Introducing Katherine Jenkins-A New Contributor On Womans World Magazine

NAME: Katherine Jenkins


LOCATION: Current location is Seattle, Washington, but I lived in Asia (Korea and Japan) for over 10 years.

AGE: I feel young, but I’m going to be the big 4-0 this year…this month!!!!


HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGING FOR: I’ve been officially blogging since January 2009, but I’ve been writing forever. I have journals for almost every year of my life starting from when I received my first diary for Christmas when I was 10 years old. I still have that diary!!


WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION THE MEDIA GIVES OF WOMEN: That beauty is an outside thing. Women are always trying to show they are beautiful….but if they are not taking care of their inside, it shows! You can do everything to hide what is really inside, but it doesn’t help. If you are not taking care of your inside, IT SHOWS! Beauty starts from the inside and radiates out!


WHAT INSPIRES YOU THE MOST: Inspiring people….Inspiration itself! My husband, who was formally a Korean Buddhist monk, told me recently that inspiration means ‘In Spirit’. If we are following the flow of life, we are ‘in spirit’ and we are inspiring to other people. Inspiration is a collective energy that everyone contributes to.


WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME: Meditation, yoga, writing and, of course, blogging. Right now I spend almost all my spare time writing, blogging, and doing work for my editor. I’m working on a book that documents my 13-year journey with my husband, a former Korean Buddhist monk. Chapters of my book appear on my blog: http://www.lessonsfromthemonkimarried.blogspot.com/

The book is also entitled ‘Lessons from the Monk I Married’.


WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS BLOG: Carly found my blog and commented. She asked me to be a contributor. I’m honored to contribute to a blog which showcases women’s REAL stories. There’s so much MUCK in the media!!


DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE DISH: I love food from around the world. Korean food is a favorite because my husband is Korean and I lived there for 8 years. Recently we found a wonderful Ethiopian restaurant near our house in Seattle, it’s divine!!


YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO SPEND TIME: Walking in the woods with my husband …there’s a canopy of giant maples, cedar, and pine overhead in Llandover Woods near our house. Seattle, Washington is known for it’s trees….we talk about our dreams in those woods and contemplate life. I feel renewed every time I visit that place.

WHAT MAKES YOU PROUD TO BE A WOMAN: This distinction between women and men seems to fade the more I meditate. I feel more of a universal sense of myself as I go deeper.


BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED WAS: I asked my meditation teacher, SN Goenka from India, “How can I let other people know about meditation?” He said, “You have to make yourself strong, you have to practice…everything else will happen naturally.” I have been following those words and now I see that everything is unfolding now. I don’t need to control the wheel of life. If I create space within me, life will flow through me. That’s what is happening to me and has been happening to me.