Discover Bevin Niemann-Cortez, a multi-talented soul whose journey has led through six distinctive careers, each marked by a pursuit of mastery and personal growth. From landscape design to spiritual guidance, Bevin’s story is a testament to the power of embracing change and following one’s passions. Learn more in her exclusive MysticMag interview.
Can you please introduce yourself to our readers and share a few details about your professional journey?
Thank you for this opportunity to share; I’ve actually had six different careers. When I become interested in something new, I dive deep into learning, and then work to master the craft. When there is nothing left to learn, I know it’s time to move on. I’m in one of those transition cycles now – slowly shifting from specializing as a spiritual guide for intuitive empaths, to becoming a clinical herbalist and sacred space designer.
I’ve worked in restaurants and retail. I came of age working for a nonprofit that inspires girls and young women to be strong, smart, and bold. The winds of change shifted and I became a landscape designer for over a decade. I am a published author and freelance writer. And most recently, I spent over a decade as a spiritual leader.
Sometimes we’re told to pick a profession and stick with it, and some prefer that stability. That’s not my path as a multipotentialite – someone who craves a variety of experiences and has a lot of hobbies. It’s perfectly fine to reinvent yourself – you know when it’s time.
What ideas and principles are your spiritual leadership based on?
The 4 Levels of Perceptive Leadership are foundational. Most spiritual seekers, empaths, lightworkers, and starseeds don’t even view themselves as leaders. We’ve witnessed corruption and misuse of power in leadership, why would we want to get involved? It’s a lot of ‘peopling’ and extra expectations; we don’t want that kind of responsibility. Can’t we just be hermits?
This leads us into the first level of leadership – Self. A commitment to care for you: physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually – to the best of your ability. Remember, being self-focused isn’t the same as being selfish. A selfish person uses others to get what they want. Self-focused people know they cannot serve when they, themselves are in survival mode. Take care of you, then help others.
Next is leadership to your Inner Circle. People with whom you can be completely authentic and who have your back (and vice versa). Your first inner circle was your family of origin/caregivers, but once grown up, you have the power to choose your closest confidants, or ‘soul family.’ Who’s in your inner circle right now? Can you be vulnerable with them? Will they accept you no matter what? Your inner circle dramatically impacts your quality of life – choose wisely.
Leadership expands into the community. Your workplace, a local volunteer group, serving on the board at your child’s school or attending group classes at a spiritual center. Leadership at the community level helps us to experience interdependence. We need each other, we all have special gifts and the world cannot evolve without collective effort. Your local community dramatically impacts your quality of life – choose wisely.
Finally, there is leadership to our world. No, that burden is NOT on your shoulders, it’s a shared responsibility of almost 8 billion humans, co-creating in every moment. Instead, you focus on the ripple effect. You are a guide/mentor to one person (or group), who then goes on to mentor others, and so on. You ARE contributing through one healing session, akashic records remembrance, or blog post at a time.
You may never see the full impact of your efforts, but if we don’t start now, future generations will continue to struggle. You and billions of spiritual leaders around the world are laying the foundation by embodying the 4 Levels of Leadership: Self, Inner Circle, Community, and World.
What can people expect from your energy course?
I was incredibly honored to collaborate with The Shift Network to create an evergreen course called ‘Mastering Your Energetic Field.’ This self-paced, eight part video training helps highly sensitive/emphatic people own their intuition, discover their strength and resilience. I included numerous practices and handouts so you can apply them in your daily life. The more you use the tools, the more they become habitual and you begin do them naturally. What I love is that you can customize each tool so it works specifically for you.
One of the most important concepts is your Personal Energetic Baseline. This is your consistent and stable core essence. You spike above the natural energetic baseline when you feel anxious, angry, or afraid. You slump below the baseline when you feel exhausted, fatigued, sad, or depressed.
We each have an optimal level of nervous system stimulation. The key is to pinpoint yours and use it to determine when you’re slumping or spiking. Learn to help your nervous system and body return to a state of calm.
You are also an author. What can you tell me about that part of your work?
I first caught the writing bug at age 13. Strolling through a school book fair, I saw that one of the authors whose book I loved had won a Newberry Award (for best children’s literature). At that moment, I realized people write for a living and I wanted that for myself.
Unfortunately, my passion for writing faded over time. My high school guidance counselor said I could never make a living as a writer. Growing up in deep poverty, it made sense for me to train for a career that would be more financially stable. In my 20s and 30s, I authored a few poems and short stories, but this was also the period when I tried to be ‘normal’. Turned off my empath gifts and worked for the corporate sector, pursuing the ‘American Dream.’ Yet, no matter which position I took, something was missing.
Then came a near-death experience (NDE) and a spiritual re-awakening at age 40. I decided to act on the promise I had made to my teenage self, that I would pursue writing. I began blogging, putting out quick, 30-minute ideas and concepts I could easily channel. I wrote reactions to happenings in global culture and explored spiritual concepts. I also reveal publicly about being an empath, which felt vulnerable and sometimes, still does.
The blog posts I thought were simply musings, were actually chapters of my first book! I organized my posts into themes and wrote bridge copy to help them flow together. I’m still learning the art and craft of writing + publishing, but I’m proud to say I kept the promise I made to my 13-year-old self.
You facilitate the Perceptive Collective, a community of holistic practitioners, can you tell us more?
I’ve been a spiritual guide for HSPs and intuitive empaths for 11 years, and in honor of this anniversary, I’m pleased to announce a community + advanced training for practitioners who wish to specialize in serving sensitive souls. I will be passing on all the knowledge I’ve gained from mentoring thousands of clients and having my advocacy efforts reach almost 300,000 sensitive people.
Half of this program will focus on the sensitivity research studies being conducted around the world. I will share trends from my own study of 17,000 empaths. You’ll learn how sensitives react to their environments, the challenges they face, and the gifts they bring to the world. Then, you’ll choose a defined niche, craft a paid offer, market your program, and serve 3 sensitives as your capstone project.
Working with highly sensitive people is different, it requires new skills and awareness. Join us to enjoy supportive, meaningful conversations with other practitioners, while adding a valuable offering to your business. You will graduate as an Advanced Sensitivity Practitioner.
The program begins on May 10, 2024, and I’m inviting coaches, therapists, healers, and holistic practitioners to apply to be a part of this leadership cohort. Download the program brochure for detailed information.
Is there anything else about your work that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
I will wrap up with a final comment about leadership in general, and about spiritual leadership in particular. We’ve all seen how leadership has been used for personal gain, rather than for the benefit of all. We shrug our shoulders when corporate CEOs cut salaries, lay people off, and take more profit and bonuses. We think it’s the norm for politicians to lie to us. What can we do?
Our society believes the loudest, most dominant person should be the one to lead when, in fact, when we look closely at this hierarchy (driven by patriarchy), we see it’s never been working. To be blunt, humankind will not survive if we don’t craft new values. We must be committed to peace, the sharing of resources, and the well-being of individuals and communities.
So, as you hold your sacred presence, and show up as a conscious leader, understand that you are changing things simply because you exist! There are billions of highly sensitive people awakening to who they are, healing and extending a hand to those just a few steps behind them. Each applies our unique gifts in different sectors of society.
Together we’re creating a tidal wave of love, compassion, and empathy. I’m so honored to be on this planet with you, serving together. Future generations will thank you for this foundational work…
To learn more about Bevin and her work, you can visit www.bevin.life
