Ready Set Reiki

Episode #183 Kerith Taylor How An Empath Turned Pain Into A Healing Practice

• Tracy searight

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What if the thing that once made you feel different became the compass that guides your life? We sit with Reiki practitioner and spiritual coach Kara Taylor to explore how childhood visitations, a life‑altering loss, and years in corporate shaped an empath who leads with feeling first. Kara shares the intimate arc from fairy footprints to a grounded Reiki practice, revealing how boundaries, discernment, and daily rituals can turn energetic overwhelm into steady clarity.

We dive into the moment Reiki gave language to what her body already knew, and how learning the chakras reframed “too sensitive” as “highly attuned.” Kara talks candidly about setting limits with both people and spirit, why alignment matters more than aesthetics when choosing a practitioner, and how lunar cycles and the Schumann resonance can amplify what sensitives pick up. She also addresses common myths—especially the idea that Reiki is religious—offering a calm, inclusive view that honors faith while keeping the focus on energy, intention, and healing outcomes.

For aspiring healers, Kara’s advice is refreshingly practical: release timelines, find mentors, hire help for the tasks that drain you, and build community before scaling. We also tour her services—one‑on‑one Reiki, empath coaching, NLP for limiting beliefs, and meditation support—and preview her 2026 beachfront retreat designed to help newcomers safely experience modalities like sound baths, yoga, and mini Reiki sessions.

If this conversation brings you a sense of recognition or relief, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Follow the show, leave a rating and review,

Podcast Bio: Holistic Healing with Kerith Taylor
Reiki Practitioner • Empath & Spiritual Coach • Founder of The Empowered Empath™ Kerith Taylor is a Reiki practitioner, spiritual life coach, and the creator of The Empowered Empath™.
, an emerging community and forthcoming podcast that helps highly sensitive people
embrace their gifts with clarity, grounding, and empowerment.
Keith's understanding of energy and emotional sensitivity began early. She was raised in a home where expression and emotional safety were limited-her mother communicated through anger and intensity, while her father, an empath himself, kept his sensitivity quiet in a time when intuition was often labeled as "too much," "strange," or "woo woo." Growing up between
emotional chaos and unspoken emotional depth shaped Kerith into an observer, a feeler, and eventually a seeker. While others made sense of life through what they could see, Kerith learned to navigate by what she could feel. Her sensitivity became her guidance system long before she had language for it.
After years of pushing her sensitivity down to survive in both family dynamics and high-demand corporate environments, Kerith reached a point of awakening. She began exploring meditation, energy work, and somatic healing practices, and that is where she encountered Reiki. Her first experience with Reiki felt like remembering something ancient, like coming home to herself.
From that moment, she committed to deep training and integration of Reiki as a foundation for her personal healing and for the work she now shares with others.
Today, Kerith supports clients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals through Reiki, empath coaching, and healing workshops, with her first retreat currently being planned for 2026. Her mission is to help people understand their sensitivity not as a burden, but as a powerful internal guidance system. She teaches others how

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SPEAKER_02:

This is Ready Set Reiki, a podcast about Reiki and all energy work. From the curious beginner to the seasoned master teacher, welcoming all systems, all energies, all levels. Reiki is a journey and not a destination. And on this Ready Set Reiki journey, I refer to myself as a guide rather than host, AI2 of traveling, learning, and supporting others on this journey as well. With that said, I am your guide, Tracy Seawright. And this is Ready Set Reiki. Reiki blessings, my beautiful and wonderful Reiki family, Ready Set Reiki. An amazing journey. Once again, what a blessing it is to be able to connect and offer support for those who are on this Reiki journey. So today, a fabulous guest. Let me give you a little bit of information about her. Now, podcaster, holistic health, Reiki practitioner, empath, spiritual coach, and founder of the empowered path. This is Kara Taylor. Now, a Reiki practitioner, as I said before, spiritual life coach, creator of the empowered empath, and an emerging community and forthcoming podcast that helps highly sensitive people embrace their gifts with clarity, grounding, and empowerment. So let's give a ready-set Reiki welcome to Kara Taylor. Welcome. Hi.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. It's so nice to be here.

SPEAKER_02:

Beautiful. Now you have a very beautiful bio, but we like to hear it in your very own words. So we're here for our journey to help support others as they go through Reiki. So tell us a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_01:

Sure. So I grew up in northern New Jersey. I currently live in North Carolina. I grew up in northern New Jersey. It's uh it was my mother and my father, my and my sister and I. We we were a blue-collar family out of New Jersey. My mother was a paralegal. My dad drove a commercial bus line into New York every day. Um I guess what I want people to know is I came from a relatively normal background. Um, my mother wasn't a medium or any sort of empath. My, in fact, my mom, I I've through my healing, I've realized my mom was the narcissist and my dad was the empath. But you know, as kids, we don't recognize it that way, right? So as a child, what I like to tell people, and we have a lot of funny stories in my family about um things that happened as children. And one of the things that I love to talk about is the fairy that showed up in my room one night to talk to me. So, as children, you know, we're really open. Our crown is open. We are very receptive with our third eye. We don't have the blanket or the veil over us at that time because we're so naive, right? And so one of the things that I loved as a child and the memories that I have was of the visitors that I used to have at night. And, you know, to me, it was so normal. I didn't know that it was abnormal, if that makes sense, right? Like looking back on it now, I realized that it wasn't something normal. It's not what other kids experience, but it also wasn't talked about. So I didn't know anything different. The fairy, um, the fairy conversation was one that I hold very near and dear to my heart because it was almost like she was there to let me know that I had this special gift and I was going to be okay and that um life was going to be challenging, but at the end it was going to be beautiful. And I needed to trust that process. And and even in my mind's eye today, I remember what she looked like so clearly and vividly. And what I loved about it, the conversation was um, at the end of our conversation, thinking ahead, I said, How will I know that this conversation was real? How will I know that you were here? And she said, I'll leave my footprint in your floor. And the next morning I got up and sure enough, there was this little footprint in my floor. And, you know, as a child, you're like, oh my gosh. So I went running out. And I'm sure my mom thought I was dreaming, right? I'm sure she thought that that was some sort of a dream. It was as real as it could get. It started my journey of understanding that there was more than just the physical earth. Um, I would say up until maybe 10, I would have visitors at night. I never understood what they wanted. They never came in scary, they weren't monsters, right? They were always like animals or fairies. They were very, I had a monkey. I know that sounds crazy. A monkey show up one night, right? And so it started the process. I think that was the way the universe kind of brought me into understanding that I was going to be different. And then throughout my life, it just became clear that I was really different. I never really fit in. I went to Catholic private school for eight years, right? Like I didn't fit in there with my counterparts or my peers. I just always felt off. Um, and I didn't know what to do with it. But as a child, it felt very isolating, right? Because you don't know why you're so different. And you think it's you, right? Not knowing that you were provided this gift and that it's slowly unfolding.

SPEAKER_00:

So throughout uh elementary school and element and then getting feedback. Give me just a second. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, throughout high school, I also felt that disconnect from my peers. It wasn't that I was different than anybody else. It wasn't that I was um antisocial or introverted. It's just that I didn't entertain the same things that they did for whatever reason, right? Um in high school, I lost the gift of seeing. It sort of disappeared. I think it's because, you know, we get we start evolving, right? And we start, we're being, we're, we're reading our books, we're learning things. And I think that piece of me shut off for a period. Um, I lost my dad in 1995 to cancer. And it was in that moment that my gift came back. So I ended up, um, I saw him three times in full physical form. He came to me in three moments where I knew I really needed him. And since then, I have seen him through other people, which may sound very strange, um, several times. So I know that there's this other place for us. I know that there's more to the afterlife, right? I'm I'm not one of those people that thinks, oh, when we leave this earth, this is where we end it. This is for me, it's my souls having a body experience, a human experience, right? And so through that, all of that and and going through high school and realizing how different I was, it was um, I would say 2014, maybe even a couple of years before 2014, that I really started going through a spiritual awakening. I started questioning everything, everything, anything and everything I could question. Um, my friends used to call me um Snow White because animals are very attracted to me, right? And I couldn't figure out what was happening. Dogs, cats, right? All of these nature was just my thing. I felt very pulled to water. I felt very pulled to nature, again, not understanding what all of this was for, right? I knew um that I, again, I was different. And when your family doesn't have those similar traits or beliefs, right? Or are going through the same thing, it makes it again very isolating. And so it wasn't until I was in Greece that I had this moment that I knew without a shadow of a doubt. It was my first time traveling outside of the US. I knew my dad was right beside me. I felt him. Like I knew without a shadow of a doubt. And that's when the energy started to happen. I could feel energy. And so um, that led into a lot of different things for me because I could I could tell through a text message how somebody intended that text message to be. I could feel in an email the intent or the tone. And when you try and tell your family about this, they go, You're crazy, stop it. You're just imagining things. But it was like I feel the things before I see them, if that makes sense. So a lot of times you could say, Well, did you see it? And I'm like, No, but I felt it before I walked into that room. And I'm gonna take a step back for a second because I grew up in a household where my mother was, she lacked emotional intelligence. She did not have a peaceful, calm way of communicating. She communicated through screaming and yelling. That was our that was our life. And so when you grow up in a house like that, you become very aware of the rooms you're walking into because you don't know what's on the other side of that door. So I think that heightened that energy for me. I think it um, I think it really took um me to the next level because it was so I never knew what was going to happen in that room. I never knew what was gonna happen when I walked in from school. So it was always um having to be on alert. And that is where life shifted for me. And since then, it's only progressively gotten better. And I think learning about empathy, learning about energy and Reiki and our chakras, that has allowed me to really hone in on this gift and really become one with it. So I'm excited to share with your audience today um all of the things because it has been a journey for sure. And it's one that I um I absolutely love and um I cherish. Um, and I think it's just um I've learned to become one with it and really sit in my authenticity. And that's what I love today about the challenges and the lessons and all of the things that I've gone through the first half of my life, because it's brought me to this beautiful place that I knew I would end up at.

SPEAKER_02:

Beautiful. I love how you had these helpers along the way, as fairies and a monkey, and even your dad. And I'm so sorry for the loss of your father. It's um, you know, when that happens, that's uh usually a catalyst for change to kind of turn your life in a direction where you're meant to go. So yeah, a lot of yeah, it sounds like uh definitely that fairy could be a uh a children's book.

SPEAKER_01:

I've thought about it because in my mind's eye, she's just beautiful and pink and sparkly. And if you get to know me, you realize that I'm not a pink, sparkly girl. So for me to say it was pink and sparkly and so beautiful, it's like, okay, she's not making that up.

SPEAKER_02:

So we're connecting with about the energy or ready set Reiki journey um about the Reiki and energy work. Did Reiki find you or did you find Reiki?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I think it was both. I think because I knew, I think when I started really feeling energy, because it again, I before I'd walk into a room, I could feel the energy. I work, I've worked in corporate for 30 years, right? So you never know what you're gonna walk into into a conference room. So I've always had this innate ability to know the energy before I walk in there. So it almost helps reset how I'm going to present into the room when I get in there. And so I started down the path of really looking at the empath part of me. And it was four years ago that I stumbled, and I say stumbled, but I don't believe that anything happens on accident. I think everything, it's just divine timing. I came across a woman out of Asheville, North Carolina, and I felt so drawn to her. So I reached out, she was holding um the Reiki One training, and I went, I was like, I need to know more, right? I'm one of those that I want to understand all of the things. And so um I went and did my my first training with her. And when I realized and started diving into chakras and what they did and how they can lead you and and what life looks like if you're blocked, what life looks like when you're not blocked. It was like I found my my place. I it was peaceful and calm for me. It wasn't, I was like, this life makes so much sense now, right? Like this energy that I have been feeling, right? I now understand it. And so it became this beautiful part of me because it complemented the empath. I I really look at the empath and the Reiki as one because the empath is the energy that you can feel without having to use your chakras, right? Use your energy centers. That's almost um, that's almost like my protective barrier, right? Like it allows me that time. And then once I come into that space, then sort of the others take over and they're like, okay, we're gonna, we're gonna figure out what's happening, right? We're gonna, we're gonna figure out the space or the person that I'm sitting with. And and that's helped me really align my business the same way because I go into a lot of things feeling it before I see it, right? And so for me, it's I don't just I don't just step into a coaching, a one-on-one coaching with somebody. I actually interview them and I expect them to interview me because the energy has to be aligned for me to feel as though that is somebody that I really want to work with, or I can help them in the manner that they need to be helped. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. I I live this life where I can feel it as you had described. So a lot of it resonates for me. I can come into a space and I'll say to a friend, Do you feel that there's something in the room? And then when she starts connecting, she can see, but she can't feel it. And I can, you know, feel through texts and things. And when I do Reiki sessions, um, when I began, you know, everybody is like, Oh, I don't feel it in your hands. I felt it everywhere. Like I felt it if you had back pain, I felt it in your back. If you had grief, my eyes started tearing up. I felt it on such a level of overwhelmingness that I could be on the floor in a ball. So I absolutely, yeah, yeah. And that connection with the Reiki too, it was like, wow, like this is things I've been doing, and now I just have a name for it. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

And it was clarity for me. It was such clarity because I did I was sort of, it almost felt like I was blindly, right? Because I couldn't see it, I could feel it. So it's a very different, um, it's a very different way of leading life, right? Because I may see it, but what I see may not match what I'm feeling. And that's my, oh, hold up, let me take a step back, right? Let me, let me step out of here and let me step into another room and see if I get that. So it's interesting how we each have our sort of own modality that works for us, right? And protects us. And I've just learned how to hone it, I think, a little bit more. My Reiki experiences have been wild. Even when I did my training, I when I did my um Reiki too, my level two, I was on the table and there was a young lady that was working on me, and I was very deep into my meditative state. I was very grounded and I felt very at peace. And I had um a young man and his son show up and start asking me where they were, what was happening. And it caught me so off guard because that was the first time in a training session, right, where I was so connected that I had both of these entities come to me and it didn't dawn on me that they were looking for help, but I was so upset that they interrupted my process. And I was like, this is not the time. We cannot have this conversation right now. So it's learning boundaries too, right, with the other side while you're in, while you're working or being worked on, right? Because I want to make sure that I'm clearing my energy centers. I want to make sure that I'm cutting cords, I want to make sure that my energy is pure. So when somebody's or an entity is stepping into that field, you think, hey, you're interrupting my time. So when the session was over and we all kind of came back together, the my master trainer said, Does anybody have anything? And it dawned on me, could it have been a husband and a child for somebody in the room that was trying to give a message? So I very cautiously just said, Does anybody have a husband and a son that might have passed? And everybody's looking at me like, where is this going? And I just said, Well, I had a husband and a son come to me. I just want to make sure that if there was a message there, that the person is receiving it. And it wasn't anybody in the room. So it was funny because my master trainer even said to me, That's the first time that that's happened where somebody's had a message come through. And I said, It's a first time for me too. But when your energy centers are so clear, when your crown or your third eye, I mean, it really does allow for flow. It just, and you have to learn to control that and you also have to present boundaries for that as well, so that you're not up all night with messages, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Right, absolutely. I find too when um I receive, you know, when I go and get an energetic tune-up and it starts as soon as that person, I can tell if someone is a true healer, like that truly has wonderful intentions, and all they have to do is place the hand right here on my head, and I can see like green or white. And there's been times when people have practiced on me and I felt nothing but the ones that, you know, touch, you know, and I can see the green. And even yesterday I went with a friend and she did a sacral Reiki session on me. And as I'm there, I felt the energy of uh a worker who used to, I guess, work on the place I was in, and it looked like he was in another time period and things like that. And I'm just like, I'm here to relax. Right.

SPEAKER_00:

It's my time.

SPEAKER_02:

And I can feel it too. Like as soon as the place that she she's like, Do you feel all the friends here? I'm like, I do. And as I lay down, I felt someone right here. I felt someone hold my hand. I'm like, okay, this is my time right now. So you have to set that boundary so it can happen both ways, as you as the practitioner, and you as the receiver. Um, yeah. So as you are learning and growing and expanding. In your business, what are you finding are some misconceptions that you hear about Reiki?

SPEAKER_01:

So I think the big so I live in North Carolina now and it's part of the Bible belt, right? And I think the biggest thing for me is holding space for those that are religious and trying to allow space for them to ask questions and feel safe in a safe environment where there is no judgment, because the misconception here is that Reiki is a religion or it's religious or it's demonic or it's this. And I want folks to really give thought around it, it's not religious, it's energy work, it's different, right? Like for me, it's it's a peaceful place. Growing up Catholic, right? I had some really strong beliefs. Um I do not practice, I'm not a practicing Catholic, right? I'm very I like to tell folks I'm very spiritual. Um, it doesn't mean that I've given up my faith, it just means that I see it from a different perspective now. I've grown, I've evolved, and through the lessons and the challenges that I've gone through in life, it's allowed me to see things differently. And although one person may pray to God, someone else may pray to Allah, or somebody may pray to the universe, right? It we're all praying to the same. And I hope that one day we can all come to that realization because I think we're gonna be so much stronger. We're gonna, we're gonna build that beautiful community that we can share things across, right? Catholic or Baptist, right? And we can be open-minded enough to share the conversations and have these, because I don't want somebody to think, oh my gosh, she's practicing. I'm I'm practicing energy work, right? I that's what it is. So I hope that misconception one day, I hope we can really dissolve that and folks can see that, you know, everybody was given their own gift. It's just a matter of whether or not they were present within their life that they were able to get to that point, that purpose, their life purpose, to really embrace it. And for me, I have embraced it fully. So I just hope we can get there one day.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, when you think about it, you know, we're all using energy. We're turning lights on, we're charging things. It's like, oh, you're messing with energy here, you know, right? Yes. And things will go round. And yeah, it's uh I know I struggled with it. I grew up in uh an episcopal house with Episcopalian, which is a step away from Catholic. And um, I even on my journey went and I thought I discovered holy fire reiki because you could bring in God and Jesus and Mother Mary, whatever you like in it. And I even went to angel Reiki. So you work with the archangels, so there were different types. I've trained in yoga, and I even went to yoga faith to do that because of things that I was raised and had to heal. But in time, you know, it is all that one source, whatever you label it, it's that higher connection. So there are more rules, as you know, in the Catholic Church, right? And the Episcopal Church, and that that guilt that you're left with, right? That you're like, if you're not tithing, if you're not doing this and that, and there's not that with Reiki, it's just peace and love, no judgment aside. And it's something you really have to experience and kind of look in for yourself. Yeah, that's so true. Yeah. So you've helped many others as having a holistic practice, is helping support others as being an empath. But what has been the biggest challenge or struggle you have faced in your own healing journey?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, so there have been a couple of things. I would say vulnerability, because you really have to get to a place of vulnerability to allow what you throughout life have stuffed down to resurface again. And that can be very triggering and really hard for folks. I did therapy when my dad passed. Um, that I was 18 at the time. I was young, right? I mean, I didn't know what I didn't know. And so I threw myself into therapy. Um, I love therapy. I would tell somebody if they're struggling to put themselves in therapy. But I for me, and uh it only took me so far. It got me to a point. And then I was like, I still don't feel like I've really dove into some of the harder things. So I really started doing some inner work and really had to recenter myself and learn grounding practices and boundaries. Boundaries are terrible. They're really, they're an awful thing to learn. But I will say, on the other side of a boundary, you find such peace that that makes that all the all worth it because it's you're not saying no, you're just you're you're allowing the space to honor yourself. And that's taken me a very long time to get to is being able to honor myself in a way that feels authentic to me. And that's what I love now because I'm in a place where I'm not, I think my family and my friends know that if I don't want to do it or it doesn't bring me peace, I'm not doing it. It's that's where I'm at. And so the hardest part is the vulnerability of it all, because you really do have to, you really have to sit back and into some tough things, right? Losing a parent at 18 or 17 or 16 is and seeing the things that come along with it, right? Because it was cancer. So it's you see things that no 18-year-old or 17-year-old or 16-year-old. So it definitely changes your perspective on life. And I think that's where it started to change my perspective on religion because I was taught one way. I did, right? I I did, I prayed, I prayed, I prayed. And it took a very long time for me to realize that source, God, the universe. The the prayer went up and it was answered, but it wasn't answered in the way I wanted it to, which was heal my dad, let him stay here. I need him, right? It was he healed him and moved him on, right? So my prayer was answered, just not in the way that I had hoped. And for me, that changed a lot because I was like, okay, I need to start looking at things differently. I need to really start questioning things, right? And so um the vulnerability and the boundaries. Um, and then it's also understanding I've lost a lot of people too. And I don't mean through death, I mean through this healing journey, right? Walking a spiritual awakening is not for it's not for the weak by any means. It's a tough road. You people come, people go. And what I like to tell the folks that I coach is is not everybody is meant to stay, but everybody is either learning a lesson or being taught a lesson. And when that has been taught or learned, they either move on or they continue the journey with you. And so that is tough also because you you go back to, well, did I say something? Was it me? Right? It's not, it's you've done what you were supposed to, or they've provided you what was necessary for you in that moment and now they've moved on, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02:

I know as an empath, even if it's something that I'm not at fault at, I had found myself apologizing and feeling bad about it. Like, wait a minute, I'm not the one that did this, right? And how can we fix it? How can we repair it? You know, and so that's another one that's as an empath, it's a challenge because you take all of that on yourself with yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I think too, if you look at it differently as an empath, if you look at it, is this mine, right? Like, is this my feeling, or am I picking up the other person's energy, or is that what they're feeling? And I'm just taking it on as mine, because a lot of times we as empaths take on a lot that's not ours. We shouldn't even, right? And so it's learning those protective barriers that helps us really keep that space for ourselves sacred so that we're not allowing those intrusive, right? Those really intrusive feelings to come in that aren't ours to own.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. And you can even get it with the collective. Uh, you know, here in El Paso, Texas, many people want to have their own business and own space. And, you know, I was online, I was going to studios, I was going here, there, and events, and I even turned my vehicle into my business where I would go. And with the collective was, well, you should have a speech, you should have this. And um, I was feeling the collective energy. And my daughter said, Did you really, really want a space? And I'm just like, huh, I don't know if I do, because I had one, and I'm like, I don't know if I want this, like, I got it now, right? And I'm like, I don't think this was meant for me. And you know, I didn't keep the lease going and I left, but you can pick up the collective as well, that energy.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Discernment is a real thing. We really need to understand what is ours and what is not ours, right? And how to figure out how to understand what truly is mine versus what is coming in from the collective or the individual, right? And that's a tough. I think I think everybody should practice that more because that would allow you to really see what's um what's yours, what's yours in that moment.

SPEAKER_02:

So when it is time for you to do an energetic tune-up, what quality do you look for in a Reiki practitioner?

SPEAKER_01:

So in a Reiki practitioner, I look for alignment. So I I I have found my person. It took me a while to find the person that I truly um enjoy. And I feel like the energy between us is really aligned. Um, but again, I go into that the same way I would go into anything else is do I feel a connection? Does the energy feel good? Right. Because again, um I could look at them, but the energy is going to tell me more than me just looking at them. And so for me, it's does the energy feel good? Does um the intention feel right? Does the space feel peaceful, right? Because that's also a huge proponent for me. If the space, if the energy in the space doesn't feel good, I probably don't want to walk in there because I certainly don't want to walk out with any of that energy either, right? Like I'm going in for a clearing, I want to make sure that I'm good coming back out. So it's it's about what I feel. It's all about, and that's sort of how I live my life, right? If it doesn't feel right, I don't do it. And I think a lot of people are very different, right? They want to go out and do things, right, that excite them. And meanwhile, I'm like, oh, if that energy doesn't feel right, I'm gonna kind of hang back. So the energy really has to feel right for me to to want to put myself in their space because again, I've worked really hard on protecting my chakras, my energy, my aura, my field. I don't want to think that I walk in somewhere and there's ill intent.

SPEAKER_02:

So and it's so important to get that energetic tune up. I'm finding myself like every three months having to go. I had something lately. I was doing a lot of Reiki, keeping grounded, lots of changes. This moon that happened too was really affecting me as well. And um, I could feel it like I would have just dreams and vivid dreams and things. And uh I could feel it like in my hair. Like I felt like I needed to wash my hair and get things out. And I uh went to see someone yesterday, he's a very dear friend, and um, she did not know about all of that, and she's like, I had to go around your head three times. And I was like, Well, it happens. I almost pulled a Britney Spears because I just felt like something was in my hair, and you know what a difference it made having that one-hour session, right, to reset. Because sometimes, even though I've got the energetic tools, you know, sometimes you have to go to someone else to kind of fix things, right? So I was doing everything that I was doing, and like I just can't shake this. And so by having that connection to another Reiki practitioner who had no idea and just intuitively moved, and she's like, I really felt I needed to go to your feet. I went around your head three times, like something's going on.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and the moon can contribute. I have found um the the human resonance has a huge impact on me today, right? It's I feel that my sleep is being interrupted, right? It's all the things that could present energy, the moon, the human resonance, it's it's collective, right? I can feel when the collective is off, right? And so for me, it's you know, I wouldn't say I do a cord cutting every night, but if I start to feel like my energy is being drawn from, I will do a cord cutting session on myself at night before I go to bed because I don't want to carry that with me. I certainly don't want that energy. And you know, we engage with people all day. There's an energetic connection from a hug to a handshake, right? People really need to be thinking about the energy that you're not only leaving with somebody, but you're also taking from somebody when we have those exchanges as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Sure. And it can be online as well, because I've been doing um all of November, I'm doing 30 days of Reiki where I'm coming on and doing 45-minute sessions and the people coming on there and kind of unloading all of the things. I'm like, is it because I'm doing all of this work, even though I have the tools, the self-Rakey, the cutting the cords, a spirit release? You know, sometimes you just need to go to that practitioner to help you, you know, clear things out.

SPEAKER_01:

I have my session today after I leave you. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. And even like with my home, we've been upgrading, like we've been uh, you know, from I putting a door into a from a window to a door. We had things done with the garage, and all of these upgrades were also somehow affecting me too. It was almost like my body wasn't prepared for all these upgrades. And I'm like, oh my goodness, I need some more grounding. And the tools I had again weren't getting me there where you had to go see someone else. So it's always good and listen to that energy that's gonna help you and guide you through. So, what advice would you give someone who is just entering this profession? You were in the corporate world, you shift, you change. I was in teaching, uh, you know, in the classroom, switched and changed. What advice would you give?

SPEAKER_01:

Release all expectations. Because, and I say that from experience. I thought that I would have my podcast up in three months. I thought that my business, I mean, really, right? Like you know, there is a process. I would say find a mentor, somebody that is already in the business, somebody that you align with, that you feel comfortable with, set up, even if it's once a month, getting together, going for coffee, whether that be a virtual coffee or an in-person coffee, asking the questions, doing your due diligence, because I have been my business has been up for my business, has been in play for two years. My podcast, I started building my content and really thinking about the name because it's all at the branding, it's so important and it's these minute details that you don't realize. Um, so I would say it's release all expectations, give yourself grace because there are going to be days where you want to throw in the towel or the hat. It's right, it's very challenging and it can be very lonely. Oh, yeah. Because you are building this on your own and your family, your friends may not really understand what you're doing or even believe in what you're doing. But you, the more aligned to your purpose that you become, the more aligned you find your people. And I think that's where the turning point is for most. I have started also taking a very hard look because I am a project manager by trade, right? So I'm like, oh, I can do this. I multitask really well. I can do all the things. What I have realized in this business is I have to find the people that are better at certain things than I am. I am not a podcast producer. I don't know how to edit. I did try it for a few weeks and I was like, this is not me, right? So it's finding the people that you can trust to help you build and scale because it's going when it does happen, it's going to happen very quickly. And you need to make sure that you have a virtual assistant, maybe not, maybe not right there at your side in the moment, but ready to jump when you need a virtual assistant or um a graphic designer, right? It's making sure you have all the people that do the things that one you shouldn't be doing because it takes your focus away from what you are trying to build, right? Um but two, it allows you to build this core community that you know has your back and they truly um are in it with you to see your success, right? And so I think when you find those people, everything else falls into place.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. And that's a thing, uh a misconception with podcasts, because people are like, oh, my friends are gonna get together and we're gonna have a podcast, and they don't realize it's it's a part-time job. It's it's it takes work and you know, scheduling and time and editing and things like that, it's it's a whole other thing, and you're not making a fortune off of it. You know, you're you know, spending money on different things. And uh, and then when you're focusing on your own business and your own energy, so I always tell people, like when they tell me, I'm gonna start a podcast, you know what? Go be on some episodes, go be a guest first and see if it resonates with you. Do some interviews, see how it goes, get that promotion, start building your audience, and then take a look at it. My head son, when this idea came about for this, my son said, think about it this way for every new podcast that comes out, one dies. And so that's kind of like whoa, you know, and then now you're in a smaller genre of spirituality, right? Where you have like the murder mystery right at the beginning, or the medical, right, or criminal cost, and you've got this small percentage, and then now you're even taking it more that it's Reiki, right? From the spiritual. So, yeah, so some great, great advice. It's always good to hear from those that are a little farther on the journey. So, what books do you recommend?

SPEAKER_01:

So I pulled a few because I wanted to make sure that your viewers um had an idea of where to start. So here's what I would say, because I was never going to remember what I had, so I wanted to pull them so folks had an idea. The first thing that I started with was the empowered, the um empath survival guide. This has been, I mean, you can see it it is a lot, it's like my Bible to write. This is really where I started. So if they are, if they even have an inkling that they may be an empath, I would say this is the book to start with because this is going to help them understand their gift and what that means, right? Um, then I moved into Thriving as an empath by the same author. I love her. I I love her books. She's so informative. And then as I started to go into my spiritual awakening, right, and really kind of diving in, the first book I'm going to recommend is Signs. This is an amazing book about how to really engage with the universe and your guides and like all of the things and looking for signs from the universe. This will help somebody really focus on being present and really seeing. Things differently as they're presented to them. And then my next one is ask your guides because your guides are here to help you. They want to engage with you, but they can't help you unless you ask for it. And they come in with you and they leave with you. So if you're not asking for help, right, they can't intervene. So this is a this is another great book that I absolutely love. And then one of the ones more recently is Spiritual Activator. I love this book. I reference it quite often. Um, he has some really good um thoughts around what to do in the evenings, how to really like bring yourself peace, right? And I love that. And then it was chakras for beginners, because I don't know how many people understand the energy centers within our bodies. So that was another huge one. And then the chakra Bible, because this will tell you anything and everything. It will also talk about crystals. Um, and I just think that it is one that everybody should have in there on their bookshelf.

SPEAKER_02:

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing your live story and I was um doing uh angel Reiki the other day and explaining to people that you have to ask. They respect free will, they're not going to intervene when you're there and something crazy is happening and you're like looking around. Where are they? That you have to invoke it. You have to ask. Yes. It's so true. Great reminder. So, what do you offer? What services do you offer? Classes, trainings, events.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so um, I offer one-on-one coaching. When you go out to my website, it could look, it may look kind of confusing. The first thing that you're gonna see on my services is the empowered empath coaching. This is for somebody who is stepping into a spiritual awakening. This is for somebody who is empathic. They don't know how to hone their abilities. That is for them specifically. It's a discovery session to, again, I don't go into anything unless I feel truly aligned to the person and what their needs are. So there's a discovery session for the empowered empath. And then my services below that, I offer Reiki in person and virtual. Um, I love both. I think both are great. It just depends on where folks are. I also offer life and spiritual coaching, just one-on-one. That is for the average person who may be coming in and just feeling like, hey, I'm having this awakening. I'm not an empath, but I know that there are some things happening and I'm not sure how to how to work through life with this. So I offer that. And then I offer something called NLP coaching. Um, it's neurolinguistic programming. It's actually helping somebody rewire the negative self-speak or the limiting beliefs in their head, in their brain, right? We all have that little voice. Um, I took a trip to Bali a year and a half ago and went through a retreat because I really felt like part of me was stuck. I could get to a point and I couldn't move past this point. So I went through um this NLP hypnosis. And when I tell you life changed, life was forever changed. I became, I came home and became so productive. That voice was gone. It was life-changing for me. So I did go through the process of becoming a coach and a practitioner because I don't want somebody waiting till they're 40 to get that voice out of their head. I want them to be able to create and build life and and really step into their purpose and what they're meant to do while they're here without hearing this voice that's there for no good reason, right? That voice, it's it's antagonistic, it's critical. And we don't need to live like that. So I do offer NLP services and then I do offer meditation because I love meditation. That was really where I found my peace and like coming inward and really having conversation, right? For lack of a better term, with my guides, with source, right? Understanding things and receiving messages. So I do offer meditation for those that are new that may want to dip their toes in and it's a judgment-free zone, right? I'm not judging in any way, shape, or form. It's a safe place. So um events, I don't have any events coming up just yet. I do have a retreat that I am looking to book for 2026. It will probably be more like Q3, Q4, the latter part of 2026 here in North Carolina. Um, I'm looking for a space, um, a space beachfront. I really want folks to be able to ground themselves. And I love the water, I love the sand. I feel like when we can really put ourselves in that place, it helps open us up a little bit more. So the retreat we'll be taking here on one of the coasts of North Carolina. I'm not sure which side, but it will be really to help empower folks. It's not just an empathic, it's not just about Reiki. It is going to be educational to some degree, but I am going to offer yoga. I'm going to offer a sound bath, right? I really want folks who may not be in this realm that are new coming in to really come and be able to uh immerse themselves into some of these other modalities that aren't necessarily mainstream, right? And I want them to feel like it's a safe space, but I also want them leaving, feeling empowered and really feeling like they understand themselves a little bit more and how the energy works and how they can protect themselves. So it's going to be an all-encompassing uh retreat. And then I have my podcast. My podcast is launching January of 2026 because it's just taking a period to get through.

unknown:

All right.

SPEAKER_02:

Where can we reach you if we want to book a session or connect with you?

SPEAKER_01:

So uh my website is holistichealing with Careth.com. Uh, you can go out and book a discovery session. Um, you can also email me at karethaylor2013 at gmail.com. I'm happy to answer any questions. And then my cell phone is always on. Um, I usually don't take calls after five. It's just I like to kind of decompress from the day unless it's scheduled, right? If we have a conference call or a discovery session, I'm fine to do after five. But if it's just, hey, you know what? I'm gonna give her a call and kind of talk through things. It you may after five, you may get a call the next morning. And my cell phone is um 919-971-3459. That folks can reach me there as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Perfect. Well, that ends the first part of our journey. I'm gonna guide you into the second part, which are questions from social media and from Reiki students. So here we go. Number one, what inspired you to create the empowered empath or the empowered path, the empowered path?

SPEAKER_01:

It's the empowered empath. It's actually the empowered empath. And the reason behind that is because as a child growing up and not being able to harness these gifts, and I really truly believe that they are gifts now. I can't say that I felt that as a child because it was so isolating and I felt, I honestly felt like the black sheep a lot of times. I don't want others to feel that. I want them to be empowered. So for me, it was building a community of folks that really can come together and ask the questions and talk about their experiences in a non-judgmental zone, a safe, free zone, right? Where we can come together and just have those conversations, excuse me, conversations, because I didn't have that. I didn't have a community. I did this all on my own. And for me, I don't want anyone to feel as isolated as I did growing up.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, thank you for that. Number two, growing up in a home that had limited beliefs, did your family and friends how do they respond to you creating this spiritual holistic business?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I think a lot that's a good question. Um I think I think they question what it is. We we've never had in-depth conversation. My aunt and I have a lot of conversation around it because um, you know, our elders were brought up very differently than we were, right? They are they're of a different mindset, right? So a lot of this is woo-woo or witchy or strange, right? And to us, it's normal. Like this is normal for me. I don't look at it any different way. And what I've realized is my aunt is an empath. So very slowly we have conversation around it, right? And she's slowly starting to use terms. So I know she's listening, but do they grasp it? I don't know if they grasp the depth of it because I don't know that any of them have experienced things or are open enough to experience maybe some of the things that I have. And I think that's the difference is allowing yourself to have those moments, be present in your day, and really sit and listen to what's being given to you message-wise, where I think a lot of them are, hey, this is my life. I'm going about it. I'm married, I've got kids, right? I'm not married, I don't have kids. My focus has really been my business and really building off of my craft. And I think that's the difference. I think they put up with it, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Very good. Number three, you touched about this a little bit ago, but let's circle back around. You're holding a retreat in 2026. Can you tell me all about that upcoming retreat?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so I'm really excited. Um, I really want to bring folks together that are maybe just getting into their spiritual awakening or folks that are maybe already into their spiritual awakening, but not sure where their community is or where their people are. And it is open to everyone, right? Uh, male, female, whoever wants to come is more than welcome to come. I'm hoping to have 18 to 20 spaces available for folks. I don't have pricing yet because I'm still looking for a location, but I do know that it's going to be whether it be Wilmington, North Carolina, or it be the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Both are beautiful. We can't go wrong with either, but I really want them to be immersed into learning how to meditate, right? Folks say, well, I can't shut off my brain. That's not about shutting off your brain. It's about coming inward, right? So having folks there that can really walk them through. I would like to do mini Reiki sessions. I would like folks to be able to experience it and feel right what we may feel as practitioners when we're working on somebody. I want them to be able to feel those, the energy and the and the shift. And so it's about building and empowering. And that is, I want folks to walk away feeling like they're empowered and like they're a superhero, right? I for the longest time, when you listen to a lot of folks that talk about empathy, they're like, oh, this thing, right? It's it's a very negative connotation around it. And for me, it's this is a gift. Let's step into it. You know what I mean? Like, I want you to feel empowered. I want you to feel like I got this. I'm a bad bitch, right? Like that's what I want folks to take away from it. Like, I can walk out into the world. I can, my boundaries are there. My I'm protecting my energy. I can navigate this world feeling empowered, feeling like I'm not drained when I get home from working my nine to five, or I go to the mall and I come home and I'm down for two days on the couch trying to re-energize myself because I was unprotected and I took home everybody, everybody's energy that wasn't mine. So it's really, I just want to teach people, right? I I just want folks to feel empowered. I want to give them the tools and the necessities to be able to go out and live their life fully and authentically in their in their space, doing their life's purpose, right? We're all put here for a reason. I want to help them find that.

SPEAKER_02:

Perfect. Thank you. So that was our last question. As we were talking, is there anything that you have forgotten or something you want to share? The floor is yours.

SPEAKER_01:

No, I think for me, it's I hope what folks take away from me and our conversation today is the authentic, the authentic conversation, the genuine, the transparency. I what I like to tell people is you either like me or you don't, right? I'm either your cup of tea or I'm not. And it's it's a what you see is what you get, right? I like to say I probably curse a little too much. I've been very reserved today. I'm very proud of myself. However, I am that girl, right? Like I show up as my authentic self. I believe what I believe. I believe everything is in divine timing. I want folks to see that there is this whole other space, this beautiful space that we're holding for them when they're ready to come over and really sit with us and learn, right? And just step into their own power because what I see with the collective today is so many people are depressed and riddled with anxiety and really struggling to find their way. And I want them to be able to see the beauty in life and the beauty in their own life and realize that it might just have been a protection, right? Maybe they needed to cut some cords, right? If this, if they're new to this, they could be, they could be draining themselves. Somebody else could be taking on their energy. So I really want folks to just ask the questions, no matter how hard they are. Nothing is dumb. Nothing in this world, nothing in the spiritual world is a dumb question. Ask it. If you're curious, ask it. I don't care what the question is, I will answer it. And if I don't know, I will find somebody that can answer it for us, right? Like I'm an open book and I'm still learning too, right? I may be farther along than most in my journey because this has been a very long time coming, but it doesn't mean that I have all the answers. And I want folks to know that too, right? You're on mute, Tracy.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh well, thank you so much for sharing all of that amazing wisdom on your journey here. I really do appreciate it. Thank you for your time and taking it out of your very busy schedule to come on this Ready Set Reiki journey with me.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you so much. I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, my beautiful friends. If you'd like your question featured on Ready Set Reiki, reach out, www.ready setreiki.com. Find me on social media. And I also wanted just to let you know that if you feel alone or isolated in your Reiki journey, check out the Reiki Business Collective. That is on Facebook. There is a gentleman named Christian Standing Stone, who is a really supportive group of practitioners that come together. There's no gatekeeping, no competition, so that you know that you are not alone. And as you had mentioned, you know, people are an open book, right? Ask those questions. You know, uh, there's no bad or dumb questions in our spiritual work here. So thank you, everybody. I'm Tracy C right, and this has been Ready Set Reiki.

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