Speaking Events

Corporate leadership talks and workshops

Hospitals/Hospices/Churches Talk about Life Reentry

Bring Life Reentry in house

Interested in inviting Christina to speak at your event or conference?
Please contact us here.

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Corporate leadership talks and workshops

For more than 10 years, Christina Rasmussen has been developing the Life Reentry Model. This is a structured approach focused on helping people exit what she has coined The Waiting Room.

She emphasizes that most companies and individuals find themselves stuck in a world in between.  The Waiting Room is the psychological space inhabited after an impactful and difficult life/work event.

It is a gap between lives — the life that has been forced into the past, and the new life that has yet to begin.

You can think of it as a mindset; in order for an individual or an organization to overcome a loss and return to productivity and daily work of fulfillment, a series of changes in thought and behavior must occur.

If the person or organization remains under stress, employees will favor self-protective beliefs over logical decision-making and planning. They will favor themselves versus the company.

This leaves the individual or organization trapped; no longer in lay off mode, re-organizing, or restructuring, but not quite productive either.

The Waiting Room within an organization begins with honest intentions but then becomes a comfortable space where most organizations never leave.

Christina also notes especially that most executives get stuck in this place in between but are not aware of it. Their competency and highly experienced and skilled behavior shadows the truth about initiating a true reentry after a reorg, lay off or a new product launch within the company. Christina helps them shed the old identity and find what is hiding in the shadows of transition.

She teaches the exact steps that teams and employees can take so they can embark on a successful quarter after a difficult transition.

Her speaking is compelling, her command of pointing out patterns and putting the puzzle pieces together is extraordinary. She is uniquely equipped to shed the light on all that is invisible and lurking. Her work is courageous and unparalleled. She stays with the unspoken and finds a way to bring forth words that can catapult everyone forward in ways that could never have been imagined.

Christina can lead a team Life Reentry workshop, or speak at your annual corporate event.

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Hospitals/Hospices/Churches Talk about Life Reentry

Christina Rasmussen is an acclaimed grief educator, the author of Second Firsts and Where Did You Go?

She is the founder of The Life Reentry Institute and has helped countless people break out of what she coined the “waiting room” of grief to rebuild their lives through her Life Reentry Model.

With this, she introduces a new model of grief based on the science of neuroplasticity. She describes grief as a catalyst for redefining identity, and outlines the process of “reentry”, or returning to life.

Her mission is to change the way we grieve, the way we live, and how we define our potential in this life, and the hereafter.

Rasmussen’s model of grief (Life Reentry Model) operates on the assumption of psychological resilience, echoing the theories introduced by George Bonanno, a professor of clinical psychology at the Teachers College of Columbia University.

Her theories conflict with popularized concepts of grief stemming from the 1917 and 1969 publications of Mourning and Melancholia and On Death and Dying by Sigmund Freud and Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, respectively.[5][6]

The defining characteristic of the model proposed by Christina Rasmussen is the view of loss as a catalyst for change and self-growth.

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Bring Life Reentry in house

Traditional support group interventions focus on venting, shared experiences of grief/burden but do not offer skills to adapt and embrace a new life. After the loss of a loved one or a traumatic, life altering experience.

The participants tend to remain at the same level of support for as long as they are in the groups—sometimes, for years.

The focus of these groups is for people to talk about their lives and share their grieving process and stories, but there is nothing offered beyond that.

Helping people re enter life after loss requires diligence and a very specific, intentional approach to counseling. This is why I developed The Life Reentry Model—to encourage the journey from loss, to new life.

The Life Reentry Program is a web-based intervention specifically designed to help participants process their feelings of grief and loss and develop a new vision for life.

Despite the shadow we cast across the issue of grief, it is an experience we are biologically wired to survive. Loss is a part of life, and we are designed to continue living and move on.

Even so, living through grief is a great challenge. The enormity of our loss may remove us mentally from our day-to-day tribulations and bring latent existential questions to mind. Some people find new stability soon after loss. Others continue to struggle with their process of Reentry. They will spend this uncertain period in a mental space we call The Waiting Room.

This is what makes the Life Reentry Model different from other traditional models of grief. We believe that other grief models indicate that grief can be complicated due to other factors and not due to the bereaved being stuck inside the Waiting room or due to fear and the fight or flight response.

The Life Reentry Program is a highly-scalable intervention to help spousal caregivers, cancer survivors and newly diagnosed cancer patients, Veterans, (i think this is a HUGE Opportunity zone) and a multitude of other Life alternating event victim’s to build resilience and successfully adapt to life post cancer. (post traumatic event or loss)

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The Three Phases of Life Reentry

The content of the program is based on these three phases.

According the The Life Reentry Model there are three phases to healthy Life Reentry after a loss, medical diagnosis, or life changing event.

First, we exit our old life. Our loss forces us to leave behind the life we’ve been living. The normal routines of everyday life are disrupted. Some people believe that where we end up after that push-out of the old life is the next phase of life. But unfortunately, that’s not true. In this confused and lonely state, we only end up in the space between two lives.

Second, we begin living in a gap between lives—the life we’ve left behind and the life we have yet to enter. I like to call this space the Waiting Room. When we’re in the Waiting Room, we’re still attached to the past—which is already gone forever—even as we’re trying to figure out what the future looks like. In this place, we struggle with our new reality, thinking that it is our new life. We are unable to see ourselves clearly and make decisions as we used to. The brain’s ability to plan and reason is temporarily gone.

Third, we begin to experiment with our new life. This is perhaps the scariest aspect of life after loss, because so much is unknown and has to be taken on faith. Little by little, we begin stepping out of the Waiting Room and entering a new reality. We start to do this early on, even though we haven’t fully landed in the new life yet.

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Behaviors prior to Life Reentry Intervention

We know that behavior is governed by two motivational systems in the brain: A system that inhibits behavior and brings forth painful and negative experiences and emotions. And a system that activates positive emotions in response to reward. And research has shown that those who are experiencing grief stemming from any type of loss have lots of inhibiting behaviors because of altered neuronal activity.

Life Reentry provides knowledge and strategies that ultimately reduce behavioral inhibition. Helping them build resilience and a quality of life no matter what the loss has done to their everyday experience.

Many negative outcomes have been documented for caregivers of people with cancer, including decreased quality of life, increased rates of depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, fatigue, anger/resentment, and burden.

These outcomes negatively affect well-being and increase health care utilization, leading to increased costs to society. Life Reentry® is a low-cost intervention that is expected to benefit cancer survivors, patients who have been diagnosed with cancer and therefore their life has been significantly changed and their, caregivers.

The Mind

For individuals to overcome loss and return to a fulfilling life, a series of changes in thought must occur. They must accept the circumstances of the loss and acknowledge that that event occurred in the past. It is no longer happening. This permits the raw emotions associated with the event to recede into the past.  While the metaphorical Waiting Room is meant to protect the personality, it leaves the individual trapped—no longer mourning, but not quite living, either. It creates a shadow existence.

Of course, it isn’t easy to step out of the safety of The Waiting Room, but it is necessary in order to move forward.

Life Reentry helps people to step out of the fear based waiting room which provides comfort after loss. It provides the steps and structure based on brain science to slowly and successfully rewire the brain and exit from the infinite loop of loss.

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Mega churches talks about Death

Name of Talk: Death is not real

“Where did you go?” This was the first question Christina Rasmussen asked after the death of her husband. A young widow with two daughters, Rasmussen would go on to become an esteemed grief educator who helped countless others rebuild their lives after loss. Yet, even as she learned to thrive again, that first heartbreaking question persisted. Even as she and her clients forged new paths and discovered new joy, the same questions remained: Are we capable of connecting to those who have passed on? What really happens after we die?

As a professional grounded in science, Christina was a skeptic who shied away from the conventional mystical, supernatural, and religious descriptions of the afterlife—so she turned to what seemed “provable” to unravel the mystery of life beyond life: physics. What she found was beyond anything she could have expected: not only is there life after death, but we all have the ability to connect with loved ones who have passed on.

Sharing an inspiring message of hope, optimism, and love, Where Did You Go? is a transporting step-by-step guide to journeying to the other side, from one of our most trusted voices on life after loss. Bridging the gap between the metaphysical and the measurable, it will change the way we grieve, the way we live and how we define our potential—in this life and the hereafter.

Working with Christina Testimonials

“From the moment Christina steps onto a stage, the energy in a room shifts. It gets quiet and focused as audience members respond to the presence of this great life changer in their midst. A second energetic shift happens within moments of Christina speaking. As she shares her jaw-dropping story and process for returning to life after great loss, hearts begin to open, tears are given the permission to be shed, and the certainty that true joy can once again be experienced fills the event space. When Christina spoke at Moxie Camp, she led our room of women through a once-in-a-lifetime journey from our deepest wounds toward a vision of the wondrous lives and careers that are our birthright. If you want souls to be stirred, hope to be illuminated, and tangible tips for personal and professional development to be imparted, Christina is your speaker.”

Alexia Vernon, Founder of Influencer Academy

“Christina is a powerhouse of inspiration. She is magnetic…her heartfelt presentation draws in every person within hearing distance, from the participants in the room to the volunteer at the door to the hotel staff that is adjusting the thermostat. Christina’s message rings in your ears long after you’ve been in her presence.”

Michele Neff Hernandez

Executive Director: Soaring Spirits Loss Foundation

“Christina rocked the house at The Creative Heroine Experience event in Los Angeles with her wit, wisdom and humor! The room full of female entrepreneurs, writers, producers and other creative industry leaders were intrigued, enlivened and activated by what Christina had to share. Many came up afterward and continued to email long after the event letting us know what a fun and powerful force she was that day.”

Michelle Ghilotti Mandel

Reviews for Both Books

Where Did You Go?

“Where Did You Go? offers deep comfort to anyone who has lost a loved one and hopes to explore what frontier science is now demonstrating: while a heart may stop beating, consciousness never dies.”

—Lynne McTaggart, bestselling author of The Field

 

From Christina Rasmussen, the much beloved and acclaimed author of Second Firsts, comes a groundbreaking exploration of the afterlife that combines spirituality with cutting edge science—and reveals we all have the power to connect with our loved ones on the other side.

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Second Firsts

“Second Firsts will change the way you think about life after loss. With simplicity, science, and raw authenticity, Christina takes you on a journey from a world of loneliness and pain to one of possibilities and action. Her kind and knowledgeable words provide hope and show you that loss can actually inspire the strength and conviction to create the life of your dreams. And her own life stands as a testament to the power of this process.”

—Marci Shimoff, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Love for No Reason and Happy for No Reason

“Second Firsts is about creating a bigger life after loss. It is about dreaming of a brand-new way to fall in love again with living fully. It is certainly not an easy task, but this little book makes it easier.”

“We can all learn from the wisdom of those who have experienced loss and survived. Second Firsts can be your life coach and direct you to heal and create a new life.”

—Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Buddy’s Candle and 365 Prescriptions for the Soul

“Christina Rasmussen brilliantly carries the torch for all of those who have suffered loss. She has created the life reentry process that will help all people of all ages, and Second Firsts will be the guidebook for those who are ready to let go and choose life again.”

—Kristine Carlson, New York Times best-selling author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Women and Heartbroken Open: A Memoir Through Loss to Self-Discovery

“In this moving book, Christina has drawn on both her personal and professional experience with grief to assist those who are suffering to find their way to a new ‘normal.’ In Second Firsts you will discover how to move from merely surviving to once again thriving.”

—Anita Moorjani, New York Times best-selling author of Dying to Be Me

“Christina Rasmussen rode the roller coaster of exhaustion, hope, anxiety, and despair along with her husband throughout his battle with cancer. After he passed—just like everyone who loses a loved one—she faced the additional challenge of rebuilding her life. In Second Firsts, Christina does more than share her remarkable regenerative journey. She shows us why we must start living again and how to go about it. This engaging, touching, and helpful work is a must read for anyone facing or coping with the loss of someone close.”

—Edward J. Benz Jr., M.D., president and CEO of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute

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