DR. KIMBERLY WORD has a PhD in Clinical Psychology. As a private practice clinician, she provided individual, couples, and family therapy while serving as a superior court forensic expert and a prison system consultant. Her work spanned cognitive evaluations, therapeutic guidance, and justice system advocacy.
Drawn to the deeper nature of human existence, Dr. Word has spent years studying quantum physics, brain behavior, and relationship dynamics. Her unique ability to bridge science with spirituality is the foundation of her newest business venture, emphasizing empowerment, upliftment, and divine alignment.
Dr. Word enjoys a blissful soulmate relationship with her husband, who wholeheartedly supports her mission. Beyond her professional pursuits, Dr. Word advocates for animal welfare. Her charitable spirit shines through her active involvement in numerous philanthropic organizations within her community, where she was honored with a nomination for the Leukemia Society’s Woman of the Year in recognition of her outstanding fundraising efforts.
As a thought leader and trailblazer, Dr. Word’s goal is to inspire the world to recognize the God force within and to create lasting change through conscious alignment. Her life’s work is a testament to the transformative power of love, spiritual clarity, and the unwavering belief in the divine potential of every soul.
Your home is beautiful. How many years have you been under construction in your renovations?
Remodeling has been going on for four and a half years straight and will continue until its completion. I wish I had an end date, but I don’t because it is a labor of love. The house is the brainchild of Michael Smith, who is reputed as one of the top interior designers in the world. It honestly is his masterpiece, and we are very privileged and very grateful to be the recipient of his expertise. My husband and I travel extensively, so whenever we come home, we walk into this house and feel unbelievably grateful, humbled, and thrilled that we live here and this is our home. It is truly incredible.
Michael Smith is known for implementing the visions of his clients. Which means simply that your home represents your dream.
Thank you. I would love to believe so. I know that we love our home, but I do credit him with design and aesthetics, though we did provide our input. We love traditional European antiques with history . . . I love wondering who owned this piece and what life was like for the owner. We blend antiques with beautiful contemporary art, an eclectic mix. This has been an extraordinary journey. We entertained throughout the entire remodel—in the midst of complete construction and chaos. We are good with that because we love entertaining, and people have witnessed the transformation. On the other hand, I can’t wait for it to be done because it is exhausting. Our son jokes that it is like living in a hotel under constant construction.
You have helped others navigate and find a constructive way through their pain points with chaos. Can you explain that process?
Chaos is an inherent part of life. There is no escape from chaos. But how you handle chaos is within your control. Blissfully Living focuses on empowering people to understand how they can become resilient and strengthen what we like to call a “bliss muscle.” People tend to ignore mental fitness. They tend to focus on physical health in many ways, but not mental health. By strengthening your bliss muscle, you experience emotional resiliency and the ability to deal with chaos and respond to it, while simultaneously finding a place of feeling calm and centered more quickly. It is okay to be human, to freak out, and to melt down, and all those emotional outpourings. The bliss muscle allows you to quickly recover and get back to a state of ease, tranquility, and calm that you can achieve after stress, after a chaotic moment.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DR. KIMBERLY WORD
You are touted as an expert in the mental wellness space. Your practice evolved over years and years of education and clinical practice. I want our readers to understand the breadth of your background, so can you share your education track?
I am a clinical psychologist and became one because my passion is helping people. I am a natural uplifter and way-shower. I love helping people, which is why I pursued a PhD in clinical psychology. I completed a pre-doctoral internship in neuropsychology at UC Davis Medical Center, as well as a post doctoral fellowship in pain management. While my educational background is more science-based, I have practiced in a multitude of areas over the years, including individual therapy, couples therapy, and family therapy. I worked in a prison as a consultant and in the superior court as an expert in forensic psychology. Those professional experiences provided a fantastically fascinating exploration of the human mind. I later became very involved in spirituality. So now I meld the two—my scientific background with spirituality.
How important is spirituality in mental calibration?
It’s incredibly important because spirituality helps ground you. It gives you a sense of greater purpose than just this immediate moment or incarnation. Spirituality is the ultimate anchoring force because it provides purpose to your life.
What is your purpose?
My purpose is to uplift and help others . . . to show people how they can find tremendous alignment, joy, satisfaction, and bliss in this life, right here, right now, in the present moment.
And how do they do that?
There are different techniques. We encourage people to savor their lives in ways they are not accustomed to. People tend to be very past-oriented. I learned through my practice that, for some, the utility of classically trained psychology can be limiting because it emphasizes childhood trauma and past traumas. People get very married to their past and adopt a victim’s identity, which is inherently problematic because they cannot move beyond their past.
Why?
Often, people feel validated by going through the traditional therapeutic process; however, in some cases, talking about past trauma can also inhibit the person from moving forward. They become locked in a “victim mentality,” and some never can change the thought habits that create positive thinking. They stay married to their past.
Almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Absolutely. The Law of Attraction keeps you focused and magnetized into your future. Energetically, you are attracted to what you focus on. So, if you focus on the previous trauma, you attract more of it into your future.
But it is also important to understand that the Law of Attraction is not solely magnetized into your future, but it teaches you to become more present-focused and “in the now.” Visualizing your future is just one technique that will help you to manifest your intentions—what you are seeking.
So, you are basically saying that people can propel themselves forward in life with positive thought habits?
Yes, absolutely, they can, with certain habits that they acquire by the practice of the Law of Attraction.
How do you realign the “inner talk track,” so to speak?
Neuroplasticity is a fancy term for the brain’s capacity to change. When people have bad thoughts or behavioral habits, they think negatively and anticipate negativity in the future, which in turn carves out neural pathways. Our focus is to help people shift their thinking in a more positive direction. So, they effectively carve out the neural pathways for positive thinking, optimism, and hope for the future.
I am reminded of the book The Secret. Have you ever read it?
Absolutely. I love The Secret and have read the book and watched the movie numerous times. The methodology behind The Secret is based largely on Abraham Hicks’ teachings, and the teachings are the foundation of my work. To put it simply, I am a devoted follower of Abraham Hicks, who offers profound guidance on aligning with our higher selves, raising our vibration, and manifesting a life of joy, abundance, and purpose.
What is beautiful about the Law of Attraction is that you can become whatever you perceive for yourself. That is the net of it, right?
Yes, absolutely. I think we are all capable of good and of greatness.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DR. KIMBERLY WORD
Can a program that teaches people how to change their life trajectory and outcome with the right tools change the world?
Unequivocally, certainly, yes. Because collective energy has a transformative effect and influences the world. Scientific studies indicate meditation and prayer have helped to alleviate violence.
The Law of Attraction implies a disciplined mind?
Absolutely. An unmanaged mind can become a problem, yet we all have an unmanaged mind, which is okay because we are all human, and sometimes it is hard to manage our thoughts. We are caught up in a negative loop of thoughts and expectations. Through my teachings, I help people reverse that to work on developing their bliss muscles so that they can direct their thoughts in a more positive direction.
Tell me about the bliss muscle.
People tend to ignore mental fitness and focus on health, diet, nutrition, and physical exercise. Imagine a muscle that you would use, like a bicep. To make it stronger, you might do bicep curls, which is analogous to my program. If you want to strengthen your bliss muscle, which is your ability to call in a positive, tranquil, uplifted emotional state, you want to strengthen, cultivate, and repeat positive thinking and practice it regularly so you have a strong bliss muscle.
When you encounter the normal vicissitudes of life— we all have chaos, stress, disappointments, trauma—you’re more resilient emotionally, and you are able to recover that much quicker. Yes, it is okay to feel pain, grief, and sorrow and to lean into and process them so you are more resilient and able to recover more easily because your bliss muscles are stronger. Exercising your Bliss muscle strengthens neural pathways by consistently directing your focus toward joy and positive emotions, rewiring the brain for happiness and resilience.
How do you make sustainable, long-term positive changes?
You find a distraction that allows you to reconnect with your bliss muscle. My friends and I call one technique “lovies.” We gently, in a non-sexual way, softly touch someone’s hair or scratch their back with our nails. These simple techniques bring someone quickly into a Zen place. Put yourself into a solitary environment, anywhere alone, even in a pantry, just for three minutes. Sit, close your eyes, relax. Get on your phone and turn on a meditation playlist, a relaxation playlist, or a sound bath healing, or get out in nature and leave your environment. Take a fast walk down the street, admire a tree, look at the beautiful foliage or the patterns of the sky, or anything like that. Literally, those three minutes can recenter you. Changing your current environment can give you a mental shift that triggers your bliss muscle.
What role does anger play in the Law of Attraction?
Anger is a normal human emotion. To shift from a state of anger or frustration, you begin with slow shifts until you can get to a place of appreciation and gratitude for the things that are right in your life. It’s normal to have anger. But to change, first try to isolate the thought causing you to feel angry.
Are there gender differences in the Law of Attraction?
Sometimes, it becomes more difficult for women because we are socialized to put ourselves last.
Why do women do that?
Women are socialized to be nurturers and caretakers. We are taught to sacrifice our own needs. Unfortunately, we can become a boiling cauldron of resentment because our basic needs are unmet. As mothers, we give, give, and give. We are told that to be anything other than self-sacrificing is selfish, which creates toxic shame. Unprocessed and unexpressed anger can come out in passive-aggressive ways.
PHOTOGRAPH BY RAV HOLLY
Can you forgive yourself for not being perfect but also strive for excellence?
Yes, through your visualization process or bliss rituals, whatever methodology you employ and incorporate in your life, remember they don’t have to be that lengthy. Positive emotion is more powerful than negative. So even if you spend several hours a day worrying about something, if you can have 15 good minutes of positive, elated, happy emotions or of visualizing, you can create change. You really don’t even necessarily have to visualize; you can just recall something from your past that makes you extremely happy, like a nice memory, or even focus on whatever it is that brings you happiness. If you absolutely love trees, then go out in nature and sit with the trees, and you will become exulted and incredibly happy. This is extremely powerful energetically and can override the lower- frequency emotions of anxiety and frustration. You just need those nice chunks, those doses of happy moments. It can be any thought . . . some future anticipated event that brings you anticipatory joy, excitement, and passion, or focusing on something in the present that you love, like a Christmas tree that you admire with its beautiful ornaments . . . focus on whatever it is that takes you into that elated place even if only for small chunks of time. That intense, happy emotional state can carry you a long distance, and it will override those frustrating, lower-level emotions that get in the way.
What is the first step to begin embarking on the Law of Attraction?
I would say the first step is to try to isolate and identify some of your negative thoughts because if you can challenge those thoughts and shift your emotional state into something more positive, you begin to head in the right direction.
How do you deal with negative relationships?
I have learned to set better boundaries. If I feel someone is not contributing energetically in a good way in my life, I will still love them, but from a distance. I will keep that influence in my life on a regular basis. So, I hold the space for them and keep them in a loving energy field that I can bestow upon them with my thoughts and vibration. I am definitely better about boundaries now.
Is that an age thing, being more boundary-centric to protect oneself so we can be healthier?
Boundary setting is a healthy and good thing, but I’m not sure if it is age-dependent with life experience or just something that is more part of our common culture right now. Having clear boundaries is healthy. You can still love someone from afar. You can still send them wonderful, positive energy, even if you’re not interacting with them regularly. Sometimes, you can have the best intentions, but life has to be their teacher, not you, so letting that go frees up extra energy to do activities with your kids or spouse.
Do you think your son understands the Law of Attraction?
He does understand it. It is interesting because by managing your anxiety, you envelop your children in calm and tranquility. I try to share my experiences in learned spiritual principles, but sometimes it’s challenging.
Do you believe in God?
Absolutely. Because we are all a God force, and I’m all a God force. There is a mistaken notion that spirituality and materialism need to be separate and that if you are truly spiritual, you disavow or repudiate any kind of nice material possessions. But that is not true because a God force is all divine. There is nothing unspiritual about beautiful things.
How do you maintain positive energy?
I have definitely cultivated a practice over time because I can be very, very, very frustrated. So, what I do is retreat mentally, even though I’m still physically present, and go to my tranquil place.
I teach clients that if someone is driving you crazy, you have to wrap yourself up in a little bubble of energetic protection. I have clients with “Bulldog” spouses, which puts them into very shaky places, vibrationally. I encourage them to retreat, get into their protective, energetic bubble, and imagine everything in their life that is working in their favor, to take attention away from what is upsetting them. I teach people to focus and to place attention on things that are uplifting. This practice centers them so they are able to remain calm in the midst of this storm.
Distraction with gratitude?
Yes, absolutely, and redirection.
It is a mental discipline.
It is. If you can’t find your vibrational footing, take a nap. Get out of a situation, retreat.
This is an obtuse question, but I’m curious: how much sleep do you need?
It depends on how vibrationally aligned I am because the better place I am in energetically, the less sleep I need. So, if I allow things to bother me, my energy goes down, and I require more sleep.
Shame: shame is a way of controlling. What is the anecdote for women feeling they must do certain things because of societally imposed shame?
There is an emotional scale, and shame is measured very low. It is one of the worst things. When you beat yourself up and shame yourself, it is a very damaging emotion. So, you need to get to the genesis of what it is you think you should feel ashamed about, and then you need to shift that thought in a positive direction.
We shame ourselves for things that are entirely inappropriate. We’re human. It is okay to make mistakes. You have to forgive yourself and move forward, not stay stuck in a shame cycle. When hurt, your energy is potentially damaging to those around you.
It is really important to try to make those energy shifts into more positive directions and change your energy so that you are providing beneficial exchanges with everyone in your world. Because when you are in a state of shame and self-loathing, you disservice everyone in your sphere.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DR. KIMBERLY WORD
Forgiveness is a big part of what you teach. How did you learn that forgiveness was such an important component of all this—self-forgiveness?
Self-forgiveness is critical because if you cannot forgive yourself, you really will not move forward emotionally. It is a cycle to continue coming back and reminding yourself that it’s okay to be human and okay to screw up. We are doing the best we can with the tools we have in that moment.
A lot of people blame their parents and live their lives with a victim script. I blamed my parents, and I really immersed myself in that for a period of time. Now I look back, and I think they did the best they could with the tools that they had. And God bless them because they tried their best and lost their way. I now know we all lose our way, and that is okay. Forgive yourself. Forgive them.
Forgiveness. Gratitude. Self-awareness. Talk to me about that.
I think self-awareness is critically important because you can shift if you can identify your internal dialog and what you say to yourself. When you pay close attention to your internal dialog and your internal critic, you can really see how often you are being mean and unsupportive to yourself. You would never talk to a friend the way you talk to yourself.
And where does that come from?
It comes from early childhood, being shamed and told that we are not good enough.
Is self-talk something that, with time and mental discipline, you can overcome?
Yes, but you need to challenge and dispute the beliefs that result in you thinking you need to shame yourself or beat yourself up. Ask yourself, “Do I really deserve to be shamed? Did I really do something so heinous?” And even if you did, can you find it within yourself to forgive yourself because you did the best you could at that moment?”
Why are you so philanthropic?
I love giving back. My personality is exceptionally generous, and I have been that way my whole life. It stems from my mom, who was very generous too. I love giving back with no expectation of receiving anything in return. My favorite charities are animal rescues because they are innocent. Animals bring so much love and happiness to our lives.
Which is your favorite Animal Rescue and why?
While I give to different animal charities, the charity I have given the most to recently is the Humane Society of Imperial County. I prefer giving to charities located in impoverished areas because traditional fundraising can be more challenging.
The Humane Society of Imperial County is located on the border of Mexico in a disadvantaged area. The actual facility is in a dangerous neighborhood where people are struggling, so there are significant needs. The employees of the Humane Society of Imperial County have hearts of gold and often use their personal funds and volunteer their time to save these wonderful animals. I am drawn to grassroots charities, who are in the trenches and focused on helping animals. Those are the causes I want to support. I can make a huge difference, with a combination of Amazon or Costco shipments in conjunction with cash donations. I would rather give to charities that are passionate about animal welfare, struggling, and who are in real need. That is where my heart goes.
Tell me about the cosmic value of philanthropy.
Philanthropy helps on so many different levels. Giving back raises your personal vibration. The feeling from giving is so deeply satisfying. Giving a gift to someone who is appreciative is one of the most satisfying feelings that you can generate in yourself. When you give back, you are aligned with abundance.
Philanthropy is also important because, as a collective, the human race needs to give to one another to ensure that we survive as a species. We do not live in isolation. We need to give back, and it energetically contributes in such a beautiful way to the energetics of the planet.
When you have abundance consciousness, you know you will always be replenished. And the more you give, the more you receive back, which is not why we give. We give because it feels good. Because it is the right thing to do. Because we love helping other people. People who are greedy suffer from a scarcity-consciousness mindset, which is problematic.
You are more of a giver than a receiver?
Definitely. The state of divine receivership is very difficult, especially for many women. Receiving has been a real journey for me, personally. I am an expert at giving because it is so fulfilling. Love it, love it, love it.
And that is the Law of Attraction. Thank you Kimberly.