From Cancer Survivor to Soul Teacher: Catherine Corona, DSS on Healing, Spiritual Practice & Multidimensional Awareness

What happens when spiritual traditions find you despite yourself? In this inspiring conversation, Catherine Corona, DSS —award-winning filmmaker, singer, composer, and author—shares how sixty years of meditation and encounters with Sufi masters, Lakota elders, and faith leaders transformed her path.

Catherine reveals how she used spiritual practice to heal her body when doctors said it was impossible. After surviving cancer three times, she describes the visualization technique that healed her crushed ureter without surgery: “You take your soul, which is perfect, and you put it in your body in the places that have disease. Nothing that is not perfect can be in the presence of the soul.”

Her Soul and Spirit program distills decades of wisdom into five daily practices—invocations, teachings, affirmations, chanting, and meditation—that take just 5–7 minutes. With humor and heart, she explains how to live with “multidimensional awareness” while embracing ordinary life.

Through practical wisdom and profound stories, Catherine invites listeners to see that “you are not a physical person reaching for a spiritual life—you’re a spiritual entity having a physical experience.” This episode is a roadmap for anyone seeking healing, soul connection, and everyday joy.

Chapters

• 1:38 Welcome to Spiritual Spotlight Series
• 2:14 Catherine's Unexpected Spiritual Journey
• 6:26 Creative Work Inspired by Spirituality
• 8:06 Healing Cancer Through Soul Awareness
• 16:32 The Five Sacred Daily Practices
• 22:21 Essential Lessons for Spiritual Evolution
• 32:39 Advice for Deepening Spiritual Practice

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:50

Hello everyone, welcome to the Spiritual Spotlight Series. Today I'm joined by Dr Catherine Corona. She is an award-winning filmmaker, singer, composer and author. She also has had a meditation spiritual practice for over 60 years. Thank you so much for coming on the Spiritual Spotlight Series. I'm really happy you're here. Nice to be here. Thank you, nice to be here. So we're just going to jump right in. So, Catherine, you've had an incredible journey with over 60 years of meditation and spiritual practice. Can you maybe share with us what initially inspired your spiritual path?

Speaker 2: 1:26

It found me, despite myself, despite myself. So what happened was when I was about 19,. I lived on a ranch up in the mountains outside of Boulder Colorado. I live in Boulder, colorado now and I lived in this little two room, no running water, above the barn place. That was just great. I loved it. And there was a big ranch house and the ranch house moved in.

Speaker 2: 1:56

Some people that followed Sufi traditions. Sufi is sort of an esoteric arm of Islam, the whirling dervishes, if you see them with the big. They practice what's called the sound current, the voice of God in Hebrew, the flow of the energy from creation that comes from the spiritual heart. And they lived right next door. And then they moved out and they had a teacher there that was renowned and he was from Europe. And you know, I didn't know anything. I was studying the hard sciences in college. I knew nothing about the woo-woo spiritual world. So he would talk to me because I didn't put him on a pedestal, I didn't revere him, I was just like meh, meh, you know, but it kind of rubbed off. I was like there's something here.

Speaker 2: 2:58

Then they moved out and some people that practice Lakota traditions moved in and I was invited to sweat lodges and I was invited to a pipe ceremony and again I was kind of like, okay, whatever, I'm busy with physics and chemistry, but I'll go because there's going to be a feast afterwards. Hey, food is good, food is good. I want to go for that. I'll go for the food. I would too.

Speaker 2: 3:26

So I went to these ceremonies that were all in Lakota. None of it was in English and was blown away. I was just going into a sweat lodge, even though I know nothing about what was going on because I didn't speak the language. I came out of there and I was like I feel completely different. I feel completely transformed. I'm elevated, I'm buoyant, I feel all this energy. I feel released. My mind isn't driving me crazy, my emotions are calm. What is this? And I want more of it. I moved again and I had a Presbyterian minister on one side of me and a Lutheran minister on another side of me and everybody invited me for tea. And then I moved again and I had the president of the Theosophical Society live next to me and she would invite me over for goat milk. And theosophy, just to narrow it down, is sort of an esoteric part of Christianity. Yeah, so, despite myself, I had great spiritual teachers around me.

Speaker 1: 4:42

I love that and that's how it's.

Speaker 2: 4:46

And then after those years I met a Hindu teacher that taught at mantra meditation. And then I met a sound current teacher called John Roger and I sort of landed with him because I felt really at home with his teaching and I feel still today, 50 years after studying with him I feel still transported in what he called soul transcendence. I love that.

Speaker 1: 5:19

I love that. That's a great answer. So over the years, you've worked in various creative fields, such as filmmaking, music and writing. How do these artistic outlets intersect with your spiritual practices and beliefs?

Speaker 2: 5:39

They all sprung from my spiritual practices and beliefs. So the movie I worked in the film industry, just as a crew person, and then I made my own feature length documentary called the Great Mystery, which was about the six major world religions. So I got to really dig deep just, and I made it for ordinary people to talk about their religions, because the academic approach has been done you can watch plenty of academic movies about spiritual traditions so I wanted to find out what the everyday, ordinary people, what their lives, were like in their spiritual tradition and then how the traditions where they were similar and where they were different. Yeah, I wrote a book that was my. I wrote a doctoral thesis that became a book called Loving, tapping your Spiritual Source, and that was actually nominated for the Nautilus Award, which is a really prestigious award. I was really proud of that, along with the Dalai Lama that year. So I'm very proud of that, that's awesome.

Speaker 2: 6:42

Congratulations. Yes, thank you, and I brought that book. I worked in a jail and I brought that book into the jail with women inmates and worked some of the processes, brought that book into the jail with women inmates and worked some of the processes of that book, and so that's how the spiritual has been my favorite subject ever since. So everything I'm doing is along that line.

Speaker 1: 7:07

Yeah, I love that. So you're known for blending spiritual guidance with personal healing. Could you maybe share a moment where you experienced a profound shift in your own healing process?

Speaker 2: 7:18

Oh, I have a really profound shift in my own healing process. So I had cancer, I had it three times. Wow, it just recurred, yeah. And then one of the things, and it had metastasized. So that in itself was kind of a miracle that I survived that and I can talk about that.

Speaker 2: 7:39

But I wanted to talk about, so, one of the things I had a tumor. I had endometrial cancer. I had a tumor that crushed the ureter which goes, yes, goes from the kidney to the bladder, and so I had a nephrostomy bag, which is, you know, I called it three different ways to pee. That's a good point, that's a good way to put it. Yeah, and I wasn't having it, you know, and they gave me the. Your ureter's crushed, there's really, there's a.

Speaker 2: 8:15

You know, the urologist said, yeah, well, there's a surgery, but I don't think I'd even recommend it. You know, we have to open you all up and I have to replace that ureter with an artery and so, and then I have to put all, I have to take all your organs out. Then I have to put them all back, and it's five, seven hour surgery. I mean, really, I don't know. And then I got the lecture Well, you can live with a nephrostomy bag.

Speaker 2: 8:39

You just With my quality of life, yeah, and it's a surgery every three months, right, no? So I was like no, no, I'm not living like this, no, I'm not living like this. And at the same time, this minister I studied with, who was John Roger the main teacher, sort of protege, one day he was doing a seminar and I feel this tap on my shoulder and all of a sudden it's him and he pulls me off to the side and he doesn't know about any of this. I shared it with him, I didn't know. He was behind me and he says to me and here's the key you take your soul, which is perfect, and you put it in your body, in the places that have a disease, and nothing that is not perfect can be in the presence of the soul.

Speaker 2: 9:34

It's profound right.

Speaker 1: 9:35

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 9:38

So I made an exercise out of it and every day actually I did it at night to be really specific I would just mock up in my imagination. But then it was real. But first it started, my imagination bringing my soul into my body and the perfection of the template of the soul which mirrors the body into my physical form and specifically into where that yurter was, and I just would hold there for a few seconds in the consciousness of that. And then I did that every night, every night, every night, and it was about the magic number 33 nights. And then I woke up one morning and I went it was not fireworks. I went this is healed.

Speaker 2: 10:32

I picked up the phone, 8 in the morning I called the urologist. He actually answered the phone, which never happens, right? No, that's shocking. Never. He answered the phone and I said look At that point I had changed from a nephrosti bag to a stent and it was worse. And just for your I know you're a nurse, but for your viewers- of course yeah just opens up that, that ureter, so that the kidney can drain Right, right, right.

Speaker 2: 11:07

It was so bad. I actually went to the urologist and said just take the kidney out, just take it out. That's how bad it was. Wow, I actually went to the urologist and said just take the kidney out, just take it out. That's how bad it was to live with. And he just started laughing. You know, like no, you've had, you can't, you with their cancer, we can't, we can't take the kidney.

Speaker 2: 11:30

So so at that point I had a stint, and so on the phone he's on the phone eight in the morning and I said I would like that stint remove my my ureters healed, my kidneys healed. And he goes oh no, no, we can't do that. We can't do that. You'll get hydronephrosis. You'll be really sick, which I have had, and you get really nauseous. You get really sick, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah sick. And he said no. And I said okay, I'll do a deal with you. Here's the deal. How long does it take, once you remove the stent, to know if I have hydronephrosis again? He said it'll take about a week and I said here's the deal then Take out the stent, I'll come back in a week do a test, which was an ultrasound. If I have hydronephrosis, I'll go back to the nephrostomy bag. I'll have you put it in surgically and that'll be that he goes. Okay, I will do that, deal with you.

Speaker 2: 12:26

So I went the next day, pulled out the stent. It was awful, I like threw up on the way home. A friend of mine drove me it about the stint. It was awful, I threw up on the way home, a friend of mine drove me it was awful. But anyway, I went back a week later did the ultrasound. He came in the room and he said well, I have to tell you I'm completely surprised but your kidney is fine, I love that.

Speaker 2: 12:47

So he said but we've, we've that you're going to lose that kidney it. We have beaten it up so much, We've done so much damage to it with the surgeries and the stint. Right, you're going to lose it. And I said, well, why he goes? Well, that just the blood vessels and the capillaries in it are just going to die and it'll just shrivel up. We don't have to do anything. So shrivel up, we don't have to do anything. So I said, okay, we'll see, we'll see. Well, my kidney is fine, total function. And I asked him, you know, won't it regenerate? He said no, kidneys don't regenerate, livers regenerate, kidneys don't Right, right, oh, it's fine.

Speaker 2: 13:28

So that's one story of how that technique works. Of course I did that story. I did that technique with the cancer. I still did. I still have cancer at that point Can't remember now, yeah. But so that's how you can use that awakening and awareness.

Speaker 2: 13:47

So since then I've made it my, I've made a relationship with my soul yes, yeah, deep relationship by inviting it in, like I did when I was using it as a healing template. Yeah, right, conjuring up a conversation, listening to its voice, sort of anthropomorphizing it Right to its voice. Sort of anthropomorphizing it Right, which you don't actually have to do because it already is, it's just a part of you, it's like it's the biggest part of us, right? So I've learned over time of having developing that relationship with.

Speaker 2: 14:30

Some people might call it your spiritual self, right, right, right. People might call you know lots, right, right. But my call you know lots of different names, but it's the part that is eternal, it's the part that is the first thing created from god when we were created. So we were created as a soul and we take on this body, these minds, these emotions and all the, all the levels of of our consciousness to live here in this world, but what I've discovered by developing a relationship with my soul and my spirit, whatever you want to call it is, it has its own body, its own voice and it's our best friend right. It's our. The sufis would say our beloved, our where, where we're, we're all goodness there, right, right, I love that so much.

Speaker 1: 15:25

Well, I want to jump in to talk about your. Your program, soul and spirit because I mean, this is like probably where your program came from is offers five sacred practices each day. Can you maybe tell us a little bit about the significance of these practices and how they benefit participants on a daily basis?

Speaker 2: 15:44

On a daily basis. Well, I learned over the years that the best way to stay sort of on the straight and narrow, develop awareness, develop a relationship with my soul, with my spirit and beyond that, into what creates the soul and spirit creates us, was to go there, go inward and take that time to go into stillness and sit and listen. And then I took, I distilled or curated many different techniques from all the faith traditions that were around me or found me or studied and I found the best ones so to invoke or invite your soul and your spirit to your consciousness.

Speaker 2: 16:34

And then I studied a lot of different spiritual masters throughout history, like Rumi, hafiz, jesus, muhammad, buddha, and then I took many of their teachings and made just a teaching of the day and then made an affirmation that's so cool so you can keep your mind and your emotions directed. So, for example, hafiz, one of the great Sufi poets, says I've learned so much from God that I can no longer call myself a Christian, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Jew. So I made the affirmation I have learned so much from God.

Speaker 1: 17:13

Today, I love that, I love that. That's a really beautiful affirmation.

Speaker 2: 17:19

That's the way I start my morning and then that just resounds through my day. Yeah, and then I do a chant from Sanskrit. Sanskrit syllables have some of them, have a vibe with them, an energy Right. So by practicing, just like if you thought of the word love and you said it inwardly to yourself pretty fast, you're going to feel pretty expanded and wonderful. So that's a mantra of meditation. You can meditate just on that word and bring yourself to a beautiful, expanded state of consciousness. So I do a chant with some original music and then I do a guided meditation, all in five to seven minutes. It doesn't take long.

Speaker 1: 18:08

That's awesome. I mean because sometimes I feel like we get a little crazy with things and we expand it out and it's too much time. So this is something that you offer a daily spiritual practice to your subscribers. So like, how do you balance consistency with flexibility and offering daily guidance with your spiritual seekers?

Speaker 2: 18:34

Say that again. It's kind of went fast.

Speaker 1: 18:38

I get excited and I talk fast. Everyone I love this. I love that you're talking about. This is kind of like your daily spiritual practice, and this is something that you also offer as a paid service for subscribers. So how do you balance consistency with, maybe, flexibility and offering daily guidance with spiritual seekers, because that could be a little hard at times. It's not hard. Tell me, love it. There's no rules.

Speaker 2: 19:06

There's no rules. If you miss a day or two days or a week. You're on vacation, you're having fun in Mexico on the beach, you know. Eventually you understand that everything is a spiritual practice, absolutely, and you can live your life that way. Now you might want to prime the pump and have some real dedicated time to sit and listen to your soul and your spirit and what is bigger than that, what created whatever you want to say, and have that dedicated time and maybe you only have two minutes.

Speaker 1: 19:51

That's fine. Yeah, no, absolutely that might be. All you need is two minutes.

Speaker 2: 19:55

well, 15 seconds of connecting with divinity will change your life so tell me more about that well, one thing that I would first of all ask your guests to consider is everybody's had an experience with divinity, with holiness, with their soul, with their spirit. You just may not define it that way or recognize it, but when you feel your heart get huge, you feel really blissful. Oh, I'm getting goosebumps just talking about it.

Speaker 2: 20:31

You feel really expanded and you go, I, you actually don't go anywhere, you just rest in it, right. That's a spiritual practice, that's a spiritual moment, that's a connection with divinity Right Now. When you practice that intent with intention, tensionally, consistently, then more and more and more of those moments will find you, and you will find them until, in the mystic path or spiritual path, you're riding in that divine energy all the time, aware of it, awake to it. At the same time, you're living your everyday, ordinary life Right and you become multidimensionally aware.

Speaker 1: 21:15

Oh, I like how you put that.

Speaker 2: 21:19

So we as humans, we live in a duality in this physical existence. We practice spirituality or we bump into it in a moment, on the beach or in the mountains or with your child on the beach or in the mountains or with your child and our practice can be just expanding that so that you hold that more and more and more of the time and so that becomes your natural state of being. The natural state of being is not I have to get groceries, I have to do my checkbook, I have to check on my child, then I have to go here, and that becomes people's natural state of being. But that's not the natural state of being. That's what the world demands, that's what we do to live in the world. But our natural state of being is an expanded awareness of what is divine and holy and beautiful. And you can do both all the tasks of life while expanding into the awareness of the loving, and then, when you are really anchored in that, it's just naturally shared.

Speaker 1: 22:26

Yes, absolutely. Oh, that's. I really like how you put that. That's really beautiful, Like it's not in the hustle and bustle, it's just it's in the knowingness and anchor of you know, being in the love and the. I like that. That's very beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. So, over the years, what are some key lessons that you have learned that you believe are essential to spiritual evolution and personal transformation?

Speaker 2: 22:53

Number one lesson I've learned. Number one everything that comes your way, even though it seems so hard and maybe so painful or so challenging, it's meant for you. It's meant for your expansion, it's meant for your learning, it's meant for your growth, it's meant for catapulting you into a higher just a higher place of existence. Now, a lot of times it doesn't look like that on the surface, but when I'm sure you've had the experience, you go through something hard and you look back, maybe years later, and you go. I wouldn't change that for the world.

Speaker 1: 23:42

Yeah, no, absolutely. I can think of a couple things Absolutely, and it's like, oh, but going through it it was hard, but hard back you're able to say, oh, you're right, there was less than there. I did expand, I grew from this moment.

Speaker 2: 23:56

That's how every single thing in life is presented to us when you're going through it. It is hard until you start to recognize and acknowledge and be grateful for which is antithetical to the way. But be grateful for the cancers, the challenges, the deaths, the accidents, the everything. Be grateful for them while you're in them and then you've really made a huge leap in self-mastery.

Speaker 1: 24:29

Oh, I love that. Any other lessons that you go to automatically Love that.

Speaker 2: 24:33

Any other lessons that you go to automatically Sit, sit in stillness, sit in stillness, and I'll put it this way, it's a little crude sit in stillness and shut up and listen.

Speaker 1: 24:53

I like how you put that it's true.

Speaker 2: 25:00

And if your mind starts to intrude, you know you'll have moments when you're just in total peace, when you sit down to listen, and then the mind usually kicks back in and starts talking to you. It's chattering like I've got to do this and get up and what are you doing? And now they've got to do this? And what about that person? And why did they say that? And all that stuff. That's okay.

Speaker 2: 25:19

Don't try to shut the mind off. Shutting the mind off is a myth. You can't do it. It's not meant to do it. You're not meant to do it. But if you focus your mind on a mantra, a word like the word love, the word God, the word holiness, om, I like the word hue. That's a Sufi, comes out of Sanskrit, but it's a Sufi word for God oh, I like that. Or oneness hue, sometimes pronounced who and you just let that roll inside of yourself. You can do it outside too, and then you direct your mind to that. So, for example, when you're singing, is your mind chattering at you? No, not at all. Exactly so when you're chanting a word or sound that brings you this uplifted vibe, this uplifted feeling, your mind's not chattering at you.

Speaker 1: 26:19

Absolutely yes.

Speaker 2: 26:20

It's the same thing as a song. And so, whatever word you love and then it could be true self truth, anything, pick one and then that focus your mind. That's another way to self, of self mastery. Then, when your mind's a little bit quieter again, shut up and listen, and what I do is I and invite the listening, Invite the listening, invite the wisdom of your soul, of your spirit, of God, of divinity, whatever words you want to use, I am open to receive of your wisdom. What is your guidance for me today? Let me hear the celestial melodies of the high heavens. Let me hear the celestial melodies of the high heavens I love that and let me fly in that wind of the breath of God.

Speaker 1: 27:18

I have chills as you're saying that that's so powerful. I mean it's a very important practice and you're right. Just shut up and listen and then set the intention and invite it in.

Speaker 2: 27:33

That's you got it. It's that simple. And the longer, the more you practice with it, the more time you will have, is my experience in that blissful place and another key to expanding your awareness. When you're up in the spiritual realms the soul realms we call them, there's no reference points, it's not physical, so don't try to like what is that? Your mind can't really grasp it. Right, it's not physical, right, it's not physical, right, but if you start to write down your impressions, your sights, your sounds, when you are in your five minutes or however long you can do it you have time for, and you start to write that down, you'll start to be able to recognize the inner terrain and topography of the spiritual realms. Yes, yes, yes. So, and it takes time. I mean I'm on the slow path.

Speaker 2: 28:35

I guess I wrote down, religiously and disciplined, for 25 years. Wow, every time I came back out of spiritual exercises or spiritual practice, meditation, and I wrote down and at first, like the first year I did it, I went I'm totally making this up, I'm making it up. I don't know that any of this happened, right, right, and over time it's like oh, that's repeating itself. Oh, that's the same experience I had. Oh, I'm not making that up, I couldn't think of that if I tried. And then you start to it's like this let's say you go to that beach in Mexico. You've never been there before, right right, and it's a different language. It seems really unfamiliar when you first get there. The beach is different. Where am I going? Where are the bathrooms? You know where's the food and it's all new and you're unsure and maybe not that comfortable. But in a few hours you kind of got the terrain, you kind of got it figured out. You know where your hotel is or where you're staying Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 29:45

You know how to get there.

Speaker 2: 29:46

It's the same thing in the inner realms.

Speaker 1: 29:48

Yes, I like that. It's like building your spiritual dictionary. Yeah, I like that, that's good too.

Speaker 2: 29:58

I like that. I like that your dictionary, your map, your impressions, your colors, your sight and sound, and then it just becomes part of who you are absolutely just like. If you live wherever you live in your town, that's who you are Absolutely Just like. If you live wherever you live in your town, that's who you are, that's your home base. Right Well spirit becomes your home base.

Speaker 1: 30:17

Spirit becomes your home base. That's very important. I love that. That's so important. So, before I ask you the last question if anyone is interested in learning more about you or signing up for your programs, your documentary, your book, everything that you do, which is a lot what is the best place for them to go to?

Speaker 2: 30:34

So if you go to soul and spiritnet or you can look up my name, catherine Coronacom, but soul and spiritnet is better and I have this subscription program that delivers about it.

Speaker 2: 30:48

Yeah, del delivers the five spiritual practices a day. Um, it's a beta test. I haven't actually even launched it. It's um I sent you a link, but it's not like publicly launched, but about the end of february. And also, if you sign up, you get um, you get access to the movie e-book of my book Loving, tapping your Spiritual Source, a yoga of sound class, yoga Nidra, which is the yoga of sleep, and many other things for yourself. But the main thing is getting every day, either on the app or in your email, your five spiritual practices that just guide you. It's just a shortcut. I love that. So there's that. And then also I have a Spotify Catherine Corona on Spotify if you want to listen to my devotional music and my chants and my. That's so cool.

Speaker 1: 31:50

I gonna, I'm gonna definitely check that out, because I'm always looking for the new chance or music or whatever. So I'm definitely gonna have to make sure to download that. So, as a final piece of advice, what would you recommend to someone who is looking to deepen their spiritual practice, especially with those who might be new to meditation or sacred traditions?

Speaker 2: 32:11

consider that you already have a spiritual practice. You already have one. Just define it for yourself. What opens your heart? And do more of those. Do more of that. If it opens your heart to take a walk in the woods, do more of that. Take a walk in the woods. Do more of that and then consider invoking your spirit and your soul, sitting quietly and listening to it, practicing an inner sound that will help master your mind and emotions in the direction you want it to go. And then listening and just always know that, as it's said you've probably heard this you are not a physical person reaching to a spiritual life. You're a spiritual entity having a physical experience.

Speaker 1: 33:13

Your soul is in a flush bag exactly I'm sorry. I took that nice beautiful moment and made a joke, but you've got to keep it lighthearted sometimes jokes are a great spiritual practice absolutely. That was my focus for 2024 and 2025. It's like I just want to listen to more comedians and have and laugh and have fun like and just that's part of that. That's probably what opens my heart yeah, there you go.

Speaker 2: 33:43

It's great. I think I've watched every single comedian stand up on Netflix. Same, there we go. I love it.

Speaker 1: 33:52

And it's been like it's been such a joy to me to learn more about different comedians I normally wouldn't have checked out. And then like, and now it's like, okay, now I'm gonna actually go see them in person. Like it's like, you know, it's just, it's just, it's so fun. Yeah, I have. I have like a list of four or five comedians that I'm in the process of getting tickets to see, so I'm so excited.

Speaker 2: 34:13

I really want to see Leanne Morgan.

Speaker 1: 34:15

I know, is she the blonde lady? Yes, oh, she's hilarious.

Speaker 2: 34:20

Oh, she's hilarious. I watched her special at least twice and then YouTube quit. Oh my goodness, I love that. She'll bring joy into your heart in two seconds.

Speaker 1: 34:31

Guys, check her out, check out Dr Corona, and I want to say thank you so much for coming to the Spiritual Spotlight Series. This truly has been amazing to connect with you today.

Speaker 2: 34:42

Oh, you too, Rachel. Thank you for having me. I love getting the chance to talk about my favorite subjects because I know what it does for people. I know the transformation you can have in your life. No, absolutely.