We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paula Jane Newman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Paula Jane, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I love this question. If it weren’t for the fact that my parents divorced, and my father remarried an American, I would not have been able to get my green card and move to America as a teenager.
My mother, taught me about keeping a sense of humor in times of adversity. She raised us as a single parent with my father, showing up on holidays and special occasions. She was very stressed throughout my childhood. However, she had a great sense of humor and showed me how important it is to laugh. When she was dying, we would watch comedy specials and laugh.
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.
Comedy and healing is on your venture. We have discovered the beauty of mental health, healing with comedy teaching for regular people who have not performed before in their life. This program is done on zoom and performances are either in person or on zoom depending upon location.
The standard of comedy is extremely high and individuals have performed at main clubs after bookers have seen these first time performers. It is remarkable. The goal was for improving mental health without medication and speaking one’s truth.
Have you ever had to pivot?
COVID-19 definitely required us to pivot. The nonprofit had officially received the paperwork in January 2020. The goal was to go into underrepresented communities and teach in person. When the lockdown happened we were forced to adapt. The advantage was that a global awareness of mental health and meditation came to the forefront.
We hosted wellness marathon livestreams, collaborated with fellow teachers and brought in wellness comedy shows to bring laughter and fundraise. This was the beginning of our discovering the higher states of healing with comedy and meditation.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
There are two types of knowledge. That which we learn from books and experience and that which comes form an inner wisdom or Divine intuition. The area in which I have begun to grow not only in business but as a person is from the latter..
I was always taught to be logical and weigh pros and cons before making a decision. Ultimately, it has served me well in life but taking risks and following one’s gut or instinct made the most difference in my life. The choice to leave England had backlash from various groups in my life. Ultimately, this was the correct decision for me. Since COVID, I have leaned into this more intensely and it has paid off. Even if the financial compensation has not been the same, I have experienced physical healing and look even younger! Following the comedy and healing path led to the new programs we have developed. This I feel in my gut will help heal so many people moving forward in addition to meditation as part of mental health healing. 🙏🏻
Contact Info:
- Website: www.awaremeditation.com/riseupcomedy
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rise_upcomedy
- Youtube: https://www.YouTube.com/awaremeditation
- Other: https://www.PaulaJaneNewman.com