About Gladys Ryan
Gladys has been working in human rights and development throughout her career. She was a student and trade union activist during apartheid and continued her activism through the work she did in adult education.
Gladys began her consultancy, Communicating Simply, in 1998 and continues this work, specifically focusing on writing skills facilitation and mentoring, writing on behalf of organisations (histories, educational materials, newsletters, reflection documents, stories, case studies and other publications) and organisational support.
In 2020, she started The Selful Soul. Here she plays, learns, writes and grapples with life questions, challenging others to do the same. You can find Selful Soul on YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook.
Gladys is a mother of one human, Luke, and two fur-babies, Patch and Tiger. They are her pride. They share their home with geckos and bats (not really out of choice). Gladys lives in a beautiful part of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, called Waterfall.
The Selful Soul
When I started The Selful Soul in 2020, I had no idea where it would lead me. I just knew I needed to do this thing! Selful Soul remains an enigma, but since 2020 has challenged me to do many things I didn’t think I could, including creating beautiful things, sharing myself on social media, and learning all the background stuff needed to do that. Through Selful Soul I published my first book, Gentle Like Water: a path for the Selful Soul, and I continue to write and share of myself and the work of others.
Communicating Simply
Communicating Simply is committed to building stronger, more resilient organisations, and that begins with the people in them. Through Communicating Simply, Gladys has supported organisations with their writing, their reflections, their publications, and their strategic and organisational growth.
Testimonials
The Selful Soul has been a constant in my life since Gladys began her YouTube channel and has become part of my regular self-care routine. Every time I watch a reading, I am in awe of how much clarity it brings me. In fact, there have been many occasions when it felt like a reading was specifically made for me.
Gladys is always so gentle and loving in her readings that even when harsh truths are revealed, it never feels like a bad thing. One of my favourite quotes of hers is, “There is no punishment in spirituality, only lessons”.
Another thing that I find really special about the way that Gladys reads tarot is that she doesn’t take herself too seriously. This has helped me see the readings as something fun and enjoyable. It doesn’t have the chore-like nature that self-care practices can sometimes have. Even when I was very depleted and had little capacity for the other practices that keep me grounded, Selful Soul remained constant.
The Selful Soul and Gladys remind me just how much fun I can have with my spirituality and my self-care work. I am always grateful that I have such guidance in my life.
More than a review, this is peer pressure to get Gladys to organize more writing and vision boarding retreats. Thank you for the one you held with all of us at the beginning of 2021 Glad. The vision board still hangs on my wall.
Gladys begins her processes with an invitation for one to go into their own Essence. So right at the beginning of the session, you take a moment to invite anything and anyone you need to journey with you through the upcoming sacred session. A ritual I have since adopted in my coaching and counselling practices. The sessions are then made even richer by Gladys’ grounding presence, meaningful writing prompts and tarot readings.
Following that vision boarding retreat, I have since engaged with Gladys through coaching, writing reviews and generally working to bring healing to the world.
Wherever Gladys shines her light through her work, I want to be there. You should too. Starting with the Selful Soul diary and personal journal. And also just following Selful Soul on all social media.
Thank you for your light Glad.