Meet Isabel Gonzales

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Isabel Gonzales. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Isabel, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I can pinpoint several experiences throughout my life starting in middle school that were very clear indications of my innate skills and how I am meant to be in service to others but it wasn’t until the pandemic where I had enough time to sit still and see the connection.

I recall a questionnaire I had to fill out in 7th grade to determine what career path I had the skill set for. My test results said “career counselor” and I was devastated. At 13, I thought, “Why would my career be to help other people choose a career? Is that even a career at all?” Not truly understanding the gift I had was to be able to help others find their own truths, gifts and purpose. Ironically, I was often the one people came to for advice and I enjoyed offering my insights and helping others solve problems.

When others did ask what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say, “I just want to make art and be able to afford to live comfortably.” I have always been creative so in college I studied fine art, web design, eventually earning an MFA in Fine Art Photography in San Francisco. I felt I expressed myself best via visual arts, especially with photography (to draw with light) but being an artist doesn’t always pay the bills so I worked. A lot.

Right before the pandemic, I lost myself to the grind. As an introverted artist, early on I thought it was a fact of life that I had to take jobs I didn’t like, work harder than I had the capacity to do, and make sacrifices to get ahead. I feared being financially dependent which further pushed me to work extra hard. At one point I had 4 jobs because I was operating on the idea of “no pain, no gain.”

I made myself too available and too agreeable. Being overly accommodating resulted in me stifling my own truth in order to make others happy at work and at home.

I sacrificed everything and sustained multiple injuries at work, lost sleep, never had time alone, neglected personal relationships–pushing aside my values and self-worth in the name of someone else’s dream.

But in 2020 everything changed. I got laid off and finally had the opportunity to just be at home by myself for an extended period of time. It was a gift from the Universe to be able to sit with myself, process my thoughts, integrate my experiences and develop a self care routine with intention that supported my spiritual growth.

I studied yoga, reiki, coaching, akashic record reading, shamanism, tarot, the list goes on. I was looking for my niche. I realized that this is what was missing–a potent spiritual practice that fed me on all levels of being! As I continued to develop my spiritual practice, I was actually high on life and wanted to share what I learned with whoever would listen.

Today I call myself a lightworker. I have developed my own spiritual practice and work my light so that I can share it with others.

My purpose isn’t to self sacrifice in the name of lifting others up but rather to elevate myself and bring others with me. My purpose is to assist others in finding and honing their own light and help folks navigate the unseen aspects of life as they become more aware of their own gifts and purpose on an energetic level–mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I often tell people that energy is the first language I learned but I had no one else to speak it with. At least not to the extent that I needed as a child. Having the ability to sense the deeper vibrations of the Universe—the individual frequencies of humans, plants, animals—was confusing as I didn’t learn how to protect my own energy from outside sources. I had no way to articulate what I was experiencing which left me feeling unresourced and so I gradually “turned off” my gifts in order to assimilate.

This experience is not unique to me by any means. I am a firm believer that everyone has a spiritual gift that develops during their formative years. Some embraced it and embody it today, while others were convinced otherwise, conditioned to fear it and feel a sense of detachment to their own intuition.

On my spiritual journey, I have developed a keen sense of awareness around what energy is mine and what doesn’t serve me. I’ve developed a spiritual practice that has not only strengthened my spiritual gifts, but opened me up to much more than I ever thought possible, including entrepreneurship.

Now I share my gifts as an intuitive healer, coach & guide in all that I do. As a spiritual alchemist, I weave together yoga philosophy, Reiki teachings, crystal healing, spell work and the tarot to express my highest self and help others to do the same. I utilizes the Akashic Records to connect with the devic realm, the angelic realm and Mother Earth to assist the collective in reaching a higher state of consciousness.

But I don’t start every conversation that way! Most often, one’s introduction to me and my expertise is through a Tarot reading at an event or pop up. From there, they feel more comfortable and curious about exploring my other offerings as well as doing to deeper work on themselves.

Whether it is in a private session or at monthly gathering, I learned early on to allow space for others to navigate what feels in alignment for them because being able to assist others in remembering that they have the ability to heal themselves is priceless!

Currently, I have 4 recurring events I host monthly: New Moon Circle, Tarot & Tea Society, Radical Ritual and Plant Medicine Meditation. At each gathering, I weave in esoteric knowledge along with practical exercises to allow my attendees an opportunity to explore their intuitive nature in a safe space. And for those who are ready to go deeper, I also co-create seasonal plant medicine retreats.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The first I’d say would be my background in art and design because I was able to adapt what I learned in school to creating social media and print content for the events and offerings I was creating. The greater effect of that is I was able to look at my past experiences and pull to the fore what skills I had learned that could translate to what I’m doing now.

The second area of knowledge is astrology. I have been studying astrology since I was 13 in an effort to not only get to know myself better but also those around me. I find astrology to be an infinite source of wisdom that is linked to the stars and our psyches, how we show up in relationship and so much more. If someone doesn’t “believe” in astrology, the same concept can be applied to any psychology classes/knowledge gained. Systems like astrology and psychology help us understand each other better by giving us the tools to recognize patterns in behavior which is an essential part of the human experience!

As for the third quality, being present is key. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to learn, but it is the most fruitful practice one can have. Even though I am forward-thinking, I plan things to no end, I still “plan for spontaneity” so that the unexpected has space to show up and I can react without obsessing about my plans completely crumbling. I am human, however, so I don’t always excel at this last one, but having a mindfulness/meditation practice is what helps me stay in the here and now.

How would you describe your ideal client?

As a queer woman of color, my mission has always been to create a space devoted to intersectional, liberational & decolonial approaches to self discovery through healing, coaching, and ritual for women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community.

My ideal client is someone who knows what it’s like to be marginalized in some way. Someone who’s embarking on a journey of self discovery and seeking unconventional ways to heal, deprogram their behaviors and belief systems and explore practices that feel good on a soul level.

I’d love to work with folks from all walks of life who are discovering how prevalent and powerful energy work is! People who are decolonizing their mindsets so that they can be expansive in their learning, their healing, and their relating are who I’m calling in,

Contact Info:

Image Credits

myself and Neko Reindl

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