“It’s not happening to me, it’s happening for me”
Jennie Priestner, founder of Align Authentic Self, shares her inspiring journey from corporate sales management to becoming a full-time mindset and manifestation mentor for spiritual entrepreneurs. Her transition was catalysed by a personal breakdown, which she describes as her experience of a ‘dark night of the soul’.
A ‘dark night of the soul’ is a spiritual term describing a time when everything seems to be falling apart; you’re experiencing complete darkness in your life and feel you’re at absolute breaking point. In her corporate role, Jennie found herself struggling deeply. “I’m not meant to do this anymore, I’m not meant to be here,” kept running through her mind. Her emotions manifested physically, with tears at her desk and in meetings, persistent back pain and a sense of inner contraction.
Jennie has battled with Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD) from the age of 7. It’s a rare genetic disorder affecting red blood cells, leading to chronic hemolytic anemia. With a combination of her work pressures, PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) and being treated with transfusions to aid her PKD, Jennie describes this as “the universe just making it impossible for me to work”.
Her energy shifted significantly when she would switch to working on her coaching business. These moments guided her to embrace her true calling and help others do the same.
Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza helped Jennie massively on her healing journey after she had undergone a hysterectomy. “When we are in the mindset of something bad happening to us, people sit in the problem and they don’t see past it, but it’s about visualising yourself out of it. And that’s one of the hardest things that I had to do,” Jennie says. She shifted her mindset from victim to empowerment and manifested more energy through love and gratitude, telling herself, “I am strong enough to deal with it.” This was a big lesson for her. Mastering her mindset and practicing self-love meant she was able to recognise her own strength, and now she believes, “It’s not happening to me, it’s happening for me.”
Jennie shares some of the major challenges she has faced since becoming full-time with Align Authentic Self, discussing how overwhelming it can be, especially when it’s so easy to compare herself to others online, as well as the fear of judgement. “Everything that I am teaching, everything that I am speaking about with my clients is something that I've had to go through myself,” she explains. She describes her experience with burnout and working until the early hours of the morning trying to get everything done: “There was a time in my business where if I wasn't pedaling, I felt like I wasn't going to go anywhere.” This is where Jennie learned to stop forcing things, to cruise, and just let things happen to avoid pushing away her desires.
One of Jennie's favourite aspects of running Align Authentic Self is witnessing the transformation in her clients. She loves making a positive impact on their lives, saying, “I’ve given them the tools and ability to be able to see their life in a different way and to change it; they radiate a different energy." Additionally, the flexibility of her online business is invaluable, especially as it allows her to spend more quality time with her son.
Her PMDD, diagnosed in 2019, meant Jennie struggled a lot as a single parent, with her energy fluctuating constantly. Jennie explains that, through the lens of the law of attraction, the universe was reflecting back the energy she was experiencing internally.
She shares that during this time, her son was a difficult baby and she found it challenging to bond with him. “It would plummet me into a dark depression,” she shares there were a lot of suicidal thoughts and negative emotions that would consume her for two weeks of each month before her period. A specialist described it as having a bipolar episode. PMDD is gaining more recognition as a serious condition and awareness about its impact is growing. In some places, it’s now seen as a disability, especially when the symptoms are so severe that they seriously affect a person’s daily life, including their work, relationships and overall well-being.
Jennie’s story is a testament to the power of embracing one’s own path, no matter how dark or challenging the road may seem. Now, as she reflects on her journey, she encourages others to view each experience as part of a beautifully unfolding process that, while difficult at times, is rich with purpose and growth.
Find out more and connect with Jennie here:
Instagram: @align_authentic_self
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alignauthenticself
Align & Activate Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@Align_Authentic_Self
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