Following Your Fascinations (Secret No. 3)

January 23, 2009 admin

This week as part of our creative bloggers Next Chapter Book Club we are taking a look at courageous risk taking, following our hearts and our intuition.

Challenge #1. Create a Risk Profile For Yourself.

My Risk Taking List - The Biggies:

1. Getting engaged to my husband after only knowing him (face-to-face) for less than a week and moving to Southern California, one of the last places in the world I could ever have imagined living since I was from a long line of Canadian forebears that were U.E.L.s (United Empire Loyalists.) We just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary by the way!

2. Going from an introvert in high school to a total extrovert for Frosh Week (initiation week) at my University (Queen's U. in Kingston, Ontario) to the point of appearing on stage in our closing ceremonies with a frosh group chorus line dancing to "She's got Legs" by ZZ Top!

3. Becoming a full time professional artist and starting up my business, LuLu Design after a re-birthing session during which time I received all the information I needed to get things rolling!

4. Started to give professional psychic/medium readings in the town where I lived after getting very serious about this profession during an intense time of self-growth and exploration that accompanied my Uranus Opposition or mid-life crisis (it effects all of us around the age of 40.) Instead of fighting the intensity of this transit I worked with it, not against it.

5. Also during this time I overcame my fear of freeway driving with the help of my psychic/medium teacher and the use of EFT (Emotional Freedom Therapy.)

6. I became an online psychic/medium/guide on Etsy using my own oracle cards based on a dream telling me to do so.

Challenge #2 - Identify and celebrate Your Strengths as a Creative Woman and a Positive Risk Taker.

Techniques I learned along the way:

I really learned how to listen and trust my soul and my intuition. I did this partly by consciously shutting out my friends and all their advice so that I could hear my own inner voice. I also stopped reading anything but my own writing for one month - no media either! This was part of a 30 day blogging challenge that I recorded on my other blog.

I also stopped inviting flak from critics, skeptics and people who don't know me or respect what I do.

For me, risk taking is always successful whether I succeed or fail because I manage to learn so much along the way and that's what really matters.

Also, I stand corrected, Gail McMeekin, the author of "The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women" does indeed interview a fellow mystic/reader/astrologer in her book. Yehhhhhhh!

This week our Next Chapter book club features an interview with pet portrait artist, Jessie Marianiello of Diary of a Self-Portrait about following your heart with bravery.

To read more about My Psychic Background please click here.

To read more Book Club entries please click here.

Acknowledging Your Creative Self (Secret No. 1)

January 16, 2009 admin

Join with me in exploring creativity with the help of co-active coach, Jamie Ridler's Virtual Book Study Group. This week we're exploring Secret #1 - Acknowledging Your Creative Self and the book is called "The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women."

THE BOOK:

This book bills itself as a "portable mentor" and was written by Gail McMeekin and features interviews with 45 well known creative and successful women. The first chapter talks about taking creative risks and accessing your intuition and creative potential by experimenting with new processes.

OUR ONLINE GROUP:

The purpose of our online book study group is to bring together creative women who are interested in exploring and documenting their own creative journey with the help of this book. In the first chapter of Gail's book she tells us how she dealt with a so called "women's illness' by exploring and developing her intuition and in the process redefining her career, goals and life vision.

MY RESPONSE:

In response to Chapter One I am going to take a look at how and why I decided to become a professional intuitive guide. I am often asked the question, "when and how did you first realize you were intuitive or psychic?" And my response is that I've always been intuitive! I started a dream journal when I was thirteen and I am still working with my dreams and writing them all down. Often I will request specific guidance before I go to sleep at night. I will also place a gemstone or specific crystal under my pillow to help me dream. Over the years my dreams have helped me with creative idea generation, with life direction and sometimes they will tell me if someone is lying. I have also worked with meditation, yoga, astrology and the seasons for many a moon!

PSYCHIC BOOT CAMP:

In the winter of 2006 I began my psychic-medium training in an English Traditional Healing Circle being offered by well known English psychic-healer, Adam Higgs. For six months a group of us practiced psychometry (divining the future based on holding each other's hands or objects), mediumship (contacting those who have passed over) and crystal gazing (divination) with each other.

MID LIFE CRISIS:

This English Circle just happened to coincide with a major astrological transit known as Uranus Opposition that was going on for me at the time. This transit happens to all of us around the age of forty. The planet Uranus reaches a point in the sky that is exactly opposite where it was when you were born. Uranus is the ruler of Aquarius and can really shake things up! I have seen friends of mine go through some major changes based on this transit so if you're stuck and feeling stagnant, you won't be by the end of it! So hang on!

ARTY HAPPENINGS:

Previous to this Uranus business I had worked full time as a professional artist with my own business. I began LuLu Design when I was in Graphic Design school. LuLu was the name I had chosen for my altar ego, my inner child self. My best friend and I came up with alternative names for ourselves and mine just happened to stick! Since graduating in 1993 with a degree in Art History and a Diploma in Graphic Design I have been painting on silk, with watercolors, acrylics, pastels and printmaking (aquatints, etching, linoblock.) I have been selling my work at art and craft shows, to shops, galleries, magazines and online .

PSYCHIC HAPPENINGS:

My psychic and intuitive work really began to take over my life while I was studying with the English Traditional Circle Group and the next thing I knew I was giving readings at a new age store called Nirvana. When Nirvana eventually went out of business I went back to my art full-time because I had no other avenues for my psychic work.

LEFT HAND DRAWING:

To back up a bit, in 2001 I became quite bored with my drawing hand, my right hand - I like to explain it this way, "my right hand just lost it's sense of humor!" So I switched over to my left hand - the intuitive hand (it is controlled by the right brain) and I used this hand exclusively (to draw) for the next 5 years. I created over 500 Lefty drawings and I also created a zine (a self published not for profit magazine) filled with Lefty poetry and I started a Writer's Group in my town, which had previously lacked one. I really, really wanted the Lefties to speak! My personal psychic, Lauren Michaels, had told me that they had so much they wanted to say and she also saw them on stage! Shortly afterwards I actually had a phone call from my hero, Michelle Shocked, a Los Angeles musician and activist. She asked me to appear on stage with my Lefties blown up to life size as part of her Women's Day performance for her Campfire Series at Molly Malones in Hollywood. So I did it and I also invited my friend, Julie Bini to participate with her cartoon art and healing messages about body image.

LEFTY TAROT DREAM:

During this time I was really struggling to figure out what the Lefties had to say and so I requested some dream guidance and was told "Lefty Tarot" so I started offering free Lefty soul readings in the Etsy Forums (Etsy is the largest online community of artists and crafters on the web.)

PSYCHIC READINGS ON ETSY:

After giving 100's of free readings and trades on Etsy I was able to build up some great feedback, met many wonderful repeat clients and started offering my soul readings for sale. I knew this wouldn't be easy at first, because readings were not officially allowed on Etsy! But I knew this would change, because I was posting so often in the forums that the Administration was bound to take notice! Since Etsy is a handmade community, a tangible item must be offered for sale so my readings offer a document (doc or pdf file) along with jpg's of the cards I use in the reading. I like how fellow Etsian MuseCatcher described readings in the forum: "I believe that a reading, if done honestly and in the tradition of the ancient ways is truly a "craft" (indeed, soothsaying was one of the earliest crafts in the technical sense of the word,) and therefore fits in with the theme of Etsy."

THE WISE WOMEN OF ETSY:

I have connected with many wise women (still waiting for some men to pop in and say 'hi' - you are more than welcome!) in the Etsy Forums and Michelle of GreenFingers and I are in the process of founding a group of metaphysically minded Etsians so that we can work together and help each other and the planet in numerous ways! Please email me if you would like to participate.

THE LEFTIES SPEAK:

Along the way I discovered that the Lefties true mission was to speak to folks on a soulful and healing level. I currently work with three oracle decks of my own creation:

* Lefty Oracle Deck - 50 cards

* Goddess Deck - 32 cards

* Fairy Herbal Healing Deck - 80 cards

PSYCHIC HOW-TO:

The key difference between intuition and other forms of divination (tarot cards, astrology) is that I do not use external cues to help me out, or to lead me astray! So I don't actually look at the cards that I pull for someone until after the reading is over. My wish is that the imagery and the healing messages of the cards will continue to resonate with the client on many different levels long after the reading is finished.

NO PSYCHICS MENTIONED IN GAIL'S BOOK:

I did notice that not one of the 45 women who participated in Gail's project were listed as being professional psychic-mediums or intuitive guides so I do hope that by participating in this book study I will be able to expand some horizons and help others feel free to explore these mystical realms in a fearless and brave new way.

I stand corrected on this folks! There have been several mentions of psychics throughout the book!

Please feel free to join this group and participate in this creativity challenge yourself - more info can be found here: 12 Secrets.

Balloon Riders: LuLu, Zippy, Moonbeam,

The White Bear with Wings and Hermes (the cat)

Every week a different creative blogger will be interviewed. This week Jenn Lee - life coach, artist and yogini is featured.

To read more Book Club entries please click here.

My Story

March 25, 2008 admin

Kathy Crabbe ~ My Story

When I was just a baby, I was adopted into a wonderful family with one other adopted sibling, a brother, one of my favorite people in the whole world. I grew up in a small town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, and my favorite memories of childhood involved countless hours drawing, playing the piano, making every craft imaginable, reading a lot, having laughing contests with my brother, playing with my best friend, a lovely red-head, and spending time at our family cottage swimming, water-skiing and playing in the woods.

When I was in my twenties I found all my birth relatives and now I feel as though the circle is complete. I had always wondered where I came from and who I looked like, my curiosity was never-ending. I never really fit in anywhere completely, I’ve always been on the outside looking in and it is this detachment that I believe allows me to effectively do psychic readings over the internet.

It wasn't until I reached age forty in 2005 and Uranus Opposition kicked in (a major astrological turning point and awakening, so to speak) that the pressure was on to evolve spiritually, and to take things to another level. I'd always been a late bloomer, so becoming a professional psychic-medium-healer at age forty was no different. I had worked metaphysically and spiritually for many years with the seasons, tarot, shamanism, Goddesses, art, meditation, yoga, and astrology.

When I turned forty I discovered two teachers of psychic-mediumship and crystal healing and got involved in classes and a development circle. My world changed completely; I felt as though a lifetime's worth of learning finally came together and could be utilized to help others, what a revelation! I learned how to trust the Divine and how to work with my innate talents, gifts and intuition which are all blessings from the Divine.

My intuition and dreams have steered me in the most amazing directions, involving me in many synchronicities along the way. I have managed to find my roots, find my dear husband, and follow my passions, developing a career and a life that fulfills all my dreams.

I've always known and lived by the motto, 'if something isn't working, then change it.' So when I told my brother (a true skeptic,) that I had become a professional psychic, it didn't surprise him one bit, because, he explained, "You always have been full of unique and surprising insights." As a soul reader and spiritual guide, I hope that my work acts as a stepping stone to steer people in the right direction towards discovering who they really are and what they're capable of underneath all the 'shoulds' and 'coulds.' I hope to encourage people to go deeper, always deeper, to uncover the root and the truth that burns like a still small flame at the very core of our being, reassuring us that we are all truly One with the Divine.

To read more articles relating to Psychic Development please click here.
To learn more about My Psychic Background please go here.
If you are interested in booking a soul reading you can do so here.

My Background

March 24, 2008 Kathy Crabbe

Kathy Crabbe at Sawdust Art Festival 1996

Shortly after moving to Southern California (Laguna Beach) at age thirty I experienced a rebirthing session during which I envisioned an entire business scheme for my new venture, LuLu Design that involved selling and marketing my artwork as cards, prints, clothing, earrings and originals. Soon after I discovered silk painting, the perfect medium and within one year I had attended fifteen art shows where I presented and sold my work. I was also accepted into Laguna Beach's Sawdust Art Festival where I showed my work for eight years. My architect, builder husband built me a two story booth every year for this two month long (10 am - 10 pm) 35 year old renowned art show with over 200 artists participating. What an incredible, fun, successful, beautiful, creative 60's inspired community that is!

Astrology

During this time I continued to celebrate the seasons with sacred circles, ritual, tarot, dream work and meditation and my visions increased. Laguna Beach is a mecca for astrologers, another passion of mine so I had the chance to study firsthand with Steven Forrest, Jeffrey Wolf Green, Donna Cunningham and privately with Patty Davidson.

Goddess Book

I also spent an intensely creative month creating, painting and writing a Goddess Zodiac Playbook based upon channeled meditations for each of the zodiac signs in combination with the moon. As the moon entered each zodiac sign where it stayed for two days I created a sacred circle filled with all the symbols, foods and colors associated with that sign. I researched goddess lore for each sign, meditated, wrote, painted and channeled the energy of the sign - an incredibly powerful experience! I also included poetry, stories and myths into the book and then gathered together a circle of friends to experience it - the book truly was created to be an interactive experience.

Kathy Crabbe onstage with Michelle Shocked, Hollywood, California

Left Hand Drawing

In early 2000 I started drawing and painting exclusively with my non-dominant left hand, also known asthe intuitive hand because it is guided by the more emotional, intuitive right hemisphere of the brain.

I drew more than 500 Lefties over a five year period and discovered that my intuitive, psychic abilities were increasing to the point where I had to share these gifts by offering intuitive readings with the Lefties as oracle cards.

Turning 40

During this time of increased intuitive development I turned forty and Uranus Opposition kicked in to help push me to really, really stretch and grow. I realized that I had absorbed and learned all I could for now and that I MUST share it by giving psychic readings incorporating my art. It was the Lefties who suggested in a dream that I turn them into Lefty 'Tarot' cards and give psychic readings online along with encouragement from my life coach. The very next day I started offering free mini readings in the Etsy forum where previously I had set up shop selling my art. This was a great way to learn how the internet worked in regards to giving readings and 100's of free readings were gifted to get the ball rolling.

Psychic Readings

I started offering psychic readings at a local new age store, but soon discovered that distance readings where I never met my client face-to-face were more effective because it allowed me to connect and channel the Divine without distraction. To prepare for each reading I practice yoga, meditation, flute playing and crystal healing to become as clear and focused as possible.

I receive clairvoyant visions and sometimes smells, words and feeling sensations in my body which I immediately write down.

I am also guided towards specific healing crystals and oracle cards (of my own design). More about my technique can be found here and you can read what clients are saying about their readings here.

It's been a lifelong journey of discovery, creation and intuitive, spiritual awakening so to be able to share with you and connect others of like mind is a gift I will always be grateful for. We, each and every one of us, have within us the seeds to be intuitive, creative beings, for truly, we are all one.

Wise Woman Radio Interview: I'm interviewed by Susun Weed, founder of the Wise Woman University.

Blog Talk Radio Interview: Ghostbuster Jamie & I chat about past lives, spirits and developing intuition.

More about my background and training here.

Creativity and spirituality are one and the same!

Creativity is...For me, being creative means constantly challenging myself to explore new frontiers, develop skills, play, dream and live fully in the present.

How can being creative make a difference in the world?

Kathy Crabbe, The Mermaid's Angel, 2004, silk dyes on silk, 8x10”.

Art, artists and all creative beings can teach people that there is a greater purpose in life beyond just surviving: there is the possibility of creating something so beautiful, though provoking, intelligent, funny, magical that one can touch people on a soul level and change their life. The world can become a better place for everyone in the process; people can come together in peace and love to appreciate all the arts. Expressing our creative, intuitive, spiritual nature can help us truly care about life, make it worth living, and make it worth fighting for the things that matters.

Art reminds us that we have a soul.

Art reminds us to laugh at ourselves.

Art shakes us out of our complacency.

Art wakes us up to our potential.

Art reminds us to live each moment in the present.

Creativity is life.

People I admire and why

Margaret Atwood, Author & Poet: I love her brilliant, edgy, biting wit and her environmentalism. She's a great writer working with integrity, who makes me laugh and wince.

Maude from the movie 'Harold and Maude': she has such a great fighting spirit, is passionate, young at heart, has an amazing home (a railway car), and is feisty, daring and loving.

Contemporary Japanese woodblock printmakers: their art is abstract, nature based, simplified, textural, primitive looking, graphic, bold yet subtle, with a beautiful use of color. Artists: Shiko Munakata, Naoko Matsubara

Integrity is...

Making a difference in people's lives through creating, writing and sharing with heart, soul, intuition, passion and intelligence.

What does all this mean for you?

It means that you can count on me to be there for you 110%.

It means that you are here for a reason because there are no accidents.

How can I help you?

Empower Yourself! Soul Readings - one-on-one psychic-intuitive-mediumship sessions with me, personally.

Share! Divine Feminine Classes - monthly sessions to help you tune into the moon at Wise Woman University.

Joy! - Inspirational Art for your soul: mermaids, fairies, cats, dogs, goddesses.

Learn more about my psychic background and spiritual training here.

My Story: About Kathy

June 10, 2007 Kathy Crabbe

Kathy Crabbe - Guiding Your Creative Soul

Kathy Crabbe is an artist, writer and Creative Soul Guide who has devoted her life to exploring spirituality and creativity with passion and integrity. Kathy works with women to help empower their intuitive, creative selves through one-on-one creative soul readings, classes, and online resources. Her services are infused with a rich background in the arts and inspire her clients to live the life of their dreams. Kathy's art is seen all over the world at museums and galleries and her writing has been published in numerous magazines and books. She also keeps a regularly updated blog and website where she shares her experiences exploring the psychic, intuitive aspects of the self and the world of art making.

I have always been a dreamer; seeing visions that shed light into the dark places of the soul, where guidance, potential, answers and prophecies regarding past, present and future happenings can be found. Over the years I have kept this skill alive and continue to hone and enrich it on a regular basis.

Why I love what I do:

Connecting with women on a soul-deep level for heart-to-heart conversation, healing, inspiration, and creative breakthroughs – what more is there?

My Story

I have always been intuitively involved in the creative arts: painting, drawing, making music (I'm classically trained in flute and piano), writing, journaling, reading especially art history, graphic design, illustration and dancing and have pursued these passions with intensity and focus, often preferring my own company to anyone else. Living creatively opened a door for me into the world of imagination.

At thirteen I began a dream journal which helped me connect with other realms of consciousness, but more importantly taught me how to trust my intuition and my dreams in response to the important questions in life.

In my early twenties I was guided towards meditation to further my spiritual quest and joined a group led by a wonderful teacher called Om who had been trained by the spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy. I continue to practice meditation, yoga, dream journaling, moon musing and creative expression and this forms the basis of my intuitive and spiritual development.

Because I have learned how to access and trust my inner voice and visions I am able to connect with the Divine.

Turning 30

Shortly after moving to Southern California (Laguna Beach) at age thirty I experienced a re-birthing session during which I envisioned an entire business scheme for my new venture, LuLu Design that involved selling and marketing my artwork as cards, prints, clothing, earrings and originals. Soon after I discovered silk painting, the perfect medium and within one year I had attended fifteen art shows where I presented and sold my work. I was also accepted into Laguna Beach's Sawdust Art Festival where I showed my work for eight years. My architect, builder husband built me a two story booth every year for this two month long (10 am - 10 pm) 35 year old renowned art show with over 200 artists participating. What an incredible, fun, successful, beautiful, creative 60's inspired community!