Emma Rose Stowell on the power of manifestation

I met Emma Rose Stowell when I was working on my book «The Joy Compass» and we were in the same facebook group of a book writing program. Emma is an author and she lives in New Zealand with her husband and their three children. The story she shares, how she went from being a depressed burnedout teacher to becoming an author that loves all aspects of the work she‘s doing today, is truly inspiring and a motivation for everybody out there who is dreaming but didn‘t dare to DO it yet. Listen to this episode and take as much from it as I did.

«I create joy with art», Emma

Emma says that she loves everything creative, writing, painting, poetry, although now that she‘s «producing something that I'm really passionate about», she rather jumps on the laptop to write than paint. She does paint with her children, which brings her a lot of joy as well.

Emma‘s book trilogy, that she is currently working on – her debut novel «Beautifully Broken» was published last year and Emma is currently half through the second book «Beautifully Breaking», which will come out this year – is about a struggling writer, going through a life crisis.

Emma suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after an abusive childhood and the books are her way to encourage other human beings, that they can break free as well. Emma puts little quotes at the end of each chapter, that are inspirational and encourage the readers. «It's like a real life read, I don't gloss over anything», says Emma.

«Positive affirmations do really help for me to keep going. I try to incorporate them into my book», Emma

«I love words and the meaning of words, with only 26 letters we can create words and sentences and books», Ronja

Emma started writing three years ago, when she had to give up teaching. Emma has Fibromyalgia, she gets – among others - sore joint pain, migraines and cramps, she sometimes can‘t walk and suffers from chronique fatigue, on top of that she also had a burnout from teaching.

I ask Emma how she was able to pursue her dreams, despite all the difficulties that lay on her way.

Emma says that she followed her intuition. «I knew that the story had to be out there. It was not an easy three years, but I just kept telling myself that it had to be done».

Emma‘s message to people that would love to write, but aren‘t sure if they can, is: «You definitely can, if I can go from being a burnout teacher with depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia and I had to learn everything from scratch».

«Every step along the way I learned something, that was my journey», Emma

Emma says that she gets so many enquiries on how to write a book, that she is thinking about writing a book for self-publishing which will be called «big dreams from a small town». Having gone through many courses and books, she wants to gather her immense knowledge on this topic in one handy book and prevent people from spending a lot of money and time on things that won‘t work for them.

«I learned the strategies that worked for me through trial and error», Emma

Emma assembled her whole wisdom in her fiction books as well, I think that‘s another art!  

How do you create joy in your everyday life?

«I think nature is very important, going for a walk if I can and even if I can't walk I like to look out the window. I think that people and nature are more connected than we realize». Emma answers. She also likes to hike, if she‘s up to it, and to cook and bake. «I didn't put too much pressure on myself with home schooling, we did a lot of baking, cooking and eating», Emma adds with a smile.

I'm a big fan of free learning, which is not what's happening in the schools in Switzerland. Baking is a great example, you have to read, you have to measure, you have to work accurately and when you're grown up you know how to cook!

Do you have some rituals for yourself? Bringing you into writing mood? How to enjoy life?

«I do believe in manifestation. Every step of the way, the right thing has come along. There's been lessons as well, sometimes the wrong thing might come along, then I learn a lesson, I'll be grateful, and I'll say thank you for the lesson and not get mad and then the right thing might come along straight after. It's been like that all the way», Emma answers.

«I need to trust the process as I go along», Emma

«We're Christian, so we praise God, but I believe everybody's God is different like the Universe and manifestation», Emma adds. «We pray every morning, say thanks for our day, show gratitude, say something that we like looking forward to and stay positive, which is really good for children too».

I love that. It doesn‘t matter if it‘s praying or journaling or saying a mantra when you get up, the main thing is to put you in good and positive vibes at the start of each day, that makes a huge difference!

Emma says, that she also does meditation, sometimes guided, for example the future self meditation, sometimes on her own.

«I really had to practice meditation but it's really enjoyable once you get over the first bit», Emma says. When she felt being stressed about it, she‘d rather stop and try again later. «Not being stressed about it is the best way to be quicker than you thought you'd be».

That‘s what life is all about. What brings YOU joy? You don‘t have to do something, just because it seems to be beneficial for everybody else, if it doesn‘t bring you joy, don‘t do it. But make sure to try it out first, to get a proper feeling for it. : )  

Emma says, that meditating also helped her see even toxic things in her life easier, which then allowed her to change things, like saying no to a friend that wasn‘t a good friend anymore.

Emma is high sensitive, which is something that Emma felt to be a weakness when she was younger but eventually realising that it‘s actually a strength, that‘s what she‘s teaching her children today.

«Being highly sensitive is a strength», Emma

Emma lost her first baby, because her then partner beat her up, which led her to leave the guy and go to college, after having dropped out of high school earlier. «People said I was strong to leave, but I thought I was weak because I wasn't able to live it, my mum lived it for 20 years, now I can see it as a strength too».

Breaking an abusive cycle requires a lot of strength and it‘s so beautiful to hear, how Emma lives with her own family in a totally different and loving way.

How did you do forgiveness work?

Emma says that during a counselling session, the therapist gave her the following exercise: «Imagine for a week, that you've got this big heavy rock. You're brushing teeth and you're holding it, you get up in the morning and it's there, you see it constantly. Then, after a week, go to a river and imagine throwing the heavy rock in and feel the weight lifting off, that's forgiveness». Emma says that that‘s when she realised that nobody might say sorry to her, but that she‘s the one holding the anger and that she‘s the one that can choose to just throw it away. «I don't need that anger in my life. It's been the best thing».

«Forgiveness is just the best thing for everyone, it lifts weight off of everyone, if you can forgive», Emma

There‘s the saying that «hating somebody is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person drops dead» and it‘s really exactly that. Forgiving is freedom and that‘s why it‘s also a big part in the Joy Academy, where I tell you various tools and exercises so that you can choose what‘s best for you.

Emma says, that the image of carrying a rock around, helps her getting not so angry at anything anymore. «It's their problem, they're having a bad day, I don't need to have their negativity in my space, I don't need that in my energy».

«Being kind to people that are rude, that's the most powerful thing», Ronja



We talk about friendships. Emma says that you have to realize that your friends change too. «Not everybody goes down the same road, but good friendships stay even if someone is going through a rough time. Sometimes it's like my soul meets your soul - here you are», she says smiling.

Our conversation goes back to Emma‘s books. Emma loves writing poems – make sure to check out her Social Media channels! I‘ll link them down below – but she didn‘t want to write a poem book, now that her main character Sarah writes poems, Emma can live this passion out as well.

«Poems are a great gift to build on», Emma

Emma tells me, that she tries to write the books, so that they work as a standalone too, but she admits that there are cliffhangers at the end, which is also why many of her readers say, that she has to publish the second book soon. «I‘ve written all the endings, because I wanted to know where I was going».

«I think we need to build more on ourselves and our intuition and come from a place of fun and joy and stop overanalyzing everything», Emma



«Do it your way, that's where your strength lies and that's how the right people will come to you or how you will come to the right people», Emma

Emma says that she often reads about how being successful is all about push push push, but for her – having fibromyalgia, pushing means getting stuck. «I'm trying to write a fiction book where I can show, that you can still do great things following your intuition rather than push push push».

«We're all humans, we're all the same and we should treat each other that way», Emma

I don‘t like it either, when some people say that their way is the only way and you should do exactly the same, that‘s why everything in my Joy Academy is very open: You choose, you decide, you do it your way.

If you have the whole world listening, what is your message? What do you want to say to all the humans on this planet?

«If you think that you can't do something, but you have a dream and you really want to do something, just know that you can. If it's writing a book and you're scared, just start with a sentence. If it's painting a picture, just start with random paint on a paper, if it's running a marathon, start with a walk, whatever your dream is, start small and build on it and then one day it's easy».

What a beautiful ending of this talk from one side of the globe to the other, I feel so internationally connected with these wonderful interviews! Thank you so much, Emma, for taking the time.

This is where you can find Emma:

Website: https://www.erstowellauthor.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/e.r.stowell/ 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.nz/E_R_Stowell/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/E_R_Stowell 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/E.R.Stowell