We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate Robbins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kate, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
As a child I often woke from my nighttime slumber with memories abundant with lucid dreams and what felt like messages for my family. Unfortunately, after many mornings rattling off entire epic dreamtime sagas, my family began to roll their eyes as I descended the stairs from my room and began another lengthy recital of the all important themes from my vivd and mind-bending revelries. Apparently, my immediate family did not believe, as I did, that these messages were to be interpreted and adhered to for the best outcomes possible in the day to come.
Never the less, my grandmother knew I held special talents. During our regular weekend visits, she would hand me a brush and say, “Katie, brush my hair. You do such a good job of that.” I knew I had found a kindred spirit who appreciated my skills! These hair brushing sessions inevitably migrated into a neck and shoulder massage and although I didn’t know what to call it then, energy healing. Thus the beginning of my journey as a Holistic Wellness Guide began.
As happens in the life of a child and teenager, I was highly distracted by an odd phenomenon called public school. While I excelled in my classes, I was also often bored with the slow progress of the lessons and gravitated toward music and the arts. I found the practice of singing in a choir to be incredibly uplifting and expressive. Likewise, the focus of creating an art piece, brought me to a space that felt grounded and quiet. Together these art forms were my sanctuary in the chaos of conventional schooling.
That said, once I graduated I quickly learned that college life in a tiny town of the midwest was not for me. So I set off exploring Europe and our own western states. I followed my intuition and landed in some of the quintessential meccas of alternative lifestyle and holistic wellness in the States: Flagstaff, AZ; Boulder, CO; Portland, OR; Santa Cruz, CA. In each location I picked up fresh inspiration and unique skills that eventually lead me to teaching Iyengar Yoga, practicing Thai Yoga Massage, offering Chakra based Energy Medicine and developing a Transition Life Coaching practice.
At this point, I have brought all of these skills together as a Holistic Wellness Guide under the umbrella of Clarity Council. My unusual gifts, shirked as a child, are now fully on display and available for hire to the public. After so many years of wild stories and fascinating experiences, my family has learned to listen to my sage advice and even seek it out. So I’ll say that I found my purpose by not seeking it at all. I found my purpose through the practice of genuine curiosity for life and all that it has to offer. To quote a classic Fleetwood Mac song and adapting the message for my own purposes here “You can go your own way. Go your own way!”
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As a Holistic Wellness Guide I offer support through challenging life transitions to those who are seeking a personalized method of achieving their goals. Together we dive deep into the energetic and mental blocks that are limiting a life of health, joy and abundance.
Throughout a session we drop into energy practices to balance the chakra centers and clear any stagnation that accumulates in the energetic field and therefore the body and mind. Through this process, we discover some of the old wounds and karmic patterns that create detrimental habits keeping a client stuck in certain patterns of relationship and repeated outcomes. Leading with compassionate curiosity is the most effective method of arriving at the nexus of self discovery and healing. Then a deeper understanding of the next steps to achieve personal and professional goals become clear.
My favorite aspects of this technique is the opportunity to utilize my innate talents of foreshadowing dreams, clairaudience, clairvoyance and clairsentience (feeling empathically to garner knowledge). All of these skills have played a tremendous role in my practice and certainly require vulnerability and deep trust in one self. One of the more surprising experiences is how these skills have culminated in medium work during sessions. Wisdom garnered from these inquiries are generally confirmed by the client which is utterly rewarding for both the practitioner and the receiver.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
As I have mentioned, curiosity is at the top of my list as a companion on my journey. For true self discovery and therefore lasting fulfillment to occur, I believe compassion – the practice of holding space for oneself to fall and get back up – is crucial. Lastly, courage is needed to vulnerably stay present with what is arising in the moment regardless of discomfort. Courage is needed to remain kind to oneself in the face of making mistakes. Understanding that mistakes are how we learn and grow.
To be curious, keep an open mind. Do your best to stay available for possibilities you might not expect. Then follow the inspiration as it arises. Say “Yes” more often to random acts of kindness and spontaneous flow.
Compassion is cultivated through creating permission to be fully oneself and allowing others to do the same. No one path is right for everyone. So we develop the ability to “be with” ourself and others just as we are. This creates space for change through kindness.
Courage is developed by doing that which we know we must in the face of trepidation. The best way I have found to cultivate courage is to call upon our deepest and highest Self as well as support from cherished community to embolden our choices in the moment and plans for the future. Therefore, we must make time to connect with our inner most private self and strive to vulnerably share that person with those we love and who love us back.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
The moment that I feel anxiety creeping in, I stop whatever I’m engaged in doing and breath in order to find myself in the state of being instead. Breathing is the one automatic bodily function that we can actually make a voluntary action. The need to control a situation lessens when instead we choose to bring our awareness to the one thing we can control – our breathe.
There are many breathwork techniques described by yogis over the years. One I recently discovered to be incredibly effective for calming the anxiety that can lead to overwhelm is two quick inhales through the nose (one full and the second to top that off) and one long exhale through the mouth. Do this about 3 to 5 times and then notice the effects. It’s in the noticing that you’ll find your center again.
Over 30 years of coping with the uncertainty of self employment, I have developed a regular morning ritual that creates a steady rhythm for my mind, body and emotions. The specifics of the practice will shift through the seasons as the light and the weather changes and as my needs for physical activity wax and wane with the moon and as I age. The most effective practices to combat overwhelm that I have incorporated over the years are:
1) Stream of consciousness journaling upon awakening – this allows me to make note of any lingering dreams as well as thoughts and emotions dwelling in my subconscious mind. I do my best to avoid future thinking like note taking at this time.
2) Meditation or prayer – I consider meditation the act of listening to the Universe and my Spirit Guides. While prayer is more of a speaking to Universal Life Force and making requests of my Guardian Angels. I have found practicing both profoundly useful for self exploration and as a guide throughout my journey of personal and professional growth.
3) Some form of physical activity – I prefer walking and yoga as they both allow me to clear the mind and align the body. I do these activities solo for optimal benefits. Although when I am feeling isolated, I invite a friend along for the walk or take a public yoga class.
This leads me to the final piece of coping with anxiety before it turns to overwhelm. Community is key! One must develop the types of relationships that nourish the Soul in order to stay on track with a big vision. I surround myself with people that inspire me rather than those that weigh me down. Maintain a healthy relationship – one balanced in giving and receiving – with at least one if not two besties that to call upon for a fresh perspective when things feel as though they are falling apart.
Contact Info:
- Website: theclaritycouncil.com
Image Credits
Olga Plastino
