Kari Samuels, Intuitive Counselor

Eastern Mind Meets Western Medicine

Recently I was asked by a client how I reconcile the emotional, the spiritual, and western medicine. For instance, if you have a broken leg, how do your emotions enter into that? Or you suffer from depression, isn’t that genetics? How does the spiritual enter into the equation?

This is something I think about all the time and am still learning. I don’t claim to know, so this is merely my understanding from my experience with clients, with myself, from reading books by medical intuitives, and from listening to medical intuitives diagnose me and others on the radio. So please understand this is my interpretation alone–I don’t claim it to be anything more.

I believe physical ailments have a cause on the spiritual, emotional, and physical level. If you look at this as energy, it would be quantum, subtle, and gross (material) energy. As we learned in physics, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transformed. A disharmony begins on the quantum (spiritual) level. Say there is an experience that you need to learn a spiritual lesson from (quantum energy) that causes you to have certain responses that are emotional (subtle energy). When we don’t have the tools, strategies or support to process all of the emotions in an experience, these emotions are stored in our subconscious minds until we are ready to process them. Energy flows through our acupuncture meridians. That energy is emotion, and different meridians channel different levels of emotion. So when we have an experience with this backlog of emotions that are still on our subconscious, the energy (emotions) don’t travel efficiently through a certain meridian, or meridians. This will also affect our choices (physical) about how we respond to and treat our bodies. We will not be aware that certain foods, relationships or behaviors are causing us harm, we won’t have healthy impulses in that area, because the consciousness of that meridian, or aspect of your life isn’t working effectively. We act more reflexively than consciously in those situations. So, over time, when the energy isn’t flowing properly in that meridian (which also will affect your behavior and habits in that aspect of your life) over time, this causes physical degeneration. And when that happens you need some physical help, which can often take the form of surgery, pharmaceuticals, etc.

My teacher of the LifeLine Technique, Darren Weissman says that symptoms are “gifts in strange wrapping paper.” The reason that these ailments are a gift, is that is the only way our body can communicate with us bringing the subconscious patterns to our consciousness. It is the only way that we can bring to consciousness that which we were ignoring before, and that is on all three levels: physical, emotional and spiritual. Therefore, it is always important to treat the physical symptom first – that is the area that has had the most degeneration, and look at the physical habits and treatments to heal that area. And you absolutely cannot address your emotions when you are in physical pain! But there is always more underneath that, that which needs to be healed. The physical is the most dense manifestation of an imbalance, but it always begins on a subtle emotional level.

Part of what I do is detecting certain health problems and understanding the emotional and spiritual reasons behind them – and they are always there. For instance, I noticed I was consulting with several women who had thyroid issues. They were all very outspoken, felt comfortable communicating, and couldn’t understand why they were having issues in their throat chakra – and yet all of them had creative/life purpose urges that they were repressing to accommodate the responsibilities of their family. I guided them to a doctor to treat the condition, and I also encouraged them to pursue their creativity to heal the underlying cause. Because even if you heal the physical, the energy of the emotions underneath that are still looking for expression. More examples: I also notice that several clients with knee pain were afraid of making changes in their lives, and men with back pain often feel overwhelmed with their material responsibilities.

I see the western medicine as being an integral part of the healing process. In some cases, there is nothing better for treating the acute symptoms of imbalance – once it gets to that level. But treating the symptom is one part of the process; you also want to clear the emotional and spiritual issues that led to the imbalance to begin with - and that does include some physical changes as well.

So the next time you’re dealing with your chronic sciatica, by all means go to a doctor. But don’t forget that the sciatica, too, has a spiritual and emotional core, one that needs to be addressed if it is to be truly healed.

Having Healthy Boundaries with our Loved Ones (and others!)

Everything in nature has boundaries, that act as a mechanism to keep the organism healthy. For instance, if you are re-potting a plant, in order for that plant to thrive, it needs to be in the proper sized container. If the container is too large, that plant cannot take root, receive proper nourishment or grow.

Too, the earth itself has a natural boundary – our ozone layer helps filter harmful rays from our life generating sun. So even though we need the sun, we also need to protect ourselves from the sun! Our intuition helps is interpret what is healthy for us and what isn’t. Sometimes, with those close to us, you have an impulse to pull away or draw boundaries, even in situations where that person seems to need us the most. In those situations, your intuition is speaking to you through your feelings. You can have faith that the other person will express their highest and best, by seeing their true self which is pure love, while you maintain your space and give them space to do so.

We often feel guilty about creating boundaries because we feel obligated to always be there for the other person with unconditional love. It is easy to be confused about unconditional love. Often, we interpret that as meaning we accept everything someone does to us and forgiving their actions. Perhaps another way of viewing unconditional love is viewing that person from the perspective of the Higher Self. When a healer is helping someone else, they allow Divine Love to flow through them while maintaining  a loving space through Present Time Consciousness. Whereas  if the healer were to identify with the other person’s pain with pity, rather that maintaining the vision of their true self as being whole and pure love,  then they would inhibit that person’s healing.

Too, in our personal relationships, when someone is mistreating us or acting in a way that is not in alignment of their Higher Self, and we allow them to continuously do so, then we are doing both ourselves and the other person a disservice. Unconditional love is holding the other person responsible for their actions with the belief and the vision of their highest and best, knowing that they, with the help of their Higher Self, can find the path towards healing. If we do their work for them, we inhibit their growth. So when you have those feelings of mis-trust, or needing space, that is often your intuition speaking to you through your Higher Self letting you know that their energy needs to be filtered for you to thrive, and that the balance in your relationship is not in harmony, and you need to pull back so that they can find their strength within themselves, rather than you giving them your power and energy.

If you find yourself feeling guilty about this, try viewing the other person from the perspective of their Higher Self, who knows the meaning of all of our life’s struggles, challenges, triumphs, and joys. We are all here on this Earth to grow and learn!

Karma, balance, and why being “nice” isn’t always good

Happy Spring Equinox! This magical time of year signifies that balanca of light and dark, sun and moon, masculine and feminine. Last night in my Divine Intuition class, we talked about the nature of true balance, especially in terms of relationships. People were particularly intrigued  when we talked about being “nice” as not necessarily what’s best for us. It’s such a compelling and important topic, I will be writing a newsletter about it soon.

One thing we discussed is karma as balance, rather than a judgement of good or bad deeds. Oftentimes, we think we are doing the “right” thing by automatically forgiving someone who has wronged us, or by turning the other cheek to people who are treating us poorly and allowing them to dump their negative energy on us. One interpretation of “turning the other cheek” that might be beneficial is not taking another person’s actions personally when they act poorly towards you, therefore not engaging in the drama. So instead of taking on a person’s negativity and being “nice” about it, you can choose to view their negativity as a reflection of themselves rather than you, view that person with compassion, and disengage from that dynamic by choosing self-respect and self-care. Try that and see how that works for you!

If you think of all relationships of having a measure of energy, what is given and received, when we are in a reciprocal energy exchange those scales of karma are balanced. Yet, sometimes when we are being “nice” instead of standing up for ourselves, or asserting our right to be treated better, or walking away from people who mistreat us, then we can be tipping those karmic scales. We will keep attracting situations towards us to help us correct that balance until it is righted. You might want to look at any uncomfortable situation in your life that you seem to attract over and over again, and see if there is a lesson there about reciprocal energy exchange. You can evaluate whether you are giving too much or too little in that circumstance relative to the outcome, and make appropriate adjustments.

Too, if you are one of these people who tries to be “good” all the time and do the right thing, you might want to examine how that plays out in your relationships. Examine whether you are in reciprocal relationships, or if there is stuck pattern that needs to be rectified.

You might also want to look at the balance within yourself – do you have a balance of work and play? Alone time with socializing? Exercise and stillness? Just something to think about during this Equinox…

Angels are fierce!

I was doing a meditation with my angels, and with the four major archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. I was teaching a class on healing with the angels and I asked them what they wanted me to share with my students. What I discovered surprised me!

First of all, they wanted me to share that angels are not always “nice”. Many people, especially those who feel they are “earth angels”, or want to be good spiritual people, feel they must be nice all the time, and do good deeds, and if someone bothers them, they should accept it, bless that person and give them love. Well, it’s not quite that simple!

Angels are fiery fierce creatures. There is a lot of darkness here on this planet, and these incredible beings help us transmute that darkness into love.  This is more warrior energy than pacifist energy. After all, Archangel Michael, the head honcho of the angels carries a sword!

Many of my clients and students who are overly concerned with being nice and not causing any disharmony, so they take in other people’s negativity and don’t stand up for themselves. Consequently they find themselves in unhealthy relationships, illness, and poor finances. Angels can help you heal these issues, not by giving your power over to the angels, but by asking the angels to help you own their powerful, dynamic, healing, radiant energy and share that with others. This is bold energy!

When you connect with your angels, try to envision their dynamic radiance, and match their energy. This is will help you heal your life on all levels. They are working with you to heal your life, but they can’t do it all for you. One of the lessons we are meant to learn here is to co-create our lives. So if you want healing on any level – physical, financial, emotional – visualize these powerful beings and allow their energy to work through you as you match your energy to theirs. You will be amazed at the level of healing that can occur. And listen to their guidance. They will always lead you towards love.

And love truly is the most powerful force in the Universe. It’s fierce!

Being as good to yourself as you are to others

In the Intuitive Development class that I teach, I often ask people to close their eyes and listen to their hearts instead of listening to their thoughts. So often we get wrapped up in all of our responsibilities and worries that we don’t even know what our own needs are. We know what our responsibilities are to other people, to creditors, bosses, friends, children, spouses, etc, but we don’t always remember where we fit into the picture.

So I ask people to close their eyes and listen to their bodies. Tune out the world and just empty their minds so they can listen to their bodies and hearts. I then suggest they ask themselves what their needs are, if they did not have any responsibilities to other people or obligations. “What is it that YOU want?”.

It’s a very simple question, but often meets with a lot of resistence. Many people are so used to disconnecting themselves from their bodies, that they don’t know what their heart it telling them. Even more often,  people who are parents feel exremely uncomfortable asking this question. They find it impossible to believe that asking themselves what their needs are, without taking into account their responsbilities to others, will bring beneficial results.

I can understand the dilemma and the fear that this might lead to selfishness and neglecting their children! Not so however. Your heart is connected to all that is good for you and everyone else. It is also in the center of your chakra system, connecting you to heaven and earth.  Tuning out outside distractions is imperative to listening to your heart and your intuition. Listening to your intuition is imperative to being a good parent!

We all want what’s best for our children and loved ones. However, in order to be our absolute best for others, we need to take care of ourselves. We want to be strong, grounded, well noursished, rested and happy. Not only is that best for us, it is best for our children . It helps them feel strong and protected.  When we are not paying attention to our needs “for the good of others”, we lose our power, strength, and energy. In the longrun, nobody is helped by that dynamic.

When we listen to the widsom of our hearts, we can trust that what is good for us is best for all. Only through nurturing our needs and our spirits can we be the best we can be. And that is the greatest gift you can offer others.

Friends are from heaven

My dear friend Mindy Sommers, who is the visionary behind my website, created this blog for me. I always thought she was psychic, and she consistently surprises me with how well she reads my mind. I was thinking about making a blog and literally, the next day, she “surprised me” by adding one to my site!

I discovered Mindy as if by accident. I was looking up a tarot definition online, and ran accross an article about her Dreaming in Color  oracle deck. The name of this deck was so intriguing I had to read on. It turns out Mindy went to the famed Lilydale community and the angels encouraged her to make this oracle deck. I felt an instant connection with the images, yet I can be a bit of an oracle-aholic, so I hemmed and hawed for a while before purchasing it.  So I waited a bit and the images of this deck kept coming into my mind. That’s one way I connect with my intuition – when an image, thought or feeling takes hold of me and won’t let go – not in an obsessive way, rather I feel a peaceful way, I know there is something for me to explore further.

So I ordered the deck and thought that was that. Not really, that was just one part of my journey with Mindy Sommers. It’s amazing how Spirit directs us!

At the time, I had no intention of making a website. Yet after exploring Mindy’s many websites, including Peapod Design, her graphic site, I thought to myself, “well if I ever did make I site, wouldn’t it be nice…”. Flash forward YEARS later, I was wanting to make a website and that feeling came over me again. I was going to have another dear friend make my site (for free!) and yet Mindy’s images kept coming to my mind and filling my heart. Had I been less attuned to the subtle messages of my intuition, I would have listened to allllll of the rational reasons in my mind about why I shouldn’t spend the money, and the website isn’t that important anyway, and the many other reasons why I shouldn’t… I’m so glad I listened to my heart!

Looking back now, I can see that Spirit clearly put Mindy in my path for many reasons, and mine in hers.  We are dear friends and our talents are completely complimentary. When she needs Spiritual guidance, I am there for her in a way that others are not. When I need just about everything else -she’s my go to girl! You can tell from her art, she has a strong connection to the angels. And that’s where we are linked.

I thank my angels for friends like Mindy Sommers and all the wonderful people whose lives touch mine, and whose lives I touch as well.  If take a moment to acknowledge all the loved ones in your life and how you help each other, you can’t help but feel good about the world! Really, there’s no replacement for a good friend, they are truly heaven sent!

Hello world!

Welcome to my blog! Here, you will find empowering tools for transformation and self-care. I created this blog to help you nourish your soul and feed your spirit.

There are so many times throughout the day that I want to share information, insights and observations, yet don’t have time to write a full newsletter.  This medium gives me an opportunity to write down these thoughts in easy to read portions, and for you, the reader, to muse at your leisure.

I hope you will enjoy these missives, and use this site as a forum to connect with like-minded people.

Share the love!