492. Courage Through Loss: A Journey of Blindness, Mindset & Spiritual Strength- Laura Bratton

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Welcome to Soul Elevation, guiding Your Ascension to New Heights. I'm your host, Kara Goodwin. Get ready for a particularly touching and inspiring episode with Laura Bratton. Laura lost her sight as a teenager, and we talk about how devastating that was for her. At such a tender age, she shares the grief and overwhelm she faced as her sight quickly deteriorated, and how her choice to shift her mindset.

Helped her to overcome the building odds to make incredible contributions in the world, including authoring an inspiring memoir and working with others to help them overcome change. At the age of nine, Laura was diagnosed with an eye disease and faced the difficult reality that she would become blind.

Over the next 10 years, she experienced the traumatic transition of adjusting to life without sight. Laura adjusted to her [00:01:00] new normal and was able to move forward in life as she graduated from Arizona State University with a BA in psychology. She then was the first blind student to receive her of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

She's the author of the book Harnessing Courage, and she founded UBI Global, which is an organization that provides speaking and coaching to empower all people to overcome challenges and obstacles with grit and gratitude.

So we'll dive into this episode in just a moment, but first, please be sure to check out all the great resources@karagoodwin.com. You can find out about my new book, your Authentic Awakening. I have free meditations. Under the free resources section. You can learn to meditate. Get your own personalized meditation and sign up for my upcoming summit.

It. I have so many ways for you to nurture your spiritual evolution, and your support of my work helps me to be able to keep contributing in these [00:02:00] ways by offsetting the many costs I incur to make this content available. And if you're loving the podcast, it would really mean so much for you to send it along to others subscribe and review.

I really appreciate that support. And now enjoy this episode. 

Kara Goodwin: well, welcome Laura. I'm really excited to have this conversation with you today.

Thanks for being on. 

Laura Bratton: Thank you. I'm excited to be here. 

Kara Goodwin: Well, you have such an amazing and inspiring story. I know you're passionate about helping people to navigate change, and you experienced a dramatic change yourself. So let's start by talking about what you went through. So 

Laura Bratton: the dramatic change that I experienced started as a teenager, and there's one specific moment that is so.

In my memory, so 

it's at the end of middle school and I was in geography class, [00:03:00] and as the teacher always did, said, okay, it's time to copy down the notes on the board. So I grabbed my notebook, grabbed my pen, looked up at the board. All I could see were these black random markings. They also, they almost looked like more shadows.

There wasn't any defined letters. Like I just, it looked like I just couldn't get my vision and focus. It was very blurry, so I looked down my notebook, kind adjusted my pen and paper like that was gonna make a difference. Was actually gonna, and back up at the board. And still, that's all I saw. So I looked to my left, I looked to my right, and it was obvious everyone around me was just busy copying down the notes.

So without hesitating or thinking about it, I leaned over to my neighbor and said, [00:04:00] how are you copying down these notes on the board? There's the print is not normal, it's all, it's blurry. Her response to me was life changing. She casually leaned over to me and just whispered, Laura, the print is completely normal.

What are you talking about? I can copy down the notes on the board. I, I still remember just dropping my pen on my notebook. Just le just sat back in my chair. I realized my new reality a few years before I had been diagnosed with a very rare retinal eye disease. Oh, wow. What the doctors could not tell us was at what rate I would lose my sight.

So even though I had received that diagnosis, I wasn't expecting as a middle schooler to lose a significant amount of sight, 

Kara Goodwin: and just in, in a moment. [00:05:00] 

Laura Bratton: Right. Right. Wow. Right. So that, that was a very defining moment that that started years, basically the rest of middle school and then all of high school going from pretty much 2020 sight to no sight.

Wow. 

Kara Goodwin: That's amazing. So, um, and, and now where are you with your site? Is it No site. No, it's no 

Laura Bratton: sight. So I have light perception, which means I can see, like today is a very cloudy, gray day, so I have almost no sight. On a clear, sunny day, I have a lot more light perception. I can tell lights on, lights off.

But a day like today, that's cloudy, dreary, I don't, I don't have any like perception. Very, very, very little. 

Kara Goodwin: I'm curious about what that has done to your other senses, because I know that it's, it's sort of commonly [00:06:00] understood that as people lose one of their senses, the other senses become more heightened.

Have you experienced that? Yes. Okay. Yes. 

Laura Bratton: And you said it perfectly heightened is the word. So a lot of people assume your other senses just instantly become better and stronger, and your other senses don't change. I am more in tune to other senses. So where you, for example, are focused on your five senses?

I'm, I'm using that same energy to focus on four. So it's, that's why I say you say it perfectly. It's not that my other senses get stronger, it's that I am deeply in tune to those other senses. So yes, absolutely. And then also an another, just that intuition. Yes. Just I've, I've developed just out of. Being human to survival.

Mm-hmm. That deep 

Kara Goodwin: [00:07:00] intuition sense. Well, that was gonna be my next question around the intuition, but also your inner sight. Like if we think about the role of like your ability to imagine or that like non-visual site Yes. Has that, what is your non-visual site like? I'd love to know what this is like for you.

Laura Bratton: Yeah, so it's. For me, I still see in my mind's eye, I still see images I still see normally. So if you were to describe something to me, I would visualize it in my head. So, because I had sight for so long, it's not like, I don't ever think, I mean, I still fully dream in full sight. That I don't have that visual map in my head.

It's just that I've also heightened, again, just that [00:08:00] intuition, that inner just knowing mm-hmm. That just, and I can't really put into words how I do that. It's just a, I just kind of have this gut feeling that I'm more in tune to, because I have to read the room of an of energy. I can't look and see, oh, she's crying.

She's mad, you know, just read the environment. They're smiling, they're laughing. I have to be very in tune to the energy of a room. So I've definitely developed that inner sight. 

Kara Goodwin: So do you have any examples that come to your mind about how that has shown up? I know it's hard to explain. I, I completely understand that, but I wonder if something comes to mind where it's like, okay, in this situation I would have.

You know, relied on my site, but I was getting all this information in a different way. Does anything come to mind? Yeah. 

Laura Bratton: Every, like, every day life. And a, an example would be if I walk into a room, let's say it's a meeting situation. [00:09:00] If there's tension in the room, even if I didn't hear it, even if I wasn't in the room when someone said something someone else extremely disagreed with.

When I walk in, I just feel the tension. Mm-hmm. And oftentimes, and the, the reason I know I'll say to someone like, it feels really, really intense in here. Am I right? Like, is it. Does everyone look intense? And it's yes, or in a, in a time of loss. Like I can just walk into a room and just, just feel that, the deep heaviness of grief.

So yes, it's very tangible. And then the same thing with joy. The same thing with with if, if people are just light and e just walking into room and being able to pick up on the energy of the environment. 

Kara Goodwin: I mean, that is such a gift, you know? Yeah. Um, but I know it was, it must have been so hard to get there.

Let's [00:10:00] go back to the story of, of what it was like to lose your sight and such at such a tender age too. Yes, yes. Um, what was that decline like for you and, and what role did, because, because I know mindset is so huge for you. Yes. So how did your mindset play into all of it? So, my 

Laura Bratton: first mindset was denial.

Again, as a teenager, as a 14-year-old, I, I didn't have the words, I didn't have the life experience. I didn't know how to process the magnitude of what was happening. So my first response was, oh, this isn't that bad. Oh, I'm just gonna magically wake up tomorrow and I'll have. Sight again. Oh, if I just pray hard enough, if I just manifest hard enough, like if I just think about it enough, it'll just, it'll come back.

I was denying the reality [00:11:00] of the depth of the situation. Hmm. 

Kara Goodwin: Once 

Laura Bratton: I've worked through that denial, my mindset was, I can't. I can't, I can't. I was so overwhelmed. Both by the fear of the future, but also just the fear of the present. Just having every single part of life having to adapt that was so overwhelming.

My belief was, I can't, I can't, I can't. I can't, I can't. I said it, I cried it, I prayed it. I thought it, it was my whole mantra. 

Kara Goodwin: I can imagine. Wow. Um, and, and how long did that go on? 

Laura Bratton: So there was not one. Through the course of high school, again, I continued to lose a significant amount of sight, and through those four years, there was not one defining moment where something happened, [00:12:00] where a shift in my mindset of, you know, I just woke up one day and said, okay, all of a sudden I can you know, all of a sudden, this is fine.

I'm good with this. I, I accept this. Yeah. What it. Was I slowly over time, there was a moment where I was like, oh, I can do this. Okay. I can have the strength for this hour. So again, there wasn't one big major moment. It was a series of events that changed that I can't into, okay, I can do this. And reason that I was able to make that shift.

In my mind, my, again, was not because of myself. 'cause clearly my mindset is I can't do this. It was the support around me. It was the gift of other people's mindset who did believe in me who were saying, yes, this is hard. Yes, it's overwhelming and will figure it out. [00:13:00] So a very tangible example and a story I, I laugh at.

But it was an incredible life-changing moment was my parents would tell me every day, we will just take it day by day and we'll figure it out. We don't know this. We don't know anything about blindness We don't know, but we'll just figure it out. So literally in the morning, the goal was get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and get to school on time.

That was the goal for the. The first few hours, and if we got through that goal, it was like, great, okay, now let's get through, you know, the first couple of classes and then lunch. So, and again, that whole process, their ability just to tell me over and over, yes, is overwhelming and we'll take it day by day.

That mindset of just being present and. [00:14:00] Working with what is was gave me such an incredible gift. And again, what I meant by a tangible example of that was taking it day by day, making accommodations where I needed it. One night in my brilliant teenage mind, I said, oh, okay, so I'm just gonna use this blindness to get up all the tours at home.

Because this, and I still am in this, I can't mode. So I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna use this as an excuse. So one night my mom said, all right, Laura, it's, it's time to unload the dishwasher. So I said, oh mom, I can't unload the dishwasher. I'm blind. And again, at this point, uh. I had lost a significant amount of sight, but I still had a lot of sight as well, and she just, she was in the hallway between the, the kitchen and the hallway in the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway, and she just turned around and she just said, [00:15:00] Laura, unload the dishwasher.

And she's a retired elementary teacher, so being an elementary teacher, when she said that, she meant it, and I, I knew that voice and at the time I'm like, oh, she's such a mean mom. Like, I can't, I can't believe I'm having to do this yet. That was the greatest gift she could have given me to help shift my mindset.

Because what she was teaching me was, yes, we'll take this day by day and all you have to focus on right now is unloading the dishwasher right now. You don't have to figure out where to go to college, what you're gonna major in, what you'll do for a career. You don't have to figure out the whole entire future.

All you have to do right now is unload the dishwasher and, and the second major gift that she gave me in that interaction was. You are, so you like we as your parents, we still [00:16:00] believe in you. We're still holding you to the same standards. Yes, of course. We'll make accommodations. We'll make accommodations.

But also you're so, you like, we're not going to pity you. You can't play the victim mindset. You are still our daughter, just like our son is still our son. He might have full sight, but that doesn't make a different. So again, that's just one example of what helped me make that shift. Yeah. From I can't to, I can, 

Kara Goodwin: I love that so much and it's so important what you're, there's so much wisdom in that taking it.

Step by step and day by day because it's so easy when we have challenges ahead of us. If somebody, you know, has received a diagnosis that is a scary, you know, unknown and you kind of leapfrog into the future of the worst case scenario, I know like my daughter for [00:17:00] example, had a major surgery a few months ago and I completely, um.

Relate to what you talk about in terms of the denial, the, you know, all of the things Yeah. Of, um, and the insurmountable overwhelmingness of it. Yes. And then the, the wisdom of just coming back to this moment of like, okay, you know, she can't move right now. She can't turn over by herself in bed. She's, you know, yes.

Whatever it might be, where it's like. You feel like there's so much that you that she can't do? Yes. And it's like, let's just get through this hour. Yes. Let's just get through this time of pain that, you know, until the, the meds kick in the next round of meds kick or it's time for the next round of meds that she's desperate for right now.

But, um. But you, it's, it, it takes discipline to Yes. It's 

Laura Bratton: really, really hard. 

Kara Goodwin: Yeah. 'cause we just kinda leapfrog to [00:18:00] say, well, you know, what is this? That that holds, that the future holds. And you know, for some people it might be a diagnosis. For some people, it might be the loss of a loved one or some in some other way, that their reality shifts.

I can imagine there was a grieving process as you. As you were going blind. Can you talk about that? 

Laura Bratton: Yes. It was a deep, deep grieving process and I, thinking back, I think that's why my first mindset was denial because I was in that grieving process and wasn't even aware of it. 

Kara Goodwin: Mm-hmm. 

Laura Bratton: I was grieving what I no longer had.

So that was a huge part of the grieving process and also that mindset of, I can't, mm-hmm. Again, it was the grieving, I have to what you were saying, I have to change from what I, I used to know. And so yes, the grieving was [00:19:00] incredibly overwhelming because also it wasn't an acute situation that you grieve.

Then also you move forward. Mm-hmm. It was ongoing, right? As I continue to lose sight, but then also just living every day knowing what I don't have. Yeah. And again, just like my parents, another great gift that I received. Was from a mentor work, uh, specifically about grief. So it was right before my freshman year in college and she sat me down.

I don't remember while I was in her office what we were, I don't remember the, the point of the meeting, but I do remember she just at the very end before I got up and walked out. Laura, I just wanna let you know, you think you're done with grieving. You think you grieved in high school? And you're moving on.

I just wanna let you know [00:20:00] that you will continue to grieve forever. And that's not a weakness. That's not, you do some, you're doing something wrong. That's not a, a statement that, oh, that means if you're grieving, you haven't accepted your vision loss. It just means that you'll constantly live with loss as you move forward.

Mm. And again, in my 18-year-old mind, oh no, I'm good. I've done the grieving thing. I'm good. I'm, I'm moving on. Right? I'm moving forward. In what I realized, the gift that she gave me was permission. My mindset was, I have to grieve or I can't move on. She gave me the permission to do both. 

Kara Goodwin: That's beautiful.

Wow. The [00:21:00] acceptance that comes with that. Yes, 

Laura Bratton: a hundred percent. Yeah, exactly. The 

Kara Goodwin: acceptance. Well, you know, we've spent a long time talking about the grief, the, the process, the, the, um, the tragedy of, of losing your sight, but you have made. Some extraordinary contributions. Um. You know, in, in, by any standards, you know, you, you mentioned that you went to college.

You were the first blind student to receive a Master's of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, which is extraordinary. You are the author of the book Harnessing Courage. You have founded an organization to empower people, so. What was the drive or, or if there was a turning point or, um, to, to use was, has this been kind of the engine [00:22:00] behind these amazing contributions?

Laura Bratton: Yes, 

Kara Goodwin: absolutely. So 

Laura Bratton: the drive, the passion all came from, I was able to make this mindset shift from I can't to, I. Of the support around me because of the parents, because of my older brother who continued to treat me as that annoying little baby sister, you know, that he was just like, will you just go away and leave me alone?

And the, the teachers, the community, I had such incredible support. My drive, my passion, the engine behind everything I've done. Is to pay that forward, to be that support for other people going through change. So what I didn't wanna do is say, okay, I've received this incredible support. That's good for me.

End of story. I wanted to say, okay, I received it, and now let me go and share it. [00:23:00] Let me go and be that grit and gratitude for other people in the world. 

Kara Goodwin: Wow, that, that is so beautiful. Tell us about your book, harnessing Courage. 

Laura Bratton: Yeah, so first the title was very specific. The reason I named it harnessing or title it harnessing courage.

I. Was for two reasons, physical and emotional. So the physical reason was the harness is what goes around the dog. And then what I hold the handle of the harness. So we, as a, as my guide dog, guides me, I'm holding the harness. So literally the courage it takes to trust. A 54 pound black. Oh, wow. To beat your eyes.

Yes. So, so that's just an honor and respect for her. And I wanted to name it Hearts and Courage, just to, to honor the gift that both guide dogs have [00:24:00] been and given me. And then the emotional mindset is. I have to choose every day to harness the courage, to keep going, to contribute to the world, to use my gifts.

It's so easy to get caught up in that grief and everything we've been talking about and not move forward, get stuck in that cycle. So to be able to choose every day, okay, I choose today to have the courage to move forward. So that was very specific. The reason I named. The book that, and so the book tells my story through the perspective of the grit and gratitude.

And again, the passion, the drive was so that someone could pick up that book. And regardless of the change they're experiencing, they could also develop and use that mindset to help them navigate through the change. So I talk a lot about. Permission. Both permission to [00:25:00] grieve while also moving forward and the, the gift of gratitude and living a lifestyle of gratitude.

So the book is not just specifically for people with vision loss, but any type of change that they can apply the same principles. 

Kara Goodwin: Wow, that's so beautiful. Um, and talk about your organization and the type of people who you help through the organization. 

Laura Bratton: Yeah, so I. The, it is the same passion and same drive for, for the book.

So I developed the organization for speaking and for coaching so that I could speak on and work with on a one-on-one level. People as they go through change to help again, be that support system, be that guide as they go through it. Being that voice, being that presence to support them just as I receive.

So going, you know, so. They don't get stuck in [00:26:00] the fear or the overwhelm. So a lot of people that I work with have have specific change that they're navigating through in that moment. So right now, like specifically I'm working with a lot of athletes. So as they experience major injury, um, that overwhelms them, and just the fear of will I recover, will I get back to what I love?

What I. Value, how do I not get stuck in that cr Hmm. So that, that's the gift of just being that presence, that literally in that time of change to be that voice. And I also work with a lot of people going through grief, going through both death losses and non death losses. Whether that's a major job change or job loss to help them navigate.

How do I still be me in the midst of change? 

Kara Goodwin: Hmm. [00:27:00] And, and talk about that. How did, what sort of process of self-discovery or navigating the dis the truth of who you really are through this change, do you felt, do you feel that the obstacle assisted you or was it an additional challenge? Because that's something everybody I.

Is challenged with who am I? Right? Right. How do I know who I am? 

Laura Bratton: Right. So for in my experience going through such a major change, your whole focus becomes the change. It you, it is like isolated perspective on only the change. And so we, from, again, from my experience. I forgot, I'm still a person with so much more else happening.

Gifts and purpose in addition to the change. So as [00:28:00] again, my mindset was able to change from I can't to I can. And just as that mentor gave me permission to grieve, I was able to realize, yes, this change is hard. And I still have gifts, I still have value. I still have a purpose to contribute to this world.

So again, being able to give that perspective to other people. So for example, like the athlete I was referring to, helping that person to realize, yes, this change is really hard and scary and overwhelming, and recognize who you are in addition to the change. And, and naming that specifically for her so that she can realize, oh yeah, I'm more than just my injury.

I'm more than just rehabbing in my, in, in my injury. Mm-hmm. 

Kara Goodwin: That's beautiful. Well, one thing I can't not ask, um, [00:29:00] is about this, the relationships that you've had with your guide dogs. You said you've had two? Yes. Were you, were you an animal lover before? Oh, 

Laura Bratton: yes. Yeah, absolutely. How have they helped you? I'm sorry, say that again.

Oh, 

Kara Goodwin: just I, I'm curious about how they've kind of helped you through this process. I mean, obviously they, they are guiding you as guide dogs, but I wondered how deep it runs. Incredibly 

Laura Bratton: deep, deeper, deeper than I can put into words. Hmm. So my first guide dog, I got her in after high school, before college. So it was in that time where I'd lost most of my sight.

I still had more than I have now, but really no usable vision. So, yes, as you were saying, she could guide me physically. The fact that she could guide me physically gave [00:30:00] me so much independence and so much confidence that I lost in those high school years. So after we had been working together very short time, just a few, a few weeks, I remember calling a friend and just saying.

I know this sounds weird, but I feel like I've gotten my sight back. 

Kara Goodwin: Hmm. 

Laura Bratton: And just the confidence that that dog gave me the healing, just her additional love, her presence, her just her energy was absolutely a major part of my emotional mental healing. So yes, you're right. It was that. Physical, keeping me safe.

But there was a huge mental component to the, the healing. The, the trainers always told us your emotions travel through the harness. Ah. When you're holding those, when you're holding that harness, [00:31:00] you might think, you know, you're acting one way, but the dog cannot, can completely tell your emotion and. That was so true, and so she was just an incredible resource and incredible support as I went through that transition.

And then my, so I had my first guide dog for about 11 years, and then my second guide dog, she was equally as healing. Yes. I wasn't still in that major change of accepting the vision loss. I was more. Comfortable in my skin and adjusted to the new normal. Yet she was still just that constant healing presence of that un unconditional love, that presence of being in the moment that, yes, again, just like the type of my book, I can choose to harness the courage to move forward every day.

So they played an incredible role in my healing. 

Kara Goodwin: [00:32:00] Wow, that's so beautiful. So touching. Well, Laura, you are just a gift to humanity for everything that you've been through and all the ways that you contribute. Please tell people how they can find out more about you. So the best 

Laura Bratton: way is through my website, laura bratton.com has all the information about speaking, coaching, book, all the information, 

Kara Goodwin: Well, thank you Laura so much. It's really been a pleasure and honor. I'm so grateful to have hosted you today. Thanks for coming on. 

Laura Bratton: Absolutely. And thank you for this opportunity for the platform that you create.

Kara Goodwin: Thank you.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Soul Elevation. Please take a moment to think about someone in your life who might be uplifted or have their curiosity sparked by this content and send it on to them. Let's keep sharing high frequency, empowering content to reinforce the highest potential for [00:33:00] humanity.

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