We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Molly Kyle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Molly below.

Molly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The biggest (and the best) risk I have ever taken was to have the faith to always follow my heart in my career path. It’s called a calling for a reason- your life purpose will keep calling to you, even if you try to shrink from being seen. I tried to keep myself in a seemingly safe box in order to avoid failure or being misunderstood, but when the pandemic hit, I realized that this was not serving me or anyone else. The most authentic way for me to serve my community is to unapologetically live the roles of both creator and healer, and really, those two roles are one and the same. Going on my own unique path and combining bodywork, the esoteric, and Jungian coaching into a business while also keeping my creative spark alive as an actress is not always easy. It was not created from five year plans or spreadsheets. It is a non-negotiable way of life, an extension on my life’s passion, and a risk well worth taking.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

As a child, I was always knew that I wanted to make the world a better place. My childhood was not characterized by freedom, play, or being what you might call carefree. I have always been sensitive in every sense of the word, and that included being chronically ill, and being that kid who carried the Epi-Pen around everywhere. Having a body with autoimmune disorders motivated me to help others feel better, and feel seen, whether that was through simply sitting and listening to others, entertaining, with stories or being in the theatre, or researching health topics from a young age and talking about holistic therapies. I’m actually grateful for every challenge I faced, because all of those early experiences set me up on my path perfectly.
At 21, I finished massage therapy school and became a licensed massage therapist and reiki practitioner. I continued through college, working as a tarot reader and Massage Therapist as I took my classes part time. After getting my bachelor’s in Psychology and Public Health, I decided to pursue Jungian Life Coaching certification from Creative Mind Method. All of that propelled me into my own holistic practice, where my clients can come and be seen and cared for as their whole, complete selves- body, mind, and spirit.
All the while, I have continued to do acting work on my own, and until last year, I would joke with my clients and friends that I was not yet ready to come out of the creative closet. Reading The Artist’s Way changed my life. I realized that I had held back my inner creative from fear of being selfish, when in reality, the most selfish thing is to stifle a natural gift. When I am my most authentic, joyful self, it gives others the permission slip to be their most authentic and joyful selves, too. Seeing creative work as another form of healing opened the door to my work in film and television, under the name of Molly Deronde.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Not unlike the many strong, wise, funny human beings that I have had the honor of working with in my business and in the film world, I am someone that cannot be viewed through a lens that doesn’t include trauma. I’m a bisexual woman with adhd and depression that has experienced relational and sexual trauma. I don’t shy away from those facts. Those identifiers don’t define me, but they have certainly colored my path and not acknowledging that would be doing a disservice to the inner work that I’ve taken on, and the work that I hold space for others to do within themselves. Taking suffering and turning it into something meaningful and beautiful is really, to me, the whole point. No one is exempt from pain, loss, or isolation, but what gets me out of bed is seeing the magic that comes when people are given hope, shown compassion, given a voice, and allowed to take up space. The result is that these things are contagious, and I know that, because that’s why I’m doing the work that I’m doing. My healing and the reigniting of the creative spark within me could not be contained- it had to spread to others.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

This is where I put on my advocacy hat. Without a support system, I would probably not be here, let alone living the multi-passionate life I am lucky enough to live now at age 35. There’s this pervasive myth that art, and creative genius is made from suffering. I disagree. I think creative, genius people suffer, and make art despite it. Many creative flames are snuffed out from the pain they could not move through, and that’s a tragedy. We need modern day patrons of the art. Artisans deserve healthcare, which includes mental health care, social support, living wages, and safe spaces to connect and create with others in the community. I will probably be labeled radical for this belief, but I believe that everyone deserves this. And to take it a step further, I believe everyone has an inner creative, waiting to be nurtured and coaxed out.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/healing.creativity.magic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-kyle?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm14788939/

Image Credits

Molly Kyle; Val Cortinas; James Randall