At Collier Connections,
we help people find their sparkle with practices that rewire the brain for more joy, better health, and happier relationships.
About Me
Photo credit: Eva Happy
Hi, I’m Kristin. Thanks for joining me here!
Are you wondering if I was born joyful? You wouldn’t be wrong. But I can tell you this: The joy I was born with didn’t save me when I needed it most.
In 2019, I was ready to be saved. I found myself bedridden with debilitating pain that no Western or alternative medicine could fix. A mysterious neuropathy had settled into all 4 limbs and my neck. I couldn’t sleep, my heart raced, and I lost muscle tone. I feared I was losing my life. Then I realized I could do almost nothing for myself. I essentially already had.
For the 20 years prior, I’d helped over a thousand people transform their lives with Compassionate Communication (a.k.a. Nonviolent Communication). Now I was the one who needed transforming.
Joy (shockingly) proved to be the key. But “thinking positive” when I felt scared and hurt all over was easier said than done. I had slowly gotten used to traveling neural pathways in my brain that felt serious and heavy rather than light and spacious. I was always looking for solutions and not finding them. The more I worried, the more I hurt.
I discovered that taking charge of my joy was the only way through. Leaning into my background in behavior science, I developed evidence-based joy practices that put me back in the driver’s seat. Hallelujah! I didn’t have to wait for my circumstances to improve before feeling better.
Over the next year, I healed myself from the inside out with a synthesis of joy and the Compassionate Communication I’d been sharing all along. Ever since, I’ve been helping people rewire their brains for more joy, better health, and happier relationships.
And we’re taking the roof off of what’s possible in our lives.
Writing:
Housewife, Home-remaking in a Transgender Marriage is a memoir about my personal awakening when what I thought to be my husband transitioned to be my spouse (she’s transgender). The book caught media attention internationally and won 4 awards, including the Nautilus award whose slogan is "Better Books for a Better World.” Former recipients include Barbara Kingsolver, Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Dalai Lama. It can be ordered here.
My former-life parenting-young-children blog is here.
I co-wrote The Heart of Nonviolent Communication: 25 Keys to Shift from Separation to Connection, with NVC certified trainer and assessor Stephanie Bachmann Mattei. Currently being translated into five languages, this book is a deep dive into the key distinctions of NVC. It’s full of neuroscience with a tender dose of mindfulness to support self-compassion and greater awareness. I like the chapter-end somatic practices and life-stories from around the world. It’s written with an academic bent and does not focus on joy. The book, written primarily for an NVC-oriented audience, can be ordered here.
Get to know me better on Eva Happy’s
In 2022, I started a YouTube Channel. It is so. Much. Fun.
You can find it here.
Watch me put the joy practices to work in my own life. It’s real, it’s raw, and it’s learning on the edge. :)
What People Are Saying about Collier Connections
“As a licensed clinical social worker I have a solid foundation in personal growth and healing modalities. However, Kristin introduced me to fresh new techniques and information that have enhanced and deepened my personal growth as well as my skills and awareness for supporting others on their healing journeys. Every moment I have spent in her presence and classes has been enriching and enlightening!”
— JANE H.
“The Joy Collective is transformative. Joining the Joy Collective is the single best venture I've embarked on for self-care, growth and evolving mind and spirit.”
— Andrea R.
“I was blessed to be a part of Core Alignment with Joy series in the spring of 2022. I admit I was feeling some resistance in joining. Will I have time for this? Will it be worth my time? Will it align with my current belief system? Will I feel too vulnerable in a group setting of folks whom I don't know? Typical feelings that at one time would hold me back from personal growth. I feel pure joy while typing this. What a different person I am now.”
— Jamie C.
“Collier Connections is LITERALLY life changing. Cannot express the breadth of self-exploration she creates space for and the gratitude I feel in my bones about the work Kristin offers the community! If you are interested in expansion, relief, and release - you’re exactly where you need to be”
— Amanda Jo B.
Get in Touch
Email me, kristin@collierconnections.com, or subscribe to my monthly newsletter and hit “reply” to chat. I read every email and reply to most.
I also welcome snail mail at P.O. Box 50002, Eugene, OR 97405.
If you have a question best answered by phone, I will find a way to support you there! (541) 359-6436, U.S. calls only, please.
If you’re outside of the U.S. and want to connect on WhatsApp phone or voice message, let me know via email. My business phone is not yet set up there.
You can also reach me on Facebook Messenger through Collier Connections.
