Naama M. Kostiner; The Shaman who reveals the creative side of entrepreneurs

Naama has had to face several major challenges in her life – especially when she lost her loved ones – but she still found the strength to recover. She was only eight years old when her grandmother first taught her to use her intuition and read the cards and since then her inner gift has enabled her to become a Shaman in a very natural way. Her story reveals how she has implemented this natural gift for the benefit of entrepreneurs. In this interview she also reveals the most common tips they seek to use their creative energy to do positive things in the world. In her leisure time Naama also enjoys a close connection with art and describes it as a necessity in her life.

Can you share with us when you first realised your gift for being a Shaman?

There was never really a specific time of realisation for me. What I had felt and experienced came to me very naturally and I was sure that everybody must feel the same. For as long as I can remember awareness has been a big part of my life as I come from an ancestral line of healers. My grandmother taught me how to use my intuition and read cards when I was eight years old as a kind of sport so I just assumed this to be very normal. It wasn’t until I started school that I found out that this was considered ‘a little different’! I’ve always been a seeker so I feelthis knowledge helped me through the currents of growing up between cultures. I’d often collect seashells and stones, light candles and incense, pray and try to find as many books as possible to educate myself about consciousness and the universe. I learned a lot from a Navajo teacher as a teenager and later on,when living in the Amazon and in Mexico in my 20’s,I learned to go deeper into the Shamanic healing wisdom.

How has this mission helped you in life and how would you describe this whole experience?

For me, understanding spirit was a vital necessity, like the air that I breathe. I felt drawn to it. I realised that Mother Earth can teach us so much and that most of us have been just sleepwalking through our lives and letting our passions and childhood dreams slip away. There were some challenges in my life through which I discovered pain and sadness though.Things like experiencing multiple losses of loved ones at a very young age and a car accident that put me through years of simply coping and rehabilitation. It was connectivity that helped me ‘see’ a different picture. A picture was far greater than pain or what my eyes could experience – a vision of my soul’s desires. I wanted to use this knowing to help others wake up to their true dreams and learn to heal themselves.

How does your experience apply to entrepreneurs?

What I love about entrepreneurs, especially creative entrepreneurs, is that they bring more than one vocation to the table. They have a variety of colourful interests and usually go through their career focusing on more than one idea or project. This energy carries a sense of adventure and excitement yet sometimes we get a little lost between these multiple streams and unsure what to invest in or what brings out our true self. This is where awareness and connectivity come in handy. I also consider myself to be a creative entrepreneur since I come from a background in clinical psychotherapy and yet I work with spirit and employ art into so many things that I do. I have a mental set of tools that I use to keep myself on a healthy, integrated path and I love passing these ideas on as I work with my clients.

What are the most common tips they ask for?

Clients come in like a delightful box of chocolates, full of flavour and expression. And yet sometimes the weight of life takes over. They find themselves in ‘struggle mode’, uninspired or wishing to reconnect and come home to their true selves in order to create new horizons and breakthroughs and achieve more success in their business. It’s about opening up to a new skillset that can help one overcome his or her own set of barriers on the way to achieving abundance.

In your opinion, how can one be healed ritualistically?

Our everyday lives consist of rituals and habits that we have acquired over the years. To me the word ‘rituals’ resonates with every little healing step we take during the day; from the way we wake up, having a silent moment with our drink, journaling instead of checking our phone, reading something inspiring, listening to music and opening the day with a special note that holds our vibration in a clean and vital way. Deeper cleansing calls for an understanding that we are not only the mind that thinks but also the observer and the creator. Once we open up to awareness there are special healing techniques that can be used to drain away negative habits, stress and worry. It can be done through the course of breathwork, meditation and nourishment and is tailored specifically to serve a person’s needs. It all revolves around mindset and learning to surrender our old selves, making room for a new and more exciting version of us.

Can you tell us about the impact that art has had on your life? Do you see it as a commitment or part of relaxation?

Art is truly everything to me. It came to me as a necessity and a passion rather than a commitment. I started dancing when I was three years old. My mother would take me to ballet classes because I felt obsessed with a famous artistic ice skater and begged her to take me to watch a live show. It was the treat of my life. I would also love to draw for as long as I can remember and I first handled a camera as a teenager. It was only in later years that I discovered that these passions could be merged into my career. I started doing photography and creative direction for the music and fashion industries and observed how much creativity was there for all to share. Creative processes inspire who I am and I believe it is truly a calling to inspire others to tap into their own creativity and give it a valid voice.