Kristin Newton changes lives. Messages of appreciation fill her inbox. "This is a turning point in our lives," reads one. "We are looking at things so differently now."

"See how [your teaching] truly does change lives!" enthuses another, its writer going on to say that she and her husband, formerly a high-flying executive, had decided to change jobs and move abroad.

Newton isn't a New Age guru; nor is she a therapist or a counselor. She's an art teacher.