We had the good fortune of connecting with Anne Redelfs, MD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anne, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
Although most people are aware that they have a soul, they don’t realize that their soul requires development. Just as every human who is born into our world needs physical nutrition to grow to physical maturity, we also need soul nutrition to grow to psychological maturity.

I define the soul as the psychological body, which includes the emotional body or heart and the mind. If our emotional bodies are to reach maturity, they must be fed through the sharing of authentic feelings. To maximize their developmental impact, we must express these authentic feelings constructively and creatively. If our minds are to reach maturity, they must be fed truth in a manner that meets our developmental needs.

Discovering, processing, and sharing the truth of our life experiences as well as our authentic feelings and thoughts about this truth are what drive our developmental journeys. Soul development is no easy task! Maintaining beliefs that our souls are already healthy and whole and no further efforts are required is much easier. In our fast-paced world where there are so many demands on our time and energy, we can no doubt understand the popularity of these sweet-tasting, but nutritionally lacking, beliefs.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I call myself a gardener of the soul, first of all, because I love gardening! Tending the soul is similar to gardening in that we do a lot of digging, turning, adding amendments, sowing, watering, and weeding. We first look at the condition of the soul, just like we first look at the soil in our gardens.

I remember once helping a professional gardener friend prep the land for a garden where there had never been one before. We both attempted to thrust our shovels into the earth, and then we jumped on the top of their blades, wanting them to go further. The shovels stood still—the ground was so hard!

Chronic trauma can cause us to abandon our ill-cared-for souls. Our hearts and minds harden from the lack of loving, intelligent care. These protections give us a sense of security, so we maintain them. We become more and more desensitized to our own and others’ thoughts and feelings, unreceptive to this daily nutrition. Rather than producing a gorgeous garden teeming with life and bearing much fruit, our souls can become increasingly lifeless and barren, at least in our experience.

In my practice, I attempt to reverse this soul-deadening process. I teach people the stages of soul development so that they might see where they and their loved ones are stuck. They learn how to heal unresolved trauma and give each individual what they need to emotionally, mentally, and relationally mature. They grow to hear each soul themselves, expressing itself directly through actions and words and indirectly through illnesses, injuries, and other life challenges. They practice following each soul’s apt guidance, becoming a soul gardener themselves.

For me, becoming a soul gardener has not been easy, but it has been well worth the struggle. Whenever situations seemed particularly dark and foreboding, a sensitive soul would come along and offer a ray of sunshine that kept me going and kept me growing. These many challenges and soulful responses compelled my growth, which I believe is the opportunity for us all.

Every challenge is an opportunity for self-improvements. Healthy hearts and minds feed on these challenges, eager to grow ourselves and others. The more eager we are, the less we need these challenges to compel our growth!

The most important lesson I have learned is how resilient we all are in our true nature, both in terms of body and soul. Every affliction can be seen as a soul communication. Just as gardens can be wiped out by fires, floods, drought, scorching heat, freezing temperatures, and so on, once the weather conditions necessary for life are restored, growth returns. This is true of every soul! Watching each person’s soul garden revive and ultimately thrive is what gives me the most excitement and pride. I love watching people grow!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When close friends visit, I like to take them on an adventure! This means sauntering down the streets that contain something that would interest them. For example, the Arts District is one of my favorite areas. My friends and I would peruse the museums during the day and catch a concert, play, or other entertainment at night. To give them a feel of the Texas culture, we would eat at steakhouses and barbecue places, as well as enjoy some of the many high-quality ethnic restaurants. (Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill is a must!) Also, a trip to Dallas isn’t complete without eating Mexican or Latin American cuisine at least once. (Meso Maya and Gloria’s Latin Cuisine are favorites.)

There are so many beautiful neighborhoods in Dallas to drive or walk around. What most enlivens a city for me is mingling with the locals. As we drive or walk along the streets, we would engage approachable passersby, asking their recommendations for restaurants and attractions in the area. I would also encourage any information or stories they want to share with my out-of-town visitors. The path that presents itself is always fun, educational, deeply meaningful, and wonderfully memorable when we tune into each person’s soul!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to recognize the inspiring souls I’ve met throughout my life’s journey. When I was in medical school, the souls of my patients first introduced me to the idea that their symptoms and disease processes were soul communications guiding their growth. During my pediatrics residency, the souls of my patients taught me that children whose needs are met naturally grow to maturity. In contrast, when kids are traumatized by the neglect and abuse of their souls, they remain stuck at young stages of soul development. During my psychiatry residency, the souls of my patients showed me through their symptoms that they were trying to speak the truth of their unresolved traumas, what they felt and thought about these traumas, and what they learned as a result.

Over the years, I’ve learned to see all symptoms, whether physical or psychological, as cries for help. Unfortunately, I found that most people would rather silence these soul cries, having learned a pathology-based model for health and healing that focuses on the physical. My patients’ souls, however, have schooled me in a developmental model, which requires soulful listening to each symptom and disease process. Hopefully, once this request for help is digested, we can then respond with our most mature humanity, furnishing the nutrition that each soul needs to grow.

Website: https://www.AnneRedelfs.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whattheworldneedsnow_byAnne

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-redelfs-gardenerofthesoul/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/1soulgardener

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gardenerofthesoul/

Youtube: YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC9qAEptylm-zCXWM5680HBw

Image Credits
Dahlia; Alexas_Fotos Sunflowers: ykaiavu Tulips: Haus Grapes: Bru-nO All are from Pixabay: free for commercial use; no attribution required.

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