out of it, you realize it wasn't all that comfortable you know? Or we were trying to get out of it, but it makes you look at things differently. But you're right, yeah.

Edith Yeah. So different environment, but just different, like- people, but that were pushing the same emotional button, you know?

LuRae Yeah, different scenery.

LuRae Yeah, different scenery, different people, same issues surfacing, right?

Edith like, m- the real new path begin when I stop asking the question, "Where should I go next?" And more like, "What life is trying to teach me here?" So the courage was partly from r- came partly from reaching a place where staying the same was no more, was more painful than facing the unknown.

Edith So it was like, yeah, it changed really suddenly, but the inner change was longer. [00:10:00] But it also came through small moments of trust. Very small. Yeah. Every time I listened to myself, told the truth, set a boundary, allow myself to rest, or choose something align instead of something familiar, like I strengthened that courage.

LuRae You know, it's interesting w- thinking back to what you said earlier around, working harder, pushing through, just, you know, so many of us, I was... I did the same thing. So many of us think that's just what I need to do, and then, things will be okay, or things will change, or, whatever it is, and those are just the steps to burnout.

LuRae I mean, I think the statistics around burnout, if you look on LinkedIn, the, the topic around toxic work environments and, and toxic leaders and, and burnout, you know. And I think even our generation [00:11:00] that's coming into poten- you know, like what we would consider work years, like they're rejecting the way of being that former genera- which I love.

LuRae personally, I love it. I was a millennial advocate, now I'm an advocate for this new generation because they're just not- I love them ... They're just- They're not just swallowing it hook, line, and sinker. Yeah

Edith Yeah, they're... I love it because everything that, the other generation put in, they're like, "Yeah, I don't care.

Edith I'm gonna come in whenever I want," and, but it's all of them, so they don't have the power over them, so I really like it. and, you know, it's a f- like I have a lot of clients that comes in and they're like, "I, I have the tools. I know what to do. I know yoga, I know breathing, I know, I know meditation, I know everything," but it, there is, like, this, like my, the resistance is telling me, "No, you can't.

Edith You need to continue because if [00:12:00] not, everything's gonna collapse," so we need to, like, understand that calm is not linked to l- lose everything. It's quite the opposite. It's, it's giving you clarity. It's changing your... we've seen that with Joe Dispenza. Like, it's gaining perspective.

Edith It's gaining momentum. It's gaining, like, clarity. But if your brain doesn't, and body doesn't feel safe to go that direction, you will go to the familiar hell.

LuRae Oh, and so many people are struggling with that. So when people come to you, like, h- what is your pr- how do you w- figure out and determine what is the natural best next step for them?

Edith So basically, it's really interesting how it works because it's not me that knows what, what they are going through or the direction. It's more like i- through the conscious, it's, [00:13:00] and subconscious work. What I need to say is that I don't go, like, really In those really, like, deep parts of the subconscious mind.

Edith It's more like, okay, how I feel is so uncomfortable that I'm at the end of my belief in the way that I used to think and, and make choice. So I'm at that point of I'm already in the process, and I just need a space where it can emerge. so it's really interesting because I don't really need to do anything, just allow and be present, and there's like this really intelligent i- inside of us, we all know it, that it's just emerging, and then you get the answer.

Edith And sometimes, w- I d- I don't have any,How we say that? I don't know. I know it in French, but, not in English. But I don't put pressure on things to come out because I know when they are ready, they're gonna come out. and, you know, like, yeah, and, [00:14:00] and s- for some people, it's more like trusting the timing of your life.

Edith So if the answers are not there, it, yet, it's because what you need to work is to self-regulate, is to find roots. Find roots, patient, patience, and then you cannot, like- be- become, like elevate yourself if, if you're not rooted in yourself. So it's more like it depends on everyone, and there's like very precious insights that I get, but at the same time, my goal is for people to be their own insight, not outside of yourself.

Edith So I'm more into like, "What do you think? what do you think?" And then if they don't have their answer, it's okay. I will ask the question that will make sense at some point.

LuRae Yes. Well, I [00:15:00] think so many of us need a safe container where we're not... Because we get in our head. I actually shared this suggestion with someone the other day that I was, just talking with them, as someone I see on a regular basis just down the- where I live, and they were saying they're, it, they had this like loop of thoughts, like, they're, "I'm, I don't know why I'm having these negative thoughts."

LuRae And on my, my just quick, help on the spot, but just from my coaching background, was like, "You know, write it down on a piece of paper. Break the cycle, and if you can see it on paper, it can at least help break the cycle." But when you have a person who can create that safe space, you're not alone and, and you are committed to do something about it.

LuRae Because I just think back to also what you had said about trying to, I don't want to say like avoid, but trying to work through in spite of the messages that were coming. You were getting the whispers, "You're not on your [00:16:00] right path. You need to make a change. This isn't what you're meant to do." And we, try to ignore that until we can't, pa- partly because we're on a certain path and we don't know, we can't see, but our higher self, the source that's guiding our paths, like knows.

LuRae We just have to be willing to listen, and someone like you can create that safe space for someone who's tried all the things. They know, as you said, they, the yoga and the meditation and the, the things to do, but independently, they just need someone else to be there and hold that space for them.

Edith Yeah. Yeah, mirror them. Like, I think that the, how you know you're, you're with a good hypnotherapist or someone who can really help you is just their presence- They have this ability to just mirror back what you said in other words so you [00:17:00] understand, but it's all from you. That's it.

LuRae Can you do this, like do you do it only in person or do you also do it via Zoom or over the phone?

Edith I do it, via Zoom. Yes, I do it via Zoom. and I do it on, like in person, like very near here, but I know that there's something really precious about being online. There's more possibility, and it's really working the same. and you get to stay with the recording of the session so you can re, Like, re-listen to it, after when you need it,

LuRae Oh, that's so good. I think that- That's so good ... big, yes.

Edith Yeah.

LuRae Very, it- it- So I guess, you know, talk a little bit about kind of like what are some of your, I guess, your favorite parts of what you do, and what are some of the, kind of the lessons even that you've learned now that you've been doing this for a while that would be interesting or helpful that, you know, someone who has never done what you're [00:18:00] doing would even know?

Edith Yeah, okay. So the, what I love the most is, seeing people... I think that I went to a retreat, two, three we- weeks ago where I was, leading the voice and the music, and I was like, I'm, I feel that I'm a child- inner child activator. So I, yeah, I, I bring her with me, and then we play, and then people are, like, activating their own inner child.

Edith So it's really good to see them, like, allowing their inner child to h- just have fun, and then it's contagious, and then we have fun, and we laugh, and it's not that serious, and, and like sing with me. and I do also a voice, activation, like, session, so like what is your relationship with your voice, with your truth, how, to connect with the past year, and, and to just change the story, [00:19:00] and then, like, how, like, our voice is our essence.

Edith it's very unique, so we're in this, era that we need colors. we need less of, of, yeah, I love ChatGPT. I really love it. It's, like, a really amazing tool. But we're in this era that we need, like, true colors and, and more humanity, more warmth, So that's what I love, is to see people revealing and understanding what i- is their purpose, what they came, here to do.

Edith Because we all know it. It's just, like, resistance is there, and it's okay, and... But I, I love seeing them, like, just having, "Okay, now I understand," haha moments, and I just love to see, like, people allowing themself to be themself, like to [00:20:00] understand and accept themself. and I'm in love with me in that process as well because it's, it's, it's, it hasn't been easy, an easy path in a sense that, Following that, that, that purpose is not always like, "Oh, yeah, it's gonna be good, and everyone's gonna like it."

Edith You really need to believe in yourself, and, and to push through even if no one is, seeing you or like, or giving you good feedback. You just need to believe that it's, it- you're there. You're already there. Okay? So, and then I'm gonna tell you about the biggest, challenges and obstacle because I think it's, it's, we need to understand that, maybe people watching will feel that there's some part that it's gonna resonate.

Edith So my biggest challenge is to learn that freedom doesn't mean constantly [00:21:00] reinventing my life. Okay. So for a long time, movements felt like freedom. Traveling different, direction, beginning again and again, and following new experiences helped me discover parts of myself. Good, yes, amazing. But I also learned that sometime we can use mo- movement to avoid fully landing

Edith Yeah. So over the past few months, because we, we met, like, few months ago, and, so I've learned... I've been learning how to build roots while remaining free. So I opened my own hypnotherapy office. I invested in, in my business. I be- I began creating more consistent offering, leading group meditation, facilitating sound bath, and, like, a lot of collaboration, [00:22:00] developing workshops, and, like, really building a real community around my work.

Edith But those things required a different type of courage than leaving, because that's what I was used to le- leaving. It- leaving asks you to leap, and building asks you to stay. And another major challenge has been the pressure to prove myself, okay? So I grew up with strong values about responsibility, stability, having money saved, and avoiding unnecessary risk, and creating a respectable life, I- when I hear that, I'm like, "Police officer," Those values are, are- in bad, they taught me discipline and responsibility, but I also internali- internalized the belief that my worth came from productivity, achievement, and being able to hand- handle everything myself. [00:23:00] Even after leaving policing, I, I would recreate the same internal structure, in, in being an entrepreneur.

Edith So that has been a really, like, big, I realize that the true work isn't only changing careers, it's changing the inner voice that says, "You must gonna, like, do something to deserve your, your space." And I'm learning right now to... That success builds, through nervous system, No. Successes that were built through a nervous system, survival doesn't feel like succe- success.

Edith So you can be really successful having a lot of clients and making money, but feeling so disconnected from yourself. And, you know, like, I want really to people to understand that, life is l- it's not loops, but you're coming back into the [00:24:00] same pattern with another type of consciousness.

Edith So don't feel that, okay, you're over it, and then you're never going back there. That's so not true, because you're eventually going to go back there, but it's gonna be easier to see it and to change route and make better decisions. But this year, I felt that I came back into this, like, disconnection and, and, like, doing a lot of clients, but- slowly, disconnected from my body, but it doesn't make sense.

Edith You don't do that. I, I... Both of them needs to be together. So I also face self-doubt, for sure, and, financial ur- and uncertainty, for sure. People not always understanding my path, that is okay. And the fear that I made the wrong [00:25:00] decision and that my parents were right. But, but it's okay. Fear can be there.

Edith She's always with me. It's just she's not, taking the, the, she's not taking the, the wheel.

LuRae the driver's seat. Yeah, not in the driver's seat. Yeah, I j- I just think all of those false beliefs, I know,you know, SLBs, self-limiting beliefs, they c- the, they're always there. It's a matter of taming them and recognizing them as they come up, you know?

LuRae "Thank you, not today," you know? And because we all face them, it doesn't matter what level of success or how, just as you said, like, you've stepped out now into your own modalities and helping people find themselves and just reconnect with themselves and, you know... And, so it's, it's learning the skills that can help as we...

LuRae That phrase of the layers of the onion, those things, those beliefs that we [00:26:00] have that are so deep-seeded will try to sprout again, and then we have to just, you know, put it to the side. Like, "No, not," you know, and replace. Just keep replacing it and keep going on our path. But it's, as you said, it's cyclical, so we, we keep growing and expanding, w- you know, what we're doing.

LuRae I mean, I just found... The other day I was having to find an old email address. It was the first business that I had really started when I left my ad agency role in New York City in 2015, and it was mindfulbusiness.guru. And I was on this mission to, because I was a millennial advocate, I had written Millennial 101, it was, you know, to help leaders understand how to, how to engage with millennials, because I had great success with that in the roles I had been in, and so I had to find the, the email address so I could reset, you know, something online.

LuRae And I realized, like, how many, like, iterations I have even gone through [00:27:00] myself from that point of leaving. And, you know, I think I just knew I wasn't meant to... I've always been- A bit independent and just didn't... The corporate game, I could play it really well, and I succeeded. But I was, I mean, to your point, my own version of not feeling I was on the right path, and kept getting, you know, nudges here and, and there that this isn't what you're supposed to be doing.

LuRae and then we listen, and we take the steps. And to your earlier point also, it wa- it isn't always crystal clear. The clarity comes when we start taking the steps, even the small steps. Even if it's a big step, I'm moving to Mexico, and I'm leaving this old life behind. you know, th- because there were lessons you learned with that, that you wouldn't have learned otherwise had you just stayed right where you were.

LuRae So it's a matter of us really just [00:28:00] listening to ourselves and engaging with other people, like, like yourself, who can help hold a container and be a mirror for someone who they're at that point where they've maybe tried everything they knew, therapy, the meditation, the, all the tricks and haven't been able to break through to where they should be, feel like they're meant to go, right?

Edith True that. I lo- I have a lot of, people coming in. They're like, "I did everything. I went to see the doctor. I did, did... I, I read the book. I did everything, and, and it's not working." And we just understand that because it's not outside. It's not the outer authority that has that power. It's, it's within you.

Edith it's the new, it's a new way of, of connecting with your power.

LuRae Yeah, it's an insid- it's an inside job. Yeah. Yeah, it is.

Edith It is. It is.

LuRae [00:29:00] Oh. So I would say, I'm gonna make sure that people, that everything is in the show notes, but if so- if people want to connect with you, what are s- we'll verbally say it, and then I'll put the links below.

LuRae How can people connect with you?

Edith So I have a website. It's, edithvincenthypno.ca. I'm gonna, send it to you. I have, like, a Instagram, Facebook, even my cellphone, I can give it to you, and they can ask me questions, and we can know if it's aligned, the work. And if you feel connected, I'm more than... I would be honored to, to accompany more people that feel that they are transitioning right now.

Edith Yes.

LuRae So good. Do you do your group meditations, do you do those through Zoom yet, or are those more in person at this point?

Edith It's more in person. I have it, it, on- online, on Facebook, but the thing is that it's in French.

LuRae Oh. Yeah . Well, for those French- [00:30:00] Yeah ... French pe- listeners- Yes ... they're, you know, yeah

Edith Yes.

Edith Yes, I give it one... But I c- I could do it,if someone asked me, it would be an honor to guide them, in English as well on Zoom.

LuRae Yeah. I'm just... I think I'm, I'm getting, I'm getting ideas that are, yeah, coming through me to suggest, yeah, to you. Oh, so beautiful. So what f- fi- I guess, parting words or words of advice would you give to someone who might be in their own version of where you were as a police officer back in the day, and they're just not sure w- they know something's off, but they're just afraid they can't reinvent themselves, or they don't know what they would do?

LuRae What advice would you give them?

Edith That's a great question. So you do not need to destroy your entire life to begin to listening to yourself. Sometimes we imagine that following our truth [00:31:00] involve one dramatic leap. but often your new path begins with one honest decision. So one conversation, one application, one class, one boundary, one hour a l- a week devoted to what makes you feel alive.

Edith You also don't need complete confidence before you move. Confidence is often the result of keeping small promises to yourself. I would encourage people to distinguish be- between fear and alignment and misalignment. Fear doesn't always mean no. Fear means, like, sometimes this matters to me, but I don't know who I will become if I choose it.

Edith But I would say don't romanticize the leap. Give yourself time, create support, understand your fin- finances, [00:32:00] care for your body. Let the dream become grounded enough to hold you. Courage and responsibility doesn't have to oppose one another. And most importantly, don't wait until everyone understands. Some people can only understand the version of you they already known.

Edith Your responsibility is to remain rec- recognizable and, to remain connected to your what is true for yourself

LuRae That's so true. So good. Yeah. Yeah, we don't have it, have to have it all figured out, and you're right, fear is sometimes just that nudge we need that's like, "You're still alive," and y- just, it's that, those sayings.

LuRae You know, you can, face everything and rise or, you know, do the opposite and feel everything and run in the other direction. But better to, to, [00:33:00] you know, just do our best. The, I think the worst that someone can do is if we look at the, the lives of those, you know, who are at the, the end of their life, those who would say, "Oh," the, their regrets are, "I wish I would have," or, "I wonder what would have happened if I would have done that thing," or whatever that thing is, rather than just staying where people are at, j- build, break...

LuRae The worst thing you can do is learn a lesson and it doesn't turn out exactly how you thought it would, but you'll find a new path, right?

Edith Always. Yeah. I remember one of my clients, she was, like, asking herself, like, "Where should I go? Should I prioritize, studies, relationship, or myself?" And the brain, I didn't even do anything.

Edith She was like, "Okay, where should I go?" There was three stick with two letters each, and then I was [00:34:00] like, "Do you know what they means?" relationship, work, and studies." And she was like, "I don't know where to go." And her brain said, like, "It doesn't matter. anywhere you go, you're gonna get through it.

Edith You're gonna get to the right place. The only thing you need to do is, is, like, listen and be aware of your thoughts." and she went through... It was really interesting, because, the leap was really scary for her because she felt that she was, like, going like this. I don't know how to say in, in English.

Edith Like diving. Yeah. And I said, "What can you do that is less, like, scary for your brain?" Like, the movement of, of falling is really, like, oh, intense. So she, her brain told her, "Okay, you just need to move it like this," so she's going through it instead of taking a leap like this. So [00:35:00] it's a different movement, but it, the same thing.

Edith So this is, like, really, like, a, an image, but for her, integrated it, and it was amazing. It was amazing. She was only 18. She was super, super, super young. She came back and she didn't really understood what happened, like consciously, but I knew that the unconscious- Work with her. So sometimes we, we need to understand that there is, like, this intelligence that is guiding us, and we don't need to overthink it.

Edith it's... The universe guides us, and, and it's helping us through the, the process. We just need, i- we... If we believe that, we're gonna see it, but if we don't believe that, it's still there, but you just don't see it.

LuRae Exactly. And just to be able to tap into it. Oh, so good. Thank y- thank you so much [00:36:00] for all the wisdom and all the guidance and advice.

LuRae And again, anyone listening that would like to get some clarity with someone who would be a safe person, Eve, that's your person. So thank you so much for coming on the show.

Edith Thank you so much for inviting me, and I really love, your insights, the way you are listening, truly present. this is a gift really for us.

LuRae Oh, thank you. And that's a wrap on another episode of And Then I Did This, celebrating the lives of those who've walked away from the beaten path to pursue work and a life that nourishes their soul. If you're feeling inspired and ready to explore your own path to freedom, check out youcanbefree.life where you'll find resources and support to help you break free and live life on your own terms.

LuRae See you next time.